Sigh.

This is one of those days that I'm glad is over. For your sake and for mine, I'll try to keep this short.

Last week I gave Caden a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. He had had (??) pb before - I gave it to him just after he turned one to see if he had a reaction. He didn't, but didn't really like it, so I haven't given it to him again. Last week I thought I'd try one more time. I gave him the sandwich, but he didn't really eat it, just played with it, so I took it away and gave him something else. As I was cleaning him up after he ate I noticed he had some hives around his mouth. Then his eyes started itching and swelling. I called his pediatrician and told her what happened. She gave me the dosing instructions for Benadryl and referred us to an allergist.

We went today, and it's only a slight exaggeration to say that it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I knew it as going to be a long appointment and that he was going to be poked and prodded. I tried to be prepared. I was not. Neither was Caden. He did NOT like being there at all. He did the best he could under the circumstances, but his best work involved screaming bloody murder. In my ear. While the doctor was trying to talk to me about his testing. But really, who can blame him when his back looked like this

Poor baby! He was tested for several different things - peanuts, walnuts, fish, shrimp, soy, tomatoes...and two more things I can't remember. The huge bump just below his left shoulder is peanuts, the one on the top over on the right side is peanut butter that they smeared on him, and the other two are the "control" spots - they react on everyone to show that the test worked. Awful, awful, awful.

Thank goodness my mom was here and able to go with us. Seriously, we would have never made it. Caden did not want to spend one more minute in there, so as soon as they were done with him, my mom was able to take him out while I waited for the nurse to come back in and give me the results of the testing (which were pretty obvious).

Caden is now on a no nuts diet. Although he did not have a reaction to tree nuts (just peanuts) they have recommended no nutty foods for now. They also gave us an epi pen in case he had trouble breathing or went into anaphylactic shock.

The epi pen gives a dose of adrenaline (or epinephrine, hence the name) and, according to the web site, "quickly begins working to reverse symptoms of an allergic emergency. It constricts blood vessels to increase blood pressure, relaxes smooth muscles in the lungs to reduce wheezing to improve breathing, stimulates the heart (increases heart rate), and works to reduce hives and swelling that may occur around the face and lips" (http://www.epipen.com/about-epipen/faqs). I have never had to give an injection, but I have been trained many times, because I often had kids in my class that used epi pens. Included in our package of pens was a training pen - an injector without a needle - so we could practice giving the injection

Hopefully we will never have to use the epi pen. As long as his reaction continues to be as mild as it was this last time, Benadryl will cut it and the epi pen won't be necessary. Hopefully.

Tonight, I am completely drained from the day. I know that many people do this daily. I know that this could be waaaaay worse. I also know that this is something he is going to have to deal with for the rest of his life (kids do grow out of some allergies, but not peanuts). He is never going to have a Reese's peanut butter cup. He (and we) are going to have to read labels carefully. I don't want anything to ever be hard for him, and right now this feels hard.

At least Oreos don't have nuts in them

Now that would be hard!

Have You Seen This Kid Before?

We're missing our kid. Have you seen him?

Now, don't confuse him with Linus from Peanuts

You know, the one who loves his blankey (or "ba-day" as it's called in our house)

Or Dennis the Menace

the adorable, precocious blond with a cowlick and red overalls

Or that kid in the movie Parenthood that puts a bucket on his head (around the 1:00 mark in the following trailer)

No? Well, if you see him, tell him his parents are missing him!
**None of the above pictures were staged, I promise!**

When Daddy is in Charge

Almost a year ago, I made this post about what happens when Daddy is in charge of Caden. That was before Caden could walk. That was when he was 'slightly' less mobile. When he would 'kind of' snuggle. Not anymore! Here is what I found this afternoon when Daddy was in charge again

That's JZ sleeping on a pillow in the tee pee while Caden is playing around (or sometimes on) him.

Nice supervision, Daddy!

Sledding

At the beginning of December, we spent two nights up in Breckenridge with some friends. Once we realized Caden slept better in the bathroom (so he couldn't see us) and recovered from the spill he took out of his high chair, we had a great time! There were 5 kids there - 6, 5, 4, 3, and 1 - and Caden had such fun chasing after the big kids and having a playmates other than us. Hmmmm :)

One afternoon we decided to take the kids (and kids at heart) to a nearby sledding hill. We bundled C up in his snow gear

and were excited to take him sledding for the first time.

He was not so sure at the beginning
but quickly decided that sledding was ok!

** Look carefully - can you see both of them smiling from ear to ear?**

Hmmm...how do we get back up the hill?

Interesting, but very effective!

It was a beautiful day in Breckenridge. Colorado blue skies and no wind. Perfect for sledding and a few family pictures

**The small goober on his upper lip was the only boo boo he received after he tumbled head first out out of his high chair and onto the tile floor. Amazing!**
Daddy even got to go down the big hillHe laid there for awhile after this fall. He's not as young as he used to be!
After two hours of sledding it was time to go. Caden hitched a ride back to the car with some cute girls

I think he's ready to hit the slopes again!

Ball-pit-apalooza

Oh what fun
it is to play

in a ball pit

all the day

hey!

**I am not a poet. That was the best I could do on short notice**

Thank you, Brianna!

A Christmas Pictoral:Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 - Christmas Morning!

We spent Jesus' Birthday at our house with Grammy, Papa, Nana and Grandpa K. Santa had already come by the time C got up and had brought him a teepee.

After the fam arrived, we ate breakfast and started opening presents.
Three hours later we were finished. No joke. Three hours later. What a haul! His favorite present was a broom. He's going to be a great husband someday!

Caden didn't really care about opening presents, he just wanted to play. That was a bonus for me because I got to open double gifts!

We spent the rest of the day playing and having lots of "bun!"

We also snuck in a few games. This is a very intense game of Blockus between Papa and Grandpa K

In case you're wondering, I was a very good girl too. Look what landed in my dining room

AND if you're wondering where I've been (instead of blogging), I'll give you a hintYep, that's a real picture of my friend, Emily and I in cold, rainy, but super fun NYC!

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Pictoral:Part 1

Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas! We had such a wonderful Christmas full of family, food, and lots of "bun!" (more on Caden's expanding vocabulary later)

Our Christmas celebrations actually began a few days before Christmas. My parents arrived on the 18th and Caden was super excited to see his Grammy and Papa. Seriously, lots of happy screaming! His new favorite thing to do is have "bun" (fun). The first night Grammy and Papa were here, C went to bed VERY late. After I put him in bed, he started crying. When I went to check on him, he popped his head up and said, "Papa? Bun?" They have been having "bun" ever since. He and Grammy have also been doing a lot of "ki-ya"ing (that's a long i sound. My first grade phonetics are failing me now). Trying to figure out what "ki-ya" meant was tricky. It took a few days, but we got it - crayon. He yells, "ki-ya" at the top of his lungs when he wants to color. Not sure why it took me so long...

On Christmas Eve Eve our plan was to give Grammy and Papa an early Christmas present

A holiday lights tour in a limo! It was just supposed to be the two of them

but at the last minute, JZ sent me with them! Yeah, now it was a party of 3! We had a three hour tour on the west end of town. We saw some pretty houses and have decided it is going to become a new tradition

On Christmas Eve we went up to Gram's house to celebrate with JZ's side of the fam. Instead of buying gifts for everyone, we had a wacky white elephant exchange. Everyone brought a white elephant gift and attached a gift card to it. It was tons of fun!
That evening we all went to church to Christmas Eve services. Super Caden looked SUPER cute in his suit

JZ, Dad, and I all participated in the service, Grammy, Nana, and Grandpa K all tried to wrangle Caden during the no-nursery-available service. I'm not sure how much of the service they actually saw, but I think they had fun. My favorite part of the service was when we walked up on stage and heard, "Dada!" from the back of the sanctuary. Sweet Caden boy made everyone giggle.

Stay tuned for A Christmas Pictoral: Part 2 - Christmas Day!