Allergic

We found out the hard way that Kylie is allergic to peanuts. We had known that it was a possibility that she was allergic because she did have a small reaction when she was younger. The day after her first birthday party, I gave her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that was left over from her party. She had a few small red spots show up on her throat so I immediately took away the sandwich. We took her to the doctor and he said that normally a child will grow out of an allergy by the time they are two. The doctor said to wait a while, maybe until she is two, and try again. Well I waited until she was over 4 years old! We had a friend over two weekends ago and decided to make peanut butter cookies. Kylie and I were babysitting Autumn (our little cousin) so we thought it would be a fun activity for Kylie. Joe and I knew that we needed to try and give her peanut butter again, but we had been nervous as to what might happen so we kept putting it off. That day I decided that we needed to do it because if she wasn't allergic than we had nothing to worry about. Since her reaction when she was one we have made sure that there were never any kind of nuts in the foods she ate. We had been careful to monitor what she ate and what others gave her. Kylie was so excited to help with the cookies. She loved to dump in all of the ingredients and stir everything up. She couldn't wait for them to be done. After they were done we all got a cookie and some milk. Kylie took her first bite and seemed okay. However, she started coughing but she said she was fine. She continued to cough and I kept asking her if her throat was itching, but she said no. She finished her cookie and milk but her coughing continued. Our friend that was visiting read her a book and she liked it and was interested, but kept coughing. I knew something was wrong. I immediately called my mom and Joe (who was working the Baylor football game). My mom had mentioned that she had been coughing because of seasonal allergies a little during the day so it may have just been a little worse because it was getting later in the evening. I gave Kylie some allergy medicine anyway just in case. Our friend left and Kylie seemed a little better, but not much. She seemed like she was a little tired and hot so I let her relax in our bed with the fan and my phone to play on while I took Autumn in the other room to clean up. Not five minutes after putting her in the bed I heard her throwing up. I got her off the bed and took her to her bathroom to give her a bath. It was no fun trying to bathe her and keep up with a 14 month old. Autumn kept wanting to get in the bathtub with Kylie and I had to try and bathe Kylie and keep Autumn from joining her. After Kylie had been in the bath for just a minute I noticed a huge red spots on her abdomen and side. I knew it was getting worse. I called my mom who texted Autumn's mom and dad to come get her. I finished cleaning Kylie and got her out. I put her on a blanket in the living room and waited for Autumn's parents to arrive. After Autumn was picked up I cleaned up the mess that was on the bed. The lovely throw up had soaked through Kylie's sleeping bag that she was laying on, through our comforter and both sheets on the bed (the flat and fitted). I tried cleaning as much up as possible and took her sleeping bag outside and rinsed it off. I took everything off the bed and put it in the washing machine. I checked on Kylie and nothing had changed. The rash was still there and she had no energy. I called my mom who said she was on her way. Joe had been working the football game and couldn't leave so I'm so glad my mom came over, even though it was almost 10pm. My mom got there and Kylie got worse. The rash spread and she got hives. Then her face started to swell. I called the on-call doctor for our doctor's office and explained to him what happened. He suggested I give her allergy medicine (which I already had, but she had thrown up) and then said "Well we can officially say she is allergic to peanuts"...Well no duh!!!! He told me to keep an eye on her breathing and her tongue. He said if her breathing started to become labored or her tongue started to swell to take her to the ER. He told me that as long as neither of those happened then I should just keep her cool and calm and the rash/hives would go away and the swelling in her face would go down. He also told me that the rash and hives would probably change and she would probably throw up again. Joe was finally able to come home from work and checked on Kylie before going to bed because he had to be up early for work in the morning. I called my supervisor and told her I would not be coming in the next morning because I knew it was going to be a long night. My mom held Kylie and we made sure that she was cool and calm. After she threw up a second time we decided to try and get some sleep. Thankfully my mom stayed the night. She slept on the couch while Kylie and I shared the loveseat. I set my alarm on my phone for 3am so I could give Kylie another dose of medicine. We tried to get as much sleep as possible, but it was hard. When we woke up Sunday morning Kylie was much better. She still had a little swelling in her face, but her rash/hives were gone and her energy started coming back. She started acting more like herself and enjoyed spending the morning with YaYa and mommy. Mom went home early in the afternoon and Kylie and I lounged around and took naps until Joe got home from work. The doctor had suggested that we come in and get an epi pen for Kylie just in case anything happened again. We made an appointment to talk to the doctor and combined her allergy appointment with her four year checkup. She did great at her checkup and loved talking to the doctor. We found out that she is 43 pounds and 45 inches tall. The doctor said she will probably be 6 feet tall! He checked all of her reflexes and everything else. She counted and said her ABCs and showed off her skills for the doctor. Then it was time for the fun part...SHOTS. We had prepared Kylie earlier in the day and after crying for about five minutes she said she was going to be brave. We reminded her how brave she had been when she got her flu shot last year and I think that helped. She told everyone that we saw that day (before we got to the appointment) that she wasn't scared and that she was brave. She got four shots and didn't cry a bit. She got four bandaids (which she loves) and then an "ouchie buddy" (a stuffed doll that some ladies had sewn for the doctor's office to give to kids after shots). Her buddy hasn't left her side since. After her appointment we headed to Walmart to pick up her epi pen. Thankfully her epi pen came with a trainer that we can practice with. The trainer doesn't have any medicine or needle and talks you through the steps. Hopefully we will never have to use it. We have been doing fine for the past three years with watching what she eats so I think we will be okay. I am just scared for when she starts school and she will be away from us. I know the school nurse will know what to do and we will make sure her teachers are aware, but I'm scared if someone tries to trade with her at lunchtime or if other parents bring in treats. I know I will be a nervous wreck every day until she comes home from school. I am so thankful to my mom for coming over and staying with me. She is always there for me and I know I can count on her for anything. I don't know what I would do without her. Thanks again mom (who I know is checking to see if I updated my blog).

Easter 2013

We had a great Easter. Joe and I were both off from work so we were able to spend three full days off with Kylie. Our Easter weekend started on Saturday morning with the Easter celebration and egg hunt at church. Kylie had a great time hunting eggs and making a magnet during craft time.



Kylie with her eggs she found at the church egg hunt

After the egg hunt Kylie practiced for her mini-cantata that she was going to be in on Easter Sunday during the Sunday School hour. After practice we had lunch and then went on a drive around town. We ended up at the grocery store and bought groceries for dinner and eggs to dye. Kylie had a great time coloring the eggs and was proud to show them off.

Kylie and her eggs

Sunday morning we woke up and Kylie checked out her Easter basket.

After checking out her basket, we went to church as a family. It is very very rare for us to go to church together. Joe works midnights and I work the early shift on Sundays so normally Kylie goes to church with my mom. She was very excited to know that we were all going together. After the service it was time for Kylie's performance with the other nursery kids. The mini-cantata went well, but Kylie did not sing. She knows all of the words because she has listened to the cd in my numerous times. She stood there for a little bit with her hands over her eyes. She then made funny looking faces and walked around in front of the rest of the group singing. She then lifted up her dress and once she put her finger up her nose. She was quite an act to watch. At least she was cute and didn't cry. Maybe next year will be her year to start actually singing.

Daddy and Kylie ready for church

Mommy and Kylie ready for church

After church we went home for a little bit before heading out to celebrate Easter with the Dutschmann side of the family. Kylie and Joe enjoyed a nice little nap and then mom came over after singing at church. The four of us loaded up the car and drove out to my uncle and aunt's house. We had a delicious lunch and dessert and then enjoyed time hanging out. Then it was time for the egg hunt. Normally all of the little cousins are there for the hunt, but this year it was just Kylie and Autumn. It was a different egg hunt since the only ones that participated were three years old and nine months old. I told Kylie she better enjoy this year because next year all of the little cousins (nine or ten of them) will be there. Kylie made quite the haul of eggs and even helped Autumn fill up her basket. After the hunt we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon hanging out with the family.

Ready to leave for Easter lunch

Hunting eggs

She made a friend

Kylie and her eggs

We had a great Easter weekend and were so thankful to be together as a family.

Three and a Half

Kylie is 3 and a half years old. In less than five months she will be four years old.

Some facts about Kylie at 3 and a half:

• Knows her birthday and how to spell her name
• Knows her colors in English and Spanish
• Can count to ten in Spanish
• Can count by tens to one hundred. Knows her numbers and loves to point out any number she sees.
• Likes to trace number and letters with the erasable marker in her writing book.
• Loves to be Mommy, Daddy, and YaYa's helper. She likes to sweep and fold clothes (hopefully she still does when she is older)
• She has a great memory. She can tell you things you forgot about from months ago. For example: She remembers what she wore with her Daddy to the "tire store" and that was almost six months ago. Every time she passes the tire store she talks about it. Some of the things she remembers amazes me because I will have forgotten about them.
• She is very tall for her age. When people ask her how old she is and she says three, they are surprised. She is about a head taller than other kids her age.
• She loves to play with mommy and daddy's cellphones. She has games on both phones and knows how to unlock the phone and play them. She has even posted a few things to my Facebook page. She is very smart when it comes to technology. She also loves to play games on the computer and her new tablet she got from Santa for Christmas.
• Some of her favorites places to go: YaYa's house, PaPa's house, Mommy and Daddy's work, church, U-Swirl, HEB, Walmart, Home Depot, Michaels craft store, Hobby Lobby, and any restaurant that serves enchiladas with rice and beans (one of her favorites)
• Favorite foods (some of them): macaroni and cheese with broccoli, strawberry jelly sandwiches, carrots or spinach with ranch dressing, yogurt, tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets, frozen yogurt with toppings, and Enchilada with rice and beans (as mentioned above)
• Least favorite food: She will not eat scrambled eggs. I don't know why, but she won't. She has tried it several times and never likes it.
• Loves babies. Especially her little cousins Autumn and Drew, or as she calls them "Baby Autumn" and "Baby Drew". She likes to make Autumn smile and laugh. Any baby she sees, she always says "Aww, that baby is so cute".
• Loves dogs. There is a dog that lives at the end of our street and she always points him out and says "hi". My brother and his wife have a giant dog named Bubba and she loves him. She loved playing with him when we helped them move earlier this month. She loves to talk about playing with Bubba and just like with babies she says "Aww he is so cute".

Helping Mommy dispatch at the Police Department on Sunday mornings
(before YaYa picks her up for church)



Looking cute before running errands for the day

Wearing Daddy's Red Sox hat.

Helping Uncle Ryan and Aunt Elyse pack up and move to Katy, Texas