Still waiting to see

If you read the previous posts, then you know that Brenden and I have another date with the allergy clinic tomorrow. I thought I was going to have to take him in today after he got sick this morning and was running a low grade fever. I called the office to see if it could be a reaction and they said it was a virus and in no way connected to his test. I was relieved at first, but then I realized that Brenden probably has the nastiness that Tim and I shared over the holidays. It knocked us on our rears so if that's what he has then we are in for about a week of really sick baby. I think the Motrin I gave him helped with the fever, but he's cranky and seems exhausted.

He is still reacting to several of the things on his back, mostly on the side with the milk and grains. I'm surprised by this since last night we gave him a bath and I thought it would wash some of it away. We didn't wash his back, per instructions from the allergy clinic, but I still thought it'd take a little away. I'm ready to see what they say tomorrow. If he really does have to give up all sorts of things then we're going to have to overhaul our entire way of eating. I would feel terrible if I went along eating a ton of things that he can't have, especially when he's little. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the doctor thinks he's OK as long as he's on Allegra.

This is his back today. As you can see the fruit/veggies side seems to be much better. I couldn't even label them all because the redness was too faint to show up in the picture. Let's hope that's a good sign for fruit!

The results are in...

…and they aren’t pretty. I took Brenden to get his patch test removed and read this morning. I thought he’d have a few show up positive, like the jelly and tomatoes. Unfortunately I was only partly correct. They pulled the tape off, which didn’t seem to cause Brenden any kind of discomfort, and the nurse started writing down plus signs. "Yep, there’s a positive. And another. And another." Um…ok. How many things do these people think one kid can react to? Apparently, almost all of them. So according to the test this morning, Brenden is allergic to:

Cow’s Milk
Soy Milk
Corn
Rice
Wheat
Oat
Barley
Rye
Peanut
Cashew
Banana
Peach
Pear
Tomato
Potato

He didn’t react to apple or, to my surprise, the jelly. They are still trying to decide if he reacted to oranges. So I asked the lady if he wouldn’t be able to eat this stuff, or if it just meant he couldn’t touch them. She had no idea. We go back in on Friday for another check and then the doctor will call me, hopefully before next week. I have no idea what they expect me to feed him. He can’t survive on jelly, apples and water alone. Right now, we're going to keep doing what we're doing until told otherwise.

I think his Allegra does more for him than we know. They asked me if he had outbreaks of eczema when he ate those things, and I told them I didn’t ever notice, and believe me I watch out for that. To me that says that he may be allergic, but not enough to keep him away from them.

Here is the photo from his back this morning. I labeled the dots so you can see which is which. The potato left a lot of starch on him, which is why it looks so bad. I promise it didn’t react THAT badly.

Anyone know of a diet that excludes all of those things? Will get him all the necessary vitamins and minerals? That doesn’t taste like cardboard? Anyone? Yeah…me neither. :(

No Fun

Today I took Brenden to the Tulsa Allergy Clinic for a patch test. I had no idea what we were getting into. I had been assured that they weren't going to stick any needles in his poor little back, which is what they did when he was 7 months old, so I thought this would be easier. I'm not so sure that this method is any better.

After arriving on time at 8:55 am for his 9 am appointment, which is amazing for me since I had done my hair and makeup, had fed Brenden, changed him, and even let the dogs out, we waited for 45 minutes. It didn't bother Brenden too much. We had a ton of people there for him to talk to. Most of them had received allergy shots so they were stuck there for 30 minutes until they were sure to not have a bad reaction. They enjoyed his use of sign language and thought his dancing was funny. When we finally got back there the nurse showed me exactly what was going to happen. They take 2 large strips of paper tape with little pockets of different foods, slap it on Brenden's back, then tell me to come back on Wednesday. Um...ok. What do I do in the meantime? Well, we can't get it wet. We can't touch it. No Allegra for itching. If he has a reaction to anything bring him back. On Wednesday they take it off, check it, and then his back can get wet, just don't scrub. Come back on Friday to make sure nothing is still reacting. I'm staring in shock at this huge thing on Brenden's back, trying to decide just how long it will take him to tear it off, either with his hands or some random object, like the remote control. Thankfully Brenden sat quietly in my lap while all of this went on. He never cried or even whined, just gave me a look like he was confused and went along his merry way.

I'm not sure if we'll make it to Wednesday, and then to Friday for his last check up. So far, so good. Check back with us tomorrow, though.

It takes up his whole back. Poor guy.

Back To My Roots

Most of these posts center around Brenden, which is not surprising since he is constantly doing something funny and I love writing about him. However, this one is about me. Sorry to disappoint if you were hoping for some more cuteness! I promise the next blog will be filled with more stories of him showing off for people at a restaurant or putting things in his ears.

I would say 95% of the people that know me know that I have naturally curly hair. It's not a wave, it's a full on curl, much like a poodle. Since I was 20 I have been chemically straightening or flat ironing my hair religiously. If I didn't have time I usually pulled it back in a ponytail, which my husband hated. This process could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the length of my hair and if it had been straight the day before.

Yesterday I got a haircut and the lady who did it was crazily enthusiastic about my curls. I had seen her before even though she wasn't the person that cut my hair in August, which was my last haircut. (I'm horrible, I know!) So I let her do her thing, and her thing meant she cut my hair dry, used thinning shears, and left me with a TON less hair. At first I was nervous. Even when I was younger I didn't like my curly hair. I cannot actually remember a time when I liked my hair down and curly, which is sad for being 27 years old. However, she somehow convinced me. I'm not sure if it's the cut, the product, or the fact that I finally decided to accept the fact that my hair is curly and I should get over it, even with comments about Afros and poodles.

Today it took me 2 minutes to fix my hair, which is when I officially decided I liked my hair. It is amazing to type that sentence. I know I will not always like it. I know there will be days I will cry and scream and wish for straight hair. But for now, I'm at peace, and it's a happy place to be.

The new 'do!

Another dose of big personality

I've written about Brenden's personality before, how he is super friendly and seems to get handed anything he wants. It still amazes me the things that he does. The past two days we have gone out to eat, once with Tim's mom to Mexicali and then today I went out with Sean and his mom Debbie to Red Lobster. Both times Brenden has eaten very well which made me very happy, especially after he stopped eating for a few days. (Although he is back to liking bananas...hurrah!) He had a great time dipping a chip in the salsa, which he loves (thank you grandpa Kelly!) and then at Red Lobster he ate an entire chicken breast, french fries, cheesy biscuits and some broccoli. However, at the end he got restless so we let him out of his chair. This is where the fun began.

At Mexicali he weaved his way through a some empty tables over to a couple of women having lunch. He leaned through a few chairs and squealed happily in their direction until they laughed at him. He then walked up and hugged one of the ladies, who seemed quite surprised, but happy to have a hug. Then he was off to squeal at some more people until he eventually made a full circle back to the same ladies. I think he ended up going over to them 4 times, much to their delight. I'm so happy when we meet kid-friendly people. The ones that glare at him hurt my heart. We eventually got him to sit down by bribing him with his Styrofoam cup of water. He sat in dad's chair like a big boy, held his cup on his own, and drank happily for a few minutes. And then...SPLAT! He squeezed on the cup hard enough to punch a hole in it and he was instantly soaked from the waist down. I have never seen him look more shocked and I'm sure he was uncomfortable. The loss of his cup didn't seem to make him feel any better. We took him home right away to change him into something dry and then had a great time walking Promenade Mall with his grandma.

Red Lobster seems to bring the same side out of him. After eating he walked around, first stopping to talk to a little girl much younger than him who was not at all impressed with his babbling. He then made his way over to a table full of women having lunch (see a pattern?) who he tap danced for, including shuffling. (I'll make him a tapper, yet!) He found the closest lady, hugged her quickly, said "thank you" and walked off. They thought he was a hoot, especially since the sign for "thank you" looks so much like him blowing a kiss. The next table he found he decided he was ready for another biscuit, so he patted the seat next to the woman and said "please." Of course she had no clue what my child wanted, but she thought he was funny so she didn't get upset. After explaining he was begging for food even though I'm sure he couldn't possibly stuff anything else in I directed him along. On the way back to our table he found a sweeper, almost ran into a bunch of college guys because he was looking back at another lady, and stopped to beg for more food. We eventually made it out of there, but not without a stop at the lobster tank, which I'm pretty sure he called "puppies."

Tonight we spent the evening with grandma and grandpa Kelly. We had some yummy steaks and Brenden ate special spaghetti, green beans, several cheese crackers, 2 servings of mandarin oranges, and a roll. I think he may have a hollow leg. He is fascinated by the different rocks and shells that they keep on their fireplace, along with the miniature beach chair they got on their cruise. He hadn't touched the chair much, only pointed at it, but tonight he grabbed it, placed it softly on the ground, and then proceeded to try to sit on it. When I say miniature, I mean tiny. As in the size of his foot. Connie and I were rolling on the floor with tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. Luckily Brenden repeated this move later on for his dad. I'm not sure how to explain that the chair is way too small since he's not really clear on the concept of big and small yet. I guess we'll have to hide it next time. Or maybe we'll bring it out to see if he'll try again, like a comedy performance. This boy is going to be the class clown...Lord help us.

Goodbye bananas, his old friend

Brenden has had a love affair with bananas for a few months now. Tim and I have even taken to spelling out the word or whispering it around him so he doesn't go all "Nana!" crazy on us. On the way out to Colorado he ate 3 of them in the car, which is exactly what we expected. However, during our stay in the mountains he suddenly had a change of heart. He'd still point at them and say "nana" but if we offered him one he refused to eat it. Usually we can get him to eat things, like peanut butter or potatoes, by slipping some in his mouth when he's screaming, which usually helps him realize we are offering something tasty. For some reason that tactic stopped working. He snubbed bananas completely, no matter how many times we tried to remind him that just the day before he would have inhaled a whole one in 30 seconds, no exaggeration.

Eventually we figured out his new fruit fondness is grapes, especially the red seedless variety. Grandma Karen had a huge bag of fruit with grapes, pineapple, mandarin oranges, and strawberries and when Brenden refused to eat anything she just held the bag out for him to pick from. His little fingers landed on a grape and from that point on he has been obsessed. I'm pretty sure he ate grapes with every meal for 2 days. He also requested them constantly on the drive home, although since he lacks the sign language for the word "grape" we didn't know what he meant. I really need to look that up on the American Sign Language website. I have a feeling that soon I will be explaining some random sign to strangers as my child runs from one person to the next begging for food. Ah the joys of having a toddler with a grumbling stomach and no patience. Maybe I should look up the sign for those, too.

And speaking of random strangers, Brenden again showcased his ability to get people to hand him things they normally wouldn't let their own mother use. On Monday I took him to the Tulsa Allergy Clinic for a check up and, as usual, he ran around charming people. One person he babbled at was a Pharmaceutical Rep with a very expensive looking laptop, the kind that has a screen that flips around so it can be a tablet. I ended up talking to him for a little while, I found out he and his family had lived near Tim and I's apartment in Colorado Springs and that he had a son near Brenden's age. Then my lovely son started saying "please" and pointing at that crazy expensive laptop....and the man handed it to him. I stood in shocked silence for a little while, watching Brenden poke and prod at it, all the while keeping a firm grip on it myself. There is no way we could afford to replace it, especially since we are still in the process of getting another computer at home. The man kept reassuring me that Brenden couldn't hurt it, but I'm pretty sure if my son tried to he could. I finally pried it from his tiny fingers, handed it back and made Brenden say "thank you", which he now signs and says. (Sounds a lot like "dad-du".) I think I'm going to invest in a shirt that says "Please hand your electronic equipment to me at your own risk." Think it will work?

And A Happy New Year

So much to say about the last week or so...so lets get right to it!

On the 29th we celebrated Christmas with the Kelly side of the clan, with Tom, Debbie, Megan and Ryan flying in from Pennsylvania, and Jessica, Dan and Ginny, too. Brenden was spoiled like crazy, as usual, and had a great old time playing with Ryan's phone and getting pushed around on his new Thomas the Train toy. Unfortunately we only had the chance to see them the one day since they were flying back in the morning and we were starting our trek to Colorado early in the am the next day.

Tuesday morning began much earlier than the anticipated 4:30 am, with Brenden and his molars waking us up at 2:30 am. Some rocking and those awesome teething tablets got him back to sleep in about an hour, but seeing how we waited until the night before to pack we didn't get much sleep before or after that. I actually started getting really sick the week before and this lack of shuteye made me go from feeling kind of icky to feeling like complete garbage. Thankfully we got up on time and were out of the house by 5:30 am with Tim driving first, giving me a chance to sleep all the way through Wichita. 10 1/2 hours, 679.1 miles, 3 bananas, 5 books, 72 children's songs, ZERO meltdowns and one stop at a McDonald's play place later we were safely in Colorado. We were all really excited to see Grandma Karen, Grandpa Rick and Great-grandma Pat, along with Chrissy and Jason and their new puppy, Remy. The first thing we did was open presents, and of course Brenden's favorite was his new slide/swing combo. I was a little nervous at first that he wouldn't understand how to climb up the "rock wall" part but I forgot that he has no fear and he pulled and kicked his way up like a pro. After driving all day and then watching a terrible Oklahoma State bowl game we called it an early night.

The next day I'm not sure exactly what happened before 11 am. I was in a stuffy-headed coma and didn't get out of my pajamas until at least 5:30 pm. When I finally heaved myself out of the fluffiness of the comforter I found that Karen and Pat had already made meatloaf and all day potatoes. (If you haven't had Karen's meatloaf, you are missing out! I'll share the recipe on here someday. I think it feeds 10 people...or 2 people for a week, both lunch and dinner.) I did get up in time to help make a few perogis, both potato/cheese and cabbage/sausage, which were delicious. However, I missed my child's first time gambling on grandpa's slot machine, and beginner's luck seems to have been on his side. He hit a 600 nickel jackpot! Apparently he was still so worked up about his new found love of levers that he didn't want to go to sleep for his nap. Instead he found a way to start taking apart the crib by pulling out the slats. He won't climb it, he'll just tear himself a hole! Down came the crib, up went the pack and play. After an already eventful day we still had New Year's Eve to look forward to. Karen and Rick's friends Kim and Mark came over to celebrate and we all stuffed our faces on the previously mentioned foods and some yummy crab legs that Jason brought over. Halfway through Rainman Brenden woke up and when I went back to put him back to sleep, I fell asleep as well. Only 27 years old and falling asleep at 10:30 pm on New Year's. So sad! Tim didn't make it until midnight either, which made me feel slightly better.

On New Year's day we were all ready to get out of the house. We wanted to drive by our home in Colorado Springs and I wanted to catch up with my friend Michelle, so we all loaded into the car for a jaunt down I-25. After a short stop in Castle Rock at the outlets (Yay for spending $20 and getting 4 pairs of pants, a pair of shorts and a shirt for Brenden!) we headed to Old Chicago's to meet Michelle. It was awesome to get to see her and Brenden had a great time watching videos on her cell phone of their new puppy. After a quick drive by of the house, which looks great, we headed back to Parker for movies and hot chocolate.

Friday we planned a trip to the Children's Museum of Denver and then dinner at Magianno's. We weren't sure how much Brenden would be able to do at the museum, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that most of the lower floor was dedicated to babies and toddlers. Brenden enjoyed running around on the various obstacles, going down the slide by himself, and the little town with all sort of things to push, pull, twirl, and carry. After almost 2 hours of nonstop fun, we decided to head to the restaurant. I would definitely recommend everything we had to eat, from the fried zucchini to the stuffed mushrooms, to the clams that I was able to sample off of Pat's plate. What I wouldn't recommend is mentioning that we hoped the stuffed mushrooms were seafood free since Tim is allergic to the crab they sometimes shove in there. They were totally fine, but the humongous, bald chef that came barrelling out at us to loudly exclaim that we needed to let him know beforehand about allergies scared us to death. He was worried that something may have been cross-contaminated and that Tim would be out in the restaurant having a fit after eating his pasta. We eventually explained that he was not THAT allergic, but that he couldn't eat most shellfish and we thanked him for his concern. FYI: if you have an allergy please tell them. They take it seriously.

Saturday we had planned on going to Park Meadows mall to meet up with my friend Leigh and then to the Botanical Gardens to see their Festival of Lights. By the time we headed toward the mall the first snowflakes of many had already began to fall and we figured we would just spend more time wandering aimlessly inside where it was warm. Even though it was a short visit it was great to see Leigh, who Brenden took to immediately. She definitely gives off a "grandma" vibe, or maybe he remembers she was the first person to let him use a straw. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, with Karen and I finding a few very cheap, very cute purses and some more clothes for Brenden. By the time we were done most of Denver was a winter wonder land. The roads weren't icy, but we were concerned about the long drive the next day.

Sunday morning we woke up at 4:45 am with Brenden's feet wedged between my shoulders. I guess he woke up in the middle of the night and just came to bed with us. Since we packed the car the night before we were out the door at 5:15 am to brave the foot of snow and all of the drivers that think 4 wheel drive means they don't need to go any slower. By the time we got on the main road it was clear and Tim said that the roads were dry after we hit Burlington, CO. (I wouldn't know...I was yet again passed out.) We made it all the way to Salina, KS, before Brenden got too restless and we found another McDonald's play place to let him stretch his legs at. This one was not nearly as nice as the one in Hays, which is where we stopped on the way out. It had a stench of dirty diapers and a ton of unsupervised children, one of which was a little 4 year old girl who decided Brenden was part of the toys. She kept trying to lift him up but only succeeded in falling over with him a few times, which he was not enjoying. If another child came near them she would scream at them that SHE was his only friend and they couldn't touch him. We saved him from her clutches and strapped him back into the car to make the rest of the trip home. It took 11 hours on the way back, which is still an improvement over the 13 hours it took to get to Oklahoma in May. The most important part was another meltdown free drive. Hallelujah!

Somehow we managed to find the energy to unload the car and even unpack some of the suitcases that night, which made me feel extremely productive. That is until one of our circuit breakers blew up. It seems half the house is on the one breaker, so while Tim went to Lowe's I gave Brenden his bath with a candle and 2 flashlights pointed at the ceiling. It wasn't until we went to put Brenden on our bed to read him a story that Tim realized we had NO milk, not even 2%, in our fridge. We thought we could fool Brenden with some water for one night, but he's not dumb and refused it completely. So back out Tim went to Walgreen's for some milk. It was a crazy end to a very busy week, but we couldn't imagine the holidays any other way.

Pictures here!