Anna's Allergy Attack

Saturday did not go as planned.

Anna had just finished her lunch. Bryan was in the living room eating his lunch while watching college football. Of course, Anna HAD to take a bite of his food too. He gave her a pretzel with a tiny bit of hummus on it . . . an amount maybe the size of the end of my finger. She didn't like it; spit it out. Within 30 seconds, she was batting at her mouth, rubbing with both fists. I tried to give her some milk because we thought she was trying to get the taste out of her mouth. She wouldn't take the milk. Since it was her nap time--well, actually 45 minutes past her nap time, I started with the whole nap routine. When she wouldn't stop rubbing her mouth, we gave her 1 mil of Benadryl just in case. She went to sleep quickly. I mentioned to Bryan after I laid her down (she went to sleep while rocking, which is unusual too), that she was breathing hard before she went to sleep. Something just seemed off; I thought maybe she was really tired from all the errands we ran Saturday morning.

Bryan headed to Home Depot, and I sat down to eat my lunch. And thank God I wasted time on Pinterest and didn't get in the shower as I planned. About 30-40 minutes after I laid her down, I heard her make two yelps. Immediately, I knew something was wrong. I entered her room to find her eyes nearly swollen shut with hives all over her face. It seemed her whole face was red. She was rubbing her eyes as hard as she could.

I scooped her up. Found my purse and dumped its contents until I spotted my phone. Called Bryan for the appropriate Benadryl dosage. Administered the medicine. Called Bryan back. I think I said "We're going to the hospital" just as he was saying "Go to the hospital."

While I got her in the car and drove to the ER at Cook's, Bryan called the triage nurse to let him know we were on our way. Thankfully, we live two minutes from the hospital; and thankfully, as I walked in the door with Anna, the registration lady pointed me to triage without saying a word. A nurse was waiting on me at the door, immediately listening to Anna's lungs and air paths. Hallelujah, only "lightly" wheezing. 

We were whisked (literally it felt like "whisked") away to a triage room. In just the 10 minutes it had been since she had the Benadryl, the hives were noticeably better but still there. Bryan arrived at this point. Here's a pic from the triage tent:

We were taken to a room to wait for the doctor. She still looked like this:

Really, the pics don't do it justice. You can't make out the hives and you can't tell how blood-shot her eyes were, not to mention the hives on her arms and legs. Because the Benadryl thankfully stopped the progression of the attack, we didn't see a doctor for a while.

Here's how we passed the time:

This is how she looked when the doctor came . . . way better, but still swollen enough for a epipen and dose of steroids. We had to wait two more hours to see how she reacted to the meds.

She ate a lot. :-) And was sooooo good the entire time. In fact, the only time she fussed was around 5:00 when I know she was starving. It did freak me out at first that she wasn't crying, i.e. when I got her out of the crib and while it was so intense. She wasn't talking, nothing. But thankfully, after about two hours, she started acting like herself--happy and silly.

Around 8ish, we were hoping to get a clean bill of health to go home. But Bryan and I began to notice a rash around her chin and eyes and hives reappearing in her elbow bends. Thirty minutes later, her eyes were swelling again. The doc checked, gave more meds, and told us to wait another hour.

Here's what Anna wants to tell you: "Mom let me watch three shows (Baby Einstein movies) in a row on her computer!"

By 10:30, the doctor felt comfortable for us to leave. And that we did with three prescriptions in hand. Thank God for an end to a really scary, stressful day. And praise God for keeping our Anna safe.

We emailed Anna's pedi after she went to bed, and I was so impressed that he addressed the situation Sunday morning. He's referred us to a couple of allergists. We are definitely having her tested. We'll keep you updated, dear readers. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes!

Much on My Mind

Paint colors: I need new wall colors for 11 rooms, two halls, and a stairwell. Oh, and trim for nearly the whole house . . . and built-in bookcases. Okay, now go.

If only it was that easy, right? Where's my Bewitched nose when I need it?

I have ideas for colors for seven of those rooms and the bookcases too, but the onerous task of actually finding the color in a can that matches the dreams in my mind . . . pray for me. Ha! And then there's this tricky part of wanting all the paint colors to "go" so that my house doesn't look like some Sherwin Williams freak show. Is anyone else as overwhelmed by this?

In this whole remodel process, I've learned something about myself (not a shocker, really). Contrary to popular belief, I DO like design and decor. The problem? I'm too much of a perfectionist. (Cue memories of a parent/teacher meeting with Mrs. Ousley, my first grade teacher. "Emily, we are here to talk to you today so you understand that if you don't get a 100 on every worksheet, that's okay.") Thus, if I can't exactly find exactly what I have in mind, I get overly frustrated, leading me to avoid the whole process.

(Didn't know you were at a counseling session did ya?)

Anyways, a friend is going to help--a friend, mind you, who has a interior design business. Whew! But for what it's worth, we're thinking a gray, green, cream pallet overall. Well, and then I want to paint the playroom a dark teal. See? I'm muddled in colors.

Toddler playtime: And then, I'm struggling with ideas for fun play time with Anna. This all came crowding into my mind when earlier this week, Anna played for more than an hour with leftover ice in a cooler. The girl was in heaven. And it got me to thinking that I need to be more creative about exploratory play with her. She has toys, and that's usually the bulk of our play. I'm trying to introduce some crafts, coloring, but so far she's not interested in much unless it involves stickers. Do you have any ideas to share? No, really, I want to know.

Da, da, dum, discipline: This topic is whirling through my mind as well lately. You read the part about a toddler living at our house so you can imagine discipline is par for the course. It's just that we seem to be in this weird, in-between stage where the firm "no-no" is not quite cutting it, but she's not quite cognitively ready for time-out. Sometimes I can tell she knows she's misbehaved, and other times it's clear she has no idea what I'm trying to tell her because I try to explain why "we don't do this or that." The sentence alone was confusing when I reread it. No wonder she looks at me like I'm speaking French. Ha.

Fabulous five: In less than 60 days, I will celebrate five years of marriage to Mr. Youree. It's cliche, I know, but I can't believe five years have come and gone. While the anniversary is such a sweet day, the reality of this being our fifth makes me a teeny bit sad. If five years have gone by this quickly, how fast will the future be? I want our love to be a slow, long story. Calm down, Father Time, calm down! But what a great reminder to me to hold him tighter, show appreciation, and soak in every day I have with my hubs. Sigh--love him.

18 Months of Bliss

Anna is celebrating her 18-month milestone by fighting off a head cold. Only last week, she was battling an ear infection. Her little stuffy nose and runny eyes are breaking my heart. But I have used this season of illness to indoctrinate her on the wonders of Vicks vapor rub (or is it vapo?). My plan is working; she carries around the jar most of the day. She also is shocking us by sometimes bringing the nasal aspirator (or snot sucker I as call it) for us to use on her. 

Aside for her sickness struggles, Anna Zane is doing well--still growing in maturity and expression faster than I can keep up. She's starting to mimic words. Today I heard variations of ball, cock-a-doodle-doo, "tank ew," uh-oh, whoa, and exaggerated "L" sounds for "love you." 

We've also introduced the big girl potty. (I find myself talking about bathroom matter on what feels like a continual basis.) She's "acclimating" to sitting on the potty but hasn't actually made the connection yet. I have a sneaky suspicion this will take a while. 

Anna is now a fan of Cuties clementines, Annie's trail mix (picks out the pretzels first), sweet potato tater tots, and string cheese is always a favorite. At present, she is cutting her 12th, 13th, and 14th tooth. Bless.

The pics below were taken by a former babysitter. Miss Sammy left us for grad school in Oklahoma--sniff, sniff--but we are delighted for this new chapter in life and feel blessed for having such a dear in Anna's life. She did such a great job capturing some of Anna's classic faces.

Stop Staring! The Hope Cottage Blog

What a treat!

Hope Cottage--Anna's adoption agency or her "special place" as we call it--asked me to guest write on life in a transracial family. There's so much to say because we learn more and more every day, but I simply shared an experience that happened recently.

You can read all about it here: http://hopecottage.org/blog/?p=1048.

I'd encourage you too, to read through other Hope Cottage blog posts and even its website. Knowing more about adoption can only be a good thing! :-)

NashVegas 2012

Anna boarded her second airplane just a couple weeks ago to fly to see Aunt Tina. And what a FUN time she had--and her mama and daddy too. Even more exciting was the art project Aunt Tina had prepared for Anna. It took a couple days to complete because it was that fun and fancy.

Here's Anna's first time finger-painting.

We didn't get to see Uncle Brad much because he was a busy beaver working, but Anna was a fan whenever he was around.

Day two of finger-painting was more enthusiastic. She was getting the hang of it. :-) 

Another highlight of the trip was visiting with dear, dear friends from college. Oh, how I wish we could  "lunch" once a month. 

Auntie Beth, who I haven't seen in 1.5 years! Too long!

My other kiddos and my favorite sister. Miss them. Sigh, wished we lived closer. (Oh, and Kloie too. Anna chased and chased and chased this poor dog.) 

Sisters!

Cousins! 

Cousins again! 

Anna and her Aunt Tina--fast friends 

17 on the 17th

Today Anna is 17-months-old and sporting 10 teeth (the 10th just made its debut this week). Yes, yes, as you'd expect this cliche first-time parent still, I can hardly believe my baby is getting so big--less baby and more big girl every day. Lord help me when I'm typing she's 17 on the 17th!

What's she doing new?

We've decided the best word to describe her at this stage is "demonstrative." And I don't necessarily mean that in a negative sense. :-) She's able to express herself--whether happy, frustrated, mad--better every day. Anna absolutely understands everything you say.

Pretend play is now a daily happening--and I LOVE that! With me, she's really into making her babies have an "uh-oh," i.e. a baby stroller crash, being slung from her arms, etc. And then she rushes over, says "uh-oh" (a phrase we're working on mastering), and then hugs and cuddles with the best comfort you've ever seen. Two minutes later? The whole thing is reenacted. Of course, sometimes the injuries are so severe, a trip to mom for cuddles and kisses are needed. She'll stand there until I'm done with her most concerned face. Too funny.

Anna loves riding any elevator . . . like I cannot explain how much.

She's also a good helper. Any time I use the hand-held vacuum, she MUST get a turn. And the swiffer mop is a favorite. Her sweet, little heart is desperately wanting the strength to be able to use the big vacuum, but that's too heavy at this point. 

Anna still loves music. She still loves food. She still loves "Jesus," her stuffed lamb that plays "Jesus Loves Me."

Below are pictures I took last month, when she was a mere 16 months old. It is a perfect demonstration of how difficult it is to get a good pic of her because she wants the camera so. 

A little snotty. :-) Poor thing does struggle with allergies.

This pose and face is something I see often. Love her.

Fussing caught on camera. To all those nursery workers, see she does fuss.

The Grandparents' Visit

Bryan's parents, hereafter Mimi and Daddy-Pa, visited nearly a month ago. I, of course, am just now posting some pics. Anna had a rip, roaring time with them as you'd imagined. She's even saying "Mimi" now, which you know her grandmother just "hates." Haha.

Just two days after they left, we were at a grocery store. Because we were just going in to get a couple things, Anna was walking along and not in the cart. When she saw a helium balloon, she ran to it. This was the first time she's ever gotten excited about something at a store. I told her to say "please." She said, "Mimi."

Folks, this is what I'm dealing with. Hahahaha.