We Have A Verdict: Egg Whites

This morning we went to visit the allergist, Dr. Grijnsztein (Green-stein), to discuss Leah's suspected egg allergy. She was just as excited to see him as she was Dr. Sherman last week. When he walked into the room she said "nice to meet you". Such a sweet, polite girl! We gave him her history and he wanted to do a skin test for egg whites and egg yolks. It was super simple. Four little pricks on her back that she didn't seem to mind a bit. She got to play in the waiting room with the fun school bus for 15 minutes for the test to run its course. Of the pricks, one was egg whites, one egg yolks, and two were control pricks (remember back to your fun biology classes). Of the control pricks one was guaranteed to make hives and the other was guaranteed to do nothing. Just a few minutes into the test and we could already see two of the pricks starting to swell up, one being one of the control pricks and the other one of the eggs. I couldn't remember which prick was which egg part but I just knew it was egg whites! Ding! Ding! Ding! It is now official! Leah is allergic to egg whites. He made us feel so much better about it, though, saying that this is the number one childhood allergy and that she will most likely outgrow it. He said she has what they consider a mild case with nothing happening internally and not requiring having an epipen on hand. He said the key to her outgrowing the allergy is to avoid eggs completely, even when they've been processed such as in baked goods (chocolate chip cookies, for example). The quicker her body avoids eggs altogether, the quicker her body will begin to accept them. He said that since her case is mild we don't have to read labels in order to avoid eggs but to avoid them as best we can. This means for sure no royal icing, scrambled eggs, french toast or omelets but the occasional piece of chocolate cake or baked good won't be the end of the world.

Waiting PATIENTLY for Dr. Grijnsztein. Thank goodness for videos on the cell phone!

One thing he wants us to be very careful with is her flu shots because of the egg protein that they contain. From now on she will receive all flu shots at the allergy clinic where they will do a quick skin test before giving her her shot.

Egg whites in the top left corner and the control prick on the bottom right. Bless her heart!

One thing I thought was interesting was that one of the first questions he asked us was if she had eczema. She doesn't right now but did when she was younger. He said that you never ever find a child allergic to eggs who doesn't have eczema. Interesting!

Playing Catch-Up

I wish that I was a better blogger! I LOVE to get on and read other people's blogs but just can't seem to keep mine up-to-date! Here's a quick recap of our week!

Monday afternoon Leah and I went to run lots of errands. We went to Staples to print off her birthday Thank You's and went to grab a quick bite to eat at Chick Fil A while we waited for them to be printed. I became "that mom" at Chick Fil A. Leah was playing on the play structure with a little boy just a little older than her and they were having a grand time. Then two siblings came in to play with no guardian in sight. The boy was little but the girl looked way too old to be playing in there. These two were running around like crazy chasing each other or something and the girl ran right into Leah and knocked her flat on her back. In my most motherly/teacher voice I told the little girl that she did NOT need to be running around like that when there were little kids playing. I was furious! Leah only cried for a second and then wanted to continue running and playing but I snatched her up and said we were leaving! I scared the girl to death but she needed to know that her behavior was not acceptable! I swear, some parents just let their kids run wild! I just don't get it! The mom did come in to see what was going on but didn't apologize for her child's behavior at all! She totally tried to change the subject and was talking to Leah about her dress or something silly like that. Argh!

On Monday evening we went to meet Ms. Trish, Leah's new preschool teacher. That's right! Leah is heading to preschool! She'll go on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays each week just as she does now to Ms. Pam's. Ms. Trish runs an accredited preschool program out of her home and came HIGHLY recommended. She rarely has openings (she only takes 8 kids max) so we took full advantage of the one she did have! Leah fell in love with her immediately as did Luke and I. She is going to have so much fun at preschool and will learn so much. She'll be the youngest in the group but will have no trouble fitting in as advanced as she is. She already knows all of her basic skills (colors, numbers, letters, shapes) so she won't stand out as the youngest. Ms. Trish was extremely impressed with how well (and how much) she talks and knows so she is definetely ready for preschool! They go on lots of fun field trips, have lots of outside time, make lots of fun projects and have a very structured, scheduled learning-filled day. When I walked in and saw the gigantic bookshelves filled with books I was sold! She will "lub" it! Her first day will be the Tuesday after Labor Day. It was hard giving Ms. Pam our two-weeks notice but she completely understands and knows that Leah is developmentally ready for preschool. We promised her that Leah will still come and play on Thursdays when I have appointments and that she will get to watch our next baby (whenever that may be)!

Tuesday was my monthly girl's night with dinner out with the girls. This month we ate at Onespeed. We had the best pizza! I must admit, though, this was by far the LOUDEST restaurant I think I have ever been to! Holy smokes! When I came home Leah had a little surprise for me.....the cutest, sweetest pink little toes I ever have seen! Ms. Pam gave Leah her first pedicure at daycare!

The hilight of our Wednesday was our after dinner trip for ice cream! This is one of the things I will miss most once summer is over! We usually ride our bikes to Cold Stone but this night we drove to Baskin Robbins. Cold Stone is way too expensive, I've decided! Plus, I love me some Jamoca Almond Fudge! Leah doesn't care as long as her ice cream is pink!

On Thursday Leah and I didn't leave the house and let me tell you, it was amazing! We haven't had a lazy day like that in FOREVER (and I don't see another one anywhere in our near future)!

Last night Nora came over to babysit while Luke and I went out to dinner at Lucca. It was so good! Luke had the salmon and I had the short ribs. Leah had lots of fun with her babysitter. They went to the park, went to visit Nora's puppies, ate zoo chicken pasta that I threw together for them and had rice krispie treats for dessert. Leah LOVES Nora so much so she was a very good girl for her! She loves her so much that she saved her one poop for the day for Nora! Now that's love! Ha!

Our week ahead is going to be busy but we won't mind a bit because we're heading to Tahoe for the weekend!

Daddy's Birthday Weekend

The past few weekends have been crazy busy for us and this weekend was no exception! Saturday morning I had girls over to plan a baby shower that we're throwing in October. (I can't give any more details than this! Sorry Christina!) Here's where I must brag on my husband.....he went to get us all bagels, made coffee that was a huge hit and entertained Leah while we planned for four hours.....all on his 33rd birthday! We had planned on spending the afternoon at the lake but it turned out to be freezing cold on Saturday. The high for the day was 75 degrees! Crazy! Instead, birthday boy and Leah took a nap while I went and attempted to print off Leah's birthday thank you notes. I say attempted because Staples color copier was out of commission. I was not happy but what could I do! This is at the top of my to do list tomorrow! We had steaks and potato casserole for dinner. Yumm!

Today was much warmer with a high of 86 so off to the lake we went. Our friends Jason, Lindsay and Zoe joined us and we had so much fun! Zoe was the perfect beach baby just digging in the sand with her buckets and shovels. Leah was the perfect dare devil running back and forth to the water, filling up buckets of water to dump all over the place and trying to keep her Mommy and Daddy on their toes! She had THE BEST time! She even got to ride the jet ski with her Daddy! She is in for one sweet treat Labor Day weekend! :)
Tonight for dinner, Jason, Lindsay and Zoe treated us to Chicago Fire.....the best pizza outside of Dubuque, Iowa! We went early so that our frumpy lake attire wasn't too frowned upon! The girl's were on their best behavior and the food was yummy as always! We ended dinner with chocolate chip pizza and a serenade to the birthday boy! Thanks again Harnes! We can't wait for our weekend getaway to Tahoe!

Two-Year Check-Up

Today Leah and I went to visit Dr. Sherman for her two-year check-up! I was really nervous about taking her by myself but she was THE BEST little girl! She was so excited to go visit Dr. Sherman. She talked about it all last night and this morning before her appointment. She let the nurse measure her with no trouble at all and let Dr. Sherman do all of his little checks without batting an eye! When the nurse called her back she said "Hi Dr. Sherman" just like they were good buddies. I don't think they've ever had a patient come in that was so extremely excited to see the doctor! The doctor was extremely impressed with her vocabulary and chitter chatter. I swear, she talks like she's five, not two! She loved looking at the book that was in the exam room and asked her favorite question over and over as she flipped the pages and pointed at the characters....."Who's that? Who's that? Who's that?" Dr. Sherman and I came up with as many different names as we possibly could for the characters in the book! We discussed her suspected allergy to eggs and are now being referred to a pediatric allergist for further testing. Part of her conversation with Dr. Sherman went like this....."listen to Rob Thomas in the car. Rob Thomas play guitar." I was so embarrassed!
She did have to get two shots today. I didn't want them to be a surprise so I told her that it was going to hurt for a minute but that she was tough. Well, they hurt BAD but just for a minute. The nurse told her that the band-aids were stickers when she put them on after each prick. After her shots the nurse asked her if she wanted a sticker for being a big girl and Leah told her "no. stinkers hurt". I guess the nurse shouldn't call band-aids stickers! I wouldn't want one either if I thought a shot was involved! She did change her mind, though, when she saw the basket of real stinkers! Her arms have been fine tonight but when her Daddy asked her about her shots she got a little pouty and said "Dr. Sherman hurt" and grabbed her arms. Poor thing! I wonder if she'll love Dr. Sherman next visit as much as she did today!

Here are her stats:

Weight: 27.4 lbs (50%)

Height: 34" (50%)

Head Circumference: 48.5 cm (75%)

Right now she's on track to be 5'4"! Sounds about right!

On our way out after her shots, she discovered the toys in the waiting room. She DID NOT want to leave. The only thing that made her change her mind was that I told her she could push the buttons in the elevator! Thank goodness for the elevator!

Leah's 2nd Birthday Party: Part 3 (FINAL)

Leah's favorite part of the party.....being the

center of attention as we all sang "Happy Birthday", blowing

out her two candles and making her wish!

Leah was very greatful for all of her gifts!

And finally, party favors for all of her friends! The girls got a hairbow to match Leah's, a zebra crayon roll bag with their name on it (thanks to Mimi) and a zebra bath pouf!

Star Studded Weekend

Only one word comes to mind when I think about the weekend away that Luke and I had.....AMAZING! We packed our bags on Saturday morning and headed to San Francisco! I LOVE this city and wish that we made more frequent trips there. Anyways, we left Elk Grove around noon, stopped for lunch at Bistro 33 in Davis for the best french dip sandwich ever then headed into the city.

The first thing on our agenda was to figure out where to have dinner. We had originally planned to have dinner at Cafe Claude but when we got to Hotel Nikko we started looking through the dining guide in the room and saw that Tyler Florence had just opened a restaurant so we thought we'd give it a try. We called for reservations but they had been booked for over a month! They did tell us, though, that they had a couple of seats that they reserve for walk-ins on a first come first serve basis. We thought we'd check it out and at least have a drink if nothing else. I packed up my heels and off we walked. We got a little lost along the way but finally arrived at Wayfare Tavern. When we walked in we couldn't believe our eyes.....Tyler himself was cooking up a storm in the kitchen and there were two seats open at the bar! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of fried chicken, macaroni-and-cheese, french fries, salad and popovers. While we were eating the bartender was getting drinks ready for a party. Apparently this was the week of SF Chefs with big foodie events going on in Union Square. Well, the after party was being held at Tyler's restaurant that night. It was set to start at 10 pm and everyone had to have tickets to get in (and were being checked off of a guest list). We asked the bartender if we needed to leave at 10 since we weren't on the guest list and he just smiled and said "If you're here, you're here. We're not gonna kick you out." Well, 10:00 rolled around, the party started and we were there and weren't going anywhere! The party was complete with Food Network hosts, food industry people who all seemed to know one another, Tyler cooking up a storm and an open bar! The night just kept getting better and better but the first highlight was when we went downstairs and there were two open seats right at the kitchen where Tyler was cooking. We sat down and before we knew it, Tyler was bringing out fried chicken, deviled eggs and mac-n-cheese. He even folded napkins to hand to us himself! :) We were stuffed but had to keep eating as to not insult the chef! Ha! We totally had to play it cool so that we looked like we belonged there! Me working in the wine industry totally came in handy on this night! That was definetely my conversation piece with everyone I talked to! As if this wasn't wonderful enough, at the end of the night Tyler changed out of his chef attire and when he came walking by I asked him if I could get a picture with him! Of course he said "YES"! Luke had a little trouble and fumbled with the camera which was totally embarrassing but Tyler was a gentleman and didn't mind a bit! All I can say is WOW! Of course, I didn't have my good camera on me, but at least I had one!

As if this didn't make for an exciting enough weekend, on Sunday we had a fabulous brunch at Foreign Cinema (from a recommendation we got at the party the night before) and then headed to Mountain Winery in Saratoga for an evening with my all-time favorite singer in the whole wide world.....Rob Thomas! This was a benefit concert that Rob put on for his charity, Sidewalk Angels Foundation. This was my third time that I've seen him in concert and this time blew all of the others out of the water. It was the best concert I have ever been to! It was a tiny venue, maybe 1,000 people if even that if I'm guessing correctly, set out under the stars at this winery on top of a hill. It was gorgeous (cold, but gorgeous)! You could see the entire South Bay all lit up at night. As if the view wasn't enough, the concert was incredible. It was just Rob and two other guys and was all acoustic. Rob sang, played the guitar and piano for two straight hours, no intermission. Before every song he told the story behind it. It was so so intimate. Like I said, this was my third time to see him in concert and no words can describe how amazing it was. It was well worth the $500 plus I paid for the tickets! I would have paid ten times this! I'm not kidding! The money all goes for a good cause which makes it even better (that and we can write it off with our taxes)! The crowd consisted of a bunch of 30-something couples so it wasn't your typical wild concert crowd. It was so so nice! The only thing that could have made it better was to meet Rob himself! Maybe next time! This will definetely not be my last Rob Thomas (or Matchbox 20) concert! This would have been my fourth time to see him, but the last time he was within driving distance of me I was giving birth! That's the ONLY thing that stopped me (that and the doctor told me NO)! So, I've now seen him in three different states.....Texas, Nevada and now California! I tried taking my nice camera into the concert but they made us take it back to the car! I snuck in my old one so the pictures are TERRIBLE!
None of this would have been possible without the help of my family! They flew out on Friday just to keep Leah for the weekend so that we could enjoy our weekend away. We can't thank them enough!

Leah's 2nd Birthday Party: Part 2

We had lots of fun with our friends and family at the party!

We enjoyed lots of yummy food at the party!

Yummy vanilla, chocolate and strawberry cupcakes topped off with a zebra cake!

For lunch we served hot dogs (grilled by Papaw),

chips and dips, fruit kabobs and Minnie Mouse pasta salad!

Drinks included cherry limeade, pink lemonade and

the most adorable personalized water bottles!