Our Healthy Girl

Well, after a three day run-in with the hives, swelling, blotches, and many other very pleasant things, we are happy to report we are back to having a very healthy little girl!

So, we'll back up and give a weekend report...

This past weekend our little family of three, headed to Iowa to visit family in Dubuque. It was a long journey (about 6 hours in the car) and Anna traveled VERY well. We left on Friday after school around 3:00 and Anna played for a while in her seat with her toys; then she took a little nap before we stopped for supper. We arrived around 9:30 and Anna couldn't have been happier to get out and PLAY! We stayed at my aunt and uncle Jane and Ralph's house and when we got there Anna just played and played and played until well after 11pm. Then came the trouble...sleeping somewhere other than Anna's bed. Uh oh...this has never been an easy thing for her, but after some coercing, we got her to sleep in her pack and play for about 5 hours.

Saturday we spent some time with my grandma (Anna's great-grandma) and saw other aunts, uncles, and cousins. Grandma S and aunt Katie came east as well! We did a little shopping, eating, and Anna even got to go to the gym and play basketball with daddy and aunt Katie and cousins Maggie, Kelly and Abby....

Our future ball player!

Perhaps a two sport athlete?
She likes them both!

Daddy showing Anna the ball...she looked so small next to the basketball.

Crawling on the gym floor. So tiny on that huge court!

Cousin Kelly was riding her scooter...Anna thought that was pretty cool and tried to catch her!

Walking around with Aunt Katie.

Big girl!

After a busy Saturday, Anna was beat...she fell asleep while playing at great-grandma's and didn't even wake up when we put her in, and then back out, of her car seat, laid her in her bed and took her jeans off so she would be comfy. She actually slept about 8 hours in her bed that night. It was a huge relief, as we were scared we would have a sleepless weekend and still have to drive home!

Sunday we got up early, visited a little more with everyone and then headed back north. It was a good drive back, we stopped for a lunch break with Grandma and Grandpa F on the way...they met us on our path. It made for a good stopping point and stretch break before we finished the last two hours.

I should note here, that it was on Sunday morning that we first noticed Anna's spots. There were only a few of them, and they were mostly on the fronts of her legs...little did we know at that point what we would wake up to on Monday morning!

We arrived home, nice and safe, and unpacked and pretty much headed straight to bed. We were all tired and Anna was relieved to be sleeping in her own familiar bed.

Monday morning Brian and I got ready for work; we let Anna sleep in until the last possible minute. At 6:45 we went in to wake her up and were shocked by the little baby covered in spots! I quickly organized a sub for school and got an appointment to see the DR. The DR said it must be a reaction to her amoxicillin she had been put on the week before for an ear infection. He recommended Benadryl and cool baths. So Anna and I went home, followed the directions and had a pretty good day. She didn't seem bothered by the spots, maybe a little itchy, but not too bad. Then Tuesday morning came, I had already planned to stay home because she was running a temp the night before, but hadn't expected we would be on our way back to the DR! She woke up Tuesday morning with MORE spots (we didn't think that was possible) and now she was swollen like a marshmallow! Her ankles, wrists, eyes, everything...swollen. Obviously the Benadryl wasn't doing it's job. So back to the DR we went and they were amazed at her reaction. They said it looks much worse than it is...and suggested we take pictures because it was a pretty "awesome" reaction. We weren't thinking it was so great as parents, but I'm glad they got to see something so "amazing." So onto a steroid we went and two hours later we saw a HUGE improvement! The swelling went down, the spots started to fade...

Wednesday we stayed home one more day just to be sure and things were great. It was really nice to wake up in the morning without a surprise of more spots or swelling, but of less! Other than being very hyper active because of the medication, Anna's back to herself. The poor girl was so miserable Tuesday morning, I cried for her. I was so sad I couldn't help her or fix it!

We are just thankful it wasn't more serious and that we now have a plan and an allergy. We know we aren't to give her anything from the penicillin family. Now when we fill out those medical history papers, we'll have something to write in "known allergies." I'm not sure that's the most exciting thing ever, but we'll just be thankful we know.

Other than that excitement our week has been pretty dull. Today we all went back to daycare and work and are excited that our Monday was really Thursday and tomorrow is already Friday!

This weekend we have a Super Bowl party, but other than that we are relaxing! Yay for a relaxing Saturday!

I have also been wanting to make a little list of interesting facts about Anna...over the past few days I've noted a lot of things that I "should blog about..." So here's some random facts:

1. Anna loves to eat

2. Anna loves to eat off a big person's spoon much more than her baby spoon. She will turn her head away from her baby spoon, but put the same food on a real spoon and she'll gobble it right up.

3. Anna is closer to walking...she's able to stand on her own...sometimes unknowingly, but she's doing it. It's only a matter of time...

4. Anna loves to help unload the dishwasher...although most that she unloads ends up being run back through the dishwasher, but for now we'll tell her she's very helpful.

5. Anna's recently started biting. I'm not sure that it's really on purpose, but when she's tired, grumpy, or crabby she grabs onto your clothes and bites them (or anyting else she can grab) and a few times in the past few days she has gotten skin...and it hurts. Hopefully this is something we are going to get over quickly. I don't want to get kicked out of daycare because we have the biter!

6. Latest food favorites: Spaghetti, macaroni, ham loaf, cottage cheese, provalone cheese, tortilla-cheese roll-ups, graham crackers, fresh pears, tomatoes, apple juice, waffles, pancakes.

7. Latest food rejects: Anything from a "baby" spoon, squash, peas, chicken bites, most baby food "mixes" such as chicken with vegetables.

8. Her weight on Monday (with clothes on) was 22 pounds, 12 ounces.

9. She's getting very tall, not really a surprise.

10. She loves cats, dogs, and all other kids.

11. Anna loves her paci...and probably will for a long time.

12. She loves to play peek-a-boo, and has started pulling the blanket down from in front of our faces to find us.

13. She loves to read. Favorite books include: "Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs," "Sooo Big," "Peep, peep little chick," "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?," "Peek-a-Baby," "Where's my Sweetie Pie?," "That's not my teddy," and "Wooly's Walk." She just loves to listen to us read and she LOVES flap books and touch and feel books. She likes to do the flaps herself and she always has to touch the thistles in "Wooly's Walk."

14. She doesn't have an interest in saying her m's or d's...but she's really good at b...she says booof a lot.

Well, I think that's a good list of things to know about Anna at 8 1/2 months. We have our nine month appointment on the calendar for February 19. We're anxious to see how she's doing!