One Year and a Month

Kendall is now thirteen months and is growing at an alarming rate and doing so many new things just about daily. I figured it was time for me to record all her "favorites" at this stage so one day when I'm old(er) I can look back and remember how my little baby was at this age.

Kendall still LoVeS to eat! Just about everything is her favorite, especially any kind of fruit. But she also eats alot of squash, (soy)cheese sandwiches, (soy)yogurt, and spaghetti. And she wants whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating. A few weeks ago I made Kendall a plain cheese quesadilla since we were eating a mexican casserole that had all kinds of spices and stuff in it. No doing. She insisted on having the casserole and she ate it up. And she'll tackle you down for some honey grahams as well.

Kendall has figured out what a phone is for and likes it. We ended up giving her one of Gabe's old cell phones and she toted it around (taking time out of her busy schedule to send a few texts and take a few calls) for three solid days. And whenever my phone rings she puts her hand to her ear. And when I answer it she wants to talk to whoever is on the other end. Papa even lets her explore his Blackberry. (Thanks.)

Kendall has learned the art of getting on and off. She'll spend more time proudly mounting and dismounting her rocky-zebra than she will actually riding it.

Kendall and Sophie are quite the buds these days, especially when Kendall is on her tip-toes reaching into her high chair after meals to retrieve any fallen bites and feeding them to Sophie. I just tell myself that she will me a neat-freak like her Mommy.

Like I said, she likes to eat. Anything. She just polished off some ravioli here.

And Elmo is still all the rave around here. (Good thing if you read her birthday party blog.) She is so proud of her Elmo slippers that Mommy fished out of the closet shelf as an early Christmas present. Hey, it was cold.

For the first hour, she couldn't walk because all she could do was point to them. She wanted to make sure you noticed how cool they are.

And Kendall loves riding her princess car that beeps and plays all kinds of music. She's learned how to go forwards and backwards, and is getting pretty good on her turns. Daddy can teach her how to drive this one, but I reserve the rights for the real thing.

Once again, her trademark smile...


Kendall is now walking all over the place and keeping Sophie on the run. And her new favorite thing to do is shake her head when she is told, "No". The other day we were at our good friends' house for dinner. Kendall was caught feeding Lucy, their poodle, from her high chair. (Don't know WHERE she got that idea!!) Lee promptly told her that Lucy is NOT fed from the table in his house. A minute later Lucy came around again for some more, and Kendall shook her head no at her. Too cute!

Kendall is growing by leaps and bounds, and I am so proud to be her mommy. And one day I'll look back at these blog entries and think, "Ah, yes, I remember those days..."

It Is What It Is

We successfully managed to hold off on the Zyrtec this week and make a second trip back to the allergist for the skin tests. Kendall's results came back as expected. She's moderately allergic to eggs, and slightly allergic to milk. The allergist was hopeful that the milk allergy would turn up to be nothing but that wasn't the case. Oh well. The bottom line is, NO egg, NO milk, and stay away from dairy, especially cheese. She'll be retested at age four to see if hopefully she has outgrown the allergies by then. Until then, special diet for Kendall. Sigh. I was hoping "special diets" in our family were a thing of the past. (I was on NO sugar NOR refined carbs for two years since my insulin levels were affecting my fertility.) So sadly we are not newcomers to the whole diet thing. But it is what it is. And I am not going to wallow in self pity or anything like that. It could be much worse, and I'm just thankful that it's not. In the grand sceme of things this is just not a huge deal. And if anything, Kendall will be eating healthier because of it.

We made our first trip to the local health food store today. I loaded up on eggless mayo, soy yogurt (she LOVES the stuff, thank goodness), soy ice cream (tastes like cardboard so we'll see), soy cheese (looks just like kraft singles, but doesn't QUITE taste the same), soy cheese frozen pizza, cheeseless ravioli, dairy free Cookie Monster blueberry frozen waffles (that CEO was a freaking genius to hook up with Sesame Street. The characters are on all the products from waffles to crackers and I'm in trouble if Kendall sees them) and dairy-free mac-n-cheese. I realized just how awesome our local Kroger is, as if I wasn't totally a fan already. The over-priced (qualifying for highway robbery) tree-hugging, whale-saving, we-don't-use-plastic-bags -so-bring-your-own (um, all my Kroger bags are being used right now to haul off poop diapers to the LANDFILL), all-natural, organic, health-food store didn't really have a whole lot more (except for the mayo and ice cream) than trust ol' Kroger. I can just send Gabe on his lunch break every once in a while for a thing or two. Our Kroger rocks, having an entire organic section to the store that is just about as big as the health food store we went to.

And I've done some research on how to substitute eggs and milk in cooking and baking, so we'll see how that all works out as well.

All I can say is I hope Kendall outgrows this quickly, for her sake and Gabe's. This diet could break the bank! It'll for sure put a hinder on my coupon-clipping, The Grocery Game shopping. Oh well, I don't bat an eye. After all, she's my baby and there is nothing I wouldn't do for her. It is what it is...a mom's love.


PS. Please don't hate me for being a non-recycle-er. I really do my best to help out. But really, no grocery bags for a mom with a one-year-old??? I'm all about doing my part (small that it is) to reduce trash and waste. But I will happily contribute the the local landfill diaper pile. To redeem myself, I wash clothes mostly on cold, and turn off the water while brushing my teeth and doing dishes. And I shop flea markets.

(Lack Of) Allergy Report

Well, the allergist appointment went well. I got a few answers. Unfortunately he was unable to do the skin testing (which he says is more accurate than blood work) since I had given Kendall Zyrtec that morning. It never occurred to me when she woke up suffering from environmental allergies (just like her Mama, Nana, and Grammy) and was sneezing and had a runny nose and itchy, watery eyes that the Zyrtec would hinder testing for FOOD allergies. I'm done beating myself up and wallowing in self pity, and I have come to the conclusion that most any other mother would have done the same. Our appointment is rescheduled for next week, pending that I don't have to give her any more Zyrtec so that it can be out her system for the required 6-7 days.

The allergist is hopeful per our consultation that the allergies may not be as severe as thought. I'll spare the details of the conversation, but he concluded that though she cannot eat straight egg, there's a hopeful possibility that she-in moderation-can have things with minimal egg in it like cake and cookies, especially if it's cooked which breaks down the protein in the egg. And he's unsure as to if the milk allergy is even high enough to be significant. But until then, we're strictly on NO egg whatsoever, and NO dairy.

SO, all that to say we'll hopefully get all the answers NEXT week.

Pumpkin Spice, Ooh It's Nice!

My mom reminded me of a Weight Watchers recipe for spice cake as we've been creatively thinking of ways Kendall can still enjoy some foods despite this nasty egg allergy. I made this spice cake tonight and it is delicious! If you're looking for a good, guilt-free dessert, this is it!

Ingredients: spice cake mix, a can of pumpkin, a half can of water

Mix the mix, pumpkin and water. Pour in a dish. Cook as the box directions say. That's it! You can even sprinkle it with powdered sugar but I don't think it even needs it. It's delicious! And you're not getting the added fat from the oil and the eggs, and you're gaining the nutrition of the pumpkin. Sounds like a winner to me!

Cluck Cluck, Moo Moo :(

Kendall is the first in our family to be diagnosed with food allergies. Where did this come from??? She has tested positive to egg and milk allergies. I had a motherly intuition last week when she became sick twice in a row after eating scrambled eggs (which she has eaten for months). I'm glad I went with my gut and requested that she be tested. Sure enough...

Her milk allergy is slight and her egg allergy (white only) is moderate. The positive side is that she likes soy milk better than the regular stuff, which I was daily stressing to get the required 12 ounces down her. She gulps this soy stuff (which I happen to agree is MUCH better than cow's milk of which I am NOT a fan either). Supposedly she can still have some dairy, but we go to the allergist later this week for further testing and hopefully I'll walk away with answers to all the questions rambling around in my head. But for the time being I'm playing it safe and I'm not giving her any dairy. I couldn't believe how much soy stuff (yogurt and cheese for example) can be found in the organic section of my favorite grocery store.

Pray for Kendall Thursday that we'll get a good, positive report from the doctor concerning these food allergies. I'll keep you posted.

Scary Stuff??

Scary??? Nah! But awefully doggone cute if you ask me. Kendall begged (ahem) her Gigi for this loving monster costume while out shopping one day. She insisted she would not leave the store until her Gigi bought it for her. Though I find that story stretched and a little hard to believe, I will not deny that (A) Kendall has a strong will and a mind of her own and (B) Gigi has a weakness when it comes to Kendall and especially when it just looks so plain cute.


Here's the full effect so you can judge the cuteness factor for yourself. I especially like the little claws on the feet. Though Gigi would like to believe it's a bug costume, the claws are a dead giveaway that it's not. So we agreed to call it a "love monster" costume. Either way it's adorable.

Now, I'll tell you what is scary. The fact that Kendall loves to rummage around in the kitchen cabinets. She's quite the little meddler. WATCH the glass vases!

Again, a little scary that Kendall has already perfected the art of letting it be known when her rights are infringed upon and her feelings hurt.

Ooh, yeah, scary hair-do kid!

I guess she can be a little scary after all if she wants to.