Happy Birthday, Matelyn!!!

As you know, my dear friend Ginny has a little girl, Matelyn who was born the week before Caroline. It was 1 year ago today that sweet Matelyn Kate was born!!!

Going through our pregnancies and the first year of motherhood together with Ginny is something that I will always treasure. I don't think I can even put into words how special it has been. It has definitely made us closer and it has made everything more fun!

So in honor of Miss Mattie's bday, here's a little walk down memory lane...

See? They were destined to be BFF's before they were born...
Kristin in a preggo sandwich :)

Jun. '08

Together for the first time!
Sept. '08

It was BFF at first sight.
Sept. '08

Taking a snooze (in coordinating Gap outfits, of course)
Oct. '08

Halloween together!
Oct. '08

Tailgate diaper change at BU homecoming (again with the matching outfits!)
Nov. '08

Lounging in our P.J.'s after a rockin' New Year's Eve!
Jan. '09

Playing at Mattie's house
Feb. '09

First lunch date...So much to catch up on!

March '09

Playing at our house
May '09

Kickin' it
July '09

Cruisin' at Chuck E Cheese

July '09

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year!!!
And now KRISTIN is the one with a baby girl on the way!!!!!

July '09

Happy, Happy Birthday to Mattie!!!!!!!
Can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend!!!!!!!

The birthday fun has begun!

Caroline has had quite a bit of excitement over the past week or so...

She got an early birthday present from Mommy and Daddy
She loves it! She crawls in and out, opens and closes the door and window, and dances to the cute little songs.
It's just the right size for her :)

We set up Caroline's birthday present from my mom and Alan
(which took forever...we stayed up LATE getting it done...it was a team effort)

When she woke up Saturday morning she was excited and ready to go!
She ran right over and tried to climb in...
This set came with 100 balls, which sounds like a lot, but as you can see below,it's not. 100 balls didn't even cover the bottom, so we made an emergency run to Toys R Us....never fear, Caroline now has 450 balls in her ball pit :) MUCH more fun!

We went to the zoo with my dad and Sherri!
Caroline really enjoyed seeing all of the animals, even though it was quite hot :)
The train ride was a definite highlight.
She loved sitting with her Minnie!
We'll definitely go back to see all our animal friends again when the weather is a little cooler!

This was our first zoo experience, and the Austin Zoo, while small, was really fun!

Afterwards, we headed to The Salt Lick for lunch. YUUUUUUM.Caroline ate off a plate...such a big girl! And she didn't even attempt to throw it :)


Tomorrow is our birthday photo shoot with Carly...YEA!
and our appointment with the allergist...BOO.

But even more importantly...Tomorrow is someone very special's 1st birthday....

MATELYN!

Caroline's BFF is turning 1 tomorrow!!! We are so excited!
More to come in honor of our special friend...

Caroline's Baby Dedication

Today was Caroline's Baby Dedication at church. It was such a special day for us! We have been so blessed by our church, Austin Ridge Bible Church. The pastor, the church body, EVERYTHING is amazing. We absolutely love, love, LOVE it. We visited A LOT of churches, but I truly feel like God led us here for a reason, and we are so thankful!

Caroline was such a good girl during the service. A little fussy while we were waiting, but once we were called up to the front, she was happy. Could it be that she loved being the center of attention? Hmmmm....I wonder.

My dad and Sherri (aka Papa and Minnie) with Caroline

My mom and Alan (aka Mimi and Papa Al) with Caroline

After church, We headed downtown to Threadgill's for Gospel Brunch.

Adults...$10.95. Kids...$4.95.
The opportunity to enjoy our all-you-can-eat buffet, while listening to a fantastic gospel band? Priceless.

I guess it's one of the perks of living in the live music capital of the world. It was so much fun!!!

Of course, Caroline enjoyed jammin' to the groovy tunes!

(this was post-lunch...she has watermelon juice ALL over the front of her dress :))

Thanks to grandparents for making today so special!

Let the food allergy fun begin!

Well, the results are in....and the verdict is, she's allergic to....

EVERYTHING!

Just kidding (sort of).

We received a call from our pediatrician yesterday, with the results from Caroline's allergy blood test. When the Dr. himself calls (rather than a nurse) you know that can't be a good thing :)

Here is a rundown as I understand it....Get ready, this is going to be LONG and BORING.

They tested her blood for specific antibodies. If these antibodies are present, this indicates a possible "sensitivity" to this food. Based on my Internet research (reliable, I know), I don't think that the presence of antibodies definitively indicates an allergy to the food. It just means there is a chance that you could have an adverse reaction. Apparently, many people who get these positive tests don't actually have reactions when exposed to that food. Of course, the only way to know this for sure is to try it out, which we will not be doing any time soon!

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So, what do the results of these tests actually mean??? I have no idea. We have an appointment with an allergist next Thursday (1 week from today), so hopefully he'll have more info for us then. Until then, we have been advised to avoid all the foods for which she tested "positive" for...SWEET!

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They rank the amount of antibodies present on a scale from 0-6, with anything 4 and over being classified as "very high levels of the specific antibodies." Does a higher number mean a more severe allergy? I don't know. My Dr. gave me the impression that is does, but my ever-dependable Internet research says it doesn't. Again, I am seriously hoping the allergist can tell us more :)

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Here are C's results:

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She got the "All Clear" to eat:

Cocoa, Corn, Crab, Pecan, Pork, Rice, Shrimp, and Tomato (ranked 0 or "absent")

Oat (ranked 1 or "low")

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She can eat minimal amounts of:

Beef, Egg Yolk, and Soybean (ranked 2 or "moderate")

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She has to avoid:

Egg White, Casein, Whey, and Milk (all ranked 3 or "high")

Peanuts and Wheat (ranked 4 or "very high")

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Although the thought of her potentially being truly allergic to all of these things is seriously frightening, I am remaining (somewhat) calm. We meet with the allergist next week, so hopefully he will give us a game plan of how to tackle this.

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I have WAY more questions now than answers, but at least we know now for sure that a majority of her skin problems have likely been caused by what she is eating.

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All this, just in time for her 1st Birthday! Anyone have a recipe for a milk-free, egg-free, peanut-free, wheat-free cake? Mmmm, Sounds delish ;)

Random Happenings...

Caroline has been up to all kinds of funny stuff lately. We truly find her completely hilarious! There is definitely no shortage of personality with her :)

She has learned the word "NO" Ugh! If I tell her "no" or if she just generally doesn't get her way, she will stick out her bottom lip and say, "MO!" Such attitude as such a young age...

She had to get blood drawn for allergy testing which was no fun, BUT we got stickers! She preferred to wear them on her nose. She kept them there all afternoon!

She really loves to help me redecorate. Her favorite items are this tassel and tray. She continually moves them around until she gets it just right... Almost got it...
There. Perfect!

The other day, I went into the bathroom and found this...

A pair of Daddy's dress socks in the toilet. Lovely.

When she sees a cup, she points to it, then opens her mouth and says "Ah." I was laughing about it, and Jon said, "You know she gets that from you, right?" WHAT?!?! Apparently, after I take a drink, I often say "Ah!" WOW. I am definitely learning some things about myself already. SCARY to think what she might be repeating next...

She can make a monkey noise. We laugh and cheer every time she does it, so now she just walks around spontaneously making monkey sounds for anyone and everyone who will listen.

All this monkey-business makes a girl SO tired! Sometimes, we even fall asleep in our highchair...

Sweet sleepy girl! You know she's REALLY tired if she is passing up an opportunity to eat!

Going Private

We have been contemplating this for quite a while, and I have decided it's time...We are making our blog private.

I just feel more comfortable knowing that I can control who is able to see it! It kind of weirds me out to think that anyone in the whole world could be looking at our blog, and know all about our life.

If you'd like to be added to the list, leave a comment with your email address or email me at paigemerickson@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

Lots to Share!

As usual, we had a VERY fun and busy trip to the Big D this past week. Here are a few of the highlights!!

Lake Kiowa

Ginny's Birthday Luau

Chuck E Cheese

Swimming

The Farm

Somewhere in the midst of all this fun I got have dinner with my dear friend Nicole, who I hadn't seen in FOREVER! She is expecting a baby boy, Easton, in October, and I couldn't be happier for her!!!
I also got to swing by to meet Baby Luke! The precious new son of our friends Lance and Melinda. He is so handsome and such a good baby!! I got to hold Luke almost the whole time I was there...Heaven! It was great to catch up with Lance and Mel, too :)
Of course, I have no pictures of either of these events :(

I will say this...We are happy to be home again, because we really missed Daddy!!!! I have a sneaking suspicion he missed us, too :)

I think these 2 were pretty happy to be reunited yesterday...I am just not sure who was happier to see who???

**Please note that our daughter is rocking out a George's T-shirt. She does love George's...I mean who doesn't...right?**

Old Mac Donald had a farm...

In honor of Caroline's newly acquired "Mooing" skills, Mimi wanted to take her to a farm. Luckily, Uncle Paul joined in on the fun, and off we went!

For all the Dallas folks, this place is great! It's located off Renner and Avenue K in Richardson.

First, we got to feed the goats. Uncle Paul thought this was gross.

Mimi was a bit of a "goat whisperer."

Caroline was just amazed by everything!

Look Uncle Paul!!! I see the cows!!!

They are called Zebra Cows because of their stripes. They don't so much look like cows to me...

Next up, our sweet tour guide, Mr. Clifford, took us on a hay ride!Caroline was busy watching the tractor.

We saw ponies, ducks, and geese!

Then we got to see the barn. Caroline's favorite were the potbellied pigs. She practically lunged out of my arms into the pigpen. Gross...they weren't even cute pigs!!!
She also loved the horse, of course.

Our last stop was out back to see the turkeys, chickens, and roosters!
Gobble, Gobble!

Our sweet girl posing one last time before we headed home :)

It was a VERY hot day, but we had so much fun! We'll definitely be back to visit soon!!!!

Little Fishy

We went swimming at the club with Grammy! Bent Tree has a fabulous little baby pool that Caroline absolutely loved. Mimi came along, and Aunt Elizabeth and Cousin Benjamin met up with us, too. Grammy treated all of us to a yummy lunch and we had so much fun playing and splashing in the water!

Mommy appreciated all of Grammy's hard work...chasing Caroline EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!

Caroline loves to swim, take baths, or do anything that involves splashing in the water!!!!