Has it really been 18 months?

I cannot believe that my baby is 18 months old! She has grown and changed so much it is amazing. B is the most talkative little girl that I know. Most of the time I can understand her but sometimes I think she is speaking Vietnamese. How she became bilingual, I don't know. She also loves to sing. Her favorite songs are The Itsy Bitsy Spider and I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee. She does the hand motions and everything! She weighed in at 24 lbs 6 oz and was 33 3/4". She has gotten taller and thinned out. I think she is built like a Jumper, not a Ketzle. She definitely has my hair and eyes and Patrick's dimples. She is such a cutie and she even knows it! She walks around saying cute all the time because she hears it so often. We saw the GI dr at the beginning of June and she said that B was doing really well. She wanted me to introduce soy and milk again at 18 months and if she reacted then she would refer us to an allergy dr. I introduced the soy milk about a week and a half ago and B broke out in a rash on her chin and her bottom. Her BMs were more frequent and not normal. Today I took her to the allergy dr and they did the skin pricks. She was negative to all the major food allergies. I felt so defeated with that info! It has been such a long road and answers would be great. The dr. said it is probably an intolerance not an allergy. She said to avoid soy for a year and to try milk now and see how she does. I'm praying that she tolerates it so that she can eat some ice cream and yogurt. Oh a happier note Bridgette and I have had a fun summer. We spend out time playing, having play dates, going to splash parks, swinging and climbing at the park, and she beats Puma up all day long. We also took a family vacation to Marco Island, FL in June. We had a fun time. We went with my parents, Jeff, Tiff, Caitlyn and Grant. B didn't really like the ocean but loved the pool! The tropical storm ruined our first few days but once it cleared the weather was beautiful. We didn't see as much wildlife this year due to the storm but we did see dolphins one day. We spent this past weeked in Franklin, TX and our friend's BFE party. We had a great time! Bridgette enjoyed playing with Kassidy and the freedom of the farm. We have three weeks of summer left and they are going to fly by. We are going to enjoy every minute we have together and soak up the sun!

15 months with B

The past 15 months have been awesome! Bridgette is growing into such a fun, intelligent person and her personality is really beginning to show. She definitley talks more than I do and has a big vocabulary. She is now talking in 2-3 word phrases and loves to sing. When she is not talking she is singing. She loves to play outside. She loves bubbles and digging in the dirt. Pepe and Puma have finally learned to tolerate her. She gives them hugs and kisses often and she loves to share her tea with Puma. He is the best at tolerating her roughness. I cannot imagine life without her. She makes everyday worth getting out of bed. At her 15 month appointment she was sick with a horrible virus. She had broken blood vessels all over her backside and ulcers in her mouth. She also ran a high fever for 4 days. It was awful seeing her so sick. Patrick took her to see the doctor and he said it was a long appointment which involved many people having to hold B down. It ended with a trip to the hospital for blood work and to drop off some samples. Test results showed it was the Adenovirus. I had never heard of it either, so you are not alone in that thought. I took her yesterday for her follow up appointment and she weighed in at 24 lbs 10 oz. Big girl, yes she is! She was also 31 1/2" tall. Dr. H said she looked great and was glad to see she was feeling better. We got to finish off our appointment at the hospital one more time for blood work. Blood draw and a 15 month = NO fun! I'm glad it is over and I can't wait to do it again in a month for the GI dr. Stomach update - B is still drinking her Mercedes formula. She has learned to like it. She is vanilla girl and not a chocolate. I'm a little disappointed in that since I am such a chocoholic. She is doing well with her formula and her dairy free diet. Her BMs are normal and she only goes 1-2 a day. Her stomach is also flat, well as flat as it can be for a toddler =) We go back to the GI dr at the beginning of June so hopefully we will have more info then.

Easter 2012

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. It was four day weeknd full of activities. We started the weekend off with a trip to the Arboretum with my parents. Bridgette had a great time looking at the flowers, petting the animals, listening to the concert, having a picnic, running around, and posing for a few pictures. On Saturday we dyed eggs and B had a fun time playing in the water and watching the eggs change color. Sunday was a funfilled day with church with my parents and then dinner with Ketzle family. We had a wonderful dinner and B loved playing with her cousins. Bridgette also loved exploring her easter basket and having an egg hunt. She was more into opening the eggs to see what was inside than she was finding them. We ended our fun weekend with a playdate with Kai. B always has fun playing with her BFF!

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Finally, it is April!

The month of March has been a crazy one. It will full of doctor appointments, an x-ray, blood work and an ER visit. For those that don't know and care Bridgette had 3 weeks of loose stools. We started at our pediatrician and then were referred to a GI dr. We did an x-ray and blood work to hopefully find an answer. X-ray came back normal and blood work showed that B has a low blood count and her celiac count was low. Dr. is not sure what is causing all of this, could be a food allergy or celiac disease. B is back on a dairy free diet and is drinking a special formula. We are still in the waiting process and will probably be referred to a Food Allergist. I'm tired just thinking about it!

Last Tuesday B feel at daycare and spilt her lip open. Patrick came to the rescue and took her to the ER. After a 5 hour wait because they thought they were going to sedate her one of the doctors felt up to the challenge of doing it while she was awake. When I arrived they were stitching her up. She was not happy but they were almost done. 2 stitches later and we were on our way home. About an hour and a half passed and I notice that her lip seemed to be open again. Patrick looked at it agreed. This time I packed a bag of toys, diapers, cell phone charger, etc. After another 5 hour wait B finally fell asleep. 10 minutes after she fell asleep the dr was ready to stitch her up. B slept through the whole thing! 11:30 came and we finally had 2 more stitches and we went home to sleep. Patrick and I NEVER want to have to go through that ever again!

We ended our week with a play date with Caleb at the mall and the church's Easter egg hunt. B had a blast! I cannot believe how much B has grown and changed in 1 month. She loved waving at the Easter bunny but didn't like sitting in his lap. She wasn't sure what to do at the egg hunt but she eventually figured it out. She loved opening the eggs more than she did finding them.

Spring Break

Bridgette had a fun spring break. She and I went to visit some old friends in Knoxville, TN. We both survived the plane ride there and back. It was like wrestling an alligator, but at least it was a happy one. While in Knoxville Bridgette had a few firsts; a picnic, a trip to the zoo, and playing at a gym. She had so much fun playing with Garrett and Taylor! She started walking right before our trip which made everything more fun because she didn't have to crawl everywhere to experience everything.














When we returned to Dallas we had two play dates. On Friday we went to Caleb's house to play. B had a great time playing with Caleb. The highlight was playing outside! Bridgette loved pushing other kids in the buggy. I forgot my camera so unfortunately we don't have any pictures.

On Sunday Kai and his family came over for dinner. B had so much fun playing with her BFF! The pictures say it all.