Skeeter Syndrome

Well. I've officially been surprised by the illnesses my kids are capable of getting. 

Yesterday morning, Sydney woke up with a huge welt on her arm. It wasn't bothering her and she was acting normal, but it was just weird. It didn't look like a bug bite like what she had had the week prior so it concerned me. It was very soft and her arm was swollen. 

This picture doesn't really do it justice but gives you an idea of what I was looking at.

So, you guessed it, we were back at the ped. While there, we actually found 2 more spots on Sydney, but these were different looking. Much like the original bite a week ago with an elevated hard patch.

Back of her leg.

Turns out, Sydney has something called Skeeter Syndrome. And, that is a real thing. I looked it up because it sounded so ridiculous. But, alas, my little Syd is allergic to mosquitos. For these welts, we are treating with antibiotic since they didn't immediately respond to Benadryl. My ped worried about her getting a staph infection.  While her bumps were swollen and appeared to be infected, she was typical Sydney. Happy and silly.

Sigh. After this round of antibiotics, we have to start being really hyper-vigilant about taking her outside in these summer months when mosquitoes are prevalent. She can go out, we just need to make sure her skin is covered or she's wearing bug spray. Meh. 

Side note: Guess what the treatment is for infection? Sulfa. I am HIGHLY allergic to sulfa. I cannot even touch it. So now, I'm more worried that she's going to have an allergy reaction to the antibiotic. It is ALWAYS something, isn't it?

Random funny story. The ped circled her bites to see how they responded to the medicine. We were hoping they decreased within the circles and didn't expand outward. So she had to walk around with her circles all afternoon.  At Madeline's swim lesson a parent came up to me and asked if Sydney had a sticky tattoo on her arm. Um, no. My poor Sydney girl. I'm so grateful she's in good spirits though!

In Maddie news, she swam by herself again this week. She came down the slide and swam, face in water, over to the ladder. Several times! So proud of her!

Yesterday while Sydney napped, I got out some tangrams I had bought for Maddie- remember those? She really enjoyed these little puzzles. 

Next up: Vacation!

House of Boom! and Father's Day!

On Friday I took the girls to a new place, House of Boom, for their kid jump. My friend Megan had recommended it and I was anxious to try the trampoline park. The girls walked in and were in awe.

There were trampolines everywhere! And foam pits, and a trapeze, and a Ninja Warrior Course, and dodge ball and basketball...and they were playing Frozen music...pretty much heaven!

 I wish this picture wasn't blurry...because Sydney's face says it all. She LOVED this place. Sydney loves to jump. She can already fully jump with both feet lifting of the floor. Maddie didn't reach this milestone until 2 and a half...but we all know Sydney has never met a gross motor skill she couldn't master. 

Maddie tearing it up on the Ninja Warrior Course.

 This was the only obstacle she could do on the course. And me too--haha! It was pretty tough. I mean who can jump from one pole to another without any foot rests? Crazy people.

Now some people use these wall trampolines for flipping. My girls used them for slides.

Getting her game on.

Maddie about to walk the tight rope.

We had a blast. The Kid Jump was perfect because it was just for 6 and under and their parents. We were all sweaty after the hour.

After Kid Jump, we worked on our Father's Day gifts.

First we made some stepping stones for daddy and the grandpas.

Then we made them handprint cards.

Sydney refused to let me paint her hand. She wanted to do it all by herself and threw a huge fit until I let her do it.

Finished product.

Saturday night, we met some friends at the Norton Commons pool. They have a fantastic zero entry pool that Sydney loved.

Catching up with Sherri while the kiddos play!

Sunday we had a great Father's Day. We spent the afternoon with both sets of grandparents. I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of all of the dads! We were too busy eating and swimming I guess!

Chris is the rock of our family. He's steady and unwavering and a fantastic daddy and husband. We love you daddy!

Sydney's Spider Bite

On Sunday I noticed a little red rash on Sydney's leg. It looked like on of her eczema patches so I wasn't too concerned. Monday morning I noticed she had a hard hard knot on her leg under the rash. I had my mom come look at it because it was really weird and I wanted to make sure it wasn't a tumor. She told me it was a bug bite. Nothing to worry about...until later that night we saw a ring had developed around it.

I asked Dr. Google and then diagnosed her with a brown recluse spider bite...or Lyme disease. So I had a small panic attack and texted my pediatrician friend at 10 pm. She wrote me back that yes, Sydney did need to be seen but that it could wait until morning.

Mind you, we had JUST been to the ped on Friday because girlfriend was wheezing. She had a cold and need a few rounds of albuterol to get her back in tip top shape. So, four days later we are back. 

Side note: The doctor just laughs at me now. I told Sydney that there are four of us in the family and she doesn't have to hit our deductible all by herself....but my goodness, she pretty much did it these last few months.

 But, I digress. Anyways, turns out, Sydney was bitten by SOMETHING and just had a really "impressive" reaction to it. Because she has sensitive skin, she might just have little reactions in the future. As long as it doesn't get infected, a topical ointment (as opposed to antibiotic) was all the treatment she needs. Fortunately, it seems to be getting better.

That Sydney is such a little trouble-maker!

And yes, her hair might actually be white blonde. She is getting more and more hair and it's getting lighter and lighter. At first, I thought she was going to be brunette (and maybe even look like me!) but no...

In other news, Maddie's swim lessons are going great. She swam face in water this week! Here she is holding on to Mr. Dexter but after this, she let go, and was swimming on her own for a few seconds. Hopefully by the end of summer she will be a little fish!

Carla's Wedding

Saturday night, Chris and I headed out for the wedding of one of my girlfriends, Carla. Carla and I met at Humana seven years ago when we worked on the same team. I've talked about my "work girls" before; even though we are all on different teams we still meet once a month to catch-up. 

My mom came over to watch the girls and Chris and I headed downtown to Copper and Kings Distillery for the wedding. It was so fun!!

Ashley came in town from Texas! So excited for her to move to St. Louis soon!! 

Chris and I ignoring Lauren photo-bombing us.

Enjoying drinks and guacamole on the patio while Carla and Joel take pictures.

Our original work team all together again!

The cake topper read "Finally" since Carla and Joel have been dating for years! :)

Getting ready to eat dinner - the girls sat together...

So the other side of the table looked like this.

Back to the patio to enjoy the sunset!

Such a fun night celebrating Carla and Joel. My mom got the girls to bed and even helped me catch up on some laundry - thanks mom!!

Sweet Summertime!

We are having so much fun enjoying summer!

Before our Gatlingburg trip, we met up with Soley and her siblings at Noah's Ark at her church. 

Maddie lending a hand to Sydney.

Friends!

Kyle and Danielle were having a staycation this week so we went over and visited their pool with them!

They have a regular size pool and then a baby pool that's about 8 inches and perfect for our little kiddos!

Maddie was the only one in her dance class and loved her private lesson with Ms. Audra!

Then, it was back up to AAK for swim lessons. My little sidekick loves having a snack while watching her big sis swim.

Goodness, she's a sweet girl.

On Friday, we were back to All About Kids (see a trend here? They may need to give me a bed this summer) for a play date with Kaylen and Avery. Kathryn was in town for Carla's wedding (post to come) and we love getting the girls together.

Maddie and Kaylen in line for the rope swing.

This picture cracks me up. Sydney didn't even know what she was in line for, but she just got right in. 

Taking a break to catch up with Avery.

Of course she loves the balance beam. She's actually quite good at it. 

This weekend we celebrated Soley and Mya's birthdays!

Getting her balloons for the water balloon fight.

How cute is this?

I also got to have brunch with some of my grad school class mates. Because my Master's is in international commerce and diplomacy, I don't get the opportunity to see my buds much. Joel just finished a job at the White House, Kim and Josh are in El Salvador and Sean is in Australia. They are everywhere! 

Finally, Maddie got her fancy clothes on and headed to our church for the Father Daughter Tea. She is soooo excited. She asked Chris if he would wear his "wedding clothes." Haha.

She was cheesing so hard!

All set to go!