Seriously? Two?

So, I know I've told the story about how Zoe lost her first tooth by promptly swallowing it while eating lunch.  Well, she did it again!  Mark and I took Zoe to eat after her dance lesson this past Friday night (March 25, 2011).  We went to a place called Cori's Doghouse, which Mark and Zoe love.  I'm not a fan of the ol' hot dog, but I'll suffer through it for them because they both can't eat enough of them.  Anyway, it was while we were waiting for our food that Mark asked Zoe to let him pull her tooth that was loose and sticking straight out at that point.  Zoe, obviously, told him no and started to get upset thinking he would pull it out.  It amazes me that the child can get allergy shots without blinking, but she doesn't want him to pull a tooth that's dangling.  Anyway, she was eating away at her hot dog, said something to Mark and he said, "Zoe, let me see your mouth."  She stopped eating, showed him her mouth and we noticed the tooth was gone.  She had swallowed another one!  Zoe just said, "We'll just write another note to the tooth fairy, Momma!"  And that's exactly what we did!

The Root Girls

I think I've mentioned before that Zoe and Meredith are just about joined at the hip....right?  Anyway, Meredith's mom, Tracie, and I have decided to throw a joint birthday party for the girls since it is their 5th birthday and their last one while still at McKendree together.  Needless to say, this party is getting out of control.  I think Tracie and I are planning the birthday party we absolutely never had.  I don't recall ever having a birthday party other than a sleepover with a few friends when I was older.  Nice, right?  That's absolutely through no fault of my parents (my father and stepmother who is for all intents and purposes my true "mom") and that's just about all I'll say on the subject.  But, I vowed to make every birthday for Zoe special....at least I try!  In my opinion, we should celebrate the miracle that God has given us in Zoe and the blessings He has betowed upon each of us in keeping us healthy, safe and together.  In saying all of that, Zoe and I headed over to the Root house so Tracie and I could plan away.  Meredith has an older sister, Emilie, who is very good with Zoe and Meredith and they just played away for a few hours.  They came down to check on me and Tracie and this is what I saw.....

Adorable, aren't they?

Blood

I think I've mentioned before that Zoe's best buddy is Meredith.  They are inseparable and love each other so much.  They also act just alike.....

This is a picture that their teacher, Ms. Jennie, took while doing an activity in small group.  They were studying how blood flows through your body.  Anyway, the activity was to hold up one hand for one minute and then place it next to the hand you didn't hold up to see the difference.  This was the picture Ms. Jennie posted on the classroom's blog.  Too cute, huh?  And it's totally typical.....



.....Burbling.....

I can't even bring myself to Blog about this, but I just needed to make myself a note so when I go to turn my Blog into a book for the year, I can add to this story.  But let me just say, it was HYSTERICAL!

Whatever Daddy Does

......Zoe wants to do, too!

My sweet babies!  LOVE this pic!

Singing with Barbie.....

Thsi is what my girl does when she plays with her Barbies....and it doesn't matter if it's while she's taking a bath or just playing upstairs!  Do you think she'll be a singer?  Do you think she might be on American Idol one day and when they do the backstory they could show this video?!?  Hee Hee Hee Hee!

Watching Baby Beau

One of Mark's best friends, Shannon, has a little boy named Beau.  Both Shannon and his wife Angie work a lot of weekends, which makes it very hard for us to see them.  Anyway, Shannon was off not too long ago and wanted to know if I would keep Beau since Angie was working so he could go hang out with Mark and become one with nature.  I jumped at the chance because I love babies and Zoe has wanted to see Baby Beau for a long time.  We had a ball, but I was a little sore the next day because he weighs 27 pounds and is 7 months old!  Holy Cow!  But he sure is cute....

When Mommy Makes Me Try Something New......

She's soooo going to appreciate me one day!

First Time in Daddy's Truck

Yes....you read that right.  Zoe has never taken a ride in her Daddy's truck.  I can't help it!  I was totally against it because Mark's truck is a single cab and I didn't want her riding in the front!  Yes, he can turn off the airbag, but I was still against it.  But, with Zoe having to take allergy shots once per week on Thursdays, I needed to adjust my hours at work.  Every Thursday I work from 7:00 to 2:30 (I only have to work 7.5 hours in a day) and McKendree doesn't open until 7:00 a.m.  So, Daddy has to take her and she LOVES it!  Check out my girl.....

She Lost Her First Tooth

It's official!  I feel old!  My girl lost her first tooth!  Of course, I started to fret because she actually swallowed it!  Who else would this actually happen to?!?  I texted my buddies Shelley & Becca to inquire (they both guide me so much...plus Becca is a peds nurse at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital) and they told me not to worry.  Shelley said it had happened to Anna before!  Ha!  That's answers my question about what other child do you know actually swallows their tooth!  Anyway, the tooth fairy brought Zoe a beautiful necklace for losing her first tooth (thanks for planting that little idea in Zoe's head Becca) and money!  The funniest part?  Zoe looked at her Daddy and said, "You'll have to check my poop!"  Ha!  Daddy told her no he wouldn't be checking her poop and that they could write a letter to the tooth fairy to let her know what had happened and that Zoe would try to not swallow her next tooth!  It was comical to say the least.

Karate

Zoe has a little buddy named Dane that she absolutely LOVES.  They are big buds and go to school together right now at McKendree and will be attending elementary school  together in the Fall.  Anyway, Dane takes karate and has one day per month when he has what's called "leadership day."  On that day, they can invite someone and he asked Zoe to go with him.  Zoe jumped at the chance and they had a ball.  The funniest part had to be when the entire class was doing jumping jacks!  I couldn't quit laughing!

I have to add that later that night when Zoe's Daddy was giving her a bath he called me down so she could show me her "karate punches."  Of course,she was doing "crunches" while laying down in the bathtub!  It was too stinkin' cute!

Thee Kurban

Yep...you guessed it!  My girl was wanting to hear "the man" in the car the other day and asked if I would play "Thee Kurban" for her!  Bwahahahahahaha!  I said, "Do you mean Keith Urban?"  It was too comical and she laughed pretty hard, too!  That little toot of mine.....

Allergy Testing

For years my Zoe girl has taken Singulair, Flonase and Zyrtec.....and I do mean literally years.  Between the asthma issues and the allergy issues, she has taken LOTS of meds over the years to say the least.  Anyway, Zoe spiked a fever not too long ago and I took her in to see her pediatrician, Dr. Nancy Beveridge.  She took one look at Zoe and said she just wasn't okay with what she was seeing.  She said Zoe was very impacted and irritated in her sinuses and that she had constant drainage down her throat, which was making her throat red and irritated.  While she's telling us all of this, all I can think about is how I should win the award for Mother of the Year because I've been getting onto Zoe for her incessant throat clearing!  Geez!  She says we need to go see an allergist and that it might be time for Zoe to start getting some "allergy hee hees."  Funny how doctors try not to say shots now, isn't it?  She refers us over to Dr. Dan Sanders and when I call his office, he immediately gets us in for the first time Zoe can see him while being off her antihistamines (the Zyrtec). 

I have to admit that I really liked Dr. Sanders.  I mean, Dr. Beveridge had bragged on him and said they actually went to high school together, but when meeting him and actually speaking with him I realized she wasn't just being biased.  He was so kind and actually pulled up a chair to speak with me at great length about Zoe.  He took down all sorts of information, asked me all sorts of questions, examined Zoe (whom he promptly started calling "Miss Z") and then gave me his recommendations.  He said he wanted to allergy test her if I was okay with it.  I had prepared myself for this (I've had it done myself) and had been preparing Zoe for it, too.  I just don't believe in springing surprises like that on your child when you can talk about it and at least let them be prepared.  So, it was off to have the testing done.  I elected to have Zoe have the scratch test done down her back because I think it's torture for a four year old to sit there with scratches down both forearms and know that she can't touch it or scratch it for 20 minutes.  This was what she looked like after the first test, which was the scratch test with 30 items (ouch):

Because of her reactions to certain items, he wanted to do some skin testing on her.  I knew that would probably happen because, again, I've had it done before.  The skin test amounts to an injection under the skin down the top part of your arm.  First, they did the right arm and this is what she looked like.....

I felt horrible for Zoe.  It's bad enough to have the first part done, but the second part was torture.  There is simply no way to prepare your child for it (or you) because I had to hold her while they did it 12 under the skin pricks.  She just screamed and cried and after a minute had passed, asked to go back to the play room.  Poor kid.  It was like she was going to block it out, but Dr. Sanders had told me that kids were like that when getting the testing done.

After the results of those tests, Dr. Sanders gave me the option to leave with Zoe and come back another day for more testing (he wanted to do 15 more under the skin tests on her other arm) or we could go ahead and get it done.  I opted to go ahead and get it done.  I mean, that's just torture to leave and then have to come back.  Plus, my girl is smart and would be fretting over it.  This is what she looked like after the third and final time.....

I felt awful for her!  While they were doing the third round, the nurse stopped and grabbed tissues for me because I was just crying.  I was trying to hide it from Zoe, but tears were literally streaming down my cheeks.  When she finished I told her I hoped that was all the testing they were planning to do EVER because I couldn't take it again.  She assured me there would be no more testing for Zoe, which made me happy.  Needless to say, my girls is allergic to LOTS of stuff, but it's all mainly environmental allergens such as dust and dust mites (HIGHLY ALLERGIC), molds (HIGHLY ALLERGIC), some pollens, weeds, trees, shrubs, etc.  They gave me the results and let me be on my way with my first appointment for Zoe's allergy shot the following Thursday.  And, yes, the poor child has to get allergy shots once per week!  Again....OUCH!

This was my girl after her first shot!  Notice, there are no tears or anything!  She has had three shots since then and has done great each time.  She looks forward to it, gets her shot, we sit for 20 minutes and hang out to make sure she doesn't have a reaction to it, and then we're on our way!  She is so awesome and I'm so freakin' proud of her for being so brave!  She literally doesn't bat an eye at it!

Yes, her lips and teeth are blue from her sucker, but who cares!  And by the way, Mark and I are pretty clean people (or so I thought).  I mean, we're clean freaks (or so I thought), but apparently we aren't clean enough!  Having a child highly allergic to environmental allergens will teach you how you should clean your house!  And we have noticed a huge difference since discovering new cleaning techniques and since she has started the shots!  I just want to praise the good Lord that this is the only issue we have to deal with because we are truly blessed.  I don't know if it's age, hormones, being a mother or what, but I constantly hear of children being diagnosed with cancer, etc., and it literally breaks my heart.  So, if allergies and asthma are what we have to deal with.....we'll take it!  Thank you God!

Terrie Underwood

My little stinker is getting to be entirely too smart!  When we ride in the car, we have lots of music we listen to, but my Zoe girl is a big fan of country music, specifically Lady A, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.  Anyway, the other day in the car we had the following conversation:

Zoe:  "Mommy, will you play Carrie Underwood?"

Me:  "Sure, Sissy!"

(At this time, I turn on Carrie Underwood - "Mama's Song")

Zoe:  "No, Mommy!  I said Carrie Underwood!"

Me:  "Zoe, this is Carrie Underwood.  You must be thinking of someone else!"

(At this point, I'm pretty sure she wants to hear Taylor Swift, but I want her to try to think of it herself.)

Me:  "Zoe, the girl you want to hear starts with the letter "T."  Can you think of it?"

Zoe:  "Ummmm.....Terrie Underwood?"

I have to admit that I lost it.  That kid is HYSTERICAL!  I told her it was "Taylor Swift" and then she promptly remembered it by saying, "Oh Yeah!"  It gets comical sometimes!

Valentine's Day

So, I realize I'm a little behind on blogging.  It's a good thing I keep a running list of topics, huh?  Anyway, Valentine's Day was a pretty special day around the Lawrence household.  You see, my husband is turning 40 on June 11th of this year.  I wanted to do something big for his birthday and decided I would send him on a turkey hunt in Texas in April.  I realize it's before his actual birthday, but you can't change the hunting seasons can you?  And turkey hunting happens in the Spring so I just had to go with it.  After months of hiding it and keeping my big mouth shut (yes....surprises are hard for me to keep hidden), I decided to give him his suprise on Valetine's Day.  I knew I would need to give it to him early because my husband is a planner.  I mean a big planner. 

I called Publix Bakery and asked them to make sugar cookies with one of the words from the following phrase "You are going on a turkey hunt for your 40th birthday!"  Pretty clever, huh?  In order to get his surprise, he had to unscramble the cookies.  My husband looks down and without even moving them around says, "I'm going on a turkey hunt for my 40th birthday?"  It was pretty comical.  He was in complete and total shock.  Check it out:

I think I earned the award for wife of the year....don't you?  I also think next time I'll throw some extra words in there to throw him off a little.  It was just a tad too easy for him to figure out!