Skillet

Saturday evening we took Curt and Cadie to the Intrust Bank Arena for the Road Show.

Ok, let's be honest... we went to see Skillet!

It was a wonderful family evening - it is pretty cool to have this age of kids.

 

Cadence is at the age were she likes to do fun selfies!!

She cracks me up!

 

"My Tummy"

It is very common in our house for Callie to cry "my tummy" and will often find Brett or I to rub her tummy. She has now been off of gluten for 5 days and has been a new child. However, this morning she was up super early and overall very fussy. Nothing like what she has been but definitely not as good as she has been the past few days. This morning she went and got in bed with Brett and wanted him to rub her tummy.

 Dr. Hund told us that it could take a few weeks to a few months for all of the gluten to get out of her system. We didn't realize how unhealthy her BM's were until we are now seeing such good diapers. They are no longer grey/maroon or nearly as foul smelling. She doesn't seem as bloated and the scratching is getting better. She is still pretty broke out but we are seeing improvements. It is our understanding that children who develop the DH (some fancy skin condition that accompanies gluten intolerance) 99% of the time have full blown Celiac's Disease. Her blood was drawn on Thursday and we were told it would take 4-5 working days for her results to come back. Dr. Hund said that it was up to Brett and I but would suggest we opt for a stomach and intestine biopsy if she comes back positive.  However, we have decided that we are NOT going to do this. If she were in her 30's we could understand needing to see the extent of damage. We are so blessed with how much love and support everyone has shown for my sweet Callie. From my cousin Jessica (who brought extra gluten free snacks to my moms) to my mother-in-law who made her gluten free cookies today! The more I read about Celiacs the more I understand how serious of a condition this truly is. The great thing is I have a *wonderful* husband who has pretty much taken over switching everything in our home to gluten free. I will post as soon as we get results back!

We've got this sweet Girl!!

Cadence Lynn

Holy Cow... I'm not sure when Cadie turned into such a *beautiful* little lady!

Words really can't express how much I love these two little ladies!!

My Sweet Callie...

This evening I am feeling a little defeated. My poor Callie has had a rough 19 months of life so far. As many of you know Callie was diagnosed early on with an allergy to mammal protein - meaning she can not break down the protein that mammal produce.. seriously that is all I know. Dr. Zayat says that she has out grown this. She has ALWAYS screamed, had unusual looking diapers, and bit/scratched herself. Family and a few friends have known/seen how bad it is but I try to protect Callie and don't talk about it much. Seeing the chiropractors helps SO much with the screaming and bowels but the constant itching, scratching, and biting have not gotten any better. Quit simply she is ruining her poor little skin. We have taken her off dairy for over a month now with no improvement. We have treated it as exema and tried every stinking cream under the sun. She only baths with Aveno baby exema... yet it continues. After showing her skin to our chiropractor she feels as though it is textbook gluten allergy reaction. We are going in at 1:00 on Thursday to have her blood drawn for Celiac and gluten intolerance. As I begin to research, shop, and figure out how to change everything in our home to gluten free I have mixed emotions. As much as I don't want this for her and the rest of her life... I desperately need an answer and peace for my baby. When she doesn't seem to be in pain, or screaming she has such a sweet personality. She is such a beautiful mix of both Brett and I!

 

These are few pictures of the makes she leave from scratching...

But look at that BEAUTIFUL face - and she is of course scratching.

Praying for an answer!