Get Well Soon, Grandma!

"Sandies" at Callahan's

Larkin was amazed to see pot-bellied pigs and a goat at Callahan's General Store today. "Sandy! Sandy!" she called as she pointed. She was even more amazed that we left these particular Sandies at the store.

Within Minutes of Getting Home from a Week in Devine...

...Larkin had already made her rounds (and a mess) in every room of the house.

The Allergist

Today Larkin had her first visit to Dr. Lieberman, an allergist in Austin who specializes in food allergies. He read the bloodwork results from September and did a few skin tests to check the severity of Larkin's reaction to egg whites and peas, among a few others. He had suspected that she might be able to tolerate eggs before the skin tests; but, alas, breakfast tacos are not in Larkin's foreseeable future. Her skin did not appreciate egg whites one bit. Dr. Lieberman did say he thinks she may outgrow her dairy and egg allergies but didn't make any promises on the peanut front. In the meantime, Larkin will have to continue to avoid eggs, dairy products, and all nuts, peas, and beans. Yikes. We also got an epi pen lesson and left the office armed with a prescription for 4 epi packs and an instructional DVD we'll subject grandparents and other caregivers to at a later date.
The photos above are rather traumatic, but Larkin didn't really mind the skin tests too much. She screamed louder and longer when the nurse tried to listen to her chest with the stethoscope and worse when she tried to check Larkin's height. How dare she! :)

Cuteness on Christmas Day

Playing with her new Princess Car from Grandma and Grandpa in her new Christmas dress from GranMA and Jimmy

Hill Country Tour--Final Stop

Dinner with Cousin Bailey, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Brian and Aunt Daisy, GranMA and Jimmy, Mom and Dad in San Antonio at the Chinese Buffet

Hill Country Tour--Second Stop

Staving off carsickness on the side of the road high in the hills somewhere between Vanderpool and Medina

Hill Country Tour--First Stop

Saddled up at the bar at Old Spanish Trail (OST) Restaurant in Bandera, TX, the cowboy capital of the world.

Stalling Before Bedtime

Wait! Wait! I can't go to bed till Jimmy sees all of these animals.

Checking on Grandpa's Cows

Larkin was amazed at the sight of Grandpa's cows this afternoon...and a bit confused as to what they were. "Sandy! Sandy!" she called. But they only stared at her.

Christmas Morning

Santa was very generous!

Gift-opening extavaganza! With Grandma, Aunt Taylor, Cousin Bailey, and Aunt Daisy

 That's Cousin Claire in the background

 Bailey loved her wrapping paper hat.

Larkin listened closely to instructions from Bailey about how to play with her new alphabet dinosaur. 

 And the tissue paper was a big hit.

The magnets on Grandma and Grandpa's fridge just kept drawing Larkin back, even after all her new toys were opened. 

Christmas Eve

At the annual Bendele/Calame Christmas Eve Party