I'm up to July, I think

I was probably home icing my knee when Helaina and Jim went to the Penguin Palooza this summer at the zoo.  It was the first event of the summer that I missed because of my surgery and I was miserable.  "We could always push you around in a wheelchair?"  Uh, no, I don't think so.

Now that's one angry looking penguin.  Must be she hadn't had any ice cream samples yet.

And to think that she used to scream when she got near people dressed up as animals.  No fear now.

Awwww, cutie pie.

It was a hot night.  This elephant must have been sweating out his peanuts all night.

No trip to the zoo is complete without giving Suri a pet.

Hmmm, penguin palooza yet she wanted an elephant painted on her cheek.

I think the lion wanted a lick of Helaina's sherbet.  By the way, that's not a giant bruise on the side of Helaina's face.  She got so sweaty that when she wiped her cheek her face-painted elephant became one big smear.

When flipping through my summer pics to find some of Helaina in the pool, I realized that I only have a few from when we opened the pool the weekend before Memorial Day.  I couldn't believe it so I checked again and it's true.  That tells you how entirely miserable and depressed I was all summer long from my surgery and because I couldn't swim until my incision was completely healed (which wasn't until the 3rd week in August - I had one deep, stubborn scab at the top of the incision that just wouldn't heal - and it was such a perfectly hot summer for swimming too).

When the pool cover came off the water temperature was a frigid 56 degrees.  Jim has to (reluctantly) go in to put the sandbag under the ladder and Helaina HAS to go in, well, just because she's nuts.  She couldn't wait 5 more minutes until the ladder was in so she slipped herself over the side ...

... then realized how absolutely FREEZING the water was and screamed for Jim to pull her out.

After lots of screaming, shrieking and "oh my gosh"ing and hysterical laughing from me and Helaina, Jim took the plunge, got the ladder in, anchored it with the sandbag and promptly got out, claiming hypothermia.  Then our future polar bear got in.

Love the look on her face.  She went down the ladder slowly ...

... clung to the side for a while and then began swimming.

She ended up staying in the water for more than 30 minutes before we insisted she come out.  Then I realized how insane Jim and I were for letting our 6-year old stay in 56 degree water for about 40 minutes.  Her skin was freezing and after we got her dried off and in dry clothes, she was still chattering.  Then I got mad at myself for being so stupid and scared that she actually did lower her core body temperature and had hypothermia.  I bundled her up in a blanket and had her sit in the house and watch TV for a while.  I kept reaching under the blanket and feeling her skin to see if it was warming up, and it finally did.  We were idiots and Helaina didn't know enough to come out of the freezing water on her own.

On a yucky note, Helaina's been battling severe eczema since she was three years old and has had an extreme outbreak over the last 3 weeks that prompted a visit to the dermatologist.  We came home with a prescription foam emollient to try to get things under control.  Used the entire can in 4 days with no results.  Then as recommended we saw an allergist to see if the eczema was due to an allergy.  Poor little doll had to endure 19 needle pricks on her back to see if she was allergic to anything.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) she's not allergic to anything - no foods, dairy, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, gluten, cats, dogs, indoor or outdoor allergens or any of the other 19 pokes she got, but we did leave that office with a heavy-duty antihistimine to help with the itching.  After 2 intensely horrific days over the Columbus Day holiday, I called the dermatologist back and tearfully told of Helaina's constant pain, never-ending irritation, crying, itching, red skin and large raw patches and luckily they gave us an appointment that day.  This time we scored big and actually got to see the doctor instead of the P.A. (which is a big deal in the dermatology world, actually seeing the doctor).  Helaina's so young and her case was so extreme they called in the big guns for a look.  The doctor was great.  We left with 2 new prescriptions for ointment, $43 worth of products (lotion and body wash) that contains special healing waters from some spring in France that supposedly people go lay in because of its healing properties, and hope.  Mercifully, 2 days later she's doing somewhat better and the open sores are beginning to heal, the dead skin is beginning to slough off and a tiny portion of the redness is getting back to the normal tone of skin.  She still crys, writhes in pain and begs me to stop when I'm applying the ointments (which absolutely kills me), and bathing her or having her shower with raw skin is a NIGHTMARE, but at least this line of products is working.  You wouldn't think so, but eczema is a b*tch!

This is just a SMALL sampling of the arsenal it takes to keep Helaina's skin moisturized enough to begin the healing and fight off the eczema outbreaks.  The 2 boxes in the center are the French spring water products and there are 4 tubes of prescription ointments.  Three of the tubes range in price from $74 to $145 (yah, insane, isn't it - our healthcare provider loves our family) - and the tube shown in the middle of the picture - a prescription non-steroid ointment - has a pricetag of (hold your breath) - $450.  Yup, $450 for a tube that's the size of a small toothpaste tube (and that's our 2nd refill of that particular one).  THANK GOODNESS for co-pays, or else we'd be in debt big-time.

But just look at that happy little face - totally worth it all.  And yes, in case you noticed, there is another gap in her bottom teeth.  Helaina lost her 3rd tooth in September and she was just thrilled about it.  More pictures of the major event, how the tooth came out (at school!) and what the tooth fairy left her is topic for another post at another time.  Almost time for my little gal to get off the school bus.  It will be a hectic afternoon have a snack, get homework done, throw down a quick bite to eat for dinner then head off to children's theater practice.  The kids "auditioned" last week and I think tonight we find out what part Helaina will play.  She's practicing her dances and songs - so cute.  The first song is called "Hairy Tale Rock".  Rapunzel, you know.

Still playing catch up...

Still have summer fun activity pics to catch up on, so here are a few photos from June's Dragonboat Festival (naw, I'm not behind on just about everything, no way).

Helaina's always first in line for facepainting.  She can't concentrate on anything else until her face is painted (which actually means shes relentless and drives us nuts until we get the facepainting over with).  She's on a butterfly kick lately, hence the butterfly.  She draws countless butterflies daily - enough to cover an entire wall in our house, or at least the refrigerator.

Here's Helaina leading the pack in the dragon boat parade.  Last year she outgrew her dragon boat (made from a copy paper box) so I had to make a new one.  I used a box large enough to last several years.  It looks pretty simple but it's actually a pain to make.

Run,dragons, run!  The kids just love this event.  Helaina smiles constantly.

The kids were split into 4 teams and ran relays to see who could fill a milk jug to the top the quickest.  They were carrying cups full of colored water and spilled most of it by the time they ran to the milk jug waiting for them at the other end.  It was a LONG relay race.

The tug of war is always a blast.  With Helaina's "bulk" she should be the anchor at the end of the rope!  Her thighs and calves are so muscular.  I still call her my little linebacker.

Dragon boats, food, cupcakes, water balloons, bubbles, hula hoops, games, friends, a giant playground and a water slide.  What could be better?

The dragon boat festival is always a fun time, one of my favorite FCC events - and exhausting for Helaina.  Her little legs hit the grass running and never stop until we plop her in her carseat at the end of the day.  What better way to recharge yourself after a day of fun in the sun than with a nap on your ladybug pillow pet with your kitty cat curled up purring by your side.