The Jenk Adventure: River Turns One!!

River turned 1 year old on January 27th! We can't believe it. And yes, he did have a party...an Elmo party! Ryan and I talked about River's 1st party, and we didn't want it to be too stressful or too crazy. We had the gathering at Grammy's and Pappy's in Spring Hill, and we invited our parents and a few close friends to celebrate River's first year of life. Of course, there was snow, but we had the party anyway. We had some snacks and cake and presents. River's godparents gave a blessing at the beginning of the party which was super special. Sounds like your average birthday party...who are you kidding?! Do the Jenkins' ever do anything tame?! Come on.

I thought about not mentioning this part of the party, but it would be neglecting to share a very important happening to the day. Everything else went off without any glitch. Well, except for Ryan putting his hand in the Elmo cake that I spent hours making before we were ready to cut it.

Our very dear friends, Ben and Mel, have two daughters which we absolutely love and adore. K-dawg has severe allergies to eggs, dairy, and wheat, so I made sure that the snacks were something she could have. The only thing off limits...the cake, and we put that up on the counter. During cake time, I made some special cookies without her trigger foods, so she would have a sweet treat. Well.....shortly after a bite or two (none of us are exactly sure how much she ate of the cookie), she started having a reaction. It got worse and worse. Benadryl wasn't completely stopping this one. Then came some swelling, hives, vomiting, and some breathing troubles...we called 911. The paramedics were there within a few minutes of the call, and Ben and Mel were able to be assisted in using their epi-pin for the first time. They took K-Dawg to the hospital and had her checked out. She obviously has more allergies than they thought. They ran some more blood tests at their doctor's office and will have the results this week. I'm really curious to know what the allergic reaction was to.

Everyone keeps telling me to quit beating myself up, and that is was nobody's fault. I know. I know. But it's like a car accident I keep telling everyone. It was an accident. Nobody intended for it to happen, but you still feel pretty crummy that you were apart of it. I think everyone learned some valuable lessons from the experience that we will all take with us from here on out.

On a lighter note, River got a Zoo membership from us. We are looking forward to taking him to the Zoo over the next year. He got lots and lots of clothes and some toys. He got a new stroller, a riding Tonka truck, and a wagon came in the mail from Grandma and Grandpap. River also received money for his banking account. I can't believe he is 1 and already has his own account.

River's real birthday was the 27th. Grammy and Pappy came over, and we went out to eat. Grammy thinks of everything! She brought River a cupcake with a candle. We sang, and Ryan and I enjoyed his cupcake.