Claire's 1/2 Birthday

I decided to celebrate Claire's 1/2 birthday this year for two reasons. First, I like to buy presents for Claire and I feel less guilty about doing so when there is an actual occasion that requires a gift. You know, Christmas, Hanukkah, the first day of fall, Groundhog Day... Also, I wanted to make a big deal about this half year milestone to help Claire realize that she is not just 4 anymore, but 4 1/2. She understood completely. Mission accomplished. Just ask her how old she is.

This morning when she woke up, Claire asked me what time her 1/2 birthday party was. I explained to her that we would not be having a big birthday party for her until she was 5 and that we would be celebrating her 1/2 birthday with cake and one gift that evening when my husband got home. She was cool with that.

We ran out to get a replacement pumpkin (couldn't find one!) and then stopped at a new place to get some Chinese take out. Believe it or not, they didn't have wonton soup, so we settled on seafood soup. We got home and started sharing the pint of soup. After 6-7 spoonfuls, Claire started getting faint red marks on her face and said she didn't want any more, but she wouldn't talk. She was whining and pointing to her mouth. I almost started to panic, but I kept telling her she was ok. I gave her a dose of Benadryl, but she still wouldn't talk and was crying a little (she tends to be dramatic). I was expecting my sister in law and nephews any minute. We were going to go to the pediatrician for my nephews' check-ups. I figured I'd try to get Claire to the doctor as quickly as I could in case she got worse or needed her TwinJect pen. I drove to the doctor's office while constantly checking Claire out in the rearview mirror. Once we arrived, we sat in the car since we were early and she wanted to sit on my lap. After a few minutes, she was back to her normal self, but when she spoke, her voice was raspy, almost as if she had a sore throat. I talked to the pediatrician about it, but at that point she was fine. The next time we go to the pediatric allergist, I will have her tested for shellfish.

We stopped at a great little playground on the way home from the doctor's office. Claire and Ryan had fun running around and playing. I felt a sense of relief seeing Claire play and laugh just as if the soup incident had never happened.

After a nice 1/2 birthday dinner at Frank's Pizza (Claire's choice), we sang "Happy 1/2 birthday to you...," Claire blew out 4 1/2 candles on her cake and she opened her gift: The "Beast" doll from Beauty and the Beast. She was thrilled with it all!

I'm thankful and relieved that today had a happy ending.