Yesterday, I stepped pretty far outside of my food allergy comfort zone. J and I have strived to not put Kayla in a bubble and always be honest with her in an age-appropriate manner. As she’s gotten older, we have altered our approaches to meet her age and level of understanding.

My Mom and I took the girls yesterday to Victorian Tea Party that had a fashion show with it. The girls were SO excited to go and have tea even though they had no idea what to expect. Before we made the reservations, I called and found out that of course the menu included dairy, dairy and more dairy. They had jelly sandwiches, cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches (not sure about the appeal with that one), cheese, fruit and cookies. So I packed jelly sandwiches for the girls, hot tea in a thermos, bananas and a Divvies cookie for each of them. The set up was really nice. Tables with pretty pink table cloths, some American Girl door prizes and a “silent” auction, although you could see what the other bid amounts were.

The girls were getting a bit antsy but when the whole thing started, Alysa was beside herself with glee. The had a coloring craft to start off, then the tea was served followed by the fashion show. We shared a table with another Grandmother and her Granddaughter. They were very sweet and understanding since we asked to keep the food (and open cup of milk for the tea) on the opposite side of the table. When the fruit was put out, Kayla wanted some grapes, but of course they were on the same tray along side the cheese, so that did not work. But with Kayla getting older, I did not have the heart to keep Alysa from the fruit. So when she asked for the grapes, we gave her some. Then here eyes feasted on the beautiful and heaping platter of cookies. Her focus was a tiny little colorful cupcake. So we put Alysa on the other side of my Mom and gave her that cupcake and some cookies. She was in heaven with a cloth napkin put on her as a bib and her sweats. She did great keeping her hands on the table and leaning over while she ate. Kayla was such a big girl, accepting being unable to eat the grapes and taking it all in stride with her sister eating the dairy. She even gave me the OK to eat a cookie when I asked her if she would be OK with it. This is the furthest I have ever gone with Kayla and dairy. It was nerve wracking, but I am glad I did. I do not want to keep Alysa from things she does not need to be kept from anymore than I have to and I feel the best way to help Kayla grow and learn to cope well is to not shelter her too much.

The funniest part of the day was Kayla fell in love with an American Girl doll up for auction. She wanted it so much she put her name down on the auction card. Of course my Mom who tap dances to her grand children’s tune followed Kayla around putting dollar amounts to all the cards she wrote her name down on (slight exaggeration maybe, but not by much). Aside from the doll, she really wanted the AG chair they had up for auction. Kayla won the doll AND the chair and Alysa won a wooden hat box as well as a replica Victorian children’s dress. They had a blast and are super excited about their loot.

Alysa and I also got to try on some of the articles from the fashion show. Boy am I glad to not be living in Victorian Times. Here are some pictures from our day: