Attacked

Emma got a new puppet a few weeks ago from the KC crew when they were down to celebrate Brad's birthday. She was getting quite a kick out of it this past weekend. She slipped it onto her arm and then was walking around with it and even came over and "attacked" me, which made her absolutely crack up. She has developed the funniest laugh these days and gets tickled by everything and nothing. We wish that we had a video monitor at times so we could see what is cracking her up when she is supposed to be taking her nap or going to bed. In case you are wondering, yes, other than when we actually left the house this weekend, Emma was pretty much just in a diaper at home once we can corral her long enough to get the diaper on. In fact, as soon as she gets home from daycare these days, she quickly gets down to just a diaper too. I guess I can't blame her with the outside temperatures these days.

Emma did a 180

As I noted previously, when we took Emma to the neighborhood pool last weekend, I pretty much had to bribe her through the gate as she cried and cried when she first saw the pool. This past Saturday, Emma was invited to a pool party to celebrate her little buddy Collin's 18 month birthday. When we initially walked by the pool on the way to their aparment, she got really excited, which gave me hope. All the kids played a bit at the apartment, destroyed Collin's room (sorry for our part in that), and had a little cake before heading to the pool. We got to the pool, walked through the gate and it was all I could do to get into the pool fast enough for Emma. She didn't even need the beach ball that I bought her that morning to coax her in like I had done the previous weekend. She loved sitting in the water on the steps and playing and liked going out swimming and even practiced kicking a bit. Of course, now she has totally gone the opposite way and seems to have no fear. I am just glad to see my little water baby back and hope this continues. It was funny though because Collin's Grandma and other friends of Collin's Mom all had heard plenty of stories of Emma because Collin apparently "talks" about Emma all the time. I also swelled a bit when Collin or Libby's Mom (can't remember which but they both agreed) talked about how all the kids love Emma because she is so easy going and if somebody takes whatever she is playing with, she just goes and finds something else. I hope she will be that way when Junior is taking "her" stuff. Brad tried to take some 19 month photos yesterday and ended up mostly frustrated but here are a few of the better results.

19 Months Old

We are on the downward slope to 2 years old and those terrible 2's are rearing their ugly head from time to time. It seems like most of the time, the problem arises because Emma just can't communicate what she is feeling to us and in those cases, if we see it coming, we can usually head it off through distraction or reasoning with her. Other times, she is just so mad that you just have to let it ride. Don't get me wrong though, while we do have our fair share of tantrums, 99% of the time, Emma is still her happy, playful self.

It has been a big month for Emma. She got to take her second plane trip to Louisville for Danny and Melissa's wedding and finally got to meet Uncle Paul. She had fun playing with Ally and seeing Bo, Grandma Kristi, GG, and all her other family there. We hope that we don't have to wait another two years to see him again. We also got a visit from Papa & Grandma S., Uncle Dale, Aunt Michelle, Thomas, Garret, Aunt Lesa, Uncle Chris, and Madison to help celebrate Brad's birthday.

As you all know, she also had the chance to move up to the freshman class this week when a spot opened up. It has been a great first week in her new class filled with lots of art projects and other activities. The evidence of the artwork usually ends up on Emma's t-shirt and all I can say is Oxyclean is a miracle worker in our house. Each day we get a report that includes Emma's favorite activity of the day. This week that has included bubbles, playing with mini balls, going outside, silly races in the gym, and exercise. Emma has been doing great with sleeping on the cot and the naps are definitely longer than she would take in the crib in the nursery. This could be due to the fact that she is more exhausted. She has been a little bit more cranky in the evenings but I think that she is just a little more tired because she plays so hard. By the end of the day though, she usually heads over to the nursery for a little while so she can take a break and catch up with her old buddies.

We continue to hear new words. The fun this morning was getting her foot through one of the little rings on the table and then telling me "I'm stuck". Emma is really learning to love music and whenever we are playing in the living room, will open the cabinet and want the CD player turned on. She especially loves her CD's of Bible songs and toddler songs. She also likes to get sit on Brad's stomach and bounce up and down. Emma has also successfully gone peepee in the potty this week. I am not quite sure she knew what to make of it but she is starting to get interested at least in sitting on the potty. I would be so excited if we could get her close to being potty trained by the time Junior arrives but we're not pushing and she'll get it all figured out in her own time. Emma is definitely an adventure waiting to happen and we are looking forward to what she has in store over this next month.

Help? Who needs help? Not Emma!

After her first day in the freshman class...note the filth on the shirt and the battle wounds!

Weekend Photos

Here are a few photos from this past weekend. Okay, it might be picture overload. I did try to get some of Emma and Brad on Father's Day but it is hard to hit a moving target. Maybe now that she is with the big kids, she will learn to sit still a little longer (Fingers crossed!). We usually miss all the best faces too because she will do her "Cheese" as soon as she sees the camera, which is generally before you even get a chance to turn it on and aim.

Chillin'!

Stroller, not just for babies anymore!
Hugs for Dada!

Homemade Ice Cream!


" Peek Boo!"
New Jammies!

Short Stories

We got Emma down to the neighborhood pool on Saturday. At first she would not even go through the gate. As soon as she saw the pool, she started crying so Brad took her to swing and I went and sat down on a chair by the pool. Eventually I was able to get Emma to come in the gate by enticing her with a drink of water. Once she got in, I got in the pool, which she still had no interest in. Thankfully there was a beach ball that somebody had left behind on the pool deck so she and I played with the ball a bit and after a while, she got close enough that I grabbed her and we were both in the water. We "swam" around for a bit and then she got out and we repeated the play with ball, get pulled into water. After she got out the second time, after playing with the ball a little more, she wanted to get in herself so hopefully things are turning around as far as the pool goes. Time will tell but I really want to get her used to the water. She has also been invited to a pool party next weekend so hopefully that won't go terribly awry.

Yesterday morning, Brad was getting ready for church and as she always does, Emma went into the closet and got Brad his shoes. Not sure which shoes she got him because I didn't ask but she is always very helpful at getting everybody a pair of shoes whether they are appropriate or not. After she grabbed his shoes, Emma went back into the closet and rummaged through his pile and came up with his belt, which is exactly what he needed. It shouldn't but it still does amaze me at how observant she is.

Finally, naptime this weekend was an adventure. Both Saturday and Sunday, after we put Emma down, she pretty much played in her crib for an hour before knocking off. I missed most of it yesterday while I was at the grocery store but Brad said that it would go quiet and then all the sudden she would yell out "Hi". After she finally fell asleep yesterday, I went back to check on her only to find her laid out in her crib wearing only her diaper. It was all I could do to get the door shut before I started laughing hysterically. I guess part of the fun during that hour was in taking off her clothes. She also must have tried to remove her diaper as evidenced by the big wet spot when she woke up from her nap. Today is Emma's first day with the 2 year old age group. Hopefully she'll enjoy being one of the big kids as much as we think she will.

Officially One of the Big Kids

After I made the post yesterday about Emma being ready to move up to the next room and how August couldn't come soon enough, we got some exciting news. When we picked Emma up from daycare yesterday, we were told that there was an opening in the transition room since one of the kids there was leaving and would we be interested in moving Emma into his spot? Would we be interested? ABSOLUTELY! They must have known we would be so agreeable because she already had a cubby assigned to her. So as of Monday morning, Emma will be moving up to the transition room officially. I am sure that Libby, Ella and Collin will miss her but they'll be there with her come August. We are so excited that she is going to have the chance to be with the big kids full time and get to learn and do so much more. Of course, Brad is a little sad too because it means his little girl is growing up but this is a great opportunity for Emma and she is so ready for it. I am also hoping that this means that we can start working on getting rid of the pacifier.

28 Weeks

Glucose test? Check. Rhogam shot? Check. Two more things to cross off the pregnancy check-list as I transition into the third trimester. How did that happen already? The ticker on the side of the blog puts Junior's arrival at only 85 days from today (hopefully a few less and not a few more). Yesterday was just labs with the glucose test and the Rhogam shot. Hopefully I won't be hearing from the doctor's office today, which would mean that my glucose level was fine. I am not too concerned that I will be getting a call. I guess we had better get on the ball though in terms of getting Junior's room painted. Thankfully there isn't a ton that needs to be accomplished prior to Junior's arrival. When we ask Emma where the baby is, she will lift up my shirt and point to my belly saying "baby". Of course, she still has no idea how Junior's arrival will impact her existence but she'll adjust. It is just hard to realize that we only have a short time left to enjoy just Emma. I guess we better make the most of it!

After I got done being poked and prodded yesterday, I picked up Emma and we did a little shopping at the mall. We (I) got sucked in by Gymboree as I do whenever I go to the mall, which thankfully isn't often. They just have the cutest things and the best prices on the clearance racks. The highlight of our shopping for Emma though was when we split a chocolate chip cookie and some lemonade. Her face was a chocolaty, gooey mess but she loved it and was signing for more after we finished. I think that she drank the lion's share of the lemonade.

Emma has not had the greatest of weeks at daycare primarily at naptime and decided to skip one altogether on Wednesday. On Tuesday, after being patted and rocked for 30 minutes, Ms. Andi had to give up and stuck Emma in a swing where she proceeded to basically tell the other kids in the nursery to go take a nap, yelling "nigh nigh" at them. Twice this week she has slept on a cot in the transition room, which resulted in almost 2 hour naps both days. That is so much better than the 1-1:15 that she normally takes in the nursery, which makes for a happy Emma and a happy Mom and Dad. It seems like she is just really ready to be out of the nursery and up in the big kid room full time. For Emma's sake, we hope that August and her move to the transition room get here very soon.

Wordless Wednesday - Rockin' the New Shoes

Weekend Recap

Somebody had a birthday last week and I didn't even call him out on it although I guess that I am doing so now. I took Brad out for an adults only dinner on Wednesday night to celebrate while Emma stayed home with a babysitter. It was a different experience not having to fight somebody to stay in her high chair and then actually get her to eat some food. Thankfully, the relative peace did not deter from the evening and the food was great! Before we left for dinner, Emma did get to enjoy a bit of Daddy's birthday cake although she was much more interested in the whipped topping than the cake. I also managed to get a photo of Emma and the birthday boy as well as one of all three of us.

Around Easter, the idea was hatched by Dale (I think) for the family to come down and surprise Brad for his birthday. I have to say that it was not easy keeping that one a secret for as long as I did but I managed and got some planning done on the sly. Dale thought it would be good to have everybody arrive at the same time, which wasn't until late Friday night. However, with little Madison, Lesa wanted to try and get her down a little earlier so last week she told Brad that they had a free weekend and asked if it would be okay if they came down. This did not set off any warning bells for him thankfully. The tricky part was keeping him up Friday night, which I didn't think would be a problem. Around 11pm, he started talking about needing to go to bed and started turning off all the lights. By this point, Lesa had received a message saying that the rest of the crew would be in around 11:15 so Lesa, Chris and I did everything we could to stall. I was so thankful to see those cars turn into the drive. When he saw his mom come up to the door, his comment was "What are they doing here?". Obviously he was totally surprised and even though I am "in trouble", we had great weekend, which involved a bit of hiking for most, streaking by Emma, good food and good company.

Emma & Madison Queen of Drool!
Uncle Dale and His Nieces

Vroom! Vroom!
Flying with Garret

Phones

As seems to be a common trend among the baby/toddler set, Emma loves the phone but not just any old phone; it has to be a phone that actually works. She loves punching all the buttons and then holding it up to her ear to have a conversation with who knows. They are some pretty good chats too because she will usually start laughing riotously at several points during the conversation. While we were waiting to board the plane on Sunday morning, Emma played with my phone and talked to her friends much to the delight of all the other travelers.

Wordless Wednesday - Check Me Out!

Reception Photos

Here is a little slideshow from Danny & Melissa's wedding reception. Of course, I didn't manage to get any photos of the happy couple but there are plenty of Miss Emma.

As far as the leg goes, Emma's seems to be doing better today so hopefully it continues that way.

Weekend Recap

It was an eventful trip to Louisville to say the least. Emma did great on all the flights. There were a couple of moments of fussiness but certainly nothing major. Overall, she was just one great little flier. We got in Friday morning and were met at the airport by Grandpa Jimbo (Bo to Emma), Grandma Kristi, Uncle Paul (finally), and cousins Lauren, Ally, and Natalie. Emma and Ally spent a little time playing (they were in the same area) together that morning. It is just amazing to me how much of a difference 9 months still makes at this age. Emma did enjoy having Ally around and was interested in baby Natalie but not so happy with Mommy holding baby Natalie. There is a real possibility that there will be some jealousy around our house once Junior arrives. After a little play time, it was lunch and down for a three hour nap. Brad and I grabbed a little sleep too and then I joined Bo and Grandma Kristi on the deck where I proceeded to get sunburned even though I was pretty well in the shade. Clearly this skin has not seen much sunlight this year. Emma woke in time to briefly meet her Great-Grandfather (My Mom's Dad) and visit with Gigi, Great Auntie Marth, and Great Uncle Bob before I headed off to the rehearsal. Emma got to play more with Ally that night while we attended the rehearsal dinner and it sounds like the girls had a great time.

Saturday started off great with Emma sleeping in a little bit, which may really have been due to the fact that we were on Eastern time. However, things took a bit of a turn that morning. First, I tortured her by making her take a bath. For some reason, she has a phobia when it comes to unknown bathtubs. The bath is great fun at home but not on the road. After that torture was over, Emma was running around downstairs and slipped and fell in the kitchen. It was nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that doesn't happen on a regular basis, she is a toddler after all. She was crying so I held her for a while and then when I would put her down, she would start crying again. I just chalked it up to her being out of her element and there being so many "new" faces. We decided to try and take her out back to play. She wasn't too keen on walking down to the play set and then started acting weird and holding up her leg while standing in the grass but sometimes she has issues with grass so again, we really didn't think too much. We got her back inside and she still continued to hold up the leg as if she didn't want to put pressure on it. Then she went down to the ground and made a big effort not to put pressure on that leg. Brad and I then tried to get her to walk a little between us and she was really limping and crying. At that point, we decided to head to the ER at the Children's Hospital. By the time we got there, Emma was walking without crying but still really limping. She was also climbing and would squat and come back up so we had no clue where she was hurting. They took x-rays of her leg and thankfully everything was clean that they could tell. The best that they could tell was that she has a sprain/strain somewhere and we should just give her ibuprofen. At any rate, all three of us missed Danny and Melissa's beautiful wedding; I promise I really wasn't trying to shirk my duties as a reader. Since the reception wasn't until the evening, Emma got a good nap in and then we got to celebrate a little bit with happy couple. Poor Emma though was dying to dance especially as she watched Ally jumping and grooving all over the place but that little leg just wouldn't cooperate. By the way, Ally was a little doll in her little flower girl dress.

We were off bright and early yesterday morning. Emma was still gimpy but at least she didn't appear to be in any pain. She thoroughly entertained the masses at the airport while we were waiting to board the plane walking back and forth telling people "Hi". She also carried on several in depth conversations on my cell phone which had us cracking up. I guess she thought she was giving her peeps a rundown on what she was up to. I do have some pictures from the weekend and will get them posted tomorrow.

As far as the leg goes, Emma is still limping this morning. It seems to be the worse after she has been sitting or laying down for a while. We followed up with her pediatrician and they basically said just to keep going with the ibuprofen and call them if she doesn't start improving over the next few days or gets worse. My guess is that it is just going to take a little time because it would be next to impossible to get an 18 month old to sit and rest her leg. Look for photos soon.

26 Week Appointment

It looks like I am making up for the luxury of having six weeks in between the first few doctor's appointments. I went in this morning for what was scheduled to be my glucose tolerance test at 9 am. As it got closer to 10 am, I finally went and asked at the front desk if they could please check to see if I could at least get the glucose test started while I was waiting. They returned with the news that it had been decided that they were not going to do that today. Since I need the Rhogam shot at 28 weeks, they decided to postpone the glucose test until then. It would have been nice to know ahead of time so I could have rescheduled this appointment but I guess those are the breaks. Now I will go back in 2 weeks for Rhogam and glucose and then 2 weeks after that for my regular appointment.

I did get to hear Junior's little heartbeat this morning and it was going strong although I forgot to get an actual number. The doctor also measured me for the first time and I am measuring about 27 1/2 weeks so a little over a week ahead. With Emma, it was always dead on and then kind of stalled. I predict that Junior will not be the little 5 lb 9 oz bundle that arrived on the scene in November 2007!

In other news, we are headed to Louisville tomorrow to watch Danny and Melissa walk down the aisle. Little brother Paul will be on the scene, which is great since we haven't seen him in two years. He will finally get to meet his little niece! Wish us luck traveling with our strong-willed, on the go 18 month old.

"No"

Oh yes, "no" is a new, major part of Emma's vocabulary. Unfortunately it is pretty cute when she uses it so it is hard not to smile. So far it really hasn't been used in utter defiance but I am sure that is coming. Last night, Emma decided that she really didn't want to sit in her seat at dinnertime although she was hungry and did want to eat. Instead, she sat on my lap while we both ate dinner. Emma did feel that it was necessary to help feed me from time to time. I guess she is looking out for mommy and Junior. I also ended up with a lot more food on my lap than usual. Wouldn't it be great to be able to get into the mind of a toddler?