Emma is 1!

Emma turned one a week ago but because she was sick we postponed her birthday party until Sunday. My how a year flies by! She is growing so fast and I now have a toddler. Where did my baby go?? She was a little shy since everyone was staring at her but she warmed up by the end. She opened some nice gifts from everyone and then we sang to her and she got her own cake. She didn't mind digging into the frosting too much but she didn't really want to eat any of the cake. We left her there with her cake while we were serving cake to everyone and she started to look like she was going to fall asleep! I'm so glad she feels better and was able to enjoy her party.

All about Emma:

Favorite Food: Lately she's loving oranges, strawberries, chicken nuggets, & toast.

Favorite Toy: She pretty much loves anything she shouldn't have....remotes, pens, toilet paper

(I'll post a nice photo later!) & cell phones.

Latest Trick:I know she's not a dog but she loves barking like one lately. She really digs

Haylee....like so excited she's shaking loves Haylee!

Latest Big Accomplishment: She has taken up to 6 steps on her own now and is really

getting braver with walking!

Words she loves to say: mama (yeah!), dada, hi, bye, uh-oh, she is starting to say da (dog)

Number of Teeth: 2 on the bottom...that's it!

Latest Struggle: She hates hates hates to lay down and have her diaper changed!

Latest Change: We've switched to whole milk and we're getting rid of the bottle slowly.

Favorite thing to do: Take a bath!! She is a fish. She loves to take a bath and cries when we take

her out. She even dunks her face in the water the whole time she is in the bathtub.

Dr. Office Stats: Heighth- 78%, Weight- 35%-She has thinned out a bunch.

Something she's good at: Snuggling!

We are so blessed to have her in our family and can't imagine life without her!

Everything Ethan

So I'm just a little behind in my posts but better late than never. Ethan turned 5 a few weeks ago and because of Disneyland and Emma getting sick I never got the chance to post a little about our birthday boy. He's my little snuggle bug helper. He's in preschool right now and I'm amazed at how much he has learned this year. He is starting to read books and has been counting to 100 (a lot) lately! We are working on tying our shoes since we've never really had to before we haven't worked on that one much. Also he sometimes gets the urge to "ordinize". He "ordinized" my kitchen drawer and his bookshelf recently. He loves cars and building things. When it's warm outside he likes to play with his "struction" toys(he calls his digging and building toys this...like construction ). He has one volume right now which seems to be on loud and he enjoys bugging his sister...so normal boy stuff. He will be starting soccer again soon and then T-ball which he really enjoys. He freely gives hugs and says I love you which always makes my day as well as his infectious giggle. He has a huge heart and we are so grateful for our snuggle bug, rough and tumble, loud, playful, helpful, and loving Ethan!

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite Movie: Cars

Favorite TV Show: The Backyardigans

Favorite thing to do: Play with toys

Favorite song: The Backyardigans "Cowboy Song"

Something exciting coming up: Kindergarten Round Up!

Favorite Sport: Baseball

How he describes himself: I'm Ethan.. a big boy!

Something he's good at: Helping his dad-He can be a really hard worker

Dr.'s Office Stats: Heighth-He's in the 85th percentile (go figure) Weight- 98th percentile. He's our tank!

One of the Latest Funny Quotes: "Lets play Peter Pants"

Blessings

This week has been a bit scary for us. We got home from Disneyland last Sunday (I will post pictures soon). Around Friday night and especially Saturday while we were still in California Emma started to get sick with a cold. We could tell she didn't feel great and wasn't eating the best or sleeping that well. The plane ride home was a little long but she was okay. Monday she was a little worse but it still seemed like a decent cold she was fighting. She had a low grade fever and clear runny nose and a little cough so we just watched it but didn't take her in to the doctor. By Tuesday night though she had started to go downhill pretty quickly. She was sleeping alot and Tuesday night we could tell it was starting to progress so we decided we would take her in first thing in the morning. Wednesday morning she looked awful. She could hardly hold her head up or keep her eyes open. She was also starting to breathe a little shallow and she just looked sick. I called the doctor's office and they didn't have one appointment open for that day so they sent us to another clinic. As I was driving there I could see how labored her breathing really was and I was getting really worried. I would have gone to the ER but I was already driving in the opposite direction and was closer to the clinic. After 2 hours of being in the doctors office getting awful chest x-rays, oxygen level tests, breathing treatment, oxygen, RSV test, and lots of consultation the doctor called the ambulance and decided that her breathing was now so labored and she looked so sick that she wanted her to have oxygen as we went to the hospital. Emma has RSV and it had progressed quickly and was affecting her breathing and oxygen levels. They wanted to keep her in the hospital for at least 24 hours to watch her and give her treatments with the nebulizer. They also gave her IV fluids to keep her from dehydrating. It was so sobering riding in that ambulance with her and seeing her in the hospital crib with tubes hooked to her and I am so thankful that it wasn't more serious. I know that many parents have had to watch their children get very sick and even the unthinkable and I can't even imagine the depths of that fear and sorrow. Thankfully she is doing great and was able to go home after 24 hours. It's amazing the turn around she is experiencing. I'm so glad Chad and his dad were able to give her a blessing and I know it has helped. The difference between Wed. and Thurs. is remarkable. I knew Emma would join our family long before she came and I can't imagine our life without her. She turns 1 tomorrow and what a great blessing she has been in our lives this past year.

This is the picture the hospital takes for identification.

This was taken Thursday morning after she had already started feeling better. I don't have a picture from Wednesday but she looked much worse than this.

Celebrate!

Here a few photos from Ethan's family birthday party. He turns 5 this Thursday! I can't believe it. He is getting so big. I will post more later but I'm short on time since I'm supposed to be packing for Disneyland!! Yeah we leave tomorrow! Thanks for the great tips.

Friends

A week ago some of my friends got together to hang out and catch up. (We missed you Callie and Crystal!) It was so good to see everyone and I feel really blessed to have grown up with such great friends. I hope we do that more often!

At least someone is enjoying the snow!

Ethan had a sledding preschool activity today. I'm so glad Chad took him because I had no desire to be cold and in the snow. I guess I'm a fair weather kind of girl. I love looking at freshly fallen snow ...from my cozy window. Maybe if I were a skier I would enjoy it more but I'm not and I don't. I'm soooo ready for Spring! Anyone else sick of the snow???

On the flip side Ethan loves loves loves playing in the snow. He goes outside almost everyday and plays with our dog or Madelyn if she's home, or the neighbors, or nobody (yes I know I should sacrifice for my son but I have to stay in with the baby....right?) He would stay out there for hours if I let him. Ahh the joys of childhood.

Recent Photos

Pajama Read-a-thon

Madelyn has a read-a-thon today at school. She is so excited. She gets to wear pj's and slippers, bring a blanket, treats and a healthy snack, a water bottle, and some books. Here she is with one of her favorite picture books.

Snow, snow, and more snow!

Ethan wanted to go out and play in the snow. He loves to shovel the snow off of the driveway. I had to convince him to use the snow shovel not the regular shovel.

Family Home Evening Hearts

This is a close up of the valentine Ethan made and then gave to me. It's hard to see but he wrote I LF U (I love you) all by himself. He hasn't really attempted writing on his own too much yet so I was pleasantly surprised!

These are the hearts where we write nice things that others have done for us.