Perfecting My Posture

Emily at 16 Months Old

Our little princess is growing up and is learning her new role as a big sister.  This past month has brought new highs and lows to Emily's life but we are once again on the up and up.  The flu has come and gone and Emily is energetic and her bubbly self once again.  When she was sick she was very attached and with good reason always wanted to be carried.  Now that she is well, she still has that attachment and wants to be held all the time, and not only by me but by her daycare teachers as well.  I know it's a little phase and will go away soon but there is always going to be a little part of Emily that will revert back to being babyish because of her little sister.  She seems a little jealous at times and will try and sit in my lap when I have little sister in my arms or take away a toy that Avery is interested in grabbing.

Emily has become a great helper and has figured out how to feed baby sister by placing Avery's bottle in her mouth and holding it so she can drink.  I've caught her a couple of times doing this action by herself and Avery seems to enjoy this little bonding moment with her big sister.  When changing diapers Emily helps to carry the dirty diapers to the trash and places them in the bin for mommy.  She also helps take her dirty clothes after her bath and place them in her hamper.  Emily finds this a fun game and claps everytime she helps mommy. 

Dinner time has become more of a mess than usual as Emily is learning how to eat with a fork and spoon.  She is getting better at eating with a spoon but the fork is still somewhat of a nuisance.  After a couple of times of trying to poke her food she gives up and uses her hands.  I don't mind her using her hands to eat but after she is done eating she has a habit of dropping her plate or bowl on the floor and then swiping all the food on her high chair tray onto the floor and walls.  Needless to say, the dogs have been a great help with cleanup time.  She also still drops her cup on the floor when she doesn't want it, which has become beyond annoying.

Emily has now learned her routine pretty well and likes to stick to it during the week.  The other day after bath time we got her a bottle of milk and she walked to her crib and tried to climb in it.  When I helped her up she layed right down and held out her hands for her bottle.  I put her favorite Baby Einstein dvd on and she fell right to sleep.  I am so glad bedtime is not a struggle like it was 3 or 4 months ago when we were transitioning from the rocking chair.

Nowadays Emily is learning her ABC's, numbers, colors, and body parts with new songs to help her along the way.  Mommy was so proud when her daycare teacher told me she was one of a few kids who knew how to stomp her feet when they sing "If Your Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands."  I was beaming and my chest was puffed up with pride at the acknowlegment of the genius that is my child.  Emily also knows how to put up one finger when asked what the number one is with her hand.  We are still working on the other numbers but she is on her way.  She has gotten so much better at knowing her body parts and will point to her nose, eyes, ears and mouth with ease and delight.  Just the other day Emily learned how to bat her eyes when asked to make "pretty eyes", which my mother has been trying to teach her to do for months now.  Emily makes me laugh so hard when she makes pretty eyes because she bats her eyes so slow it is almost just a slow blink, but it will do.

Potty training has lasped at the moment but I stopped trying to force Emily to go on the potty and am going to watch for signs that she is finally ready to be trained.  Diapers and trainers will forever be on my shopping list, at least so it seems.  Oh well, I just have to wait patiently for that one day when both girls are out of diapers and I can afford a manicure again.

Emily and the Flu

Recently Emily contracted the flu from daycare and had to endure three days of high fever, body aches, and a constant runny nose.  She lost all her appetite and did not want to drink any fluids or take any medications.  We had to force Tamiflu and Tylenol down her throat to help her get better. 

Emily is very cranky and whiny when sick, as most of us are, and she wants to be held all the time, which is hard when you have another baby to look after.  Towards the end of her sickness she got a little worse and started vomiting whatever was in her belly, it was so horrible and I felt so bad for her.  But the next day she felt better and started to gain her appetite back so we took it slow and let her eat some jello and some yogurt while rehydrating her with Pedialyte and water.  Emily is better now but still has a little runny nose, which we are hoping she gets over soon because she has learned to wipe her nose on her hand, yuck!




Emily, the night before she got sick, loving moms chicken spaghetti.

My poor sick Emily!

Avery at 5 Months Old

Avery is 5 months old and has changed so much this past month.  She is more alert and aware of her surroundings and is rolling around.  My social butterfly likes to talk and smiles when someone comes up and says hello to her.  She has a beautiful little laugh and is very ticklish on her belly.  I can't believe it has already been five months since she entered our lives, it seems like just yesterday I was putting preemie clothes on her and now I am dressing her in size 6 month outfits.  Although she is still petite for her age she is now filling out in her face and body.  Avery has started to get little rolls in her thighs and she has thick feet and pudgy little toes. 

Teething is a current issue with "little bit", as her grandmother calls her, and she is constantly putting her fingers in her mouth and drooling.  I hope she pops a tooth out soon because teething has made her fussy and agitated.  I don't remember her big sister having this type of a reaction, but then again babies are all different.  We recently took Avery back to the doctor's office because she ran out of her nebulizer treatments and is still coughing up a storm.  Well her doctor diagnosed her with allergies but we have to wait until Avery is six months old until we can get her some anti-allergy medication.  If that doesn't help, then we may have to get rid of Gus and Rico because I would hate to keep bringing her back to her pediatrician.

Along with the teething, allergies and rolling around, Avery is now better at sitting in her bumbo chair and plays with the toy on her tray.  She is better at recognizing when someone is playing with her or speaking to her.  Miss grabby hands also grabs at everything her hands touch, so watch out with your hair or necklace because she has a firm grip.  You practically have to pry things out of her hand when she grabs hold of it.  She is really good at recognizing when something is right in front of her and will reach for it in an instant. 

Big sister is also loving on little sister more and more now.  Emily will try and hold on to her when you place Avery at her level.  She doesn't mind it so much anymore if you place Avery on her lap.  Kisses are everywhere and that means so are the germs.  I have to constantly watch Emily when playing around Avery because she likes to come up to little sister when she is on the floor and will give her kisses, well when that happens she accidently places her hand on Avery's belly and will push down for balance or she will try and lay on top of her for hugs.  Emy doesn't know her own strength but I am happy she loves her little sister and I am always excited when Avery gets excited when her big sister comes around.

Queen of Hearts

Back in November of last year, I got a call from Emily's daycare telling me that Emily was turning blue and purple.  I rushed to pick her up and the episode had passed.  Four or five daycare workers all witnessed her turn a shade of purple, first starting with her arms and then her legs ending up with splotches on her face.  She wasn't lethargic and was playing normally at the time of her sudden color change.  I asked if she had eaten anything out of the ordinary or if she was acting strange but nothing was out of routine for her that day.  I took her to her doctor who really couldn't diagnose her with anything because she hadn't witnessed the episode and there weren't any other symptoms.  The only conclusion she found was afer listening to Emily's heart was that she had an irregular heartbeat.  Emily's pediatrician referred us to a cardiologist to find out what was causing her heart to beat irregularly.  Keep in mind that at the time of this appointment Emily was fast asleep and the room was quiet when the pediatrician listened to her heart.

After the New Year came, our first mission was to find out what was causing Emily's color changing episodes.  So Brian and I take Emily to the cardiologist only to experience the most horrific doctor's appointment one could ever experience with a child. Okay, I may be exagerating but it was pretty bad.  On her normal checkups Emily hates to be touched, poked or proded.  As soon as the nurse or doctor walks in the room she starts to cry.  Talk about White Coat Syndrome, Emily has a major case of WCS. 

As soon as we walked into the room with the sonogram machine she knew something was up.  The nurse told me if I had to I could lay next to Emily while she took a sonogram of her heart.  I knew then it was going to be bad.  We took off her shirt and laid her down and from that moment on she cried like I had not seen her cry before.  She wailed and flailed her arms and legs about and nothing would calm her down.  We got through most of the sonogram but she still needed to take an EKG.  That was not going to happen.  Emily was so distraugt we couldn't get the leads on the stickers that were placed on her chest.  I tried rocking her to sleep but every time I would face her forward she would wake up and cry.  After 15 to 20 minutes of this action we finally gave up and told the nurse the appointment was over.  There was just no way Emily was going to cooperate.  The doctor took a look at the sonogram and told us that Emily's heart was developed normally and from what she could see there were no abnormalities or deformaties.  Of course she couldn't give us a 100% diagnosis or thumbs up because she didn't have an EKG or vitals to check.  Either way, Brian and I believe Emily is fine and we are just going to watch her closely for another episode and maybe if she gets over her WCS we will take her back to finish the testing, but not anytime soon, that's for sure.

Aside from hating doctor's, she also isn't too sure about slides and rides at the playground.  She is becoming more and more like her father everyday.  It is too scary!

Red Radio Flyer Wagon

Brian bought the girls a red Radio Flyer wagon for Christmas and was heartbroken when Emily cried when he placed her in it to ride.  We each tried a couple of times to try and take her out in it but to no avail.  She was scared because it has no handles to hold on to and she didn't understand to hold on to the sides. 

So we waited a couple of weeks and finally tried again but with added support and straps.  Brian added the seat belt straps which he didn't have on before and when we placed Emily in her wagon we made sure she had her soft blanket as a comfort tool.  Avery can't sit up by herself just yet so I left her seat down and added a blanket and her boppy for support.  Success!!  They both loved it and daddy is finally happy his girls love the gift he worked so hard to find.

Happy New Year

Welcome to the year 2011!  May it be a prosperous and blessed year for all of our family and friends.  We are looking forward to a year of joy and laughter as we watch Avery blossom into a toddler and hit her first birthday in August.  We are also looking forward to watching Emily discover another world around her as her walking turns into running and soon maybe even riding her own tricycle.  Emily will also soon be making sentences out of her words and will start to better express herself...watch out...the terrible two's are on the way!

Fireworks at Ama and Apa's House

Avery is amused by the sparkler

Emily doesn't like sparklers this year

I think she's hypnotized by the sparkler

Avery and Daddy



Daddy makes Avery laugh



Avery learned how to spit



Avery in her jumperoo



Big sister Emily shows Avery the toys on the jumperoo



My little bunny



Emily has hair long enough for pretty clips