Petting zoo

Today was an absolutely beautiful day, so Emilia and I headed out in the fresh air for a playdate with one of her best friends, Catherine, otherwise known as "Claffie" or "CeCe." I work with Caryn, her mom, and she was actually Emilia's first nurse. She was pregnant at the time also, and ended up having Catherine while Emilia was still in the hospital, so our girls are exactly 1 week apart. Catherine is quite the dare devil, and Emilia tries to follow, but is much taller and clumsier so they make quite the pair. We played a bit before our picnic lunch, and then fed the fish and baby goats. Emilia ended up falling asleep on our way home, and did not wake up when we got to the house. I changed her clothes and put her in bed and she barely even opened her eyes! I was able to get a bit of homework done while she slept, which worked out well. We were supposed to carve pumpkins tonight, but ended up playing outside again instead... maybe tomorrow!

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A biggie girl

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This week was a big week for Emilia... she moved to a biggie girl bed! She had never attempted to climb out of the crib, but I figured why wait for a bump on the head to convert her bed to a toddler bed! Thursday I was feeling brave, so I did it while she was at school. She was so excited when she saw it, but was quite upset I had removed her toys from the railing, so I let her put some back up. She never plays with them, but they obviously give her some sense of comfort, so I figured they couldn't hurt. Because her bed is so close to the floor... less than 6 inches, I did not put up a side rail. I would rather her learn not to roll off the bed while it is low to the ground rather than when we convert it to a full size bed and there is much further to fall! She rolled off the bed once the first night, so I put some of my big pillows in front of the bed for padding, but she has not done it since. She did not even totally wake up, though, she was just laying on the floor griping. Emilia got to go see her cousin, Payton, in his homecoming parade on Friday. She had a blast and her Aunt Pam helped her collect all the candy the students were throwing... Thanks Pam! :) I'll be sending her to your house with all the candy! Later Friday evening we headed off to Octoberfest for a bit. We ate at this great little BBQ place, and then took Emilia through some of the kids activities... I even let her ride some of the germy rides! It was therapy, but don't worry, I was armed with my hand sanitizing wipes!

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Beautiful Weather

Well I had my first big paper due last night at midnight and I am such the over achiever I turned it in at 1150 pm... ten minutes early! I actually had most of it completed early on, but kept procrastinating on completing it! Glad that's out of the way! Today I vowed to not work on homework, which is much different from the days I plan on working on it, but don't actually do it! Emilia and I spent the morning in our pajamas coloring and playing with play do. Then while she was napping I actually did a little housework. Lucky for me my husband decided to clean this weekend so there was not much to do! It was so beautiful out that we decided to go to the park for a bit. She had a ball kicking the hedge apples like they were soccer balls. Chris had to work a little late, but we met him for dinner at Atlanta Bread... Emilia's fav!

Ty's 1st soccer game

I spent the whole morning yesterday working on my paper that is due Sunday, and I am almost completed with it. Then I had a surprise visit from my sister and her friend Jen, who brought her sweet baby girl with her.(http://babymiller08.blogspot.com/) Sofia was very sad because she had just received her shots at her pediatricians office, but I still managed to get a few smiles. It was so great to meet her after so long... I couldn't count the prayers I said for that baby, and to see her doing so well was really incredible. Yesterday was Ty's 1st soccer game of the season so Emilia and I headed over there after I picked her up from preschool. It was really funny because my niece Lily kept running out on the field. She watched Melissa to see the second she turned away then made a mad dash for it. It didn't help the whole crowd was laughing at her which egged her on! Luckily Emilia didn't follow! I had to leave the game a bit early to pick up Chris because we were scheduled to donate blood. After that, we met my parents at our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Fuente. I actually ran into an old friend while we were there, Steve, who I haven't seen in years. Then we had to hurry home to get Emilia bathed and to bed before it got too late. I think she was having bad dreams last night though, because she woke up really upset, so Chris went in to check on her, but she cried because she wanted me. So when I went in there, she wanted me to rock her, which I did, but she couldn't get settled. After about 30 minutes I layed her down, and went back to bed. Not even 5 minutes later she was up and crying again. I ended up laying down beside her bed and she hung her arm out for me to scratch, and we both fell asleep after awhile. Chris woke me up at 5 to have me go back to bed, and she stayed asleep for the remainder of the night/morning. Hopefully this does not become the new norm, though, because my back cannot take sleeping on the floor! She was in good spirits this morning when she got up and was excited to be at preschool when I dropped her off. Now today I have to finish my paper, run to Target, Costco, the Gap and Gymboree, and still pick Emilia up hopefully by 3 so we can go to the park!

petting zoo

Today was absolutely beautiful outside, so we ventured out to the petting zoo. My sister, Melissa, and two of her kiddos went and then we met my friend, Jen, and her two little girls out there. Emilia has been before, but this was the first time she really got into it. It was kind of busy with 1 five month old. 2 one year olds, 1 two year old and 1 four year old, but they were all very well behaved considering we missed nap time to go! My nephew Garrett got to ride a horse for the first time, and Emilia, Ryan and Lilly got to feed baby goats with bottles. I was kindof curious what was in the bottles...I'm guessing goat milk? Lila didn't get to do anything too exciting except drink two bottles (not goat milk :)), but she was all smiles as usual! We packed a picnic lunch, and stayed until we had to go get my other nephew from school. We had no sooner left the parking lot before Emilia, Lily, and Garrett were out cold! We then picked Ty up from school and headed to my house. They all stayed for dinner... tacos, my favorite! My brother in law came a little later, because he had to work late. He had some great news, though. He's been looking for a new job with more opportunities, and one of the jobs he really wanted offered him a position, so he was very excited! He doesn't get the official offer from human resources until the end of the week, so we are all still kind of holding our breath until it is final. My dad also found a job... he's been out of work for several months. He begins his training with Homeland Security in a couple weeks, as soon as his clearance goes through. Considering the fact he's freshly retired from the military, I don't think clearance will be an issue!

Fun day Monday

So last week flew by and apparently I didn't update on all the exciting happenings of the week, so hear goes, and just the highlights. I got in a small fender bender on Thursday... with my neighbor! Luckily for my car, I was driving my husband's truck! I was parked about a cars length behind her mustang, and her husband just happened to pull into our neighborhood at the same time. So without looking behind her she threw her car into reverse and into my truck. Apparently it is really hard to check the rear view mirror while smoking your cigarette. She wasn't very friendly, nor was her spouse. He actually was quoting to me, after he stated he was an engineer, that car bumpers are built to withstand 15 mph impact. Like the red scratches on my white truck just magically appeared and had nothing to do with the accident. I really didn't have time to bother with it because I was running late, so I just told them we would exchange info later... I figured since they lived a few houses down from us it would not be an issue. I was probably wrong in that assumption! So that was my exciting Thursday. Then Friday evening Chris had picked up carry out from 54Th Street, and we were having a "picnic" on the living room floor, while watching the weather because of the severe weather out that evening.(Usually we would be watching Finding Nemo.) I was watching very intently, because the only thing that scares me more than sharks is tornadoes. The storm was supposed to go north of us, but I asked Chris if we should move to the downstairs family room just in case. No more than 5 minutes after he told me no that the storm would be missing us... the sirens began going off. I grabbed Emilia and her dinner plate and ran for the basement leaving my husband behind before he even knew what was happening! After he joined us in our basement bathroom, the doorbell rang. I was half tempted to not answer it, but luckily I did because it was my sister and little nephew. Heather had been on her way to get my niece from a friends house when the sirens began alarming, and she was near our house, so came in for cover. By that time Chris had grabbed our food from the living room and we all settled in for a picnic to wait out the sirens. They only lasted about ten minutes, but I swore it took ten years off my life! I worked all weekend, as usual. It was fairly busy, which made the weekend go by quickly, and then I had to stay up late last night to get one of my assignments completed. Today I did nothing but play with Emilia all day. My sister and nephew came over early, and I was out of coffee, so ran to Atlanta Bread for coffee and breakfast. Emilia loves their french toast! We played outside quite a bit, and Emilia figured out how to pedal her trike... steering still questionable! We also collected some leaves and flowers... some from the neighbors yard thanks to Aunt Heathe and glued them onto paper to make little trees and garden. Emilia loves to dip things in glue, so it was a hit, although Hudson was more interested in trampling through my mums than sitting still long enough to glue! I had Hudson and Hannah duty tonight, but unfortunately Chris had to work late, so it was me vs. 3 kids! Three kids is fine when they are all your own, but Emilia and Hudson don't share well, and you spend half the time refereeing the two of them. He is 18 months- going on 3 and she is 2... need I say more! Since it was so nice out, we played with the bubble machine outside, and played on the swing set. It actually went very well, I had been most worried about managing then while cooking dinner, because usually Emilia plays in her playroom while I do this, but I couldn't trust the two of them back there by themselves or blood might have been shed! Especially if he tried to touch her babies! Hannah was a huge help, though, so it couldn't have gone better. Then I threw all 3 of them in the jacuzzi tub together, because I didn't know what to do with one little one while I bathed the other! By that time Chris was home, and we just played the rest of the evening.

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Therapeutic Shopping

Okay, so I was feeling very overwhelmed with school today, mainly because I logged in to the Discussion Board where my class is held, and there were over 250 posts for me to catch up on. That is ridiculous considering there are only 20 people in my class, and I last logged on Friday. Talk about a bunch of over achievers! Rather than wading through the postings I decided to do a little retail therapy and head up to Gymboree and style Emilia with the latest fall line! So adorable! Then she picked me out a new purse, wallet and shoes. Her and I both left Town Center feeling very accomplished in our shopping endeavors... at least I did. She was more excited about having her 2nd sucker of her entire life! Ah, the little things. She is such a great little shopper, though, and helps me make my decisions much quicker. I just ask her which is her favorite and she always has an opinion! Unfortunately she has expensive taste... works out well for my new purse and shoes, though! Now off to tackle the homework!

Good Times

Friday was the setup for the Westport Art Fair, so Emilia and I spent most our morning there. My Aunt Carol is a local water color artist and this is her favorite art show. Every since my Uncle passes away in 2001, I have become her honerary booth constructor and have become quite good at it with the help of her sons. They do the muscle work and I tell them how to set it up. Basically I'm bossy... oh and I hang the artwork to be displayed. I thought they were all going to kill me this year because when we were almost finished , I took all the art work down and started over. The colors and spacing weren't quite balanced! My Aunt Carol, the artist, was recently diagnosed with RA, and it has taken quite the toll on her joints, so we made her sit on the sidelines with Emilia. This is Emilia's 3rd Westport Art Fair setup... she's quite cultured! She was only 6 weeks old at her 1st one in 2006! This year I got down there around 10am, and as tradition has it, I bring the Starbucks. It was such beautiful weather, and almost a little chilly which is nice for a change. Unfortunately since I had to work all weekend, I was not able to actually go to the show. Chris and my dad went this afternoon to help her with take down, though. I had such a busy weekend at work, and I am very happy and sad to say one of my favorite little guys is going home tomorrow. Happy for his parents, but sad because we'll miss him alot! It's crazy when a baby spends so many months there, and then they just go home! What's even more weird is when a new baby takes that empty room. I know... that's how it's supposed to go, but it still feels empty for a while without them!

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Busy busy

Well needless to say, things have gotten a bit busy around here. Just when I thought I had gotten the hang of school, more assignments have come due! I was supposed to work on homework yesterday, but Menorah called and had a sick baby in the NICU, so I went in to help with that and got nothing done! I'm sure the baby was appreciative, though! They have a level II NICU and usually don't deal with really sick babies, so when a sick one is born there it is somewhat stressful, but by the time I left, the baby was much more stable and things seemed to have calmed down a bit! So much new news to post... congrats to my brother in law who got engaged two weeks ago! His fiance, Gillian, is from Nebraska, and is now moving down here. They have been doing the long distance thing for quite awhile, though. She seems quite nice and Emilia likes her which is really the true test... kids have a way of recognizing true character! Then one of my very old friends, Brett text me that he got engaged. I was shocked because I didn't even know he was dating anybody... needless to say we had kind of lost touch! Anyways, a huge congrats to two great guys who deserve nothing but the best for their marriages! I took Emilia in for her pediatrician's appointment last week and she has grown over 4 inches since May... crazy! She is now almost 37 inches tall... that's very tall for a two year old! She still has not gained much weight, (still 25 lbs) but how is she supposed to gain weight when she is busy growing so tall? Her pediatrician said a good rule of thumb to determine adult height is doubling their height at 2 years, which puts her around 6ft 2in. I hope, for her sake, that either he is wrong, or she's really good at volleyball! Developmentally, she's either right on track or ahead, and her language development is way ahead. I wasn't surprised at that, though, being that she is now using complete sentences. Please say some extra prayers for my little cousin Andrew in the next few days. As many of you know, he has a seizure disorder as well as other developmental issues, and has had quite a difficult summer, medically. He has kind of always been a little medical mystery because the docs cannot figure him out... partially because he is so high functioning for having such an abnormal brain... per his MRIs. Anyway, they have decided to take him off all his medications and basically induce his seizures under a docs supervision. He is staying hooked up to an EEG and being monitored by camera and the hope is to learn a little more about what is going on in his brain while he is seizing. My aunt and uncle are at the point that they are not willing to accept that this is just the way it is... they want some answers, and hopefully this will give them that, and give the docs some new ideas for treatment.