Happy Easter!

Deja Vous!!!!

A few weeks ago was Dr. Seuss' birthday. They celebrated for a week at Chloe's school-- making green eggs & ham one morning and inviting parents, grandparents, etc. in to read Dr. Seuss books to the class. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, and since then Chloe has gotten even more interested in reading. Micky found her like this the other day-- with all of her animals arranged, including Clyde of course, and she was playing "teacher" and reading to them. When he showed me the picture I couldn't help but be reminded of his little sister, Christy. She was 4 almost 5 (exactly Chloe's age) when we started dating. She would arrange all of her dolls and animals on their back porch and "teach" them for hours--it was quite cute! She is now in her second year at Clemson studying to be a teacher! If Chloe turns out as great as Christy I'll sleep very well at night!!!

DUCK....DUCK....DUCK....Cyde!

Yep, duck is Emma's new favorite word. She is full on jabbering at you now and most sentences end with duck-- like-- gaba gaba gaba namama DUCK! And occasionally she'll throw in a reference to Cyde (Clyde)! Mind you, she is very animated and is constantly talking with her hands-- I can't imagine where she gets that from!?! But yes, Emma is in to everything now. Walking, sometimes running, all over the place. Her Nano likes to call her Fred Sanford due to her swagger-like walk, but she's progressing out of the limp and will sometimes give you a full on Frankenstein if she's coming towards you. Very cute! She's cut back to one long nap a day (has been for a month or so) and she's very flexible about when she takes it. Which has made my life of errand running, work, and chauffeuring Chloe around much easier. For awhile she would get extremely frustrated at times due to the fact that she knows what she wants or is trying to say-- but just can't say it yet. She's gotten much more patient with us on that front and is doing a better job of pointing to what it is she wants (and not freaking out if she can't have it)! For instance, after we put Chloe to bed the other night we took Emma into the playroom to keep her up until 9. (Chloe will sleep 12 hours if we let her, but we've figured out that Emma will sleep 9 1/2 to 10, so on the weekends we try to keep her up till 9:30 so we can hopefully sleep till 7:30- yep, we like our sleep!). Anyway, she found this Dora skirt and was trying to put it on her head. Micky helped her put it on right and she walked around in it for awhile. A few minutes later she walked back to me at the couch and did her best "point and grunt" act to the top part of the outfit. I wish we would have had the camera around to capture her smile when she got it on--too cute, she was beaming and I think if she could have she'd have given a little twirl in it!









Chloe is doing great. For those of you I've talked to about this, her hemoglobin and RBC levels are finally normal again. About a month ago I took Chloe to the Dr. because she was just TIRED all the time. She seemed to be getting plenty of sleep and eating right and what not, but just tired and whiny. This had been going on for awhile, and at first I though it was just a behavioral thing and she needed to snap out of it. Well, didn't I feel like the biggest jerk when come to find out she's tired because her RBC and hemoglobin levels were low, which would make anybody tired & cranky! Luckily a small vitamin with iron once a day for a few weeks did the trick! We went back last week and had another finger poke :-( and everything was fine. Still not sure why it was low in the first place, but we're gonna keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't drop again. She still loves her "school" and has had so many exciting stories to tell us about all they've been doing to get ready for Easter. Twice a week they go to "Bible class" (that's what Chloe calls it) and learn different Bible stories, songs, stuff like that. Well, yesterday in Bible they talked about the last supper and their teacher washed their feet for them like Jesus washed his disciples. Chloe thought that was sooo cool-- and here's what she told me about the meal.

C: "You first eat a small piece of the bread-- that's Jesus body mom-- then drink the wine, we just had juice though, and did you know that's Jesus blood?!? Ms. K says some people call it communion. I told her that I just call it a snack with a prayer."

Pretty much what most 4 year-olds would say I think. That didn't sound too bad to me. Last night on our way to dance class I was eating a honey bun (yes, you know I'm the healthiest eater ever!) and out of nowhere Chloe asks, "Mom, is that the Lord's body you're eating there?"
After I almost choked I told her, "No, just alot of processed sugars and fat!"
I would love to know what goes through her head all day! I'm sure it's quite a ride!

E.L. Fudge cookies, South Carolina State Fair, & "About"

You know, being the mother of a 4 year-old and 1 year-old I can honestly say that not much that they say or do surprises me anymore. I'm actually surprised if the day goes by and something strange hasn't happened. It's nothing for us to spend hours, days, or months discussing a topic. For instance, we had a sprinkler system installed last summer. Well, we did the "responsible" and legal thing of calling PUPS to come out and mark the utility lines before the guys started digging. Chloe was convinced that God had turned parts of the yard orange and yellow with special rain he sent down, and that He did this because He gets bored looking at the same color of grass all day up there in Heaven and he wanted to spice things up a bit. Maybe it was wrong of us but on day 15 of that conversation we decided to just agree with her and move on. Case closed--- or so we thought. A couple of weeks ago Chloe had a friend over for a play date and we (Chloe, friend, me & Emma in stroller) went for a walk through the neighborhood. Looks like someone else is getting a sprinkler system. Chloe saw the lines and in her exasperated tone that she can use said, "When is God gonna stop coloring the grass around here?!? I thought he had stopped but it looks like he's at it again. Can you believe that mom?" Knowing that if I didn't agree I would have to relive this story and my explanation for at least 2 weeks-- I did the weak thing and just shook my head and said, "Guess He wanted to have some fun again!"
Todays "reliving old moments with Chloe" story started with a trip to the grocery store. E.L. Fudge cookies were on sale, and pardon me but I can't pass up 2 buttery cookies with chocolate fudge between them for $2.19 a box! Who could?!? Well, Chloe asked for some pineapple and cookies for a snack. Simple enough-- or so I thought. She saw the cookie and explained (for about 20 minutes) how these cookies remind her how little she is. What?!? Exactly-- apparently they had these cookies for snack at school and "her Nina" could twist them apart "so gently" and lick the chocolate off before dunking the cookie in her pudding. Apparently Chloe wasn't so gentle in pulling hers apart and they kept breaking into pieces. She told me it was because she was so much "littler" than Nina. Well, I informed her that was silly and she just needed to pull them slowly and that she and Nina were about the same size. This started a retelling of our trip to the S.C. State Fair--in October. The height requirement for the slide ride was 42" tall. Nina walked up, measured, and was handed her burlap sack and sent on her way. Chloe however apparently measured in at 41 7/8" tall- so the dude made me go with her. I didn't mind, I grabbed the sack and rode down the slide with her-- I was actually glad he was doing his job, but really if I had teased her hair up 1/8 of an inch, the kid would've been fine-- and I wouldn't have to hear about this all the time and how that one moment from October means she is "small". So here's what she had to say regarding the cookie:

"Remember how I was smaller than Nina at the South Carolina State Fair when that guy measured me? So, I am smaller and I just haven't practiced enough with my cookies. And remember mom, about is not the same as same-- so I'm not the same size as Nina."

To which I responded, "Pardon me, but if you use that tone with me again you'll be ABOUT to get a spanking-- and that is the same as SAME dear!"

"Sorry mom." -- Kills me how cute she is even when she's being a little snot!... God help me when she's 13!!!!

Hitting the Bottle

We handed Emma a bottle the other day while she was sitting on the couch in the living room watching the Wiggles. Micky walked in a minute later and saw this...










And yes, her jeans are unbuttoned- we got nervous the button would pop off, fly across the room and hit Chloe in the head! She tends to fair better with elastic waistbands! This may sound crazy, but for some reason I couldn't help but think how cute she looks like this-- but how this same pose can look so gross on a grown-up with a beer gut! Told you, crazy. But you gotta love this pudding pop!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Shh... please don't tell Chloe that I posted this 2 days late :-(
Don't worry, I showed it to Micky on his birthday, but she specifically asked me to put it on my "computer page"-- and this is the first time I've been able to sit and do it :-)

Steroids--- not always bad....

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile. Emma has been sick for about a week. It started last Tuesday night when she woke up at 3am with 103 fever. I took her to the doctor Wednesday only to find out that yet again she had a viral infection. I soooo hate viruses-- there's nothing you can do but wait it out and buy stock in Children's Motrin! Turns out she had something her pediatrician termed "paraflu" basically a cousin to the real flu-- but a cousin that Tamaflu wouldn't help treat, so more Motrin!!! Well, the cousin lasted his 3 days as the Doc had predicted and yesterday morning she had a new visitor (I'm guessing the crazy uncle in this disease process!) a nice hacking cough but luckily with no fever accompanying it. The nurse I spoke with yesterday told me they were seeing this cough linger for about 5 days in kids who had gotten the "cousin". My first thought was, Great! Poor kid can't catch a break. My second thought was, how bad is this thing gonna get?!? At about 4am last night I found out. I awoke to what sounded like someone whistling through Emma's baby monitor. I rushed upstairs to discover that it was Emma wheezing while she slept. I camped out in the recliner in her room to keep a closer eye on her and she woke up about 15 minutes later and had apparently changed species. The poor baby was barking like a seal. For all you parents out there who have had a child with croup, I can now truly understand your misery at having to witness such a barking fit. I immediately scooped her up and took her downstairs and out the front door into the cool night air. It took a minute but it worked. However, I then got to see her gasping for breath. Something I hope to never witness again-- in my profession I've seen that type of stridor from people on their death beds and I'm not exaggerating when I say that's what it reminded me of. A truly horrific experience.
Well, I called the on-call doc and we were first in line at the office this morning. Dr. Bowtie (not his name, but dude was wearing a pretty slick bow tie-- which unfortunately I can never appreciate or buy for my husband because every time I see a bow tie the image of my eight grade English 1 teacher pops in my head, and that bald dude is not what I want to picture anytime that I look at my husband-- so no bow ties for Mick!) Sorry for the rant, but Dr. BT prescribed some oral steroid drops for Emma and hopefully all will be well in a few days. He did however warn me that it might get worse before it gets better... yeah!! Just what a mom who's pretty scared wants to hear-- but I appreciate his honesty-- sort of! So, hopefully the barking will not return and Emma will not be learning how to balance a beach ball on her nose anytime soon. Please keep Emma in your prayers tonight and hope this family of illnesses will leave her alone soon! She's entirely too cute to be sick like this, how unfair!
Hopefully the steroids won't beef her up too much :-)