RBFC Fall Festival

The church we belong to held a Fall Festival. There was so much to do that Page got completely overwhelmed. She did great at first going from booth to booth but after a while she would just stand there and not do the activities. I knew it was time to go home when she didn't want to play games and eat candy! Emma was a little young for everything but she loved seeing all of the people and balloons - her favorite thing.

Happy Birthday

Will is 30 years old today! I hope you have a wonderful birthday my love. You are a wonderful husband a a great dad to our girls. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. I promise to have that cheesecake made for you tonight, what would a birthday be ofr you without cheesecake?! Anyway, I hope you have a great day and that this next year all of your dreams will come true!

Pumpkin Painting?

Well, it all started with pumpkin painting. Then it moved to painting her hands and feet. Poppy then thought it would be fun to do some face painting. The pumpkin got very little paint on it, but Page got completely covered! It was so funny to watch her paint herself so intently. When she concentrates on something she sticks her tongue out and she had it out the whole time.

The Big Orange Pumpkin Patch

Pictures from Day 1 of the Visit

Nonna and Poppy Visit

Nonna and Poppy arrived Friday morning for a visit with the girls. Page woke up at 6:30 Friday morning and said I am ready to drive to Nonna's house. I told her they were coming here and she said okay, I am ready for them to be here. She then started undressing to start her day. We had a fun morning getting settled and having lunch together. A VERY short nap time followed and then an afternoon walk and park time. After dinner we went to Sam's where the girls got new pj's and a very large pack of play dough. (The pj's were necessary because Page wouldn't leave the toy section to go to the bathroom! And if Page got some, Emma had to have some.) More pictures to follow day 1 of the visit.

offline

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Time Warner bought out Cox and have been doing "upgrades" in our neighborhood. They messed up our service it has taken quite a while to get back online. I felt like I was so out of touch with the world not having internet. I can't believe how much we depend on it! Anyway, we are back up and running and I will hopefully have some new posts coming shortly.

Spring Creek Nature Trail

Will found a great nature trail to take the girls to this past weekend. The weather was beautiful and Emma woke everyone up at 5:45 a.m. so we decided to go out for a walk Saturday morning. It was so great. When Emma wasn't in the stroller eating she was chasing Page down the trail. We even saw a few ducks. Emma loves to say quack, quack!

Getting So Big!

Emma now gets a diaper out of the drawer and brings it to me when she needs a diaper change. I am hoping this is an indication of early potty training. Don't worry, I'm not holding my breath! Emma also took milk from a sippy cup after her nap today! It was a major break through. There was no fighting, screaming, kicking or crying. I am very excited!

In the bathtub a few nights ago Page found a foam letter "D" and started telling me that "D" was for dolphin, drink, dinner, daddy, etc. She named several things that start with the letter "D." I did not know that she had grasped the phonics part of the alphabet yet. She has known her alphabet for a while and knows what each letter looks like, but this blew my mind. She really is so smart. Yes, I am a proud momma! She was also the only one in her class that knew what the road signs meant; stop light colors and stop sign, etc. Her Sunday school teachers actually told me that she belonged with the 4 year olds because of her language skills and how smart she was. I have considered home schooling, but as of right now we are still undecided. Page is such a people person that I think she would really miss the socialization of school, but I just don't know if she would get bored in classrooms. Anyway, we have a little time to decide on that.

On another note, both of the girls are going through growth spurts right now and are eating like crazy! They are averaging breakfast, 3 snacks, lunch, 3 snacks, dinner, 2 snacks. I have been to the grocery store 3 times in one week because I can't keep fruit or vegetables in the house they are eating so much. It really is astonishing how much these tiny little girls can pack away during growth spurts. It is more than double what they usually eat on any given day. I am also surprised that they are going through this growth spurt at the same time. I really hope Emma gains some weight this week. We are still waiting to find out when our GI appointment is. They read her medical records and determine which doctor would be best for her to see based on specializations and then schedule an appointment. I hope to hear from them tomorrow.

Tomato Hornworm

Our tomato garden has been ravaged by these pesky critters. Every week we would search the plants for them and just kept finding more and more every time. Today we pulled the bushes up to start our fall planting and we found some monsters! I also grabbed a small brown snake while I was pulling up some flowers to plant in a pot for the winter. I screamed and the girls came running and Will tried to grab it. The weather is finally starting to cool down and we are able to spend so much time outside.

DDD

Degenerative Disk Disease (DDD). Will has been having a lot of pain for about 5 months now. It started in his back and has moved to his hip and leg. The pain got bad enough that he decided to go see a doctor today. After a lot of x-rays the doctor thinks he has DDD with bulging disks. He will have to go see an orthopedic surgeon and have an MRI done to confirm this diagnosis. For the time being he is on steroids and muscle relaxers until he sees the orthopedic.

1 year checkup, finally!

We have had to postpone Emma's 1 year check up due to first the hives and then the head injuries. We finally had it done today because I wanted to make sure her shots were done at least 6 weeks before Thanksgiving just in case we were able to see my brother Kevin for the holidays. (He had a bone marrow transplant for those who don't know.) Anyway, we got some not so great news. Our last visit to the pediatrician was on August 4, well 2 full months later Emma weighs exactly the same amount, 19 lbs. 5 oz. putting her in the 10% group for weight. Her head circumference went from the 75% group to the 40% group and her length of 30 inches put her in the 25% for height. I wouldn't have any problems with Emma being petite, but the lack of growth is concerning. We have been battling more GI problems the last 2 weeks which could have caused some weight loss. We are going to a GI specialist at Children's Hospital and to a nutritionist as well to make sure her diet is adequate since she still can't eat a lot of foods. Poor baby got 4 vaccines and a finger prick. She cried so hard she was gagging and about to throw up by the end of it all. Page was also crying for her little sister and kept telling her "it be okay Emma, sister will protect you." It was so sweet and sad at the same time they almost brought me to tears. Anyway, other than that she looks great! All of this has also sparked up a fire within me to do something to help other moms out there with children who have food allergies. I have started writing my own cook book. So far I have about 45 recipes. Most of them are dinner entrees, and I am still working on coming up with breakfast foods. That is the hardest thing. Anyway, I will keep you guys posted on Emma's progress and on the cook book.