9 weeks old

Emmaline turned 9 weeks old yesterday! She had her 2-month check-up Wednesday as well. She is now 22 3/4" long and weighs 11 lbs. 9 oz. That puts her in the 75th%. The dr. is pleased with how well she is doing (so far no delays!). The only part Emmy didn't like was getting 3 shots...I've never heard her cry like that before. I came prepared and gave her some tylenol as soon as the nurse left the room. Anyway, we're glad that she is healthy and growing like she should be. Here is her weekly pic.

All Smiles!

Emmaline was in a very happy mood when we got back from our walk today. She was smiling like crazy, so of course I had to share some pictures. She just melts my heart every time I see her smile!

I also threw in a picture of Jake. He dressed himself this morning in jammie pants and a sweater vest. When I told him he needed to change to play outside, he decided to wear the pants as a hat. Silly boy!

New Jammies

Over the weekend, Nathan's mom took the kids and me shopping at the outlet mall. We spent most of our time (and $$$) in the Carter's outlet. Their clothes are great and the prices are even better. We were able to get all of the kids' spring/summer clothes, plus some stuff for fall. Here are the kids in their new jammies. Jacob's are dinosaurs, Ellie's are butterflies, and Emmy's were Ellie's when she was a baby (but they are Carter's too!). What a bunch of cuties!

Young's Dairy

Yesterday was really nice out, so we headed to Young's Dairy with Mom & Dad. We enjoyed some ice cream and then let the kids run around for a bit. There were lots of baby goats and a few calves. They also had all of the mommy cows lined up in the barn for milking. It was a little windy out there in the country, but we had a wonderful time!

Jacob and Ellie at the play area

Mom, Ellie, Jacob, and Dad

Today Emmy is 8 weeks old! Where has the time gone? She is getting so big. We scheduled an appointment at the Down Syndrome Clinic at Cincinnati Children's on May 15th. I'm excited to see what they have to offer. The appointment is supposed to take several hours, so we're planning to make a day of it and take the kids to the zoo while we're down there. Here is Emmaline's picture that I took this morning.

Teddy Bear Tea Party

Yesterday our church sponsored a Teddy Bear Tea for the 2 1/2 to 5 year olds. Jacob and Ellie had lots of fun with their friends.

Jacob pins the heart on the bear.

Jacob in the bounce house.

Mom and Emmy smiling at each other!

Jacob enjoys his tea (a.k.a. apple juice).

Ellie liked her cupcake and teddy grahams.

Ellie hiding behind my leg, which she did almost the entire time.

She doesn't do well in large crowds.

Decorating their pictures.

Good News!

We got Emmy's activity mat in the mail on Monday. She looks so little on it right now, but can already move herself around some with her arms. She seems to like looking at herself in the mirror too (typical girl!). I'm really hoping that this will help strengthen her neck muscles.

On a positive note, the nurse that visited our house yesterday said that Emmy is right on track with babies her age. Yeah! She also told us about a special insurance that will cover all of the co-pays and charges not covered by our insurance with her specialists (cardiologist, audiologist, etc.). Then we found out that every year we can get $1000 from the state to cover any expenses for her that are not covered by insurance (including diapers, hearing aids, camps, classes, babysitters, etc.). The nurse asked what school Emmy would be attending when she started preschool and I told her that I planned to homeschool. She said that because I would be homeschooling her for "medical reasons", I could petition the state to get all money they would have spent on her therapies and use it to take her to any therapies that I wanted her to go to myself.

More good news...it appears that Ellie is now potty-trained. She hasn't had an accident in days and has even been wearing her "big girl" pants when we go places. Yeah again!

Happy Easter (one day late!)!

Happy Easter to one and all! We had a busy weekend celebrating. Saturday was spent with my family for dinner and an indoor egg hunt. It's hard to hunt for eggs outside when there are snow flurries. I remember last year we were outside wearing shorts...welcome to weather in Ohio! The kids had lots of fun and made off with tons of Easter loot. Thanks Aunt Katie and Mimi! Mom made a yummy carrot cake with cream cheese that looked like a bunny.

The kids were very excited to find their Easter baskets on Sunday morning. Ellie got a Dora tricycle and Jacob got two new V.smile games in addition to the little stuff. Emmy got a book and rattle. Her big present hasn't arrived yet, but we ordered an activity mat that will help strengthen her neck and arm muscles.

After breakfast we went to church. The kids looked so cute in the new outfits. Ellie and Emmy wore matching dresses and Jacob looked so grown up in his sweater vest and argyle socks. I'm glad I thought ahead and bought sweaters for the girls to wear because they sure needed them.

We spent Sunday afternoon with Nathan's family. It warmed up some, so we decided to have the egg hunt outside. The kids loved running around the yard finding their treasures. Emmy enjoyed playing inside with Uncle David and her new stuffed animals.

Holidays are always so hectic, but I love spending time with family and making lots of fun memories for the kids!

Emmy's 1st Sunday at Church

Happy April! Now that RSV season is officially over, we were able to take Emmaline to church for the first time. Everyone thought she was so beautiful. She was very good and slept the entire time we were there. It was so nice to be back. I really missed the fellowship and singing!

After church we went to lunch with Mom, Dad, and Andy to Frisch's. When we got there, Jacob ran ahead of me to the door and held it open for an older couple that was walking out. The older man wanted to know who he belonged to and when I answered that he was mine, he said that he wanted to commend me on raising such a fine boy. He and his wife were surprised and delighted to see that a 4-year old knew to hold the door open when someone else was coming out. What a compliment! I was so proud of him! It's moments like these that remind me why I love being a mommy! Here is a pic. of Jacob cuddling with Emmy before we left for church this morning. Can you tell he loves his baby sis!

For those that knew, I am pretty much recovered from strep throat now and so far no one else in the house has come down with it. It took almost 48 hours for the antibiotics to kick in but finally I can hardly tell when I swallow. On a positive note, I lost a few more "baby" pounds on the days I couldn't swallow! :)