Sweet Friend

Here is Lainie and one of her best friends, Maddie Grace. She and Maddie Grace were in the same class this year for 2-year old preschool. They get to spend lots of time together since Maddie Grace's mom, Paige, and I are also good friends. It is really funny to see them together as they are SO different. Maddie Grace is a free spirit with a strong will who never meets a stranger, and Lainie is just a timid, quiet little thing until she warms up to you. Both girls are just precious! Lainie loves to do whatever Maddie Grace does, and they always have lots of fun together. I took these pictures of them on their last day of school.

Oh, and by the way, Lainie will only refer to Maddie Grace as Gracie Grace. She can say her name and knows her name, but she will NOT call her Maddie Grace. I think she will always refer to her as Gracie Grace. The funny thing....if you ask Maddie Grace who calls her Gracie Grace, she will say Lainie. I don't think she will tolerate it from anyone else! :)

Lainie's Last Day of School

Here is a picture of Lainie on her first day of 2-year old preschool:

And here she is on her last day of 2-year old preschool:

Can you believe how much she changed during the year? Crazy, huh?

Did You Know We Were Italian Love Spaghetti?

Emmie's Dedication - Part 2

After Emmie's dedication service, the church held a reception for all of the families and friends that attended. We changed Em into a more casual outfit and hung out with everyone for a little while. We truly appreciated all of our family and friends that came to help us celebrate Emmie's special day!

Gramma and Emmie

Gramma and Uncle Michael

One of Emmie's sweet friends, Jake

Aunt Ooey (Erin) and Uncle Mick

Being silly and having fun!

The family...Erin, Mick, Gramma, and Michael with us

Uncle Michael and Emmie

Oh Kade, you made it!!!!

Lainie and one of her very best friends, Kade!

Emmie's Dedication

Justin and I had the honor of participating in Emmie's Dedication service on Mother's Day. My mom was able to fly in for the event which made it that much more special. Aunt Erin, Uncle Mick, and Uncle Michael were also there for her special day. I am so blessed to be a mommy to my two precious girls. Justin and I are so incredibly fortunate to be able to parent these amazing children that God so graciously gave us. I do not take one day for granted with them. Justin and I pray that they both come to have a personal relationship with their Savior as they grow and that they understand the unconditional love that our Father has for each of them. I hope that both girls understand that it truly is not about "religion" or "church," but instead about developing and maintaining a real relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray that they also know how much they are loved by their parents and how truly thankful we are to have them.

Tubes

As you know, Emmie got tubes on Tuesday, May 5. We had to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m., and if any of you know me, you kmow that is a challenge in and of itself. I am NO morning person, and actually don't really come alive until about 10:00 a.m. We did make it there on time and Emmie went back for surgery at 8:00. She was done by 8:15 and we were out of there by 8:45 that morning. It was super easy and she did great! The nurses and doctors were all so sweet to her and even gave her a little wolf to play with while she waited. We are hoping for no more ear infections!!

Playing with her little wolf

These pics of her in her hospital gown can't compare to those of her with RSV! It is much better to see these where she is happy, happy!

Happy 10 Months to Emmie!

I know I am a little late on this one, but Emmie turned 10 months old on May 8! She actually went to the doctor for her "9-month" check-up on May 10. She weighed 21 pounds, 1 ounce and was 29 inches long. I didn't get percentiles from the doctor on those stats, but I will have to look them up so we have them documented!

At 10 months old, Emmie is just a little ray of sunshine! She smiles all the time and has 8 teeth to show off during those big grins. She is a chunk-a-munk, otherwise known as Chubs around our house! Rolls....oh my goodness, rolls for days around here! We love them! She is still not crawling, but will get on all fours and rock. She is still not pulling up, but will stand while holding on to something forever if you stand her up yourself! She does roll over to sleep on her tummy now, but will not roll back to her back by herself, although she is able! Do you sense a common personality trait here? I hate to use the word lazy to describe my sweet girl, but let's look at reality here! I mean, really?! Bless her!

She is now saying DaDa, GaGa, TaTa and screeches at the top of her lungs. The girl could break glass! Let's hope opera singing is not in her future because I despise opera.....sorry to any of those of you who might be opera singers. I just don't get it! ANYWAYS.....

She is eating table food now and loves it! For some reason, the girl has no trouble using those muscles to pick up food and feed herself! HA! She has tasted lots of different things, but Puffs, Cheerios, and cheese toast might be her favorite foods. I think it is safe to say that she is no candidate for the Atkins diet! :)

She loves to clap to music, or just clap because she is happy. If you ask her to clap, she will and smile the whole time. She also will raise her hands above her head when you ask her, "How big is Emmie?" She loves that and is so proud of herself every time she does it! She absolutely loves for anyone to play Pat-a-Cake with her, and loves any song to be sung.

Emmie and Lainie have really started interacting and crack each other up. It is very common to hear them laughing at each other in the back seat. Emmie has also discovered that Lainie will indeed steal her toys and definitely makes it known that she does NOT approve of that.

Here are some pics of our sweet girl at 10 months old:

Where Did Lainie Go?

***First of all, thank you for all the prayers for Emmie this morning as she got her tubes. She did great and we are so glad to have the procedure over with! Let's hope that she has no more ear infections!***

Justin recently gave me a hard time about the blog focusing so much on Emmie. As I have said before, I REALLY don't ever want people to think that I am putting more focus on one child versus the other. The truth of the matter is that Emmie still lets me take her picture without a fuss. Lainie......oh, Lainie Bug! She does not want any part of the camera unless she is the one taking the picture!

Just to make myself feel better from the guilt Justin bestowed upon me, I decided to try and take some pictures of the girls last week. Here is how it went down (with a little, and I do mean little, added drama for your reading pleasure):

Mommy: "Lainie, come here and sit by Emmie so I can take your picture."

Lainie: "No, I can picture." Interpretation - (No, I cannot take a picture.)

Mommy: "Lainie, Daddy wants a picture of you. Come and take a picture for Daddy."

Lainie: "NO, I CAN PICTURE!!!" (Tears begin)

Mommy: "Sit right here by Emmie....say cheese."

Lainie: "NO, I CAN PICTURE!!!" Face planted down on ground, hands over eyes, tears streaming down face, drama, drama, oh my gosh, DRAMA!!!

Mommy: "Lainie, do you want to go to time out?"

Lainie" "No" crying pathetically as if I just threatened to take a limb...

Mommy: "Lainie, sit with Emmie so I can get one picture of you. You look so cute!"

Lainie: "NO! No picture....I CAN PICTURE!!!!!!!"

Mommy: "LAINIE, DO YOU WANT TO GO TO TIMEOUT????? You sit there and smile for Mommy."

Lainie: tears, fake smile, more tears, more fake smile....oh, did I mention tears??? Thought process of Lainie could only be the following:
"My mommy is torturing me and I will remember this forever. Oh my gosh, she is the worst mommy in the whole world. I can think of no other mommy who would threaten a timeout for a picture. Just wait until she needs a nursing home! I will fill her room with cameras that have a speaker screaming "Say Cheese" all day long at her and she will LOSE HER MIND!"

Mommy: "Thank you Lainie!" Now, let's get in the car because we need to get to the doctor."

UGH!!!!!

And here is the result of our fiasco....

All of that torture for this? No way! I know you were expecting something amazing....it should have been amazing, believe me!

Red eyes....what red eyes are you talking about?

Do you see the tear on her face?

Smiling through the tears...

Jumping for JOY that the photo session is O-V-E-R!

Tubes on Tuesday

Please pray for Emmie tomorrow morning as she will be getting tubes in her ears. We are hopeful that these will help with all of the ear infections she has had. We met with the ENT last week and he felt that Emmie definitely needed them as her ears were full of fluid. She has had 6 ear infections since her 4-month well check-up, and he felt certain that her ears would soon become infected again with all of the fluid he saw.
Although the surgery is very routine, it is always a little scary when it is your own baby! I am confident that she will be fine, but Justin and I would appreciate your prayers. Thanks so much!

Fun in Our Own Backyard