Em's boys

Our two boys, Tucker and Truman, definitely have different feelings about Emma.
Truman can't get enough of her. Tucker can't get away fast enough. I decided it was time to address this issue and today we had a major breakthrough. . . . with the help of Venison treats.



I think its only a matter of time before Tucker lets Em get close enough for some lovin.

Tucker

Truman

Hey, you got anymore treats???

Miss Independent

Hey lady, wanna read a book???

This is book is called, "Maisy's Favorite Animals."
We have a Mazie. . .but our Mazie is a dog. This Maisy is a mouse.

Maisy has a goldfish. We don't have goldfish. . we have Buhfish. Poor Maisy. . goldfish are so boring.

Hey Em, do you know your book is upside down? Maybe you should turn it around??

You know what .. . if you're going to criticize the way I read my book. . then I'm taking my book and I'm outta here!

C-ya!

Hey Em, "if you want to read your book upside down, that's okay with me. . ""

Whew, I'm glad. . I was just getting to the good part and I didn't want you to miss it! Wow!! Did you see that?

Wasn't that a good story?? Mom, I told you sometimes you have to step outside of the box and read your books upside down. .. . . and most importantly. . .smile!

Mmmmmm. . . . .

Hey guys. Here I am at Brick and Fi's for Fiona's birthday extravaganza. I got plopped in the kitchen with crackers.

Mmmm crackers.

Those crackers were so good that I started signing for more!

Bring on the cracker love! After my hour long cracker snack, I decided to explore.

Hey. . .what's that?

There's a baby in there! and it looks a lot like me!
Is that what all this cracker eatin is about. . fatten up your main course?

Um, I think I'll pass on dinner!

Baby Blotchy Face

Emma got sick last Wednesday. . . runny nose, cough, fever. . nothing alarming. Thursday night her face started to get red and blotchy, and by Saturday night her face was over 60% rashy; eyes were bloodshot, feet and hands were beet red, and her lips swollen. Given her dairy allergy, we figured it was a food reaction and I called the nurse. She was concerned and advised we take her to Urgent Care. After 2 1/2 hours of waiting we were told that "maybe" Em had Roseola or Kawasaki's disease. . . the former pretty common and harmless the latter pretty nasty. . . .we were escorted out with "please contact your primary care provider on Monday if her tongue turns red, she has trouble breathing or she still has a fever" . . . um . . okay. . . . . .

Em in the tub while I was on the phone with the GH nurse.

Don't I look good all red and blotchy?

Red is the color this season. . .. .. trust me!!

Of course I freaked out . . . assumed the worst . .. and read everything about Kawasaki's disease that I could. We had two of the toughest nights since Em came home. . .but last night things took a turn for the better and Em seems to be feeling a bit better. She slept for most of the night and this morning she woke up relatively rash free. I talked with her PCP and it was more than likely Roseola or just a bad "virus".

Em today 90% rash free.

The only positive about Em being sick is I stayed home from work and we all got to hang out as a family. Em had bursts of energy and I was also able to capture a few of her new "tricks" on video.



This video is a three for one.

Waving.

Giving Five.

and my personal favorite. . .giving knuckles.




Emma now brushes her teeth.

A family that brushes together, stays together. . .

Big developmental milestone. . she's finally figured out her ball slide . . . .

Its no longer just about food.....

Em and Truman are becoming the best of friends. . .

I love it that Emma likes Truman . . .its very endearing. . .but what I don't like is she feeds him any chance she gets. Truman is very gentle with Em and I guess the old adage of "don't bite the hand that feeds" definitely holds true in this case . . . and its amazing he realizes that.

If I turn my back she beckons him over and gives him whatever she's eating. He knows he's not allowed in the kitchen, and she knows she's not allowed to feed him. . .but neither seem to care.
Reprimanding the two co-conspirators falls on deaf ears as Emma ends up giggling hysterically and Truman stares at me while he's devouring whatever is left on her tray. No wonder Emma is so skinny. . .

Another big development in their relationship is that she's now initiating play with him .. . she brings him toys and believe it or not my big lug is extremely gentle with her.

This morning she brought him a toy and they started playing "tug". Listen to her giggle. . . it's infectious!

They played like this for about 15 minutes. He never tired and she laughed the entire time. I guess their relationship is no longer a "Emma sneaks me food so I like her" type of relationship. . . . .. .

Busy Days

Emma loves books. Her favorite word it "Buuuhh" as she points to, shuffles through, or intently studies her books. Brian finally cleared off the bottom shelf in her room so now she can sit and read any book she desires.

Em also loves to draw. After books, drawing is second in line for activities that keep her attention the longest.

I recently pulled out my old Strawberry Shortcake and Cabbage Patch Kids. Em instantly took to them and hugs and kisses them generously.

Here she is studying the Strawberry Shortcake.

"Wow, I love your boots. Where'd you get them?"

Em loves to share! She spends half of her meal picking up her food and offering it to whomever is feeding her. Here she is sharing her cookie with me.

Giggling after I took a bite of her cookie. . . .I guess I wasn't actually supposed to take a real bite.

And here's a good smiling picture. It's so hard to get a good picture of her because she's always on the move.

Halloween

We had a pretty low key Halloween. We went to Kara and Ryan's house, carved pumpkins, ate pizza, gave out candy, and watched Goonies.

We made a quick gnome costume for Em, and she wore it well.

Petting the black cat stand-in "Turkey Stew"
Watching the trick or treaters come up to the porch.

Boy, handing out candy is tiring!!