Strange Discoveries, Christmas Part 1, and Baby... Not in that order

Yes, we are still the definition of "Busy Bees." I'm still going to the doctor twice a week and things seem to be going okay. Monday we had an ultra sound to find out just how big this baby is... the estimate is somewhere around 8 lb 3 oz to 8 lb 6 oz (with a 1/2 pound margin of error). As of last Thursday, we scheduled our induction for Monday, December 27. Tomorrow afternoon, we meet with the OB again for a weekly NST and to discuss the plan for Monday. We will find out if the report from the Ultrasound at the hospital changes anything. I am definitely ready for the baby to get here! I have been terribly uncomfortable for a while and haven't slept well in at least a couple of weeks.
This past Saturday, we celebrated Christmas with Dave's family before they head up to Wisconsin to enjoy a winter wonderland through the new year. (Baby's January 3 due date nixed our plans to go along). We all got lots of really neat things and Emma has loved playing with her new toys. For a 2 year old, spreading Christmas out by a week, may be a really good idea. She may not be as overwhelmed by all of the gifts on Christmas day since she has gotten to enjoy so much this week.
Last night, I made a very strange discovery when I did my final Emma tuck in before going to bed myself. For one thing, she had every stuffed animal in her room in bed with her and the majority hadn't been there when I put her to bed. As I was straighting things up and fixing the covers, I found her Scooby Doo Christmas Ornament (a Christmas gift from Grandma and PawPaw) tucked in with her. The little stinker had slipped downstairs to the Living Room after I put her to bed and took Scooby off the tree then went back upstairs and crawled in bed again with us (in the family room) knowing about it!

Favorite things

Life continues to be busy at our house. I am also experience a huge case of "Nesting!" I over did it a little on Saturday with the house cleaning and making a trip to Buy Buy Baby, but I did get things done that had been hanging over my head for a while. We did get to enjoy a really FANTASTIC dinner at Weber Grill Saturday night when we went out to celebrate Terry and Julie's birthdays. Sunday we had our "blizzard" and we all took advantage and hunkered down at home. A few things got done, but mostly we rested and just enjoyed being warm!
In all of the craziness of the last few weeks, I have bypassed several opportunities to just stop and smell the roses. There have been a few opportunities lately that I have savored and they definitely fall under "favorite things:"
1) Sitting with Emma right before nap time. Since Emma moved into her big girl room, it takes her a few minutes to settle down and go to sleep. So, I sit on the edge of her bed and read while she decides if she's sleepy. One of my favorite things is the moment when her pretty little eyes drift off to dream land. Most days it is a really peaceful few minutes and a nice respite from busy-ness.
2) Snuggling with Emma while watching movies
3) Getting to sit quietly and read in the middle of the day (only during nap time)
4) Playing games as a family (Emma is the official spinner in LIFE since she's too young to play)

Days like today have to be on the list too. I've been productive and things around the house have been done, but the sense of being overwhelmed is temporarily gone. It's back to the doctor tomorrow morning, so I should enjoy the last few hours of my respite.... I think I'll go snuggle with Emma!

Thank you honest person!

I had a Doh! moment earlier today. Emma and I headed out to get a few things done... We went to Home Depot and finished getting the last few items we needed for Dave's Christmas then went on to JC Penny because I had some really good coupons.
Seeing that it was 20 degrees outside, I decided to use the cart inside of Penny's instead of getting our stroller out and standing in the cold to get Emma buckled. First stop... Sephora inside Penny's because of good coupon #1. I make my purchase and get my little bitty bag and put it RIGHT beside my purse in the little basket under Emma thinking "I won't forget it if it's by my purse." We move on and figure out purchase #2 because we have to get to a certain dollar amount. We get in line and I grabbed my purse to get my coupon out.... Did I remember to pick up the little bitty bag.... NO, I did not. We make our purchase and make our way to the doors where I get Emma out of the cart and we leave... Yes... I left behind the little bitty bag. As we were making our way home - to within a block of the house - it dawned on me that I had left purchase #1 behind. We immediately went back to the store, but nothing had been turned in and nothing turned up when the sales clerk helped us look. I left my name and number, but basically wrote it off as spending $30 and getting nothing for it. That was until about 30 minutes ago when the Sephora sales clerk called!! Someone discovered little bitty bag and turned it in! So, we will be making our 3rd trip to JC Penny's today after preschool registration.
To whomever our good Samaritan is... a big THANK YOU! A thank you also goes out to the staff at Penny's for being polite and helpful!

SNOW and MSI

Last week was busy (they all are lately), but also pretty quiet... at least until the weekend.
Friday night we went to Dave's work holiday party. Kids were welcome and Emma made a new friend named Michael (he's about 1 year older). They had fun coloring and watching a movie. It was great that kids were welcome, but I almost wish we'd gotten a baby sitter. It's really hard to relax and enjoy yourself while also keeping an eye on a 2 year old!
Saturday morning we woke up to a world covered in white because it had snowed all night! Dave had to clear the driveway and so that Market Day could be picked up. Emma got bundled up and enjoyed playing in the snow. She also really liked helping her Daddy clear off the patio and making the beginnings of her first snow man. Unfortunately, she got cold and/or bored during the snowman process, so Dave had to finish the snowman by himself.
Sunday saw the empty Christmas decoration containers go back into the crawl space and the cradle come out... we are getting closer and closer to being ready for our little guy to get here.
Monday was our "special day." Dave took a vacation day and I had an EARLY doctor's appointment for one of my 2 NSTs this week. After finishing at the doctor (a too active baby meant I was there for a while) I got home and we went right back out the door to the Museum of Science and Industry. We learned the hard way that it doesn't pay to pay to see the "extra" exhibits... mainly because we didn't even get to see one of them because Emma wasn't interested. She did love seeing all of the Christmas trees from around the world and the trains. It was a "free" day and I think overall she enjoyed it...
Our big plan for today is to get Emma registered for Preschool... Classes that start in September 2011!

Catch up time again....

I kept meaning to sit down and write last week, but it just never happened. Here is the quick version of the last two weeks....

Santa~
We took Emma to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa Claus the Friday before Thanksgiving. Emma was super excited to see Santa and talked about it all day before we went, but when it was finally her turn, she froze! She finally agreed to talk to him and tell him that she wanted "presents" for Christmas, but she wouldn't sit in his lap. Our free picture is of me standing next to Santa holding Emma. Oh Well! She was still excited about having seen him when we left the store, so we'll just try again next year.

Thanksgiving Weekend~
We had a good, relaxing Thanksgiving. We all went over to Dave's parents house and had a great day with lots of really good food. We got our Christmas Tree put up on the day after Thanksgiving - that was a little bit of an adventure - Dave and Emma put most of the ornaments on the tree while I was at the doctor. I came home to the news that we had "too many" ornaments for the tree and a tree that had nothing on the back 1/3. So, I "fixed" the tree and we all agreed that from now on, ornaments go on as a family :) On Saturday morning, Dave and I splurged and got a babysitter so we could use some of our AMC theater gift certificates to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. We were pleasantly surprised with and really enjoyed the movie. I did a little Christmas shopping over the weekend and I think I am nearly done! I've been wrapping as things have been bought, so we put everything under the tree on Sunday. Now, I just need to dismantle my wrapping station so I can clean the baby's room!

Baby~
Peanut and I continue to go to the doctor twice a week for out non stress tests and they continue to go well. We had a 35 week ultrasound today and Peanut's weight estimate is 6 lb 7 oz, so they are guessing he will be between 8.5 and 9 pounds if we go all the way to full term. The doctor took a few 3D pictures and it was really neat to see the little guy!

Emma's Big Weekend

Granted Emma is only 2, so almost any weekend could be considered a "big weekend" for her because there is some kind of "adventure," but this past weekend really was BIG. For starters, the "Binky Fairy" came to our house Friday night. We'd been telling Emma this was going to happen, so it wasn't a surprise. Emma willingly left one of her pacifiers out for the Binky Fairy and took the other to bed with her Friday night. When she got up Saturday morning, both pacifiers were gone and in there place were 2 presents (Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer on DVD and an Apron/pot holder set). She is slowly adjusting to life without the "binky" and is doing pretty well. She went down for today's nap pretty easily.
Sunday was another big adventure - Emma got to go see her first movie in a theater. Dave had 8 free tickets to Hollywood Blvd for his birthday, so we went to see Mega Mind with Dave's parents, his sister, and her family. We didn't realize the movie was in 3D, so that added tot he adventure a little bit. Emma didn't like the glasses, but she did a pretty good job watching the movie. I think that fact that Hollywood Blvd serves drinks and food at your seat during the movie helped lessen the distraction of a 2 year old who doesn't really like to sit still. The next time a kid friendly movie comes out, we'll try again and see how Emma does.

Halloween, Birthday, and NSTs

Updates and more updates.....
Emma had a great Halloween. She dressed up as a Puppy Dog and had a ton of fun going to a few of the neighbor houses to trick or treat. She REALLY wanted to ring the door bells herself, but had a hard time reaching, so as she approached each door Emma would put down her trick or treat bucket, climb up on the stoop, ring the bell, then jump back to grab her bucket. Emma did a great job of telling everyone "Happy Halloween" or "Trick or Treat" and she did a really good job of saying "Thank you." We also made a trip to Julie's house so that Emma could see her cousin's dressed up too and take a few pictures. I really think Emma's favorite part of the day was handing candy out to the other trick or treaters coming to our house. She planted herself at our screen door and watched and watched for people coming to the door.
We also celebrated Dave's birthday in the past week. We had a little party for him Saturday night starting with dinner at Rock Bottom followed by cake and ice cream at our house. He got lots of fun goodies - Emma's favorite was the horse hair shop brush!
Baby Breese and I have reached 32 weeks and have had to start going to the doctor twice a week for Non Stress Tests. We've had two so far and both tests have gone well. For one of our tests, Emma got to spend a really fun day with Grandma and PawPaw Breese - including a fun lunch at All Aboard with Grandma's friend, Janet, and her granddaughter. We are very lucky to have such a good support system!

Week 30

Peanut and I had our week 30 ultrasound with the folks at Maternal Fetal Medicine (at Hinsdale Hospital) on Tuesday. Results were mainly good. Peanut was very relaxed, his heart rate was in the upper 120's instead of the 150's and 160's like it has been most doctor appointments. I asked the doctor about this and she said it was fine because he wasn't moving too much and he was practicing his breathing. Evidently, the breathing thing is completely voluntary at this point, so it's a good sign for his development. Peanut's current weight estimate is 3 lb 12 oz (up almost 2 pounds in 4 weeks). That puts in the 60th percentile.
The one slightly worrisome thing is that Peanut's tummy was measuring at 31 weeks instead of 30. That combined with my fasting blood sugar numbers creeping back up led to an increase in the medication I take at night. That has meant getting up at 3 AM the last couple of nights to make sure my numbers aren't going too low. Hopefully, we are done with that for a while.
We have almost one more week of "normal" then I start having to go have non stress tests twice a week for the rest of our pregnancy. Thankfully, we've been able to put together a decent little network of potential babysitters for Emma. Dave's parents are being kind enough to help, then there is a lady from church, and someone I met through my Mom's group. I also recently found out about a neighbor who might be able to help during the day too.

Mid October Recap

I got the "Big" Calendar out to make sure it and my little pocket version mesh when I realized I haven't been out here in a while. Since I wrote last, we have celebrated a birthday, traveled, and had one check up with the doctor. Here's a run down for those of interested enough to read it....
The 2nd weekend in October was pretty busy. Dave and I both had our annual eye exams (things look good) and we got to celebrate his Mom's birthday. Everyone enjoyed some Little Italian Pizza (their salads are pretty good too) and the kids had a blast helping Carol open her gifts.
The next Wednesday, Emma and I dropped Susie off with Dave's parents and then as soon as Dave got home from work, we whisked off to Midway airport for our Southwest flights to St. Louis then on to Houston for the David family reunion. Our trip included a brief visit with my Grandmother Buchanan and some of my extended family on that side before the reunion actually started. The first official reunion "dinner" was Thursday night, we missed that one, but had a chance to say hello to everyone once we were back from Deer Park. The fun really began on Friday night when most everyone had made it in and continued through the weekend. Saturday, Dave played in the 1st ever Davis cup golf tournament while Emma and I headed to the Cockrel Butterfly Center with the other "girls." Emma really got a kick out of the butterflies! One of the highlights of Saturday was when the kids put on their own version of "Minute to Win It." Emma got to play some of the games with a little help and had so much FUN! Sunday was "relax and EAT" day with some really yummy BBQ from Joe's in Angelton. I seriously think that was some of the best brisket I've ever had that wasn't home cooked! Dave had to come home Sunday night to be back at work on Monday, but Emma and I kept our original plans and stayed until Tuesday morning. We all had a lot of fun and were very tired when we got home Tuesday afternoon.
I think one of the trip highlights for Emma was getting to spend time with Gigi and Poppy's Alpacas... even if the baby's didn't want to play with her. The other highlight would have been all of the time she got to spend playing with her big cousins. I don't think I've ever seen her run that much!
The only bummer for the trip was our experience with Midway Easy Park - we definitely do NOT recommend them.....
The busy trend has continued since we've been home. Last Thursday, Peanut and I went for a check up and got a thumbs up. Saturday was a get things done day and yesterday we checked out Konow's Pumpkin patch in Homer Glen. We were very impressed by what all they included for the admission price. They will definitely be on our list for a visit next year! This week looks to be full too, but I will try to be better about posting.
Have a great day!

2010 Christmas Card

Sharing The Love Christmas

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

The beginning of October

October has continued the September trend of being busy!
Saturday, October 2nd I had the pleasure of attending a DAR grave marking for Polly Emory Royce. Her father was a Massachusetts Minute Man who fought in the Revolutionary War. She and her husband were also one of the founding families of the Naperville area. It was a very nice ceremony and our DAR chapter was very lucky to have the support of local governments to make it as nice as it was. While I was gone, Dave took Emma to Ty Warner park and even though it was cold, they had a lot of fun. I had time to whisk home after the ceremony for a quick bite of lunch before we tumbled back out the door to head to Julie's for Canasta. It was a great afternoon of visiting and card playing even though I lost money in our "high stakes" games.
Sunday was a productive day at home. Our patio furniture has made it back into storage for the winter and some cleaning got done. We are looking forward to celebrating Dave's Mom's birthday this coming weekend and the mini vacation we have coming up soon. More updates to come....

September Part 2

The second half of our September was just as busy as the first half! Here's a recap...
I had my 3 hour glucose tolerance test the morning of September 18. I made it through the test without too much trouble and enjoyed a Potbelly's meatball sandwich right after. That evening Dave and I had our first church dinner club get together. It was a lot of fun to meet some new people!
When my glucose test results came in, they weren't great.... I am a gestational diabetic again :( As unpleasant as this news was, it wasn't a big surprise. I was able to pick up my new blood glucose monitor the day after getting my diagnosis. That made it easier to start following the diet and keeping track of things.
Sunday the 26th found us celebrating birthdays with our nephews, Jack and Kyle. We went to Little Italian in Naperville for some very yummy pizza... then back to their house for gifts and cake. It's a lot of fun getting to watch the kids dig into all of their gifts. Both boys got new bikes and they were a hit!!! Unfortunately, I didn't get to have any cake because the pizza did a number on my blood sugar. Boo!
On the 29th, Julie was nice enough to keep Emma for me (much to Emma's GREAT pleasure!) while I went to Hinsdale Hospital's Maternal Fetal Medicine clinic. I had my meeting with the dietitian who said I didn't really need to meet with her because I was doing okay with the diet and controlling my daytime sugar numbers. I also had an ultrasound and met with the doctor. Peanut got a clean bill of health... and confirmation that he is still a he.... As of the 29th, he weighed 1 lb 15 oz and was 13 inches long. He was exactly were he should be for 26 weeks. The doctor was a little concerned about my fasting (first thing in the morning) blood sugar numbers, but delayed putting me on medication. For the next few weeks, I just have to call in my blood sugar numbers weekly. I go back to the doctor for a regular check up October 21 and then for another ultrasound on Oct. 26.
I think that covers most of what happened in the second half of September... I'll try to be better about getting updates posted in the future.

September So Far....

Our fall has gotten off to a busy start.
On September 5, we took Emma and our nephews to Brookfield Zoo. Dave and I had free passes because I was attending the Fisher-Price Mommy Shower. We were in the first session which started before the zoo opened, so Jack and Kyle got in for free too! I spent an hour in the Mommy shower checking out the various booths and picking up the freebies and samples. I listened to the Fisher-Price sales pitch and entered the raffle for all new baby gear. While I was doing that, Dave and the kids checked out so of the outdoor exhibits. We got to see the Butterfly exhibit before it closed up for the year, ride the carousel, and visit the children's zoo. We had wanted to go see the Dolphin show, but couldn't get across the zoo in time. After the zoo we headed to Dave's parents where Julie made dinner for everyone. It was a good day and Emma had a lot of fun.
Labor day was pretty quiet at home. Dave got a few things done around the yard, with Emma doing her best to help. I was able to spend sometime working on Emma's big girl room. Mainly, I finished going through the closet and dresser in the nursery and moving stuff over.
This past weekend was just busy! We had the village's annual recycling extravaganza and plenty of errands to run on Saturday. I also made my Tunnel of Fudge cake for Sunday's DAR meeting. Emma wanted so badly to help! She spend most of the time I was mixing standing on a chair in the kitchen looking into the mixer. "Cracking Eggs" was her favorite game for the rest of the day. I had my first DAR chapter meeting of the year on Sunday. Dave and Emma hung out at home to watch the Bear's game and the movie CARS.
Peanut and I had our monthly check up yesterday. His rate rate was in the 150's. My blood pressure was good and I only gained 1.5 lbs over the past month for a total of 8 pounds for the last 6 months. The only big news from the appointment is that it's time for me to have my Glucose Tolerance Test. Because of the gestational diabetes I had with Emma, I am going straight for the 3 hour test and have scheduled it for this coming Saturday morning.
Emma continues to do great in her big girl bed. The amount of time I have to spend with her waiting for her to go to sleep seems to be getting shorter. A good thing for Mommy!

Big Girl Room

Tonight, it will be one whole week since Emma started sleeping in her big girl room! We've been lucky and have had more good days - where she sleeps in her bed most or all night - than bad. After her first night of sleeping in her big girl bed, Emma got a surprise. She got a new train, Percy from Thomas the Tank Engine, to play with. She was so excited about Percy that she has insisted on sleeping with him several nights and after her second night of sleeping in her big girl room, she asked for another surprise. Little Stinker!
I'm starting to enjoy our new routine, especially at nap time. I've discovered that I really enjoy the 10 to 20 minutes of quiet time I get to read while I wait for Emma to relax and go to sleep. Depending on the just how tired Emma is, the bed time routine takes a little longer and I find that harder to enjoy, mainly because I am so tired myself! Hopefully as Emma gets more comfortable in her big girl room the bed time routine won't take as long.

Summer 2010

Click here to view this photo book larger

It's a Boy!

Okay, so I'm a week late with this one... LAST Thursday, Dave and I headed to the doctor for my 20 week check up and ultrasound. Emma got to go have fun with Grandma and Paw Paw.
We found out the Baby Breese is a BOY and looks perfect. The ultrasound estimated that he weighed about 12 oz with a due date of January 4, 2011 (just one day off of what the doctor calculated with January 3, 2011.)

Car update, Vacation fun, and.....

We were finally able to get all of the car stuff sorted out! The bank that financed the purchase let us know that they had received the title from the original lender. The state continued to be unhelpful, but the contact person from the bank was VERY helpful and sent the title to us via Fed Ex. Emma and I made a trip to the DMV with our filled out forms. We arrived right at 8 AM when they opened and were out of there with a receipt and temporary registration by 8:20 AM. I really think that being rude must be part of the job requirements for working at the DMV!
August 6 we went to the Kane County Cougars game. We met Dave's family there (the tickets were part of his Father's Day present) and all had a great time. If you are looking for an affordable family outing to a baseball game - definitely check out the minor league teams! Emma and Dave even got to run the bases after the game.
The week of Aug 7 - 14 was spent in Michigan with Dave's family. It was a very relaxing week. We took Emma to the beach several times and she LOVED it! We spent some time checking out the area including New Buffalo, South Haven, and Sagatuck, MI. If you are in the Sagatuck area, make a point of going to the American Spoon store. They have some of the most wonderful jams and jellies!!! They even sell gelato that is to die for too :) Emma and I made a trip to the Curious Kids museum in St. Joseph one day when most everyone else went kayaking and it was definitely worth the trip. There were tons of things for kids to do and Emma had so much fun! We spent one day at Warren Dunes State park in Sawyer, MI and that was lovely. We are seriously considering making this a day trip in future summers.
Today, Peanut and I go for our 20 week check up and ultrasound. We are very excited to find out if Emma is going to have a brother or sister. It's making the day drag by a little bit.....

Visits and Projects

The last 2 weeks have been slightly busier than usual... In a good way!
On July 17 (Friday) we got to see our Minnesota family, Pam and Larry, while they were in the area for a wedding. They were nice enough to come out to our house to visit and play with Emma. Emma is in LOVE with Pam!!! We had a great dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and then got to check out "Grove Fest," the downsized summer festival in town. Emma got to ride the Carousel twice, once with me and once with Dave. With me, she said she wanted to ride the "horsey," but got scared before the ride started, so we ended up in a carriage. Dave was smarter and held her until right before the ride started, so she rode the horsey for him.
This past Saturday and Sunday we got to visit with Dave's Texas family, Pete and Judi, as they were passing through town on there way home from Michigan. Saturday night was a BIG family dinner at Maggiano's in Oak Brook... Oh my gosh, was there a lot of good food! Sunday we gathered at Dave's Mom's house for more good food, good company, and game playing!!
On the project front, there have been the "usual" home owner projects of lawn mowing and tree trimming. The tree trimming is a big deal around our house because we have so many older (40+ year) trees. We have also been working on getting Emma's big girl room ready for her to move in. This has required the relocation of our file cabinet and that meant reorganizing our laundry room to make room. Mission accomplished! Her new lamp has also been put together and shelves hung on the walls. Furniture is starting to move around to make room for some of her toys and we are getting really close to her being able to move in. Our goal is to have her in there full time by Labor day. That will give us a couple of months to get the nursery ready for Peanut. Thankfully, the work to get the nursery ready will be pretty simple. Mainly a thorough cleaning and a few paint touch ups.
In other news, we are still working on the last of the new car details. Dave spent most of the past week dealing with PNC bank and a contract issue (they messed up and wanted us to sign new papers) that finally got resolved once Dave started working with someone at a higher level than the branch manager. After a failed attempt to visit the DMV to get the car registered in our name, we realized we needed the help of the bank once again. Our impression of their customer service is continuing to take a pounding. One phone number we were given results in a trip to voice mail where no one returns calls. The other number results in being on hold for 25 minutes with no sign of a human being.... Oh well.... I'm sure it will get resolved, but I'm not sure I want to buy another car this way ever again!

Week 15 and Emma Updates

Peanut and I had our week 15 check up yesterday and we did great. Peanut's heart beat was 147 (normal is 120- 160) and my blood pressure was good. We also had a weight check and only gained 1.5 pounds in the past month (3.5 pounds total). I am working really hard to follow the gestational diabetes diet I was on while pregnant with Emma and it seems to be paying off. I currently weigh 10 pounds LESS than I did at the same point with Emma. This is NOT a guarantee against having gestational diabetes again, but it helps the cause. We go again in 5 weeks for our ultrasound and will fins out if Peanut is a boy or girl.

Emma continues to be her cute silly self. Last week she managed to peel a banana all by herself and last night she counted all the way to 3! I know these aren't Earth shattering major accomplishments, but it's still really neat to see her growing and changing. She also LOVES the "new" car... mainly because she can get in by herself and even climb her way into her own car seat.

Our "new" Car

In my last post, I mentioned that we might be getting a new car and we did! Dave's Mom and sister both decided that they wanted to trade their Honda Odyssey minivans for Toyota Sienna's. We were all talking about this over the 4th and discovered that Dave's Mom only had 26,000 miles on her van. We started talking about buying it from them if all of the pieces of the puzzle worked out....
So, after a busy week involving trips to Car Max, loan applications, trips to bank, etc we became owners of a 2006 Honda Odyssey on Thursday evening and sold the Santa Fe to Car Max on Friday evening. We were sad to see the Santa Fe go, we really liked that car, but with baby #2 on the way we know the minivan will come in very handy down the road.

Another long update

I know, I know, I've been terrible about getting the blog updated... Here's a recap of the latest...
June 23 was Rich Warren's funeral. It was a really nice service and Rich would have loved to see all of the friends and family there to say Good bye. Emma didn't understand what was going on or why she needed to be quiet, so she and I ended up listening to the service from outside in the hall. She did slip back into the room a few times before she and I retired to the refreshment room downstairs.
June 25 - 27 Dave, his Dad, and our nephew Jack went fishing at Lake Shelbyville. That had a good weekend, but the fish catching was pretty slim. Emma and I tried a Friday afternoon playgroup and a Saturday morning trip to the Children's Museum. Both were fun, but I learned just how much I count on Dave's help when we went out to eat at Culver's (Friday) and Big Apple (Saturday).
This past Friday, Dave got out of work early, so we all hopped on the train to the city then walked down to Millennium Park. After deciding to skip the fountains/splash pad area because it was PACKED we checked out the amphitheater then headed to the lake front. We tried to walk to Navy Pier, but completely underestimated how far away that was.... We ended eating dinner at PJ Clarke's then hopped the train back home. After dessert at Every Day's a Sundae we headed home for a good night's sleep.
On Sunday, we celebrated the birth of our nation with a BBQ at Julie's. Everything was yummy and Emma had a blast! We didn't get to see fireworks because it started raining... But, Emma did get to try sparklers for the first time.
One unexpected outcome from the weekend.... it looks like we may be getting a new car... But, it's getting late and I'll save that story for next time.

Peanut Update, Birthdays, and Father's Day

Peanut and I had our 11 week check up last Wednesday. Everything looked good and Peanut's heartbeat was in the 160's. We go back mid July for another short appointment then mid August for our ultrasound.
Friday afternoon was a little exciting around here. I had Emma's pool all set up for her to enjoy splashing around (while it was sunny, humid, and HOT), but then she slept longer than I expected. We weren't out there 15 minutes when the lightening sirens went off and we had to come in. Not 5 minutes after coming in, a dozy of a storm came through with a repeat Friday night. We didn't lose power, but we did lose our cable and phone service. Our trees came through pretty unscathed expect for a few twigs and one branch.
Saturday found us enjoying the shade at Jack's baseball game before we headed for John's 40th birthday party. The party was laid back and fun and Emma had a blast playing with Jack and Kyle. She even tried to swing like the big kids! Saturday night, we got some very sad news. We found out that Dave's cousin, Rich, passed away suddenly Saturday morning.
On Sunday, after Emma and I made Dave his Father's Day breakfast; Dave, his Mom, and sister, all headed up to help with the arrangements for Rich. We ended up having an abbreviated Father's Day celebration on Sunday night.
We will be going to Rich's funeral tomorrow. On Friday, Dave, his Dad, and our nephew will be heading for a guy's fishing trip. Emma and I are still figuring out our weekend plans, but I'm hoping to cook up something fun for us!

The Last Couple of Weeks

Okay, so I've been terrible about getting updates posted recently... Here's a recap of the last couple of weeks.
Memorial Day - Because of predicted bad weather, we ended up celebrating the holiday on Sunday with a BBQ at Dave's parents. Emma had a great time playing in her Nemo pool and the sprinkler with Jack and Kyle. It was a fun day with great, warm weather. The predicted storms showed up on Monday and we had a much needed restful, stay home day.
June 5 - Dave had to work from home most of the morning and I got to go present the DAR ROTC medal at the local Sea Cadets award ceremony. It was really cool to see what all those kids do! In the afternoon, Dave started work on his latest project... Installing a water spigot in the back yard. It took most of Saturday afternoon and a big chunk of Sunday morning, as well as several trips to Home Depot, but it got done and the concrete was covered to cure. Sunday night we went to visit Dave's cousin, Eric and his family, to meet their newest addition.
Last Wednesday, Emma started her summer park district class - Rock N Rollers. She had a lot of fun. Activities included circle time with songs, doing a somersault, bouncing on a mini trampoline, and walking on a balance beam.
Thursday morning was a 4:45 AM wake up call at our house, we were all out the door by 6, at the airport by 7, and in the air on our way to Austin about 8:15 AM. We spent Thursday afternoon exploring the Texas State Capitol and the area around it. On Friday we went on a walking tour of the historic downtown area of Congress Ave and 6th Street. After getting a bite for lunch we headed south to San Marcos. Emma was SO EXCITED to see her Gigi and Poppy when we all got to San Marcos... It was really cute to see her run to them calling their names! Emma, Hannah, and Drew all started playing and reading together like they just saw each other a few days ago instead of it being nearly 6 months. Friday night, we got to go along to Ryan and Anna's rehearsal dinner and had wonderful BBQ at Salt Lick in Driftwood. Saturday was an emergency shopping trip to the San Marcos Outlet Mall, some relaxing, and then off to Ryan and Anna's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony (and Emma did okay in the church... she had a few small outbursts, mainly because she was trying to talk to people, but she was quiet during the vows) and a great reception. Emma danced all night! Sunday was a wonderful family breakfast at the Embassy Suites then we headed back to Austin. We took a Duck tour of Austin, Emma loved it when the Duck truck drove right into "Lake" Austin. After a dinner at Chuy's (YUMMY chips and queso!) we headed back to the hotel to relax. Monday was another early morning and we were on an 8:40 AM flight home. The flight back to Chicago didn't go as well as previous flights with Emma. The busy schedule we kept while being gone took it's toll on our sweet girl and she didn't want to cooperate about sitting in her seat. Thankfully, she crawled in my lap and fell asleep right before the announcement that we were going to circle for half an hour! We finally got home a little before 1 PM and worked on getting settled. That process will continue today.....

Birthday Weekend

It was another busy weekend at our house!
Saturday was my birthday and we celebrated with Dave's family by going to brunch, then back to his sister's house (for some garage sailing, gifts, and cake), before heading to our nephew's little league game. It was a good, but long day!
On Sunday, poor Dave spent ALL morning working. Once Emma was down for her nap, I went and got a much needed manicure and pedicure with one of my birthday presents. Then it was a trip to Target... The highlight of Sunday was Emma getting to play in her Nemo pool for the first time. She had a BLAST! Dave mowed our very long grass with frequent breaks to play with Emma. I even got to use my anti gravity chair for the first time!
Dave tried our my chair and decided he liked it so much he wanted one too... So, after dinner we took a trip to Kohl's (where they are on sale) and got one for him. Since we were out, we decided to celebrate the first warm weekend of the year with ice cream. YUM! While we can't do that every weekend, it is nice to be a little spontaneous and get ourselves a treat.

Peanut

Last Wednesday, May 19th, was my first prenatal appointment for Baby Breese #2 aka Peanut. Everything looked good and Peanut is due to arrive on January 3, 2011. I'm very excited about the date because it's my Papa Horn's birthday.
We got to see Peanut on the ultrasound and hear his/her heartbeat.
Emma spent the afternoon with Grandma and Pawpaw Breese and had a play date with Izzy who's Grandma Janet is one of Grandma Breese's good friends). Dave and I took advantage and had ourselves a dinner out at Superossa! Yummy!!!

The Tale of Two Weekends

It really seemed like we had two different weekends around here - in 2 days!
Saturday was completely normal! We ran a few errands, did chores around the house, planted flowers, and even split and replanted some of our day-lilies. The big excitement of the day was Emma getting to play in her new sandbox for the first time. Things started to go a little sideways Saturday night when we realized Miss Emma was starting to run a fever. At that point, we expected a normal Sunday with a trip to the Urgent Care center thrown in. A lot can change in 12 hours....
We fought Emma's fever all night and had a hard time keeping it below 102 even with regular doses of Motrin and rub downs with a wet wash cloth. We all did eventually fall asleep and missed a Motrin dose, when we woke up Emma felt like she was on fire and was running a fever of 104! We decided that waiting for the Urgent care center to open at 9 just wasn't going to cut it and we headed to the ER.
Once we saw the doctor we found out that Emma's ears and throat looked fine. He (the doctor) was concerned that it could be an UTI and wanted to run tests. Emma got scared at the idea of peeing in a cup and she couldn't make herself pee in the "hat" either, so the poor baby had to have a catheter. Thankfully we had a great nurse and she got it done quickly... then it was waiting on the test results. We were very glad to find out that Emma does NOT have an UTI. The verdict was that she has some sort of virus and the best thing we can do for her is manage the fever and keep her hydrated. If she's not better in a couple of days, we are supposed to call the pediatrician.
Once we got home, we all tried to get a little rest. Emma perked up for a while in the later afternoon and played really well. She seemed glad to go to bed, but was pretty restless all night. About 2 this morning we though she might be getting better, it seemed like the fever had broken. It was just taking a break though and came back about 4:45 this morning. Today will be a quiet, stay home day while Emma tries to fight her fever and we both try to recover from a restless night.

Quiet....

Things around the Breese house have been pretty quiet for the last week of so, so not too much to report.
Last Wednesday, I had a DAR board meeting and Dave's parents were nice enough to keep Emma for me. She had a BLAST with Grandma and PawPaw! She especially liked helping PawPaw out in the yard and watering the garden. My meeting ran a little long, so sweet Emma was out like a light once I had her in the car.
Saturday we made a trip to Home Depot and got a few things to help spruce up the yard for spring/summer. Since it was a cold, windy day we put off buying flowers... but we will eventually!
Sunday was Mother's Day and Dave was very sweet and got up with Emma at 6 AM without me even having to think about it. They let me sleep in then greeted me with Emma saying "Happy Mommy, Happy Day" when I came down stairs. We met Dave's parents, his sister and her family, and her in-laws for lunch at Connie's then it was back to his parent's for a nice relaxing day.
Now, we are just waiting for spring to come back....

My day so far....

Life as a stay at home parents is never dull and rarely goes as planned... Today is a perfect example...
5:15 AM - Get fussy Emma out of crib and bring her into bed with us. Get kicked, elbowed, etc for my trouble.
5:45 AM - Break down and turn on the Disney Channel
6:40 AM - My turn to get a shower and dressed while Dave gets Emma breakfast.
7:30 AM - Making my own breakfast, Check e-mail, do some DAR volunteer work
8:30 AM - Negotiate with an unhappy Emma about the best place to color. The kitchen table just will NOT do... today
8:35 AM - 9:15 AM - Relative peace and quiet. Emma colors and plays while I unload/load the dishwasher
9:15 - 10:00 AM - Clean up the first accident of the day, get Emma dressed, put laundry away, play "sleep" with Emma, start to clean the bathroom, and experience an Emma meltdown while trying to figure out exactly what she wants.
10:00 AM - Figured out that Emma wanted to "cook" and off we go to play... Evidently, I am required for all games today, so my productive plans have gone out the window.

I just wonder what the rest of the day will bring....

Strep Throat

Just let me say it... I LOVE our pediatrician! I called yesterday morning about 7:40 and within 10 minutes they called back saying that our doctor had an opening at 12:30, so we grabbed it. Emma really likes Dr. Kathy and doesn't get too upset about the idea of going to see her. I like the fact that there are other doctors in the practice just in case, but we really do try to just see Dr. Kathy.
We were a few minutes early and they had us in the room right on time. We didn't even have to wait that long for the doctor! A couple of things I like best about Dr. Kathy: she talks to both Emma and I, she really sees Emma as a person, and she's efficient about the appointments without making it feel like the next thing is more important.
It turns out that Emma's fever was caused by strep. Once the test results were in, Dr. Kathy gave us a prescription for antibiotics and instructions regarding Emma being a little germ factory until the medicine kicks in and the fever is gone.
After at stop at the pharmacy, we got Emma her first dose of antibiotic, some chocolate milk, and a much needed nap. A quiet evening at home and a decent night's sleep seem to be working well with the medicine to have Emma starting on the road to recovery. She still had a low grade fever this morning, but it is much improved from yesterday. She still looks a little tired, but is more interested in playing and is actually asking for snacks. All good signs!

Random thoughts and updates

On Saturday, we went to our cousin, Celine's, first communion. Emma struggled a little bit with the church service, she's used to being able to go to the nursery. But, she had a blast at the luncheon afterwards. She absolutely loved getting to play with all of the older kids. The downside was that she missed her nap, so by the time the party was over, she was exhausted! She slept on the way home and wasn't interested in sleeping after we got home, so we vegged out on the couch until she felt better.
Sunday and Monday were pretty quiet, but we did have a fun trip to the grocery store on Monday. We were in the produce section and when I asked Emma is she wanted to get strawberries (a favorite) she was clear in saying no. Then she asked for oranges even though she was pointing to the grapefruit. I was really neat moving through the produce section and getting to talk to Emma about what she wanted and seeing her honest opinions.
I thought we were on track for a quiet week until midnight last night when Emma woke up whimpering. Poor baby was burning up! She had a fever of 102! By the time we got her medicine and went potty, she didn't want to sleep in her crib. That meant that none of us got much sleep until the Tylenol and wet wash cloth kicked in to bring the fever down about 2 AM. We are going to be visiting the pediatrician just after lunch, so hopefully we'll have more direction on what's wrong.

Projects and Road Trips

Well, we know it's spring because the projects around the house have started again :) We did have one project that got tackled over the winter, the freshening up of our laundry room. The yucky green vinyl flooring was replaced and Dave installed a set of wire shelves to add some much needed storage space.
Saturday saw several smaller projects get tackled and completed. Our lawn mower and Emma's wagon came out of storage and moved into the garage. Emma's tricycle also moved into the garage (from the living room), so this led to some garage rearranging. The lawn mower got a new blade, the grass got mowed, and Emma's slide & sandbox got a new home in the yard when Dave edged out a very nice space. A bunch of boring inside chores got done too, but I won't bore you with all those details.
On Sunday, we decided to do something fun and took a last minute trip to Normal, IL and Illinois State University. ISU is Dave's Alma mater (along with his Dad and sister) and he seemed to enjoy showing Emma and I around. Emma had a blast running around checking everything out and chasing squirrels. Because we were there on a Sunday morning (it was 11 AM) the campus didn't really seem to be awake yet and Emma was able to explore without being confined to the stroller. We all really had fun and ended our trip with a stop at Avanti's for gondolas and their YUMMY bread.
Today, it was back to the routine and Susie had a vet visit for a dental cleaning... but that's a story for another post.

Liking where we live

On days like today, I really like where we live. I know that seems like a silly thing to say, but let me explain.

Today is an almost perfect spring day. The sun is out and while it was a little chilly this morning, it wasn't windy - in other words, a great day for a walk. I had a few errands to run and didn't feel like getting Emma in and out of her car seat multiple times, so we headed into our village's downtown area. We could have walked into town, but I didn't feel like being gone all morning, so we drove and found a good parking spot.

At 9:30 on a Friday morning, downtown isn't real busy, at least not during the school year. So after picking up a cup of coffee, Emma and I ran our errands and headed to the park. The playground in the park isn't real big, but we had it to ourselves when we first got there. Emma had a blast sliding and swinging and got VERY unhappy with me when I told her we had to leave. (We only left because a kindergarten class from the church school by the park came over for recess and it got a little crowded with all of the bigger kids). Our next stop was the library because the promise of new books to read helped make Emma a little happier with me. A stop at the bakery and barkery (the dog bakery) rounded out our trip.

Two hours after we left we were back home. Errands were run, fun was had, and it doesn't get any better than that! Days like today really do make me appreciate where we live.....

First and Third

When kids are babies, the milestones are big and noticeable. They have tons of firsts, rolling over, sitting up, a tooth, a word, a step. All of these mean that they are growing up. I've noticed as Emma has turned 2 that the signals she is growing up are smaller and harder to notice, but no less important.

Emma is becoming more and more independent and wants to do more things for herself. Sometimes she isn't terribly successful and she still lets us help after she tries, but she has to try first. One thing I noticed over the last few days is how Emma refers to herself. The norm used to be that she would refer to herself in the third person, things like "Emma do it." Now, we are hearing more first person references like "I tired" or "I hungry." The grammar may not be perfect, but the small change from "Emma" to "I" means that she is learning and her little brain is making all kinds of new connections.

There are times when I am in awe of our little miracle named Emma. I'm so glad that I get to be here everyday to see what new things she comes up with!

Bedtime "Lovies"

The last couple of weeks, Emma has gotten very creative with what she wants to take into her crib with her to sleep. At first it was fairly "normal" stuff, an extra blanket or a stuffed animal that isn't usually in there. Then is was "night, night socks" which is what Emma calls the book "Good Night Moon," but last night took the cake - she took 3 books with her to bed!

Sometimes she goes to sleep right away, but other times we can hear her over the monitor "reading" to herself. It's fun to listen too.

Happy Birthday and a Check Up

Our beautiful Miss Emma turned 2 on Friday and we had a great birthday weekend!

Dave took the day off and we started the day at Morton Arboretum for a nice walk and visit to the Children's Garden. The afternoon included a visit to the Owen's family to see baby Jacob (gee bop in Emma speak) and then dinner at the All Aboard Diner with Grandma & PawPaw Breese, Jack & Kyle. Emma got a huge kick out of getting to sit at the counter and have the choo choo train bring her vanilla ice cream while the wait staff sang "Happy Birthday."

The boys spent the night on Friday night and Emma had a blast getting to play with them and watch a Scooby Doo movie.

Saturday was "get ready for the party" day and I tried a new recipe to make Chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter filling. I learned a lot in that process... things I can do differently so that maybe they turn out better if I make them again.

Emma's party was on Sunday afternoon and she had a blast. Everyone enjoyed pizza from Giordano's (well, everyone except Emma who decided she didn't like pizza yesterday) and Emma got lots of wonderful presents. So far, her favorites are her kid size chair, easel, and radio flyer tricycle. We are looking forward to the weather warming up a little more so that she can use her new sand box and pool.

Today was Emma's 2 year check up with the pediatrician. She got a great big thumbs up and is now 34 1/2 inches tall (75th %) and 27 lbs 13 oz (60th %).

Little Miss Independent

We have working on potty training for about 6 weeks now and Emma continues to do well. We average one or two accidents on most days, but the weekends seem to be harder for her for some reason. Yesterday was an accident FREE day and Emma kept herself dry over night, we were so proud of her this morning! Fingers are crossed for more good days.

One of the unintended consequences of potty training is that we have discovered that Emma has a very strong independent streak. While this is a good thing that we need to encourage, it can also be a little hard on Mommy sometimes. We are having to slow some things down to allow for "Mommy no, me do it" moments. There are also times when we are having to find ways to let Emma do something and then repeat the process to make sure everything got taken care of - teeth brushing is a prime example. And then there are sometimes that we just have to deal with some crying and welling - these are usually safety issues - like when Emma wants to walk somewhere and cars/parking lots are involved.

We are a week away from Emma's second birthday and I'm really hoping that the independent streak isn't the beginning of the Terrible Two's.

The Light in the Closet

Several weeks ago we were struggling with Emma wanting to stay in her crib at night. It seemed like she was waking up every night about 3:30 AM and the only way for any of us to get any sleep was to bring her into bed with us. This was not a habit we wanted to start...

Dave's Mom made the suggestion that maybe Emma was waking up and was scared because it was dark in her room. That made us realize that because of where the plugs are in her room, the night light in there wasn't really helping. So... we tried leaving the lamp in her room on, but that was too bright. We ended up going with the light in her closet because we could use the closet doors to control how much light actually made it into her room. I've been amazed at how much that has helped. There are still nights that Emma wakes up in the middle of the night and cries out, but they are much fewer and there have been a couple of times that we've been able to get her to lay back down in her crib. Good idea Grandma!

Contest details

Things I'm Grateful For

In the past year, I've heard two stories through Facebook about families dealing with some of the most horrible things you can imagine. This has made me think about some of the little things in life that I am grateful for and I thought I'd share a few....

** I'm grateful for the little voice across the hall that calls out for "Mommy" in the middle of the night or early in the morning. This means that Emma feels safe and knows that if she calls out, Dave or I will come in to get her.

**I'm grateful for afternoon snack time. Emma and I get to sit quietly and snuggle while she (okay, we) eat goldfish and watch Dinosaur train. It's so rare for Emma to sit still, that the 30 minutes of quiet and cuddles is nice. And before I know it, she won't want Mommy snuggles anymore...

** I'm grateful for all the messes that I get to clean up. These tell me that Emma is having fun, learning, and exploring.

** I'm grateful that one of the last things I do at night is to tuck Emma in a whisper that I love her. Hopefully, she hears that and it helps make her dreams a little more pleasant.

There are a million little things that Emma does that make me smile and get added to the list of things to be grateful for, the little unexpected hugs, saying thank you, a kiss just because... but, all of these are parts of an ordinary day... and I'm grateful for those too.

Sweet Girl and the Greedy Dog

At 23 months (today!) Emma has turned into a very sweet little girl most of the time. One of the sweet things she does is share... She shares almost everything, but especially food. Her favorite person to share with is Susie, the dog.

Prior to Emma coming along, Susie didn't get a whole lot of people food (but if it hit the floor it was hers). All of that has changed.... Emma will purposely drop things so that Susie can enjoy them. Knowing this, Susie sometimes gets a little greedy and tries to take things before they are offered.

Yesterday, Emma's desire to share and Susie's desire to take ran into one another. I got mad at Susie for being greedy and Emma got mad at me for getting on to Susie. Here's what happen...

Emma had a chocolate chip cookie and was sitting on the stairs enjoying it. I was sitting with her and Susie was at our feet. Emma was sharing her cookie with me and Susie. The first couple of times she wanted to give Susie a bite, she let me break off a piece and put it on the floor. This worked because it let me make sure there wasn't any chocolate and it kept Susie away from the big cookie. Well, Emma decided she wanted to try. She broke off a little piece for Susie and then leaned over to offer Susie her bite. The Greedy dog saw this little bite in one hand and half a cookie in the other.... You can guess which she chose. She grabbed the half cookie and took off running. As I lectured Susie about being a "bad dog" and not stealing food, Emma was apologizing to Susie....

So, today when Emma had her cookie, I sat with her again... But, this time we didn't share. Since Susie resisted the temptation to steal (okay I was right there blocking her, but we're all for positive reinforcement) she got a treat of her own once Emma was done.

Letter to my Neighbors

Dear Neighbors,

I sincerely apologize for running the snow blower at 6 o'clock this morning - I know it's annoying. But, you see, there really wasn't any other time for me to clear the driveway. Dave had an 8 o'clock meeting and because of all the snow, he needed to leave for work earlier than normal. And with Emma being an active little girl, I needed to be showered and dressed before Dave had to leave. For all of the pieces of the morning puzzle to fit into place, I had to head out early to take care of the snow while Dave got ready for work. Then, he took care of Emma while I got ready for the day.

I didn't really WANT to get up at 5:30 AM, put on multiple layers of clothes, and head out into the dark and cold, but there really wasn't another choice. If it makes things any better, I did clear the sidewalks for the houses on either side of us to help everyone out.

I promise to do my best to avoid running the snow blower so early in the future.....

Potty Training Progress

We are well into week #2 of potty training and Emma is doing so great! She is wearing underwear almost all the time and we only use Easy Ups for nap, bed time, and outings. We've gotten to the point where Emma has about one accident a day, usually in the late afternoon or evening when she is too busy playing or eating to tell me she needs to go in time for us to get to the bathroom. Emma is even keeping her Easy Ups dry during outings. At first she seemed to just be holding it, but when we were at Target on Saturday (after going out for breakfast) she told us that she needed to go and actually used the public restroom with me holding her up. On Sunday, we left home a little after 2 to go to a couple of Super bowl parties. Between us encouraging Emma to go by taking her and her asking us to go, she was able to use the same pair of Easy Ups until it was time to put on PJ's for the trip home.

When we started the potty training process, we were glued to Emma's side and were with her nearly every second of the day. We were also constantly reminding her to tell us if she needed to pee or poo poo. Now that we are into week 2, we have been able to graduate to my being able to do a few other things while Emma plays. I just need to be close enough to hear her if she tells me she needs to go because she doesn't stop playing, she just says "poo poo" and that's the signal to go. I also don't have to remind her as often, but I still feel a little bit like a broken record.

Dave and I are both very proud of how well Emma is doing and we are telling her that frequently. Fingers are crossed that she continues to do well.

Ear Aches, Colds, and Potty Training

Since our last post....

Emma has gotten over her ear infection and the cold that seemed to go with it. She shared her cold with me and I have been working on getting better for the last 10 days or so. I'm probably back to about 90%, but the cough is still lingering. Since both of us have been sick, we scaled way back on our activities. It's been 2 weeks since I made it to the YMCA to exercise and I definitely miss it. We did make it to her Discovery Play class on Wednesday and found out that several other kids had also missed the week before, so we think the germ culprit may have been there.

Emma started expressing an interest in the potty back around Labor day. We gave potty training a shot back in October, but she just wasn't ready and we got NO where. Since then we found an eBook that described a 3 day potty training method. We decided to give it a shot.... Based on our experience in the fall, we planned for Dave to take a vacation day to lower the stress level a little. Emma and I got started with PT on Friday and it was a rough day. There were way more accidents than successes. The only bright spot was that some of the accidents were my fault... Emma tried to tell me she needed to go, I just didn't get the message in time. Saturday was vastly different - there were NO accidents until about 6 PM - when Dave and I both got distracted by dinner and missed her trying to tell us. Today - Day 3 - was another big improvement. Dave and I were still sounding like broken records reminding Emma to tell us when she needs to go, but there were NO accidents all day. We also saw a decrease in the number of times that Emma needed to go, so we know she is holding it well. We are hoping and planning to reinforce the message and progress made tomorrow while Dave is home with us. We are a long way from saying that Emma is "potty trained," but a lot of progress has been made and we are very excited about how far she has come in just a few days.

First Ear Infection

Our cutie pie, Emma, gave us a scare on Sunday night.

She had been fine all day until about 4:30 when she came down with a big case of the crabbies. After a few snuggles, she seemed okay and we went about our day. When she and Dave came up for dinner, Dave made the comment that he was a little worried because Emma seem lethargic. The next red flag popped up during dinner... Emma didn't want to eat at all, she wouldn'ttry any of her food even though she did drink her milk. Then the poor baby started shaking and we noticed she was burning up. The culprit was a fever of 102.....

We struggled with getting the fever down... Infant Tylenol wasn't helping. We made the switch to Children's Tylenol about 1 AM when we realized the fever was actually creeping up to 103. That finally helped! (Emma weighs enough that the infant version just wasn't strong enough). When the fever was back in full force at 6 AM, we called the doctor. When the office called back, we were able to get in at 9:15.

After two exams (a resident and our regular pediatrician) the verdict was an ear infection in the left ear. We got our prescription and off we went to the pharmacy... After a few glitches caused by our insurance company and the intelligent way they print their benefits cards we had Emma's antibiotics and were home.

I started Emma's medicine right away, including more Tylenol to control the fever picking back up. She spent the afternoon alternating between sleeping, veggie in front of the TV, and playing. Every time she wanted to play, I was a little more relieved. The fever popped back up about 2 in the morning, but as of now Emma seems to be on the mend.

Who's the boss?

If I wondered who the boss was in my house, the question was very plainly answered tonight. About 8 PM, Emma came up to where I was sitting on the couch and said "cookie." I figured she was asking for her pre-bath snack. When I didn't move fast enough for her, the next comment was "cookie, go." This caused Dave and I to joke about our little dictator.... And since I didn't get up right away, she pulled the blanket off my lap and started tugging on my leg saying "up, up."

When I did get up, Emma crawled up on the couch and took my spot where she waited quietly for her milk and cookies. I did get a "thank you" when her snack was delivered, but I think we definitely need to work on how Emma asks for things.

Brrrrrrrr

We survived a VERY VERY chilly week at our house! It started snowing on over night on Wednesday and made slow going for Dave to get to work on Thursday - almost double his normal commute time. It snowed enough that by the time Emma took her nap on Thursday, the driveway needed to be cleared.... Thank goodness for the snow blower!!!! The snow was fairly deep, but light and fluffy, so I was able to clear the driveway and sidewalks in about 45 minutes. It snowed again overnight, so Dave had to clear the driveway one more time before going to work on Friday.

I headed out to run a few errands on Saturday and had an epiphany... Even though I managed to bundle myself up and hop on the train for 7 + years to go to work in the loop, I don't ever want to do that again. Staying home for the last (nearly) 2 years has made me a softy! The couple of errands I had to run in our little village "downtown" was enough to make me wonder if I was insane for being out and walking in the cold with the partially cleared sidewalks.

The good news is that it's supposed to be up in the 40's later this week....

It's a New Year!

We saw 2010 in with a small party at our house on New Year's Eve then at Dave's parent's house on New Year's Day. We then spent the weekend getting the Christmas tree and decoration taken down. That's always a sad process!

Dave and I also battled a bug of some kind over the weekend, so we didn't make it to church as planned on Sunday. (I had a fever on Saturday night and didn't want to chance spreading germs). We did make it to the YMCA though where we started on our resolution to exercise more by getting our family membership. Emma and I even made our first trip over there today. Emma had a blast playing in the Strong Kid Zone while I went and took a 2 mile walk around the indoor track. What a nice way to start the day/week.

Other good news.... our boxes arrived from Houston today, so we are excited to start unpacking again!

Emma's Adventures

Emma had a big week over our Christmas vacation. Not only did she get to fly on an airplane (one of her new words) and have the excitement of the airport (watching all the "trucks" and "trains"), she had several other adventures...

1) Sleeping on a big girl bed - Emma spent the week sleeping on an air mattress. This worked well, except that Emma kept rolling off the bed! Most night this wasn't a big deal, but on Christmas night, she rolled off her little bed and started crawling under the big bed. Dave and I woke up to urgent cries from a scared little girl.

2) Petting an Alpaca - We took Emma out to look at the animals and some of the younger males were out and about so we took her for a closer look. The boys weren't sure about coming close to us, so Dad wrangled Revenue for Emma to pet. She seemed to like it.....

3) Riding a tractor - Dad gave Emma a ride on his John Deere and this she didn't seem to like. It wasn't a long ride, but she was scared and cried a little bit.

4) Bunk Beds - While we were at Melissa's for Christmas Eve, Emma was playing with the other kids and found herself in the boys room. She followed on of the older kids up the ladder to the top bunk and then couldn't get down. We found her when we heard Emma crying, she was fine, just scared.

So far 2010 hasn't had any big adventures, but I'm sure they are just around the corner!