wanna know why I don't blog much?

because when I do try to do something...

It was a dry erase marker, so it came right off everything except the walls. Every time I try to sit and do some work on the computer, something always happens/someone hit someone/someone is looking at someone/someone has to poo or pee/someone needs a drink/someone needs food/someone is being too quiet/someone needs...I could go on and on.

Today, someone was too quiet. The girls were working on their "homework" and I left for just a moment to look at something on the computer because I'm dumb. I should know better than to do something I want to do. Silly. So now you know why I don't blog much.

And this is why I let her live:
because she is just SO darn cute!!!

Surreal!

I'm having a sort of surreal moment right now.

Do you ever smell a box of crayons or Play-Doh and instantly be taken right back to childhood? Or perhaps see something that can instantly take you to way-back-when? Like a bicycle with tassels or a hula hoop?

Sometimes that's just surreal to me. That something so simple can bring back memories of the good ol' days. I mean, seriously, I can open a box of crayons, take a big sniff, and almost feel myself back in Kindergarten. Seriously.

But yesterday I saw something that I hadn't seen, or smelled, since childhood!


Emily's teacher sent these home with Emily yesterday. Talk about going back to childhood! I remember perusing over these little Scholastic flyers when I was a kid, wishing for this book or that book, hoping my mom would let me buy something.

And omigosh, they smell exactly the same!!!

First Day of Preschool!

Emily's first day of preschool was today! She wasn't nervous at all! She was very relaxed and cool about the whole thing. (Maybe because she knew I was going to be at the school all day to check her blood sugar?) But let me tell you, if this morning was any indication of how she's going to be when we try to get her up for school, we are in BIG trouble! She didn't want to get out of bed! I had to almost drag her out of bed!

But once she got to school, she was ready to dig in! We walked into her classroom and, in classic Emily fashion, she said, "Hey everybody!" and sat right down in her seat and got to work on her little craft project the teachers had for the kids. I had to peel her backpack off her because she was seriously on task. I fixed the barrette that was in her hair and I kissed her cheek and said, "Bye!" She asked me to wipe the glue off her hand and I said, "Nope, I'm off duty!" and I left.

I wanted her to have as normal an experience as possible, so I hung out in my car and did crossword puzzles while class was going on (after a quick trip to Sonic to get myself a nice big drink) and then I'd sit in the director's office when it was time to check Em's sugar. I didn't look in on her once, even though I was very curious as to what she was up to. I could hear her voice every once in a while, which gave me comfort. I checked her sugar as the kids were going into the lunchroom for a little snack, and then again after they came back from playing in the gym. I just quickly checked her sugar, not saying much to her and trying not to make a big deal of it in front of the other kids. Then, as she was going back to the lunch room for lunch, I checked her, and then before she went back to class, I gave her her shot. She didn't seem to care that I was there, or bothered that I kept checking her sugar.

It was funny, though, at lunch time because the director looked in on Emily while the kids were eating and Emily was under the table, refusing to eat. Yep, that's my girl.

The director of her school was SO nice to let me hang around all day, and the teachers were very willing to let me take Emily aside for our quick checks and shot. It was a great experience and I am learning a lot about will be happening while Em's at school and I can sort of predict what her sugars are going to be. I think, though, today and next week it will be difficult to tell for sure what to predict since she had vaccinations on Wednesday. Those can totally mess up her #s.

At the end of the school day, the teacher sent a folder home with an outline of what they did in class and also a cute little craft that the kids did. It was a poem and she had her little hand prints on it. So cute! Avery is definitely going to this school when she's older!

Preschool

Emily starts preschool on Thursday this week. I'm excited! I'm so ready to send her to school so she can make friends and learn things that I don't know how to teach, like why "food" and "good" don't sound the same.

But I'm also nervous. Not nervous for me, but for her. And her teachers. And anyone in her tantrum radius. She's been a bit out of control lately and I don't know if it's the diabetes or if it's just Emily being Emily.

We went to "Meet the Teacher" night on Wednesday. I already love the school, the teachers, and the director! They are incredibly accomodating to our situation with the diabetes and very willing to do anything they can to make Emily's experience at their school as normal as possible. What a relief for us!

Avery enjoyed going to the school and checking out the toys and books. I would LOVE to have her go to their playschool, but we just don't have the money. I'm sure she'd have a ball with all the kids. But really, I think once we get our schedule down with Emily, Avery and I are going to get some serious one-on-one time to play and have fun. Poor Avery gets kind of overlooked at times because she is so quiet.

Fun Stuff

I wanted to quickly jot down some of the fun things we've had going on...

Emily has a stuffed giraffe named Pony. She put her in a baby doll stroller and rolled her into the room and said, "This is my baby, Pony." She showed me her purse and said, "And this is my purse," and then she dumped everything out of the purse and began telling me what was inside.

"This is an ear thermometer, in case she needs to plug her ear. This is a shot, in case she gets sick. Here is a phone, in case it's an emergency and you need to call. This is a blanket, in case she gets sleepy. This is scissors, in case she gets too much hair. This is a sword, in case she wants to get into a fight. I have to go to the store to get a baby, just like you have. You watch Pony until I get back. Bye! Good luck with that!"

Yesterday I took the girls to McDonald's. They really needed to get out of the house. I think they get tired of looking at me all day long. Both girls love meeting new friends and Emily really enjoys telling her life story to anyone who will listen. I overheard her talking to another kid's parent... "I'm Emily. I have diabetes. There was blood coming out and I had an IV. And I have a cat named Chloe." And then while she was climbing in the play area, I could hear her telling some of the kids that she gets shots in her tummy and her booty. I think it's good for her to talk about her diabetes, but I'm pretty sure her approach needs work.

Lately the girls have been painting with water colors. It's fun for them, not so much fun for me. It's just a mess. A huge, brown, wet mess when it's all over with. But really, their paintings are cute. I have some hung on the refrigerator.
The other day the girls had a fashion show. It was very cute! Emily wore a pink princess dress, a princess tiara, a princess wand, and a princess purse. And Avery wore a ballerina tutu, a black purse, a fairy wand, and princess shoes, which did not match AND they were on the wrong feet (she was going for the "nothing matches" look!). Very sweet and cute!!!

And today, they are playing with their stuffed animals. It's so neat watching the girls play with the animals much like I did when I was little. They make beds for them, wrap them in blankets, and push them around in baby carriages and strollers. AND steal each others animals. Like just now, Avery came screaming in here because Emily stole her platypus. *sigh*

So that's it for now. The girls are screaming at each other, so I need to referee.

A Day in the Life

I thought I'd write a post about what goes on during the day of our family and how we all deal with Diabetes Type 1. Yes, Emily is the one with the disease, but it kind of affects the whole family. Mom and Dad have to calculate carbs and insulin doses, give shots, watch what Emily eats, lose sleep (oh wait, that's JUST ME!), stick fingers, make sure Avery is getting attention...

I'm sitting here trying to decide at what point to start. I think I'll begin at bedtime and go from there, because there are times when I get up to check on Em in the middle of the night. Especially last night.

(For reference, Emily's blood sugar needs to be in the range of 80-200.)

So, here is our day, beginning at bedtime last night:

9:30pm (Bedtime) Check blood sugar, she's @ 241. We had gone out for treats at Sonic after dinner and swimming, so she is high and her levels haven't come down yet after I had given her insulin for the treat. (And just for kicks, I give her a couple of sips of juice just in case I did give her too much insulin for the treat) She goes to bed with her stuffed giraffe named Pony and a jet airplane from her army men set. I say, "Aww, you're going to bed with an airplane? How sweet!" and she promptly informs me that it was a jet, not an airplane, sort of in a "duh" tone of voice. Well, alrighty then!

11:50pm Out of curiosity, I want to see what her sugar is at since I had corrected her for the treat and gave her juice. I have a strong feeling I had given her too much insulin. She is at 55. LOW! Even with the sips of juice! So I gave her more juice--half a juice bag (Capri Sun). (Times like these are when I KNOW the Lord is guiding me in taking care of my daughter. What if I hadn't listened to my feelings? What if I had waited an hour longer to check her? Ugh.)

12:22am Checking to make sure her sugar went up and is in a good range. It is 136. Perfect!

2:04am I have a nagging feeling that her sugar might have taken a nose dive after the juice (it's done that before, right after a brief spike), so I check her again. I still have not been to sleep. She is at 135. Super! But if I hadn't checked her, I would be laying there wondering if I should check her. I just go with my gut. Most of the time my gut is right. I have a wise gut.

So you'd think I'd go to sleep, right? No... Still laying in bed, wide awake, thinking about everything. And watching Netflix. I watch old episodes of 21 Jump Street, which gives me bad flashbacks of the 80s.

4:29am I just want to make sure, again, that her sugar isn't low. If I don't check now but wait until she wakes up around 8, how low is she going to be? Sooo, I check her again. 110. It's still in range, but I figure since she was on a steady decline, I'd better give her some more juice. She takes a couple of sips of a juice bag and whispers, "Thanks, Mom," and I go back to bed.

By this time, I have used almost every finger on her left hand for finger sticks (it's the one that's closest to the edge of the bed). Even in the dark, I can see the little bruises, and I can feel how rough her fingertips are getting. She doesn't even flinch when I stick her in her sleep. My heart breaks a little.

We have a chart for her finger sticks. This way we don't use the same spot on her finger in the same day. We use the edge of her finger tip pads, one poke on each side of the tip. It sort of gives her tiny fingers a little break.

After this last sugar check, I fall asleep! Shhh!

8:10am (Breakfast) sugar @ 131. Very good! So glad I gave her sips of juice. She isn't ready to eat just yet.

8:53am She eats french toast sticks (something she discovered she likes during her hospital stay!) and has another juice bag.

9:30am I give her insulin (right arm) and she's good til lunch. I really waited too long to give her her insulin. She needs to get it within 30 minutes of beginning to eat, but I lost track of time.

For everything she eats and drinks at a meal, we count the carbs. Then based on the amount of carbs, we calculate the units of insulin she gets. Really, her diet hasn't changed since the diagnosis, except now at snacktimes, she usually eats what we call "free" snacks. These are no- or low-carb snacks like cheese or deli meats.

12:01pm (Lunch) sugar @ 289. Most likely high because the insulin takes about two hours to really bring down the sugar level from eating. She eats hot dogs cut into sticks and dips them in ranch dressing and eats a bag of Sun Chips.

Normally when she's high, I will add more insulin to the syringe when I shoot her after her meal, but I don't this time because I know it's still coming down from the last dose.

12:35pm Insulin injection (left leg).

Emily has seven sites where she gets her insulin. And each site has about nine areas that you can give the shots. Imagine a tic-tac-toe diagram. We have to rotate sites and areas within the sites because if an insulin injection is given in one spot too many times, she site gets lumpy and the insulin doesn't get absorbed into her body.

She gets shots in both arms, both legs, both bottom cheeks, and her stomach below the belly button. The shot goes into the skin in the fatty part. Since she doesn't have much fat in her tummy, I only go into about six spots around the belly button.

She hates tummy shots and bottom shots. Or "booty" shots, as she calls them :) But we try to make her understand that each site needs some time to rest so we don't over use the same area. We made that mistake early on and she ended up with some lumpy spots on her arms. Arms are her preferred sites. We usually end up using the arms when we're out in public or when we don't feel like fighting with her.

To keep track of all these sites and areas, I made a little chart for each day. This way, she knows what area to expect the insulin to be put in after meals and before bedtime and it's less of a fight (not really, but it helps me keep track), especially on tummy and booty days. On the back of each site square is a tic-tac-toe diagram that I mark where the injection went so I can keep track.

1:00pm We work on "homework" :) I bought a preschool and Kindergarten workbook that has worksheets for writing the alphabet and numbers, working on prereading and stuff like that. I'm hoping it'll prepare her for when she starts part-time preschool in a couple of weeks! While Emily works, Avery and I play with dolls. I go back and forth between the girls so no one feels left out. To make it fun for Avery, we prance into where Emily is working, and then prance back to the bedroom where the dolls are. If I were a smart mom, I'd just bring the dolls into where Emily is. But today, I am not smart. I am tiiiired. But I do work up a sweat! Does this count as "working out?"

2:00pm I catch an Avery poopy diaper before she runs her hands all in it! This is a victory for me! (I take pride in the small victories!)

2:28pm I call Daddy at work and tell him I didn't make it to the store like I had planned. I'm just too tired to drag the girls around. So he says he'll stop at the store to pick up a couple of things. I'm secretly hoping he'll stop at Sonic so I can have a Big Drink. I need a Big Drink. I'm really starting to drag.

2:30pm The dolls are cast aside and Avery starts playing with the shoes in the entryway now. Usually it's just one shoe, and it's usually on the wrong foot. Avery does like shoes! Emily is gets on the computer to do some online coloring. She's working on her computer skillz.

3:00pm The girls are playing dolls together (love it)!

3:15pm The girls are done playing and are wanting a snack. Emily eats some more hotdog sticks and ranch dressing. Avery eats a breakfast bar. We use a low calorie ranch that comes in a spray bottle. This way, it's free!

3:30pm Time to veg with Nick Jr. I am toast. No energy to do much. The kitchen needs to be cleaned. Perhaps tonight. Or not. Whatever. Emily wants "dessert" after her snack. Um, no, it doesn't quite work that way :) It is a nice thought, though.

4:10pm Avery puts herself down for a nap. This is the third day in a row that she has done this. Seriously, the Lord knew what he was doing when He sent me Avery.

I lay down with Avery to rest. But...

4:13pm Emily is hungry. Again. Her sugar may be running low, because sometimes when she's low, she'll complain about being hungry. I check her sugar. It's @ 172. Great! I give her a fruit bar that is low carb, so no insulin will be needed.

Emily's sugar will sometimes run low if she's been playing hard. Or if I give her too much insulin at the last meal. I recently discovered that she's been hiding food. Sometimes I'll tell her if she eats three chicken nuggets, she can have a little bit of diet soda. And then if she eats three more, she can have some more. Then, thinking that she's eaten the nuggets, I'll give her the soda and then give her insulin for what I think she just ate. I've had to really stress the importance of being honest with what she eats because if she hides her food and I give her insulin for that food, she could get really sick.

4:48pm Daddy is home! No big drink. I'm going to try to nap with Avery. (I slept for an hour and Avery slept for an additional hour after I got up. I have low hopes of her going to bed at a decent hour...)

5:15pm (Dinner) Daddy checks Em's sugar. It's @ 254. High. Did she sneak a snack? Was the fruit bar the cause? Not sure. I suspect the fruit bar sent her over the limit. But I'm sure if I had given her insulin for it, she would have ended up low. Daddy gave her a chicken salad sandwich and a bag of 100 calorie cookies for dinner. And an insulin chaser. :)

7:45pm Emily fell asleep. It's very rare for her to nap. But we roll with it!

8:55pm (Bedtime) Blood sugar is @ 199. *whew* In range! So, she seems okay, but I'm still going to check her at around midnight just to make sure there isn't a big drop in her levels. Because I won't sleep unless I know. Because she is in between sleep and awake right now, I give her long-acting insulin shot in her arm--less chance of her protesting since it's her preferred site.

Update on Us!

Yes, I know it has been a very long time since I last updated. Forgive me, but I have an excuse! Uhh...I...got...lazy. Puh.


So, some things about us that have happened since March:


Emily turned FOUR!!! I can't believe it! Wasn't she just a baby? Wasn't it just yesterday that it was going to be for.evv.errr before I had to think about putting her in school? Goodness, time flies when you get old.


She will be starting a part-time preschool in a couple of weeks. We are so excited! We bought her an insulated lunch bag for her to take her lunch to school in. She is WAY excited about that. She immediately packed her lunch in it, and then took her lunch out and ate it. Hmmm, why didn't I buy one of those sooner?

Something else that changed for us is Emily was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in late April. She'd been thirsty and going pee a lot (A LOT) and always, always hungry. I thought this might have been a phase she was going through, and even asked other moms of kids her age if this was something that they were experiencing with their kids. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking "This may be diabetes." I didn't want to think this. My dad has Type 1 Diabetes, and that's the reason I was thinking about it, because I remember him telling me that he was very thirsty and had to go to the bathroom a lot.


I asked a friend of mine, whose little girl that is Emily age has diabetes, and she said, "Take her in to see the doctor!" Not what I wanted to hear. I was so afraid that they'd tell me it was diabetes. And that's exactly what the doctor told me. We had to go straight to the hospital for Emily to be checked in, and we were told to expect to stay there for four days.

We were there for three days, learning about diabetes, getting her blood sugar under control, and adjusting to this new lifestyle that was to become NORMAL for us. It was a whirlwind of information, emotions, all things sharp (needles, fingersticks...)!

But, at this point, we're adjusting, Emily is cooperating with most of this, but we are still struggling with keeping her blood sugar within normal limits. It's a daily struggle, and most days she's too high. We cheer at the normal numbers! And when she's low, Emily cheers because then she gets a snack. *sigh*

Avery is doing great! She talks a lot! She doesn't say much that we understand, but we pretend, and you can tell it makes her feel good that we respond to what she's saying. And if you don't respond, boy, lookout! She will get in your face and yell until you "understand" what she's saying. When she wants a drink, she'll drop her sippy cup in our lap and say, "Please?" How can anyone resist and small child saying, AND signing, "Please?" It melts my heart. She can have whatever she wants!

She going through this stage where she likes to put her hands in her poopy diaper to--I guess--feel her poop. She ends up with poop on her hands, shirt, shorts, floor, wall, toys, and ME pretty much every day. I hate it. I try to put a onesie on her (she's too long in the torso for onesies anymore) and pants, but she always finds a way to get in there. It's gross! She'll come to me with poo on her hands and she'll open and close her hands and say, "Guck!" It's gross.


Avery really knows how to push her sister's buttons. Whatever Emily is playing with, Avery will find any opportunity to take the toy and RUN! She'll run away and giggle and squeal, and of course, Emily will run after her yelling and screaming and tackling. It's kind of fun to watch. Sometimes there are tears, and sometimes they end up in a pile of giggles.

I want to try to do better in keeping up with this blog. I hope I can, so everyone can see what's going on at our house!

Castle Park

I took the girls to the park yesterday. It was a very cool park that had a wooden structure that looked like a castle or a fort. We thought it looked like a castle, so now we call this park, "Castle Park". This will be our special park for when we don't throw tantrums and can eat our meals.

There was this cool robot slide, too!
Emily met this girl at the park. Her name was Ariel. I think since Emily thought that since we were at "Castle Park", that the girl was using a princess name. So when she heard this girl's name, Emily said, "And my name is Cinderella!" So funny! The girl just kind of looked at Emily for a second and then rolled with it.

Avery enjoyed the little doorways.
Avery loves to swing!
I got this cool shot of Emily on the tire swing. I just about got kicked in the lens! The things you do for cool shots.

"Hands-On Fun" - Photo Challenge

This handprint was left on the livingroom window a couple of years ago. I love it. I love the little girl who left it. I love that she was so messy with whatever she had gotten into that she left a print of her hand as she went by.

I am pleased to share with you something that truly made my day! I entered a photo challenge on iheartfaces website. They have weekly challenges of a certain theme, and this weeks' theme was "I Wanna Dance!" I entered a photo of Emily twirling in her Easter dress and out of 369 entries, mine got #1!

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. I don't get anything but a button to display on my blog, but the honor itself is reward enough for me. I've been seriously having doubts about my abilities, and this really helped me know I'm doing what I love and I'm good at it. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to share it with you...

The Seasons

Emily got this really cute dress-up doll set from The Hayes' for Christmas. It has really come in handy for talking to Emily about the seasons of the year. We talk about a season and the weather that you'll find outside at that time, and then dress the dolls so they're ready for that season.
And for every season, there is a time for CANDYLAND!!! Our favorite game! We like to pretend to lick the candy along the path and make believe that we can smell the different candies.

How do YOU keep sane?

I stick 'em in the cupboard.

Don't worry, I throw them a cookie every once in a while.

Can't you just feel the love? *sigh*

*no Gladware was harmed during this announcement.

Avery JOY

Avery is seriously a joy. I was truly inspired to give her Joy as her middle name. She makes me smile from the moment she wakes up until...well...for a while, anyway. She can be a toot and she is pretty stubborn, but she's so stinkin' cute that it doesn't really matter. Her dimple erases most of my frustrations.

She is so in LOVE with her sister! She follows her around everywhere. We're already hearing conversations that sound like this: "Stop touching me!" "Don't look at me!" "Mine!" "Aaaah, she's pulling my hair!" "Get away from me!" She tries everything Emily does. And when they do get along (which is few and far between) it's so fun to listen to their giggles mix together. Bathtime is especially fun to listen to! Lots of laughs and splashes...

Avery doesn't say much. She used to say "baby" all the time, but now she just points at stuff and says, "Da-da-dat!" We're pretty sure she's saying "that". I just love how she says it..."dat" has sort of a whispered "tuh" at the end. "Da-da-dattuh!" She doesn't know how to say "drink", but she'll for sure throw her juice cup at you and yell at you until you get the hint. She knows the sign for clock, and she's constantly signing it and saying, "tickatickaticka."

Ice cream is her favorite food, especially chocolate. Get outta the way when ice cream is on the scene. She'll bowl you over!

Oh, and she LOVES wearing shoes! She's the only one in our house that likes to wear shoes. She will dig through the shoes and get hers and try to put them on. She's crazy.

She likes to put things on her head. Not sure why, but she does. Whatever keeps her entertained is awesome in my book. The other day she had pajama bottoms on her head for like twenty minutes. She looked like a nun.

Avery likes to help clean. The other day I was wiping sticky off her hands and she took the wipe and "helped". I'd say, "Scrub, scrub!" and she'd wipe and wipe.

I love how she walks. It's sorta like a penguin.

What is the opposite of OCD? Because I think Avery has it. If anything is in order, she has to un-order it. If it's stacked, she knocks it down. If it's lined up, she messes it up. If it's laying there really quiet and being good (Emily), Avery will poke it and get it riled up.

She loves to dance and wave and clap. She loves music. And she loves making racket music.

Oh, and she has this funny fake laugh! If everyone is laughing at something, she will laugh, too. Cracks me up! She has a fake cry, too, for when it's time to nurse. I love to just watch her face when she fake cries. Cute. Although, it's not really funny at 4am.

I love her feet and her thighs. I love her back fat and her belly fat. I love her chins and cheeks and her mullet. I love her dimple and her multi-colored eyes. I love to call her Toodles and Sunshine.

Hi

I'm having a hard time sitting down to update this blog. Someone always has to pee or they need a drink or something. It's very frustrating.

We had a good Christmas. Emily is just now grasping the concept of Santa Claus. She wasn't too crazy about this strange man coming into our house and leaving stuff for us. You know how you can threat some kids that if they're not good, Santa won't come? Well, Emily was perfectly fine with Santa not coming! So there went that tactic.

But once she saw the stuff under the tree and that Santa ate the cookies she left him, she was pretty cool with the whole thing!

On Christmas morning, Rob and I stood at the side of Emily's bed waiting for her to wake up. She snoozed for a long time! We talked in normal voices and even burped and giggled to try to wake her up! She finally came around and I said, "Emily, Santa ate your cookie!" and she sat up and said, "Oh!" Then the craziness began!
And poor Avery! Daddy woke her up! She was NOT ready for the festivities to begin. I mean, really, it was 8:20! She slept long enough. And we couldn't wait any longer!

Just look at their matching pajamas! I swore that I would never have my kids all matchy-matchy. Pfft.

Avery thought the presents were all great. She didn't care about opening them. But she sure helped play with all the toys! The girls have "shared" their presents with each other all week.

Okay, so now Emily needs food, so that's the end of this post. Enjoy this little update on the girls! I plan on doing more updates this year.

No really! That's my plan!

Probably.

Uhhh...

Sorry about that. I have neglected the blog and I'm sorry. I have to admit that Facebook gets most of my photos and updates now. But I realize that some of my family doesn't use Facebook. Sheesh.

But lots has happened since the last post. Avery is walking! She has five teeth with three more about to make their appearance. She says "baby" and signs it (basically rocks back and forth while saying it) and she waves and dances and wiggles and shakes and claps and is basically very cute. She loves to smile, and when she does, she crinkles her nose. So cute! She's eating big people food more often now. Before, she would gag and make "ew ick" faces when we'd give her real food. She went down one size in her diapers. Probably from all the calories she's burning trying to keep up with her big sister.

Speaking of the devil Emily, she is still a hoot to be around. She prances and dances and sings all the time. Right now, her big thing is she wants to get inside the books she reads. One time she said she wanted to get in the magazine I was reading, so I told her to go ahead and get in, and she did this diving motion and said, "Oh, it's no use." And then the other night I was reading her a story about Tarzan and she said she wanted to get in the book and play with Tarzan and I said, "Okay, dive in!" and she touched the page and said, "I can't, it's made of glass." I put the book up to my face and I said, "I'm in the book!" and she said, "Tell Tarzan I said hi!" So funny!

We struggled with what she wanted to be for Halloween this year. She has wanted to be a princess, Hannah Montana, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumble Bee, and a zombie. I was pushing for the princess (I know, I know, shocker), anything but a Transformer. And then I was going to dress Avery as a frog to go with Princess Emily (Nana's idea). But just the other day, Emily saw a Supergirl costume and liked it and I tossed it in the shopping cart and said, "Okay, let's go!" before she could change her mind. She put the costume on after we got home and LOVES it! So yay for not being a Transformer for Halloween!

Her name isn't Grace for a reason

You know how it is, you're walking along, minding your own business, and then oops, you trip. You may fall, you may not. Mostly you don't fall because your reflexes are like a cat's. Well, most cats. Not my cat because she's really a sloth.

Anyway, usually if you look back at what you tripped over, nothing is there, right? But just in case someone's watching, you point to the spot you tripped over, saying something like, "Oh hey, watch out for that spot. It's a doozie!" or "Did you see that? The sidewalk totally grabbed my shoe!"

Emily trips all the time. Usually over nothing. Sometimes over something, mostly because she's not paying attention to where she's going. But this morning, she tripped over nothing. And it's not like she trips and catches herself, she TRIIIIPS and I swear, each limb hits at a different time: flop, bang, oof, splat, ugh! Poor thing.

"Oops! I took a tumble!"

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah... I was trying to leap and I took a tumble."

Seriously? A tumble? A leap?

If only she was as good at walking as she is with words.

It was a good day

Last night I slept good. Better than I have in several nights. Avery is teething, so she has been waking up several times (like 5-7 times!) at night. She just cries and cries and tosses and turns. She starts off in the crib, but I always end up bringing her to bed with me. Anyway, last night she slept until 3am! Glory be, I slept four hours straight! I haven't done that in months. After that, she woke at 5 and then at 7. So she only woke three times! It was great.

So we were all in a pretty good mood today. Emily and Avery played together. It was so fun to watch them. Especially since I thought Emily would hate Avery forever. Emily was playing on her slide and Avery was underneath it and Emily would peek over the edge or through the steps and say, "Boo!" and Avery would scream with glee! So fun. And Emily was so happy that she was making Avery happy.

While I was on the floor changing Avery's diaper, Emily exclaimed, "Momma! There's a booger on your computer!" I asked her, "How'd it get there?" and she said, "I put it there." At least she's honest.

Giveaway!

I love the work over there at Cinnamon Sticks Boutique. I want to win the giveaway she's having. Check out her stuff!

The Circus

I'm trying to catch up on blogging today. Avery is asleep and Emily is eating her lunch. So I'll quickly tell you about the circus we went to last week!

It was Emily's first circus, and mine, too. But I was more interested in watching Emily watch the circus.

We loved the elephants.

And the tigers were awesome! Emily thought they were cute.

The motorcycles in the cage were so cool! There were seven of them in there all at once! Crazy!!!

We had seats in the nose-bleed section, but we still had a good view.

The circus was fun. But don't buy souvenir cups from the vendors there. They are EXPENSIVE and they leak.

My Little Gymnast

We signed Emily up for a gymnastics class. We basically wanted her to go and socialize and learn to listen to instructions. She came away from the class having done just that! She enjoyed each class, learned to listen better (a little), AND she can jump off the balance beam, which is something she couldn't do when she first started. Needless to say, we're signing her up for the next semester in hopes that she'll learn to listen EVEN BETTER and that she'll make more friends!

(Plus, it gets me out of the house at least once a week)

The first part of class is, of course, the warm up. They run around and gallop and have a good time.
I think she really likes this little boy. His name is Landry. She talks about him during the week.

She can hang on that bar longer than I can...

Look how her toes are gripping that beam!

Ta-dah!!! She just finished her floor routine, which was a jumping forward roll onto a wedge (which basically helps her roll forward. It's shaped like a cheese wedge.), then a donkey kick that will eventually turn into a hand stand when she gets stronger, a monkey kick that will morph into a cartwheel, a crab walk, and it ended with an assisted backward roll. She told the instructor that she wanted to do it by herself, which she did until the backward roll. Big stuff!

The kids were awarded a medal at the end of the "show". She wore it all day that day. We actually need to sew the medal back on to the ribbon.

So, what do you think? Is she proud???