Sisterly Love...

Ivy said she wanted to hold Emily. That doesn't happen much. Not that she doesn't love Emily but Ivy doesn't sit still very often and then add a big wiggly baby in the mix and it just doesn't happen very often. I told Ivy to sit up in the corner of the sofa and I grabbed my camera. I got a few decent shots before the moment passed...

Egg Hunts...

Ivy had a couple of egg hunts this year...

The first was with our church...

The second was with preschool...

Emily update...

We've been busy around here... When Emily went to her 6 month well-baby check up almost 2 weeks ago, her doctor mentioned a couple of things: that we should have her eyes checked since she has a head tilt and that her ears had a little fluid in them but didn't look infected at all. That week came to a close and we made it to the weekend. Emily started breathing a little differently. She didn't seem stressed or anything, she just started sounding a little congested. No fever or anything so I didn't really think much of it. By Tuesday she was wheezing and breathing a little fast. She still didn't seem bothered by it but I called the doctor anyway and they said to bring her right in. We got to the pediatrician's office and they again said she had fluid in her ears but no infection. They checked her oxygen level and it was 95 so they had us do a breathing treatment there in the office. After that her oxygen was checked again and it was up to 99. So obviously it helped. We were sent home with a nebulizer and told to do breathing treatments every 4-6 hours and to come back for a recheck on Thursday.

Thursday came and we headed back to the doctor for a recheck. Sure enough that innocent fluid in her ears turned into a double ear infection. And the wheezing was better but still there. Her oxygen level was checked and it was 99 but she had just had a breathing treatment 2 hours earlier so that is probably why. We were sent home with our own machine this time to keep. The pediatrician said that since Emily had RSV and this was her second wheezing episode that it may be something she will have happen again so we might as well have our own machine at home. So we have been doing breathing treatments 4 times a day. We'll go down to 3 times a day for a couple of days, then down to 2 times a day, and then once a day (probably before bed) and hopefully the wheezing will be gone as well as the congestion.

Overall Emily has been a champ through all of this. She does really well with the breathing treatments. She has to wear a little mask that is made to look like a dinosaur (picture coming soon). She sits still and seems okay until about the last 2-3 minutes. By then she's ready to get that mask off and get back to playing. She has still been sleeping well. She still falls asleep on her own for naps and bedtime. As usual, I can just lay her in her crib and she falls asleep by herself. I can't ask for much more than that!

Oh and to update on her eyes - she had her eyes checked in the middle of all this. Her eyes are fine. And the doctor doesn't feel or see anything wrong with her neck muscles or structure. So at this point we are going to leave the head tilt thing alone. We'll reassess when we go back for her 9 month appointment.

That's all for now. Sorry no pictures. Next time!! :)

Emily's 6 month stats

Emily had her 6 month well-baby check up today.

27" long (90th %)

20 lbs. (off the charts!)

Doc says she is developing great. She still tilts her head a little bit to the left. Could be an issue or it could be that she just likes to hold her head that way. The doctor mentioned that some babies who have some sort of vision issue hold their heads like that. So Emily will go see the eye doctor in two weeks. If nothing else, we are just ruling out things...

Ivy's party and Emily is 6 months old!!!

Richard and his girls...

Ivy had her birthday party this past weekend. We ended up with about 15 kids. Some were preschool friends, some were church friends (some both), and some were friends of the family. I think all the kids had a great time. And by the end, all the kids were tired and ready to head home.

Emily is 6 months old today!!

These past 6 months have FLOWN by!

She is pretty much sitting up by herself. I definitely put a pillow behind her just in case she leans back too far. She rolls all around. She is excellent at falling asleep on her own. I just put her in her crib and she's asleep within a few minutes. She loves oatmeal cereal. I've tried some various baby foods but cereal is her favorite (which is funny because Ivy hated cereal and wouldn't eat it at all!). We go for her 6 month check-up on Monday - I'll have her height and weight and percentages then...

Ivy wanted to dress up to play outside while I took a few pictures of Emily. Here's one of her running around...she is SUCH A GIRL!!

(please excuse the long grass/onions - we haven't mowed yet)

Ivy turns 3...

First I'll start with a few random pictures...

Here's our little chunk!!

It's been drool city around here - Emily is getting her two front teeth on the bottom.

They aren't poking through yet but it won't be long...

Ivy sharing her toys (this is a rare occurance - I can't believe I caught it on camera!)

Ivy went to a couple of birthday parties at the beginning of the month...

One at a bounce house...

And a princess party!

Then it was Ivy's turn!! The morning of her birthday she got to the top of the stairs and yelled down, "I'm THREE!!!!" She got to open a few presents that morning but we wanted to wait until Daddy was home from work before we got into the real celebrating!

Here's Ivy with her new Lalaloopsy Doll (I have no idea what this is, she wanted one!)

Some new books - Fancy Nancy and Purpalicious

That night, we ended up in the kitchen (don't ask me why the kitchen...) putting together a present. To be funny, I sat Emily in Ivy's doll stroller. It was perfect for her. She could sit up and see but it was sitting her down enough that she couldn't fall out! She loved it!

More assembly of the Cinderella vanity...

Ivy had a special VIP day at preschool to celebrate her birthday. I took cupcakes and juice as a special snack.

Me and my sweet girl on her VIP day at school.

Ivy's cake...

Make a wish!!!

February...

Well, it is now the end of February and I'm just now getting to update this blog. So I'll go ahead and post a few pictures from the entire month so far...

Emily in her exersaucer...

Emily started eating cereal. She loves it!

You can see why Emily needs to be strapped in the swing...

Anytime I change the sheets on my bed is an open invitation for Ivy to have some jumping time. Princess dress and all...

I think Ivy looks so grown up in this picture - I can't believe she's about to turn 3!!

Ivy had butter-noodles for dinner one night. I left the table to grab something to drink, this is what I came back to...

Emily during another cereal meal...

We went to a basketball game - NC State vs. Clemson. State actually won!

Ivy's Grandpa Dave put up a tire swing for her.

And today, I made my first batch of baby food.

Green beans on the left, peas on the right.