Butterfly Conservatory

Emma's preschool class went on a field trip to the Franklin Park Conservatory to visit the butterfly exhibit. They had a story first and got to plant flowers. Then, we went in to the butterfly room. The kids had SO much fun! It's so cute to watch all these 3 year olds completely mesmerized by things that we take for granted every day.

Celebrate Adoption!

Here is a great video that a friend from my adoption support group sent me. It is such a celebration of what adoption does for families. If it touches you...please pass it on!

http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i139/chakazulu_2006/adoption%20video/?action=view&current=hearthope.flv

Seriously?

Well, after having her tubes out for 13 days, Emma has an ear infection. I just *knew* this was going to happen. I just didn't think it would be this soon. She has been running a temp of 103 since yesterday and started to complain about her ear hurting. So, we went to urgent care this evening, and sure enough, she had an ear infection. We go back to see her ENT next week, so I'll be talking to her about some kind of long term solution to her ear infections. Emma has had chronic ear infections since she was 10 weeks old :(

So behind...

I am so behind on this blog...I promise to get some new pics up soon!

To tell you a cute story...

Monday night, I was putting Emma to bed, and she handed me her little Precious Moments bible and asked me to read it to her. I told her that was way too long of a book for bedtime reading and we needed to read a different book :) So, she decided to read it to me, and it went something like this:

Mommy, how I love you. I love everybody in the whole wide world, because I love you. And I love Daddy, and I love you. And, I will love you forever. The end.

How is that to melt your heart. I hold these moments close because I know soon they'll just be memories. I love my little Punky!

Easter Dress

Here's Emma showing off her Easter dress...and her cookie :) We made easter cookies..just the easy pop it in the oven and you're done kind of cookies. This one was a chick before she beheaded it. She looked so cute on Easter...I need to find an excuse for her to wear that dress again!

Surgery

Emma is having surgery on Monday to remove her ear tubes and put patches on her ear drums. She has had them in for 3 years (since she was 6 months old) and her ENT wants them out, so they don't cause permanent damage. Say a prayer for our baby girl on Monday. I know it's a quick and easy surgery but I am still scared to death. I hate being a nurse sometimes...ignorance is bliss.

Opening Day

Well, Monday was opening day (baseball for all you non-fans out there). Emma was disappointed that the TV was turned to the Reds game because she wanted to watch something else. So, Daddy pulled her up on his lap and gave her a little lesson on baseball. It was so cute. She was curled up on Shawn's lap, asking questions. She learned who the pitcher, batter, and catcher were. And learned how to do "You're out!" She's such a Daddy's girl. It was neat watching this little bonding moment between them :)

Fun at COSI

We went to COSI last week with our friends Emmy & Erin. Emmy didn't really love COSI...she was being really shy that day! But, we still had lots of fun. Emma was running around like crazy. Emma is 1 year and 2 days older than Emmy, but they are still best friends. They love playing with each other, which is great, because then Mommy gets to hang out with her friend Erin. We can't wait until this summer, so we can spend lots of days at Choo-Choo park!

Coloring Eggs

Jacen & Emma had lots of fun coloring egg this year. Last year, Emma just wanted to watch, but this year she really got in to it! She was so proud of her eggs!

Happy Easter!

We hope that everyone is having a blessed Easter Sunday!

Last night, when I was putting Emma to bed, we were talking about Easter. She had been learning lots about Easter and the resurrection of Christ at school this week. So, as we were talking about Easter, she told me that Jesus was going to be hiding Easter eggs this morning. I think she was a bit confused ;) Anyway, we went on talking about Easter being the day that Jesus was resurrected and she was like, "ahh...I remember that!" It was really cute :)

Anyway, I will post some pics later of her and Jacen coloring Easter eggs. We are off to Grandma C's house this afternoon for Easter dinner.

Mommy's Done with School!!!!!!!!

(Well...for the time being.)

I am finally taking a break from school. I had been going straight since March 2007 without a break, taking one class after another. I finally finished up my core Master's degree classes and thought this was a good time to take a break. I also decided to transfer to OSU to the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program. So, I'll be off until September and then back to school! The good thing is that all of my core classes that I have taken will transfer, so I'll start in the 2nd year of the PNP program.

I am looking forward to spending the summer with Shawn, Emma, and Jacen! We'll have our evenings free...and finally get to spend some time together as a family!!! YAY! :)

"I'm pretending..."

Emma decided one morning, at 7am none the less, that she was going to pretend that it was cold and snowy in the house. So, she got her hate, scarf, and gloves on. She wanted to put her winter coat on, but I didn't want her to get too hot. So, I convinced her to wear her sweater and pretend it was a coat. It was so cute :) She truly adds so much joy to every day! I love seeing the world through the eyes of a 3 year old!

Holy Snow Batman!

We had a record snowfall this weekend...with up to 20 inches of snow in some places! We had probably 15-18 inches plus 3-4 foot drifts. Emma had SO much fun playing out in the snow. Mommy and Daddy had NO fun shoveling the driveway ;) I am glad that we got at least one good snowfall this year so that she could go out and play. I took so many more pictures than what I posted here, so that she can look back years from now and see all the snow! These were just a few of my favorites.

A Cute Story

I just remembered a cute story...

Lately, Emma has really enjoyed looking through her scrapbook. I just finished scrapping pictures of her 1st birthday and she has been fascinated by the pics of her tearing in to her cake. She kept asking Shawn today when she was going to be 1 again. She doesn't understand that once you are 1 you are never 1 again. It's really cute :)

Also, my big girl can now write her name!!!!! She is still struggling with "A" somewhat...but is getting there. She also knows her address now...and she's known her phone number since last summer.

Feeling Bummed

I am feeling a little bummed right now because we were supposed to get together with Emma's birthmom and her family on Saturday afternoon. We have been trying to get together since January 3rd! But, every time we've set a date someone's been sick, or something else has happened. This time we got 15 inches of snow! I really hope we can find a time to get together soon. We miss them! We haven't seen them since Christmas of 2006. I think it's really important for Emma to have a relationship with her birthmom and her birthsister. I made a committment to maintain that relationship until she is old enough to decide for herself. Besides, we aboslutely LOVE Emma's birthmom and her family, and truly miss them when we don't get to see them.
I hope we have some luck soon!

Emma's Scrapbook

I finally finished Emma's 1st year scrapbook. Yes, I know that she is almost 4! This truly was a labor of love. And, Emma loves to look at her book. Now I can start working on her 2nd year book. I hope you enjoy looking at these pages as much as I enjoyed making them!

Emma's Photo Shoot

Emma wanted to take some pictures last night. It was her first attempt with the camera. She did great! She was a pro by the end, and now all she wants to do is take pictures once I take the camera out!

Cutie Patootie!

This is a day in the life of Emma...sweet one minute and the next...watch out! :)

After the Show

Here she is showing off her loot from the ice show. She got the magic wand before the show and suckered Mommy in to the other one after the show. She had a great time :)

Dinsey on Ice

Here is Emma all ready to go to Disney Princesses on Ice! She was SOOOO excited. She dressed up like Sleeping Beauty. Grandma Denise went with us too. You should have seen her face when everyone came out on the ice. She was absolutely entranced. She couldn't believe that Minnie & Mickey were there too!

The first half of the show were excerpts from Aladdin, Mulan, Beauty & the Beast, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and the Little Mermaid. The second half was all Cinderella. Emma was so excited! She had been waiting for Cinderella the whole time. I was SO upset that I didn't bring my camera. The fine print on the bottom of the ticket said no cameras, but there were plenty of people there with cameras and they were letting people take pics. So, we don't have any pics from the show itself. Oh well. Emma had a great time and got some pretty princess toys too.