Laryngomalacia Awareness Video

A video about Laryngomalacia made by my support group, Coping with Laryngomalacia. There's some pictures of Emma in it, and a good explanantion of laryngomalacia. Keep your tissues handy though!

Will Making Emma Laugh with Raspberries!

10 Months Old

 
On Wednesday, Emma will be 10 months old. We haven't done an update in a while because there seems like either too much or nothing much to write about at any given time. Over the last month: we've been busy practicing for Easter with the choir at church, Jered's busy both with his regular duties, and with planning the annual Chief's dining in. In addition, my purse was stolen, Emma's reflux flared up, and Will (thankfully) has been a sweetheart. Emma has cut 2 top teeth, and weighs 19lbs now. I didn't realize her reflux was acting up that badly until she started eating so much more with the increase in meds. Poor thing, we thought she was doing fine with decreased dose. She gained over 1/2lb in 2 wks after increasing her meds, and is now eating solids with almost every meal. New foods she likes are yogurt and veggie/meat purees. I will probably start giving her more table food now that she's not refluxing as badly. She is sleeping without her swaddle all the time, and although she takes longer to fall asleep, she sleeps very soundly and doesn't cry, so eventually we hope she be able to fall asleep as quickly as she used to with the swaddler.

Will has been getting so good at memorizing his verses for Awanas class. His teachers told me he runs in the room every week and wants to say his verse right away. He has also been playing so well with Emma. Since she can sit by herself now, she has blanket play time on the floor and he sits down with her and plays with her. They talk to each other, he hands her toys and shows her how to play with them. They do this for a long time! Like an hour, they will sit there together and play. It's really cute! Will still goes to gymnastics at My Gym every week, and he attends MOPPETS while I'm at MOPS, and at my weekly small group Bible study we are together. The rest of his registration papers for Pre-K were stolen along with my purse, so we'll have to do those over. He starts school in July.

We made vaction plans for June, and we will get to see both Jered's family and my family in Dillon, CO. We are really looking forward to it! Abby is coming out for 10 days, over Palm Sunday and Easter. We are having Emma's dedication on Palm Sunday, and it worked out that I'm singing a special with a small group then. On Easter, Jered and I are both singing with the choir, and I have a small solo (pray for my nerves, lol!). We are also having the Family Ministry potluck and Easter Egg Hunt at our house that afternoon. During the time Abby and her friend Megan will be staying with us, Jered also has his dining in, and we have GI and Cardiologist appointments for Emma. It will be a very busy week. This coming week, I'm going to try and finish the process of getting all new ID's, credit cards, and cell phone. It has been very trying to get my identity back! We wish everyone a happy Easter season and hope it is filled with joy over the resurrection of our Savior, a blessing that outweighs all frustration!

Day at the Zoo

Pictures from our day at the zoo with our friends the Strouses. We went Monday and spent a few hours looking at the animals and having a picnic lunch. We saw the other side of the zoo from 2 weeks ago when I took Will and Emma by myself, and we still haven't seen all the exhibits! I remembered it being listed as one of the best zoos in the country but was vague on the details, and a conversation with Jered's mom today about zoos prompted me to look that up again.

Apparently, it's listed either #1 or #2 in the nation, depending on which list you look at (San Diego competes with Columbus, OH for best in the US), and is historically considered the most innovative and modern as far as contemporary zoo keeping and conservation. San Diego Zoo has over 4,000 animals and 880 species and is the first zoo to use "cageless" exhibits. The Giant Panda exhibit is one of only 4 in the world. The San Diego Wild Animal Park is also on some Top 10 lists. How blessed are we to visit anytime we want?! I was surprised to see on a couple Top 10 lists the Houston, San Antonio, and Ft. Worth zoos, which is pretty cool. I didn't realize they were among the top 10 in the country also! Go Texas!



Also some cute pictures on here of Emma sitting and standing, and Will holding Emma in his lap, so make sure you click through all of them!

Mandy's 29th Bday

A couple of days ago, we celebrated my 29th birthday. I got to go shopping for 4 hours - by myself!! It was lots of fun. Definitely a big change from my usual routine with both kids in tow. While I was gone, Will asked Jered, "Where's Mommy?" Jered said, "shopping," and so of course Will said "for food?" He couldn't fathom why else mommy would be shopping. This week I also took the kids to the zoo after we couldn't find parking for free Museum day at Balboa park. Will was really looking forward to seeing the train museum, and when we had been looking for a parking spot for almost an hour, he told me "we're just disappointed Mommy." Couldn't let that happen! So we used the zoo membership passes Abby got us for Valentine's Day and walked around for 3 hours. Next time, I will NOT take the double stroller unless Jered is there to push it. 2 kids + stroller + backpack = 100lbs! I was a little sore to say the least. This week we also ate out a lot so I wouldn't have to cook (yay, no dishes!), so I've had mexican at Miguel's, hamburger at Red Robin, and Chik-fil-A. Yum yum, I'm spoiled...although I did make a fresh spinach salad with chicken last night O:-)

Today we are registering Will for pre-K! I can't believe he's old enough for school already and will turn 4 the week after school starts...it has gone by so quickly! I can't have asked for a better helper and little buddy though. Will helps me all day, sometimes without me even asking, from feeding and letting the dogs out to potty, to entertaining Emma. He also does little things that I don't even think about, but are helpful. He uses the potty totally on his own, doesn't ask for help wiping or washing hands, and even puts his own things in the hamper if he has an accident and puts on clean clothes! At least 50% of the time, he puts his dishes in the sink and throws away his trash before I say a word. He doesn't make messes or trouble and is very good when we're out. He uses his imagination and it's rare for him to "be bored" or not think of how to entertain himself. I've really been blessed thus far in my "stay at home job," having such a sweet boy to look after.

Emma will be 9 months in 9 days. She's still babbling a good bit - yesterday she was rolling around playing during nap time, blowing raspberries and saying "mamamama." She's trying to get to the sitting position by herself, but still falls over right away if you place her down to sit on the ground. At her 9 month check up, I'll ask about physical therapy as sitting is usually mastered by 7 months at the latest. However, she scoots pretty well and by rolling and scooting can move around the room to get toys, but no crawling yet. Overall doing very well for the hurdles she's had to overcome. She is enjoying baby food, but I have to watch what foods she eats. Some of the more acidic foods make her reflux act up, something I haven't had to deal with before. So I got a list of the acidity in various baby foods, and I'm trying to be conscious of it. Emma also LOVES the little melt in your mouth Puffs and Mum Mums, and I plan on giving her yogurt melts and baby yogurt soon too. I haven't tried any crackers since she just got the hang of baby Puffs, but we will probably try some crackers soon too since that was one of Will's favorite foods 7-12 months. She loves eating (only time she gets cranky is when she wants her food now!), and so far has been game for any food we've given her, although she's not a big fan of fruit (they are acidic anyway). Her favorite person is still mommy, and gets anxious when I'm not in sight. However, she lights up and squeals loudly when Will plays with her, and holds her arms out to Jered and waves wildly when he gets home from work. She waves for all her might, says "bawawawa!" and starts squealing if he doesn't say Hi back right away. Adorable!