Random post

I HATE spiders with a passion.  I don't care if they eat the mosquitoes that have been draining all the blood out of my body this summer, they are still creepy and gross!  This ridiculously HUGE spider decided to come and haunt me and hang out in the tracks of our patio door.  He'll take off when he knows we are trying to murder him, and then reappears after we have gone to bed.  Bastard!

I'm pretty sure he's going to eat my children.

Something a little more pleasant.....I love fall, and this is one of the many reasons why:

The leaves changed over night on our tree.

The girls taking a bath together, and actually playing together- that makes me giddy!

4 Years later, we find this place.....

Phil was out and about for work the other day and discovered a place called Philips Park (ironic, I know) that is about 10 minutes from our house.  They have a huge water park, a HUGE park for the kids (baby, toddler, and big kid areas), picnic areas, golf course, a zoo (it's free), a "sunken garden", and much more.  I had heard of it before, but didn't think much of it.  We decided to go over there today since the weather is so great, and it's really nice.  Macie played at the park for a while and then we walked over to the zoo and saw a few animals.  Too bad we discovered this place now, but at least now we know for next spring/summer.  We also know now that the speed limit in there is 20 mph, since Salesman Ted (aka- Phil) got pulled over doing 33 mph in there.  Our driving is quite different- Phil is very "cautious" when he drives, and I get that...especially when the kids are in the car.  I am the fast and cautious driver- I like to get from point A to point B in ten minutes no matter where I am.  I was meant to be a race car driver, Phil was meant to be a salesman. 
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from this new find.  I'll get some next time.

Macie's 2 year check up

Macie had her 2 year check up yesterday.  No shots this time, we decided to decline this time around.
Height - 35 inches
Weight - 31 pounds
Head- 18 inches

She's in the 90th percentile for all, and "leveling out".  She's doing well overall with both growth and development. 

I haven't done an update in a while as far as how her therapy is going.  I'm feeling a little guilty about not sharing since she is doing AWESOME with all three.
OT is going very well.  She's working on Macie's anxiety, frustration level, and sensory issues, and how to cope with them.  Macie has made huge progress in all areas.  She is less anxious, playing appropriately with toys, she is able to calm herself down better, she's learning how to self soothe.
DT is also going great.  Macie is actually happy to see her when she gets here, and she loves playing with her.  Macie approaches her now when she gets here and chooses the activity she wants to do.
ST is progressing well.  Macie is communicating more with words and sign language.  She is engaging in play by imitating, sharing, and initiating play. 
She's been a different kid the past few weeks.  She's more focused, more calm, she's engaged, playing with other kids, talking more, etc.
We're very proud of her!  Keep up the great work Macie!

Emma- 8 Months

My Sweet Little Em-

You are 8 months old today, and time just seems to fly by faster every month.  It's so fun to watch you grow and learn new things everyday.  This past month has been a very busy one for you.  You are now sitting up all by yourself, and without falling over.  You can even get into a sitting position from laying down, it's so cute to watch.  The big milestone this month is that you are crawling!!!  You figured out how to go forward, and you do it by getting into a push up position and then kind of throw yourself forward.  It's very tiring so you take a break quite often and just relax on your hip.  You are so excited to be able to get to your toys all by yourself.  Your favorite toy is the ABC's Caterpillar, you love pulling it around the floor, and pressing all the letters so it will play songs.  You love books, and you LOVE when we sing to you.  Your favorite song is Old MacDonald- even when Daddy does the silly version with the monkey. 
You are such a good, easy going baby.  You never fuss when we take you places unless you're hungry.  Speaking of hungry....you LOVE food.  You have tried all the fruits, and all the vegetables, you feed yourself cheerios, you drink from a sippy cup, and you hold your own bottle.  I have to say I am so happy you will hold your own bottle now.  It makes things much easier now if we are out and about, or I have to follow your sister around because she's climbing EVERYTHING.  I still love feeding you a bottle though because that's our alone time, and you are still my baby.  I'm afraid with your growing independence that we are going to have fewer alone times like that. 
You love being outside.  You sit in your saucer, or lay on a blanket and just watch the world around you.  You love watching Macie run around the yard, and you love watching Otis.  I'm curious how you are going to like snow, but I am not really looking forward to it.  We've had a great summer and we've been outside so much I hate to see it go! 
I'm trying so hard to get you to say "Mama".  You try so hard to imitate me, but the sound just won't come out.  You giggle at me when I talk to you, and you kick your feet in excitement when I sing to you.  I love this age, and I wish I could make time stand still.  I could do without the food spewing part though, I don't enjoy being painted with squash and sweet potatoes!  Because of those incidents, you clearly understand the meaning of the word "no". 
You are so sweet, adorable, funny, and mischievous.  You are very cuddly when you are sleepy, and I love our cuddle time!  I can't wait to see what's next.

I love you Em!
Mommy

I giggle every time I look at this picture!

WAY overdue congratulations!!!

I can't believe I never blogged about the birth of the cutest little baby boy EVER!!!! 
My cousin Marissa and her hubby Shawn had Shane Wilson Ritter on September 14.  He was 9lbs 7oz. 
I can't wait to meet him.....hopefully on Sunday???!!! 
Sorry I am so late with this post.  Is he starting college yet?

O-R-E-O

Oh, oh, oh, ice cold milk and an Oreo Cookie.  They forever go together, it's a classic combination.  When a dark, delicious cookie meets an icy cold sensation.  Like the one and only creamy, crunchy, chocolate,
O-R-E-O.

This kid knows her way around an Oreo cookie.  Phil loves his cookies and milk at night, but he has never taken them apart and eaten the filling out in front of Macie.  She figured out this secret all on her own.  She does it every time, and she NEVER breaks the cookie.  Now that's talent!

Macie's 2nd Birthday Backyardigans celebration!

We had Macie's party on Saturday, and it all turned out pretty great.  It was Backyardigans theme, of course.  The weather could have cooperated a bit more, but we all had a great time with family and friends.  Thank you to everyone that came to celebrate, and for all the wonderful gifts you got for Macie. 

Another day of quality parenting

I got so sick of telling her over and over to not climb on the table....I gave up.  I know, great parenting.  I have to pick my battles these days.

New Art Easel

Thank you Grandma and Papa for the new art easel you got me for my b-day!

At first Mommy thought I was only going to play with the box, but then when I realized what was in the box I was sooooo excited. 

I sure am using my imagination with this new easel, and I discovered it can also be used as a snack station, and a make-up station!!!!

Um.....

Did someone forget to tell me about a switch that's flipped when your child turns two? The day Macie turned two, she acquired this new high pitched squeal/whine that's accompanied by a "nah nah nah" (no, no, no). She suddenly is protesting bed time, and she gets out of bed and slams her door a few times before finally going back to her bed. Let's not forget the kid that used to like brushing her teeth, and did it very well on her own.....not anymore. Now teeth brushing consists of me holding her head in my elbow, kind of like a headlock, and forcing the brush in her mouth. Good times.
Two can play this game, and that is why today she has said "all done Mama", and "cookie please". Woo hoo!!!! It's all about standing my ground, and suffering through the whining! She doesn't need expensive therapy, I DO!

I know, I know.....Welcome to parenthood and the "terrible twos", right???

Bilingual?

Maybe Macie speaks another language, and that is why we don't understand what she is saying!

Instead of saying "Dada" now, she says "Da Deeeeeee". "No" is her favorite word now, and she says "Nah Nah". The "no" thing came along the day after her 2nd birthday.....shocker! She also called me "Mom". It sounded so grown up, and almost formal!!! I'm waiting for her to call me by name now.

Emma has now learned to crawl forward. Not sure I would really consider it crawling though. She gets up in a push up position, and throws herself forward. She is also getting very close to sitting up herself from a laying position. She gets herself rolled over on her hip and supports herself on her arm and she tries to sit up. She generally ends up rolling over to her back, but she sure is trying hard! She wants so badly to follow Macie around, but she can't keep up with her just yet!

Macie- 2 Years Old!!!

1 Month

1 Year

2 Years

Happy 2nd Birthday Macie! It's so cliche to say, but it really feels like we just brought you home from the hospital, and you're already 2. You are such a sweet, funny, smart, beautiful little girl. I see you learn new things everyday, and you have such determination. Whether it's climbing something new, or learning a new task, or trying to figure out a toy you work on it until you conquer it.

You have really come a long way in the past six months, and your Daddy and I are very proud of you. We love seeing the changes in you, and you are also pretty proud of yourself. Grandma always says that she's convinced that there is a 40 year old woman trapped in your body, and I am starting to agree with her. It's really just the looks you give us sometimes, or your independence. You want to do everything yourself. You don't dare let us feed you anything. I try with the messy things like ice cream, but you want to do it yourself no matter how messy you get. You climb up into your chair yourself for meals, you help put on your own shoes, and you are getting good at dressing yourself. You stand at the sink after your bath and brush your own teeth, and you climb into your car seat all by yourself. You are so sweet and have been giving me lots of hugs and kisses lately. You also feed me some of your food from time to time.

It's all kind of bittersweet! We are thrilled that you are learning all these things, but it's hard to see you grow up so fast, and not need your Daddy and I so much.

We will always be there for you whether you're 40, or 2!!!!

We love you so much Face! Happy 2nd Birthday!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Loves of my life!!!

I talk about how exhausted I am, how hard it is with the girls being so close in age, and the difficulties with Macie. I complain that I need a vacation, or just some alone, or adult time. I feel guilty about the complaining sometimes, but I also know that it's normal to feel that way.

I worked during the day yesterday for the first time in 9ish months. I dropped the girls off at Grandma and Papa's house- thanks Grandma and Papa!!! All the complaining I do.....I missed them so much yesterday!!!

They are the loves of my life, and I am so very grateful that I get to be their Mommy!!!

Potty Time.....not so much.

So...I bought a potty chair for Macie about 8 months ago (yes, seriously). She was showing signs of being "ready" (hiding in a corner to poo, etc.). The said potty chair has been sitting in our bathroom for 8 months collecting dust. I put her on it once, and she cried. I have NEVER wanted to push the potty training thing with her. She's got too much going on as it it, I didn't want to make it a big deal. She will use it when she's ready, right????
The potty seat doubles as a step stool. We have been using it as that. When she gets out of the tub, she climbs on it and brushes her teeth.....herself!!! She brushes, runs the brush under the water, brushes again, she loves it!
Yesterday she got up on the stool/potty seat, was brushing her teeth, and she peed on top of the seat/stool.

Close enough, right??????
A step in the right direction??? She did get a little on the bath rug that I JUST washed the day before. That was a little annoying.

Funny/cute pictures

I told her "no drinking and driving", she doesn't listen.

"How you doin'?"

CHEEEEEEEESE

Maybe I can gnaw my way outta here.

Emma is on the move.....backwards. She can scoot backwards like no other, and she always ends up under the ottoman with just her head sticking out.

She's so stinkin' cute!

Random happenings

Last week was insane for us, and we are so glad that it came an end. We had some stressful moments, but the good moments outweighed the stressful ones. We were just busy, busy, busy! Monday we had Susie, Nelson, and Jaden over- we always have great time with them!!! Tuesday was filled with therapy appointments for Macie. Wednesday was Emma's MRI, and then I went to a wake that night. Thursday- more therapy, went to Grandma and Papa's house, and I worked that night. Friday was three therapy appointments, and then I worked until 1:30am. Saturday we went to a BBQ at John and Kari's house, and then wrapped up the week yesterday at Giovanni's 1st Birthday party!!! I also dragged the girls to target on Friday. I was scared with how that was going to go, they were both tired! They were AWESOME!!! Macie and I got the giggles while shopping, and we couldn't stop. She would laugh, I would laugh and then we ended up not being able to stop. Emma just looked at us like we were crazy!

All that running around, and Macie still had her best week yet. Her speech therapist said she had the best session she's ever had. OT said she's really making some great progress. Macie ran around all day Saturday with a bunch of other kids. She was laughing, throwing, and kicking balls around with them, chasing a little boy all over the place. She was great yesterday too. She played some games, ran around with more kids, and was pretty happy all day. Her OT came again yesterday, and she feels Macie is "turning a corner". She said her eye contact is incredible, she is able to self soothe, she engages is play, and imitating. The OT is now focusing on Macie's anxiety with adults, and people she doesn't see everyday. She also feels that a lot of Macie's whining, crying, and not talking is mostly a learned behavior. I've been beating myself up for a long time about this. It's hard to not give in to her when she's crying and screaming for something. It's either really annoying after a while, or I fear she will wake Emma up. So, we give in to her to get her to stop. She's not dumb....she knows if she whines, she'll get whatever she wants. So, we are working on ignoring the behavior, rewarding her for "using her big girl words" and sign language, and it seems to be working a little.

I am so proud of Macie. She has come a long way in four months. I don't necessarily see the differences all the time because I am with her everyday, but we have gotten many comments that she is "different" (in a good way). She is interacting more with others, she is so affectionate, and cuddly. I get hugs and kisses a lot now. I have to ask for them most of the time, but that's fine with me!

Grandma Scimeca gave Macie a very special gift on Sunday. She brought her a set of china doll dishes that she played with as a little girl. They are really beautiful, and can't wait until Macie can play with them. We will be putting them on a shelf in her room....out of reach for now. Thank you Grandma, what a great gift!!!

Emma- Results

Phil talked with the Pediatric Opthamologist the morning after Emma's MRI. The MRI showed that the mass in her eye is benign, and it is not doing any damage. It is called a Dermoid. I did not know this until just now, but it's probably another result of Emma's "traumatic" birth.
We are to keep an "eye" (no pun intended) on it. If it grows, we are to bring her to the Dr. immediately. We have an appointment for her in January to check her vision, and see if there are any changes to that. If all is well through January, she will more than likely have another MRI in six months to see if there is any change.

In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger- "It's not a tumor".
BIG.....GIGANTIC sigh of relief!!!

Emma's MRI

Emma was a trooper today for what she went through.

I got her up at 1:30 this morning and gave her her last feeding. She was so happy to see me when I woke her up that I had to remind her that this was a "special occasion", and not to get used to it.....we sleep at 1:30am. She took a while to fall back asleep, but she did around 3.

We headed to the hospital and arrived around 8:30. My Dad met us at the hospital and took Macie back to their house. Thanks Mom and Dad.

We went in and got Emma registered. She was so good the whole time, even with being hungry. We got settled in her room, and they came and informed us that they would have to hold off on her MRI until 10:00 because there was an emergency. She was starting to get a bit fussy from hunger, but we just kept her as occupied as we could. Around 9:30 the Pediatric Imaging Nurse tried to start an IV, and after what seemed like two hours, and two failed attempts, she could not start the IV. It was hard to watch her cry so hard, and look at us like she wanted us to scoop her up and take her away. This nurse called the Pediatric floor, and the NICU and got a nurse from each department to come and try to get an IV in her. They decided to try her hand this time. After two attempts and a lot of moving the needle around to find the vein they did get it. I was just starting to lose it. I had the lump in my throat, tears filling my eyes, and the nurse said "got it". Great timing!!! Shortly after, the nurse started giving her the sedation, and she slowly calmed down and then fell asleep. For some reason watching her go to sleep was extremely hard. I can't explain why, it just was. We showered her with kisses and they took her away to do the test. It took about an hour and a half total. Emma unfortunately woke up towards the end of the test so they had to give her more sedation.

This is what a double dose of sedation looks like!

When she was done, she started waking up and they brought her back in to us. I got to hold her right away and give her a much needed bottle. She finished the bottle, they checked her vitals, and we were able to head home.

I fed her another bottle and she is now sleeping off her hangover!

We should get the results tomorrow!

This was right when we got there....she had NO idea what she was in for....poor baby.

Sleepy baby cuddles and a much needed bottle.
Daddy snuggling Emma after the first two attempts at the IV.
Right before we dressed her and headed home. Nothing better than some awesome drugs, some food in her tummy and DADDY!!!!

So sweet!

Thank you to Lynne, Marissa, Shawn, Jackie, Mike, Andrew and Jacob. They sent Emma the cutest stuffed dog. Emma LOVES her and the dog (nameless right now) will be accompanying Emma to her MRI.

Emma- 7 Months

Little Em-

Tomorrow you will be 7 months old. I am writing this a day early since I will not have time tomorrow. You are going in for an MRI in the morning. I have to admit I am very nervous, and praying that everything goes just fine, and that the results are normal. I know this test needs to be done, but if I could....I would just not show up tomorrow. They are going to give you an IV, and sedate you. You just seem too little to have all that done! I'm sure you will be a trooper, you always are!

You have been awful busy this past month, and time is just flying by! You are still sleeping like a champ- 10 hours a night. You are now sitting up on your own, you are crawling/scooting backwards right now, but getting so close to going forward, and you just had your first tooth poke through your gums today. You are imitating all kinds of sounds and my favorite is a monkey! You are trying so hard to say "quack quack", but it just won't come out. I am also trying desperately to get you to say "Mama" first. Macie said "Dada" first so it's my turn!

You are such a happy baby. As long as someone is talking to you, you are content. You love when Daddy and I read books to you. It seems that Goodnight Moon is your favorite so far. You are so interested in all your toys. You try so hard to get to them, and study them before giving them a try.

You are such a snuggler, and I can't get enough of it. After you've had a bottle, you lay your head on my shoulder and just hang out there for a bit. You are always touching my face when I talk to you, and it's just the sweetest!

Can't wait to see what this next month brings. Love you to pieces!!!

Mommy

Big girl

Emma sat up on her own yesterday, without support for the first time. She's still a bit wobbly, but she's getting there!

Emma, what does a monkey say?

Turn up the volume. You mostly hear my annoying voice, but you can hear her a couple times say "ooooh ooooh, ah ah", and you can see her trying to form her mouth to do it. So cute!