It's been awhile...

I haven't updated this in a real long time. Apparently Emma was still in diapers the last time I did. So much has happened in the last year, yet it feels like there is nothing to ever blog about.

Emma has a new baby cousin. Kohen was born July 9, 2011. Emma met him yesterday. When I asked her what she thought she said "I love him". I think they will have a special bond.



















Emma will be 4 in September. I decided to take her to Disneyland for her birthday! She always has such a fun time when we go. Our friend Jerry is going to make sure it is a birthday to remember. We are hoping that Kohen and Auntie Stephie will come along. Of course, Nonnie will be coming too. I don't think she's missed a trip to Disneyland with her Emma bug. Daddy is going to stay home, unless he changes his mind at the last minute.

I met the most amazing friend ever over 3 years ago on Cafemom. Jessi and I met in person last summer and in 8 days she will be flying to California for the first time. I can't wait to see her again. I've been trying to think of some fun things to do while she is here. Maybe I'll actually blog about it!

I may have traumatized my kid...

I went to my mom's house and Emma decided at the last minute to come with me. I didn't check to make sure I had extra diapers. When I got to my mom's I changed her diaper and realized that was the last diaper in my bag. I figured I'd be fine since I wasn't staying long. All of the sudden she disappeared! I figured she was... See More going to poop. I freaked out! I ran to her and said "Emma do you have to poop"? Her response "uh huh" I then said "do you want to try to go on the toilet"? Her response "uh huh" I got really excited and rushed her to the toilet. I figured it was going to be a while so I decided to sit down. With out even realizing it, I let go of her to sit and she fell straight into the toilet! I died laughing,of course she was crying. I fixed her back on the toilet and tried to convince her that everything was ok. Finally we gave up, I picked her up and that is when I realized how far down into the toilet she got, her butt was soaking wet! My mom, dad and I could not stop laughing. I went to go put her diaper back on and realized she peed a ton, so I had to dig out the other diaper out of the garbage (that one was completely dry) What a night. On the way home from my parents she said "mommy" I answered "yes Emma" and she said, "I fall in toilet"? Poor kid.

I noticed I had pictures of Emma's big girl room, but so much has changed so I thought I would post what it looks like now. I just wish that she would sleep through the night. I never dreamed that at age two she would still be waking up every night.

Christmas!

We spent Christmas Eve with my mom and dad. My mom made a pizza and cooked it at our house. This thing was massive. It overflowed in the oven. When it came time to bake cookies for Santa, the house was engulfed in smoke. We had to open all the windows in the house. I'm really surprised that the smoke alarm did not go off. Note to self, have Nick check the batteries.

We tucked Emma in bed Christmas Eve thinking that we would get her gift put together and be in bed in no time. Nick opened the box and we soon realized that maybe we should not have waited until the last minute to put her kitchen set together. The instructions were a mile long! I quickly hopped onto the Internet to read the reviews, and noticed warnings from several people stating that it would take a good 3 hours to put this set together. In our case, it took 4.

Emma woke up as usual, grumpy. As soon as she saw her brand new kitchen set she was happy. She loved it! It was well worth the 4 hours it took to build. She loved it so much that we had to force her to open her other gifts. It took her an hour to get through them. I think she needs some more practice.

We spent the rest of the day with family. She had a blast entertaining our cousins.

Bye Bye Crib...

We decided to take Emma's crib down and put her in a big girl bed. I had a feeling she would like all the extra space to roll around in. Man can she move in her sleep!

It took some time, but we finally decided to get her a full sized mattress, and use the headboard from her crib to save money. It's not my first choice but it looks good enough.

The first night in her new bed was great! She slept just as she did in the crib. (Emma still does not sleep through the night). The second night did not go as well. Nick did not have the rails up correctly and some how Emma got stuck between the bed and the rail. She was pretty scared. I don't know if she fell or if she was trying to get out of bed. The third night, she did great! I am hoping some day real soon she will figure out how to sleep through the night.

Up next, painting her room to match her new bedding. I can't wait to see it all finished.

Six Flags...

Sunday morning Nick came up with the brillant idea of going to Six Flags. Within an hour we were packed and ready to go. My brother and his family came along on our adventure as well.

As soon as Emma saw where we were she was excited! I was a little surprised that she remembered, but she did. We were only able to make it to the Whale/Dolphin show. Emma loved it! Hopefully the Tiger show will start soon! She has an obsession with kitty's.


Lexi and her cousins enjoyed riding the roller coasters. At one point, Alexis and her cousin Vanessa went off to some rides. They ended up getting into an argument and split up. Luckily they found each other before we had to send out a search party.

We can't wait to go again!

Sometimes I wonder if my life is just one big practical joke. This one isn't that funny.

Emma started with a runny nose on Monday. No biggie. Wednesday, Nick leaves for work. He just barley got out of our development and gets a flat tire. The jack broke and the car fell. Finally with my brothers help they get the car back to our house. He leaves for work in my car. One his way home he always stops to get the mail, which is at the other end of our street. My car broke down at the end of our street. Who has two cars that break down on the same day... And why is this not the first time this has happened? (that story is for another day)

Wednesday night, Emma started to get really sick. Coughing, runny nose, and a lot of crying. She somehow also managed to bang her head on the fireplace. We called her doctor to see if we should wait until the morning. He said to take her to the after ours pediatrician a few towns over. No problem right? Well we have no cars. I call my brother, who happens to live down the street to see if we could borrow their car. No answer. Luckily my mom was home. She came out and stayed at the house while we used her car. I am so happy that we went last night. Emma has a double ear infection and we were able to start her on antibiotics last night. She seems happy today.

To top it all off, I went to use the microwave and it broke. Story of my life. Where is that money tree?

I feel like I have nothing to ever write about anymore. Nothing exciting has taken place in a while now. Sunday we went to Nick's brother's house for a small birthday party. Emma was able to get up close and personal with a baby lamb. She loved it!
Nick's parent's brought some snow in an ice chest for Emma to play with. I kinda wish her first time seeing snow was actually going to the snow, but I guess I have to learn to let the little things go.

She was wiped out by the time we left. She passed out as soon as we got her in her car seat.

This weekend, the weather was unbelievable. What do you do when you have perfect weather? Go to the San Francisco Zoo of course!

This was the first time Emma has been to the SF Zoo. We took her to the San Diego Zoo in July. It was quite a different experience this time. She is walking now, so she was able to wonder around a bit.

I think her favorite animal were the grizzly bears. They played in the water and put on a great show for us. Their new habitat is beautiful and they seem so happy in their new home. Emma thought all the animals were "kitty's". I loved watching her point at the animals in excitement. She is becoming a little person.

After the zoo, we took a ride to my grandmother's house for dinner. Emma loves it there. Nonnie made a wonderful dinner for us. We can't wait to go visit her again.






Emma and my mom

Emma and my Nonnie

I worry that Emma is going to be a lot like her Uncle Matt. My brother has always been a daredevil. He has no fear at all. He use to scare us to death with his stunting on his motorcycle. He had a few pretty bad falls. Thank goodness he is out of that stage. We all sleep a little better at night now. (at least during the winter when the racing season is over)

Santa brought Emma a quad for Christmas. She must have been a very good girl this year. She, like my brother, has no fear. She runs the thing into walls, stands on the seat and pushes the button to go, puts her legs over the handle bars. I am so scared for her. This quad is so small, and I am sure kids usually don't get hurt on them but I just know we are going to be in the emergency room one day with her. I must say, it is very entertaining to watch her ride.

She should really watch where she is going...

Right into the bush, I about died laughing.

Trying to run Nick over. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Some one seriously needs to teach this kid to pay attention while at the wheel.

The Twins came to visit... Emma had a great time playing with her cousins, Mia and Victoria. I made the twins tutu's for their one year pictures. We decided to dress all three babies in them, they were not thrilled at all. Emma hates her tutu. Mia and Victoria had a hell of a time trying to crawl in them, but it was fun!



Mia

Victoria



Emma had enough

We haven't had much going on these days to post about... So I thought I would just post a few of my new favorite pictures of Emma...

Every year, my parents would get us an ornament. I always got Precious Moments, my sister got Disney (can you imagine how jealous I was) and who knows what my brother got, probably race cars. I would always think, what the heck and I going to do with all of these pink ornaments.

I have a bit of OCD and everything in my house needs to match, including what is on my Christmas tree. There was no way I was putting a bunch of pink ornaments on my tree. So for years those ornaments sat in a box.

Last night I came up with this brilliant idea! Why not put up a small Christmas tree in Emma's playroom so we can see it from outside the house!?!? I convinced Nick that it had to be done. At 8:30 last night he went in the attic and got our little tree down.

Emma's playroom is purple, with pink, yellow and green accent colors. There was NO WAY I was putting red and green ornaments on this tree! Finally my stupid pink Precious Moments ornaments had a purpose! I must say, I love those stupid pink ornaments!

I NEED MORE NOW!!!

Forget...

I’ve wanted to type this all out for a very long time. A post on Café mom helped me make the decision to do it today.

When I found out I was pregnant with Emma I was shocked. Nick and I had been trying for over a year. We actually stopped trying and that is when I got pregnant. I wasn’t expecting it. We were thrilled! I had my first doctor appointment about 2 weeks after the positive test result. I was a little queasy at the appointment, but figured I was just nervous and hungry. I remember my doctor asking me if I had morning sickness. I said “no”. He then told me it usually starts at week 8.

By the time I got home the morning sickness kicked in. At first I thought it was all in my head. It wasn’t. I continued working for about 3 weeks. I was sick, very sick. I spent most of the time at work in the bathroom. I called my doctor’s office and told them that I wasn’t keeping anything down. They prescribe Zofran, an anti-nausea medication and told me if I threw up three more times to go to the emergency room. The medication was not working and there was no way I could continue to work. I called my doctor’s office again, and left a message. No one returned my call. What kind of doctors office doesn’t return calls! My mom had to get involved because I was too weak to take care of things. She got the on call doctor’s office. They had me go in for an appointment immediately. I never went back to the other office. I went to the doctor at least once a week. And by the end of my pregnancy I was going 3 times a week.

Everything made me sick. Noise, smells (even if no one else smelled what I did) movement, and light. I stayed in my room for months because my house smelled. My family thought I was crazy because it was a brand new home and didn‘t smell at all. Even Nick made me sick, poor guy. The only time I left my room was to try to eat, go to the hospital for a doctors appointment or a trip to the ER. Eating usually resulted in throwing it back up. I couldn’t keep water down. I went to the ER 10 times to be hydrated. I probably should have gone more, but there were times I just didn’t want to go. The ER doctors knew me, that’s how often I was there. My mom and Nick took a lot of time off work to take care of me.

It didn’t take long for depression to set in. Friends stopped calling, who wants to talk to the sick girl. (I know now that they didn’t call because they didn’t want to bother me) I never felt so alone in my entire life. No one will ever understand what I went through, unless they experienced it too. No one will ever know how sick I was. Or how it felt to hear that people didn’t believe I was as sick as I was. Why would anyone make this up? One thing that really makes me mad is when people compare their “morning sickness” to mine. It’s not a competition. I don’t care if you were still able to make dinner for your husband, I couldn’t! And if you were really as sick as I was, you wouldn’t be making him dinner either.

I felt guilty because I would pray for a miscarriage. I wanted to die. I don’t think I ever bonded with Emma while I was pregnant. My doctor gave me the option to terminate. Thank GOD I didn’t, but I won’t lie, I did consider it. I still think about it every day. It never leaves. The guilt NEVER leaves.

Having Hyperemesis robbed me of so much. I always wanted at least two kids. Now, I can not imagine ever going through that again. How would I take care of Emma if I was sick again? Would I really want to miss 7-8 months of her life? Is it ok for her to be an only child? Will I be truly happy with just one? I don’t know.

September 9th 2007, Emma was born. I don’t remember much from the delivery. I know she was face up and stuck. I pushed for 3 ½ hours. Finally she came. I remember being happy and relieved. I thought my nightmare was over. I could go home and enjoy being a mother.
Things did get better, but that nightmare was not over. I started getting excruciating pains in my back. Pains so bad that I couldn’t function. I couldn’t take care of my baby. Nick or my mom would have to leave work (thank God for them). I had more doctors appointment. I was depressed. Why was this all happening to me? It took a few months, but I finally got some answers. My gallbladder had to be removed. In early December I had surgery. Things are not completely better, but at least I am not in pain anymore.

Since being pregnant, my memory is bad. Real bad. I forget a lot. I know it is normal to forget things and I am not the only one. I forget things that I really don’t want to forget. Why can’t I forget the one thing I don‘t want to remember?

Farm Livin

We brought Emma to see Nick's brother and sister in law in Lodi on Saturday. They live on a farm. Or is it a ranch? I don't know the difference=) Emma loved seeing all the animals. Her cousins Lina and Sarah had a great time bringing her around to see them all. They even brought a horse and a sheep out of the pens so Emma could get real close. She was not too sure about it. She likes the better behind the fence. Do you blame her?!? Three out of the four sheep are pregnant. One is pregnant with triplets! YIKES! Hopefully we will be able to get Emma back out there when the babies come!

Emma's Fist Dental Visit

Emma had her very first dental appointment yesterday. I had a feeling that she was going to be a tough patient. I thought she would cry, kick and scream. Since I use to work at a pediatric dental office, I knew what to expect. I have seen a ton of babies go for their first check up and it not go so well. No biggie. If she screamed at least her mouth would be open right!?!

When we got to the office, she played in the waiting room. The RDA called us back, and Emma reached for her. She wanted to be held by her. It was pretty cute. The RDA really liked her. Emma got a sticker (she still doesn't know what to do with them). She sat on Nick's lap while he sat in the dental chair (pretty funny to see a grown man sit in a child's dental chair). The dentist was so sweet with her. She showed her the little mirror and Emma loved it. She opened her mouth wide and let the dentist check her teeth. She didn't scream, cry or anything! I was so impressed. Emma is getting 4 teeth! No wonder she isn't sleeping well at night! I hope she does this well in 6 months!

Trick or Treating... leads to a doctor visit in the morning.

Thursday, Emma helped carve her pumpkin. She had a great time getting the "guts" out. She said pumpkin over and over again. I think it is her new favorite word. She even tried to eat it. She is very proud of her pumpkin.

Last night, Emma went trick or treating. She loved walking around the neighborhood in her tutu. It rained off and on throughout the night, but that didn't stop us. Em went door to door, with her cousins. She even tried to go into the houses, what a goof! Nick dressed in his teletubbie costume. David went as a cow and Nick #2 went as an 80's guy? Not too sure. I guess your never too old to dress up.

Emma had her first sucker! I think she really enjoyed it. She looked so cute sucking on the thing. Anyone who knows her, knows she won't eat so I thought for sure she wouldn't want the sucker either. WRONG.

When we were done, she helped Lexi check her candy. She thought it was hilarious to sit on the nicely organized piles Lexi worked so hard to make.

Last night, she did not sleep. She tossed and turned. She cried in her sleep. It was sad and stressful all at the same time. This morning, Nick changed her diaper and there was blood in her poop. Pretty scary! You can only imagine the thoughts running through my head. Could it be the sucker? Is this because she never eats? What is wrong with my baby? We called Dr. Singer and he had us go see an after hours office in Pleasant Hill. He told us it was probably nothing, but he would rather her be checked. The doctor was really nice, he took an xray of Emma's tummy. She did pretty well. Turned out she is constipated. This afternoon she was back to her silly self. Hopefully she will feel better by tomorrow.

Pumpkin

Emma was exploring the front yard yesterday waiting patiently to go to the park. She kept walking up to the pumpkins and I would say "pumpkin". A few minutes later I hear her say it! It's so cute! She won't say Mama (sore subject), but she will say pumpkin. I thought I was hearing things. I thought it was too big of a word for her to say but she kept saying it over and over again. Later at the park she was saying it to her Aunt and cousins. It was so cute! Today she was looking at pictures on the computer with her Nonnie, and one came up with a pumpkin and she said it again. She really knows what a pumpkin is!?! I was trying to get her to say it for me so I could record it, but being the stubborn kid that she is, she would not say it. Every time I would give up, she would say it.

Back to the sore subject. Since Emma was a newborn, I tried to teach her mama. I never said Dada because I wanted her to say mama first! LOL You know Nick must have been brainwashing her with the Dada's. It totally backfired on me! She says Dada all day everyday. It makes me so mad. It's like she knows I want her to say it and she refuses. I seriously have not heard her say it for WEEKS! She says, okay, bye, uh oh, pat, Dada, and now pumpkin. No Mama.

Halloween Party

Saturday was our 5th annual Halloween party. We has a nice turn out. Nick was a teletubbie, and I was a witch. Every year Nick tries to find the funniest costume. I think this year he really enjoyed what he chose. He was in character a lot of the night, and even did a freestyle rap. I have the video to prove. I hope to post that soon.

Here are some pictures from the night.