Introducing Tayla and Allah and Quinda and LOTS more.

So, I am sure you are confused by the title. I promised I would talk about Emerson in my next blog and update you about what is going on in her life. Tayla and others (too many to count and all with names I have never heard of) are Emerson's imaginary friends. Evidently having imaginary friends is a sign of high intelligence. Well, I sure hope so because recently I saw an episode of Oprah featuring a 7 year-old schizophrenic whose early symptoms included hundreds of imaginary friends with weird names. Keeping my fingers crossed.....just kidding. At least she can entertain herself. This year was especially hard coming up with Christmas gift ideas because she spends most of her time playing and talking with her imaginary friends. One of the crafts Emerson brought home from MDO was a turkey that the teachers wrote all the things Emerson was thankful for on each feather. There were five feathers: mommy and daddy, brother and sister, Tayla, apples, my red ladybug. I couldn't stop laughing and proceeded to call Jamie at work. I really don't know why she put apples and her red ladybug. She rarely eats apples and the red ladybug is some random stuffed animal she hardly plays with. It just makes you wonder what is going in her head.

It is hard to imagine that in about 6 weeks my little girl is going to be 4. I still have such a vivid memory of the day she was born as if it were yesterday. She has brought me so much joy and I don't know what my life would look like without her. The main thing I am thankful for this year aside from welcoming Pierce into our lives to complete our family is the peace of mind I received at Children's 2 weeks ago. Contrary to what we have been told over the last 9 months, anemia is actually very common in 2-3 year-olds because they are such picky eaters. And Emerson is not only a picky eater but she eats like a bird, snacking on a few bites here and there throughout the day. Among her favorite things to eat are strawberries, yogurt, chicken nuggets, ice cream and her main food group is CHOCOLATE (just like her daddy). I can't even get her to eat macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cereal, hot dogs, spaghetti o's, all of which most children love. She refuses to eat anything that appears to have orange cheese on it and she won't touch anything that has different items mixed together such as a casserole. It makes cooking dinner very limited. And the bad part is her sister is starting to become really picky too. Hopefully this phase will pass soon because the only iron you have is from the foods you eat. The hematologist told us to put her back on iron therapy for at least another 3 months and we will check her hemoglobin levels again then. In the mean time I will be trying my best to increase the amount of iron-rich foods she is getting. Fortunately this week she tried iron fortified cream of wheat and loved it....YAY! She won't eat any sandwiches so I was trying to come up with a way to get her to eat Iron Kids bread and bought Nutella (the chocolate spread). I know it is mostly sugar and sounds nasty but she liked it and got her iron from the bread. We are taking baby steps.

So, a few other things about Emerson right before she turns 4:

~she fights sleep more than any child I have ever seen (I think she stopped napping at 18 months)

~she still comes to sleep in our bed with us in the middle of the night (totally my fault for allowing this to happen for so long)

~she ADORES her aunts and future uncles

~she LOVES to sing and dance (crazy freestyle but hated ballet/tap class)

~she is such a big helper when it comes to her sister and brother

~her best friends are boys

~she is starting to become interested in Disney princesses

~she has a remarkable memory (she remembers exact word-for-word conversations that happened months ago)

~she is terrified of doctors (who could blame her?)

~she doesn't appear to have a clue about volume control

~she LOVES baths where she "practices her glides" she learned in swim lessons

~she is still my snuggle-bug

I am amazed daily at just how smart and observant she is. I am so proud of the independent, sweet, caring, helpful and well-behaved little girl she has become. And I can't wait to see what is in store for all of us at age 4!

Synapses Are Firing Like Crazy!

Now that Reagan's ear are free of fluid, her language is coming along at lightning speed. Yesterday we were shocked that she said "sorry" after she dropped something. We have never asked her to say that word. She is a little sponge, soaking up everything around her. I really enjoy just observing her and how much she is learning on a daily basis. I am so thrilled about her new spontaneous language. I was really beginning to worry that she had a language delay when really all she needed was some antibiotics to clear up her ear infection (that was missed by our pediatrician). Thanks to a late night trip to Acute Kids with a screaming toddler, followed by an hour waiting at Walgreens, we have a talking toddler. Not only is she communicating, but she seems happier. Once again, I trusted my instincts and KNEW she had an ear infection. I should have just bypassed our pediatrician and went straight to Acute Kids. That would have saved me a $25 co-pay. They should have a return policy. If they miss a diagnosis, I should get my money back.

A little about what Reagan is doing now at 19 months:

~she copies everything her sister does

~she LOVES her baby brother (her first word was baby, she is more excited to see Pierce in the morning than me and she is constantly kissing him)

~she would rather drink her diet than eat (LOVES orange juice)

~she is OBSESSED with Dora

~she is developing a cute, quirky personality

~she loves shoes, sunglasses and jewelry....uh oh

~she is climbing on EVERYTHING, it is only a matter of time until we will be going to the ER for stitches

~she is VERY INDEPENDENT

~she wants to stay at school with her sister when we drop her off - yay! NEXT YEAR!!!

~she takes everything away from Pierce (toys, blankets, pacifiers, teethers, bottles....you name it, she wants it)

~she has discovered how to take her diaper off (let's just say I have cleaned up more pee than I would have liked in the last few days....solution: panties over diaper)

~she causes our house to look like a tornado has been through 10x over on a consistent basis

~she loves baby dolls, and is very good at acting like a mommy.....so cute!

I guess I should let you know what is going on in Emerson's world next post.

What....is it really November?

I can't believe today is the first day of November. And Daylight Saving to top it off. Unfortunately I did not get that extra hour of sleep. Little children do not appreciate that extra 60 minutes. They wake up when the sun comes up. Oh, joy! It is going to be a long day.

It seems like just yesterday I was buying presents for 2 babies. Now it is time for me to shop for 3. Some may think it might be a little early to be thinking about Christmas but I typically have all my shopping done by Thanksgiving. I HATE shopping in crowds with a passion. This year time is ever more pressing because between now and Christmas I think there is only a couple of weekends where my calendar is empty. My sister is getting married January 16th so I have several weekends with wedding stuff. I can't tell you how excited I am for Heather and Tyler. They have been together almost as long as Jamie and me. And let me tell you, the girls ADORE Tyler. They can't wait to call him Uncle Tyler.

Well, last night as you know was Halloween. I have to say that I still really don't understand the all the excitement surrounding this holiday. As we were trick-or-treating through the neighborhood we came across many houses where it appeared hundreds of dollars were spent decorating. Not to mention the cost of costumes. This year I resolved myself to not spend a fortune on costumes that are worn once. Reagan was Dora (she LOVES Dora) and so I made her outfit which was really easy. She had all the clothing pieces, I just had to dye them. Then, Emerson was a ballerina. Did she WANT to be a ballerina, not really. But that was the only choice she was given. WHY? Well, she had said she wanted to start dance this year. So in August we enrolled her in dance, bought the leotard, tights, tutu, ballet shoes and tap shoes and started dance. After 3 classes she decided she didn't want to go back. Dance attire isn't CHEAP. I was determined to get my money's worth. It just seems so silly especially in this economy to be spending so much money on these things. I don't want to sound like a party-pooper because I do want my kids to grow up having fun during this holiday as I did when I was younger. In years past we have gone to festivals and I think I like that better. There are fun activities like face painting, jump houses, petting zoos, etc. It seems when you go door-to-door about one in every five houses are passing out candy. Plus, you should have seen Reagan last night. She had some of the best facial expressions. I wish I brought the camera along. She was absolutely terrified of some of the decorations and didn't appreciate when dogs came to the door. Emerson had a lot more fun this year because she finally grasped the whole idea but she got tired pretty quickly and wanted to be held. Jamie had to work so my mom came over to help me take the kids around the block....thank goodness. I only have so many arms. But as we were going up to the houses we got to thinking how silly it was. Here we tell our children NOT to talk to strangers, yet we let them take candy from them. Seems a little paradoxical.

So, Christmas here we come. I LOVE CHRISTMAS. And, this is the holiday where my kids get spoiled!!!