Teacher and Student, Mother and Daughter(s)

Tissue letters

2010-01-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

Objective: fine motor, spelling name, letter recognition

Materials:

Tissue paper cut into small pieces, elmer's glue, small pieces of cardstock or index cards, sharpie to write letters, 2 bowls and a paintbrush.

Turn glue into glue water. Use about 25% glue to 75% water. It's very forgiving though. Make sure water is warm/hot or you'll be stirring a long time.

Total prep time: 10 minutes

First we identified (well she did) all the letters and I asked her what she thought we could spell with those letters. She immediately responded "Ember." But she's been able to spell her name for a few months. For a child newer to spelling their name, you may want to help them arrange the letters and spell the name a few times together.

I allowed her to select the first letter and told her we would use the glue-water to paint the whole letter. I helped with the first one. Then I showed her the tissue paper and stuck a piece to the letter to show her what to do, then she took over.

She painted on the glue-water for all subsequent letters. Note that I tape down her work. It makes it less frustrating to work when the paper doesn't move.

She did the rest of the tissue herself, with a few reminders that the idea was to fill in the letter, not the area around the letter.

Then we arranged the letters and read her name.

After they dried I cut out the letters for her to glue on a piece of construction paper, but we didn't have time for this step today.

Total time spent: 25-30 minutes (10 of those were prep time)

She's my child

2009-12-27T11:01:00.002-08:00

Ember is trying out her Leapster. I just heard, "Go away Daddy. I don't want any help." Yep... that's very, very me. I have a hard time asking for help when I'm learning. I've always preferred to figure things out myself even if it ends up being the hard way!

2009-12-27T11:01:00.001-08:00

Back to normal life

2009-12-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went. Now I have new teaching tools (and an exercise bike!!!) and Ember has new toys. Ember got to spend some time with Dan's family which is nice. She had fun and I snuck in some social skills work, hehe.

The big hit with her is the dollhouse. Everyone was right. It was so worth it to get the nice dollhouse and have it be loved and played with. I seriously think we've have lost and broken pieces right now if we'd gone with anything less. The dollhouse was the only thing Santa brought her this year, but I seriously think it's going to last her for years.

She also adores all her littlest pet shop characters and the LPS day care. I really need to get on top of organizing her playroom, so we can find all the LPS and accessories. Not to mention everything else. I know what I want to do. It's just a matter of doing it!

She insisted on sleeping with her new princess blanket last night. It is soooo soft! She has a pinching habit that is a self soothing method for her and it looks like that blanket is the right texture for her. Pinch away, little one!

So, now that I know what she got for Christmas, for her playroom I still need to get a table and chairs, an easel, non carpet floor covering for her workspace and a couple additional shelves so I can organize her books, learning materials and craft supplies.

Ember liked it!

2009-12-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

Ember seemed to enjoy the structured experience of homeschooling much more than I expected. She was focused, excited and learned things she then shared with my mom and Dan. I'm looking forward to the next day! I seriously thought this would flop since she is 2.5 and I'd never expect a 2 year old, or really even a 3 year old to like to be academic. Interesting kiddo I have here. Fun for me though!

S and N

2009-12-22T04:45:00.001-08:00

Yesterday morning I heard the word "snack" for the first time. And then before bed I heard the word "snot" and "snake." It's bittersweet. I already miss the sack, sot and sake.

I think I'm all ready for today. I'll post later with how it goes.

Wait a minute, I'm a teacher

2009-12-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm probably setting myself up for failure, but here's what I'm thinking. I think I may start loosely homeschooling Ember while I'm on leave until August. Am I insane? Is this really a good idea? I have no clue! That's why I want to try it. I figure I can scrap the entire idea if I realize it's stupid. Now with a baby due end of January, I am going to be dabbling in January and February, seeking ideas, setting up an environment, figuring out times, themes, and assessing exactly what does Ember already know. I know that in regards to reading/pre-reading she's at a kindergarten level, but I'm not as certain about math and science. I already know her fine motor skills are average for her age and her large motor skills are somewhat behind.

I have read articles that say that children her age should be engaged in free play. BUT Ember seems to crave and thrive on structured activity. It's her favorite part of preschool and she loves it when I set up a craft or project for her at home and she has a very high level of interest in all things academic. Now does that mean she'll get no free time? Absolutely not! I'd make myself crazy. I need it as much as she does.

I have come up with 9 areas of focus. Seems like a lot doesn't it? But really, they are mostly things I'm doing anyway.

Literacy- read aloud, letter work, spelling, writing, word work, Starfall, tag reader

Math- counting, combining, separating, money, months, weeks, time, number recognition, patterns, calendar, shapes, sorting

Art/music- painting, drawing, coloring, sculpting, singing, creating rhythm, creating/playing instruments

Science- observing nature, cooking, mixing, states of matter

Technology- computer games, typing, mousing, leapster

Fine Motor- cutting, gluing, texture work, play dough, leapster, puzzles, lacing, small blocks

Large Motor- outside play, going for walks, playgrounds, children’s museum, gymnastics, dancing

Personal Care- brushing teeth, washing hands, combing hair, helping with housework, helping with meals, cleaning up after self

Social Skills- talking to people, manners, politeness, problem solving, appropriate behavior, talking on the phone, playdates

See? Really, that's all stuff we do anyway. And MOST of it is just playing with Ember.

I'm planning to try this out on December 22, 29 and January 1. I have written up tentative schedules of each day. After this three day trial, I can tweak it, modify, or scrap all together.

Date: Tuesday, December 22
time activity subject area
7:30-8:00 Painting on large paper art/fine motor
8:00-8:15 Read aloud literacy
8:15-8:30 Days of the week/Months of the year songs
Discuss winter, color winter themed reproducible music/math/science
8:30-8:40 Get ready to leave for gymnastics, snack personal care
9:15-10:00 Gymnastics large motor
10:00-11:00 Walk mall, have lunch social skills
11:30-12:00 free play
12:00-1:30 nap
1:30- 2:00 snack, play outside large motor
2:00-2:15 computer games- Starfall technology, literacy
2:15-2:30 free play
2:30-2:45 Read Aloud literacy
2:45-3:30 free play

Date: Tuesday, December 29
time activity subject area
7:30-8:00 Letter writing with paint, free painting art/fine motor/literacy
8:00-8:15 Read aloud literacy
8:15-8:30 Days of the week/Months of the year songs
Discuss winter, color winter themed reproducible music/math/science
8:30-8:40 Get ready to leave for gymnastics, snack personal care
9:15-10:00 Gymnastics large motor
10:00-11:00 Walk mall, have lunch social skills
11:30-12:00 free play
12:00-1:30 nap
1:30- 2:00 snack, play outside large motor
2:00-2:15 computer games- Leapster technology, fine motor
2:15-2:30 free play
2:30-2:45 Read Aloud literacy
2:45-3:30 free play

Date: Friday, January 1
time activity subject area
7:30-8:00 Letter writing with paint, free painting art/fine motor/literacy
8:00-8:15 Read aloud literacy
8:15-8:30 Lacing boards, play dough fine motor
8:30-8:45 Sing months of the year song, talk about January, color January calendar math
8:45-9:15 snack, play outside large motor
9:15-9:30 Cutting with scissors social skills
9:30-10:00 free play
10:00-10:15 Spelling words with letter tiles literacy
10:15-10:30 Building with snap cubes/counting snap cubes math/fine motor
10:30-11:00 free play
11:00-11:30 Help make lunch and eat personal care
11:30-12:00 free play
12:00-1:30 nap
1:30- 2:00 snack, play outside large motor
2:00-2:15 computer games- Leapster technology, fine motor
2:15-2:30 free play
2:30-2:45 Read Aloud literacy
2:45-3:30 free play

It didn't copy and paste very well, but you get the idea. We will go from 7:30-3:30, which is the same hours she goes to preschool two days a week. She gets 2-2.5 hours of free play and 1.5 hours of nap. So it ends up being about 4 hours of homeschool, which is only 45 minutes more instruction than she gets at preschool.

12-22 has 30 minutes of art, 45 total minutes of literacy, 15 minutes of math, 1 hour 15 minutes of large motor, 1 hour of social skills, and 10 minutes of personal care

12-29 has the same ratios except that 15 minutes of literacy are devoted to technology instead.

1-1 has 30 minutes of art, 45 minutes of literacy, 30 minutes of math, 45 minutes of large motor, 30 minutes of personal care, 15 minutes of technology, and 30 minutes of fine motor.

Now, do I think I'll stick to these times exactly? Um, no, that would be silly. The schedule is only created to keep me on task and focused. That and to keep the TV off!

She'll still be attending preschool 2 days a week. This weekend I'll be gathering materials and creating work spaces.

The "G" word

2009-12-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

Now my family on both sides has thrown that word around as well as a couple of my co-workers. I don't ever use the dreaded G word. It's outright taboo so I just don't go there. Ember usually speaks for herself... literally. Ember saw a new doctor today and she said that word regarding Ember right *before* she asked me, "Is she reading yet?" To which I answered honestly, "Yes, some shorter words and familiar words, but not really books." She told me that she'll be bored silly in kindergarten. And I told her we think about that a lot.

I must admit, it felt good to have a professional say it. I still can't. It's kind of like Voldemort in Harry Potter, lol.

We saw the doctor today about Ember's ongoing stomach pain. She wants us to up the fiber and see what happens. Yeah, up the fiber on the kid who won't eat fruit and veggies. I have my work cut out for me!

December already

2009-12-07T03:12:00.001-08:00

I dare say that was the busiest I've been in my entire life outside of my sophomore year at WSU. Between work, Ember, and my family... but mostly work. I can't really go into too much detail, but I made a choice at work that caused an extreme amount of extra work and extra hours.

So what's Ember been up to at 2.5?

She had a bone marrow aspiration on October 6th and that all went well. She thought she took a nap at the hospital. All of her test results have come back negative. So we have no answers as to why she's cycling. And in fact, I thought she may have stopped. I think she skipped a cycle in October. We missed that week of misery, clingyness, mouth sores and general cold-like symptoms. But then it happened again the day before Thanksgiving. I really wish we were still doing the bloodwork so I could see if the pattern to her cycles has changed at all.

Ember continues to blow us (and everyone else) away with what she knows and can do. She can spell words from memory now and determines beginning letters for words that she cannot yet spell. She can sometimes blend sounds to read words phonetically. She memorizes books so quickly it amazes us and remembers them forever. 2-3 reads and she knows most books that are on the shorter side and she can join in filling in words if I stop reading. She knows print moves from left to write and demonstrates this by pointing at words as she retells and when she writes.

On the writing topic. She writes things all the time and reads them to us. However, she lacks the fine motor control to form letters correctly without someone stabilizing her pencil. If you help her hold the pencil, she forms many letters and can write her name, mom, dad, cat and any other word you tell her how to spell. With no help it looks like a page of tiny scribbles, with some Os, Ms, Ws, Xs, Ts, and Is mixed in. She seems pretty unphased by this which is great since she normally gets frustrated pretty easily.

Ember has an understanding of combining quality up to about 5. She can tell you how many potties are in our house by explaining, "There are two downstairs and two upstairs. So there are 4." She has some limited understanding of separating quality. She can tell you, "I had 4 chicken nuggets, but I ate 3." If you ask her how many are left she is able to say 1, but I'm not sure whether there is a firm connection to the quantity decreasing. She can still only go rotely to 20 and is still omitting some teens. She can recognize some numbers in print higher than 20 and makes up names for them if she doesn't know it. For example, "35 is 3-D-5 (three-dee-five)

She has started to manipulate situations in her favor (oh help us, lol). She says things like this.

E: "Momma, can I have a candy out of my bucket?"
M: "Maybe after dinner."
E: "Does daddy have candy on his desk?"
M: "I don't know. You can ask him."
E: "Do you like candy?
M: "Yes."
E: "Do you want a chocolate candy?"
M: "Yes, but not right now."
(E runs off)
E: (hands me a chocolate) "Here you go momma. You can save it for later"
M: "Uh, thanks Ember. Where did that come from?" (notices chocolate in her mouth)
E: "Daddy gave one for me and one for you, because you wanted one and I will share with you."

*headdesk* Yep, she went and told Dan that I wanted a candy off his desk and that she could have one too, so we could share.

Ember can easily answer and ask why questions. She can articulate why she is scared of something, why she is crying, why she is happy and even why someone is not her friend. Last night she came up to me and said tearfully, "Daddy is not my friend." When asked why she explained, "Because he didn't let me get up out of timeout when I said sorry." And speaking of saying sorry, Ember doesn't just say sorry, she says what for, like, "Sorry for not listening to you." or "Sorry for kicking Sasha." She sometimes asks us for an apology or corrects our behavior... and generally, she is right.

I have lots more to write, but I am tired of writing, lol. Hopefully I'll get some time later to finish up.

Polka dotty

2009-10-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

Ember and I went to the mall yesterday and she picked this out herself.

Photos

2009-09-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last week:

And today:

Library

2009-09-28T18:45:00.001-07:00

I love hearing Ember explain things. Here's what she told me today right when I walked in the door. She came running at me and when I picked her up:

"We went to a place today with grandma books and Ember books. There were three Ember books. Two about cats and one about a rooster. We read those ones. One of the cat ones had lots of pages. We didn't read the grandma books because those are for grandma's car. What was the place called? ... the library!"

(pause)

"I missed you today mama. You are my friend." (hug)

*warm fuzzies*

I believe so

2009-09-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

For about the last week, instead of yes Ember says, "I believe so!" hehe. Adorable!

2 hours... seriously

2009-09-23T04:33:00.000-07:00

From 1am-3am Ember spent the entire time screaming, "I need mama to go potty with me." Alternating with just, "I need mama."

Around 1, I went in and took her potty when she asked. She didn't go though so back to bed. She has a little potty chair in her room, so I'm certain the whole thing was for attention.

But, seriously for 2 hours?!

Now it's 4:30 or so and I've been awake since 1, and we have a field trip today. *cries*

Visitors

2009-09-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

This time every night we have visitors. Just, most of the time I can't get them all in the same frame.

Here's the two jackrabbits.

And then the cottontail joined them.

Baby R pics and Ember pics

2009-09-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here's Ember this morning. I have a cold so she's watching My Little Pony videos. Yes, we still do a sippy cup and she's perfectly capable of a normal cup. That's what she drinks from at preschool. I'm just too lazy to police the cup at home... heh.

Here's a couple days ago. She loves being "princess Ember." Funny thing is she's never seen any princess movie!

And here's Baby R.

And the best of them:

For comparison sake, here's Ember's ultrasound pic.

I'm surprised how different the profiles are honestly!

Surprise

2009-09-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

Baby is healthy and active, but didn't show the goods, lol. Ember already has a partner in crime, as she did the same thing. I'm actually kind of happy, as I wanted a surprise. ;) Dan is anxious for 8 weeks from now, when we can check again.

Half way

2009-09-12T06:13:00.000-07:00

I'm at 20 weeks today. :) The ultrasound is next Friday. Dan can't wait to find out girl/boy. I honestly have no clue. With Ember I thought she was a girl but told everyone I thought boy because I wanted a girl so bad. And I was afraid of disappointment. This time I really am not sure. I want a boy mostly to have one of each and to use the name we picked, as I'm liking my boy name better than the girl name. Deep down, I really don't care though.

Just because I never do this. Here's me:

And here's those first day of preschool pics I promised.

preschool- day 3

2009-09-11T02:06:00.000-07:00

I had a talk with Ember about trying the lunch at preschool, before getting out her lunch box. I also talked to her about attempting to go potty there. I've been sending her in Pull-ups, knowing that she doesn't do well potty-wise for non-family. I also tried sending her with a stuffed animal to nap with (they discouraged this, but said I could try).

Here's the report from yesterday. Her teacher told me she ate their lunch and napped for almost an hour. Yay for the zebra stuffed animal.

And here's what Ember told me. She ate the bun of her hamburger for lunch and drank the milk. She then devoured her lunch (that I sent with her) in the car while we ran errands. She told me there was no snack. Now I hardly believe that. I guess she didn't like whatever it was. She said she cried some and then napped and that Zebra tried to climb the cubbies, hehe. I asked her if she made friends, and she said she's not allowed to touch someone and gave me a name, and that he is her friend. She wouldn't disclose what she did though. Couldn't have been too bad or they would have told me. She told me she peed on the floor, so I guess there was some potty attempt. I did get wet shorts and socks in a bag. Her hair was absolutely full of sand and she only laughed when I asked her how that happened, must have been funny! I asked her if she had fun and she said yes, very enthusiastically.

When I walked in I got to witness some teaching, small group. The kids were working puzzles as a group. Wooden block style puzzles. She made the teacher in me proud. Ember was sitting at the table, behaving, helping put together the puzzle while half of the rest of the group was off task.

She asked if we could go out for ice cream and I agreed. We had dinner at Dairy Queen and she inhaled her chicken strips and ice cream as well. I hope she eats a little better tomorrow. It's taquitos and I know she eats those as home, so I've got my fingers crossed they are the same kind.

She was dying to pick out what she is wearing tomorrow so I'll have to take a pic before we leave. She wanted to wear her Pinkie Pie (my little pony) shirt. She also told me she wants her hair in two pony tails tomorrow, not one. Makes me wonder if someone else there likes ponies or she just wants to show off her shirt.

2009-09-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ember started preschool on Thursday. She's in a 3 year old class (at 2 years 4 months). I think she's generally having a good time. She likes recess and likes getting her lunch in a lunch box (she won't touch their food). She doesn't nap, and honestly, I didn't either in daycare at her age, so no surprise. She seems to be enjoying her teachers and the blue slide most of all. She's also told me she likes reading their books, what she does instead of nap. This will probably come as little surprise if you read that uber-long post about how she was meeting 4 year old milestones at 23 months. She's still way ahead of the other kids, who are up to a year older than her. Her verbal skills, communication ability, her memory and her concept of print and number sense are more like what I see kindergartners do. It had been my hope that getting her in with an older group would help with the gap between her and her age peers, but it looks like the gap is just too wide. Now what? She likes it so we'll keep her in. The point was to have fun, learn routines and socialize. She's still doing all three, but she socializes only with her teachers. I have pictures from right before we left too. Coming soon!

On a related topic, Ember reads patterned books now. DRA level 1-2 (if anyone knows what I'm talking about, if not- that's mid-kindergarten). I read the first page and she can read the rest following a pattern. She has started trying to sound out words, but gets flustered due to the over-complicated nature of our language, lol. Words just don't follow the rules, or it seems she is never trying to read words that do. I'm not pushing her at all, she just likes to read for fun. She likes me to read and then she picks a book to read to me. She asks tons of questions about letters and words. Lately, in the car, she says three sounds like /h/ /b/ /d/ and says, "Guess what letters those are?" It's very cute. She likes to point out rhyming books while I'm reading and sometimes gets silly by substituting a rhyming nonsense word into a rhyme like, "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you quar!" And then she dies in a giant fit of giggling.

She's also starting to have one to one correspondence some of the time when counting, so things are starting to get counted correctly. She now counts rotely to 20 and can tell me the number before or after a given number. Like if I ask her what's after 8, she'll answer 9.

She knows the names of the roads we use regularly and will tell us what road we are on and then when we turn tells us the new road.

Her ability to sequence is blowing me away. We went to the fair a couple weeks ago. This morning I was trying to distract her from her shoe (which was bothering her and I couldn't fix it until we were home) so I asked what she did at the fair. Here's her answer,"I ate an elephant ear with grandma and you had a corn dog for eat, for lunch. Then we got tickets and looked at animals. I petted a bunny! A gray bunny. Then we road the horses, merry-go-round. Sometimes call it a carousel. Then the Dizzy Dragons, a blue one." I interjected, "Don't forget the Strawberry ride." She says, "No, mama, we rode the hot air balloons, THEN the strawberries, the horses again." She was right too. I forgot the hot air balloon ride. And then yesterday she told us that she gets to go to grandma's house "tomorrow, on Saturday". How does she know that? We have hardly even talked about days of the week, much less what is after Friday.

I really want to be able to meet up with another parent who has a similar child besides my own mom. She says that Ember is like I was, but maybe a little further ahead. That scares me because I never liked kids my own age because they seemed immature and I didn't like older kids much because I wasn't into fads/trends and whatever. Now as an adult I am lame at making friends. That's something you learn in childhood, but when there is no one compatible you get no practice. I was extremely bored in school and lonely. I want to be able to learn from my experience and help it not happen to her.

I discussed Ember with our school counselor (because she asked) and her comment was, "She basically knows they entire kindergarten curriculum and she's not 2 and a half yet. What will you do for school?"

Now on to a different Ember topic. Cute time. Ember has started telling me, "Someone fell down and they cried." or "Someone yelled at Daddy and went to time-out." And when I ask who say says, "Maybe it was me..." lol! It's adorable. I want it on video.

Oh, and I love this word, "Yesternoon" Ember abbreviation. She talks too fast some times and yesterday afternoon turns into yesternoon. hehe.

Sorry for length, I was using my blog to think again. ;)

She's here!!!!!!!!

2009-08-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Who is that mysterious pony nuzzling Baby Frosting???

It's coming

2009-07-30T05:48:00.000-07:00

Some of you know I collect My Little Ponies and some don't. Well you do now.

I have a pony coming in the mail that I never thought I'd see and never thought I'd touch, much less own.

She's beyond rare... and she's on her way to me. *squeak*

Dan hates this swim suit

2009-07-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

He does...

I see adorable, though.

Bacon

2009-07-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

I guess I've never written about it here. But Ember is very picky and honestly I think she has texture issues. She refuses to eat things with the same flavor in a new texture. Get ready to feel really good about the foods your child will eat. Here's the eatable list according to Ember.

Pancakes
Biscuits
Cookies
Crackers
Chips
French Fries
Chicken nuggets
Deep fried fish
Hush Puppies
Ice Cream
Peanut butter sandwiches (and you better not even dare put jelly or banana on there!)
Fruit snacks
Fruits Strips/Twists by Gerber
Yogurt
Chocolate Rice cakes
Chex
Cheerios

And these with lots of coaxing/bribing:
Applesauce
String Cheese
Bread/Rolls
Apple slices with no skin
Banana
Chicken strips

Don't worry, she gets veggies. She drinks V8 fusion. Shhhh, she thinks it's all fruit juice. And she drinks Gerber toddler drink with vitamins in it in addition to a multivitamin. So despite the fact that she really only eats junk, she gets what she needs. ;)

Well, any way today at breakfast with no prompting or asking or anything she picked up a piece of bacon and ate over half of it. So another unhealthy food for the list, but OMG, she tried something!! *faints* Dan and I were sitting there in silent awe afraid that if we talked we'd somehow jinx this miracle.

Boxes and cuddling

2009-07-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

It was a good day. Ember played in boxes while I unpacked the pony room. Then we cuddled before bed. Forgive my eyes (allergic reaction) and the messy hair (she'd been rubbing my head).

Minty is back

2009-07-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Ember remembers her and reminded me that Minty is not mine and lives in her room. *sigh*

I'm a grocery!

2009-07-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ember was standing in a grocery bag and said, "I'm a grocery!"

So, I replied, "You are? Did I buy you?

Her: "Mmm hmmm, I was on the list."

Me: "Where did we get you?"

Her: "Walmart."

Me: "And how much did you cost?"

Her (after some thought): "Two"

Me: "Two what?"

Her: "Two dollars. Embers cost two dollars!"

Coraline

2009-07-22T17:56:00.001-07:00

I took Ember over to the movie theater for a free movie today. They have two to choose from and she picked Coraline, which surprised me quite a bit honestly. But I figured if she doesn't like it, we'll leave. After all, it's free.

I had read the book and it was creepy to me as an adult, so I was ready for this to be scary to Ember. No, mom was wroooooong. She LOVED it. She was asking thoughtful questions all the way through, showing that she was following the plot.

"Was that real?"

"Mom, why do they have buttons on their eyes?"

"The cat can talk??"

"Is she dreaming? It's a dream?"

"What happened to the spider!?"

"Is she scared of those bats because they have red eyes?"

"Where are her mom and her dad?"

I was shocked, and astonished. It ended and she said, "THAT was a really good movie. That was fun!"

Me: O.O Uh, okay. I'm glad you liked it.

My 2 year old likes children's horror movies. Wow.

The Quilt

2009-07-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's done. OMG, finally. 8 weeks, 40 hours and lots of shooing Ember away, lol. I used Ember's baby clothes size newborn all the way up through some 3T. It's not perfect, but I think it's wonderful. And most importantly Ember does too. :)

Halloween Costume

2009-07-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, it's July. I found this unpacking a box and had Ember try it on. A dear friend from the MLP community sent it to us.

Ember's Lollies

2009-07-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is cross posted so forgive the over-explanation.

Background info:

My DD has cyclic neutropenia. Basically her body has enough neutrophils (white blood cells that fight bacteria) only part time. They are still trying to figure out how much of the time she has normal-ish counts and how much of the time she doesn't (and how much of he time she's dangerously low). She very obviously feels bad when her counts are low, even if she's not sick from it.

She has been having her blood draw from this since October, and we are now up to 3 times per week. So we see the phlebotomist (blood draw guy) a lot! I mean she does "blood draws" on me and DH and her toys at home all the time. After her blood draw Ember gets a lollipop. Her favorite is green, but they often don't have green.

Now on to the cute story:

Last week I told Pieter, the phlebotomist that she loves the green ones. He shared with me that out of every case there are only 6 green lollies. Well, that explains why there aren't a lot of green ones! It was also at this time that I told him about her condition and why she gets so many blood draws.

Fast forward to today. He came out to the waiting room to pick us up and said, "I have a big surprise for you!" He takes us to his room and opens the drawer and there's a big bag of green lollies. On the bag is written, "Ember's Lollies." I had tears in my eyes. All I could say was, "That's awesome!!" He says, "I dug through the ten cases of lollies we got in and took all the green ones." All I could do was grin.

It's little things like that that mean so much, you know? Especially those of you who have/have had a sick kid who has to have a ton of medical stuff/testing done, you know what I mean.

I need to find out who Pieter reports to. Seriously, this guy deserves huge giant KUDOS.

Cyclic!

2009-06-22T15:26:00.001-07:00

An answer. It's a tentative answer, yes, but and answer. Children's hospital called and said that Ember's neutropenia appears cyclic. That's something that can be worked through. There is medication- treatment! They want to continue the three blood draws a week to be sure. Now the downside... this one doesn't go away.

And a pic.

Father's day

2009-06-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

We took Nana and Papa and Dan out to breakfast this morning, on me. I know I must be a bad cook, lol. I offered to make breakfast at home and they choose IHOP. Oh well.

Ember and I spent the morning very low key, playing with playdoh and she got a new K'Nex set that we made a mouse with (I made the mouse, she directed). It's supposed to made sea creatures, but I've never been one to read directions. She loved her mouse though.

See the pillow and blanket? She wanted to spend some time just cuddled up with me on the floor. We watched birds out the window for a while. :)

It's all cold and lucky here today. Where is summer????? I want 90s, okay maybe just 80s. Not 64! Ick.

Ember had to miss the party yesterday. She's clearly not feeling well (I can even see it in the pic up there) and she still has a nasty sounding deep cough today. I'm calling dr. tomorrow if it hasn't cleared significantly. No fever though. My husband got a call Friday on his cell phone from a worried lab tech over Ember's bloodwork. She wanted to know if he was aware that her neutrophils were REALLY low. He told her yeah, we know that... Must have been someone new. Also, night before last we found more blood on her pillow. This has been happening now and again since before she could crawl. Dr. doesn't know where it's coming from, but it has to be her mouth. I've checked all other possible holes! I don't know if those mouth ulcers bleed or what? Do all ulcers bleed? I know stomach ulcers do, hmm. I guess that's one more thing to run by the hematologist.

On morning sickness. It's not just in the morning, but all day long, actually I think it's slightly better in the morning if anything. I'm starting to think its reflux. The only thing that really helps is eating or Tums.

Busy busy month

2009-06-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

We are moved in to our new house, but still need to unpack. Here's what Ember does when her toys aren't unpacked.

Forgive the look on her face. She has a mouth sore that's really bugging her (part of the neutropenia). News on that front: We are up to three blood draws a week, we got to see a dentist today who gave me two prescriptions for the mouth ulcers. Her teeth look good though. She told me to be sure we are taking extra good care of her teeth, because dental work on neutropenic kids is tricky. Today she had to have yesterday's blood draw redone due to clotting. Yay, an extra blood draw. *grumble*

Ember is going to a birthday party tomorrow. She's super excited. I just hope she's healthy enough to go. We had to skip gymnastics today due to a nagging cough. I honestly don't think other kids would catch anything from her, I just get so tired of explaining why my "sick" child is out in public all the time. I'm not even sure people believe me half the time, like I made up a condition or something.

We back the Children's on the 30th for her bone marrow aspiration. She's not allowed to eat for 8 hours before the surgery. Luckily it's at 8am. Those 2 hours from when she wakes up until the procedure are going to be bad. :( I hope we get some answers though.

On a happy note though: I'm now 8 weeks pregnant (and feeling lousy and emotional, lol).

Birthday pics plus some!

2009-05-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

Here's those pics I promised a couple days ago. :)

The cake was full of awesome!

Her party was at the children's museum.

The party room:

The present opening chair that Ember liked until we asked her to sit in it....

Blowing out the candle:

Presents! I couldn't show it all, because I was trying to keep other kids out of the pics I post here.

Can you tell what this is? You're going to be jealous!

A knitted Rainbow Dash hat! Valerie rocks!

Is this how you eat cake? ... Well, maybe you should!

Proof that I gave her a fork.

She ended the day playing outside with aunt Katie.

Bonus pic:

Me and my brother.

That went really well!

2009-05-09T14:44:00.001-07:00

We just got back from Ember's birthday party. 7 kids were there between ages 7 months and 5 years, most were 2-3 years old. It went awesome! The cake was a hit, no meltdowns and everyone had fun. :) Pics coming later today.

Bathtub art

2009-05-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ember's drawings are actually starting to look like stuff. She draws lots of snakes, fish and lately rainbows. This one she said is a mommy and baby dolphin.

And a few bonus pictures.

She was building a tree out of blocks.

I am still in-tranced by and in love with those blue eyes. 5 more days til she's two!

Thanks for the support ladies. *hugs*

Different

2009-05-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

I am becoming a little frustrated that I can't talk about my child's accomplishments the way other parents can. Why? Ember is different, plain and simple. It's a little hard to admit, but it become so completely obvious that strangers and saying things to me. If I talk about her I come off like I'm bragging. I know how I sound. I know every parent thinks their child is very bright but I looked up some milestones due to all the comments we get or the "stop bragging" type comments I get when I describe Ember.

Here's where she should be (she'll be two in one week). Next to each one I've written when she accomplished each one.

Knows about 50 words at 24 months. (15 months or earlier)
Knows some spatial concepts such as "in," "on." (15 months)
Knows pronouns such as "you," "me," "her." (17 months)
Knows descriptive words such as "big," "happy." (17 months)
Says around 40 words at 24 months. (15 months or earlier)
Speech is becoming more accurate but may still leave off ending sounds. Strangers may not be able to understand much of what is said. (only has problems with /r/ s-blends, f-blends and multi-syllabic words)
Answers simple questions. (12 months)
Begins to use more pronouns such as "you," "I." (18 months)
Speaks in two to three word phrases. (15 months)
Uses question inflection to ask for something (e.g., "My ball?"). (12-13 months)
Begins to use plurals such as "shoes" or "socks" and regular past tense verbs such as "jumped." (mastered at 19-20 months)

Now here's age 3-4 milestones:

Groups objects such as foods, clothes, etc. (18 months)
Identifies colors. (12 months)
Uses most speech sounds but may distort some of the more difficult sounds such as l, r, s, sh,ch, y, v, z, th. These sounds may not be fully mastered until age 7 or 8. (only distorts /l/ and s/f blends)
Uses consonants in the beginning, middle, and ends of words. Some of the more difficult consonants may be distorted, but attempts to say them. (only distorts /l/ and s/f blends)
Strangers are able to understand much of what is said. (22 months)
Able to describe the use of objects such as "fork," "car," etc. (22 months)
Has fun with language. Enjoys poems and recognizes language absurdities such as, "Is that an elephant on your head?" (18 months)
Expresses ideas and feelings rather than just talking about the world around him or her. (22 months)
Uses verbs that end in "ing," such as "walking," "talking." (18 months or earlier)
Answers simple questions such as "What do you do when you are hungry?" (22 months)
Repeats sentences. (20 months)

And here's age 4-5:

Understands spatial concepts such as "behind," "next to." (18 months)
Understands complex questions. (23 months)
Speech is understandable but makes mistakes pronouncing long, difficult, or complex words such as "hippopotamus." (23 months)
Says about 200 - 300 different words. (18 months, and 1000s now)
Uses some irregular past tense verbs such as "ran," "fell." (sometimes at 23 months, not consistently)
Describes how to do things such as painting a picture. (23 months)
Defines words. (nope)
Lists items that belong in a category such as animals, vehicles, etc. (20 months)
Answers "why" questions. (23 months)

And here's age 5:

Understands more than 2,000 words. (18 months or earlier)
Understands time sequences (what happened first, second, third, etc.). (22 months)
Carries out a series of three directions. (22 months)
Understands rhyming. (23 months)
Engages in conversation. (20 months)
Sentences can be 8 or more words in length. (20 months, maybe earlier)
Uses compound and complex sentences. (on occasion, not a lot at 23 months)
Describes objects. (20 months)
Uses imagination to create stories. (does lying count? I'll say not yet)

There are other things too. The whole knowing numbers 1-15 at 18 months, all letters by 20 months and all letter sounds by 22 months. She recognizes environmental print. She can "read" McDonalds, Applebees, Target, WalMart, Toys R Us, and many more, even out of context. 2 weeks ago she was coloring on the paper on the exam table at the doctor and stopped to look at her crayon. She then told the doctor that her crayon said Applebees.

She describes her dreams to me and can tell me her favorite color, food and types of chocolate (among other things). She even knows my favorite color, drinks, foods and will suggest things to me based on that criteria. "Here mama, play with the purple one cause mama likes purple." or "Mama likes water, here mama" and hands me water. She can explain why she should or should not do certain things, like hitting or hugging. She can tell you days later why she was in time out or where she got something (even into months later on this one).

She knows the names of name dinosaurs, Stegosaurus and Archeopteryx are her favorites. She will correct you if you call a dinosaur the wrong name.

She gets it when I'm joking and calls me silly or will tell someone else what I said and that it's silly. She makes little jokes herself and sometimes lies about what she did with grandma while I was at work.

She describes the emotions of characters on TV as well as people in real life. She has told me before not to be sad or worried. She asks often why someone is sad or mad. She will explain to me why she feels a certain way.

She loves to act out situations. She will act out getting hurt earlier in the day for me. She'll say, "Fell in the sidewalk, go like this." Then she'll fall on the floor, "Then I was sad and grandma got a bandaid on it."

The thing that's concerning is that she is starting to dislike other children her age. She told me they are babies in a very disdainful tone. But I understand where she's coming from. She can't relate to them at all.

There's so much more. I'm planning on bringing all this up with her doctor at her 2 year appointment. I'm really starting to become concerned with just how different she is from others her age. I mean it's fun to have a bright child because everything is easy for her to learn and she's super curious (oh and then there's the 15-30 minute attention span where she will just sit and read books, that's nice). But where will she fit in. Kids her age are a mystery to her, older kids don't include her and she seems to prefer adults anyway.

I probably just came off as bragging again, but I have a feeling I need to get used to it.

Give it a try

2009-04-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Ember was spinning around with her hula hoop and I told her Sasha (cat) couldn't hula hoop because she had not hands.

Ember walked over to Sasha and set the hoop around her and says to the cat, "Give it a try and maybe you can!"

OMG! LMAO!

Princess Snail

2009-04-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Ember has a new "best friend" and her name is Princess, Princess Snail. Princess Snail likes to do what Ember does. Princess Snail likes to eat yogurt, Ritz Crackers, and snuggle under the pony blanket. Princess Snail goes potty and never forgets to wipe. Princess Snail thinks juice is yummy and water is yucky. She evidently has a birthday coming in two weeks and she will also be turning 2. Yesterday Princess Snail got very mad when daddy turned off the TV. She is reportedly still mad today. Princess Snail needed a little hug last night because her ear hurt too. She likes bedtime stories and good thing her best friend Ember reads them to her or she'd never be able to sleep!

To quote Ember, "Princess Snail is my best friends. I love her so!"

I friend of mine from the pony forums sent Ember Princess Snail. I need a pic of it! Actually I wish I could import Heather to take a few good pics of it!

ETA:

Ember rhymes

2009-04-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

This one I was not expecting.

I walked in and Ember had turned on the TV and was watching Mi How Ki Lan (or whatever) and just as I was reaching to turn it off the TV says, "What rhymes with log?" And without any hesitation, she says "frog!" And then I'm all, O_O so I say, "what rhymes with cat?" Ember says, "hat."

um, wow. /brag

Again, would be writing in the baby book but it got packed up already.

Because

2009-04-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

Me: Why does Kota eat leaves?

Ember: Cause dinosaurs eat them.

Me: Why do you like chocolate?

Ember: Because it's sweet! Have any chocolates?

Me: Why are we going to the store?

Ember: Because need bubbles!

:) I heard because for the first time yesterday and then I heard it a BUNCH.

Ember's baby book is packed up so I'm writing this here to date it. She's got:

Sometimes
Maybe
Later
Now
Why
Yesterday
Today
Because

She's also been telling people now when they ask now old she is this, "Be two in May. Will have a chocolate mint birthday party and people will sing Happy Birthday to me. Will get green presents."

This morning she told me that she couldn't watch Big Green Rabbit yesterday because my computer, "has no voice."

When I came home she told me that she and daddy were astronauts and went to the moon. While they were there they saw Wubzy and Sasha (her cat).

She did much better for yesterday's X-ray too. We get the results today.

A look back at last year

2009-04-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

I was digging through Ember's old photos being all nostalgic. Here's what happened a year ago. :)

A year ago tomorrow. Look she didn't walk yet! I also didn't yet match her clothes from head to toe.

She could actually still sit on this. She outgrew it less than a month later, before she could actually use it.

She still wore bibs and was just begining to feed herself.

She was starting to pull up.

Daddy put up a swing.

She went up the stairs for the first time.

The book obsession had already begun!

Was only into stacking blocks. (last night she has a shampoo bottle, cup, cup, rubber duck stack.)

*sigh* She'll be two soon!

What a week!

2009-04-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well, Ember had pneumonia last week. That sucked, but she was really pretty good for the x-rays considering. I'm just posting a bunch of pics really. She's minimally occupied with Yo Gabba Gabba.

Here's a pic of Ember being Ember.

And playing in the cat carrier. These just make me giggle:

Checking out her Easter basket:

Did you know the easter bunny leaves stuff caribou and licorice? Yeah, me neither!

Dying eggs... or painting them.

And the great egg hunt!

The family pic!

And here's a very sick little girl...

Here's the next day, mmm, pudding!

Look at that hair! I can't believe how long it is. She told me I can't cut it. hmm

Riding Kota!

This morning she was feeling a bit better and asked me if we could have a fashion show.

Ember Quotes

2009-04-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

These are quotes from Ember over the last few days. She just makes me smile.

#1
E: "I'm sad." (curls up on the floor)

M: "Why?"

E: "You took my sucker. Give it back."

M: "Ember that was weeks ago!"

#2
M: "Let's go to Walmart."

E: "Pinkie Pie is coming too."

M: (Ember is swinging the pony back and forth taking softly to it) "What are you doing?"

E: "Pinkie Pie wants to drive the car."

M: What?

E: "Can Pinkie Pie drive the car?"

You know how little kids ask why to get more information about their worlds. Well mine asks, "What happened?" all the time. It almost replaces why, thought she asks that too on occasion. She's very into cause and effect at the moment.

#3 (at the children's museum)

E: "Mama help find cylinders." (playing with blocks)

M: "What are you building with them?"

E: "A river."

M: (after she started building) "It looks like a bridge."

E: "Over two rivers."

#4

E: "Ember needs a bandaid (Bambade)."

M: "Okay, let's go get one."

E: "Pony bandaid?"

M: "I don't know."

E: "Maybe ponies, maybe brown. Yesterday got a brown one."

M: (putting a bandaid on the "injured" finger): "Here you go."

E: "Hmmm, yep, brown. Am not bleeding anymore!"

She's very into bandaids. She keeps making up injuries to get them. haha!

Couch Day

2009-04-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

Poor girlie is sick. She spent the entire morning on the couch watching DVDs. She fell asleep there around 11:30 and is still sleeping. I hope she sleeps well and wakes up feeling better. At least she's been drinking the pedialite this time. She's never been willing to touch it before.

Unfortunately I had to turn down a showing on the house today because of this. *sigh*

Pictures galore

2009-04-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, so we listed the house. Who knew that was so much work? Well, I guess I assumed, but wow.

Here's Ember over the last week. She has a new book obsession. Snuggle Puppy. She reads it over and over. I read it to her, Daddy reads it to her. Grandma reads it to her.

These next pictures are one afternoon that I was off work because she was sick. Can you imagine the level of activity when she's not sick. Here's one minute of Ember's day.

And then she was done.

The next day I stayed home with her (still sick) and found her like this in the bedroom. Fast asleep!

Yesterday, Ember told me this:

"Princess Ember needs a tiara, a tutu and sunglasses. Mama take pictures please." Then she posed for me in the doorway and ran over to me to see the pictures.

Then she got mad at me later on because I took away her purse. Here's a pout.

Bye bye computer

2009-03-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

We are recarpeting the upstairs on Tuesday so, *sniff* my computer gets dismantled for a few days. Oh the horror. We were doing more packing yesterday, so here's Ember laying on our bed with a whole container of puffs to herself watching Noggin. I guess I'm not a bad mommy for letting her watch TV for a whole day... ;)

I did take her outside in the rain and we looked at worms and slugs. She asked me if we could do that again. Last night she informed grandma that, "Worms eat dirt. No squish 'em." And "Slugs slow, squishy with eye sticks." hehe! I love the phrase "eye sticks."

Also grandma painted her fingernails two days ago. Ember loved it. I've never seen her sit so still! Here's a pic.

Boxes, boxes, boxes

2009-03-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well, we are officially moving. They accepted the offer and now we have until the 30th to get the house on the market. Today I boxed up one whole room, while Dan and his friend moved the furniture downstairs. We are going to be recarpeting the upstairs on Wednesday... so tired today!

Ember just spent 4 hours in front of the TV. I feel like such a bad mom. I'll take her over to the children's museum when she gets up from her nap.

Sasha's tail

2009-03-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

Typical Sasha. In the middle of everything!

Blood Draw Day

2009-03-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

I told Ember she was having a blood draw this afternoon. How do you think an almost 2 year old should react to a blood draw?

screaming?

hiding?

begging not to????

Not Ember. She says, "Gettin' the blood here. (points at finger) Purple, no red blood. And then a bandaid. Have a green one? And then get a lollipop, green lollipop. mmmmm (clap clap clap) Stickers too? Princess stickers?"

Then later she says, "Gettin' blood in a green vial? No, orange?" (actually it was purple today...)

Yes, my child looks forward to having blood drawn. Does that seem wrong to anyone?

Everyone always says how good she is at the blood draw. She has a running commentary all the way through. By the way, the sucker was orange and the bandaid was yellow. The stickers were princess. So she did get the stickers she wanted. She was pleased.

Drawing

2009-03-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

My husband got me the newest photoshop for Christmas and I've hardly gotten to use it. I've finally gotten to play with it this weekend. What do you think?

Sorting

2009-03-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

I just came into Ember's playroom and she had ponies matched up with blocks by color and explained to me that, Red ponies play with red blocks. Green ponies play with green blocks, Yellow ponies play with yellow blocks and, "Rainbow Dash needs a blue block." hehehehe. Then she grabbed a pink one and asked me where the pink blocks were. Hmmmm, she doesn't have pink blocks.

Please

2009-03-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Before bed tonight Ember and I were playing ponies. Basically the ponies were going in and out of a little cafe building she has. Part way through I noticed that every time a pony asked to go in she used the word please. Yippie! If her toys say please to each other she must have internalized it.

She's also into sorting things the last few days. And balancing things! She balanced her stuffed dog on top of a Lysol can after grandma told her it couldn't be done. hehe, she has my attitude. Nothing is more motivating to me than something telling me I can't. Check out what she did with her Duplos. All sorted.

The toy of the day was platypus. Platypus played blocks, ponies, sang, danced and even watched Wubzy.

I should also mention she picked all her own clothes today. I know she clashes, but we stayed home all day so she picked.

Crazy busy!

2009-03-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a month!

I spent every spare second doing homework. 1 credit classes should NOT have 16 page long papers. Gah!

Anyway. We've also been looking at houses and found one we like enough to make an offer on it. We'll see. They haven't gotten back to us yet.

On the Ember front, she now knows all her letter sounds. :) She's started pronouncing th and r correctly most of the time in the last few days. Only a teacher would care about that, lol. She's been spending so much time reading and playing with ponies lately. And she looks really tall! See for yourself.

She also loves playing games on the computer.

And she loves to sing to her toys. :) Heather, this is for you!

And here's Ember reading one of her books.

Dropping the last 10 pounds.

2009-02-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

I'm going to do it. If we are going to try to conceive starting in April. This last 10 lbs of baby weight needs to GO!

Here's the criteria.

Each day:
1. No cookies, candy or cake.
2. 30 minutes of physical activity.
3. 3 meals at 500 cal or less.
4. 2-3 snacks at 100 cal or less.

I can do this. I'm going to tap into my collecting obsessiveness. I bought a couple packs of littlest pet shop toys and neopets toys, without looking. Like they went into the cart facedown and I only caught the quickest glance. DH has wrapped every little thing separately and for every day I meet my 4 criteria I can open one. I think it will work. :)

The socks

2009-02-07T09:54:00.000-08:00

Last night Ember and I picked out her clothes like always. She said she needed to wear her green socks. Really, they are green and white and red reindeer socks from Christmas. Well, the dress and leggings were pink. So I figured I'll just switch out the socks for pink ones. All went well when I got her dressed. She didn't notice. She was about halfway through breakfast when she ran to her room suddenly. She pulled off her socks and got out the green ones and insisted that she needed to wear those.

Teething again

2009-02-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

Ember has been a miserable ball of whining snotfulness. So I decided to check for teeth. Yep, she's getting a new upper molar. Fun fun...

February already!

2009-02-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow would be dad's 68th birthday. Last year he refused to say the age on the cake. It said, "Happy 67th birthday grandpa" but he read, "Happy birthday grandpa." Thursday will be the 5th which is 100s day at my school and the 1 year anniversary of dad's stroke.

Ember hasn't had any accidents in 5 days. She still can't get her own pants down though. I got some cute valentine's day pics today. She actually told me to take pics and smiled for me! *gasp*

Not feeling well

2009-01-22T01:19:00.000-08:00

If I keep telling myself this is a cold, why won't it be a cold? *sigh* Ember is getting over her cough and sniffles and mine is getting worse. This is not fair. Why doesn't my body fight stuff on it's own? I thought she was the one with immune system problems. I just feel like every time I'm sick it turns into bronchitis and that's totally what this feels like. Ick!

Fashion Show!

2009-01-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

This was so fun. Ember loves getting dressed up. I said we went shopping. Well here's Ember's Spring/Summer clothes. All Gymboree, size 3 and one 4.

This is from Palm Springs 08. It's just okay. It was very cheap or I probably wouldn't have bought it. Cute and cheaper than Walmart.

With a different shirt, same line.

More Palm Springs. Reversable dress. Cute, but it fits right now! Eek! Will it fit this summer? I keep thinking she'll slow down with the growth, but she just stays 99th percentile.

The rest are from Gymbucks redemption. This one was Daddy's pick. It's alright. Nice standard outfit. Great for spring. This line is Happy Rainbow.

I picked out this outfit, mostly because I thought Ember would like it. She loves green! She said it was pretty so I think I did ok.

The rest are all Ember! She picked and was even asking the sale's associate if they had size 3 in things, lol. I am not a fan of these pants, but she certainly likes them. She called them "cuties."

With a jacket. The jacket is a 4, which is a tad big, but I tend to like jackets a little bigger.

And... hiding in the box between outfits.

Easter dress! This is TDF! So cute and pretty and perfect for easter. She was running laps in it.

I forgot to say forgive the socks. They matched what she wearing earlier and she wanted to keep them on. This next line is Fashion Flower. These are our favorite. We agree, horray!

And yes, Spinach nuggets. They are called Spinach littles. Perfect for toddlers and little kids who won't eat veggies. They taste like hash browns, with some imagination. The first ingredient is spinach and Ember loves them! That and "green sauce" for dipping is how we get veggies in Ember. She'll dip Gerber Grads "Crunchies" in green sauce (baby food green beans). Shhh, don't tell her!

Linkie to the Spinach Littles (copy and paste in browser): http://www.drpraegers.com/products/products.aspx?SID=1&Product_ID=556&Category_ID=39

Motivation?

2009-01-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

Here motivation! *looks under a rock*

Yeah, I have a lot to do and I'm not doing it. I was hoping to take Ember over to gymnastics open gym this morning, but she napped late, so we're still here. I have a lot of stuff to clean out too.

Ember's up and wanting to eat. Off to make Spinach Nuggets. Mmmmmm.

Busy week!

2009-01-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

Yikes. Between starting class and getting a practicom student and being sick and just the rest of life. This week flew by! I have the day off tomorrow though for MLK day.

I found a website that Ember loves!! www.starfall.com She likes the ABC section. She doesn't use the mouse herself but tells me what to do. She really likes T, I and W and any of the ones that let her match letters to make a word at the end.

I got to go shopping this week too. I got Ember's spring clothes. Fun fun! She picked out a lot of it herself.

Here's this morning. :) She looks thrilled yes? She was trying to convince us that we didn't need to brush her teeth and she'd do it herself.

I started class

2009-01-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

I started classes again today, blah. But I got my new laptop at work and it's nifty! Hmm, didn't really see Ember today at all.

Just snapped a pic before I left this morning.

Cat food, cat food everywhere!

2009-01-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

No accidents today yay!! Ember actually stayed in the same clothes all day. :D

On another topic, I was sitting here reading forums and I thought Ember was in the hall playing with her car. But apparently she decided the cats needed fed...

From the hall:

From the bedroom:

(and she's trying to get back into it)

All I could do was laugh! You can't even see the full extent of the mess, as it goes all the way down the hall into her room!

Pics for today

2009-01-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

Look what I had to go through to get a pic. She is never still... except for watching Yo Gabba Gabba. I was trying to show that I braided her hair for the first time, yeah, can't really see it. Oh well.

Hmm not bad, but I cut off dad's head. oops.

k, guys, I'm done!

I said done *goes limp*

What a kiss? Oh okay!

Finally! :D

Weekend... ahhhh

2009-01-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

It was a busy, busy day today. Ember and I went over to the gym. I haven't been there in almost 3 months (baaaad!). I only walked the track for about 20 minutes and I was exhausted. Eek! I need to fix that ASAP. Ember was perfectly happy to go to their childcare, however I did witness her telling them she was three and could go on the slide. lol! I'm not going to correct. I know she can handle herself on the slide. She was only 20 months old yesterday though.

Then we came home and went out to lunch with daddy, she had corn and chicken and fish at Longjohn Silver's. She loved the corn. She ate a ton. She's been eating like crazy the last several days and her pants are fitting better. Growth spurt?

Then we dropped off daddy at home and went to the children's museum. She had fun most of the time, but did hit an older child and had a parent of someone else telling her to share... um, yeah. Never mind that she's bigger than your 3 year old and not in diapers. *sigh* Her doctor said the size (and now intelligence) would cause people to have unrealistic expectations. I did have her say sorry to the girl she hit her her mother seemed pleased, I guess. There were also some boys there that were way too old to be there, but their grandma (I guess) was guiding them well, lots of reminders to look out for little kids. I think I gave a few mean looks to one little girl, but she tried to go down the slide while Ember was on it and then stepped on her like a minute later. Frustrating experience for me, but I think Ember really loves going there.

Pic later. :)

Happy!!

2009-01-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

I was so happy today for no reason at all. My husband said I was pooping sparkles, lol! No reason. Well maybe because it was in the 60s today!! After a month below 32. OMG! Sun!!!!!

Here's my girlie:

Today my mom told be that she dropped her off at the childcare at the gym and when she came to pick Ember up she wasn't in the under three room anymore. She was in the three to six room. Evidently Ember had insisted she was three and a big girl and told the day care workers that she was in the wrong room and should be in the other one. ahahaha!! Mom said she was perfectly happy coloring and eating a cookie. Looked like she fit right in.

Now!

2009-01-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

Ember is now saying now. Now!

"Ember play mama in kitchen?"

"In a minute."

"Play kitchen, now!!"

Later on:

"Let's go upstairs."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

"No now. Play downstairs."

I'm not sure how fond of "now" I am. lol

She's so into sniffing everything, soaps, lotions, candles, me, the floor, the CAT!!! That's Sasha in the pic, Ember's kitty.

On a me and not Ember note. I feel odd since Saturday. Emotional, perky and cranky at the same time, tired, bloated, strange burning headaches (that I only experienced once before about 2.5 years ago) and I'm peeing waaaay too much for my own good. I'm hoping this is just some hardcore PMS. O.o We weren't TTC until May. Hopefully AF will greet me on Sunday.

Workity work

2009-01-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Bah, I didn't feel like working today. My asthma was playing up and my voice was gone at the end of the day. There was several inches of snow on the ground too. Bah!

I feel moody!!

And I missed Ember.

Awesome!

2009-01-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

I think I can call Ember potty-trained. Yay!! Let's hope grandma can help me keep her that way!

She got up way too early this morning. Here's a pic of grumpiness.

Success!!!

2009-01-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I had this all typed up and ready to go and then Sasha (Ember's cat) turned off my computer. >.<

Okay, so Ember only had 3 accidents today and two were with grandma. I think grandma wasn't watching her closely enough. We also got to grandma's house after dinner and Ember was in a pull-up. Yeah, well, the pull-up stayed dry until we got home and Ember peed in the potty. No problem. I sure hope grandma doesn't make a habit of this. The other one was because daddy moved the potty. She ran to where the potty waaaaas and peed there.

Today was our 5 year anniversary. :D I got Dan a new TV and he sent me on a scavenger hunt this morning for a massage, a pedicure, a new video game, and some "coupons." I love scavenger hunts! We also went out to dinner at Bonefish Grill. Yummy Yummy, in the words of Brobee (SP?).

Every other day?

2009-01-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, no potty success this morning. Maybe she only wants to be potty trained every other day? *headdesk* She's also not in a great mood today. She was very into grabbing and hitting at open gym today and then said she wanted to leave. :/ She's taking an early nap right now. After this morning I want one too.

adding a pic

2009-01-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years!

2009-01-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

Woot! 2009!

This morning Ember is in panties again, yay for her! and has peed in the potty THREE times. I cheer and dance and sing.

I so don't feel like going back to work next week. I love my job and I love my class... but I like staying home with Ember lots more!

Mom is in Los Angeles for New Years. She saw the parade this morning and sound like she went to a fun party last night with lots of dancing. She called at 6:30 this morning to say Happy New Year and said she was really sore from dancing. Good for her! I'm so glad she's having fun.

I'll update later with today's pic. Ember is napping.

Tale of Despereaux

2008-12-31T18:28:00.000-08:00

We saw it tonight. Ember sat through the whole thing and seems to enjoy it. I kept hearing it was "dark" and scary. Pfft! No more dark and scary than any of the old Disney movies. I enjoyed it!

Bye bye Walmart

2008-12-31T15:49:00.000-08:00

So we went to walmart to pick up a few things this morning, and Ember had asked to look at the toys so we browsed the toys and she's in love with this Keyboard thing, she kept pointing at all the letters and numbers and saying their names. She asked if she could have it... so I bet she's going to ask me to see it like the dinosaur. Three weeks of, "Ember Walmart, green dinosaur, button goes ROAR! on the back." Gets a little wearing. **translation- Ember wants to go to Walmart to see the green dinosaur with a button on it's back that makes it roar!

So, after playing with the keyboard I said, "Time to go."

She sighs and says, "Bye bye Walmart." We walk toward the exit and she proceeds to say bye to everything.

"Bye bye toys, bye bye books, bye bye pillows, bye bye towels, bye bye more towels (that one had my giggling), bye bye plants, bye bye cat food."

She begged to wear a diaper today, so she is. She's in a better mood too.

We went to the children's museum and it's very striking how different she is from other kids her age. She fit right in playing pizza shop with some 4-6 year old girls... other toddlers, not so much. hmmm

Dan's race seats came in also. Ah, Dan and that car. Ember liked them too, though!

And she told me these are my mittens and put them on. LOL!

No success today

2008-12-30T20:08:00.000-08:00

6 pairs of panties and one pair of pants later... nothing today.

She is wearing her race car jammies to bed tonight though. Very cute. She was running around yelling vroom vroom!

I spent a bunch of time with my brother today. We went to lunch and ember ate an entire IHOP pancake and asked for more. Yikes! I can't even finish one of those. I also introduced my brother to Yo Gabba Gabba. He laughed through most of it. He agreed that it was one of the weirdest things he'd ever seen. He was mad at me that the Auqabats didn't play though.

Ember's neutrophil levels came back at 11 today! Yippie! That's two almost normal levels out of 8 blood draws. She's fighting something right now and the last time her levels were up she was sick. So it looks like her immune system kicks in when she gets sick, which is awesome news. Her levels are normally 2-4. Oh, want to read more about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutropenia Their notation is a bit different from her doctor though. Wiki says 200 when her dr. says 2. Same thing different notation, just add a couple zeros.

Potty training, ahoy!

2008-12-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

Well, DH and I decided we aren't putting her in diapers for the next two days except for at night. We'll see what happens. *crosses fingers and toes*

Well, here we go!

2008-12-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

I'm sure this will mostly be about Ember so lets talk Ember. Ember is now 19 months and 19 days old! She is such an interesting little girl.

She knows numerals up to 14, most of the uppercase letters, most shapes, all colors (including silver and gold, lol). She's got concepts like later, once, second, under, around, half, and so much more... so why isn't she potty trained? hmmmmmmm. Some day's she's interested and some not. Like yesterday she went in the potty more than in her diaper or panties. Today, zilch.

Here's a pic from this morning. She was making breakfast for Kota (her Triceratops).