It was a little surreal having two Easter baskets out for the Easter bunny this year. I guess it didn't really hit at Christmas since I didn't really do stockings and Ryker pretty much slept through the whole hoopla then. But this time he was wide awake to look at what the Easter bunny brought him and it was so much fun!
Em looking a little jealous as Ry gets his basket of goodies first
Touch/Feel Busy book
New car seat toy
Can't get enough of the book though
Em's turn! Her favorite was the Wreck it Ralph movie (we've seen it a fair amount of times already too!)
"What the heck is this thing?" That, by the way is a porcelain duck pot that you can grow grass in to look like his hair.... and it has come along nicely :)
Looks like he already needs a haircut!
Waiting patiently for grandma to open her new Lalaloopsy doll
Still that movie is her favorite!
After all that we went to my grandparent's for our annual egg hunt. It was also surreal to think that last Easter I had barely found out I was pregnant (we hadn't told anyone yet though), and now he's here.... and next year he will be joining in the hunt. Along with my cousin's little boy Felix that was born just a day shy of two weeks after Ryker, so they are sure to be good buddies!
Ryker and Felix together for the first time on Ryker's two week birthday and Felix's one day one :)
I meant to get a picture of them together at Easter since we never got one of the two of them at Christmas, but we failed again :( Hopefully next time!
Some more fun from the egg hunt
Miles had to help Em get her hat on first (my mom got her that hat)
And Ry was zonked for a bit at first... but when he woke up, grandpa was the first one to his rescue
My dad with Ryker
Miles with his grandpa
And his aunt Cassy (my beautiful cousin!)
Em checking her loot
My grandma watching
Mommy helping Em as I do every year.... this year was much better than last though, because it was neither 83 degrees and I wasn't pregnant!
Miles finding one under his grandma's leg (he thought it was pretty funny!)
And then of course had to do a little Easter shoot afterward....
My pretty girl so beautiful in her dress
And I couldn't figure a good way to get Ryker in without me joining... so you get to see me too ;)
And after we got home, we tried a few more pictures of the kids with all their Easter goodies. Keep in mind that it was late by this point and the kids had had a long day!
Ry got an owl pillow for his crib, the touch/feel busy book, a new rattle and a car seat toy. I should also mention that his grandma (my mom) got him his adorable bow tie! And both kids got their stuffed rabbits from their great-grandma (my grandma)
Em was the one not very cooperative for pictures this time, so these are the only two we got of her
But Em also got a new book, Mouse About the House (super cute and interactive!), her Lalaloopsy doll, a new bracelet, Wreck it Ralph movie and her duck chiapet, as well as various treats that are safe for her.
Sorry for the picture overload, probably should've done a slideshow, but oh well!
As you can see, I am slowly getting caught up on the blog.... this one backdated to June *YIKES* But bear with me, since it's not easy moving while very pregnant, and yes I am still battling the inevitable morning sickness.... but more like all day sickness in my case! And contracting off and on as well.... but life as we know it. And yes, I will still get to all the details of our move later on once I'm caught up with everything else that's still behind!
So moving on....
Since Em didn't have a birthday party for her fourth birthday because of her second hip surgery, and we're not sure about giving her one this year for her fifth because we'll have a brand new baby and we're not sure about all the germs with RSV season, plus we'll still be a little chaotic with adjusting to 2, but Oh how wonderful all at the same time! We also realized we had never done anything to celebrate her going a year without an unplanned hospital stay, we figured we better do something BIG for it all!
I have always been jealous of the mom's whose kids can have nice summer, outside parties! So if we celebrate on Em's half birthday, which is June 24, there you have it! I really wanted to reserve a pavilion at a park and get a big inflatable water slide and have a water party. But the park idea was out because they needed more notice and permits to get a bounce house rental. So Steve's parents offered their backyard, but that would limit the size we could get, so when contacting businesses about their rentals... none of them knew the dimensions of any of their rentals! Except one place that said they had them set up in their on site facility and I could come look at them anytime.... which is what we did when Steve got off work that day, and lo and behold, we just decided it would be best to pay the same amount for one rental and instead rent out their facility with ALL of their rentals!
Turned out to be a BIG hit and I think all the kids and even adults that came had a lot of fun! We had two Chromosome 18 families join us.... the Harpers came all the way from Logan! And the Howe's came from Kaysville! We are so grateful that they all traveled so far to be part of this celebration, especially since it was in their honor as well! You see, we asked that instead of people bringing presents (since she really doesn't need anything these days), that people donate rather what they would have spent on a present, and that money was going straight to the Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society. We also included a little about a fellow Chromosome 18 mom Mandi Fisher who recently passed away unexpectedly from an aortic aneurysm, leaving behind her husband Jason and 2 (almost 3) year old daughter Kenzie who has that same crazy 18q- like Emarie. We thought it would be nice to honor her with our celebration as well and have the donations be as much for her as for Em since that is how her family wanted her honored as well.
Of course Em had a few presents, because grandparents got to do both! But we told them the only thing they could get her was more furniture for her dollhouse, which is what you'll see her opening. Em was very good to put donations in the box herself and we were able to send $250 to the office later! Not bad!!
Anyway, on with the good part.... the videos and pictures, which of course will be shown in slideshow form.... what else ;)
Enjoy!
Remember, 720 p and full screen for optimum viewing!
And here's a picture of Em placing her donation checks in the mail at the post office, so cute!
Memorial Day was quite perfect this year. Em and I slept in (Steve got up a little earlier to help his brother Jeff move into his new house). We then went to the cemetery where my sister is buried, which is always the busiest day of the year to be there! And then finished the day with a barbecue at my grandparents with the Wilde clan!
See, perfect :)
I took this picture when we first got there to show how crowded it was.... and this was only a portion!
Cool edit on this picture, thanks Steve
Don't you just love that Em looks like an American flag??
A lot of stuff was on Breanne's grave already when we got there, always warms my heart
Later at the barbeque
Nothing like a healthy and competitive game of croquet with this Wilde bunch!
My cousin's Quin and his wife Melissa brought their dog and Em thought she was hilarious!
While Em was trying to watch everyone play croquet, I was videoing her with my phone since she was laughing so hard, and Steve was videoing the game because there was so much bickering.... this happened.... Please disregard my laugh in this video, I was sitting in a weird position and couldn't breathe very well!
We didn't think she was hurt since she laughed, but the next day at her sleep study was when I discovered these...
We think they were mostly from her DAFO's (they're all on the back of her legs).... poor, tough girl!
So, once again there are a lot of posts on the back burner.... but this one needed to come first :) But the next few posts will be devoted to family visits (my aunt, uncle and cousins and Steve's sister Amber), Deak's Run which was today and fabulous! And a few more sequels to this one probably....
Anyway, I'm sure you're all getting sick of my slideshows by now, but I bet this is one you'll want to see ;) This is the slideshow I made for my mom for Mother's Day
And if you don't know by now.... change the view from 320p to 720 HD and full screen for best viewing!
I never really liked Valentine's Day growing up. When I was younger, it was a day of embarrassment.... you know? Wanting to give a Valentine to somebody you had a crush on without risking rejection or humiliation! In high school it was even worse, because even if you had a boyfriend... well, let's just say that high school boys are not always smart at remembering or doing things right!
Thanks to my husband though, he changed my feelings on the day. He has always been good to spoil and surprise me each year :) And it isn't always elaborate, but it is always special (like last year)!
But this year he did not fail to impress, and I have to say, it was a bit elaborate :)
He had asked a few weeks ago if he thought I could get a babysitter for Em on V-day, which was a bit surprising since we don't usually like to go out on Valentine's because it's always crazy! But he assured me that it was already taken care of and we wouldn't have to worry about a long wait..... hmmm. The next day he told me that he'd made arrangements for Em and that I would have to wait for the day to find out what we were doing..... A few days before though, I at least asked him what I should wear, since a girl's got to be prepared! He told me that I should probably dress nice like I was going to a wedding reception.... I guess I should have seen this as a hint, but I didn't!
So, finally the day came, and I had worked tirelessly ;) to put this together the night before
Trail of hearts outside the bedroom door (first thing he saw when he got up that morning)
Leading all the way to the table where his present sat... it was a new iPod dock/clock radio since our old one is now "slow" (at least 9 mins slow!) and won't charge the newer iPods
I cut out 8 hearts to represent the amount of Valentine's Steve and I have shared as a married couple. I also wrote on each eight reasons that I love him.... of course I love him for a million and one, but this was fun! And no, this isn't something I found on Pinterest, but something I thought up all by myself that night when I looked at all the wrapping paper I would be throwing away ;)
I also made breakfast that morning, cinnamon roll pancakes, source here (though my modification would be to add 1-2 tablespoons of milk to the cinnamon mixture if you don't want to explode your poor honey bear trying to squeeze it out!) and bacon! It was pretty good! Oh yeah, and I also finally defrosted the ice maker that night (hadn't done it since the power had been cut on our fridge while we were in Sedona), and trust me this was a good gift!
And then we went about our regular weekly schedule, school, work, etc. And after we returned home, I commenced getting ready, and while that was happening Steve informed me that I was getting some FB notifications and brought the phone into me.... and I saw this:
With the caption, "How do you feel about prime rib and shrimp cocktail?"
This dinner was held at a reception center in Payson.... so that's why there was need for dressing like going to a wedding ;) The grounds were gorgeous, just wish it had been light enough to get some pictures.... next time though! ;) The food was to die for! And we met some nice people! That was actually the funny part- when we got there and sat at our table (we were a little early), Steve was realizing we'd have to share a table with people we didn't know (they were set for 8, so 4 couples).... those of you that don't know him real well... well, he's a little shy, quite the opposite of me! But hey, you know what they say? Opposites attract! But we did have fun getting to know the other couples we sat with and it was an all around pleasant evening! The 12 year old boy playing the piano was a wonder! He normally plays for the Chef's Table in Orem and will be touring in Europe in the summer..... WOW!
Picture of us at dinner.... not the best, but that's what happens when you take a self picture!
It was a five course dinner- first a really good salad and rolls, then shrimp cocktail, then the 2 course entree, raspberry chicken and prime rib with glazed baby carrots and garlic mashed potatoes. And of course an amazing dessert plate! 4 different desserts to share with your love.... most of which I don't know the name of! Too much to finish, so we were able to bring it home and we're still working on the tuxedo cake with chocolate gnash!
This cake started out huge!
When we came home, we finished off the night watching the latest in the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn.... part 1 (Steve was thrilled ;) It was a wonderfully perfect evening! Thanks to Steve's brother Cory for watching Em for us!
Ah and Em, I should also mention that she as well makes Valentine's a lot more fun for me! We had a lot of fun making her Valentine's for school this year thanks to Pinterest!
Though I did opt to do them a little differently since the ones shown on Pinterest were 4x6 prints and I thought that might look a bit tacky for her to take Valentines that would about 3x's the size of her classmates! So I used the photo site from Walmart and chose their kid's valentine cut aparts and ended up paying $0.28 for 3.... not much more than your run of the mill box of Valentine's you'd get from the store, and SOo much cuter! What do you think?
I sure know one little guy really loved them!
Yup, that would be Em's alleged boyfriend, "J". He almost gave her her first kiss that day too! And his mom assured me that she's all he talks about and even says he loves her.... ah, puppy love ;) Gotta admit, didn't expect this for my girl.... at least not yet! But he is a cutie, just might have to talk with him about kissing!
Here's a few more pictures from Em's Valentine party at school
Giving her Valentine gift to one of her teachers, Miss Kirsten. Em picked out these darling boxes of chocolate truffles herself!
My cute love bug all ready for her portfolio picture!
Em with a few of the girlies she's really good friends with (all of them entered preschool around the same time last year and stayed in the same class.... it's been good for all of them!).
Em getting ready to receive some Valentines!
At home, before Steve and I left to go out, we gave Em her Valentine gift.... which was some furniture for her dollhouse she got from my dad for Christmas! And boy, the look on her face when I brought them out of their hiding place was just priceless! Wish I'd gotten a picture... but we got pictures later that night before we put her to bed :)
Full dollhouse now! I was able to score the kitchen with Em's birthday money from my grandpa and grandma Wilde.... then she got the bathroom, parent's room and nursery for Valentine's (we're still on the hunt for the Family Room, so if you see one let me know please!), but you gotta have furniture for a dollhouse, right?! Especially for teaching some very important skills! We play with it together everyday, embedding vocabulary, play skills, and life skills while we do! I bet Em is so glad to have a developmental specialist as her mom ;)
I should also mention that she kinda, maybe got this for Valentine's day as well.... wasn't really meant to be a Valentine present, but it came in the mail on V-Day, and isn't it SOo cute?? For those of you who don't know, it is a cuter version of the infinity backpack for her g-tube gear- so it holds the bag of formula, the pump and all the tubing, and is so much more stylish than the ones you can get through the insurance! If you want one, go here to their facebook page :)
And Thursday night her grandma (Steve's mom) embroidered her name on it while she watched her for us so we could go to our photography class (more on that later)!
Isn't she awesome?? She watches our kid for us AND embroiders the backpack, and she even modified a cuter pillowcase for her wedge! Thanks grandma Peters!
And just for fun, here's a little timeline of Em on all the Valentine's that she's been around for :)
2008
A little less than 2 months old
2009
Just shy of 14 months
2010
2 years
2011
3 years
And 2012
4 years (yes that is the same shirt and shoes from last year, new skirt though! Gotta take advantage when your child doesn't grow like others!)
I am a full-time title one preschool teacher, at a preschool for children with special needs. I love my job, but my true passion is being a mom to one very special little girl. Emarie was born in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve 2007. The day she was born changed my life forever... for the better. She was born with a very rare genetic abnormality called 18q deletion syndrome. And we are learning more from her everyday than we ever thought possible. To learn more about Chromosome 18 disorders, visit the Chromosome 18 link under the "Other sites we love" section on the left hand side of the blog. Or you can visit any one of the Chromosome 18 family blogs also listed to the left of the blog!
