Dear Emmie

Dear Emmie,

Happy 8th birthday sweet girl! Eight years ago I became a mother. After 9mo of anticipating your arrival the moment had finally arrived. When the doctor said it was time to push I was suddenly so nervous. I knew that our lives were about to change forever. And oh how you have changed our lives! By default of being the first born I have learned most of my parenting "skills" by trial and error with you. (Sorry...curse of the first born...as a first born myself I feel your pain.) And no matter what  you think of my parenting skills I hope you always know that both your dad and I always try to do what we thought was best for you.
As I look at you today it is hard to believe that only 8 short years ago you were the tiny baby in my arms. Every day I feel like you are sneaking a little closer to that "grown up" line. Some days it's nice and some days it breaks my heart a little.
Emmie, when I wrote your letter last year I had NO idea what this year would hold for us. I never dreamed of the challenges we would face this year.
This year you were diagnosed with seizures. The first half of the summer is just a blur to me. Most of what I remember is a lot of worrying, a bit of crying, a lot of phone calls to doctors, and so, so many unknowns. Oh, and a lot of watching every.single.move. you made. (You will learn, if you haven't already, that I'm a doer. If there's a problem I want quick solutions and I want to be able to fix it. Waiting 2 months to see a neurologist does not fit into my personality!) Then you started your medicine and some days it was such a battle getting you to take it. Then we dealt with stomach pains and exhaustion. It would break my heart to see you so exhausted that you couldn't stay awake on the 15 minute ride home from school. There have been many days where by 5 or 6 o'clock you can barely function. It is a daily and weekly balancing act that we play to allow  you to do the things you want to do while still getting you enough sleep. Some weeks we win and some weeks we don't but we are learning and we have learned so much together. There is also a balancing act we play where we work so hard to not let you feel like you are defined or limited by your seizures. I want you know that just because you have seizures does not mean that you can't do the things you love, like dancing and swim team.
This year we also faced your first struggles in school. You were so exhausted at the beginning of the school year as we figured out what activities you could and couldn't do while on the medicine. We learned that you had to go to bed almost an hour earlier than you had been and that helped a lot. We realized that you did a lot better when you sat at the front of the class. It helped you focus and you could hear better. (Funny girl, you told me after you were moved to the front of the class that you could hear your teacher now! Sorry kiddo, you have waxy ears!)  So not only were you exhausted and still having seizures at the beginning of the school year but you also struggled with math. You and I worked so hard on math every day and we finally made it to the other side! Together we have conquered math and now you come home each Thursday and happily sit down and do all your math homework for the week! My heart broke for you all those afternoons that you sat and just sobbed over your math worksheet and told me you felt "stupid" and defeated. I know there will be other times that you struggle with a subject in school but I hope you look back at 2nd grade math and remember that it DID turn out ok and that I am ALWAYS on your side and will ALWAYS be there to help you.
Some days I feel like we went through a war this year and we're just starting to emerge on the other side. I have no clue what next year will hold but I know that whatever it is, we will get through it together.
This year hasn't been all struggles though. This year we saw you dance in your first Dance Theater production. You have been looking forward to being old enough for a few years and you had the BEST time! You had a wonderful summer of swim team and swam in your first A meets. You loved being a part of the big team. This year we went to Disney world (although you were a bit resistant at first since it meant you didn't get a birthday party this year) and had a wonderful time making so many fun memories. This year you were one of 3 second graders at your school who qualified for ALERT at the beginning of second grade! You had your recital for jazz and ballet and loved every minute on stage. You spent the night with a friend for the first time (and did great) and had a friend over to spend the night for the first time. You made all As on your first "real" report card...even with some not so great math grades at the beginning of the quarter you worked hard and got your grade up to an A. You love school, even when math was tough you still went every day with a smile on your face. You love your teacher and your friends which makes me oh so happy.

There have been countless times this year that I've been so proud of you.

You had a friend that ate dinner with us on Halloween and she asked you about your medicine. You explained that it was for your seizures and then you explained what seizures were. I was so proud of you. You were so casual and matter of fact. I don't know how many of your friends know about your seizures because we've left it up to you to tell or not tell people but I love knowing that you understand enough about them to explain and that you are comfortable explaining your seizures.

I love to watch you with your siblings. You are such a good sister. You are always willing to help them (and help me). You are always there to read a book or kiss a boo-boo. I'm always entertained when I watch y'all play and see that you have them (literally) marching in line. Thank you for being the big sister that you are!

Emmie, you are a typical first born child. You are type A, you are loud, you are positive you are in charge and you are willing to step in and take charge of any situation. You are independent. You are a helper. You worry enough for our whole family. Your sense of responsibility is off the charts. Sometimes you can be a bit overwhelming! But Emmie you are absolutely the sweetest kid, with the biggest heart. You have a heart of gold and many times I have been brought to tears by your kind heart.  Sometimes your teacher will tell me stories of your kindness and they just melt my heart. There have been times that you have included kids who have been excluded. The other day you told me about a little boy that some people don't like and you said you just didn't understand why. He hadn't done anything to them and he was very nice...why would people say mean things? You have a buddy in your class that you keep an extra eye out for and you have pretty much appointed yourself as this child's mother while at school (this has been going on since the first day of kindergarten...poor kid!). You come home sometimes and tell me that you need more snacks because you shared one with a child that didn't have one. You go out of your way to do nice things for those in need or who are hurting. I hope that as you grow older you never harden your heart. With your love for other people and your first born personality you can do great things Emmie Jane!

I can't wait to see what 8 has in store for you!

Love, Mom


Newborn


1yr old


2 years old


3 years old


4 years old

5 years old

 6 years old

7 years old

Dance

This week was Open House at dance so we got to sit in on classes. Emmie is taking lyrical and ballet, Ellie is taking ballet, and Ruthie is taking Creative Movement. They are all really enjoying dance and I am so proud of all that these kiddos have learned so far this year!
We had lyrical on Monday.

On Tuesday we had a full day of dance.

First up was Ruthie's Creative Movement class. They do half ballet and half tap. By Tuesday afternoon Ruthie had been getting albuterol every 4-6hrs since Sunday and had been on steroids for over 24hrs so she was WOUND UP...hence the dramatics.






Next we had Emmie's ballet class. One of the side effects of her seizures medicine is that it makes her really tired. Some days are better than others and on this particular day she was EXHAUSTED.  You can really tell a difference between how she felt on Monday and how she felt on Tuesday. She loves dance so much that even when it's hard to put one foot in front of the other she hangs in there. This is also a really fun class because so many of her friends are in there!
Emmie has worked really hard on her flexibility this year. She is pretty close to getting her split. Last year the stretch she is doing below involved a lot of bent knees...look how good she's doing now!

Right before Emmie's class was over we headed across the hall to Ellie's ballet class. Ellie did Creative Movement 2 years ago and then didn't want to dance last year but this year she was very insistent that she wanted to do ballet. She has seemed to really enjoy it! She has a friend from school and a friend from preschool in her class which makes it extra fun for her!
Ellie is my kid that never says much when things bother her. I came into her class right when they started dancing because I was watching some more of Emmie's class while Ellie's class got settled. When I walked into the room and Ellie saw me she absolutely lit up. I love this sweet girl who so rarely complains when others get attention.

Christmas Program

Today was Ruthie's Christmas program at preschool. She was SO excited to get up on the stage and sing!




As a side note, JP was not very happy that he couldn't go up there with her!

They do cookies after the program but since it's a "pot luck" type cookie buffet we couldn't know what was safe for Ruthie to eat so we headed home for chocolate cupcakes! Ruthie and JP very much enjoyed their cupcakes! (JP had been eyeballing them for a couple days so he was especially thrilled.)

Growing

What a difference a few months makes! After having pneumonia and then chronic ear infections in 2016 and then 6 months of throat issues this year our sweet girl is FINALLY pain free and happy!The first picture is Ruthie in April, when I was fighting with insurance to get her tonsils taken out. The second picture is last month. She's gained over 5lb since she got her tonsils out at the end of May...and it shows! That healthy looking girl in the second picture makes this mama so happy.

 

Paint and Literacy Night

Tonight was Paint and Literacy Night at Emmie and Ellie's school. They started this last year and it is probably my favorite school event!
They have pizza for dinner and then read a book and then paint a picture that goes along with the book.

This year the book was The Magical Garden of Claude Monet and we painted a Monet inspired painting! We learned a lot about Impressionism and the techniques Monet used when painting.

At the end of the night each family received a copy of the book!

Ruthie's First Soccer Game & Gamecock Football

Today Ruthie had her first soccer game. She's playing indoor soccer at the Y and it's a really great setup. First of all it's INDOORS and secondly they practice 20 minutes before their game so no having to go during the week for practice. They have no goalie with the object being for the kids to practice their footwork. Ruthie has been SO excited about her game and she was also excited that one of her friends from preschool, Mary, was on her team! She scored the first goal of the game so she was thrilled about that. The kids were super cute and she had a great time!

prayer before the game

Roo getting ready to kick

stretching after halftime

When you watch the videos Ruthie is the one in the green shirt with the hot pink socks. :)





After the game Ruthie and I headed to meet up with the rest of our crew. Paul had taken the other kids to tailgate and Ruthie and I made it just in time to go to the game. This was JP's first USC game and he had a great time! The kids lasted until the beginning of the 4th quarter which I thought was pretty impressive.

Adventures with JP

It's been a big change just having one child on Tuesdays and Thursdays this year! Ruthie goes to preschool those days so JP is an only child for 3 hours. Many days we run around trying to get things done but I've been trying to work in some fun days where JP gets ALL my attention.

When the weather first started cooling off, before it got cold, we made a trip to the zoo. We had a really great time checking out the exhibits that JP wanted to see!

Waiting for the train.

Train rides are so fun!

Crocodile

The gorillas were right up at the window and kept rolling around. JP thought it was so funny!

He didn't want to feed the giraffes but he enjoyed watching me feed them.

He loves the carousel!

He spent a lot of time watching the seals and sea lion. 

The sea lion/seal show is one of our favorite things at the zoo! I got some of it on video this time since it wasn't crowded.



We also spent a morning at the library. JP picked out a book and insisted on carrying it through the library, checking it out himself, and carrying it out to the car. So cute! I think he's going to be a book lover like his sisters.


Sometimes we go on "JP speed" walks with Franklin. JP LOVES to hold Franklin's leash.


Sometimes we cook. He loves his little bowl of noodles.


Sometimes we sit around and admire his tummy lol!


Sometimes we just lay around and read books. Generally these books invovlve something that goes (construction equipment, trains, boats, etc) or Clifford.


Sometimes he swipes my laptop from under my nose and has a grand ol' time!

I will say, no matter how much fun we have he's always ready to go pick up his Roo!