Emery's First Dance Recital

Here is Emery's class doing the penguin dance. Enjoy!

Mega Post Update

I've been back to work now for a couple of weeks and things have been busy around here. It's kicking my butt to work 40 hrs/wk, take care of 2 kids and the house. Plus, with the holiday's it seems like there is always something that I want to take Emery to. So, here is a mega post in an effort to get us caught up.

Paisley enjoying her new bouncy chair
Emery was mad at me about something but now I can't remember what .. (notice the hand on the hip - this girl has attitude when she wants to)
Emery has to try out all of the baby gear that she can squeeze her body into. She's put herself into the pack n play, carseat, bouncy chair and crib. I'm sure she can't wait for the high chair to be brought back out.
My girls playing in the crib together.
One of Paisley's first times in a normal outfit. She's HUGE! I bought a few outfits and she's currently in 6 month clothes. They barely fit her so she will be in 9 month clothes for sure by the time she's 4 months old. She sure likes to eat.
Emery's first dance recital was this week. The instructions were to have the girls' hair curled so I tried a few different things to see what worked best. First, I tried the good old sponge curlers. Emery loved them and kept them in all night while she slept. In fact, she didn't want the curlers to be taken out. I remember my mom curling my hair with these and I never imagined I would be curling my daughters hair with them.
Emery dressed in her Penguin costume for her dance recital. She looked so stinking cute!
The one and only picture of her on stage. I had to stay back stage with Emery until right before she went on stage. I sat on the floor next to the family to watch the show and then I headed back stage to get Emery after the dance. Emery's class was hilarious! We all agreed that it was the most we had laughed in a long time and the best $5 spent.
The girls with Auntie Silv
Emery, Aunt Elizabeth and Chelsea
Our cute little family ..
Thank you to all of our family who came to support Emery at her dance recital! It really made her feel special and loved!

I took the girls to the mall tonight to visit with Santa. After waiting for 1 hour, we were within 10 minutes of getting to meet him. Then, Emery said she had to go potty. I tried to make her hold it but she started doing "the dance" and I was afraid she would pee on Santa's lap. So, we left the line to take her potty, but before I did, I talked to the people behind me and said, "I've been in line for an hour and my daughter needs to go potty. Will you guys remember me and let me back in line when we get back?" Thankfully, they were understanding and let us back in line. We ended up having to wait an extra 10 minutes but it's better than another hour!
Paisley being cute while hanging out in her carseat
My girls ..
After we visited Santa, I took Paisley to get her ears pierced. I was a little apprehensive about taking her without Ivan, especially since I had Emery with me and the mall was packed. But, as usual, Emery was a good girl and just hung out in Claire's while we pierced Paisley's ears. She entertained herself by dressing up in all of the accessories in the store.
Paisley went to bed right after we got home so I don't have pictures yet of her pierced ears. They will come soon. Also, South Towne no longer lets you take your own pictures with Santa (I was not happy about this) so I will work on posting their picture with Santa soon. My $24 picture by the way.

Emery's Nap Time

Today's nap time included:

1. putting on "lips" from her dance class backpack
2. drawing on the chalkboard in her room
3. opening the blinds in her room to look out the window
4. putting on every pair of shoes she owns
5. cleaning out her toe jam (she's obsessed with this and is nice enough to clean out Paisley's toe jam too - sick!

All in all, I'd say we've had more successful nap times. After 2 hours of this, I finally gave up and let Emery get up. Let's hope she's not too cranky for the rest of the day.

Funny Things Kids Say..

I was up this morning with Paisley while Emery was still sleeping. Paisley started crying when I put her down to change her diaper (apparently she thinks I can change her diaper while I hold her but I'm not quite that talented).

After I was done changing Paisley's diaper, Emery called me into her room. She was sitting up in bed with a very cranky look on her face. This is what she had to say:

Emery: "Mama, what is all of that crying, crying, crying?"
Me: "Paisely was crying because she wanted me to hold her"
Emery: "Why was Paisley crying in my room? I don't want Paisley crying in my room. She woke me up."

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the cranky look on her face - it was hilarious. She was so mad that Paisley woke her up.

Paisley's Hip Dysplasia Update

We had our follow up appointment and ultrasound today for Paisley. We started out with the ultrasound and Paisley was so good while getting the ultrasound. Emery was with me and I think she was a little freaked out by the atmosphere and watching Paisley lay there. After the ultrasound, the radiologist came in to read the results. She told me the results and the numbers and I knew right away that Paisley's hips were not where they should be. I immediately had a fear that the pediatric orthopedist would tell me the harness was not making enough progress and we would have to take more extreme measures.

However, after a 90 minute wait (don't you love that about Dr. appointments) we finally met with the Dr. The good news is that the Pavlik Harness is working. Paisely's left hip is 100% normal and right where it should be. The right hip still needs some work.

So, we are down to 18 hours per day in the harness. I went to the appointment expecting to go down to 12 hours per day. There is something about motherly instinct that amazes me all the time. When I was packing the diaper bag for the appointment today, I thought about packing a cute "normal" outfit for Paisely to wear. There was just something holding me back and I decided not to.

Throughout this experience, Paisely has adjusted very well. She has never fought the harness or cried from being in it. I feel like I have had to do way more work with adjusting to it. I finally have and I'm fine with the harness. I know that we are doing what we need to to make sure Paisley is happy and healthy as she grows. There is still a part of me that misses all of the cute little outfits, but it is better for our finances that I can't buy them right now.

We go back in 5 weeks (it should be 4 weeks but the holiday's pushed us out another week) for another ultrasound. If all goes well, we will be harness free at that point. Once we got home today, I immediately took off the harness and let Paisley go harness free for 6 hours. It was wonderful! I worried about her fighting it after having it off for so long but since we have been so blessed with easy going kids, she was totally fine when I put it back on.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers for Paisley!