4th of July

"Don't I look cute?"

We had a great 4th of July. We went down to Daniel's mom and dad's, they always have a cookout and then we have our own little fireworks show. It was great. We had some really good food and some really great fireworks. Emory had a big day. I found this itty bitty bathing suit on sale a babygap.com and I couldn't resist buying for Emory (they had it in her size). It is the cutest thing. So it got here in time for the 4th and we took the swimsuit with us down to Daniel's mom and dad's so we could put her in the swimming pool at his aunt and uncle's house. She looked so cute in her bathing suit. She however did not like the water very much. Daniel said that it was kind of cold getting in and when he held Emory he slowly dip her toes in and she didn't mind that too much, well then he started to lower her back in and she started to cry. I guess it was too cold for her.

"I am ready to go swimming!!!!!"

"Okay Daddy, I am ready to get in!!!"

"This feels like my bathwater but it is really cold. I think I like this, but then again..... I really don't... it is TOO cold!!!! Daddy I don't like the swimming pool! Get me out, please?"

"Now, Mom, this is more like it. I like just laying around in nothing. That pool water was just too cold for me to like just yet but I bet next year I will be ready to splash around in that pool water. I really like my swimsuit though!!!"

"Okay, Daddy, we are ready for the fireworks. I hope that I don't get to scared. I sure hope that they are pretty, like mom says they will be."

Playing Hard & update

Okay, so apparently I am not very good at updating my blog anymore. I keep trying to make a promise to myself that I will try everynight to start getting on the computer and update the blog whether it be with just pictures or with pictures and stuff that has been happening, but apparently I break my promise every week. So anyways, last week we went down to the Rock (aka Little Rock) for Emory's appointments on Monday and Tuesday. We went down the night before to stay at my dad's house with him and my step-mom Deb and we had a really good stay with them. Monday we met someone in the speech department at Children's and we just went over how important it is to have Emory's hearing aides in at all times and no matter what to always leave them in and turned on even if she is throwing a screaming fit. And we also discussed just things that she is doing right now with her hearing and speech (the lack thereof) but her cooing and aahing and stuff like that. We also went over information about when Emory does goes to school. The lady that we met asked me what her plans where for school and she said that we probably had not even thought that far ahead and I was thinking NO!!!!!! she is only 7 months old and I just can't imagine that time when she does go to school. I thought that that is so far away but she said that with public schools that they have to acomodote Emory no matter what so that was good to know. Also on Monday we met with the Orthopedic doctors to check out Emory's arms, hands, legs, and feet. They also wanted to do some X-Rays of Emory since she has not had any since her stay in the NICU. So Daniel and I thought okay they could probably get her whole body on one film and they would only do about 5 X-Rays at the most. No, when the nurse called us back to the room for the X-Rays, she said that I could go back out to the waiting area since they were 20 (yup, TWENTY) X-rays, my jaw dropped. I couldn't get over that they wanted so many of her. It just blew my mind. Well needless to say, I thought that we would have gotten out of there that day by at least 3 maybe 3:30 no get got out of there at 5! And then the next day was to check out her kidneys (which are still doing fine, no change since the last check-up since March) and we were there at that appointment from 2 - 5. I was never so glad to get home. So all in all the appointments went really well and all of the doctors kept saying come back in 4 months so October will be a busy month for us.

Early while I was on the computer checking the email and Ethan Powell's website (http://www.ethanpowell.com/ (PRAYER WORKS!!!!)) I could hear Emory just playing away in the living room and then all of sudden, silence so I went in there to check on her and I found her like this:

She was just playing so hard that she fell asleep right there amongst her toys. I just couldn't help myself and I took a couple pictures of her while she was sleeping.

I love you, Mr. Frugs

These are some of my all time favorites of Emory. She has started to hug her small stuffed animals while she is playing with them. It is so cute. She is starting to get more and more active when she is playing. June 7th she turned 7 months old and I know she is behind on some stuff, but is starting to really pick up her smaller toys and she is focusing more with and without her glasses it seems like. She has the fold and go gym things and they have toys that hang down and of course we have to make them hang down a little longer than what they oringal do and she just loves it. She loves to be outdoors as well. When we are a one of Dan's ballgames or just outside in general and the breeze is blowing, she will grin from ear to ear when it hits her face. It is just the most precious thing to see her do that. It melts my heart everytime.

**As most of you know, earlier I had blogged that Emory had rolled over. Well that was with the help of me and my mom. This last Wednesday, my mom got to keep Emory for the day and Mom laid her down on the floor on her tummy and mom left her alone and just sat there on the couch. Well low and behold, Emory rolled over on HER OWN!!!! I just couldn't believe that I missed one of her firsts. Oh well at least my mom got it on video. Now if I just knew how to get the video on here for all you to see it. I will work on it.**

Softball Game

Last night we went to watch Daniel play for our Church play softball. This was Emory's second game to go to. Last game was kind of rainy so we didn't get pictures of her first softball game. Emory will be getting her own jersey. It will have the same color lettering as of the adults and it will have her name on the back and her number will 1/2. I cannot wait to see the shirt. They are not quiet ready yet. Emory had so much fun last night. Granny and Papa (Daniel's mom and dad) were there as well. There was a slight breeze down at the ball field and every time that the breeze would hit Emory, she would just smile really big. Our team lost the first game but we won the second game 14-4 or something like that. We had some many players show up this year that they had to divide everybody for some to play the first game and then the other half to play the second game.

"Go Daddy!!!!! Hit me a home run!!!"

"Daddy, you are the best player out there (in my book)!!!!"

"OH Papa, your are tickling my belly! Stop!.... no not really it makes me laugh!!!!"

The other night when I got finished updating our blog, I went into the living room and found

Daniel and Emory just playing in the floor. Emory loves to swing her right arm back and forth and when I walked in there on the two of them, she was just a swingin' her arm back and forth and everytime her hand would get to Dan, he would kiss her hand. I wish now that I had gotten it on video because it was just soooo cute!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Okay so it has been a little while since I have posted anything to our blog, I know I know I need to make it a daily thing. Well we had a great Memorial Day Weekend. First we went to see Daniel's grandma that lives in Heber Springs on Saturday and Emory did really well on the drive down. She only fussed for a couple of times. We spent a couple of hours down there and Emory got to see her great-granny George and see her cousins Colby and Damitra and their daughter Madalyn, who by the way loved to see Baby Emory (as she calls her). When she first walked up to see Emory she just looked up at me and said she is so sweet. I thought that I was going to cry, it was the sweetest thing I had heard. Then throughout the day, Madalyn sang for Emory and Emory just loved to hear her sing. Sunday afternoon we went to Branson to walk around Branson Landing and found a couple of Cardinals shirts for Emory and found a Bass Pro Shops shirt for her too. Monday, we had the Keys' family cookout. It was also Daniel's cousins, Keaton's, birthday. We had a really good time. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

These next few pictures of Emory with her burp clothes hanging around her shoulders make me think about Lienes from Charlie Brown comicstrip. She just looks so cute with her hand over the burp clothes!!!!

"What ma? Can't I have my burp clothes as my security blanket?"

Madalyn just loved to get in the floor and play along with Emory. She just got a big kick out it. She would just sit there and look Emory over and just talk to her and sing to her. Emory loved all of the attention she was getting from Madalyn.

Sunday after Church, I decided that I was going to take a couple pictures of Emory in her blue dress with her new shoes that her great-granny George bought for her over the weekend and I got one of her laying on the couch and then I decided that I was going to see if she would sit up long enough for me to get a picture of her sitting up by herself. And I sat her up and sure enough, she sat up long enough for me to get to great pictures of her and then she started leaning to the side. I thought she looked so cute with her blue dress and those new shoes.

"Daddy I need your help. Will you please lend me your finger for support?"

6 months old!!!!!!!

Emory was 6 months old on Monday May 7th. I just can't get over how time flies by. It just seems like yesterday she was born. Well..... now she is just smiling and talking all of the time and just growing like a weed. Wednesday we had our 6 month check-up and we now weigh 9lbs and 6ozs and we are 19 3/4 inches long. Dr. Shrum was really please with Emory's progress. As most of you now, Emory was born with a genetic disorder and with her syndrome she has had some medicial problems and she is not quite doing the things she needs to be doing developmental for a 6 month old. But Dr. Shrum said that they last time he had seen her, which was in March, he said that she was doing things like a 2-3 week old, and now she was made a big improvement and is doing things like a 3 -4 month old. I was so pleased when he said that she was making some progress. She is getting better head control and hopefully we will be able to work with her on sitting up before too long.

We have had some pretty busy last couple of days. Wednesday after our visit with the doc, we went to visit Uncle Jason at Bergman School. We saw a couple of the teachers out there and Emory just had the best time visiting with her Uncle J ( which by the way she loves her new hat Uncle J). Then Thursday we were just hanging out at the house and the Audiologist from Mtn. Home called and said that Emory's new ear molds where in if we wanted to come and get them. I was like, yeah now we can finally get those hearing aides back in and start the whole process over again with getting her used to them. Emory has just been a chatter box here lately. Just about an hour ago I heard her in the living room just chatting away, I am sure she was telling her Daddy all about her day with Granny. Then I went to see if she had gone to sleep and sure enough, she had talked herself out. She is so sweet. I just love her more and more everyday.

Here are some more pictures of the Emory on her 6 month birthday ( as Daddy called it) and then some pictures of her in her new hat that Nana and I found when we went to Branson this evening to Carter's. We had so much fun. We looked at all of the boy stuff to get ideas for my sister's little bundle of joy, so when he gets here he will have plenty of clothes to wear like Emory, we have a ton of clothes that she will, hopefully, grow into if not I will just hang on to them for some body who might need them. Well enjoy the pictures!!!!

"Mom....... I feel like a movie star with all of the picture taking!!!!!!"

"Just look at the cute little hat my Mommy and Nana picked out for me, isn't it soooo cute!!!!"

***Congratulations to Travis and Alicia. We are anxiously awaiting the arrivial of baby Dixon in December!!!! We are so excited for the two of you. You will make GREAT parents!!! We love you guys!!!!

We're Back!!!!!

Since our last post, we have been extremely busy. Since then we have had a family gathering, a death of a friend (Sgt. William "Billy" Bushnell), two trips to LR and the funeral for Billy. We had such a good time at the family gathering. The Keys' family has starting have a birthday party each month that we have a birthday in it. Well this last month happened to be Daniel's cousin Josh's birthday and his wife Nicole's birthday and it also happened to be a housewarming partying for them since they finally have got their house done. I am so jealous of their house. It is so nice. They are so excited to be in their new house. Their old house was extremely small for them and they need some more room. Emory got a little fussy while we were there but she took a small nap and we were good to go from there.

Emory was so good when other people held her, she just smiled and smiled and smiled. This is one of my all time favorite pictures of her and Spencer (her cousin). He is just looking at her and she is just looking at him and they were trying to figure each other out. Spencer and Emory are being held by Nicole's mom, Mary.

Then Tuesday we went to Little Rock to get our hearing aides. Daniel and I were so excited and we were going to be really upset if they didn't have "hers" in. We had received a letter back in March when they discovered that she had moderate hearing loss in both ears and that she would need hearing aides. They reassured us since that they found it early enough a long that she should not have any problems but they just don't know. So when we got there for our first appointment with Dr. Key (ENT doctor) his nurse looked in her ears and couldn't see anything because of too much stuff in her ears. So she moved us to another room to clean out her ears. Let me tell you how much fun that was. We had to strip her down, because she gets so hot, and then they swaddled her in a sheet. Emory did really good being swaddled, usually at home she will work her arms out but she didn't hardly wiggle. Until they start to clean out her ears with a suction thing. She started screaming her head. I have not seen her get so red in a very long time. All I wanted to do was just push the nurse and the resident out of the way and just pick up Emory and hold her and let her know that everything was okay. When I did get to finally hold after them cleaning out her ears, she was doing a little bit of that snubbing stuff, I thought that that was a little cute. Then we finally got to where we met with Dr. Jan who put in Emory's hearing aides and just went over the general taking care of them type stuff. When we finally got both hearing aides in and turned them on, let me just tell you how excited Dan and I were. We spoke to Emory in a normal tone voice and it took about three tries of us saying her name and then..... she finally smiled!!!! Dan and I just looked at each other and we were so excited. Dr. Jan said that it would be normal for a while since she was still so small that her ear molds (the piece that fits down in her ear) would fit one day and then not the next because she has grown out of them. Well Wednesday when I dropped her off at Granny's we had the hearing aides in and by the time I got up there for lunch, she had taken the left one out and said that it would not stop whistling. Well I checked it and put it back in her ear and it was not a snug fit anymore. Well anyways we go today to the ENT doctors in Mtn. Home for them to get some new ear molds made.

Also last night, Emory finally got her paci in her mouth by herself!!! I couldn't believe it. I noticed her with it right beside her mouth and she was licking it and trying to figure out a way to get it in her mouth. Well I snapped a few pictures of her yawning and smiling so then I just went and fixed her a bottle. Then Daniel came in from the grocery store and I walked in to the living room to start feeding her. I put the bottle down besided the couch and walked over to her pack n play and noticed that she had her paci in her mouth. I just go so very excited and told Dan about it and he tried to tell me that he had put it in her mouth but he didn't. So I missed it. I wanted a picture of her doing that really badly but maybe next. Enjoy the pictures that I do have from last night.

When you have a chance, check out www.ethanpowell.com, this little boy is one day from being a month younger than Emory and he is fighting a battle with Leukemia. I happened to see this website from my friend Nikki, themcinyrezoo, from one of her links to a friend and I was looking at her blog and noctied her entry about this little boy. If you are not a believer in God, you will be when you read the updates from the parents on this page. It is awesome to see how prayer works and now that God has a plan ( Daniel and I now that too). Thanks!!!