Christmas with Emma

I'm going to do a few different blog entries to help organize my thoughts.  Interesting how I haven't worked in almost 3 weeks, but I haven't had time to do much of anything...don't the holidays always seem to be GO, GO GO?!

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures of Emma at Christmas - the result of trying to be in too many places and do too many things in too short of a time.  Here's what I've got:

Emma and her sweet cousin Mason:

 PS - Mason LOVES Emma.  You couldn't ask for a sweeter 3-year-old little boy.  He is just so precious with her.  I always ask him if he'll change Emma's diaper, and he's off to get the wipes and diaper to help me!  He gives her sweet, surprise kisses and pats her gently.  I will make sure that Emma knows what a special, loving cousin she has.

Hanging out on Aunt Kathey's bed:

Mason opening up his genawatah (generator) from Uncle Russ and Aunt MB (yes, they make toy generators that even power a light and a moving drill):

Reading with Granddad (sorry for the blurriness - Emma's an active baby):

Emma got tons of toys for Christmas and pretty much loves them all.  I had to go buy her a new basket to put some of her toys in - that was MY Christmas present: organization.  Her favorite so far is the simplest - hard plastic blocks that nest inside each other.  She bangs them around on her Bumbo tray and grabs for them all the time - thanks, Aunt Anissa!

I got lots of awesome gifts for Christmas, but the one that YOU will care about most is my new Canon Rebel camera.  It's an awesome professional camera, along with an extra zoom lens that that Russell bought for me.  So hopefully the quality of the pictures on the blog will be much better.  Again, due to extreme time restraints, I haven't been able to take the time to watch the tutorial DVD to learn how to use it properly and professionally.

The unfortunate side of Christmas this year was that we were all sick and got many of our family members sick as well.  Emma woke up with a VERY runny nose the Wednesday before Christmas.  Russell and I had sore throats Thursday night, and we were all deep in the throes of a terrible cold by Saturday, Christmas day.  Emma is still suffering from the snots a little, 10 days later :(  As I type this, she's taking a nap in her crib, and it sounds like she's snoring - but she's actually breathing through the mucus.  She's choking and coughing a lot, but she's on the mend and getting a little bit better every day.  A new trick she has learned is how to lick the mucus coming out of her nose if we don't wipe it fast enough.  Gross.

Speaking of naps in cribs, there hasn't been much opportunity to train Emma to crib-napping, as I claimed I would try to do over this break.  Not because I've given in, but because I haven't had a chance/time to "train" her.  The blessed nap we're currently experiencing is only happening because she cried in her crib for about 20 minutes.  You must be joking...I've jinxed us.  She JUST woke up and started crying.  Well that was a nice 25 minutes.  Russell's on duty.

Emma got her glasses the day before Christmas, and I'm not crazy about them.  She looks ok, but just as I predicted, all you really see is the glasses.  Yes, she's still cute and pretty and smiley and sweet, but as she grows older, we're getting closer and closer to things about her disability standing out - not being able to sit on her own or crawl yet, not being able to pull herself up or stand, and not being able to walk on her own without a walker.  It would be nice if it didn't look like something else was "wrong."  In fact, we took her to Rite Aid yesterday, and a lady said, "Aww, look at those glasses!  My granddaughter has a lazy eye, too!"  Not that a lazy eye is the end of the world, but she doesn't have a lazy eye, thank you.  That's what I'm talking about - a stranger sees her for the first time and (1) sees the glasses and (2) thinks lazy eye.  I'm just not yet ready for people to see my daughter and first thing, immediately see problems.

On that note, here's a pouty shot of a glasses-clad Emma on her way to get her first hair cut...and see next blog entry for these pictures!