Emma & Aidan

We've been hanging out with Aidan for the past couple of days. Aidan's mommy (Shannon) is going to have twin boys soon, but hopefully, not this week. So, while she's been hanging out at the hospital, we've been hanging out here. Thought those of you who've prayed for Aidan over the past couple of years might enjoy these shots - he is such a cutie!!

Can't start too young

Just thought you'd like to see these shots of Emma. For those who don't know, I HATE to vacuum - really, really, hate it. Brian does most of it, but it looks like he's working on training up a replacement!!

Support RTS bracelets available for $5

I'm sure you've all seen the various rubber bracelets that are worn in support of a variety of causes - pink for breast cancer, etc.

Well, we now have a "support RTS" bracelet available. A Nobel-prize winning researcher has written an RTS specific research proposal, and the RTS community is actively raising money to fund the first year of research.

This is a quote from the RTS research website....

"Dr. Kandel's Published Research on RTS - Last Summer, the RTS community received some promising news. Dr. Eric Kandel, a Nobel Prize winning neuroscientist, published the results of his memory research dealing primarily with the same protein that is deficient in RTS patients in the June, 2004 edition of “Neuron” magazine. He has already done ground breaking research on mouse models with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome. Dr. Kandel and his associates have been able to partially eliminate the cognitive dysfunction associated with RTS in mouse models, and has offered to pursue this research in hope of finding a treatment for our children."

The "administrative" work is being done by RTS parents, so all the money above the actual costs will go to RTS research.

The bracelets are only available for a few weeks....they are $5 each. If you'd like one, please let me know by February16th and I'll order them all at once.

Snow Day!

Finally! It's February 1st and it is about time! Unfortunately, our snow did not provide ANY usable snow for even a small bowl of snow cream! Maybe next time!

We got out and played for a little while. Emma really had fun throwing snowballs at her daddy! You can't really tell in the picture, but Brian was throwing snowballs at Emma from the top of the slide. She loved it!

Faces of Christmas

I had to post a few pictures so you could see the expressions that were so frequently captured this Christmas....I do NOT know where this look comes from :-).

Riding into 2007

Yes...this is Emma "riding" Papa on Christmas Day. After spending a few days with her, it's a miracle he can even move!

As promised (several weeks ago)....a 2006 Year in Review...

• 2006 saw Emma make HUGE - and we do mean HUGE - strides in her speech. At the start of '06, Emma had about 10 signs and only a few understandable words - mainly "more", "mama" & "dada". Now, Emma has over 100 signs, will attempt to repeat just about anything, and has an understandable 20 or so words. She can say "I want more...." and "May I be excused" and if she tells you that she wants "juice" and you give her "milk" she will hand it back to you and say "juice"! Her speech progress has only confirmed what we already knew - Emma is a very opinionated little girl!
• 2006 also was the beginning of Emma's "formal" education. She started preschool in February and continues to do great. We've been very blessed to keep the same teacher (Ms. Jan) & same classroom (at CDS) for this school year. We couldn't be happier with her progress.
• 2006 was another relatively healthy year for Emma. We had the usual sinus infections and colds of course. We continue to deal with the Eosinophilic Esophagitis and have recently had to make some drastic changes to Emma's diet. 2007 will consist of endoscopies every 6-8 weeks as we check on the condition of her esophagus and pray that the dietary changes will be sufficient.
• 2006 brought about an increasingly confident Emma - her gross & fine motor skills continue to improve and with them, her ability to climb (lots of climbing), run and most recently - jump, has made life really interesting around here! Emma thinks that climbing "up" the slide is far more fun that sliding down it and attempts in regularly.
• 2006 was also a huge year when it comes to what Emma understands about the world around her. The best way to describe it is that she just so much more "with it" than before. She's aware of what's going on, of what is being said, and she can and does react appropriately to general comments. An example...if I tell her something is wet, she'll bring me a towel to dry it...that kind of thing. This has been so exciting to see!
• 2006 was the year of the alphabet! Emma recognizes (in print and sign) all of her letters and will attempt to say them all. She is very visual and LOVES to point out letters in signs, on her socks, in books, on flashcards, etc.

I could go on and on and on....but I won't...I'm sure I'll think of 20 more things as soon as I post this!

So, what are we working on in 2007? Well, speech as always, continues to be at the top of the list because so many other things hinge on it. Beyond that, we will continue to work on things that are bit more "abstract" - conceptual things like "big/little" and understanding verbs and adjectives. And we'll continue to work on increasing her fine & gross motor skills - balance, riding a trike, drawing, manipulating objects with her hands, etc. And, we'll be dealing with a diet that is really, really limited!

That's about it...if anyone cares, Brian & I had a pretty good 2006, too! I know, I know...you don't read this for info about us! :-)

Christmas Card

Hello to anyone who is visiting our blog because you just received our Christmas card! Please check back in a few days for our "Year in Review". Brian and I have been talking about all the amazing things Emma is doing now that she was not able to do a year ago. It's a very impressive list...one that has left us once again humbled and thankful. Emma is doing things that many children with RTS cannot do and we are blessed to have the front row seat as God continues to reveal His plan for Emma and for us. We know when we remember all the amazing things she CAN do, it helps us to take the focus away from the things she cannot do...yet!

Just a note on her exploits today. She took full advantage of the lovely weather and spent most of her afternoon outside! In the space of 30 minutes, she managed to flip herself down the slide - landing face in the ground at the bottom of the slide....and then flip herself out of her swing. Yesterday, she managed to flip herself upside down in one of the toddler swings. Thankfully, she was tightly strapped into it, so she just hung upside down as I ran to rescue her! None of this slowed her down at all! It does highlight just how much she keeps us on our toes!

Merry Christmas to all - check back soon!

Family Photos

Well, it has been a while, but we FINALLY had some family pictures made. I hope you enjoy them!

Fun with Friends

We had a great time on Tuesday. We went to Gaffney, and met Daniel, Cathy, Catilyn & Joshua to eat, catch up and exchange gifts.

And, let me just say....Emma is IN to opening presents now. Check out the look on her face! She is NOT playing around, thank you very much. She wants to open that package and see what is inside and no one can stop her! We laughed so much at her expressions! We really had a great time visiting with the Priddys....it is so great to have friends that you feel like you just saw them yesterday, when in fact, it has been 6 months! Catilyn is basically as tall as me now, and Josh is turning in to such a young man - no more little boy! They are so amazing with Emma and she adores them! She is trying to say their names. Josh is "osh" and Catilyn is "K-K".

In other news, we had our visit with the nutritionist yesterday. The short version is that Emma's diet will be changing DRASTICALLY next week. Feel free to pray that we don't all lose our minds!

Barring any unforseen incidents, Jennifer is taking Emma to Mom & Dad's this weekend - yeah for us! Pray for them! We hope to get our tree up while our little "helper" is out of town! After her reaction to her presents on Tuesday, I may have to keep the packages upstairs until Christmas day!

Leave us some comments and let us know how you like the blog....

Emma has a new 'do

Well, after a great deal of internal questioning, I decided to go ahead and get Emma's hair cut short again. I could not be happier. I'm not really sure why I question it each time! The cut absolutely suits her. The girl who did her hair today did the side in a little braid that is too cute - I'll have to try to figure out how to do it. I hope you can tell from the picture how it looks!

As for me, I started a new job today - I'm going to be an evening/weekend hostess at Macaroni Grill. So, I had 4 hours of orientation today and will spend a lot of time this coming week in training, and following people around. I rather expect this week to be somewhat challenging, since I'll be working more hours that I normally will and I'll be working during the day some, which I also will not normally do.

Emma is feeling much better and had a great time today....the weather was so nice that she was able to play outside for a couple of hours. She likes it best when we leave the sliding glass door open, and she can come in and out at will. She had a picnic outside, had a grand time going down the slide and kept up a steady stream of "conversation" that I can only imagine was fascinating for the angels (in my mind, I imagine the angels cracking up at all the cute things she is saying that we cannot understand!). Emma has been quite talkative the past few days and has been showing off her new skill of spelling her name.

Brian is feeling pretty bad today, in part because he is still under the weather, and in part, because Clemson lost today.

I hope each and everyone of you had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Christmas Preview

Emma has been sick since Saturday, and today, we had to get out of the house! Emma's had croup, and I believe is now working on a secondary sinus infection, but she's in pretty good spirits. We were both going stir crazy, so we went shopping. Now, it is important to remember that the only way "we" shop is if Emma has a DVD playing and is safely strapped into a stroller. This strategy is usually good for 30 - 60 minutes of shopping, after which, we simply must leave! This usually results in "me" going back at a later time to finish, which is probably what I'll do in the next few days.

So, what does this have to do with Christmas? Well, while shopping, we purchased Emma's Christmas dress at Macy's (love the sales) and we had to try it on as soon as we got home, and of course, I snapped a few pictures. You will see this dress again on Christmas cards I would imagine.

Emma's Costume

Emma was a bumble bee for Halloween. We don't really trick or treat around here, but they were dressing up for school and going around the building for non-edible treats. Isn't she adorable? She loved her costume - she kept trying to put it on before Halloween and then for several days later!

Our First Post

Brian's been wanting me to start a blog so that friends and family can keep up with the goings on of our lives....really, it's just a way to show off how cute Emma is!

You may find our blog name quite "appropriate" if you know anything about Emma. It will probably take me a few weeks to update everything and get it the way I want it, so check back again soon.