Emma at 19 Months

Emma's favorite thing to say this month is definitely, "I on help!"  Meaning, I wanna help! She wants to help with zippers, picking out her own clothes, pouring water, drinking her juice, cutting her food, etc.  If we try to do something for her, she will say, "Nonononononono".  I have put her desire to help to good use, as Emma has discovered the thrill of illustrating vertical canvases.  Here she is below washing the wall that I caught her scribbling on with pencil.

And here both Lucy and Emma are "helping" to wash off the chairs they colored in with chalk while I was getting adjusted at our chiropractor's office.

Next on the popular phrase list this month would have to be "I on see!"  Translated, "I want to see!"  Anything Lucy has, Emma wants to see.  Up until this point, Emma was the laid back sister.  Now, Lucy has her work cut out for her.  Emma has become quite competitive and has even resorted to biting to get her way.  Right now Lucy is sporting a bruise on her back that showcases all twenty of Emma's teeth.  Will confided in me that if he was Lucy, he would be very afraid.  It hasn't slowed Lucy down though, and I come running when I hear Lucy shout, "Emma, no biting!"  Emma also likes to say "I on see" when I change her diaper, when Lucy is sitting on the potty, and when I wipe her nose.  Along those same lines, she has become fascinated with toe jam.  I have capitalized on her new interest in the fuzz between her toes when I change her diaper, as it is the only thing that gets her to hold still.

The sibling rivalry has been pretty rough this past month and drains my energy like nothing else.  Now I understand what my mom meant when she insisted all she really wanted for Christmas was for her kids to get along.  Truly, that's all I want for Christmas, and I want it to last for longer than five minute stretches!  Don't be fooled by the below pictures of them getting along.

Despite Emma's new competitive streak, she is still a sweetie.  She has gotten really good at saying "I yuv you" this month.  She says it in a soft, high pitched voice that melts my heart every time.  Especially when she says, "Hi, mama.  I yuv you."  Here she is below looking oh so sweet for her 18 month portraits that we had taken a month late.

If you ask Emma what her favorite song is, she will most likely say "Doodle Dandy".  If you ask her what her favorite color is, she will probably say, "Purple!"  A couple of Sundays ago we arrived at church late and had to sit in the front row where the only remaining open seats were left.  There were flowers on the alter in front of us that were purple and Emma spent the entire service pointing and yelling "PURPLE!"  No amount of shushing would deter her excitement of seeing her favorite color on display for all to see.  Here she is below wearing one of her favorite shirts because it is purple.

Emma has been suffering from acid reflux again this month.  Sleep has become harder and harder to come by for the entire family and she is getting more miserable as the days go by.  We have an appointment scheduled with the pediatric gastrologist this coming month which can't come soon enough.  Ironically, just days before the reflux symptoms started showing up she had her 18 month well visit at the pediatrician's which she passed with flying colors.  Here she is below looking cute in the tiny gown, waiting to see the doctor.

The below picture was taken before she started having tummy issues.  I wouldn't dare risk waking her up with a picture now!

We are blaming her recent picky eating on her tummy troubles too.  Fortunately this time around she has a bit more chunk on her to see her through, but it is still difficult to not make her special meals when all she will eat lately are hot dogs, apples and cheerios.  The other day we were driving home from running errands when we started talking about getting hot dogs at Coney Island for dinner.  Will was eating something in the front seat and reached back to give Lucy a taste.  Emma of course wanted a taste too, so Will reached back with a couple of crumbs on his finger for Emma to taste.  It was then I heard a yell so loud I almost ran the car off the road.  Emma had bit down on Will's finger so hard it drew blood.  As Will nursed his wound in the front seat, Emma started crying and saying "hot dog" in the back seat.  The moral of the story - never talk about hot dogs while offering your finger to Emma.  She must have thought Will's finger was a hot dog!

Finally, I need to note that Emma has gone vertical in more than just her artwork.  She is climbing on everything.  Life was so much easier before she decided to scale furniture, counter tops and window ledges.  I found her on top of the stove the other day and couldn't stop thanking God that it was off.  I feel like my sole job is to just keep Emma alive, and Lucy from being bitten.  Add that to all of the other challenges we have going on this month makes for one tired mama.  But when I kiss those squishy cheeks of hers, and she wraps her arms around my neck and says, "Hi mama.  I yuv you," it definitely makes it all worth it.  I yuv you too my little bean sprout!

Great Grandpa J

As many of you know, Will's grandpa passed away unexpectedly this past week of a massive heart attack.  We are still trying to wrap our minds around the fact that he is gone.  How can someone who has been there for every single baseball game, birthday, baptism, anniversary, barbecue, holiday and regular, every day visits be gone just like that?  How can someone who has made one of the biggest influences on Will's life just be gone?  The fact that Will had his grandfather in his life for thirty two years is a huge blessing in itself.  But how do you come to terms with the fact that his smiling face will no longer be a part of what makes a family get together familiar, fun and special?

Life can and does change in an instant.  One moment everything is as you have always known, and the next moment comes and life will never be the same again.  Grandpa's passing came at an already challenging time for us.  Will has been dealing with a 'stuck' kidney stone for almost a month now and has been in and out of the hospital for procedures and surgeries with no end in sight still.  He has had to figure out how to go to work, be a father and a husband with a tube in his kidney, pain and anxiety about when the ugly stone will try to move again.  I have been trying to figure out how to keep him comfortable and manage the girls and the household as a single parent.  I was struggling with the injustice of it all, how hard life is and how seemingly unfair our lot seems to be as of late.  And then one phone call put it all into perspective.  Grandpa is gone.  Life as we know it will never be the same.  Kidney stones?  What kidney stones.

I think it is safe to say that someone who has made such an impact on our lives can never just be gone.  Every time Will listens to a Tiger's game on the radio, he will remember summer nights on his grandpa's porch, listening to the ballgame together.  Each time he turns on his table saw or runs the sander on his latest and greatest project, he will remember the man who taught him how to work with his hands.  Even something as simple as paying cash and knowing the exact amount of change due back to him before the cashier counts it out in his hand - he will remember his Grandpa.  I will never forget that from the moment I met Grandpa twelve years ago, he always made me feel like one of his own grandchildren.  His proud and happy smile when he saw me, his interest in my life and his great love for my children.  I will forever be grateful to him for adopting me as his own, and for influencing my husband so greatly.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Grandpa...

At Lucy's baptism...

 Emma's baptism...

Here he is below with his family this past Father's Day. Four of his five children, seven of his eight grandchildren (counting me of course with the eighth, and oldest grandchild living in Arkansas), two of his three great grandchildren and his wife of over sixty years.  His family was his life.  Now he is up in heaven with one of his five children,  Paul who passed away when he was two, his great grandson Luke and his parents, siblings, aunts and uncles that have gone before him.  I can only imagine how happy he was to be reunited with his son and to meet his first great grandchild.  Speaking for my own son, Luke is so lucky to have him there as he is the kind of grandfather most kids dream about but few are blessed enough to have.

Here he is below with Grandma on their 60th wedding anniversary.  They took great care of each other, and my heart breaks every time I think about Grandma without Grandpa.  As Lucy pointed out to me, "Grandpa is in heaven and grandma is on earth.  It just doesn't make any sense mom.  That just doesn't make sense."

And here Grandpa is with his great granddaughters.  His entire face would light up when he spent time with them.

Finally, here is a Christmas tradition that will be greatly missed.  When Will was younger, his grandpa would dress up as Santa for Will's mom's preschool class.  Will would stop by and sit on Santa's lap.

When Grandpa got older, Will took over the job of Santa, and Grandpa got to sit on his lap!

Thank you for being the best grandpa and great grandpa we could ever ask for.  Words cannot do justice for how irreplaceable you are.  We love you and miss you and look forward to the day when we will all be together again in heaven.