Violet is Three!

Violet is three!  Three years of learning, growing, changing, laughing, smiling, crying, cuddling, and exhaustion with this sweet and feisty girl is causing me to pause with wonderment and gratitude.  I wish that our time with Violet hasn't been so filled with challenges, as then maybe the time wouldn't have slipped through my fingers like it has.  BUT, I also know that without the challenges, I wouldn't have the level of awe and thankfulness that I have for our very loved little girl.

This past month we have been working with Violet on how to say the condition that she has.  She says "ectodermal dysplasia" so very cute and each and every time, the proud look on her face as she says it reassures me that she will be just fine.  She is now old enough to understand that she has ectodermal dysplasia and we have had some sweet conversations about it.  She asked me the other day why one of her teeth is laying down next to the others and I told her that someday we will make it stand up with braces, just like several of our friends have braces right now.  She also has been telling me when she needs water or cooling which has been a huge improvement from the first three years of her life.  Here she is below, after she discovered that grass in the shade is very cool and relaxing to lay in.  The other picture below shows her proudly showing off her hair that is getting long.  Ectodermal dysplasia affects her hair, skin and teeth and so we are also very excited that Violet's hair is doing so well.

Violet has such a silly personality and loves to tell stories and entertain us.  She is starting to learn about stories versus lies and in the top, left hand picture below, Violet is telling me that she only had one cookie after I discovered her in the kitchen with a package of cookies half gone.  She couldn't look me in the eye as she told me she just had one, and had one cookie in her mouth with one in her hand as she reassured me that she only had one cookie.  I couldn't help but laugh and take a picture, which I hope wasn't reinforcing her behavior.  In the top, right hand picture below, I came upstairs to get Violet from a time out she had finished when I saw her feet sticking out from under the gate on her bedroom door which was reminiscent of the witch in the Wizard of Oz.

Violet's temper erupts quickly and violently, but fades fast (unless she is overheating and then that is a wild and crazy ride).  I swear it is like she wants to be put in time out.  I keep telling her she doesn't have to hit someone to have some rest time, but so far, she just acts relieved when I put her in her room, and then tells me minutes later that she is "going to be a good girl now."  She doesn't hold a grudge and has no problem transitioning into my happy, sweet girl after a temper tantrum.

Violet's overheating tantrums are another animal all together.  We struggle with car rides.  Any ride over 20 minutes and it seems like she overheats and then loses her mind.  Currently, Emma is harnessed in a five point buckle right next to Violet, but I'm thinking that arrangement needs to change very soon as Emma receives the blunt force of Violet's rage when she overheats and there is no amount of threats or distractions that will get her to stop.  The only solution is getting Violet out of her carseat and cooling her down.  This is not always practical, like when you are grid-locked in a traffic jam on the expressway.  Last week Violet finally got in to the pediatrics genetics clinic at a large hospital about an hour drive from us.  We are now awaiting our insurance's decision on covering a genetic test we would like to have done.  It took three hours to get home from the appointment as we left about an hour before rush hour.  Two solid hours of her screaming and frothing at the mouth with multiple stops to get her out of the car and we were convinced that we had found a new level of hell.  I think being harnessed to a metal-based carseat is just bad news for Violet and despite an air vent right above her head and plenty of water she reaches a point where she is just done and her freaking out just worsens her condition, as all of the screaming naturally raises her body temperature too.  After the rage is over and she is finally out of the car for good, my heart breaks for her as she apologies on her own accord for being a "bad girl" (her words, not mine as I try to tell her that she is always my good girl but sometimes does bad things) as she wearily lays her head on my shoulder.  It's like she is a prisoner herself to her crazy heat-induced rage.  Fortunately, she is tall for her age and it will only be a couple of more years (and many, many more gray hairs) before she no longer needs to be in the five-point harness carseat.

Violet got to patiently watch Emma and then Lucy celebrate their birthdays before she got to have her special day and so when her birthday finally came, she knew exactly what she wanted.  The night before she got to pick out her own balloons, and then the morning of her birthday she played her "Birthday Wild Card" and demanded her cup of milk BEFORE she got dressed and went downstairs. In so many words, she wanted her breakfast in bed.

Violet wanted a scooter for her birthday and Will scored a good deal at the Salvation Army.  He also made her a doll bunk bed like her sisters have and one of her sisters got her the other item she had requested for her birthday - a Chelsea Barbie doll.  

A couple of days before her birthday she told us she wanted to go to the local indoor playscape to celebrate but on the day of her birthday - which rained most of the day - she was content to just stay home and play with her presents.  Play Doh, riding around in the house on her new scooter, watching the movie Sing that she had gotten and reading stories was all she needed and wanted.

An important thing to know about Violet is that she is a mama's girl.  Her loyalty to me is unsurpassed and she gets jealous of anyone showing me affection.  For her birthday, she told me that she wanted to read stories in a nest (sitting in my lap she refers to as her nest) and lots of snuggles.  We are still trying to get Violet to sleep through the night in her own bed and one night when Will told her that if she doesn't go potty (she was refusing to go potty before bed) that she couldn't come into our bed in the middle of the night.  She looked at me with big, tear-filled eyes and said, "I'm sorry mama that I can't snuggle you tonight."  

We measured Violet and she is as tall as her sisters were when they were FOUR.  Yes, Violet seems to be taking after my mom's side of the family in height.

But a four year old is still very height challenged.  When I found Violet in the bathroom standing on top of the toilet, I asked her why she was up there and she told me, "So I can see myself in the mirror!"

Violet, like your siblings before you, you have taught me so many things.  You have changed me and I am a better person from being your mom.  I am so grateful that you are my daughter, and as you told me the other day, "You and me baby we're stuck like glue."  Happy birthday Violet!!!

Buy One Get Two Free in April

April is such a happy, exciting time of year for us but it is busier for me than December.  Not only did we have Easter, but we also had two birthdays and lots of honey bee happenings.  At least in December it is one holiday and my bees are hibernating for the winter!  Will had the first week of April off for spring break, and the good news was we were able to prepare a bit for our busy month.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the most relaxing week and when it was over, we felt a little bummed that we didn't relax more.  The biggest project we tackled on Will's week off from work was installing a new cedar fence in our backyard.  If we decide to get more chickens, they now have a safe area again.  I was surprised and proud when I came outside to tour the finished fence and saw the little garden stone painted to resemble the book, "The Secret Garden", we had there last year when the original fence was taken down.  Lucy had put it back in it's now "secret" again spot and the world felt a little bit more peaceful and right again.

We also prepped our garden over spring break and planted seeds to nurture in the house while we wait for the weather to warm up some more.

We did take time for some hiking and coincidentally hiked a trail that had thousands of frogs croaking in the pond.  It was absolutely fascinating to see and HEAR so many frogs in one place.  Later that week Will's brother and partner came to town so we were excited to take them to see the frog phenomenon.  We were bummed when there were only two or three frogs visible in the pond and the sound was much quieter too.  That first hike was just a happy coincidence and I hope to happen upon those spring croakers next year!

We had quite a few cold and rainy days during spring break, and so we went to the movies with Will's aunt, and spent some time at the book store too.

We also did lots of crafts indoors, danced in the rain in the bed of Will's trailer, had picnic dinners in the living room with movies after, and I sewed a veil for Lucy's upcoming First Communion.

At the end of spring break, we enjoyed two different friends' birthday parties, and also enjoyed a visit with my brother and sister-in-law who were in town from Florida.

We had a very interesting time with wildlife this past month at our house.  It started with mysterious happenings in our garage.  Charlie seemed to be making a huge mess in our garage - knocking things off of shelves, pooping in corners and the final straw - twisting and ripping out metal soffit vents.  At that point, we realized that although it was hard to imagine him opening a Tupperware food container - we couldn't stretch our imagination to see him twisting and ripping metal.  At that point we realized that some kind of animal - probably a raccoon - had found it's way into our garage.  Will went to the store and bought a live animal trap and we Googled how to catch a raccoon.  Imagine our surprise when we found out that CAT FOOD was the best bait.  Well, now things were starting to make sense. That night, after the trap was baited with Charlie's food, we were sitting in the living room when something black caught our eye, erratically circling the kitchen, and then the dining room, and finally the room we were sitting in.  A bat!  Before we had time to register what to do, it flew up the stairs.  Will and I exchanged panicked looks and then dashed up the steps.  It was headed to where our babies were sleeping!  Terror set in when we discovered the bat crazily circling Violet's room.  We couldn't even crawl into her room for fear of getting hit in the head with the bat so I crouched on the floor and stuck my arm into her room and yanked her by the arm out of her bed.  The poor kid had no idea what was going on but as she opened her eyes, she focused on the bat and sat in surprise, with her head making circles as it followed the flight of the bat.  I literally dragged her out of the room, army crawled into Lucy and Emma's room with Violet on me like a baby monkey and slammed the door.  At this point Lucy and Emma had woken up and wanted to know what was going on.  The four of us sat in the dark and listened to the thumps and grunts coming from the other room.  When the silence seemed to be permanent, we slowly opened the door and saw Will carrying a wriggling blanket down the stairs.  

The adrenaline took a while to calm down that night, and as we were finally drifting off to sleep that night we heard the SNAP of the trap outside.  We had caught something in the garage.  Lovely timing.  A possum and seven raccoons (over the next couple of weeks) later, our garage is back to itself and we haven't seen a bat since.  However, we have one last wildlife story to share and it is the girls favorite.   We were running late for piano lessons one morning when Emma refused to go out the back door because there was a bug in her way.  In our house, we do not freak out about bugs.  That is the message I am sending to my kids, especially since my favorite bug gives us honey and as a result, money.  Finally, frustrated with Emma, I pushed past her and saw a slug just inside the back door.  I grabbed a stick from outside and as soon as the stick touched the slug so that I could fling it outside, it moved and turned into a giant, juicy spider!  I started freaking out and screaming and stomping my feet like a crazy person.  I knew one thing - if I didn't have confirmation that this spider was DEAD, I could no longer live in this house.  This spider was so big and so juicy that not only could I see all eight of it's eyes, I could also see each hair on it's legs and I had to hose off the back door mat after I killed it because the guts were everywhere.   The good news is that I had confirmation of it's death but the bad news is, that if there was one, there is probably more.  The above picture is the spider-look-alike that I found on Google to prove to the piano teacher that the fear that made us late was valid.     

  

We all have spring-fever when it comes to homeschooling and it has been a major test of endurance to maintain our schedule for school amongst spring break, Easter and multiple birthdays.  To say that we are ready for summer break is an understatement.  In the above pictures in clockwise order from top left: Lucy and Violet looking at picture books side by side, all three girls picking out a birthday treat after their swim class (which that same day Emma graduated to a new swim level too), Lucy at piano lessons, Violet waiting at piano lessons, all three girls watching a big truck on our street, and Emma and I doing her reading for the day.  For the most part I still love homeschooling and am often overwhelmed with gratitude that we can lead this lifestyle.  Other times, the constant driving to and from places can really wear on me and I am hoping next year that I can streamline some of our activities.  It will be hard to narrow our activities down though, because we really do enjoy each and every one of them.  Below is a recital that Emma played at, at a local nursing home.  Emma did great!

Because the month of April has been so full of special dates and events, my kids are suffering from a lack of schedule and routine.  As a result, I am suffering from their crankiness, mood swings and irritability.  Holidays have always been tough on my kids as they still haven't figured out what sleeping in is, and also they struggle with being able to settle in and make their own fun when they have been out of a routine for too long.  We've had a lot of crying, fighting, fits and time outs this past month and I am exhausted by it.  Probably the most surprising thing to me about being a mom is just how much my kids moods affect me.  I wish that I could be more zen when they are cranky, but I struggle with not letting it ruin my day.  It's hard to find inner peace when the people you love most in the world are treating each other meanly.  Here are my sweet 'n cranky angels below, of course only being photographed when their halos were shiny.

I'm not sure why I collaged the asparagus picture in with my kids above, but it is asparagus season and I am the only one who likes it at my house, so that means it is ALL MINE and for once I don't have to share!  There is nothing like fresh picked asparagus from your own backyard that can make any rotten day better!  Playing outside is also helpful for shaking the funk off of myself and my children and I am so glad that the weather is finally conducive to a lot of outdoor time.  Below are pictures from top left: Lucy and Emma coloring outside, all three girls taking a break in the grass, dancing in the rain, a coloring party orchestrated by Lucy that all four of us enjoyed one afternoon, and finally, a natural greenery arrangement that Lucy designed from our backyard plants and decorated our front porch with.  She amazes me with her natural creations and it will be interesting to see how it changes as she grows.

The below pictures showcase more backyard fun, my favorite being Lucy's attempt to alleviate her hiccups in the bottom right hand picture below.

Charlie is enjoying our increased outdoor time, and I swear he thinks he is our guard dog.  Wherever the kids are playing, he will park himself right next to them and calmly survey the scene.  One day Charlie was watching the girls play with bouncy balls on our driveway and I noticed that Charlie was quietly holding one of the balls in his back paws.  Our cat is such a lover and I still can't believe that he picked us for his family.  Sometimes I can't handle his cuteness any longer and I scoop him up and give him all of the snuggles while soaking in all of his purrs.  The cost is a ten minute session afterwards with the lint roller and a washing of all of my exposed skin with soap and water, but I never regret it.

April was very busy with my honey business.  I did a honey bee presentation at our local library, which I feel like was the pinnacle of my honey bee career this far.  I have loved our library since I was a kid, and to be asked to speak about bees there was a bucket list experience for me.  I couldn't have done it without the help of my kids and Will, and I would say that the entire event was a success.

The day after Easter my new order of honey bees arrived, as did all of the equipment I needed for them.  It was a close call because the equipment had been back ordered from a bee supply company in Pennsylvania and the honey bees had arrived several days early from Georgia.  It was a rush to get the equipment put together AND painted in time to get my bees comfy in their new homes, but thanks to all of us working together (and let's be perfectly honest, Will's amazing efficiency with a hammer and a paint brush) we pulled it off.

Here I am below installing a package of bees into one of my hives in our backyard.  The top right hand picture below is of my worker bees carrying items out to the hives we have on a friend's property in the country.  The center picture is what my honey looks like on any given day on my counter.

Last month I was inspired to make a flower crown for Lucy's First Communion and in true Liz style, I couldn't help but notice an entrepreneurial opportunity when I saw one.  Before Will knew what hit him, our dinner table became my work station, the chairs were now holding inventory and my kids had visited every craft store in the tri-county area for my supplies.  Sometimes I wish I could just enjoy making something one time and not mass produce it but on the other hand, I really do love creating a new product to sell.  Will found me the other day sitting at the kids play table in my office stuffing envelopes with dolls watching me in their doll highchairs as there was no other available flat surface for me to work on thanks to the flower crowns taking up all other free space.

I had a booth at an Earth Day festival downtown this past month and it was the first time Will and I braved having all of the kids come too.  We had a great time, and a friend of ours stopped by for a visit too.  Fortunately the festival was slow enough and understanding enough as Violet demanded "uppie" the entire time.

After the Earth Day event, we spent the rest of the day on the beautiful island where the event was held and visited the gardens that had more daffodils than I had ever seen in one place in bloom. 

These kids drive me crazy and bring me joy and I am so thankful for them, and also for Buy 1, Get 2 FREE sales.  That kind of sale was made just for me and my girls and you better believe the receipt from that sales trip was longer than Santa Claus's list.  Most sales are Buy One Get One which equates to me buying at least six items in the sale, so that each child gets her fair share and I am maximizing the sale.  Will pointed out that the entire reason I was excited for the B1G2 sale was that I wouldn't be forced to buy more than I needed to get the sale, but then I went ahead and pretty much bought every item that was included in the sale.  Ah, but what a great deal and so many happy girls!

Below are my spring beauties, picking the spring weeds for me to infuse into my various products.  I am quoted by Will quite often as saying, "There is no free ride," but I will say that I do feel like I have my own version of a B1G2 Free sale each and every day and I am grateful to have the majority of my days spent with my girls.

Lucy's 8th Birthday

Lucy's birthday was next in our three weeks of celebrations and after seeing what Emma received on her birthday, changed her mind about several things that she wanted on hers.  This added some stress to some last minute shopping, but it all worked out in the end.  Here Lucy is below, getting her birthday balloons the day before her birthday and then coming down the steps on the morning of her birthday.  Violet never ever sleeps in, but chose the morning of Lucy's birthday to do just that so Lucy took a shower while she waited for Violet to wake up.  When Violet was still sleeping, we decided to let Lucy go downstairs and see her present stack but that she would have to wait until Violet woke up to open them.  This was mild torture for Lucy, but I kept reminding her that a cranky Violet would be torture all day, and that waiting to open presents a little bit longer would be a small price to pay for a happy little sister.

When Violet finally woke up at the time that probably most kids regularly wake up, Lucy jumped in to opening up her presents.  When Lucy had seen the giant Lego set that Emma had received for her birthday, she informed us that she wanted a big Lego set for her birthday too.  We reminded her that we were getting her a bike for her birthday which equaled the cost of the Lego set Emma received.  Fortunately, we had not bought the bike yet, and so we gave Lucy the option of a used bike and a Lego set, or just a new bike.  She chose the used bike and new Lego set option and so Will and I had twelve days to find a bike on Craigslist and a Lego set to fit the bill.  

 Unfortunately the Lego set did not arrive in time and when Lucy opened up a game that was shaped like a Lego set (Will and I did not realize this detail at the time) she informed us that, "I'm not going to lie, I am upset that this is a game and not a Lego set."  Will and I started laughing and told her that because she changed her mind at the last minute, her Lego set was still in the mail.  It was a bummer she didn't get to build it on her birthday, but she had plenty of other things to play with including a little felt sewing set, a new Barbie, a new-to-her bike to ride and some books to read.  

After she finished opening her presents, we headed to the local cider mill that was open for it's spring pressing. We enjoyed breakfast there, and then played by the creek for a while.  Will was under dressed for the outing, and so we wrapped him in the girls jackets to help keep him warm.  The man wears shorts as soon as the thermometer hits 50 degrees or higher and hasn't yet learned that 50 degrees is not warm enough to have bare legs!

For lunch, we got take out from Lucy's favorite sub shop and then took a walk/bike ride to the cemetery in our neighborhood where the girls and I had spotted a field of white violets earlier in the week.  We laid our picnic blanket next the the violet patch and enjoyed a nice lunch with only three cups of spilled lemonade.

Lucy spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying her new presents, and then had a dance practice that she and Emma had to attend.  Will stayed home and made Lucy's request of tacos for dinner and so when we came back from practice, dinner was ready.

 Lucy also requested a chocolate bumpy cake from the local bakery downtown, and was excited to see that they had written her name in white chocolate on a thin, square piece of chocolate.

 After dinner we measured Lucy on the growth chart and thus ended our birthday celebrations.  The day went by too fast for sure, and since then we have overheard Lucy tell her sisters or various other people that "since I am an adult now, I can do that."  I think she may be confused on the legal definition of an adult.  Ten more years my girl, and let's hope they go by sweet and slow!

Happy birthday to my sassy, smart, creative and beautiful girl.  You continue to be our rainbow after the sadness of losing Luke and we are proud of the person you are growing into.  Lucy and I often come to blows as we are both stubborn and know what we want.  We are also both leaders and have ideas that we want to share with others.  We also are dangerous when we go shopping together, as we browse in similar ways and lose all track of time together.  So many times throughout the day I find myself showing Lucy things that I think are interesting that I know we both would appreciate.  Sometimes I feel badly that I don't do this as much with Emma and Violet, but I do share other traits with them.  Lucy, I hope that our similarities only bring us closer together as the years go by and I am so happy that I get to be your mama!!!  We love you Lucy!

Easter 2017

Emma was so proud of the fact that her birthday was on Easter this year!  I knew it would take some planning and flexibility to pull off all of Emma's birthday wishes as well as our usual Easter traditions.  This year we dyed Easter eggs at the local nature center with natural dyes so that saved time and prep at home.  We went with friends, and learned of various items that can be used to dye your eggs without the artificial colors.  The eggs turned beautiful, muted earth tones and I am looking forward to trying this new method out at home next year.

Lucy took it upon herself to decorate the house for Easter, and it was such a nice feeling for me to see her come up with her own creative ideas and execute them so nicely.  I used to decorate the house when I was her age for holidays and it was a big help to see that karma come back to me this year.  We spent the day before Easter at Will's parents' house, and did an Easter egg hunt and had a full Easter dinner.  Will's grandma was there too, which made it even nicer.

After our Easter dinner, the kids lounged on the couch with grandpa and showed him their favorite YouTube videos.

On Easter morning, the kids found their Easter baskets, and Lucy was the last to find hers.  This seems to happen every year and she spends several minutes ticked off while her sisters excitedly discover and go through their baskets and she is left wondering if she didn't get a basket at all.  Then, moments later she finds her basket and all is well again.

Emma got a birthday surprise in her basket - a giant chocolate Easter bunny - and a note on the table from the Easter bunny wishing her a Hoppy Birthday.  Here we are below, waiting in the church vestibule for the previous church service to end so that we can get seats for the next service.  Easter is so crowded at our church and we have learned that if you don't get there super early, you will be standing for the entire service.  This has dampened many a holiday for me, as it is no fun holding toddlers in an overcrowded, hot church for over an hour.  We got a great seat, and while we waited quietly in the pew for the service to start, I read our favorite Easter books to the kids that I had brought from home.  I love this part of our religious holiday, as it is such a special and quiet moment in an otherwise busy day.  I will be sad when my kids are too old to enjoy the stories.

 After church, the girls went on an Easter egg hunt in our yard.

 The rest of the day was spent enjoying their new Easter and birthday presents and of course, eating too much Easter candy and celebrating Emma's birthday.

 Lucy had been so excited to pick bouquets of daffodils in our yard ever since the first bloom opened, but I told her that she needed to wait until Emma's birthday as I wanted some of Emma's birthday blooms on her actual birthday.  Here Lucy is below, happy the ban on daffodil picking has finally been lifted.

According to Google Calendar, Easter will fall on Emma's birthday two more times in her lifetime.  Once when Emma is a teenager, and another time when Emma is 79 years old!  I hope all of our friends and family had a beautiful Easter!  Happy Easter!

Emma's Sixth Birthday

Emma turned 6 this past month!  She had only been planning for 364 days and so every meal and activity was exactly as she wanted it.  I spent the last 364 days trying to keep her expectations as low as possible and reminding her that if she changes her mind every day, I can't plan anything in advance.  Each of my kids have a flower associated with their birthday.  Daffodils were in bloom when Emma was born, and each year since her birth, they haven't disappointed.  Here is Emma below on her birthday, amongst the daffodils in our yard that Will planted this past fall.  

Emma loves to snuggle, and so we made sure to get plenty of those in on her special day.  Her birthday dawned bright and early, as all holidays do in our house since we had kids old enough to know it was a holiday and it was made even more exciting by the fact that Emma's birthday was the same day as Easter.  

After the girls found their Easter baskets, Emma opened up her birthday presents.  Highlights included a Lego set, the Moana soundtrack, The Aristocats on DVD, Little House on the Prairie books and a bonnet, a balance board that Violet bought her at the Salvation Army for $1 and Lucy gave Emma her bike that she had outgrown.  

Emma had planned her birthday food since she had turned five, and so for breakfast we had cinnamon rolls and sausage and then headed to church.  After church we did an Easter Egg hunt, and then Emma got to finally play with her birthday presents.

Emma had requested an Easter themed birthday dessert and finally settled on Easter cookies that she could decorate.

We all had fun decorating them and realized that they are more fun to decorate than they are to eat.

For Emma's birthday lunch she requested tuna sandwiches, chips and pickles.  Will and I had to laugh when she told us tuna sandwiches as she is the pickiest eater we have and no one in the family likes those sandwiches except Will, Emma and our cat.

For dinner Emma wanted chicken from a local restaurant that was closed on Easter, so we had to buy carryout the day before and reheat it for her birthday dinner.  Dessert was double-stacked Easter shaped sugar cookies with lots of sprinkles, two kinds of ice cream and a side of chocolate bunny.  Phew!  What a sugar-loaded day!  We all went to bed with stomach aches to be honest.

Before bed we measured Emma on our growth stick and then tucked in our nearly turned six year old who was sad that her long awaited day was over.

Emma is the most easy-going sister of the bunch, and most of the time will do whatever it takes to make her sisters happy.  Every once in a while she holds firm on what SHE wants though, and Will and I do what we can to help her hold her own.  Emma's appetite is tiny, and she worries me on what she eats and causes me no end of stress on what she refuses to eat, and her disgust at my cooking.  Emma is small for her age and this adds to my worry about what she eats.  Because she eats so little, when she is hungry, she gets hu-motional (think hungry plus emotional) and melts like a chocolate bunny in the sun until she is fed something.  Besides her picky eating habits, she is my most active child and has boundless energy and loves to run, jump, bounce, bike, skip, dance, swim and just plain move.  Emma has a love for numbers and math and can often be found playing on our old graphing calculators or counting out loud to whatever set number she has decided on - usually 100.  She also loves playing with other kids, and can play easily with any age and any gender.  She is a middle child through and through and we love our sweet, cuddly, energetic, friendly and playful girl who plays an integral role in our family!  Emma, thank you for reassuring me that you will still snuggle me now that you are six, and that no matter how old you get you will always be my baby!