Whew

Good God it's been a while since we've written! Let's see things that have happened since November:

1. Thanksgiving--not much excitement, did the usual.

2. Emmaline's FIRST birthday--was a blast! I'm new at the giving a birthday party thing, can plan them, just dont know what to do during the party, so I'm glad I had my friends there to guide us. She got SO MUCH STUFF....thanks to everyone, she at one point, plays with everything.

3. Christmas---was so much fun....she was in to everything!

4. New Years---she actually stayed up for most of it. We put her down about 11:00, when we went back to dad's for the night. Yes, we are old, we watched the ball drop on tv then went to bed.

5. Dad's big surgery---man what a rollercoaster. I never, ever, ever, want to see him like that again, although, I've seen much worse and was very happy to see how good he looked coming out of surgery. I absolutely hated that I could not be there as much as I wanted. Having a job SUCKS! I went on the weekend, but still don't think it was enough. Even now, it's so hard to go by there and visit because Emmaline is a walking terrorizer! I'm so afraid she's going to get him sick, smack him, something that by the time we leave, I think I need some of Dad's adavan (however you spell it).

6. Shane's Birthday---HE TURNED 30!!!! Holy Crap! No, I do not want to talk about whose birthday is next. He didn't want to "go" anywhere so I brought the party to him. We invited some friends over and had a big poker party. The part of it all that sucks is that 3 days before his birthday, Emmaline go the bug that was going around, throwing up all over the place, not eating, not drinking and only wanting to be held, which most of you know, is not her. That little piggie loves to eat and doesn't gain a pound because she's always moving. That wasn't the case that week. Thursday of that week, I decided I'd take off work Friday, and take her to the doctor again. Little did I know, I'd be up all night Thursday night and Friday during the day with the same stuff Emmie had. It was awful. We still had the party....and then.....it happened......Emmie stayed sick, I got a little better, Jarrod got sick, Ashley got sick, Mom got sick, Lori got sick, Jesse got sick, and then by proxy, Patrick got sick......let's just say that stomach bug go the best of us!

Shane still hates his job, I'm tired from mine, and Emmaline just rolls with the flow....so until next year, haha, I'll post some pics for your enjoyment.

First Halloween

A growing youth, a junior sleuth, a new-formed tooth:

A GROWING YOUTH: Yes, ol' chunky-butt is sprouting up like a 6th grade bean-planting project. She's 82.5 pounds; err--- well, she FEELS that heavy! YOU try luggin' this tub-o'goo around; you'd agree! She's also at the stage now where she's trying so hard to talk. At times, you'd think she's carrying on an adult conversation as much as she's babbling. And so expressive; everything she says is with such conviction and demand. We can already tell she's going to have the same open, approaching, verbose personality like her mommy.

A JUNIOR SLEUTH: Did we mention that she's easily pulling up and a speedster at crawling? Oh yeah... Baby Roadrunner is all over the place! That's a good thing, I guess, except when she GETS INTO EVERYTHING! I remember years ago watching comedian Dana Carvey on TV doing jokes about being a new dad... that every 2 minutes your only conversation with your child is "No, no, no, no, no!" That's pretty much the chatter around the Sanders' house. She's like a detective going around looking for clues... and by "clues" I mean "kibble." Emmaline's mobility super-power has introduced her to tasty morsels of dog food, dryer lint, and junk mail. And it doesn't stop there. She's sampled electrical cords, grass, dog hair, and flip flops. Her palate has no preference! If it's in this house, she'll find it. And whatever she finds, it become a snack!

A NEW-FORMED TOOTH: Little Miss Munchmouth has slowly phased in her first little teeth. And, painfully so (for us and for her). She has rollercoaster'd through these waves of happiness and misery. For the first time in months, she's aroused in the dark of night, howling in pain. But all the little angel wants is just some tender love & care from MaMa or DaDa and she'll (usually) go back to sleep. Several nights ago, after hours of Emmie's distressing fussiness, I shrewdly asked Amanda, "Do all babies do this when they're teething, geez?!?" She lovingly reminded me that some babies do this continuously, to shut my yapper and reckon myself thankful. It's been agony on us having to bear through her recent whimpering and awakenings, but considering how wonderfully she's slept over the last 9 months, I think we were spoiled. (One could argue the substitution of "spoiled" with "blessed!")

All in all, Emmie continues to be our heart & soul. She's only 10 months old this week, but it already feels like we've had her for a lifetime. Don't get me wrong; at times, I feeling like clicking on those spam emails I get that says "Get Xanax quick & easy" and just starting an hourly regimen of anesthetizing.

But its then that she smiles, coos, shimmies, or giggles--- and reminds me of how her miraculousness will always outweigh her undertaking.

- Shane

Growing Girl

Well, I think the title sums it up: Our girl, she is a growin'.

Emmie had her 6 month check up last week. She weighed in at 18 lbs and measures 27 inches long. She is right on track with everything. She's sitting up VERY well on her own, working on crawling, and loves to have fun.

Within the same week we had to go back to see Dr. Reigner for a thrush & croup diagnosis. Sunday morning, Emmie woke up with no voice and white junk on her tongue. She was so sad. Emmie isn't a baby who wants to be held normally but all she wanted Sunday and Monday mornings were to sit in our laps. It was sweet and sad at the same time. So, the doctor gave her liquid Nystatin to take 4 times a day for 10 days. Mimi (Sherry) had the great pleasure of keeping her Monday night for us to go to dinner. I bet she had her hands tied! But Emmie had a great time.

Other than that, everything is great here. She's getting back to normal and we're heading to the lake in the morning. We'll be there for a week, home for a week, and back to the lake for a week. Maybe we'll come back with a tan baby & mommy....doubt it! By the way....HOLY CRAP you have to take a lot of stuff with you when you go on vacation with a baby! I don't see any other vacations in our near future!

Have fun this summer!

Spring2

Spring