Wet or Sweat

Emma kept taking the other kids pizza

Papa and Kaylee

Saturday Archie and I watched all the kids at his brothers house while the rest of the adults had a painting party at his sisters house. We had 10 kids there including Emma. The 2 oldest 13 and 10 live there so they were pretty easy. Everyone except the oldest hung out in the pool since it was 101 degrees outside. Because we were with the kids we didn't get to spend much time with the adults from out of town, but we will see them next weekend for the 4th of July. As you can see everyone enjoyed themselves. It did make for a very long day as I got off work at 8am, got Emma and Arch ready and out the door and to his brothers by noonish. I managed to make it with out taking a nap and got to bed at midnight on Saturday. 32 hours is a long time to be staying up and I won't make a habit of it but this time with so much to keep me busy I forgot I was tired.

Inch by inch

Yesterday Emma had her 18 month checkup (early I know). Everything checked out great, she is now 26lbs 3oz and 32 1/2". This morning the 32 1/2"'s are very apparent. We used to push everything on the computer table back about 3", but now it is more like 6"-7". Her reach is expanding rapidly as well as her ingenious ways of reaching exactly what she wants. Every morning it is a race to see if the computer mouse was pushed back far enough or if she can click it and open 5 programs before we make it into the room, next she is after the remote controls. If she reaches those she takes off running with them and chucks them when you make it one step behind her. Next is the cell phone to hurry up and dial grandma or Japan whichever she can dial fastest before you get to her. Finally the newest thing is Dad's pants for some reason, she likes to wrap the legs around her neck like a feather boa and walk around while his wallet, change and misc papers bounce to the floor in her wake. The pictures were taken yesterday while I was finishing getting ready for work and she was doing her most favorite thing, looking in the mirror. She is fascinated with the person on the other side.

Everyday stuff

Her lip is doing much better

Playing with blocks on her new table

Her new cheese face

This morning started out rough because Emma's mouth was still pretty sore. She Ended up taking a 3 hour nap and couldn't be happier when she woke up. Archie went off to the eye doctor because his eye wasn't better and Emma and I went for a walk with the neighbors. We got ice-cream on the way back since it was so hot and then the girls played in the sprinkler for a while. Jaida was just wet and her white pants were still white and her hair still dry when they were done, Emma on the other hand was covered from head to toe in bark dust and dirt as well as soaked completely. It is funny how different the 2 girls are. They are both so excited to play with each other and know exactly what you mean when you ask if they want to go play with the other or go for a walk but when they do get together Emma is very touchy feely and Jaida is not. Emma also runs full force ahead for the toys or water when Jaida stands back for a while. I think in time they will balance each other out. After that Emma and I went to our backyard and set up her picnic table and just hung out for a while.

Scrapes, Scratches and Owies

Today was the day for everyone to get hurt. First Archie started out by scratching his eyeball because he thought there was something in it. We sent him off to the Urgent Care and Emma and I went for a walk. When we got back we usually pull the strollers into the neighbors driveway and let the girls play for a few minutes. Emma took one of her staggering falls onto the cement and scraped her knee, this time making it bleed just a little. She still didn't cry but it needed to be cleaned up. I took her home, fed her and put her into the bath tub. She loves taking a bath but will not sit down. We have a rubber mat on the bottom so she won't fall but it was inevitable considering how much she stands in the tub even though we sit right there and tell her not to over and over. She was playing with the water that was filling the tub and decided to stand for some reason and hit her lip on the side and cut it with her tooth. With in seconds we are both covered in blood and she is screaming. So I take the wet naked little girl out and try to hold a cloth on her lip to help it stop bleeding. That absolutely does not work with a 16month old screaming child. So we took a little trip to the nurse next door (her in her diaper and towel and me in my pjs). She got her to suck on a cloth that had ice in it for a little while. She of course now has a split fat lip and a cloudy disposition. I am sure eating for the next few days will be a challenge. After I got her to bed Archie called 3 hours after he left and said nothing is in his eye, it is just irritated. He of course is irritated himself for such a waste of time. I didn't hurt myself today just my usual neck problems, so I think ice-cream is for dinner and the dishes and laundry can wait one more day.

BBQ Wedding

We went to a BBQ wedding yesterday. Emma got to play with a bunch of other kids, one little boy had a great time playing chase with her. Our tough little girl fell over and over and everyone is surprised by how resilient she is, she just gets right up and keeps on going. She only screamed once during the ceremony at which point Daddy took her out front till it was over. At one point she almost fell asleep in her high chair, but caught herself and played on. It was nice to see some friends from work outside the stressful atmosphere we work in. Archie even settled in and had a good time. He wanted to leave with in the first half hour when Emma was a little cranky because she was missing her nap, he thought we should go home because it was nap time. Nice try!