I'm Walkin'

Yes, indeed! Emerson really loves her new walking/riding toy that she got for Christmas from her Auntie Katie, Uncle Tim and cousins Claire and Rebekah. Emerson is just amazing to us....she is growing and developing so fast, we wonder where the time is going.

PS The cats make a wide berth when Emerson and her lion are strolling around!

Babes with Babes

I borrowed the title, but that's what we are. As Kimberly said, a lot has changed since 2001, when we met at UTHSCSA. Kimberly, Amy and I hit it off that first day or so (probably because we were smokers at the time) and have been friends ever since. We met up the other day at El Chaparral for a little Christmas celebration and lunch before the holiday.


These little ones have been the biggest change. Michal Riley, Alex and Emerson all exchanged gifts and were all so excited to hurry and get home so they could play with their new toys.


Here's Emerson getting ready to get started on her margarita :) Thankfully, she was nice enough to share with me!

PS Thanks Kimberly for sending the photos, since I can't seem to remember to bring my camera!

Santa Claus is coming to town

A few days before Christmas, we went to see Santa. Emerson sat on his lap and did well, no crying or reaching for her Dad. She just went with the flow, more curious than anything. Obviously, she doesn't know who or what Santa is all about, so she just hung out and watched the other kids' meltdown.

It was very windy outside....look at our windblown hair! Even so, it was a nice day.

It's Officially Official

On Saturday, Nov. 24, Emerson's baptism was finalized and is now official.
When Emerson was a few days old (2.5 to be exact), she was transferred to NICU from the newborn nursery with respiratory issues. As you can imagine, I was distraught and scared. I knew that she was where she needed to be, but I felt so helpless. I also knew that there wasn't much I could do for her, but I knew that I could have her baptised. So at about 4 days of age, Emerson was baptized with water from the tap and without fanfare or fuss.


When she was baptized in the hospital, she was wearing a little shirt, hospital blanket and heart monitor. This time we went in style. Here she is in her sweet christening outfit before we left for church.

Auntie Katie, Uncle Tim (Tio Blanco), cousin Claire and cousin Rebekah with Emerson at church before the ceremony started.

Emerson being anointed as part of her baptism. Since she had already had the water over her head, we did not do that part during this ceremony.

All of us after the ceremony. As you can see, Emerson has had enough. She was in desperate need of lunch and a nap, and I was surprised that she wore her bonnet the whole time. We are thankful to our family and friends who were there with us this day as Emerson starts her path to knowing and loving God.

And THANK YOU Miss Angela for the beautiful James Avery cross and necklace. It will be cherished always.

It's Official

She's a Texan. Here she is with the James Avery charm bracelet that her dad got her for her birthday. Is there a girl left in Texas that doesn't have at least one piece of James Avery jewelry?

Birthday Girl

On Saturday, Nov. 17, we celebrated Emerson's 1st Birthday with a big party. We realize it was more for us than her, but we had to do it. Her father kept calling it "The November Extravaganza". At one point we counted 31 people in the house, all having fun with the balloons, other kids, toys and food. The menu was pretty simple: grilled bratwurst with fixings, chips, coleslaw, fruit salad, Chick-Fil-A nugget tray (a great hit with the kids) and lemonade. And sweet, crisp, cold beer for the adults....it was delicious.

The theme for the party was a "Post Halloween Costume Party". I know that Halloween was in October, but it seemed logical to me. The kids would have fun, would get to wear their Halloween costumes again (Emerson got to sport the Princess Leia costume again) and ALL the stuff (plates, napkins, party favors, candy, decorations, etc.) was ON SALE!!!! Plus, I found the sweetest invitations.

We had cupcakes for Emerson's birthday instead of a big cake. Each was hand decorated and beautiful if I do say so myself (cause I decorated them!) Here is Emerson blowing out her 1 year candle with the help of her Dad.

If you look closely, you can see a tiny tiny bit of frosting on her lips and hand. She had no desire to eat the cake or frosting and only came as close as putting her finger briefly in her mouth.

Here is Alex in his cool Biker outfit, complete with "MOM" tattoo shirt. We also had Little Red Riding Hood, Tinkerbell, a Stormtrooper, Dora the Explorer, a pirate and a princess.

Everyone hanging out in the backyard, eating cake!

The kids had a great time running around in the backyard. Thanks Aspen, for helping round up the little kids and organizing the races.

BUT, playing in a box in the backyard is the best fun of all!

Thank you everyone for making Emerson's 1st birthday so much fun. We can't wait for next year

Dream Dinners

This last weekend, I was invited to a Dream Dinners party for my friend Amy. If you are not familiar (and I wasn't either) with Dream Dinners, it's a "meal prep" place where you assemble meals that you cook later at home. They do the shopping, the chopping and clean-up-to quote them. It was a lot of fun and a great way to visit with my girlfriends. You put on an apron, assemble your meals, drink some coffee, hang out, gossip. My idea of a good way to spend a few hours. We assembled "Raspberry Glazed Chicken", which was awesome. What I liked about the whole concept was that the meal is already planned and ready to be cooked. I am busy (the whole work and a baby thing) and meal planning and prep is something I don't have the luxury to spend as much time on as I used to. Sunday night dinner causes me a certain degree of anxiety...what to have, do I have everything I need, what time do I need to start cooking, do I need to defrost something, etc., and on and on and on. So this is the perfect solution for Sunday dinner. I signed up for the minimum amount of food that you need to buy as well as for the fact that Amy gets credit. I ordered a bunch of different meals. I'll let you know how they taste!

Who's a procrastinator?

Not me, really. I would blog, but am having a few problems.

1. My inherited laptop is having a hard time downloading photo's
2. My "cough" has gone on and on and on......it's sucking me dry
3. Above cough has also taken ALL of my energy...not just some...ALL

I'll update you with Emerson. Emerson turned 1 on Nov. 16. I NEVER thought I would be the mother of a one year old. I am feeling every sleepless night, but still don't know where the time went. Emerson is so much fun. She is crawling, muy rapido, everywhere. She is busy getting into cupboards, under tables, chasing the cats, pounding on windows. She has also been pulling up and practicing standing. It won't be long before she's walking....she can take as long as she wants....it's hard keeping up with her right now.
She is still a champion sleeper...12-13 hours a night. She is a horrible daytime sleeper...one hour max. She has never been a great daytime napper, but this bothers her grandmother more than anything else (she wears Grandma out and I think Grandma needs the sleep more than Emerson). She has also been a champion eater until this last week or so, when she decided that she isn't that interested in eating anything that isn't Yo Baby yogurt, oatmeal, puffs or fruit. I have to sneak the meat and veggies in, but she's getting wise to my tactics. I'll have to think of something new. Any suggestions?
We have introduced Emerson to whole milk without any problems. I was determined that she would drink breast milk for one year, and I am happy to say I met that goal. I am especially proud that I did it by pumping alone. Yes, that's right...I pumped for almost a year. Long story, but the whole breast feeding thing didn't work our for us, so I pumped and was able to freeze about 1500 ounces. My breasts still haven't recovered...I'm not sure if they ever will.
So.....anyone need a heavily used breast pump?
Emerson waves "bye bye" to everyone, even if they aren't leaving and is giving "high 5's". She doesn't quite have the hang of clapping her own hands, but likes to grab your hands and make them clap for you. She finds this hilarious and laughs out loud at her own handiwork.
She STILL only has her 2 bottom teeth. I know there are others just waiting to come through, just not here yet. At least she got some teeth...I was beginning to think she was going to need baby dentures because she didn't get teeth until she was 10 months old.

This post is getting to be long, so I'll wrap it up:
1 year stats
Wt: 17.10 5-10th percentile
Ht: 28 5-10th percentile
Head circ: 50th percentile
She is still a petite one, but proportionate, so it's fine.

She's still in her helmet and has made 75% improvement. This is better than anticipated, so we are THRILLED! We'll keep her in the helmet as long as it fits, there is room and opportunity for improvement and she'll wear it. She's used to it, so it's not a problem. Plus, it gives her some added "protection" at school from the rough and tumble toddlers she's with.

Emerson is such sweet girl. She has brought us such joy and happiness....we often wonder how it is possible to have such love for someone. God has smiled on us. We are blessed with a beautiful daughter and we couldn't ask for more.

Here

Hi,
we are here. We have had a very busy couple of weeks and are now just catching our breath. I'll blog about everything that has been happening:
** Emerson turned 1 on Nov. 16
** Emerson's birthday party
** Emerson's cousins came to visit
** Emerson's had her baptism finalized
** Turkey Day
Stay tuned for more adventures of Emerson and her fan club!

Chuck the Calender

We are SOOOOO getting this and I can hardly wait. Check out Dooce for your own.

Grandpa Frank

Today is my Grandpa Frank's funeral. I am sad that I am not going to be able to attend. It's just too much trying to get Emerson and myself back home right now (Emerson doesn't have a passport yet). I am thinking about Grandpa and the rest of my family today. Grandpa Frank never got to meet Emerson. While this makes me sad, he wouldn't have known who she was. But in Heaven, he can see her just fine, of this I am sure.

Transitions

I found out today that my Grandpa Frank died. I am not sure how everyone feels about death, but to me and my family, it's not necessarily a bad thing. My Grandpa was old, could not get around, had had a pretty significant stroke and had lost a lot of his memories. He has also been grief stricken and lonely since my grandma died a few years ago. So the good thing about his death? He gets to be with Grandma and eat her cooking once again. I am glad my Grandpa is now where he wants to be. Peace Grandpa, your transition is complete.
Today was Emerson's first day in the "Early Toddler" room at baby school. She is doing great so far. There is lots of room to move around and lots of toys and friends to play with and familiar faces. I am not doing so well, however. I was so comfortable with the Infant room - the staff, the routine, and Emerson's place there. I feel like I am starting all over again and don't like the dis-jointed sensation I have had all day, like I am transitioning. I have a hard time with change anyway, so I guess it's no wonder I am not feeling like myself today. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Help her Obi-wan Kenobi, her father is a geek

Happy Halloween, 2007.

May the Force be with you!

Lighting the Night

This past Saturday, we went out to walk for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at Sunken Garden Theater. Me, Emerson, Rico, Amy and Alex went and walked 2 miles to show our support. Because we were supporters, we got to carry red flashing balloons. These balloons were a BIG HIT with Emerson and Alex. We had a nice time walking and enjoyed the wonderful fall evening with a lot of other like-minded people.

A lot of kids were in their Halloween costumes, including Emerson. Can you guess what her costume is? Once you guess that, you also get one guess on who picked it out! :)

Date Night with David

Last Monday, Rico and I went out for a date night without Emerson. We went to the Majestic Theater to see David Sedaris. For those of you who are unfamiliar with David Sedaris, he is an autobiographical author of the humours sort, and one of both mine and Rico's favorites. His essays and stories are frequently featured on NPR. David was available to autograph his books before the show, but unfortunately, I didn't think to bring my copies of his books, so we didn't get to meet him. DANG! The reading was hilarious, David shared some stories for his upcoming novel, and we spent the entire time laughing.

After the show, we walked down to Acenar to eat. We had a great meal and I really enjoyed my Tuna Margarita.

We have to thank Grandma for coming over and taking care of Emerson so her parents could go out and enjoy an evening on the town.

Book Party

Last month, Emerson and I attended a book party hosted by Dena. The books are awesome and we bought 3. I wanted to buy more, but it's hard to shop sometimes with Emerson around! We got 2 Spanish books and a Princess Kit and I can hardly wait to see them. Emerson loves books and often reads to herself or one of us reads to her. Her dad speaks to her in Spanish and the books will help reinforce what she is learning. The books are very high quality and all of some educational value for all ages. I plan to do some Christmas shopping here! Check out Dena's website at Usborne Books at Home.

We had a wonderful time at the party and I really enjoyed the time out (& the mimosa's!) and Emerson enjoyed playing with Parker and checking out all the books.

Feeling Better

Emerson is feeling better after her long, tiring, miserable weekend. She slept really good yesterday, as did her parents and we are feeling somewhat normal. Emerson even felt well enough to sport a new 'do!

Tired and Frustrated

Emerson has not been feeling so hot the last few days. I took her to the pediatrician on Thursday because she has been coughing a lot. I had tried to wean her from her respiratory meds, but the coughing started - the hallmark sign that she needs the meds - so we started them back up. Other times when we have tried to wean her and had to start back up, her cough would clear up within a few days. Not this time. So the pediatrician finds that besides the cough, she also has an ear infection and recommends a flu shot and some additional respiratory meds. Since her visit, Emerson has been running fevers, has been CRANKY, fussy, crying like she hasn't cried since she was a newborn trying to deal with her reflux, not sleeping and just generally being a bear. Poor girl...she's having a bad weekend and it's wearing her and us out. Last night she was up from 10pm-1am pretty much crying non-stop. So for the 2nd time in her life, her and I slept together on the bed in her room as that is the only way she would sleep. This situation makes me VERY NERVOUS, so I didn't sleep much, just mostly dozed. She's in bed right now after a false start an hour ago. I hope she stays down. Some sleep would do all of us a world of good. OH, and I guess the teething isn't helping matters! Pray for us!

11 Months

Emerson turned 11 months old on Tuesday. Her father and I just shake our heads and wonder where the time went. Seems like we just brought her home from the hospital the other day. This is a really fun age. Emerson is jabbering away, VERY mobile and busy. She is all over the place backwards and forwards. At baby school, they are always having to drag her out from under things.

Emerson is such a happy baby. She laughs and giggles and smiles most of the time. Just like when she was a newborn, she only cries when something is wrong and only for as long as it takes to fix it. She is good natured and well-behaved, if that is possible for a 11 month old. I guess she is just really laid back and has the great ability to go with the flow, so not to much upsets her. She is more curious than anything, so when something different comes her way, she's to busy checking it out to get upset.

This past month, Emerson has learned to wave "bye bye" and is starting to pull herself up on the coffee table and the jumpa-roo. Still only her two bottom teeth, but lots of drool and her finger is always in her mouth, so I think more are on the way. She is still in her helmet and doing great. Her last appointment was on Monday and she has made more progress. Because we started late in the helmet, her head will never be perfect, but it looks A LOT better than it did before she went into the helmet and we are very pleased with her progress.

Emerson continues to eat like it's going out of style and sleep like a teen-ager, which we think is particularly AWESOME!

God has smiled on us. Emerson is the best gift we could have ever wished for and we are thankful. AND hopefully He will forgive us for crashing the pumpkin patch at Helotes United Methodist Church...the sign clearly said "Open 12-8"....and it was only 9:30!

Happy Thanksgiving

On Sunday, we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving. Canadian Thanksgiving always falls on the first Monday of October, so we usually celebrate the Sunday before, because for some reason we don't automatically get the day off. I guess the fact that we live in the US may have something to do with it :). The food is the same as US Thanksgiving and the pumpkin pie was exceptional this year (I made it!)

Anyway, we always have friends over to help us celebrate-Canadian and honourary Canadians. Emerson was lucky enough to have a friend over to play with. Dena and Bryan came over with their sweet, beautiful daughter, Parker. Parker is so sweet and gentle with Emerson and likes to make sure that Emerson has all she needs.

Emerson wore her new red and white outfit in honour of the day, and if you look closely, you can see her new teeth.

We had a great time and look forward to when we can all get together again!

(PS There are a few "Canadian" touches to this post. Let me know if you spot them!)

Miss Afghanistan

Emerson's school celebrated multiculturalism last week. All the different rooms concentrated on a different county. The infant room was Afghanistan. At the end of the week, the multiculturalism festivities culminated in a parade. All the babies and kids at the school dressed up in the traditional dress of their "country" and treated all to a parade. Kinda of like the opening ceremonies of the Olympics or a mini UN meeting. Here is Emerson in her traditional Afghanistani dress. (Since it's not a burka, Rico and I are assuming it's pre-Taliban).



Here are some of the babies in Emerson's class in the "limo" that the school uses to take them all for walks in nice days. Notice Emerson isn't having as much fun as the others.


The lip gets bigger.



One very unhappy Afghani girl. She was upset because her father was there to assist with the parade and Emerson wanted to be with him and not in the limo with her classmates.


Of course he rescued her and she was carried through the parade in the arms of her slave boy like any deserving Afghani girl out there. No pix of that, as the slave boy was also the photographer.

My latest challenge

I have recently signed up for The Grocery Game. Rico and I have made a serious decision and started a serious program (more on that later, another of my challenges) to get out of the "nagging" debt that keeps hanging around (you know, that few thousand bucks that just gets easier and easier to look at every month?), so I thought this would be a good way to help towards that goal. It involves a small investment of time and money. The time to clip coupons and the money to pay for a coupon organizer and a Sunday newspaper for the coupons. OH, and the subscription to the game itself, which is minimal right now, as we are on a trial. This week, our savings was $15 and change. And all day long, I've been telling Rico "Here, have some. It was free" or "Isn't this good? It was on sale". I'll update my progress and let you know if it's really worth the time and effort. Rico's only gripe? Having to spend money on the sorry excuse that passes for a newspaper in this town!

Darth Pink Returns

Emerson got her helmet back today. Her pressure sore has healed nicely and the helmet has been adjusted so that it shouldn't rub that spot anymore and can do it's corrective work. However, Emerson has gotten used to being without it and is having a hard time sleeping tonight, so we have given in and taken it off for the night so the sweet girl can get some rest. We shall have to start building her time back up again till she is used to it again. Sweet girl, she is so strong and brave. It just amazes us how she is able to adapt and adjust.

10 Months

WOW, guess who turned 10 months old on September 16th? Emerson's dad and I are having a hard time believing it. We look at her and then at each other and say "Who is that big girl?"
Emerson seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. She has had a very busy month. Some of the cool stuff that has happened in the past month include:

**She now has her two bottom teeth. She has been teething for MONTHS and I was convinced that she was never going to cut these teeth. So much so that I mentioned my concern to her pediatrician at her 9 month visit. I became a tooth fanatic and would put my finger in her mouth several times a day. And one day there it was, the left bottom tooth. No fanfare, no crying, no nothing. Her father and I were so excited that we did a reverse tooth fairy and gave her money for getting teeth. She got a Sacajawea dollar from me and a silver Balboa from her father. We have tried and tried to get pictures of the pearly whites, but apparently Emerson does not like it when people try to pull her bottom lip down without her permission!**

**Good news about her neck CT scan. You may remember me blogging that the results were not encouraging. Well, we went to see the pediatric orthopedic surgeon who let us know that Emerson is going to be fine. While the bony abnormalities that were found will never go away, there won't be much that Emerson won't be able to do, and he does not anticipate any further problems. We were very happy and relieved to hear this. Emerson is going to have to follow with Dr. Stanley for a long while, but we are OK with that.**

**Commando crawling both backward and forward. As well as up on hands and knees rocking. She can also stand if she has something to hold on to. It won't be long before she is mobile!**

**Who sleeps 12 hours a day? OH YES, it's Emerson. She has been doing this for the last 2 weeks and we are loving it! I really thought my days of getting a full nights rest were over until she was married with her own kids. Baby girl, you are making your parents human again!**

**Emerson continues to eat and drink like she always has. This girl likes her meals and her milk. She eats everything that we feed her and so far does not seem to have any food allergies or dislikes. She sometime has issues with texture, but is learning to chew, so has been getting slightly more and more chunky food. Her favorite is Yo Baby! Ana Nicole likes it as well.**

**More and more "words" and vocalizations. And LOUD! This girl loves to babble and scream at her monkey (I guess he needs scolding?). She says Dada a lot, and we are working on Mama. She wakes up every morning and has conversations with whoever is in her crib with her. She'll do this for a good 30 minutes before she begins the "Hey, come and get me" cry.**

We are so in love with our baby girl. She has brought such joy and light to us and we are thankful everyday that she is here. Emerson, you are the best baby and we love you so very very much! We can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Darth Pink Update Part 2

Emerson had her appointment at the plagiocephaly clinic today and she gets a 1 WEEK BREAK from her helmet. Poor girl has a pressure sore (for you nurse friends of mine, you'll really appreciate that) on the left side of her head. The orthotist is going to adjust the helmet so the pressure sore doesn't come back and Emerson is going to use the week to heal. Rico and I first noticed the sore about 2 weeks ago and thought it was a mosquito bite that was having trouble healing because of the helmet. Well, now we know. On a positive note, the neurosurgeon was happy with Emerson's progress and the advance practice nurse said the changes were obvious. Both Rico and I thought we had seen improvement and it's nice to have our thoughts validated. So, the girl is now sleeping the sleep of the helmet less! But have no fear, Darth Pink shall return!

Darth Pink Update

Emerson is making copies progress. On her head that is. We had an appointment at Hanger with Jon, Emerson's orthotist. Emerson's head is improving. She has made a 2mm improvement and her cephalic index has gone from 99% to 95%. We don't exactly know what the heck he's talking about, but he reassures us that it's all good. So I guess the helmet is working and worth every dime we spent on it (and it was A LOT of dimes). She is such a trooper. She wears her helmet 23 hours a day, sleeps ALL NIGHT in it and doesn't even cry when we take it off and put it on to change her clothes. We are so proud of her.

Congratulations Emerson!

For my Grandpa

On Saturday, October 27, Emerson and I are joining a lot of people at the Sunken Garden for the Light the Night walk to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This cause has special meaning for me as my grandpa died from leukemia. I really miss the phone conversations that my grandfather and I had every week. He always had a funny story to tell, as well as good advice to give. He was somewhat of a mentor to me and I miss him. So, to honor him, Emerson and I are putting on our walking shoes and lighting the night. If you wish to join me or donate to this cause, please visit my Light the Night website.

McLovin

A couple of Saturday's ago, Rico and I went out on our 1st date sans baby. We went to see Superbad. And let me tell you, Superbad was SUPERGOOD! We went to the new Palladium Theater at The Rim. This fancy schmancy new theater sells gelato (I had grapefruit - YUM!) has a restaurant AND a bar as well as the usual popcorn/drinks/candy/pickle counter. Rico and I really enjoyed our time out and realize that we need to do it more often. So, anytime anyone wants to babysit, just let us know!

Party Girl

This past Saturday afternoon, we went out to a party to celebrate one of Rico's co-workers 25 years in Blood Banking. The party was hosted by another co-worker at her lovely home in Pipe Creek. The house, pool, cabana bar and yard were just so beautiful. Texas Hill Country at it's finest!

Emerson had great time seeing everyone and got a kiss from her new friend, Hannah.
We had a great time and our only regret is that we could not stay longer! :) Emerson had a good sleep after all that fresh air. Thanks for your hospitality Linda and Keith and Congratulation to Charlotte on 25 Years!

Go, Speed Racer, Go

I love you, Herman Aleman

For those of you that know me, you know that I LOVED my Jetta. It was a very nice car, top of the line with all the trimmings that I had custom ordered and delivered from Houston. I had no intention of getting rid of it. It was paid for and in perfect working condition and still looked pretty hot. Until August 3rd that is. There was $6300 worth of body damage alone. However, the insurance company doesn't want to total it, so they are fixing it. The thought of driving it again, especially with Emerson, kinda freaks me out, so I decided to get another car.

For those of you that know me, you know that a BMW has always been my dream car, just always slightly out of our price range. Well, check me out now. The deal was too good to pass up. It's a 2004 X3 that had 23,000 miles on it. Yes, that's right, 23,000. The previous owners were an older couple from Kerville who basically drove it to church and back. We got it from the same dealer that we got Rico's Saab from, so they gave us a fair price and even threw in window tint :)! Yes, me in my new (to me anyway) car and Emerson in her new car seat, we're a styling couple of chicks going down the road. I LOVE my new car.

Something about them German cars that I can't resist. Who knows what my future holds????

Someday, maybe....................

And from this day forward, you shall be known as Darth Pink

Emerson received her new helmet last Friday. The helmet is to correct her plagiocephaly...that's a long fancy word for flat spot on the head. She's to wear it 23 hours a day. We are working our way up to that by increasing the time she wears it everyday. Today was 13 hours. She doesn't seem to mind it so much. I am amazed at how she is able to just go with the flow.

On August 16, Emerson turned 9 months old. Seems like she was just born and I marvel at how much she has changed from when she was first born. This girl has just about the sweetest disposition that I know. A few fun facts about her:

* she LOVES meat. She eats every bite and then some.
* she can push herself backwards, sometimes all the way down the hallway if we let her
* she has a dimple on her right cheek
* she loves music and dines to ABBA Greatest Hits every night
* no teeth yet, just lots of drool and gnawing
* she doesn't like bananas
* she has said Mama and Dada
* she knows who Monique and Ana Nicole are
* she is over her reflux
* her favorite toys include the TV remote, the phone, the cell phone, the baby monitor and my reading light
* her current stats are: 16.25 lbs (10th%) and 26 in (5%). She's a petite one but proportionate per her pediatrician
* she is still getting PT for her torticollis

Prior to the helmet going on, Emerson had a CT of her neck (not to be confused with the CT of her head that she had following our car accident) to check that there wasn't something else that was causing the torticollis besides muscle tightness. The results were not encouraging, but they could be worse. We are going to see another specialist and will know more after that visit, so I will share more as I know. Emerson is going to have a few challenges ahead of her, but nothing that we can't overcome.

Everyday, her father and I look at her and just give thanks that our beautiful baby girl is here with us. We can't imagine her not being here and wonder what we did before she got here...well, actually, we do remember. We just think this alternative is better :)

Just Imagine

The worst possible thing that could happen to you while you are driving in the car with your baby? What I had prayed would NEVER happen.


It happened to us this past Friday. Yes, the rear windshield is gone....it ended up all over Emerson. We are still shaken and recovering. And we are thankful, to Graco because the car seat did what it was supposed to do, to Volkswagen because the car did what it was supposed to do, to the SAPD and SAFD/EMS for doing what they were supposed to do and to God....for watching over us. Thank you for another day.