Random Pictures

Some pictures of Brian & EmmaLee at the park.

Chicken Suit

These are pictures of EmmaLee's Halloween costume. She looked so adorable. But she HATED wearing the costume (as you can probably tell in the photos). However, later that night she figured out that people would give her candy...so she didn't mind the costume after that. She was so cute...she would run up to people's doorsteps and Brian would ring the bell and Emma would dig in for her candy. We had to constantly remind her that she could only take one candy at a time...otherwise she would have walked off with the bowl.

Halloween was a lot of fun and we are looking forward to next year.

Who does Emma look more like?

Holiday Pictures

I found a picture cd from our family portraits. Here are some pictures that were on it. Emma is so cute.

A Healthier Lifestyle

Brian and I have been trying to make an effort to become more healthy. We converted our eating habits, we are now vegetarians. However, don't get that confused with vegans...we still eat dairy. We tryed veganism...but we all love cheese and yogurt too much.

So anyways, we are now vegetarians...we never really ate much meat anyways. So it really wasn't a big change for us. We however did eat a LOT of carbs like pastas, and bread products. So we are slowing down on all those carbs and trying to incorporate more vege-friendly meals and fresh fruit. It has been really fun so far.

When we go grocery shopping we only shop on the perimeter of the store...we don't go down the aisle's (for the most part), because all the healthy stuff is on the outside. We don't eat canned or boxed foods...because of the preservatives and we are trying to eat only organically grown foods.

Also, we have been trying to become more active. Every night we go on walks after dinner. It is perfect for us, because we don't get to see one another very often. Also, it is so quiet and pieceful walking at night. Last night (valentines day) we went for a 4-mile walk. It was a lot of fun, and I am excited for our walk tonight. It is a chance for us to talk without interruption (Emma usually falls asleep during the walk). Also, before our nightly walks we were having difficulty putting Emma to bed at night. Now we haven't had any problems...the walks really tire her out.

We have a long way to go to become as healthy as we want to be. But we are doing the best we can, everyday.

Delayed Development

Emma has been seeing a speech therapist since November. Her therapist has recommended her to enter a program for toddlers with special needs and delayed development.

So today I called the lady that runs the program. She sounded really nice and non-judgemental. She said that it is a difficult program to get into, however since Emma is more than 25% delayed and she has 2 seperate doctor referrals, Emma should be able to join the program without much effort.

I started to cry when I was on the phone with her, because she kept saying words like SPECIAL NEEDS and DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY. My little sister had special needs and learning disabilites growing up. She was held back a year in preschool and was older than everyone else. She was in special ed classes through all of her schooling. She was BADLY picked on by mean children. I never thought that I would have a special needs child. It happens to everyone else, not you. I guess I just held onto the hope that she would one day just start talking sentences. But as of now, Emma has the speech development of a 3-6 month old baby.

This has been a really difficult situation for us...we realize that we are lucky that it is only speech and nothing more serious. There are parents that have to deal with so much more than us.

We are staying positive and doing everything we can to help Emma. Sometimes catch it early and get professional help, you can help to change the future.

Whatever happens she is our beautiful princess. And nothing will ever change that.

This is why you brush your teeth...

Brian hasn't gone to the dentist in about 3-4 years. So I made an appointment for him and would you believe he has 13 cavities...isn't that like almost all of your teeth?!? Well we have an amazing dentist...very high tech. They used a lazer on his infected gums and burned them off. Yikes!

I guess this is what you can expect when you never brush your teeth and live off of sugary sodas and candy. lol.

But Brian has really made an effort to take care of his teeth since his first treatment. I think the fact that he is now responsible for the bill (instead of his parents) is a big motivation to keep his teeth healthy and clean.