All About EMMALIE

That's right! Today is all about our first princess... Little Miss Emmalie. Today is Emmalie's 4th Birthday!

Four years ago we were unexpectedly sent to the hospital at 36 wks, 5 days of pregnancy because our precious baby girl was suffering from "fetal tachycardia" (or a very high heart rate that she was sustaining 180 to 200 beats a minute). It was such a scary time for us. And now, four years later, we have a beautiful healthy 4-yr-old who towers over the rest and teaches us all a little something more every day. Our family would not be the same without the addition of Emmalie Irene.

We are planning a nice, quiet little party of family & Emma's closest friends this evening... so stay tuned for what will surely be some fun pictures! In the mean time, we've put together this photo show of Emmalie over the past four years. ENJOY...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Shelia, Tony & the Gang

A Day at the Doctor's

Okay... first I have to say that I admire Moni and Crystal and all you other mothers of multiples even more after today's experience!

Dalton: "Mom, do I HAVE TO go?"

A month ago I called to schedule Emmalie's 4 year check-up and Dev & Dalt's physicals for school. The reception convinced me that it was a good idea to let her schedule all of them together... which I questioned because it seemed like a lot for one single visit. I have never taken more than two kids to see the doctor at the same time until today and I knew it would be a chore. But I eventually gave in (yes, you can call me gullable now!). And boy, have I learned my lesson! Let me tell you, two teenage boys trying to "act like men" and a soon-to-be four year old who demands to be the center of attention doesn't make for the exact trio any of you want to be taking to a doctor's appointment at the same time:0

Devin didn't care where he went,

as long as he got out of the house!

The Waiting Room:

Emmalie made the elderly woman next to us literally crack up when she grabbed a Cosmo Magazine and started to comment on the styles of swimsuits! Not normal preschooler comments like "that's pretty" or "I like that one". It was more of the loudly spoken words of "Mommy, that's too low on top" and "what an ugly color" and "we would never wear that, huh Mommy" that caught everyone's attention. I thought Devin & Dalton were going to choke:)

Weights & Measures:

Devin and Dalton are within an inch and a half of each other now... and 6 lbs apart. Both with very healthy BMIs (its a nurse thing). And both with perfect 20/20 vision. Emmalie is in the 90th percentiles weighing in at a solid 40 lbs and 42 inches tall. No wonder the boys at day care let her have her way... she's built strong and could beat 'em up!

The Exam Room:

Do you know how crowded those little bitty exam rooms are when you put five people in them? It became tight quarters right away. Especially when you have one trying to read a book in the center of the floor, one trying to play with the medical equipment, and one playing on the swivel stool. They had the nurse laughing almost immediately! I, on the other hand, wasn't laughing:(

Exams were relatively quick, then came the news... Em & Dalt needed SHOTS:) I thought Dalton was going to turn and run when the doctor told him he would be receiving TWO shots today (which I was already well aware of). The more the nurse talked about how sore he'd be, the more he threatened to cry! It was quite comical. Even Emmalie thought so. I don't know what was funnier, the fact that the boys actually took their candy for being "good patients" at the end of the visit... or the princess stickers that Devin & Dalton were sporting on their shirts when we walked out of the office. (Again, the elderly lady was crackin' up!).

Emmalie: "See, I'm NOT crying Dalton!"

The moral of this story...

Getting everything done at once in an attempt to save time is NOT always the best idea. But many people got a good laugh out of my crazy choice and our three oldest kids!

Thank God for the patience of our family physician:)

Coming Soon (to a blog near you)....

Coming Soon... "A Day at the Doctor's"

Now that I've teased you, I'll leave you with a random thought for the day and some pictures from the state baseball tournament a couple of weekends back.

We cannot really love anybody

with whom we never laugh.

~ Agnes Repplier

If this is true... our house must be FULL of love. We not only make each other laugh, we also laugh to stay sane sometimes with four kids running in four different directions:)

Shelia

Good Weather, Food & Fun

I'm so glad the weather held up yesterday! Tony had set up a barbecue/get together for his immediate colleagues at work and I was worried that it would either be too hot or too rainy. By the time things got under way, it was a nice 80-degrees and sunny with a light breeze. It was beautiful weather... YEAH:) Add in some good food (Kelly's salad & Tony's won tons were the winners of the night) and it was a great time to kick back with everyone's families.

The kids seemed to have a great time running around in the yard. I felt bad for Bryce, Caleb & Devin... they were it for boys amongst ten girls! The girls did gang up for a friendly little game of football (even the diva, Miss Emmalie!). It was so much fun to see everyone's kids laughing and having fun.

Football in July: Boys vs Girls...

The line of scrimmage....

Caleb ready to stop Sidney in her tracks

Huddle... Girl Style!

Mr. Football... Caleb

Here are some other random pictures from the barbecue...

Caleb helps Katelynn & Bethie with their ball

Kelly & little Chloey

Bubble time fun:)

Pretty Miss Kaylee

Too many cameras! Bethanie becomes a HAM!

Ava & Katelynn playing with water bottles

Too Cute... Katelynn sat
& posed for the camera!

Bethanie... she was either eating bubbles,
or trying to blow them!

Kaitlyn shows Bethanie how to really blow bubbles

Ring-Around the Sprinkler?!

My own Mr. GQ.. Relaxed & Ruggedly Handsome!

If you haven't noticed by now, Dalton was absent for our events yesterday. Funny story:) Dalton came to me yesterday mid-morning... here's how the conversation went.

Dalton: "Mom, can I go drag racing with my friend JC tonight?"

Shelia: "Ummm.? You might want to talk to your Dad, but I'm sure we don't want you driving a car and especially drag racing one!" (He is still only 12 you know!?).

Dalton: "Duh, Mom! We're going to watch his DAD drag race!"

~Insert a mother who truly felt the blonde moment she just experienced!~

Well, that's it for this post. Hope everyone is having a blessed Sunday.

Long Time, No Blog

I cannot believe how busy we have been lately! This summer seems to be flying right by:( I've actually resorted to calling family & friends over the past two weeks to "keep in touch"... mostly accomplished while driving to or from some sporting activity or work. It's been just CRAZY!

Dalton's baseball season officially ended with the state tournament this weekend. His first trip to the state level... first pitch of the first game... (seeing a trend here?!)... and Dalton hits Home Run #10 on the season! It was another 300+ foot whopper. We're so proud of the Yankees for such a wonderful season:) They played fair, hard and with a lot of heart. They won 1st in two of the three tournaments they were actually able to finish this year... AND, they won their league. GOOD JOB YANKEES!

I did just say baseball is over, right?!?! Well, we got back to town around 10:00pm on Sunday... and FOOTBALL camp started at 7:00am on Monday:0 Not to worry... we actually have one week off between sports seasons this year (which is happening for the first time in nearly two years).

Devin is, well, a normal teenage boy preparing to be "big man on campus". It's so hard to believe he will be a Senior in high school this year. And I definitely don't feel old enough to have a kid turning 17... yes, he'll be SEVENTEEN in 2 1/2 weeks. UGH!!!

What can I say to update everyone on Emmalie? The Princess will be celebrating her 4th birthday two weeks from tomorrow. (Yes, for all of you putting 2 + 2 together here... Tony & I will be broke in three weeks after shopping for Emmalie's birthday, Devin's birthday, Dad's birthday, and back to school shopping! JK!). Emmalie made her own birthday list for the first time this year... and, mostly, she wants EVERYTHING:) I say that because (as you fellow females will understand) she changes her mind all the time about what she wants and has at some point and time wanted pretty much EVERYTHING! Em's newest emerging trait is her fear of "goobers" and insects. I have never seen someone cry, scream and cause such a scene over a fly... but that will take an entire post dedicated to itself later:)

Sweet little Bethie-Boo is growing up fast, too. She is just about to hit the 21-lb mark on the scale and is truly taking on her Daddy's metabolism. Now that her stomach is finally resolving it's issues, she will eat non-stop. She just hates red meat, so Bethanie has learned what other foods have protein! Bethanie is picking up all sorts of words ("fisss"= fish, "mmmma"= Emma, "pone"= phone, and the list goes on)... but she'd still prefer to sit quietly and take in the world. She is definitely more laid back then her sister was/is. We're also starting to move full force forward on the potty training now that day care has accepted the challenge. She does great for me in the morning and after naps.

To appease those asking for new videos and pictures... Enjoy this little collection until I can get something more put together.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on fly fears, birthday parties, and a readiness show for the approaching football season!