Rain = No Pictures!

We have had A LOT of rain. And, it has cooled off here...the thermometer has stayed in the 50's & 60's this week. Everything outside is soggy and cold-yuck!! So, I have not had a lot of photo opportunities...which explains why I have not posted. :)

Emma will turn 5 next Sunday, I almost can not believe it! She will be bringing a "Pooh" cake to school next week to celebrate with her little friends. Then on Saturday she will be having a "Strawberry Shortcake" party at home with Sophie and their friend Mandy Rose. Each year there seems to be a developmental milestone reached around her birthday. Last year Emma gave up her daily nap the very same week that she turned 4. This week Emma has been doing a very good job of using her words. She is using correct pronouns more consistently and speaking in full sentences much more often. She is insistent on getting herself dressed ("by myself"!!) every day & she does a good job! When she needs help with something she is asking for help instead of screaming. Greg and I are SO PROUD of her! :) When you are the parent of a unique child like Emma you learn not to concern yourself with things that are age appropriate. It's simply not fair to your child or yourself; you WILL end up driving yourself crazy and miss all of the GOOD moments. And, there are so many.

Sophie is doing well too. :) She had 3 vaccinations this week; of course she cried but the tears stopped as soon as we left the doctors office-I think that the rubber cow-duck that she received as compensation helped too! :) She will not need any more shots until Kindergarten. Sophie tested positive for parasites-Giardia-a couple of weeks ago. (The test involved a tiny plastic spoon-that is all that you need to know!!). She took special antibiotics and we will be retesting her on Monday just to make sure that the medicine did its job. We also visited a Special Diseases Doctor last month to address Sophie's Hep B status. After a thorough blood panel--6 vials--we have learned that she has "Chronic Hepatitis B". This is actually "good" news because it is better than her having "Active" Hep B which would require treatment. Her liver is fine for now, which we were thrilled to learn! We will be monitoring her status with blood work every 3 months for the next year; if her levels do not go up then we will do blood work just twice a year. Sophie can put on her own shoes now and get her self UNdressed. She repeats almost every english word that she hears; her 3 favorites are "Hi!.....Thank You!....and EAT"! :)

I will post pictures the next time! :)