Here's the Latest on Our Miss Emma

Emma has been a very busy little girl as of late. She is now sitting all by her self like a big girl. We are so proud of her. She is also quite the curious little miss. She has been rolling around the house checking out anything within her reach. She's starting to show signs of getting closer to crawling. Right now her favorite "toy" is her Oxygen tubing, especially when it is attached to her breathing treatment machine. The pressure in the tubing causes it to vibrate which is alot of fun to chew on. (see pictures below)

Emma now has 9 teeth including 1 molar and is working on making 2 more teeth and 3 more molars. It seems as though she has been teething forever and it doesn't look like she's going to get a break any time soon. Our poor girl, eternal teething really bites. Emma is tipping the scale at a whopping 13 pounds 7.5 ounces as of a week or so ago. I still can't believe how difficult it is getting her to gain weight. Don't we all wish we had that problem.

Emma loves going on walks and especially stopping off at our neighborhood park. She loves swinging on the swings and turns on the boo-boo face when it is time to go home. She also enjoys coloring with crayons, I think we might have a budding artist on our hands. Emma has been working hard in Ocupational Therapy, although she really thinks that playing the keyboard and rapping on the tamborine is too much fun. One thing that Daddy is bitterly looking forward to is driving lessons. I don't know, somehow I think it's a little soon... Well enjoy the pictures...We sure do love looking at them.

CHOC at Mission NICU Reunion

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!!!

The following pictures are a comparison of pictures taken from last year at the NICU Reunion and this year at the NICU Reunion last weekend. I was very pleasantly surprised to see Emma's growth. Take a gander and you'll see what I mean.

NICU Grads Lindsay & Emma 2006

Lindsay & Emma 2007

The Ford & Patcha Families 2006

The Patcha & Ford Families 2007

This is about as close to Cha-Cha (from Rain Forest Cafe') as Emma would get.

This is after we got too close to Cha-Cha

Hey it's a milestone to be fearful of "live" characters.

Go Figure...She really liked the live gecko...and..

The Pet Therapy Dogs

BIG Puppy Kisses

A Time of Appreciation...

Tomorrow we are going to the CHOC at Mission NICU Reunion. It's great opportunity for us to thank and see the NICU medical team that saved Emma, allowng for us to take her home. This reunion is also a great day to connect with other NICU Graduates and their Families. We are excited to be able to share Emma's progress and experience being the proud parents that we are with our CHOC family. Pictures to follow...stay tuned.

Easter Weekend

Christ is Risen!!!

This weekend we celebrated the death and ressurection of our Lord and Savior. What a celebration and wonderful time to be with family. We started out the weekend with brunch on Saturday, at Alissa's parent's house with Emma's Great Grandparents. It was great catching up and just being with them. Then on Sunday, we had the pleasure of taking Emma to church for the first time to actually sit in the service. We had to sit up in the balcony to keep her away from other people, but it was just great to have her there. She was such a joy to watch her experience the worship music and wave at everyone in her vicinity. After church, we all went to Marci & Denny's house for lunch with the family. We spent time eating good food, remembering Jesus through communion, and smelling the lovely flowers in Marci's garden. Here are several pictures of our family filled Easter weekend.

Nana & Emma

Dee & Emma

Emma & her Great Grandparents

Mark, Grandpa Jack, Alissa, Great Grandpa Gene, Grandma Julie,

Emma, & Great Grandma Diane

Piggy Tails & OT

Emma has finally started growing hair. Enough hair to put into piggy tails.

Emma is working hard at growing and gaining weight, as she now is about 13.5 pounds. She is such a funny girl, making facial expressions that just crack us up. She is diligently working on fine-motor skills and is still so close to sitting on her own. We know the day will come when she'll start following us around the house. We can't wait.

Smiling Pretty in Piggy Tails

Working with Joan, Emma's new O.T.

Family Day at Woodbridge Lake

Today we went to Woodbridge lake and took a nice walk.

We spent time feeding the ducks and took some family photos.

It is really nice to be able to get out with our girl and enjoy the warm sunshine.

Emma really enjoyed being outside, seeing lots of puppies walking and sourdough eating ducks.

Family photo op..

Tickle me Emma the 1st edition...

Looking over Daddy's shoulder

"CALLING ALL DUCKS!"

MMM Sourdough..

Here Ducky Ducky

Come a little closer, don't be shy.

Daddy Time

Daddy & Emma had a nice time this morning snuggling and playing.

It was fun to see them playing and being silly.

Smiling for the camera...

Eskimo Kisses

Emma has a new big girl carseat.
Now if she could just gain some weight she could face forward,
until then she'll see the road from where we've been.

One Of Many Updates...

Yesterday we played at Nana and Papa's house.

Daddy and Emma watched the birds and enjoyed being outside in the backyard.

Emma has been working hard to gain enough muscle control to sit up.

She is getting closer and closer to reaching her sitting milestone.

Daddy & Emma in Nana's & Papa's Backyard

Sitting is hard work but what a different view from the floor.

Now I can see my toys better.

MMM...Frog legs, good!!

Updates & Recent Pictures of the Girl

The last few days have been exciting for us all. Although we spent the last week in the hospital, Emma made some progress towards meeting some milestones within this last week. Emma has been waving bye-bye for some time now and signs "more" & "daddy". Within the last couple of days Emma has been communicating with us more by pointing to things she wants and shaking her head "no" when she doesn't want something. Another exciting happening that Emma is doing is that she is so close to sitting by her self. She loves to sit in her new highchair and we have been putting her in it as much as she will let us. Due to her new found comfort in her highchair, her interest in food has increased rapidly. Emma has realized that she likes mashed potatos and coffee cake. Praise the Lord this is an answer to prayer. We have been waiting for her to show interest in food for so long. Emma also got her first haircut a couple of weeks ago and loves to brush her hair and her baby's hair (head). Emma also surpised us by sucking on a pacifier this weekend. We love seeing her progress so rapidly and are waiting to see what she'll do next.

Brushing her hair...

Brushing her baby's hair..


Checking out the zipper on the pillow...

Pacifiers are cool!!

Yummy Mashed Potatos...

Emma's First Haircut ... What a big girl ;)

It was good while it lasted

Emma went back in the hospital on Sunday night after throwing up all day. Emma managed to stay out of the hospital for 3 months. Alissa and I were both home sick with Bronchitis for 4 days and we were unable to keep it from Emma. We stayed in bed for 3 days while our home nurses and family members watched Emma, but she still got it. Emma is starting to feel better and will hopefully be coming home tomorrow. We will post some new pictures of Emma when the girls are back home again.