Our Trip to See Dr. Mahesh!

Today we went & saw Dr. Mahesh for Emma's last RSV shot of the season. I picked Emma up during naptime at school so she has not been a happy camper today.

Her appt went well and she is now 22 lbs 10 oz & she's gained .5lb since 4 wks ago! It's about time she starts gaining again. Other than that she sounded and looked good. We will go back on June 2nd and at that appt we will talk about switching her off the nebulizer to something different. He mentioned something with a mask but it's not a nebulizer so I don't know if he's talking about an inhaler or something else. Of course, I didn't ask so we'll just have to wait. Emma will continue her Pulmicort & Foradil twice a day until then. I really think the Foradil is helping.

In other news, Miss Priss has a snotty nose (AGAIN!) and a upset belly yesterday, but hopefully the snot will be the only thing coming out of her. I don't think I can handle a sickness right now. :)

We are really looking forward to this weekend b/c it is the Northrop Grumman Easter Egg Hunt and it is Crystal and Andy's wedding reception. They got married in Antigua 1.5 wks ago & we are so excited to celebrate at the reception. I'll have lots of pics!

Also, we are planning on taking a beach vacation this summer and I'm super duper stoked! More than likely we will hit up Destin, FL again b/c it is so beautiful but I'm open to suggestions. We are planning on August so I'll have plenty of vacation days built up and the prices are cheaper at the end of summer. If anyone has any awesome beach locations let me know and we'll check the place out. I LOVE vacations!!!

2009 NICU Preemie Party!!!

Today was such a special day for our family. It was the 2009 NICU Preemie Party that is held every 2 years. Every baby that was born in the year 2007 was invited and I think all of them came! There were over 600 RSVP's and let me tell you, it was crowded! We had such an amazing time and got to see lots of wonderful people. Afterwards, we headed over to the NICU to visit the working nurses and that was fun too. Such a special day. :)

On to the pics!

G snapped this and I thought it was too cute not to share!
























The NICU doctors minus Dr. Novak...Dr. Davison, Dr. Dworsky (he was Em's delivery dr) and Dr. Morris. LOVE these guys! They are amazing drs and we are forever grateful for them.

Somthing has happened to my blog so I have no idea why it's making me type here but oh well.

This is Em, Me, and baby Lucas! My sweet friend Kylie's little boy. I tried to take him home with me but Emma wasn't having it!

They had an Easter bunny at the party and he was so funny. Emma would give him a little hand shake but that's it.

Our BFF Ella Grace that lived beside Emma in the NICU. We love miss Ella!

Emma and the Easter bunny...she was not liking him holding her!

Our friends the Gibsons! There little boys Ben & Jake were 26 wkers too and we became friends. Don't you just love their red hair??

Before everyone left they got a "group shot" and we all huddled close together. I'm anxious to see the outcome. Did I mention there were over 600 people?! They had 1 parent stand with the kids unless there were multiples and then they had both parents.

Our dear friends the Truss's. Silas was born 1 wk before Emma and Silas was the 1st baby in a Giraffe bed and Emma was the 2nd. Baracka is such an amazing woman and I think the world of her.
And trying to get 4 toddlers to take a picture! Walker, Ben, Jake, and Emma. I actually don't know which one is Ben and which one is Jake, but I'm guessing. :)

Our dear favorite nurse Mrs. Sandy!!! We love this woman sooo much! She took care of Emma almost everyday that we were there and I miss her so much. She helped me more than she knows during our time there and we will always love her.

Brandy, Candy, and Emma...Candy took care of Emma on her 2nd day there and a couple more days after that. We think the world of her too and found out that she is 19 wks pregnant! Couldn't be happier for her!

I'm glad the weather cooperated while we were out and about. I had so much fun at the party! More to come later...enjoy the weekend!

A Weekend With My Grandparents!

As I mentioned before, Emma and I made the journey home all by ourself b/c I was antsy to see family. Emma did great on the way up but we did have to stop once for some M&Ms to finish the 2 hr 40 min drive. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the quietness of the car and Elmo!

On Saturday we headed over to Sparta to visit with my Granny Dunham, Uncle Arnold, Granny Scott, Pa, Damon, and Kelsey. We had a great visit but I wish we could spend more time with them b/c a couple of hours with each just isn't enough!

So first was Granny Dunham's house. Granny cooked us a yummy lunch (my 2nd that day) and let me tell you, the lady can make some goood chicken! I always love my Granny's chicken! Before left we took a few pics and here are two...

Uncle Arnold with Miss Emma on his shoulders! He used to always put me on his shoulders when I was little too. He's the greatest uncle ever!


Uncle Arnold, Emma, and my Granny! You see that rock behind them? I used to play on that rock for hours when I was little. I think it's holding that huge tree up. :)



Then it was on to my Granny & Pa Scott's house for some present time! Since we weren't able to have Em's bday party she still hadn't gotten her presents from them. She loves opening gifts!

Being delicate tearing the paper off...


The Little Mermaid movie!!! Mommy is excited about this!


An alphabet/number toy! Anything with letters/numbers and Emma loves it!


Whoa what could be in this huge box???


A giant stuffed bear!!! Emma LOVES this bear! It is bigger than her!

Thanks a million to both sets of great-grandparents for all of Emma's bday gifts and for feeding us lots of yummy food while we were there. My waistline thanks you too. :) Oh I should also add that Granny Dunham gave me a gift card to buy Emma some clothes for her bday. That is always nice! And from Starlena, John, and Kelsey she got $25, a Princess nightlight, and some candy. She LOVES the Princess nightlight b/c anything with Disney is awesome.

We had a wonderful time but much too short. We plan on going back home for Easter too so that will be fun. Keep checking back later this week for a few pics from Gabby & RuRus's house!

Beautiful Sunday

Wow, what a beautiful weekend!!! Emma, Braxton and I took off Friday morning for Cookeville/Sparta while George stayed behind and worked. I LOVE my every other Friday off! We got back early today so we could prepare for the week. I've got several pics from our trip but for now, here are some from a few minutes ago. While Daddy cooked tacos, Emma and I played outside. Enjoy!

Being silly...


Playing with our balls!


This is what happens when she doesn't get her way...she didn't get to throw Braxton's ball so this lasted all of 2 seconds!


And another one b/c she's cute!


And right after the tantrum...happy as a lark! She's so cute!

Later I will post more pics and I hope everyone is enjoying this niiiice weather b/c I sure am!

My Sick Baby :(

Well once again miss Emma is sick. On Sunday she started running a 104 temp, had nasty diarrhea, coughing, runny nose, etc so we took her in to see Dr. Dudley yesterday. Emma has a really really bad left ear infection (her first) and the flu! I never would've guessed the flu but apparently it is a different strain from our flu shot. Apparently I probably had the flu too the pedi said b/c I had the exact symptoms for this strain. Whoops! Now Emma is on another 10 day dose of Augmentin (exactly 1 wk from when we stopped the last dose) and Albuterol in her nebulizer 3x's a day and Pulmicort 2x's a day. Recently I can't get her to take her nebulizer so it is a struggle. I guess we've been doing it too long for her. But on the upside, she is doing much better today and mommy is staying home with her for an extra day of rest.

Since she hasn't been eating very well the past couple of days mommy brought her some M&M's home after work on Monday. I also got some plastic easter eggs from the Dollar General and came home, hid them from her, and put some candy in them. She LOVES finding easter eggs! Something different to do. So here are some pics...

Found a green egg!


Oh, what's in here?


Is that money??? I put some coins in them after the candy and she loves finding money!


Happy sick girl! Mommy would say "cha-ching!" when she dropped her coins in her bank and she thought that was so funny!

Need Some Crockpot Recipes!!!

Since I started working again I'm finding it really hard to come home and cook a nice dinner. Emma does not want mommy to cook when we get home. She wants to play in her bedroom or outside. So I thought maybe my good ol crockpot could help me out. Currently I make taco soup, roast, and I think that's about it in my crockpot. So bloggers, I need your help! If you have any good healthy crockpot recipes please share!!! You can leave your recipes in the comments field or you can email them to btitsworth@gmail.com Please don't be shy. I'll even post pics of us eating your yummy crockpot meals.

Guess Who's Sportin a Rockin Ponytail?

Emma! How cute is that? Last night we went to dinner at the hibachi grill and Emma loved it! She looks like such a big girl in these pics...

In other news, if you try to call me right now I will not answer. We will be taking a trip later today to the Verizon Wireless store. Last night on our way to dinner I sat my phone on the truck while I checked the mailbox and then buckled Emma into her carseat. Well I then jumped into the front seat and we drove off. Folks, this is the 2 time I've done this and even lost my car keys the same way. Last time it happened some guy that lives a couple miles away found it on his morning run. I'm not sure we will be so lucky this time. It rained last night so I'm sure it is ruined. So sad!

We Are Still Here!

What a week! I now realize how hard it is to get things done when you work 9 hours a day, come home to a 2 year old, and then care for her until 9pm. Before Emma was born I would come home from work and be bored to death all night just sitting on the couch watching tv. Now my nights are filled with a cranky toddler, time outs, dinner, bathtime, painting, some more fights with a toddler, and finally bedtime. I've been getting up around 5am every morning so by the time 9:30 hits, I'm running to my big bed. But so far I love my job and all of my coworkers.

Emma has had a major turnaround at daycare this past week! She cries only a little bit when we drop her off and then she is good the rest of the day. She no longer cries and begs when we turn in the parking lot so that makes it easier. She's also started napping anywhere from 1.5 hours to 2 hours, eats all of her food, and really loves it when they get to go outside. Happy Emma=Happy Mommy!

In other news, we've really entered the terrible 2's stage. George and I have really struggled these past 2 weeks with Emma's attitude. I know her being in daycare and the recent changes are probably a big part of it, but wow is all I've got to say. Anyone have some magic advice on what to do? We try so hard to play with her all night but the littlest thing will send her into hysterics and then it's all downhill from there. Some nights I'm so anxious for bedtime to arrive so I can have some peace. I've never really thought parenthood was so hard until now. Now I get it. I hate disciplining her. Is that even a word? And I feel like we tell her "no" all the time and it breaks my heart.

So if anyone can share any tips on how to be a better parent, I'm all ears! Yesterday one of G's coworkers said to start watching the show "Supernanny!" She scares me! But I really want to get this under control before it's too late. HELP!

Not Very Happy With the Insurance Company!

Last Tuesday when George took Emma to the pulmonologist the lady told him we owe around $500. George didn't know what it was from but paid $250 & said we'll pay the rest later. So when he tells me this I was stunned! I've been to the office several times and noone has mentioned owing them any money and we haven't received a bill from them in a long time. So since I'm off today I decided to find out what's going on & why I owe them so much money. Turns out our insurance pays 90% of the Synagis shots and even though we've met our deductible we still owe the 10%. I guess I just thought after I paid the $40 copay and the fact we've met our deductible that we wouldn't owe anything else...WRONG! Apparently we owe almost $260 per shot and Emma gets 4 of these shots! That turns out to be OVER $1,000!!! Holy moly batman! I'm so glad I'm working and I know what my 1st paycheck will go to. :( Do you ever feel like you pay so much just to have insurance and then you get stuck paying thousands of dollars anyway? The past 2 years we have payed almost $7000 in medical expenses/prescriptions and it looks like this year will be the same. I also don't feel that great today so at the end of the phone call with insurance I started crying. Don't get me wrong, we can pay the money but it just sucks to have to pay it. :(

Also, I had big plans to sleep in this morning since I don't have to work. Well at 12:30 last night Braxton had to go outside so I got up and took him out. I fall back asleep and Emma comes in a few hours later. I don't know what happened but she was upset at some point and was kicking me & being fussy. Then at 5:30am I woke up with the worst leg cramps ever! It was my right calf muscle and I wanted to scream. After several seconds it finally got better. So I took a couple of deep breaths & hoped to fall back asleep. Within seconds my leg cramped up again and I had to wake George up. Of course that woke Emma up too. My leg is better now but it is extremely sore when I walk on it. I know it's from wearing those high heels this week! My legs & feet are used to that anymore. So now my goal is to buy more dress pants and have them altered to wear flat shoes. That way I don't have to wear heels everyday. What a rough morning! Also, Emma and I have been coughing quite a bit this morning. Ok, I'm done whining. :) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I'm ready for some sunshine. Oh it's also the weekend to spring forward on our clocks. Yay!

Zoom, Zoom!

Emma LOVES to be pushed around the house really fast in her baby stroller. It is so funny but it really hurts our backs to be bent over and running. Well Sunday night she was begging for it so George being the great daddy that he is, ran her around the house several times while she giggled and squealed. :) So funny! So here are some pics from that...

Here they come around the living room...


Making their way back around...



On all 4 wheels!

Don't you just love her one pant leg up with her Dora bandaid?

Rough Day For Emma

So far this week work has been really easy for me b/c I've just been doing the initial work stuff like training, getting passwords, etc. Not too bad! Well since George has taken & picked Emma up from school the past two days I decided to drop her off this morning. I got up & showered around 5:20am (waay too early!) and when I got out at 5:30am Emma started waking up. I know this will soon become her morning wake up time even on the weekends and I dread it! Anyways, we left for school this morning and had a nice ride. That all ended once we pulled into the Primrose parking lot. She immediately started saying "no mommy" repeatedly and saying "stay in mommy's car." It broke my heart. :( Then I tried to unbuckle her and she fought me & was saying "buckle up Emma." Finally I managed to get her arms out only to have her brace her feet on her DVD player so I struggled to get her out and bumped her head on the car. Don't worry it wasn't a bad bump but still it was no fun struggling with her. I carried her in and it was only 6:30ish at this point & her teacher had just walked in the door. Emma cried hysterically the whole way to her classroom with tears & snot & then started coughing alot. So I walked around her room looking at her artwork (which was amazing) and then I had her laughing. I thought "ok, things are looking up!" Um no. I tried to take her jacket off and the crying started again. Ms. Monica finally had to take her from me and show her the playground outside. She kept looking back for me and I blew her a kiss & Ms. Monica said "let's watch for mommy's car." She started to calm down but who knows for how long. So needless to say, not a great way to start your morning. :) I always call & check on her once or twice a day & it makes me feel a little better. I called today around 11:45 and the sweet girl said Emma was crying. Come to find out they had been playing on the playground and it was time to come in for lunch and Emma didn't want to come in! She loves to play outside! And once again, only a 20 minute nap. I don't know how long it will take her to nap normally at school. I did get to pick her up today at 5pm and she was so excited to see me. She was crying when I got there but perked right up and said "that's my mommy!" Then she says "see ya everybody!" and the teacher started laughing. She said Emma says that all the time! What a little character.

As soon as we got home everything went sour. I think she was so tired and hungry she didn't know what to do. The girl has been eating like an elephant this week and we were so amazed at everything she's ate today! Must be another growth spurt! After several crying/temper tantrums she was sound asleep by 8:30pm. Whew what a day! Since coming home tonight I've washed 3 loads of laundry and put away, cooked dinner, washed dishes and ran dishwasher, took the trash out, cleaned my car out, and a few other things. Mommy is tired. Hopefully the routine will get easier soon. Luckily I have Friday off!!! I'm so excited!

One last thing...Emma went to the pulmonologist yesterday and received another Synagis shot. She gets her last one March 31st. George took her and I think it was my first time missing an appt. So sad. But they did just fine. She is also continuing her Pulmnicort awhile longer but not sure how much longer.

Oh and today I got the postcard in the mail for the NICU Preemie Party!!! I can't wait! It is on March 28th from 10-12pm and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. I wish it lasted all day! We will get to show Emma off, see NICU friends, nurses & doctors. I'm also curious to see if Emma was the smallest baby in 2007. I think there was another baby smaller before she went home but not everyone can say they had a 1 lb 7 oz baby!

Well I'm off to watch LOST and enjoy some quiet time before bed. Pics to come!

Mommy's 1st Day of Work!

I survived! Today was my first official day at work (outside of the home) and it was great! Of course for the next week it will be very easy just getting stuff set up so give me a few months and then I might be crazy. :) Everyone is super nice so far and I plan on going back tomorrow. ha ha. Per Gabby's request, here are a couple of pics of me and my baby on my first day at work. By the way, Emma did much better today at daycare than she did last week. She did cry off an on today and NO NAP but I'm sure in another week she'll be all comfy and settled in. So thanks for all of the prayers! Happy Monday!



The full attire! My feet/calves are so sore from wearing heels today! I guess G is giving someone a nice long foot rub tonight. :)

"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

I think this is the last post for today! Although I've got lots more pics/videos to share.

Emma started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" a few weeks ago and it is so cute! She can actually sing the whole song by herself but as you know, put a camera in front of her and she gets camera shy. :) So here she is in all of her cuteness with some help from daddy. Enjoy!

"Paint My Belly?"

Emma LOVES to finger paint and asked me today if we could paint. I told her after her nap and sure enough she comes to me trying to take her shirt off so she could paint. First we started painting on the paper and using heart shaped sponges and then she said "paint my belly?" in her cute little Emma voice. A few weeks ago I painted her belly and I guess she thinks it's funny. Anyways, I couldn't resist a little belly painting so I let her do it. It's so fun to watch her and I always wonder what's going through her sweet little mind. So don't worry these are all washable kid-friendly finger paints from Target. I just threw her in the bath afterwards and she is squeaky clean in minutes! Enjoy!

One other thing. Earlier I was telling Emma that tomorrow mommy & daddy were both going to work and she was going back to big girl school. We talked about it for a few minutes and that was that. Well not too long ago I was cold so I went in the closet to get one of G's sweatshirts to wear and I put on some sock slippers. Emma was watching me very carefully and she says "go check the mailbox" b/c I always throw on a sweatshirt to check the mailbox since it's cold outside. I said "no mommy isn't checking mailbox" and then she goes "Mommy go to work." Once again, I said "no mommy is going to work tomorrow, not today." Then Emma says "Mommy go to Nashville" b/c not too long ago I went with my girlfriends and she somehow remembers that. I told her no I wasn't going to Nashville but that mommy was cold. It just amazes me how she puts things together. Of course it also breaks my heart b/c those times she mentioned are times I've left her and she remembers that. I very rarely leave her but she remembers when I do. Of course when I check the mailbox it is only for a second. :)

George is dropping her off in the morning b/c I have to go to a different location for my orientation & don't have to arrive until 9am. I really hope she does better with G dropping her off. At least they don't mind if I call several times during the day. :)

We Got SNOOOOOOOW!

Finally we got some white stuff in good ol' Alabama! Everytime it snows in TN I am bummed b/c I wanted Emma to see some snow and play in it. Well my wish came true! We woke up to a white ground. George took Miss Emma out to play this morning but it was very cold & windy. They only got to stay outside for a few minutes but I think Emma likes it. Enjoy the pics!

Walking down our sidewalk in all of her gear!



Smile if you love snow!


This stuff is kind of cool!



Oh no, where did my glove go?

Found it!

Too bad the snow is already melting. :( But at least the roads will be nice and warm for my ride to work tomorrow. Wow, it's been a long time since I've said those words. Tomorrow I have to show up by 9am and I'm an official employee of Northrop Grumman. So wish me luck on my new adventure. I really hope that Emma does better at school this week. It breaks mommy's heart to see her sad. Check back for updates tomorrow night. Happy snowy Sunday!