Emily Update

The piece of toast I referenced in yesterday's post is still the only solid that Emily has consumed in almost 72 hours, although I think I saw her eat a few pieces of Special K this morning before pushing the bowl away. Yesterday afternoon and early evening, she battled diarrhea like a champion. When I spoke to the doctor, he said that it sounded like she was on the way to recovery, but that it could be 24 hours or a week before she returns to normal. This morning, Emily has either been sitting quietly, clutching Lambie for dear life, or screaming. Emily is back in bed. How long until the rest of us end up with the same thing?

Rough Weekend

Emily has had a rough couple of days - she threw up several times on Friday and then spent most of Saturday sleeping, resting and drinking small amounts of Pedialyte, only to wake up shortly after midnight with everything coming out the other end. Lee and I have been blessed with incredibly healthy children, so we have been at a bit of a loss dealing with this. It's rough watching your kids be sick, knowing that there is nothing you can do, but I think it's worse when they can't communicate. Emily had some toast this morning - her first solid in almost 48 hours - and so far, so good. We hope that we are on the way to recovery.
She's an active child, but spent most of Saturday sleeping her bed or resting/sleeping on one of us.

A Shout Out to Emily in New Hampshire

This post is for our friend Emily in New Hampshire, who we know is a fan of the Clover Street Chronicles. We know she loves to watch videos of our Emily and we thought that she and her mommy might really enjoy one of Emily dancing - and maybe do a little dancing herself!!

Easter, Part II

Late Sunday afternoon, we shared Easter dinner with Ben, Anna and their son Luke, who is just a few weeks younger than Emily. Ben will be staying at our house this week, as he begins his transition from NYC to Hartford. The kids all played well together, giving the grown ups the opportunity to enjoy a little adult conversation. We hope that we have the chance to spend a lot more time with Ben and his family as they adjust to life in Connecticut.

Just playing around
Elizabeth and Luke
Luke, Emily and Elizabeth crowd around the toy of the day - the stroller, of all things!!
Luke and Emily bond over tower buildingI wish we had cholcolate lava cake every night. . .

Easter Morning in New Hampshire

This morning, we made a quick run up (and back) to New Hampshire to see both families. The girls opened some Easter presents from Grammy and Grandpa and then put on their Easter dresses and headed to Aunt Margie's and Uncle Tom's for brunch. More Easter presents - but the hit was a "pooping bunny" - check out the video below.

Opening Easter presents with Grammy
Elizabeth, Mommy and Emily
Even Matt gets in on the action with the pooping bunny.
Emily had a rough night last night, so we were very happy when she slept almost the whole way home.

The infamous poopy bunny....

Easter on Clover Street

The Easter Bunny comes to Clover Street a little early every year, as our Sunday morning travel plans don't leave time for enjoying the loot. Here are some pictures from our early easter celebration - coloring eggs and enjoying presents from the Easter Bunny.

Coloring "Happy Easter Eggs" with a little help from Mommy.
Putting princess stickers on the Happy Easter Eggs.
Loot from the Easter Bunny.

Here's what happens when you take away Emily's easter candy so that she can eat her cereal.

Finally, There's Room at the Inn

Just this past weekend, the "yellow room" (as Elizabeth calls it; she also calls it "Uncle Mike and Auntie Kelly's room") completed its transformation from nursery to guest room. The walls are freshly painted and although the rocker remains, the crib was replaced by the guest bed, new linens and a new rug. Just in time too - we are scheduled to have our first visitor (for an extended stay!) in just a few days.

Special Persons Day

Today was Special Persons Day at Elizabeth's preschool and I was her special person - because none of our extended family live in the area, Lee and I thought that it might be nice for Elizabeth to spend some one on one time with just me. She really seemed to enjoy it, although after she got over her initial excitement, she asked "where's Dad and Emily?" Here she is singing "You Are My Sunshine," which I used to sing to her all the time when she was a baby.

Breakfast with Anders

This morning, we had breakfast with our good friends Nicole, David and their son Anders. Afterwards, we hung out at Nicole and David's house - the girls had a great time playing with all of Anders' toys and Anders had a pretty good time watching them and crawling around. You can see a few more pictures from our visit here.

Nicole and Anders
Anders
Anders reads his doggy book.
Anders, Elizabeth and Emily playing together.

As a side note, when we were leaving, Emily dropped Lambie into a muddy puddle. Lambie had to be washed and is drying in the basement. Tonight, we sent her to bed without Lambie for the first time in as long as we can remember. She's still crying, but she's tough, so I think she'll make it.

Last Day of Swimming

Today was Elizabeth's last day of swimming class. She looks like an old pro, it's hard to believe how far she's come in the last six months. We are so proud of her and all that she's accomplished!!

Look, an Easter egg in the water!
Listening to the fishes

I did it!!

Baby Yogi is a Boy!!

Yesterday, Uncle Mike and Auntie Kelly learned that they are having a BOY! And even more importantly, a healthy boy! We are all very excited for them and very excited to have a boy cousin (and our first nephew). When I was talking about it with Elizabeth this morning, I said "Uncle Mike and Auntie Kelly are having a boy" and she said "Baby Yogi is a boy? In Santa Fe?" Yogi is what she told Auntie Kelly she should name the baby in her belly. Great news, Mike and Kelly - can't wait for July!

Thank Goodness for Rain

Elizabeth's sleep has really been off lately - she seems to be getting up earlier and earlier in the morning and because she doesn't nap, she never really gets a chance to "make up" the time. In the middle of Saturday's torrential downpours, the sound of rain seemed to lull her to sleep - in a chair in the porch, of all places.

"NO!!"

Although Emily is not that verbal (a lot of her words sound the same to the "untrained" ear), she can understand a lot. She loves pointing to each of her body parts as you list them off to her. I thought that would be cute for everyone to see and decided to film it this morning. Apparently, Emily has been spending too much time with Elizabeth, as all she could say was "NO!"

The Park

On Sunday, we took advantage of a bit of a break in the weather and took the girls to nearby Peckham Park to burn off some energy. It was still pretty cold, but we all appreciated getting out of the house and running around a bit!

On our way out of the park, we saw a huge hawk in one of trees - it's times like this that I wish we had a really good camera, as this was good as I could get.

A Santa Fe Visit on the East Coast

On Friday, we headed up to New Hampshire to visit with Grammy and Grampy and a few very special people - Uncle Mike and Auntie Kelly (and the baby in her belly), who are visiting from Santa Fe. Elizabeth & Emily had a great time with everyone, playing, running around and acting like crazy little girls they are. As Uncle Mike and Auntie Kelly headed to Montreal on Saturday morning, so we shared a nice dinner on Friday night and then headed home. We had an easy drive, until we hit the hills on 84 - and the snow - and then things got pretty dicey (even for the unflappable Lee) with cars going off the road all around us and accidents everywhere. We almost doubled our normal travel time, but we made it safe and sound.

Look Auntie Kelly, we brought a present for the baby in your belly!!
Making puzzles with Uncle Mike.
Emily and Auntie Kelly (I love this picture).
Uncle Mike and Emily playing.Uncle Andy and Aunt Denise stop by to get in some head kissing....

Playing with Auntie Kelly
Auntie Kelly, Elizabeth and Uncle Mike, relaxing after dinner.

A Room Fit For A Princess...Or Two

The girls have been sharing a room since mid-January, but we finally pulled it all together to make it truly theirs.

We had a door plaque, in their favorite colors and theme (princesses), specially made.


They love dancing in front of the mirror - and although she said she wanted a princess clock, Elizabeth ended up picking a fairy clock instead.
Now they each have a bureau - and like the rest of the room (and really, our house), there are family pictures everywhere.