We took Annah, Christina and Christian to a baseball game while they were here!   We went out to eat beforehand and Emmy really loved her cheesefries!  Here are some pictures of the evening!

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So today I went to the store with Emmy. It was one of her first outings in awhile because she was sick last week. Anyway, when we arrived at the store there was a lady there from church. She asked me some casual questions about Emmy and then of course if Emmy was walking yet. I told her the exciting news…that Emmy can walk about 3 or 4 steps in her new braces and is starting to push up off the group (like tripod pose). Then the lady asked “and how old is she?” I replied that she is 20 months and told her that we were working with the physical therapist. She said that her granddaughter was doing the same thing. So I said “then you know what it is like”.

She then proceeded to tell me that her granddaughter’s difficulties were because her daughter-in-law was just not good at stimulating her children and if she was more motherly her daughter would be walking. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She also said that her daughter-in-law had low amniotic fluid when she was pregnant and a difficult birth and that she uses that as a crutch to justify the fact that her daughter can’t walk. Then she went on to say that her grandson had speech delays because her daughter-in-law was not nurturing enough. THEN she went on to say something about autism being linked with unmotherliness. After I waked away I was so upset it took me 10 minutes to remember what I even needed at the store in the first place! (It was Pedialyte and bananas, by the way.)

SO, I decided I would use my blog as a soapbox against this kind of thinking. I hope she didn’t think the same things about me. I don’t know her daughter-in-law but I feel really sad for her that her mother-in-law would say those things. I’m sure she is going through enough without her family pointing fingers. I know some of the people who read this blog also have children, like Emmy, who are struggling with different things like reading, walking, eating, talking, etc. And I know that you are all devoted to helping your children grow and learn. I just think that it is impossible to know a situation unless you are in it and sometimes while it seems easier to blame someone when something is not perfect…many situations just happen and it’s not because of lacking parents.

It’s easy to think that A+B=C but that’s just not always the case. A ton of parents don’t do A and B and still get C. And some of us are doing A and B every day and just pray that C will happen for our children. We just have to remember that no two kids are alike. They all have their own timeframes and strengths. I wish I had enough courage to say something to this lady today but I didn’t want to step in on her family stuff. So instead, I am asking anyone who reads this to help spread the word that autism, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, and so on are all REAL things and that they are NOT triggered by bad parenting! So while some people may see Emmy as being disabled I think she is a miracle! Given her traumatic start things could have been so much harder for her but she is so smart and funny and I know in time she will walk. She is the happiest kid I know! And here is a picture to prove all of that! 🙂 (I will now step down from the soapbox and return to our regularly scheduled program)

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Usually in the morning Emmy likes to play in the bath while I do my makeup (this is Julia btw) but this morning she cried and cried when I tried to give her a bath.  So then I tried to put her clothes on and she didn’t want that either.  So I asked her what she wanted to do and this is what she picked.  First she crawled into our bedroom and tried to get on the bed.  At this point I at least managed to get a diaper on her.  After I got her up she then proceeded to point to various items she would like…her cup, her blanket, all of the pillows and her stacking boxes.  Then she pointed at the tv and remote until I turned on Sesame street.  She picked, of course, the triangle episode and every time they showed the triangle crown she would put the box on her head like a crown.  Once she had everything she needed she gave mom the “you can leave now” wave.  It was nice that I got a chance to get ready while she watched t.v. but it really reminded me who the boss of this family is.

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My blogging effort has been often critized so I am again commiting myself to my blog. Sorry that I am not very good at remembering to do it all the time! Emmy is doing great! She is getting so big and is doing lots of fun tricks! It’s been really fun to see her get better at things becuase it makes her so happy! And a happy baby equals a happy mommy!

One of Emeline’s favorite new tricks is flipping over! She has been doing this one for awhile but she wasn’t very consistent! She would do it once and then forget how to do it and get really frustrated! So now she can do it everytime she tries and that makes her very very happy! She is also starting to hold herself up in the crawling posistion! That makes her really happy until she tries to crawl and collapses. She will try it a few times and then give up and scoot herself on her belly. She will get the hang of it though. She has her developmental check up on the 19th of this month so I’ve been trying to get her ready for that! One thing we’ve been working on is sitting up without being propped up. She does okay but then she gets excited and wiggles herself sideways!

We went to our friends’ house for dinner and they have two little boys. One is older than Emmy and one is younger! So we had Emmy try out a bunch of fun products over there. She loved all of them too! The first was a high chair and she thought it was pretty fun! The second was a sippy cup which she LOVED!! She thinks water is about the funniest thing in the world! In the tub, out of a faucet, in a cup…all crowd pleasers! Anyway, She always wants to drink out of my cup and she is done with bottles so the sippy cup is the perfect solution! And finally, her favorite thing of the night was the EXERSAUCER! Oh boy! For those of you who don’t know what that is…it’s similiar to a walker only stationary. It allows them to stand up and jump and it has a bunch of toys all around them on a tray! Anyway, Alex and I wanted to use my grandparents christmas money to buy her one but they are kind of expensive so we wanted to make sure she would like it and she does!! She loves it! So the Anderson’s let us borrow it until President’s Day when we can go to Albuquerque and get her one! I am so excited! I can put it by me while I cook and clean and she thinks that she is helping me! It is really fun! She’s such a cutie!

Anyway, we’ve been having fun finding things that entertain her! She is really on track which is great! She is also on the growth charts just barely! That means so far there haven’t been any problems since her birth! I look forward to a day when we don’t have to worry so much about her developmental check ups!