4 Months!!

Baby Emmy is 4 months old today!! This month has been full of learning & development for her. Remember that I wrote in her 3 month blog that she was sick? Well, it never quite went away. We had been following the doctor's advice, but she never really got better. It all escalated last Friday when the daycare called to say she was so congested that she was having trouble breathing. I quickly left work and made a dr.'s appt. for that afternoon. Three hours, 2 chest X-rays, 2 breathing treatments and numerous pokes & prods from the doctor later....we leave the office with FIVE prescriptions! Poor thing had ear infections in both ears (in our defense...she NEVER had a fever, she didn't give us any signs that her ears were bothering her), had some liquid steriods for her congestion, an inhaler for the wheezing, topical steriod for the dry skin, suggestions to switch her formula to a hypoallergenic brand, suggestions to use Eucerin & Aquaphor more often than we currently do, referral to a Pediatric Allergist and instructions to bathe her only twice a week. OH! And the kicker - no solid foods until 6 months. Dang - I was looking forward to starting cereal tonight, but we will do what's best for her!! Let me just say....ALL of this combined has done wonders for our little girl!!! She was always a pretty good baby....but now - she is even more so.
Her dry skin (especially on her face) has cleared up, Her congestion cleared up so fast that she was back to sleeping on her back by Saturday night, and she is even more chatty than usual. The one side effect is that she is not eating as much as she once was. But, that could be a result of some of her meds.
Other than being sick, she has really started to grab at toys dangling in front of her. She enjoys having a blanket or bib to pull at and hold while she's eating. She has been kicking & pulling her feet up more, but not grabbing at her feet yet. She still does NOT like to be on her tummy much, but her head control is great. She can sit up pretty well with the assistance of the boppy. She is growing, growing, growing every day. We are all looking forward to spending some time with Truman's sister & her family this weekend. Then it will be time to travel to IL for Thanksgiving!!
Five months will be here before we know it!!


Until then...

Love,
S,T & E

Dossier Documents

Hey, what do you know - we got our original Ukraine dossier documents returned to us. It only took 4 months! Now if we can just recoup some of the money we lost....

I continue to read about other families Ukraine adoption experiences, and I thank God everyday for sending us our Emmy. We got cabin fever in Missouri for 2 weeks, I cannot even imagine spending 8 weeks (or more) in Ukraine. In the end it's about finding your children and that is what most of these families are doing. I'm just very thankful that we found our daughter (or did she find us?) :) when we did. She is such a joy and she makes all the stress of the day go away when she smiles at us. She is learning and growing each day; it's an incredible feeling to be a part of that.

Happy Friday!!
Love,
S,T & E

Trick or Treat!!

Emmy's first Halloween was so much fun! We borrowed the costume from a friend and I'm so glad we did. I wasn't going to dress her up this year, but we got some super cute pictures of her. The past few weeks have been wonderful. My mom came to visit and we went to the pumpkin patch and got Em's 3 month pictures taken. This weekend Truman's parents came and Emmy got to spend Halloween with them and helping mom & dad pass out Halloween candy to all the neighborhood kids. Emmy also got to meet some of daddy's friends from "across the pond" who came in town for a wedding we all went to on Saturday night. Grandma & Grandpa got to watch Emmy while we were gone and they say she was a perfect angel. Hmmm....why isn't she like that with us???!! LOL! Em has really started to grab at toys or her blanket and put them directly in her mouth. Today Truman got her to give a little giggle. I think it was the cutest thing I've ever heard!! She is still eating well and sleeping very good at night - although with the time change today that may throw her off just a bit. Ten more days until we can officially try to feed her cereal. I'm hoping that goes ok. Some babies just aren't ready for cereal until 6 months. But, she is downing her bottles so I think she needs a little more to fill her belly.
I'll leave you with a few pictures from the weekend....
Love to all,
S,T & E