The Blimp!

The MetLife Blimp was in the Charlotte area for a golf tournament this week, so they gave employees an opportunity to sign up for tours.  I thought Em would like it, since she knows that's where I work, and since she's seen the blimp several times since our buildings had their grand opening.

It was enormous!  I guess when you see it in the sky, it's just tough to imagine how big it is.

We got to sit in the gondola--I was in the pilot's seat and Em was co-pilot.  It's really only big enough for about four people.

It was tied down, but when the wind blew, we still moved around quite a bit.

This is literally how big it is!

I was glad we went--probably not an experience we'll get to repeat many times in life!

First Real Playdate

Em really hasn't had any true playdates--other than having friends over for her birthday party, and sometimes kids in the neighborhood, but her friend Aamani invited her over to her house for a true playdate, and Em was super excited.

They had a great time--she's a really sweet girl, and her mom and I are friends, which helps since I'm there with her while they're playing.

The weather wasn't too hot, so they had a great time outside.

And then enjoyed some pretzels and water to cool off.  It was a fun morning, and Em is now excited to have Aamani over to our house!

Kitchen Helper

Em loves to help in the kitchen, but her favorite thing is baking sweets!  We ran in the grocery store on our way home tonight and she decided we needed to make brownies, so we picked up a box of brownie mix. When we got to the checkout, Em was delighted when the cashier asked her if she wanted to help scan the groceries!  She was pretty good at it!

One day, we made chocolate pudding popsicles, and she really loved them :).

Daisy Dance Recital

After Em's few months of dance in the program at the Y, we decided to switch her to the Daisy Dance program at her school.  She really wanted to be in dance with her friends, and this also freed us up one night a week, which was nice.  She has class during school hours, one day a week, and it's basically the same program she would have done at the Y.

They were having a very informal "recital" after school last week, so we ran home to change, and I tried to fix her hair--I've been practicing with braiding, and getting a little better at it.  A friend of mine from high school now has her own Etsy shop and makes hair bows and things--she sent this one to Em, which was perfect for the occasion :).

I still don't have my good camera fixed, so I didn't get any great pictures--the show was in the school gym, and the dancers got to choose what they wore, so none of them matched.  They gave them these flower headbands to wear, which was cute.

After it was over, everyone brought flowers for their dancers :).

 This is Em with one of her best friends, Aamani.

Little Artist

One of Em's favorite things to do is paint, and she'll take any opportunity to do it.  She prefers paint over markers, crayons or chalk (probably because it makes the biggest mess).  

We went outside while Mick was doing yard work one morning and got some rocks to paint--then she decided it was more fun to paint each other :).  It was hot enough to rinse off with the water hose and then give the dogs a bath, which is always more fun as a team effort!

Later that weekend, she wanted to paint her own nails--she actually did a pretty nice job!  Every one was a different color.  It's neat to see how much more precise she is with coloring and drawing now!

Strawberry Festival

Fort Mill has an annual Strawberry Festival that we've been to before and liked it, so we decided to go back this year.  Friday night was kids' night, which meant you could pay one price for unlimited rides--Mick and I were both home early, so we went that afternoon.  The weather couldn't have been more beautiful!  Em loves these picture props, so we had to stop at every one!

And at the characters--there are a bunch of food trucks and local vendors, in addition to the fair rides.  This one was a potato/french fry vendor.

Em and I had to pose with the strawberry!

Mick always gets to be the lucky one to go down the big slide with Em.  I held our place in line for the helicopters while they waited for the slide--it worked out perfectly, and we were able to walk right on for the helicopters when they got to the bottom of the slide.

Em said we were going to fly to Boston in our helicopter.  Aunt Julie, it might take us a while, but keep an eye out for a little blue dot :).

There were some rides that were really too small for us to get on, so Em was happy to go solo, but was thrilled when a little girl got in next to her!  She loves new friends.

This hot air balloon ride was great to watch--her little face was so full of joy and excitement the whole time, it was just priceless.

Then she found the real strawberry of the festival!  I remember how tiny she was when we met this guy for the first time a couple of years ago--crazy how fast it's gone.

There was a huge banner with Sharpies so people could sign or write messages, and Em happily added her name to it.

When it started to get dark, the temperature dropped pretty quickly and we were glad we had sweaters.  Em found one more friend to pose with on our way out.

Field Trip Day!

Em's class takes field trips fairly often--they're usually only a couple of hours long, and they stay pretty close to school.  There's a strawberry farm about a mile from her school, and she's been looking forward to this field trip for weeks!  I decided I would take the morning off to go with her class, so she was even more excited for us to go together.

Bella was due for her annual checkup and shots, so I made her an early morning appointment since I knew I'd have time to drop Em off, take Bella to the vet and back home before meeting Em's class at 9:30.  I put Bella in the passenger seat, only to walk around to my side of the car and find her in the driver's seat!  Em thought it was the funniest thing, and was thrilled to tell everyone at school that Bella was in our car.

Once the bus dropped the kids off, they climbed on a big wagon for a hayride around the farm.

And then it was time for picking!  We had a guide assigned to our class since there were multiple field trips there that morning.  The two ladies in the back of the picture are two of Em's teachers--Ms. Kathy and Ms. Nancy.

Each child got a pint container to fill with strawberries to bring home, plus the parents could choose to buy extra.  I got a box and we set off to pick!

There were so many ripe strawberries, it didn't take us long to fill Em's container and mine.  She did a great job of picking out the really red ones--the lady told us "the redder the better!"

The kids had to bring a lunch, and they gathered at these picnic tables to eat together.  It's always funny to see all the variety that parents pack (myself included)--it's tough to know what they're actually going to eat, so it seems to be better to pack a little of everything.  These are two of Em's good friends--Emmy and Brynn.

After lunch, they had some time to play--there are a lot of kids' activities that would have kept them busy all day, but nap time was calling, so when they headed back to school, I headed home.  Em really looks forward to field trip days, and it's fun when we can be there too!

Mornings

Everyone has a morning routine, and we're no different.  Mick got in the habit of leaving really early when he was picking Em up in the afternoons, and now that I work so much closer and I'm picking her up again, he has continued to go in early.  He's out of the house by 5:30 most mornings, so Em doesn't get to see him when she gets up around 6:15, and it's just the two of us.

We are still pretty limited on the amount of TV she watches, so mornings are her time--she gets to pick two cartoons, and this picture  is her usual setup while she watches.  She wants to bring down a group of "friends" every morning--her bed is like a zoo, and she has at least 25 stuffed animals on it with her every night.  She would bring them all down if I let her!  Then she sits in "Daddy's chair" and spreads her friends out so they can all watch cartoons with her.  She chooses her cartoon, then chooses her breakfast, and enjoys some down time before we start getting ready for school.

In the last two weeks, she's started sleeping in underwear instead of a pull-up.  She has hated her pull-ups for quite some time now, but she rarely made it through the night dry, and she's such a sound sleeper that she doesn't wake up if she's wet.  We've had a few accidents, but I think we've figured out the secret formula now.  I set my alarm for 12:30, and get up to take her to the potty--she barely wakes up to go, so I carry her in and sit her down.  If she goes once during the night, she seems to make it through fine.  As an extra precaution, I've also found some waterproof sheet protectors that have a soft, padded top that I can just put on top of her sheets to prevent changing her entire bed if there's an accident.

Spring Fling

Thursday was Spring Fling at Rainbow Station--each class has chosen and practiced a song or two that they perform on stage.  Em had been practicing and was really excited about it--I asked her on the way to school if she was going to sing in her loud voice so I could hear her.  She responded "no, I'm gonna sing in my beautiful voice."

They all did a great job!  Em sang her heart out, and loved it!  Here's the video: Click Here

I stopped to pick up some flowers that Mick could give Em when her performance was over, and she really loved them--she was so proud!

When we got back in her classroom and were ready to leave, she decided to try on this St. Patrick's Day hat and pose with her flowers :).

Development

One of the things the teachers do at Rainbow Station is developmental evaluations twice a year.  I feel like I talk with Em's teachers enough on a daily basis to know what's going on, but I like the dedicated time to hear their input and ask questions.

Ms. Kathy, who we've known since Em started Rainbow Station two years ago, is actually leaving in a few weeks, so this was our last teacher conference with her.  Em will really miss her, and we will too--she has a great connection with Em, and Ms. Kathy is great with structure and discipline in the class, which we appreciate.

Em will be moving to her next class (Gold Room) in August, so she would have left Ms. Kathy's room anyway, and she really likes her other teachers now too (Ms. Nancy and Ms. Cheryl).  Ms. Nabila, who was in her room earlier in the year, will also be coming back now, so I'm glad Em will still have all familiar faces!

Easter

On Saturday morning, Em was almost completely back to normal--it was crazy!  I was on the planning committee for our neighborhood Easter Egg hunt, and it was supposed to rain all day. 

We moved the entire event into the clubhouse, which turned out fine.  We had a good number of people show up, despite the weather.  The kids enjoyed face painting, pictures with the Easter Bunny,

 and an indoor egg hunt!

We also incorporated a cupcake contest, and there were some great entries!

Em and Brady (who lives next door to us) were some of the cupcake judges.  Em even ate a cupcake and felt fine, so we were pretty sure we were completely out of the woods.

I forgot to take a picture of her Easter basket on Sunday morning before she found it, but it was full of every chocolate bunny I could find (Em is totally a chocoholic!), along with a kite, a badminton set, and a butterfly net.  The weather is starting to warm up, so she's looking forward to getting outside--especially after being sick for a week.

The butterfly net was a hit--she spent the morning outside trying to find a butterfly!  We even went next door to the model home where they have all these beautiful tulips, thinking there might be one.  They must have seen her coming, because we didn't see one butterfly. 

Sunday afternoon, she wanted to dye more eggs!  This was a tye dye kit, and she really liked using the little dropper to make the eggs different colors.

Sick Days

Last Saturday, Em woke up around 1:30 AM and came in our bedroom, saying her tummy hurt.  I went in her bedroom with her and around 2:00 AM, she started throwing up.  She said her tummy hurt on Friday night, but really had acted fine and went to bed okay.

She was sick all day Saturday, and must have thrown up 20 times--she couldn't keep any liquid down, and had no appetite for solids at all.  She had no other symptoms (not even a fever), but couldn't stop throwing up.  Sunday was more of the same, so we knew she wouldn't be at school on Monday.

I called her doctor Monday morning and we got her a 9:30 appointment that morning.  She didn't get to see her regular doctor, but the one she saw checked her out and determined it wasn't her appendix and there were no signs of strep, so we were assuming a virus.  He prescribed an anti-emetic so she could get over the nausea enough to at least stay hydrated.  It worked a little, but she kept throwing up anytime she drank too fast or a large quantity.

On Wednesday, we took her back to the doctor.  She saw a different doctor who told us she was really dehydrated--he tested her blood and urine to rule out anything more serious, and said we needed to double her fluid intake or our only other option would be IV fluids.  Her vomiting had slowed a little, but we still had to be careful with her drinking too fast or too much.

I found some apple flavored Pedialyte that she really liked, so I bought every bottle they had at CVS.  Mick and I were taking turns staying home with her all week.  She was so pitiful with no energy at all--she really only wanted to lounge around and rest, and didn't get out of pjs all week.

On Thursday, I stayed home with her again, and she had a quart of Pedialyte by 10:00 that morning.  She hadn't thrown up in over 24 hours, was feeling much better, and really wanted to go to the Easter Egg hunt her class was having that day.  I called and talked to her teacher, and we headed over--she was weak from not eating, but felt up to running around with her friends and playing for a few minutes.

We were there for about half an hour and then headed home.  I could tell she was wearing down fast, but was glad we made it for the little while we were there.

Soon after we got home, she threw up again.  I regretted taking her at that point, because I think it was just too much activity before she was ready.

That afternoon, she felt terrible and stayed in bed.  She was so happy that Bella wanted to come upstairs and comfort her.  Bella would gladly take over any of our beds, but isn't usually allowed upstairs. 

On Friday, I kept her at home again.  When she threw up again that morning, we decided to take her back to the doctor.  We saw someone different (they only had a sick clinic open since it was Good Friday), and she reassured us that she looked good, and didn't show any signs of dehydration anymore.  What was funny is that Em started feeling better while we were in the doctor's office.  She asked her to do some jumping jacks, and Em went to town--the doctor explained that any major stomach issues would have prevented her from jumping like she did.

By Friday night, Em was almost back to normal!  She wanted hot dogs for dinner, and was dying to get into the Easter candy from her school egg hunt.  Instead, we made mashed potatoes together and she ate some of those.  Just to have any appetite back at all was a relief for us.

By Friday night, she was dressed as a princess and wanting to dye eggs! 

This kit had glitter and sequins for the eggs, so she really made them beautiful.

Finally, we were doing something that felt normal again after a terribly long week of sickness!