Skate Night

Once a month at Emma's school they have Skate Night and Emma just LOVES it. That is why she got skates for Christmas. She really wanted them and I don't blame her - the skates at the roller rink are kind of ugly (see picture above) and we all know that little Princess Emma has to always look her best! We look forward to those Thursday nights and mark them on her calendar. I remember going to Sparkles for Skate Night when I was in Elementary school. It was so much fun, especially when I was older and could roam around the rink with just my girlfriends. I remember doing the hokey pokey and racing around the rink.

Emma does not skate well enough yet to join in the races but I have been very impressed at how much progress she has made. She seems to be doing better every time we go. In the beginning, I was expecting her to fall down once and give up. But she takes a fall like a sport and is ready to go again. The place near us is called Hot Wheels and they do the Cha Cha Slide but the kids have the same fun I used to have.

Soon she will not need me to hold her hand and escort her around. But until then I will cherish the skate nights where we get to hang out together and dance and sing with each other.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

It snowed AGAIN in Georgia. I can't believe how much snow we are getting this year. Schools were closed and I couldn't go to work because the roads were so bad. But of course Emma enjoyed every minute of it! Matthew is not the biggest fan of getting cold and wet. Emma on the other hand will play out in the snow for hours even when her cold wet feet go numb. I don't even ask Matthew if he wants to go outside in the snow anymore. He always says YES and then complains after a few minutes. So this time I just kind of snuck out with Emma while he was distracted. One day when it was my turn to keep Matthew occupied, Ben took Emma out in the cold snow. The snow had actually turned to ice at this point, but Emma still had fun finding big chunks she could lift. I wonder if this will be the last of our Winter Wonderland fun.

Christmas High and Lows....but mostly highs!

We had a really great Christmas. The best part was that we woke up with snow! Emma and I are the biggest fans of snow and we were overjoyed waking up to the white landscape.

White Christmas

Christmas Eve was another adventurous night at Mami Yoli's house. We always have a good time spending it with cousins and Aunts and Uncles. We were sad not to have spent Christmas Day with Ben's parent's which was a Christmas tradition in the past. But it probably was a good thing this year because Matthew, Emma and I ended up getting a nasty stomach bug. Matthew was the first to get sick but he still enjoyed the fun items Santa had brought him. Among his favorites - his Brachiasoraus and his Leapster 2 (from Mami Olgui). For Emma she hit the jackpot with a hair curler, new roller skates and a new leotard for ballet. I think Ben enjoyed his gift from Emma. She picked it out herself. It is Georgia Bulldogs t-shirt or as she calls it a "Go Georgia Bulldogs" shirt! I enjoyed the Coat that Ben surprised me with. He has always been great at picking out gifts!

Sick but happy!

Roller Princess

Although we didn't get to spend Christmas Day with Ben's parents we did get to spend some time with Steve and Jeneca. We all spent the night in Peachtree City with Ben's grandparents. Although Matthew and I got sick while everyone was sleeping we had a good time hanging out! I always have a fun time with Steve and Jenaca and I think I was the most sad to have to say good-bye to them.
Steve, Jenaca and Baby Savannah visiting

Christmas Jammies from Grandma Jett

Christmas is so fun at our house. Emma seems to have the Christmas spirit in her like her mother. We both love to decorate, listen to Christmas music and wish for snow! We enjoy making cookies for Santa and wrapping presents. It is just a wonderful time to be around family and feel the great love we have for each other. So although we missed Grandma and Grandad Jett and we had some yucky sickness going around - it was still a great Christmas!

Ballerina

Emma has wanted to do ballet since she could walk so in August I finally got her signed up for classes. When she is focused she is a beautiful dancer! A lot of ballet comes so natural to her it seems. She loves being on her tip toes and she loves moving to music. She had her first recital last week and I could not be more proud of her. There are only 4 girls in her class and for some reason only 2 showed up on the morning of the recital. The other girl who came is very young so Emma had to kind of lead the way. Miss Alie is a friend of mine and does a great job teaching the girls at a studio called Dance Imagination. We are so lucky to be at that studio. We are also lucky that she has so much support. Papa and Mami Olgi came. So did Aunt Steph and Angel. Even "Uncle" Tim and Miss Robin drove all the way from Ballground! So nice of everyone to show up that early Saturday morning.

I think ballet is a perfect fit for Emma and I hope she continues doing it as long as possible. Here is the video. I've seen it a million times already and will probably see it a million times more!

I tried to post the video on the blog with NO luck :(

Here it is on YouTube but because it uses a Josh Grobin song that is copyrighted - the sound does not work. You can find the version with sound (I think sound makes it even more special!) on my facebook page.


http://www.youtube.com/user/bjett76?feature=mhum

No more therapy!!

After Matthew's medical problems when he was a newborn it was stressed upon us that putting him in rehabilitation and therapy was imperative. So as soon as possible he was enrolled in Occupational and Physical therapies. He did them several times a week with a specialist and then we worked with him ourselves. It was pretty upsetting at first. His first evaluations were not very positive. At three months old, they told us he was functioning at only a newborn level. But we worked very hard - all of us did! My mother did therapy with him at her house and Ben and I practiced all his exercises with him every chance we could. We showed others how to help him too. Some days Matthew was tired and cranky and didn't want to participate but we continued to do what needed to be done. Then suddenly things began looking up! We would get new therapists every once in a while and they would not believe this was the same baby on their files. He was doing incredible. Before we new it, he was up to par with his age level. In the beginning he had therapy twice a week. By the time he was two, it was once a month. Then by age three he had graduated both Physical and Occupational therapy. It was recommended he begin speech therapy although he barely qualified to receive it. Then this past week he was tested again and they told us he was doing so well they did not feel he needed Speech therapy anymore either! One therapist even said he spoke better than some Kindergartners.
Wow - I could not believe it!

It feels odd not having to take him to therapy. But I will be happy to get used to this change! Now the next step is to try to take him off his medication. Fingers crossed for that but even if it doesn't happen, to know that he is doing so well is more than I could ever hope for. I love my little boy so much and am SO very proud of all that he has accomplished!

Loving Husband

My hubby and I at the beach over the summer

I had a birthday in December and am now officially 32. Although I really thought I was already 32 so it doesn't feel like I'm much older! I guess you get forgetful in your old age.

Ben and I don't normally do too much for our birthdays or our anniversary. We just have too much going on I guess. This year I suggested we have a nice dinner at home. I told Ben he could make me some Salmon and we could eat with the kids. So when I got home to find the kids missing I was a little confused. Ben had planned the evening so we could go out to dinner alone while the kids stayed at my Mom's house. So sweet of him! I enjoyed the Salmon I ordered at the Marietta Fish Market and I especially enjoyed a peaceful meal with my loving husband. I didn't have to cut up anyone's food. I didn't have to tell anyone to hurry up and take a bite. I didn't even have to get up in the middle of my meal to take someone to the restroom. It was just perfect!

Ben also did a great job with my gifts. I received a gym membership that I really really wanted. Some new headphones, a movie, and tons of other stuff I probably don't deserve. He truly is the best!!

Baxter

Emma's teacher told them about a special friend at the beginning of the year: Baxter the Bear. Baxter comes from Maine and the entire class waits for him to arrive to the school. They track his travels down the East coast and learn a special song about Baxter "the lovable bear from Maine". When he finally arrives, each child gets to take Baxter home for a weekend and then write about it in the class journal.

We had a turn with Baxter in November. Emma asked if we could take Baxter to Disneyworld but I had to explain to her that it wasn't quite possible! But even without Mickey, we tried to make it a special weekend. We started with going out to see a movie - something we rarely do. We watched The Care Bear movie in honor of our guest and snacked on Gummy Bears. Matthew and Ben came with us to the movies. Poor Ben - he isn't a big fan of the movies and this cartoon one was a little bit too pre-school even for me. But the kids loved it! We took Baxter out to lunch and shared ice cream with him too. On Sunday we dressed him up and took him to church with us. So although we didn't do anything too exciting, Emma had fun with him and especially enjoyed introducing him to all her other stuffed animals. We may be lucky enough to get Baxter one more time before the year ends. We will have to start planning what other fun things we can do with him!

Bringing Baxter to our house

Emma, Matthew and Baxter at church

Baxter meeting Emma's other animals

Eating Ice Cream!

At the movies