Christmas Party

We went to Emma's first Christmas party on Saturday. It was the annual Holiday Party for my mom's job. All of the kids who go to Lekotek or FOCUS for services are invited and it was a BIG turnout. Emma even got to meet 2 of my previous students. Emma was a little out of sorts. When she was a teeny tiny baby she would fall asleep whenever new people were around, sort of her little defense mechanism when she was getting overstimulated. Well, even though she had JUST woken up from a nap, and even though my Mom, Brad, and I were the only ones to hold her, she played possum anyway!

Here she is meeting Jack, one of my students who is now in Middle School. I feel old! Can you tell he wasn't all that thrilled to see his teacher??? I like to think he was being coy......not sure! Miss Susan is one tough cookie in the classroom! I got a sweet reaction from Alex, my other student though - a big smile!


We had a good time and Emma even got to see Santa again! It was GREAT! We still didn't get a smile, but I think what we got was even better....



Emma's sleeping is SOOO much better! It's still not as great as it COULD be, but we'll take it! Last night she woke up twice, and a few nights ago she only woke up once - Brad and I BOTH woke up to check on her! We're keeping our fingers crossed that it continues.

On a sadder note, I'm afraid that another paraprofessional from my school that I've known for 4 years or so is about to pass away. She had a heart attack last week and was unconscious for an unknown length of time. Apparently it took it's toll because test show that she is likely brain dead. The machines were supposed to have been turned off this morning. Please keep her family in your prayers. I can't believe we lost 2 staff members within a matter of months. So sad. I still feel so much like a member of the school family. It's still hard to believe I'm not there this year, but I wouldn't trade being home for anything in the world!

Christmas is just around the corner and we're just about ready! We're leaving the day after Christmas to go to Gatlinburg, TN for a mountain vacation with my parents. It will be Emma's first vacation. I'm praying that the car ride goes well! That's really the only part that terrifies me! We're excited to go though.

Today's been busy already - I've been busy making baby food! So far Emma's tried carrots, sweet potatoes, and banana. She had a little rash that may have been from the banana, so we're taking a few weeks off of that one. Today I made organic carrots and applesauce. Can't wait to see what she thinks of the applesauce! She's a great eater. It's hard to believe that within a matter of weeks she went from spitting out rice cereal that was VERY runny, to now eating an ounce of rice cereal mixed with breast milk, a serving of sweet potatoes, and still wanting more! She's a big girl!