April Update

April started with us at Disney.  We had left our SUV at an auto repair shop, rented a van and were more than ready for some rest!  Our nephew who is Emma's age had broken his arm on their trip down to Disney.  So the Pittman family had had quite the adventures before vacation had really even started!  We had a great week playing and swimming and visiting "Mickey's house" as Caileigh called it.  She got to see "Tangled" from a distance - which she still talks about.  She rode her first roller coaster and loved every minute with her cousins!  Emma was a trooper - she slept in a tent like a pro and decided she did like swimming after all but still hates baths!  She enjoyed a few rides but seemed to prefer watching the others enjoy them from a distance.  For someone who is typically a little daredevil she sure was timid about rides.  I think its because she couldn't control them and how they moved.  Despite the rocky start - I believe we are all in agreement that that was the best trip yet!

It's A Small World ride at Magic Kingdom

We came back to Augusta in time to celebrate Easter and my dad's birthday.

Easter 2012

The second weekend Stephen and Rick and two other guys took the Junior High and Hgh school guys who are in mentoring groups with Hope for Augusta to the Man Up! Conference in Atlanta.  It sounds like it was a great conference!

Some of the guys Stephen disciples at Man Up!

Emma had her 6 month follow up ENT appointment.  Everything looked great and her hearing was still good.  She did scare as at first as they thought there was a foreign object in her ear - which with her - there's no telling what it could have been.  Thankfully it turned out to be just some dried blood.  We will go back in 6 months for another check up.  Since the tubes last September, we have yet to have an ear infection - so I would say that it is working!

The third weekend God provided us with a van!  It was what we were looking for and more and for what we could afford!  Never thought we would fight over who gets to drive a van - but it is pretty nice!  Definitely the nicest vehicle either of us have ever owned! :-)  Stephen would even offer to go to the store after the girls were in bed just so he could drive it!  The newness has worn of some but it sure has been a welcomed addition and come in handy quite a bit!

We celebrated Caileigh's 4th birthday with birthday ice cream with Grandpa and Grandma, a "Tangled" themed party with friends, a 4 year check up at the doctor's office and shots (not a fun experience for sure!), a date with Daddy, homemade pizza (her favorite), playtime at Chuck E Cheese, dessert at Tutti Fruitti, an evening with Uncle John and Aunt Laura, and lunch with Papa and Nana.  I'd say this little 4 year old knows how to party all week long!

Our personal "Tangled" and her cake.

Caileigh is growing up way too fast!  She has turned my life into a living musical.  She sings all day long.  Loves to sing any song she knows as well as make up songs and often words.  She loves to "read." Has an incredible memory - which can be both good and bad! :-)  She is a super-sweet and loving big sister!  She loves to help with laundry from sorting to loading to folding and putting away of the clothes.  She does a great job and as Stephen told her, she folds way better than him!  She has learned to snap her fingers and to swim under the water.  She is my little craft buddy and has recently amazed me at her coloring skills!  She LOVED planning her party and helping me with all of the decorations and food!  Thanks to Pinterest we were able to make her ideas a reality! :-) FYI she already has plans for her 5th birthday and 8th birthday, and my guess all the ones in between - I just haven't been told yet! :-)  I think I might see party planning in her future.

At Caileigh's 4 year check up she weighed 31 lbs, was 42 inches tall and had to get 4 shots! :-( As soon as I said that it wasn't just Emma seeing the doctor but her as well, she burst into tears and became very over dramatic about everything from getting weighed to answering questions to getting the shots. The nurses and doctor were all great and very patient with her.  Our doctor even prayed with her before she had to get the shots.  However, she holds no hard feelings towards the nurse who gave her the shots as we see her every week at New Town and she LOVES Mrs. Karissa, our doctor, who also happens to be our neighbor.  

Some recent Caileigh funnies and favorites...

• headfore - (forehead)
• Kenya-garden - (kindergarten)
• One day she said, "Mommy, look how big Emma is, she's all the way up to her head!"
• She is learning to write all the letters in her name.  (It is kind of long - we didn't think about that when naming her, that and how close it sounds to Aunt Katie.)
• She has surprised me with how well she can cut around pictures.  We're still working on holding the scissors the right way. :-)
• She loves to put together puzzles!
• She is a logo reader - recognizes Disney, Kroger, Moe's and several others.
• She dreams of painting our house purple because of the big purple house on the corner and of being an octopus when she grows up so she can swim away from the sharks or maybe just a mom.
• ... and she will make sure you know that she remembers seeing the elephants holding trunks at the circus back in February.

Caileigh - almost 4 - Easter 2012

Emma's 18 month check up was at the same time as Caileigh's.  Which was both good and bad - she was very eager to step on the scale just like big sister etc and was for the first time unfazed by them checking her ears.  She too did not like her 2 shots but was nowhere near as dramatic about it.  Emma weighed 27 lbs and was 32 inches tall.  

Emma is growing way too fast as well!  She does everything down to the way she crosses her legs and holds her baby dolls just like Caileigh!  If Caileigh goes potty - Emma has to go potty.  If Caileigh puts on a article of dress up - Emma has to put on the exact same article of dress up.  When Caileigh sings - Emma sings too - unfortunately right now it sounds like two completely different songs. :-( If Caileigh's baby is crying - so is Emma's!  They play so well together.  I love watching their relationship grow.  They have conversations where Emma will respond - typically with a "yeah" or a "no-ah!"  Emma LOVES to fix my hair or Caileigh's - if she'll let her.  She likes to read books too, but not quite like Caileigh did at her age.  She's finally getting hair and wants us to fix it but that lasts for about 10 minutes before she pulls it out!

Some recent Emma funnies and favorites...

• She loves to yell out "purple how" when we get to our block - this is what Caileigh does, as she's excited to see our purple landmark.  I'm still not sure if Emma knows she's talking about the purple house or if she just knows that this is the spot Caileigh likes to yell out "purple house"...?
• She says "notta baby" - apparently she's a BIG girl now - sadly her hair has taken awhile to come in so she still gets called a baby a lot.
• She "fixes" your hair than turns your head towards her to ask, "K?"- meaning do you like it?
• She says "cry" - telling us her baby is crying.
• She'll say "happy" - her baby is now happy or sometimes we've learned it means 'help me'
• "Potty" - she really wants to go - but this often means it's too late.
• She loves to play hide -n- seek and will stay really still and quiet until Stephen cheats and calls her name :-)
• Her favorite books are Llama, Llama, Red Pajama and Brown Bear, Brown Bear.
• Her favorite songs are Itsy Bitsy Spider and Happy Birthday.

A very sleepy Emma - 18 months - Easter 2012