Check-ups

Today Emma had her four year well child check-up. She needed to get a shot in each leg, but that covered four vaccines at one time. She didn't like it, needless to say, but after a minute of being upset the nurse brought in a treasure chest. No really, it was a treasure chest! Emma wiped her eyes and got to pick out two toys because she got two shots. It was a nice consolation at least!


She weighed in at 38 pounds, and stands at 41.25 inches.

Meanwhile yesterday we had to take Zoe back to her vet. After two weeks her sore, sore paw was still causing her great pain, and her allergic reaction had now spread to her ear. She had to get a shot as well (steroids) and more medicine, but Emma was there to comfort her. Or should I say Doctor Emma!


The shot made an incredible difference in Zoe's healing, as this morning her paw had cleared up immensely and she was walking on it all the time again. The problem is likely hay fever, if you can believe it!

Hopefully the girls are on their way to a healthy year until their next check-ups!
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Four years old!

To celebrate Emma's fourth birthday today, many of her friends joined us at Pump it Up, an inflatable slide/bounce house place! We visited there a couple of times this summer during open play to check it out, and Emma always had a good time. The kids get nice and tired, but also hot and sweaty!

I really think they waxed or polished the slide, as this was the fastest that I've seen kids (and parents!) slide down!

The Cozy Coupe was also popular, but some kids also tried the obstacle course (moms too)!!

Halfway through the party, the manager turned the lights down and turned up the music, disco ball and colored lights. Emma loves that part! Then she let the kids talk into the microphone to wish Emma a happy birthday.

Here's the slide (albeit a bit dark) but you can really see them zooming as they get closer!

Because the lights were out half of the time, I regret not being able to get a picture of each child playing. But we did get a group shot of 10 out of 12 kids - not bad!

(Note - the wet shirts in the picture are from the water fountain!)

Then we went into the party room for snacks and cupcakes. Boy, the kids were mighty quiet (tired)! Emma got to sit on an inflatable throne and wear a crown while she opened gifts. She hasn't always liked being the center of attention, but she actually handled it very well, even when we sang Happy Birthday to her!


We came home and she rested well (as I hope all the other kids did!). After dinner she opened some more presents. She really likes this Hello Kitty microphone! She's always singing and dancing around, so this way we can hear her better while she performs.

Her first groupie! She was singing right to Zoe like she was the audience. Hilarious!

Emma had such a fun day. Thanks to everyone!
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Big "trucks"

We went to a nearby library today for a smaller version of "Big Trucks Day." The first thing we saw was the fire truck, which was a good thing because soon after it had to leave to respond to an emergency! I would guess that driving a fire truck never gets old! Also in the back of the ambulance.


Emma's first favorite "truck" was the street sweeper. She would get so excited when we saw one, and she called it an "isp" before she was talking. It has two steering wheels! Some kids were feeling the bristles, but Emma realized that it was probably pretty dirty, so she just kicked it instead.

Boarding the bus! She is very excited to ride a school bus one day. What route was this bus going on? FUN - that's where!!

The last task of the day was to frost cupcakes for her birthday party the next day! She decided quickly that she didn't like frosting, but rather she liked putting the sprinkles on at the end!

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Happy Birthday to Zoe!

Zoe turned 7 today! Emma has been looking forward to celebrating for over a week. However, Zoe's day started off by visiting the vet. I noticed last night that she had been gnawing at one of her paws, and then this morning she was limping. I took a look (as quick as I could that she would let me!) and I noticed a sore on it. I decided to have the doc take a look so that it wouldn't get it infected, though I really didn't know what "it" was!

It turns out that she was having an allergic reaction to something, and it is common that an allergy will manifest in a dog's paw or ear. It's hard to say what caused it, but she put a topical cortisone gel on it which gave Zoe some fast relief. She also told me to give Zoe Benadryl twice a day - the kind that we take! Special thanks to Mary Lou for showing me a trick with peanut butter to get Zoe to swallow the pill! I really didn't want to shove it down her throat.

Anyway at the vet Emma was a big comfort to Zoe while we waited! Poor Zoe just trembles until we leave.


Zoe loves to unwrap presents. When she hears tearing of paper she comes running!


We made a white cake for Zoe, but Emma said she had to blow the candles out because it was too dangerous for Zoe. I would have to agree!

Zoe deserved this after having to visit the vet today :)

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Labor Day weekend

We headed up north for the long weekend. On the way, we got a flat tire on I-5 at Kelso. Oh crud! Ed managed to get to the right shoulder, and got out to take a look. Within two minutes a Washington State trooper pulled up and helped out! I took Emma and Zoe out of the truck and stood way back in the sharp brush. Emma was thrilled when the cop waved at her before he left, and also honked at her once he got driving!

Saturday's excitement was Papa and Daddy building a zipline using the winch cable on the Jeep. They attached it up high in a tree, and built a seat to slide down the line with. It was rough at first but still fun. Later some padding was added to the seat for a more comfortable landing!

All of the September birthday ladies celebrated a little early with lots of yummy desserts!


Papa and Emma set off to fixing a tire on her little bike. The tire had worn down so much that it got a hole in it! She later told me she used a ratchet to fix it!


Emma got to practice playing some electric guitar. It sounds quite different than her instruments!

On Tuesday we headed to Seattle for a family memorial. Ed and Zoe had to go home on Monday for work, and we were taking the train home on Wednesday and couldn't bring Zoe! Emma got to ride a ferry boat for the first time. It was a nice day but as usual, breezy on the deck! She held on tight to Bunny*!

*When we were packing up Ed's truck, I told Emma to choose one of her three stuffed animals that she had brought. I knew we had to really be careful how much we kept because we had to bring it all home on the train with us! She chose Bunny. I was surprised she didn't choose Cheetah, but I said okay. My instinct was to keep Cheetah but I didn't, and she was upset that night! Fortunately she had fun with Bunny the rest of the time though.
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We stayed in Seattle with my grandma that night, but before dinner we headed to a local park as it was still very nice outside!

Wednesday morning we hopped on a bus that took us right downtown. We stopped by the law firm that I used to work at. I have been gone for nine years already! People that I knew still remembered me, but they had never met Emma. It was quite fun. We went to lunch with friends, and then walked a few more blocks to the train station. Our little system worked out pretty well!

Emma's Lightning McQueen bag was only filled with fun things - coloring books, stickers, cards, etc. I thought she might fall asleep (it had been a long weekend) but she didn't. Instead she didn't want to do anything for more than 10 minutes! We visited the bathroom five times in a 3 1/2 hour train ride. We took a walk to the dining car and sat down for a cookie and drink. This train car was nice because the windows are so big, and you can actually see a lot of the landscape!

Phew! Daddy picked us up at the train station on Wednesday night. We were very glad when we finally got home after our big adventure!
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