Fun with Job Hunting

Lorelei on the cruise while Garrison slept.

On the Pirate Cruise

Wow, she's got a long tongue, eh?! (o:

Lorelei would lay down her head, then pop it back up to see the parade periodically.

At the "Tree of Life"



Garrison gave great big hugs to Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and ...? Can't remember.





The safari was awesome!






I don't think I'd ever seen a giraffe in person before: especially this close! Garrison loved the elephants too.

Lorelei LOVES her daddy. She gives him great big loves, and EVERY time the phone rings she yells out "Daddy" (the last two d's are less pronounced and sound a little like a y, but it's darling.)

Well, I have been wondering for a long time now where we would live for (at least) 3 years while Marcus fulfills his commitment to National Health Services Corps. Today, though, Marcus signed a contract! He will work in Potosi, MO (way out in the booneys) but we will live somewhere else. We think in Washington, MO because first of all, family, and second because Marcus loves the YMCA. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, he loves the water, and the Y has a pool, sauna, and gym. He goes there pretty much every day and loves it. Toward Potosi, there is not another Y or gym with a pool.

Anyhow, posted above are some pictures from January 1-6 when we went to Florida. Marcus really wanted to live by the water/beach, so he applied to a few jobs there. He interviewed in Tampa and Sumpterville and took me and the kids with him. While there we went to Clearwater beach, took a 2-hour long Pirate Cruise, and went to Disney's Animal Kingdom and Magical Kingdom. The kids loved it! I learned that Lorelei, like her daddy, has no fear of the water (including waves) but wants to dive right in. Last year at the beach all she wanted to do was eat sand but luckily she is past that! Garrison loves to collect any and all shells and dig in the sand. Like his daddy, he was emphatic about the necessity of wearing his sunglasses. (o:

FYI: I share this because I hope that we all can be a little more sensitive to others as well as to share with you what is going on in our lives. Marcus and I were both surprised by how many people (I'd say about 20) this past week asked us if Garrison and Lorelei were twins. They are 19 months apart. This was hard to hear. For instance a man at the park today was speaking to his daughter today and said "watch out for the baby" and I thought, "his girl can't be older than Garrison", and sure enough she was 5 months younger. I did point this out to the man... She was taller, sure, but really, calling him a "baby"? He was talking up a storm! I did not like for Garrison to hear himself referred to as a baby, even though I (maybe) am more sensitive to it than he is. You may think that Garrison is oblivious to the fact that every other kid his age is bigger than him, but he is not. While getting the IV in his arm for the testing I left the room and had the nurses take care of that. Since then he has said "The doctor says I'm not growing" with this sad and concerned look on his face and it just breaks my heart. The test confirmed that he has pituitary dwarfism. In other words, his body is correctly proportioned, and he will be getting growth hormone. In the first year of treatment, from my understanding, he will grow 4x that of other children his age so I look forward to him catching up quickly. On the other hand, it is going to be very hard for Marcus and I to administer shots to him every day...

In case you can't tell, they are BOTH asleep!
And I'm sure you'll notice that our stroller squeaks very loudly!


Daddy bought them light-up toys. Lorelei's was actually a light-up necklace thing. The rose was actually for me. Thanks, again, Marcus. The toys were a big hit.

Garrison is so funny. Here he is saying "where are you" repeatedly in a funny voice. He cracks me up!

Christmas 2008

Here's Garrison, "fixing" his digger with his new hammer from Uncle John.

Isn't she so beautiful?!

Lorelei loves her toy from Uncle John!


She LOVES her bottle. When she sees I'm preparing one (even if it only has water, which is most of the time) she starts panting. I need to get it on video 'cause it is so cute.

Christmas was great this year. Garrison, especially, was so very excited about the whole thing. As tradition goes, we open presents with the Wilkerson family on Christmas eve (except, of course, Santa's gift because it doesn't arrive until Christmas) and Garrison was so excited opening one after the other until finally he was so excited that he just wanted to play--not to open more presents, so the rest got pushed back until Christmas morning. Lorelei got excited, but she still doesn't get the whole unwrapping presents thing yet. Santa got Garrison a digger/tractor with an extra seat for Lorelei so she could dig with him. Santa got Lorelei a stroller with a baby doll. After the fact, Santa realizes that both of the gifts would have been a little more age appropriate if they were to get them for next year's Christmas, but hey, Santa did his best!

Cruise

I have a lot to post! We had a great December. On December 12, after Marcus and I had finished our finals, we dropped off Garrison and Lorelei with his amazing parents until December 22. Marcus and I went on our first cruise vacation which traveled to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. It was great! Especially once Marcus bought me a little scopolamine patch in Puerto Rico (I was seasick due to the 15-foot swells) to stop me from looking like I had drank one too many! We both got scuba certified, however he is more advanced than me because he took an extra class that I did not want to do. In our first classes together we learned to breathe underwater with the regulator, clear it, clear the mask of water, take off the mask and breathe without it for about a minute, then put the mask back on and clear it once again...and more. Marcus also had to strip off his vest/gear, swim across a pool and back, then put it back on, then start breathing again all underwater...I know that I would have failed that test without days or even months of practice so I didn't pay the extra money to get the extra certification to dive without the help of a divemaster. We completed our open water dive in St. Maarten. Despite my fears, I did just fine and wasn't scared the whole time I was underwater. Anyway, I learned a few things I had not realized about Marcus. He has NO FEAR of the water. Even when my family got a pool when I was around 10 it took me a LONG time to dive head first into the water. I tried a back dive 3 times because my friends were pushing me into trying it, and I back-flopped every time and haven't tried it since. I like to be safe above water! Not Marcus. He might as well be a fish. The dive instructor's helper was a little disturbed doing the testing because when he removed his mask at 30 feet under while breathing through the regulator he kept his eyes open the whole time! My eyes, on the other hand, were stinging for at least a few seconds after every time I did something as little as clear my mask. Marcus was a natural at scuba diving. The instructor told him he was his best student in the class. I don't even have to question who was his worst... and neither does Marcus!
Garrison and Lorelei did well without us for the most part. They love their Grandma! She gives them all of her attention and love. We left knowing that Lorelei had just developed a fever and after just a few days Grandma Joyce took her to the doctor and she had an ear infection. She was prescribed amoxicillin and she got better thereafter. Sometime during that time Garrison told Grandma repeatedly that his ear hurt so she (knowing that we had given him amoxicillin in the past) slipped him some of Lorelei's medicine. For the first time, he broke out with big red bumps on his belly, so now we know he is allergic. Luckily he loved the cherry-flavored Benadryl, and soon thereafter got his ear infection taken care of too. Poor Grandma Joyce is a saint. She was sick the entire time and was still as sweet as ever. We are so blessed to have her.

Me and Marcus on the ship

Marcus and me in Puerto Rico

The beach at Magen's Bay, St. Thomas
Me at Magen's Bay, St. Thomas. Marcus swimmed, and I was so happy just to take a nap in the warm sun. Marcus made me include this picture.

Our ship was the one docked farthest to the right


Marcus and Jorge, our instructor.





This, I think?, was where we did the open water dive at St. Maarten.

Touring after the dive.

So last week Garrison was watching me try to comfort Lorelei as she was crying and he comes over to her and lightly strokes her hair and says "shh, shh...You like that sound, baby girl, huh?" He is so sweet and good. I had never thought about whether or not Lorelei likes the "shh" sound before he said that!

I'm tagging Bubby!

September 2008, He's waiting for me to go out and play with him
Thanksgiving 2007, we learned he loves olives.
May 2007 in Colorado
May 2007, coming down Pike's Peak
November 2007 at Silver Dollar City...he was so excited!

Late 2007 in the bath
He cracks me up!
February 2008, he would plead with me to go out to ride the sled but he would say "ride the boat" December? 2007 with Lorelei
This is the face where he pretends to be annoyed but really is just trying to make me laugh.

I'm tagging Garrison:

Favorite food: kraft mac 'n cheese, lately I've set a once a week rule 'cause he wants it for every meal





Friends: Tommy (bestest friend), Luke, Conrad, Joshua, Tyler





Things he loves to do:


ride his bike outside


swing


have friends over


go over to Tommy's house


sit between Marcus and me while we watch a tv show (that he likes)


sleep between us in bed (on the very rare occasions that I let him)


dance to the free baby leapfrog cd (I have other kid cd's that we listen to, but the free one that came with a toy we bought is his favorite)


pick apples off of the tree outside our door then wash and eat them


take a bath with bubbles and toys and water balloons


call his grandma on the phone


vacuum with me (he has a toy vacuum that works somewhat so he starts it when I start mine and stops his when I stop...it's VERY cute)


sing the "cleanup" song with me while we clean up his toys


stickerbooks


helping Lorelei


helping daddy do something around the house (i.e. fix the shower curtain rod)


reading books (his favorite at the moment is Little People on the farm, but he also loves Ruthie and the Teeny Tiny Lie, Baby's Birthday, The Small Family, The Monster at the End of this Book, Santa's Suit, No No Yes Yes)





Favorite TV show: well, at the moment it is "Go, Diego, Go", but he also loves "Hi-5", "Backyardigans", "Max and Ruby", and "Bob the Builder"





Favorite songs: "Yellow Bird", "Horsey Horsey", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "You are my Sunshine", and if at bedtime my patience lasts through all these he'll start the list all over again. I also have to sing "Yellow Bird" every time I brush his teeth or he won't open his mouth!

I miss my family

Rebecca, Rach, Liz and me

me, Liz, and Sarah
me and my sisters againand again Me and Liz

I don't know why, but the only thing I remember about this day was that when we got home Jed's diaper had blown out. I'm thinking it must have been pretty impressionable. Mom, do you remember cleaning that one?

I thought I'd include this one 'cause I'm making a Garrison face here. I'm pretty sure I've seen him make this exact face! Poor Jed's not very happy in this one.

I remember loving my dress. The puffy sleeves, whatever that thing is called at the waist, and the lace. I also remember dad and mom took us all to Dairy Queen after taking pictures.

I remember wearing this dress to church and having people ask Sarah and I if we were twins. We would always have to explain that even though we were the same age, we were sisters, not twins.

Dad and Mom, I don't know how you coped! You are amazing people. I love you!

I miss my family...all together like this. It saddens me that we have grown apart due to our different geographic locations. I love you all. I would love to hear your memories if you have the time to comment.

July 2008, picture day

Lorelei Anne
Garrison Emmett
They are so beautiful!