Emma is 2 and other recent blessings....

Yes, Emma is officially 2 years old (and in my humble but accurate opinion quite possibly the cutest two year old around right now!)

Her most favorite thing right now is the Ponyville My

 Little Ponies.  After breakfast we asked her if she wanted to open a gift before Madeline and Savanna left for school.

  She said, and I quote, "Sure, if it's ponies!"  

Lucky for Emma it was ponies and the rest of the day she told me over and over "thanks for opening ponies Mom."  SO CUTE!!!  

For her birthday dinner we had all Emma's favorites:  HOT DOGS (she will eat most meat if you tell her it tastes like a hot dog), strawberries, bread, and chips with salsa.  I made

 the hot dogs as pigs in a blanket hoping it would help the rest of the family get through the meal ok.  They were easy and turned out great.  Emma (of course, after all that work!)  immediately peeled the bread off of hers so she could eat it the right way!  Grandma Smith made Emma her own little purse/church bag which she enjoyed carrying around for the better part of an hour.  I love that she has to hold her arm up to keep it on her shoulder!!  I made my best attempt at a Ponyville cake for her and the awesome thing about being 2 is that you are happy and thankful for what you get... and she was.  It was very sweet.  Emma was lucky enough to celebrate two nights in a row, one with our great neighbors and the next with Grandma and Grandpa Sheffield.  Blowing out the candles was a joint effort - good thing she has siblings to help with that.  We had such a great time celebrating Emma turning 2!!! 

And.. .

 We are so thankful that Clark and I are home from the hospital!!  Here is a photo of what his feeding tube is like - it is  a GN tube that goes in the nose, down the throat and ends at the lower part of his stomach.  This tube has allowed him to be on a continuous 24 hour drip feed, supplied by a pump.  It basically works like an Iv but pumps milk instead.  So far he has gained nearly 2 ounces, which is HUGE cause for celebration!!  Every 7 days we will move the tube to the other side of the nose to prevent infection and major irritation of the tissues and muscles.  I did this for the first time on saturday before leaving the hospital and went through all the teaching.  It is not fun but I'm thankful that I can manage it at home and that he is now able to gain weight and have his body be strengthened.  It is amazing how much happier he is and he is like a new person!  We have even had some smiles and have eliminated the hours of nonstop crying.   In a few weeks we will try to move off the non-stop feeds to bolus feeds and hope he can tolerate that well.  And of course we hope that in the coming months he will be able to have his stomach and other muscles grow strong enough to tolerate eating through his mouth again and ditching the GN tube!  Thanks so much for all the help and prayers and well wishes.  I am so thankful that he does not have a serious illness and will be able to grow and develop from here on out! 

Here's to having a productive week at home taking care of Clark and getting into a new routine!  this has been very hard, but we are still sailing on!  

E