How life has changed since...

we brought home our little pug named Po. Even though I had a puppy a few years back and got too overwhelmed and sold her, I really thought I knew what I was doing last month when I was looking for a new one. Uh, surprise!! :) As cute as he is, he is a little handful as most puppies are. And to be honest, I have entertained the thought of selling him a few times, but as of now he is still in my home and making our life interesting. Here are just a few examples:1. My favorite red flats are now chew toys (cry) along with any blankets, throw pillows, kids' toys or anything else that is left on the floor.
2. Thanks to Po's little bark, we have a lot more noise than we used to. He loves to play with the kids and chase them around. He especially loves Emmi; it must be her size. If Po isn't following me he is following her.
3. Naturally, we have a lot of these little clumps dotting our backyard that I get to pick up. Not only that, but we have a few big holes in our fence that allows him to escape. I have spent more time chasing him around our neighbor's yards than I really care to. For that, he deserves a little time-out in his room, which brings me to #4 ...4. I have a little captive who has taken over my laundry room. There are 2 little eyes that are always peeking, looking for the kids to free him. Actually, Po has been doing so well with his house training that he is rarely put in there anymore except for nighttime and when we leave home.5. Unfortunately, part of having a puppy who likes to play is occasionally getting nipped. Or in Emmi's case, getting the feet of your footie jammies constantly chewed on, while your feet are still in them. This is a face we see quite a bit, can you tell? Her new favorite word is "Owwie".Given all of that, the kids, myself, and even Chad are still loving this little guy. And all of the excitement that a little dog can bring.

F.Y.I.

Since my last post I have had many people ask what I have been using on Emmi to clear up the eczema. So, if you were wondering, the dermatologist prescribed her an oil called Derma-Smoothe and a lotion called Epi-Ceram. I have been using both twice a day for these past few weeks and think that it has made all the difference. I was also told by my dermatologist to give her Clorox baths. I put in 1/2 cup of Clorox bleach in a tub full of (warm, not hot) water for her to bathe in. I was worried since Emmi does still try to take sips of the water, but I was assured that it is diluted enough. She says the Clorox baths kill the "bugs" on her skin that make her itch and I'm supposed to give her one twice a week. I have also switched her to soy milk, and left a humidifier in her room during naps and bedtime, which I think have also helped.

At Last...

After a year of trying different creams and lotions, Emmi's face is finally clear. Wahoo!!! It is so nice not to see rough red patches on her cheeks. I'm sure most of you know but she has a pretty good case of eczema, and we have been fighting it all over her body. Over the last year I have seen 2 pediatricians, and 1 dermatologist who basically told me just to keep putting lotion on it as much as I can. No matter how many times I put it on it didn't take the redness away or soothe her itching. Finally I decided to get another dermatologist's opinion and I went to one that my mother-in-law recommended (thanks Kim) who was so great and gave me some new oils, and instructions. It has only been 3 weeks later and I am very happy with the results. This is a post in celebration!!
Look at those white cheeks!!
To remind you all of just how bad of a problem this was let's go back in time shall we? This was taken by my little sis Erin in Dec 2007, (thanks Midge :) when Emmi was 7 months old and we started noticing a little redness on her face. Not too bad. Now let's fast forward to just a few weeks ago...
This was taken on March 27th, just after our dermatologist appointment. In my opinion, her eczema was pretty severe there at the end.
As is her face wasn't bad enough, she had these little rough patches all over her body and scalp. Needless to say again how happy I am that I finally found something that works for Emmi. Being her mama, I want her to be as beautiful as she can be and at long last I have the right tools!! Hooray!!

My Chad

There is yet one more birthday that we have to celebrate in March and that belongs to my sweetheart, Chad. Today is his birthday and he is 31! There are so many reasons why I feel blessed to be married to this great man and I think I will share them. I love him because:
* He has a vast knowledge of the gospel and the scriptures and can out-school me anytime.
* He has a great love and testimony of the gospel too. The picture above is one of my favorites of him in "Joseph's window" at Carthage Jail.
* He is very competitive and hates to lose (especially to me :)
* He always compliments my cooking, and helps me do the dishes.
* He never wants to buy himself anything and let's me shop instead.
* He is a HUGE BYU and Jazz fan. I love to see how mad he gets when they lose and yet how happy they make him when they win.
* He loves his kids and will usually give them baths since I don't like to.
* He tries so hard to understand me when I am not doing well mentally, and does everything he can to help me. He has even gone with me to doctors appointments as my "coach".
* He said he didn't want a dog but I think he is secretly happy we have "Po" (our pug) and likes to have him on his lap.
* He has a great laugh and good sense of humor.
* He was a great missionary and an excellent student.
* He holds a Bachelor's degree and is an Eagle Scout.
* He gets along great with everyone I know.
* He is the perfect mix of his Mom and Dad. I can see the things that I love most about them in him as well.
* He gives 110% to everything he does and is a great provider.
* He is very sweet and thoughtful and tries hard not to forget those important dates for me such as Mother's Day :)
* And last but not least, he is so very handsome, especially in a suit and tie :)

I love you Chaddy...Happy Birthday!!
Chad and his family in the fall of 2000, just before we got engaged.

I Turned My Back On Emmi ...

for 1 minute and she had convinced "Damma" to help her put on all 4 pairs of Sam's new underwear. (I think it was "Damma" that decided to put one on her head.) My Mom also said I needed to take pictures of this because it would be good blackmail when she's a teenager :)I turned my back on Emmi for 1 minute at Payless, and Emmi had managed to pull off her boots and has grabbed 3 pairs of shoes off the shelves that she wanted to try on. (All Dora or princess ones of course). I spent the whole 20 min in the store following her around and putting away the shoes, purses and socks that she kept taking. Needless to say, my boys NEVER did this and would rather run down the aisles as fast as they can. I guess I have me a future shopping companion.I turned my back on Emmi for 10 min. at home and she had gotten into the Desitin. I walked into the room to find it not only all over her, but the carpet and couches. Yep, just great! Emmi will be turning 2 here in just a few months and has been quite a little handful. If she wasn't so cute, I'd sell her to the indians! :)

My Little "Hess-ey"

Today I turned 28. Yay!! No, it sounds too close to the big "30" to me. More importantly this week, my Samuel Hess turned 4! We had 2 different celebrations for him and still have one more coming up.

There are so many things that I love about Sam...I love his cute little dimples and perfect teeth. He was such a beautiful baby and is growing into a handsome little devil. I love how he is constantly eating or asking to eat something. I love how he crawls into my bed and snuggles into me the first thing in the morning, and gives me only a few seconds before he asks me to get him cereal or turn on the Wii. I love his constant "hum". (Really, he is always saying, "hmmmmm, hmmmmm" and doesn't stop.) It very useful though, because I always know where he is :) I love how compassionate he is to Emmi, and somehow always manages to get her to stop crying when she is having a tantrum. I love how he is afraid of cats and will do anything I say if I threaten that he will sleep outside with the kitties, if he doesn't be good. Too funny! I love how Sam's clothes are always on backwards, shoes on the wrong feet and how he doesn't seem to mind it at all. I love how he is quite the little gymnast and is always doing somersaults and headstands. I love how he is quite a solid little guy and my brother-in-law Rob has nicknamed him "Samma the Slamma". I love his little accent, and how he says door like "duh" and floor like "fluh". I love how he says his name is "Hess-ey"because that's what we do like to call him. I guess he told his new friends in preschool that that was his name and his teacher thought he was saying "Hussy" which she quickly told him "we don't say that in pre-school." But the best is when he ends his sentences with "that'd be great!" Needless to say, Sam always puts a smile on my face and I thought he deserved to be spoiled for his birthday. The first party was when...my parents and brother came down to visit and gave Sam some early presents. This is my Mom and the kids unwrapping them."Darth Sammers" :) My Mom and Dad bought Sam this Darth Vader costume since he is obsessed with Star Wars. As a funny side note, Chad and I overheard the boys calling Darth Vader "Master Vader" which doesn't sound too good considering my boys' "v's" sound like "b's"!! ;) We tried to not smile when we quickly told the boys that his name is Darth Vader and he is NOT a master.He also got this cool Kung Fu Panda sword from my big brother "J".
The morning of his birthday he happily found this big wheel that I covered over with a blanket.Then later that night- we met up with Chad's family at Jumpin' Jacks, my kids' favorite place to jump around. There were more presents and food before it was time to go home and his birthday was officially over. Thanks to both families for making his birthday so special. We love you Sam, Happy Birthday!!

A Special Birthday Message...

Today I have to say Happy Birthday to my Momma, who is a great lady and one of my very best friends. She is a wonderful grandma and my kids adore her. I wish that we lived closer to her as well as the rest of the fam, so we could say happy birthday in person, but today we had to say it over the phone. That just wasn't good enough, so the kids wanted to give "Damma" a message. Happy Birthday Momma, we love you to bits and bits!