Cheerleader??!

It happened the other day, Abby came up to me and said, " Mom I want to be a cheerleader!" My response, "We'll see, what about dance? You were so good at it!".  No luck, she is dead set on being a cheerleader.  The youth center here offers cheerleading in the winter months so I am going to have to swallow my pride and go sign her up.  I'm sure some of you are wondering what is the problem with cheerleading? I don't know why but for some reason I just can't wrap my head around Abby being a cheerleader!  I know there is nothing wrong with it but the idea just seems so foreign to me.  Maybe it's because I am the most uncoordinated person I know.  I run into walls for goodness sakes. Abby was good at dance and I know she'll be great at Cheerleading too.  She does love being the center of attention and she had no problem getting up on stage at her dance recital either.  I guess I'm doomed or destined. Destined to be the mother of a cheerleader!  Maybe part of my hesitation is because I was never a cheerleader, I had aspirations as a freshman in High School to be one but alas it never panned out.  I just hope Abby does well and enjoy's it and maybe I will too! 

Update on Emily

I had my visit with the dietitian on Monday and it went very well.  The bottom line is Emily is doing well.  She did fall off the growth curve for awhile there but she is back on curve. It's her own curve but she is growing and that is what is important.  We have some new rules we've implemented at our house for all meals and snacks and so far everything is working!  We stopped giving her the Instant Breakfast in her milk and just give her plain milk now.  It's amazing the instant results we got when we did that one thing!  Her little belly is no longer full on milk only and she is eating 3 meals a day plus snacks. I'm keeping my hopes up that this trend continues. I must admit that I feel like the doctor's here have let me down. They gave us all these things to do in order to fatten Em up and none of it worked! According to the dietitian it's the wrong information.   1 year of stress and worry for nothing!  I wish I would have visited the dietitian last year and saved myself a year of stress and tears.

Labels! Who needs em?

Why is everyone so quick to put labels on everything, people included? Actually, let me be honest, especially people?
Short, fat, tall, thin, skinny, smart, stupid,  the list goes on and on.  As a parent of a child who is labeled I am tired, upset and angry that someone's short sightedness makes me feel bad as a parent. Sure it's easy to say, "Just ignore them" but it's hard to do when it is the paid professionals in your life that are labeling your child!  Why can't people look up from the paper, chart, etc. and see the person before them before they speak and say something that may not be true.  I guess this is a teaching moment for me as a parent. I get to teach my children not to be so quick to judge and label people because, labels can hurt.

My Little Peanut

A friend suggested I devote a post to Emily since she causes me so much stress and worry and I need to vent so this post is devoted to my Emily.

Well it's no surprise that we call Emily our little peanut. She is such a tiny little girl. She's been slow to gain weight for some time now. Actually this has been going on a year now. I've had my moments where I wonder, "Am I failing her as a parent?" "Will she ever reach 20lbs?" the list of my unanswered questions go on and on. The doctor's have found nothing medically wrong with her other than an egg allergy and I thank God for that every day! Is it just genetics? Did she just inherit the "short gene?" Maybe that is the case but who knows!

I have a meeting next week with a registered dietician and I guess I should say that I am looking forward to it but I'm not. I'll be honest, I'm scared. I'm scared of what they may tell me. I don't want to hear that I have been doing everything wrong! Then again, maybe a fresh set of eyes will help me because I am tired of feeling frustated everytime we sit down to eat. I know every kid is different but it's hard when one is so different from the other and I am getting no explanation for why she doesn't want to eat. I know she is strong willed and stubborn so maybe that plays into her not eating well. People keep telling me she will eat when she is hungry but that doesn't make me feel any better. Since she is so little I know she needs to eat and her missing a meal doesn't feel like a good option to me. Hopefully the Dietician can help us out and ease my mind a bit. Till next week!

Pasta Face!!

Coast Guard Day

I apologize again for not blogging as often as I should. A lot has happened since I last blogged. Abby started school, we had the best Coast Guard Day ever and Emily is close to breaking the 20lb mark. Fun times in the Smith household.

I've been stepping out of my comfort zone slowly these past few months and it is a learning experience. I realized that I can't take on to many projects all at once other wise I just end of up feeling overwhelmed so I am picking and choosing what I can and cannot do. Abby has a busy social life so that keeps me busy. Plus now she wants to do Girl Scouts! Between my Ombudsman duties and the kids I have been a busy little bee. I joined a Mother's of Preschoolers group that meet's 2x a month and I am so glad I joined! It was uncomfortable at first to go and meet new people but it get's easier. I will try to blog weekly for now on but I make no promises!

Out of Sorts

I realized that I never posted pictures or video of Abby's Dance rectial back in June. I am not doing so well this summer. Time is flying by and it seems to go even faster since I've been on my own the last few weeks. Jason is down south somewhere working hard for the Coast Guard. We miss him terribly and look forward to seeing him soon. The girls are growing like weeds! Abby seems to have gotten really tall and thin this summer and Emily is sprouting right up too. Emily has gained a 1 lb in a month which is great news! We are so close to that magic 20lb mark! Abby has mastered riding her bike and has even moved onto a bigger bike!