Sutton is FOUR!

Above: Beautiful Sutton Button yesterday on her fourth birthday.

Below: At 14 months old.

Above: At 10 months old...

Below: Sutton Elaine at two days old.

My daughter how you're growing

and changing every day;

Some day you'll be too busy

to dance, and sing, and play.

It seems like only yesterday

I rocked you in my arms;

and though a tiny baby

I was captured by your charms.

Then in the blinking of an eye

a toddler walked to me,

Those days too are gone now

but oh, how can that be.

Now when I look at you

a little girl I see,

with grown up dreams and wishes

and playing make-believe.

Too soon you will be all grown up,

but I hope you know just where I stand.

I will always be your mother

and by and large your biggest fan.

Four!! Four?? Really?! It's so hard for me to believe it, obviously, as you can see from the above poem that I found and thought fit so perfectly. I am feeling so nostalgic, wondering how in the heck it went so fast. Maybe it's because I don't feel I truly lived in the moment of everything, because make no mistake...life in the Damiano house was extremely chaotic most of the time. It does seem like just yesterday, though, that my doctor handed my little unnamed-for-a-day peanut who was just gorgeous. I remember thinking how blessed we were because not only was she healthy as healthy could be, but she was downright beautiful, just like her sister. And boy, did they look IDENTICAL. We joked in the hospital, while she still had no name, that we could only think to call her Emerson, because that was all we saw when we looked at her...only she had more hair.

We had so much fun yesterday. We took her to lunch at Bonnie Brae Tavern (her choice) and then headed over to Monkey Bizness, where she hosted her closest friends for her birthday party. After that, all of our family came over for dinner and presents, and most importantly, to celebrate the blessing who is our little Button. And, just like her sister, what a blessing she is...

Chunky Monkey has a whole new meaning...

Plagued..literally...by germs..

Will it ever stop? Will it, will it, will it? For the last two...no, almost three weeks, we have been living in an infirmary. Seriously, it's terrible. Just when we think we're in the clear, something else shows its dreary, disgusting, germy head. First it was Emerson...she missed a week of school with croup, followed a few days later by Sutton's croup. So we send them back to school a week ago (last Monday)...no sooner do I put Sutton in the car does she say in an escalating voice, "mom...mom...mom..." You know, that "oh s*#t feeling? Yep, I had it. It was written all over her pretty little face what was about to happen. I yanked her out of the car as fast as I could and we ran behind a tree in a park next to her school, where she unloaded what seemed like a month's worth of lunches. So that was fun. The rest of the week was an ebb and flow of fevers from her...but she never got sick again. That lasted til Saturday, I guess. So on Sunday, I thought "Shew! We're done!" Last night, however, my gorgeous five-year-old woke me up at 1 am because she needed help blowing her nose and when I helped her, was ON FIRE. I went back to bed trying not to completely freak out...stared at the ceiling for awhile, and finally rolled over and woke Drew up. "What do I do? She can't have a fever again, can she?" Once he figured out I really wasn't going to let up on this one, he got out of bed, gave her medicine, changed her into some cooler pj's, and came back to bed. Then again at 2:30 I awoke to her pretty little face peering over me once again...still a bit of a fever and she couldn't sleep. Ugh!

This morning I was expecting the worst, but she was fine. Bouncing around, excited for all things school. I wasn't going to argue. I gave her a little Tylenol, just in case (yes--I am that mom), and we hopped in the car. I sort of expected to hear from the school today, but I didn't and thought, once again, we were in the clear and it was just some random overnight fever. Boy, was I ever WRONG! I picked her up at school and she was a mess.

Mom: "Sweetheart, how was school? Did you have a good day?"

Emerson: "Um...yeah."

Mom: "You don't look like you feel very well."

Emerson: "I don't."

Mom: "Have you felt bad all day?"

Emerson: "No...just half of the day."

Mom: "Why didn't you call me to come and get you?"

Emerson: "Cause my teachers didn't know I was sick."

Mom: "Well, honey, you could have told them."

Emerson: "But I was having too much fun. I didn't want to come home."

*sigh*

We get home and she went straight upstairs to her room, changed into "comfies", shut her bedroom door, and climbed into her bed. I thought she was just changing and coming downstairs, so when I went in to check on her, she said, "Mom--you woke me up. I'm trying to go to sleep." Wait...come again?! Who kidnapped my daughter who has never liked naptime?! I asked her if she wanted to come down and watch a show instead (translation: come downstairs, lay on the couch, have mom take your temperature and convince you to take some medicine). Apparently, that was a good idea. Temperature taken: 104.3...yes, anyone who knows me and what we have been through "fever-wise" with my girls, knows that clearly, internally, I was freaking out. But believe it or not, I didn't totally lose it, just rushed to get a cold washcloth on her head.

Drew called, asked Emerson what she really, really, really wanted for dinner, and brought home her requested soup. We all had dinner together and she seemed much better. Still a fever, runny nose, swollen eyes, but all-in-all, not too shabby (Dick Maynard lingo). Both girls ate pretty well. Soup, bread, fruit...so, Drew pulls out his "surprise" that he bought for her and her sister...Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream. They were so excited. Emerson said, "Oh thanks, Daddy. This will help my throat feel so much better!"

Emerson (taking a bite): "Yummy. This is good...I just...uh...um...don't really like the chocolate."

Dad (walking over to the table...mom over by the couch): "You don't like the chocolate?"

Emerson: "No I...._____(okay, here is where you can insert your own sound effects)..."

Dad: "Uh--BEC!!"

So...without going into further um...details...she had thrown up all over the table. Drew was such a good sport, but man, you should have seen his face! I ran over and tried to help get her to the bathroom and she kept saying, "no mom, I'm fine. I feel better". We walked a few steps...(insert more sound effects)..."OK, mom, now I'm okay"...then we run a few more steps...(insert even more sound effects)...and finally! We make it to the bathroom and she says, "but mom, I'm done now." Nope...she kept going...and going...oh, thank goodness for hardwood floors!

Anyway, so here I sit, sharing, trying to laugh about our evening. She was such a sweetheart about it. We got her cleaned up and in the bath and managed to completely mop our floors (thanks Drew), and each take our own shower as well. Needless to say, Chunky Monkey now means something compleeeeeetly different at the Damiano house.

Now...where did I set that glass of wine?

Halloween Fun

We enjoyed another year of major Halloween fun. Rapunzel and Fifi the Poodle spent the day before Halloween trick-o-treating at the stadium, which, of course, included a special visit with Auntie Amy. They both had a Halloween Parade and party at their schools, then enjoyed trick-o-treating at the Old South Gaylord Trick-o-Treat Street with their cousins and Grandma and Grandpa Maynard. The girls "second favorite" holiday (behind Christmas, of course) was topped off with dinner and even MORE trick or treating at Aunt Krista's. They like Aunt Krista's neighborhood because they give out the FULL size candy bars, not just the little fun size ones...(have to say, Drew and I kinda like it, too. :-) ) Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed our Halloween activities.

Now on to both birthdays and the holidays...*sigh*