Whole Again

Our family is whole again. Nala is finally back after staying two nights at the vet. Emma was SO excited to see her! She just keeps following her around and hugging her. And to make a good day even better, Emma did not have any hives today. Yay!

Despite the hives, the vet, and the bronchitis I do have some pictures from the past few days to share...

Here are two pictures of Emma digging into a muffaletta sandwich. She couldn't get enough which didn't surprise us since she loves olives and this one has a delicious tapenade on it.

I love this picture of Emma and Josh...it's so sweet.

Emma thought it was absolutely fabulous that I was able to swing right across from her. This kept her laughing for quite some time. If I got up, she would say, "Noooo, Momma - Noooo."

Of course the slide is always a hit:

Here we are making some pizza dough for dinner. Emma loves to help - especially in the kitchen - so this made her day!

Although there were several rough spots over the last few days, you wouldn't know it from these pictures. We're all happy, {mostly} healthy and apparently well fed from all the food shots...can't ask for much more than that!

Hives & the Vet

We have been a sickly house this week! I have bronchitis, Josh has had a headache (which he never gets), Emma has come down with some kind of hives, and our cat is at the vet!

Emma's daycare called yesterday and I had to pick her up early because they weren't sure if she had an allergic reaction or if she was contagious. Long story short, the hives went away before she went to bed. However, beforehand her whole lower body was covered with welps and hives. She acted as if nothing was different. Still happy, still ate, still drank, still called my name over and over and over again. Her doctor said that as long as she didn't develop a fever and it didn't get worse, that there was no need to come in. So, this morning she was completely back to normal - we took her to school. BUT they called me this afternoon and said she had broken out AGAIN. But this time they said they could tell it was coming and going and they would monitor her. If it gets worse, they'll have us go pick her up. Pray they go away and never come back!

Then we have our cat, Nala. She had started acting unusual on Saturday night. She barely ate or drank and she just wanted to sleep under the bed all day long. Very unlike her. We knew it was time for her annual shots, so we went ahead and took her in to the vet. She has never stayed a night at the vet. So I was so upset when they wanted to keep her for the night yesterday. The house seemed so quiet without her. Emma kept calling for her Nala and searching for her. Pitiful! They're still not sure what is wrong with her but they are going to do an X-ray this afternoon to see if they can figure it out. Pray that whatever the problem is that it goes away on its own and she can come sleep at home tonight!

My bronchitis is getting better and Josh's headache has subsided. But we're a very exhausted household at this point.

BIG Milestone!

This is partially potty related just to give you a heads up!

Yesterday Emma met a milestone that every parents looks forward to. She pooped in the potty!! And then today, she did it AGAIN. Two days in a row...this is amazing. I know it will still be a while, but I look forward to when I don't have to buy diapers anymore. Also, this morning, she told Josh she needed to pee pee. So she ran to her potty and she went right away. This is one of the last pieces of the puzzle. Not only does she use her potty, but now she is starting to tell us when she needs to.

On to non-potty related updates...

Josh bought Emma a rake and she LOVES it! Here a couple of shots of her helping Josh out in the yard today:

Walking in Papaw's Shoes

Hey everyone, this is Josh. I figured it was about time that I contributed something to the blog other than my handsome face. This past weekend provided the perfect opportunity to do my first blog post.

Emma’s great grandfather on my mother’s side was Troy Jacks (aka Papaw). Unfortunately, Papaw passed away while Jessica was still pregnant with Emma. Toward the end of his life he was plagued by Alzheimer’s and other physical problems but at certain times he would have brief moments of extreme clarity. I will always remember when we went to visit him in Laurel. He awoke from a nap and you could see the clarity in his eyes. That is when we leaned in and told him that we were having a baby. Papaw was the first person that we told. His face lit up, he grabbed our hands and in a feeble but excited voice he whispered “Hot Dog!”. That trip was the last time I saw him alive. He passed soon afterward but I will always cherish that moment.

Though Emma never got to know her Papaw, thanks to the Collings Foundation she was able to see a major and defining part of his life. Papaw was a ball turret gunner on the B-24 Liberator during WWII. For those of you who don’t know, the ball turret was a rotating weapon platform located in the belly of the bomber. He hung out of the bottom of the B-24 for numerous bombing missions and had one of the best views and most dangerous seats of anyone in the war. His two Browning M2 50cal machine guns (lovingly referred to as Ma Deuce) were the primary defense for the underbelly of the B-24. Fortunately for me (and the rest of my family) Papaw returned from war unharmed and fathered 5 children, Emma’s grandmother Nana being the eldest. One thing to note is the B-24’s ball turret must be retracted for landing and takeoff. Once the plane was in the air the gunner would enter the turret and be lowered into position. All of these pictures show the ball turret retracted.


For those of you who don’t know, my grandfather had basically 2 jobs in his life, Army Air Corps and Rural mail carrier (and unlike other postal workers he only shot at people when he was in the Army). As we were pulling up to the airfield they were delivering the mail. I jumped out of the car just in time to snap this photo of a rural mailman with the B-24 in the background.

The Collings Foundation has the only fully restored flying B-24 in the world and they fly it all over the country keeping the history of the United States Army Air Corps and the brave men who fought in WWII alive. When they were rebuilding the plane my late uncle William got word that they were looking for donations to offset the costs and that with a donation we could get Papaw’s name (Troy Lee Jacks) on the plane. I truly appreciate uncle William’s efforts and the rest of the family's contributions on this living memorial for Papaw.



When we first got to the airfield Emma wasn’t so sure about it. However, after a little while she started to get into it. After our first trip through the plane Emma decided that she would try to climb up into it by herself (notice on the right hand side of the picture the line of people waiting on Emma). Also note the stylish handbag and glasses. Just because she is learning some history doesn’t mean she can’t look good while she is doing it.

Emma and Jessica next to the ball turret.

Emma was checking out Papaw's first class seat...
From outside the plane...

And inside the plane...

Me and Emma inside the bomb bay

Jessica and Emma inside the bomb bay

Emma checking out the "Ma Deuce" waist gun. Just like her daddy...admiring the firepower.

There were other planes on the Wings of Freedom Tour including two P-51 Mustangs (one of the coolest fighter planes ever), a B-17 bomber (Papaw would not be pleased with me even mentioning that “glory hog” as he called it), and other vintage planes.

It was great to so see these glorious birds while they were in town. On Tuesday of last week I was thinking of Papaw and it is hard to think of him without thinking of the B-24. I decided to check to see where the plane was on its tour and to my surprise I saw that it would be in Birmingham 3 days later. Somewhere Papaw is looking down with a smile to know his great granddaughter got to see his beloved plane. Sadly, there is only one surviving crew member from Papaw’s squadron. It is Papaw’s best friend Rusty Evans (Tail Gunner). Our family would like to personally thank everyone who has served or is currently serving in our armed forces. God bless each and every one of you and God bless the United States of America.

Tutus and Tootsie Rolls

This Halloween Emma was very aware of what was going on. She only had to be shown one time that you go up to a door, ask for candy, take some and say thank you. Next year we'll work on only taking one piece instead of 3 or 4.

We all met at Alli's house and had pizza first. It was so nice to be able to hang out with our playgroup friends again. It was also great to have my mom here with us for the experience! It was a short trip, but packed full of fun. Mimi loved watching Emma prance and twirl in her ballerina costume.

Here are Emma and Colton playing outside. Colton was watching Emma literally put the pedal to the metal.

She is a multi-talented ballerina - she can also golf at the same time:

Group shot - it's hard to get everybody looking and smiling at one time when there are this many toddlers and babies involved...but I think we pulled it off! From left: Martina, Colton, Me, Emma, Melissa, Whitten, Alli, Shepard, Eli & Lillian.
And we're off...Emma, Lillian and Colton are ready for some trick or treating!

Isn't she a big girl?

This was her reaction after she went up and did the routine all by herself. She was so proud of herself!

Daddy and Emma

Afterward, we went back to Alli's house for the kids to get some of their energy out. Emma is taking a juice break so she can keep up with the other kids.

The treats that Melissa made:

Her favorite candy was a sucker. She gnawed on it until it was completely gone and then asked to throw it away in the trash can. Let me also take this opportunity to point out the adorable shoes...Josh picked them out all by himself! Isn't he a good daddy?

After the sugar high, they all needed to sit down for a second.

Then they all started rolling around on the floor together.

Which of course worked up her appetite and she had to eat AGAIN!

We had such a great time! I love my little ballerina. She was perfectly prissy enough to wear the tutu, the beads, and the shoes all night long. She also wore her ladybug pail as a purse all night long and only put it down when there was food involved. That's my girl!

Unrelated Halloween news -- Emma can now use a doorknob to open a door! We're in trouble now...