The Poole Family: April 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Grandpa

My Grandpa passed away unexpectedly this past Saturday morning, April 23rd. It is so hard to believe still and I think most of my family remains between the stages of shock/disbelief and grief. We received the call on Saturday morning from my sister saying he had passed away peacefully in his sleep while taking a morning nap in his lazy chair. He was a wonderful man whom I will miss tremendously. The past week has been a blur of emotion. We had just gotten together as family the previous weekend for birthday celebrations and dinner. That day, as we were saying goodbye, I kissed him on the cheek and told him I loved him. He replied I love you too. Unknowingly, these are the last words I would ever share with him...
Below is what my sisters and I wrote for his burial and also a link to his obituary by clicking HERE. Thank you to all for the prayers, phone calls, and emails...

"The three of us grew up spoiled- we were our Grandpa’s only grandchildren and he loved us immensely. Some people do not grow up to be close to their grandparents, but that is not the case in our family. Grandpa helped shape us into the women we are today. Every graduation, birthday, holiday, wedding, and birth of a great grandchild, Grandpa was there. We grew up sitting on his lap, working in his woodshop, going to the zoo, swimming in the lake, and listening to his stories. Yes, he did walk to school uphill both ways in the snow, barefoot, in his only pair of overalls… He was a strong man, a Godly man, a great man. Without him, we would not be who we are today. Our family will never be the same with his loss, but we know he is with Jesus. While it will remain hard on us the months ahead, we know he is celebrating his eternal life in Heaven. We will carry him in our hearts and cherish our memories of him."

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Emily's Favorite Things

Now that Emily is one... Thought I would share a list of her FAVORITE things with everyone! In no particular order, except for the top item...

1. Nuk Pacifier- Cannot be without it...

2. Tupperware- has her very own cabinet full

3. Talking Tom i-Phone app

4. Favorite Book--Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins

5. Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair (hers has her name on it which she likes to point to)

6. BALLOONS!

7. Yo Baby Yogurt (plus any other type of yogurt...)

7. SWING!

8. Straw sippy cups

9. Riding in her Wagon

10. Mr. Pillow Pup (or as Emily calls him, DAW!)

11. Still likes to push her stroller around the house even though she can walk just fine without it

12. Fridge Magnets (has also learned these stick to the front of our dishwasher)

13. Baby Goldfish snack!

14. Maracas (plus any household object she can make into a maraca)

15. Chick-Fil-A Ice Cream

Thursday, April 14, 2011

One Year Check-Up

     At Emily's one year check up this past Monday, she weighed in at 20lbs 14oz and was 28 3/4 inches long! Both in the 50% percentile, which is what she has been at since she started crawling. Everything seems to be on track developmentally, including language which I'm especially thankful for given her frequent ear infections. We tried transitioning to whole milk the week she turned one, but... she her little body was not very tolerant of either the lactose or the milk fat.   Her pediatrician suggested we start trying soy milk and if that doesn't work, we move to 1% or 2% milk and see how she does with that. It will be awhile still before we work on getting rid of the bottle since she has had so many ear infections (and continues to do so), and the pacifier, well- that will be a tough one later on down the road! Oh well, my baby sister had her paci until she was 3, and I sucked my thumb through the first grade so we'll see! Thankfully her Aunt Ali is going to be a dentist! :)  She has another double ear infection right now as well, but the ear tubes are working still. If it doesn't go away by Monday, we'll be headed back to the doctor for some different drugs.  And did I mention we have successfully come off of the Prevacid??? Hopefully no more reflux EVER!
     Well, I had a doctor's appointment on Monday as well for Bronchitis and possibly Pneumonia. The meds weren't working very well and I ended up getting worse and feeling even more awful so after heading back to the doctor again yesterday, I got some more meds and am staying home from work these next two days to rest, especially since I had a low grade fever as well. I'm hoping Emily just gave me her cold from a few weeks ago and she will not end up getting this one from me!
     We will be celebrating Emily's birthday again this coming weekend, this time with my side of the family. Can we say spoiled rotten?  It will be fun to see her and Chad play together now that she is walking everywhere! Hopefully I will be feeling good again and can enjoy time with my family. Will post some pictures from the party after this weekend!

Friday, April 08, 2011

My ONE year old!

It is still so hard for me to believe that I have a ONE year old! I was a little depressed on the days leading up to her birthday. I know she is still a baby even though she is now a year old, but I still feel like she has grown up way too fast into this sassy, stubborn, and sweet little girl. One year stats...

Only 2 teeth still! But she can mash some stuff up with her gums!
Eats a mixture of baby food (yogurt and sweet potatoes) and table food (faves are chicken, green beans, baked potato, spaghetti, peas, enchiladas...)
Drinks out of a straw! Finally making some progress with sippy cups now!
Walks EVERYWHERE! Wasn't long after she turned 11 months old that she started taking steps instead of just furniture cruising. Now I feel like I need to be everywhere at once since she moves so fast from one place to the next!
LOVES to go outside still and cries when we have to go back in... likes to swing, ride in her wagon, walk in the grass, and watch the dogs.
Blows you a kiss! (video below)

Waves bye-bye (finally! We have been working on this for awhile and it is still a hit or miss)
Can say... Dog, Ace, Glasses, Uh-Oh, Bye, Dada, Mama, Amen (Adah), Ball, and a bunch of other things that I have NO idea what they mean!

She was cranky over her birthday weekend due to another ear infection with a fever, but at least our ear tubes are working and we got some antibiotic drops prescribed today. She played with her cake and only tasted a tiny bit of frosting... she didn't really like the frosting on her hands so it didn't last long! We will be going for her one year check up on Monday. I can't wait to see how big she really is now!!!