Emma's Losing Teeth!

I know I go weeks without posting and then I end up posting 3 different entries in one day!

Last Monday Emma her top front tooth at a friend's house. Luckily the tooth fairy knew where she was staying that night and ended up visiting her at Becca's house. Becca had lost a tooth that night as well, so they both got a visit from the tooth fairy the same night!

And then Tuesday Emma spent all day trying to get her 2nd top front loose enough so Mammy could pull it out at her house that night. Well, she didn't quite get it loose enough so when Mammy tried it ended up hurting Emma a little bit so she was a little scared that it would hurt again.

So, we came home and then she said when we got home I think I'm ready to let Mammy pull out my tooth I just needed some time to think about it. Crazy girl!

Well, we weren't going to turn around and drive another 15-20 minutes to get there and then another 15-20 minutes to get back home, at this point it was already after their bedtime. So, i told her that daddy could pull out her tooth for her. But daddy said he was afraid he would hurt her.

So I told her to come here and told her to close her eyes, we counted to three and it came right out. It was so loose from her playing with it all day and night that it practically fell out in my hand. So Emma now has another Emma-hole, not just the one in her imagination.

Happy Birthday, Emma--Just A Few Days Late!!!

Emma turned 7 on the 26th of August! Wow! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing this tiny little bundle of joy home.

There are so many things that I LOVE about Emma. But I will just list a few:

1. Emma is crazy! Just ask her, she'll tell you!

2. She is always making me laugh with something that she is doing. It seems as if her mission in life is to keep everyone entertained.

3. She has a great imagination, for example the Emma-hole that I talked about in an older post. I am going to assume that you all know the story about the Emma-hole so I will not bore you all again, if you want to hear all the details again let me know!

4. She is so smart. As her homeschool teacher I get to see all the new stuff she is learning everyday, and man does she impress me with the things she knows and the questions she asks. I find myself saying a lot that's a great question for your dad or I guess we better look that up online to find out the answer. Thank goodness for google, it helps mommy look smart!

5. The faces that she makes, are just so cute. And every time I think of Emma I picture her with a scrunched up nose, eyes closed, big smile posing for the camera. We have a lot of pictures with the "classic Emma" face.

6. She is so creative. She is always the first one line to do anything artsy/crafty. She loves to create many different projects and masterpieces.

The things that Erik loves about Emma, to list a few.

1. Her fun sense of humor.

2. Her love of animals.

3. Her love of art, coloring, and drawing.

4. Her love of going new places and trying new things.

The things that Mia loves about Emma are.

1. She's funny

2. She's pretty

3. She's always there when I need help

4. "I just love Emma so so much!"

We love you Emma! Thanks for being such a great girl!

Circus!

We had promised the girls for Christmas two years ago that we would take them to the circus. Well, that first year we couldn't find a circus near us. So when in the second year I found cheap circus tickets for a circus 15-20 minutes from us I jumped on them and bought four tickets six months early!

Then Erik's grandfather passed away and the funeral was being held that same weekend. And the girls and I had been sick and didn't want to get anyone else sick. So, Erik went to the funeral and the girls and I took Mia's best friend Charlotte to the circus.

We attended the Barnum and Bailey Ringling Brothers Circus Musical Spectacular Zing Zang Zoom! There was elephants, zebras, tigers, acrobats, trapeze, dancers, singing, magic, and so much more. We had a great time!

They opened up the floor of the circus an hour early so you could meet some of the people in the circus and see some of the acts pretty close. With so many people crowding a round some of the things we were able to see better from our seats, we were in the 6th row! Good cheap seats, that's a great deal!

The girls decided that they want to run away to the circus. Charlotte wants to be one of the dancers because "they are in the show alot but the don't have to do any dangerous stunts." Emma wants to work with the animals, especially the elephants, because she loves animals. And Mia is having a tough time deciding, she likes all the acrobatic stuff, like the cirque de soleil inspired stunts, but she also likes the dancing, and the ringmaster!

Here are a few pictures that turned out okay. I will be having Erik show me how to put together a video, because we shot a ton of video!

Waiting somewhat patiently in line in the blistering heat!

Sitting in their seats waiting for the show to start

Smiling pretty with the clown

Part of the opening act.

An Update On Emma's Leg

When Emma was 8 months old the doctors discovered that there was something wrong with the bone in her lower left leg. At first they had no idea what is was and they ran a zillion tests on her. (okay, maybe I am exaggerating just a little bit--but it's not by much)

They had her admitted to the hospital that afternoon and she stayed in the hospital for 8 days. Keep in mind that we had Mia also who was only 19 months old, and she didn't understand why mommy, daddy, and Emma were never around. Thank goodness that she was able to stay at Mammy and Grandpa's while we were at the hospital. Erik would go to work while I was at the hospital with Emma, he would come to the hospital to see us, and then one of us would go pick up Mia take her home to sleep, and then drop her off in the morning, and the cycle would start all over again!

They wanted to keep her in the hospital longer but we were just waiting for test results and she was getting sick being around all the sick kids in the hospital and I had Mia to take care of, so I convinced the doctors to let us go home and that we would come back for whatever else they needed.

While she was in the hospital she had her first bone biopsy. Her biopsy was performed by the best orthopedic doctor at Loma Linda, Dr. Shook. The reason we got him to perform the biopsy was because he was the doctor on call the day she needed her biopsy done.

Anyway, they finally figured out that it was Melanoticneoectodermal tumor of infancy. (Don't mind my spelling of it, just sound it out phonetically! And I'm sure there's suppose to be spaces or hyphens in it as well. Erik knew how to spell it correctly, I don't think I ever knew how to spell it.)

They then did a second biopsy within two months to double check and make sure they were correct in the diagnosis. They were. But because of having the biopsies done so close together she had to have her leg in a cast, just when she was starting to stand and take her first few steps. Melanoticneoectodermal tumor of infancy is a very rare bone disease that has only been seen in a handful of cases, and she was the first to ever have it in the lower leg. It is usually a fast growing tumor that if not operated on immediately and the whole bone removed ends up killing the child by squishing major organs.

Their recommendation to us was amputate her leg. Stop it before it could spread. They sent us to UCLA and allover for 2nd and 3rd opinions. Contacted the Mayo clinic, everything. So, we said okay if this will save her life go ahead and amputate her leg.

Many prayers and much fasting was offered up on this sweet little baby girl's behalf. Her name was on so many temple prayer rolls. Through one of the many Priesthood blessings that she received during this time she was told that she would be able to have full use of both her legs. Talk about WOW!

We went to her doctor's appointment when we were suppose to set up the date for the amputation the doctor surprised us by saying that there was another option. Which was to wait and keep a very close eye on her and here leg. We had to go back weekly, then every other week, then once a month, then every two months, then every four months, then every six months. Until finally we are on yearly visits. The bone has started to self-correct itself, if I remember correctly the technical term is "reorganizing itself."

Well, we just had our yearly visit and all is looking well, it is looking better and better each time we go. Her first x-rays looked as if her bone had been wrapped in gauze and a dog had chewed on it. This last x-ray shows the bone almost completely smooth! Both legs are growing at pretty much the same pace, they both have the same basic bone mass and muscle mass, she doesn't limp or favor her leg, and there is no pain whatsoever!

The doctors are amazed and call her the girl with the miracle leg. They want to write up a paper or two documenting her case so hopefully in the future it will help other families with children with the same thing. UCLA wants to do tests on her original 2 biopsies and see if they can discover something that will help others.

But best of all, she still has both her legs!!!! Now I just have to keep in mind whenever she's running all over the place, climbing and getting into everything that I prayed for her to keep her leg.

We know that it is through the faith, prayers, and priesthood blessings that she is a healthy almost 7 year old girl running around on both legs today! Thank you to everyone who was there for us during that trying time!

Emma's leg today with her scars from the biopsies.

The following pages are from her baby book!