My oh my, what needs catching up??? I'm more than a little disappointed in this website and the inability to load videos any more... I must investigate... we have some great videos to post! Things have been going well overall here, Gretta is becoming more and more like a little person every day- she is starting to babble more and will say up, mama, dada, Emma, and sometimes I think she says help or cup, but they sound an awful lot like up... plus "up" is her favorite word! She has recently really been taken with reading books, often times she holds them upside down, but that doesn't seem to bother her yet. She loves to point to pictures and have someone tell her what it is- she will point and say "issssss" for each one, over and over, I think she might be trying to say "this?" Whatever it is, it's cute... she will crawl up in a lap with a book and go through it very intently. She's still working on those same 4 premolars that have been coming in for what seems like 5 or 6 weeks now... and it looks like her canine teeth aren't far behind, but they're still hiding in there. We have been letting her "brush" her teeth with a little nubby silicone chewer and infant toothpaste on it for a long time now, and just recently got her her very own official toothbrush. She is excited about it for the first 2-3 seconds, and then it seems the switch is flipped and she becomes VERY intolerant!!! She can be a stubborn little beast when she wants to! Trying to keep it pleasant and positive, trying to stop before that upset starts... but it's not easy! I remember it being tough with Emma Kate for a long time... argh! Gretta has also started attempting summersaults recently and is quite good at it, if you think a summersault goes off to one side instead of straight over... lol Emma Kate has recently perfected her own summersault and often times will try to guide/coach Gretta on how to do it. Gretta has also recently discovered the joy of throwing things... argh. The one big snow that we got this year (maybe 6-8 inches?) was not at all enjoyable for the "Bah" (Gretta's nickname, since she used to say it for everything!). We tried to go out together and she freaked out a little when put in the snow. She was very content to stand in the barn, right at the edge of the snow, and watch Emma Kate running around in the driveway and acting crazy in the snow! I was disappointed that I couldn't take them out on the sled like I did last time we got just an inch or two of snow- they really enjoyed that. Gretta continues to sleep through the night the majority of nights, but a handful of times a month she will be restless/talking/moaning/crying for up to 2 1/2 hours for no apparent reason! She will quiet down when we talk to her, but then it all just starts up again a couple minutes later... still have to figure that one out- it is just so random, can't figure out the source of the problem! Emma Kate is sleeping better most nights, but still wakes up anywhere from 1-5 times a night... usually 2 or 3. I think we've still only had 3 nights in the last year that she slept all the way through the night, I was hoping that once it had happened a couple times it would stick, but she still "loses" her pillow or covers, or can't find Kitty or Cow and needs help. At least *most* nights she's coherent enough to call for help instead of crying, and it's fairly easy to take care of what she needs and she settles right back down. Fortunately she seems to make many fewer trips to the bathroom at night than previously, which is great... Emma Kate has learned her ABC's a few weeks back, and she LOVES to sing them very enthusiastically! One of her new favorite toys is an ABC puzzle that she just totally delights in completing, and now Gretta loves playing with it too, she can match up the pieces where they are supposed to go and with a little help the pieces go in right! Only downside is that more often than not, one or more pieces has temporarily disappeared in and amongst the mess of toys all over the house... :) Both girls have totally loved the little table and chairs, I think they get a kick out of it being smaller sized, especially for them. Emma Kate immediately "claimed" her chair and can tell the difference between the two very readily. The first few days it was here, she would *ahem* gently force Gretta to sit in her chair, then Emma Kate would sit, then a few seconds later, Emma Kate would pick up drinks, put them up somewhere, put one chair up on top of the cat scratching post, the other chair on the sofa, move the table a couple feet, then set it back up with the chairs and drinks... then Gretta has to sit down, and the process begins again... she did it over and over until the table was halfway across the next room! It was hilarious! Emma Kate has also, in recent weeks, taken to caring for Gretta a lot. Not only does she pick out outfits for her in the morning and get her toothbrush ready after breakfast, but she has also been washing her in the tub! She has learned to be very gentle where she used to be very forceful and rough, and is much kinder with it now. Gretta gets a kick out of it and will stand up and sit down when Emma Kate asks her to, depending on where she is washing. The most recent favorite outdoor activity, other than visiting the "baby Christmas trees" and putting rocks under them, is to pack up the bike trailer, have Gretta get in it, and then Emma Kate proceeds to pull the trailer to a string of various "beaches" around the yard... first the "little beach" by the barn, then the "big beach" by the old shed, then the "underwater ocean beach" by the kiwi plants, then the "blueberry beach" by, you guessed it, the blueberry patch" then the "tree beach" in the back orchard, the "apple beach" under the apple tree, and the "baby Christmas tree beach" by the baby trees! She occasionally will add a new one, but it seems these are her favorites! She will stop at each one, open up the trailer so Gretta can get out, open up the back, unpack 2 little beach chairs and an armful of sand toys, sit in the chair briefly, try to encourage Gretta to sit, and then it's time to pack up and move on shortly after that. This girl likes her routines and repetition! The other thing that Emma Kate is big on right now is telling stories. She will either ask one of us to tell a story or she will announce that she is going to tell one, and they are pretty much exclusively about either Gretta or herself! Sometimes they are very short and she enthusiastically says "THE END!" And other times they are very long and involved and require a little bit of acting-out to convey the story... it is really cute, she loves it!

A few weeks ago, if you'd have asked me, I would have told you Emma Kate was doing a tiny bit better health-wise than she was in October. Seems like we have coasted through the bulk of the winter with no big issues, and everyone has remained healthy. Unfortunately in the last week or so, we have noticed her breathing effort become more pronounced, and when she is running around like crazy, she definitely makes more effort and noise than she did previously. She is still getting her nebulized steroid twice a day, which hopefully is helping matters, and there was a chance that Greg had contracted a cold last week, but it was all very mild, and there has been no sign of it in any of us girls so far. Greg and I both were popping Coldeeze like candy... I don't know if she just has a little inflammation in her airway, or if something has changed inside. Right now it is definitely not slowing her down noticeably, she is crazy as ever, and she's not having any oxygenation issues, for sure, but it is quite unsettling to be slipping back on the progress we had made. I can think back on that feeling of "we're home-free" that we had last spring and through the summer, and it just feels so gone now... I hate to think of traveling to Cincinnati while it's still winter and flu restrictions are in effect, but I suppose we will do what we have to do. We were advised to consider a recheck scoping in 4-6 months, and we're currently right around 4 1/2 months. We had hoped to make it to 6 months when the weather would be better for traveling and there would be less risk for illness, but I suppose we can't control everything. I still need to contact her doctor and get his input on it, but I suspect as long as she is "tolerating" it, without any passing out or blue lips, I would be surprised if they would encourage any interference. I suppose we will see.

Everything at the farm is going fairly well, Snowy pony just recovered from a stubborn hoof abscess (thank goodness!), her new buddy Fuzz has settled in well and they are enjoying each other's company greatly. Pony is especially happy because having Fuzz here meant she got turned out in the big pasture with him- she is immensely happy to be out of her little paddock! I don't know how long she will be able to be out as the grass starts coming in more, but I'm glad she has at least gotten a good break from her diet field... :) We have two beef steers now as well, and they are getting along with everyone very well, although one has been very mopey since his arrival. We have suspected a few sources of problems, but he will look good one day and then lay down much of the next. I was relieved to see him looking good and bright this evening and munching on hay happily- hopefully he has turned the corner and will be a perkier little guy from here on! Greg has dubbed them "Sausalito" and "Stromboli" despite my cautions on getting attached to them. They are much more docile than the ones we have had for the last two years, which is a relief, they are much easier to work with than the others! We have lost another hen recently, after probably the coldest and windiest day and night of the entire winter. She was a big, stout, healthy looking bird, and we don't know what brought her down... but we're still getting about 4 eggs a day from the remaining 6 ladies, and we are still awaiting the first egg from the little silkie hen... I bet it will be a cute little one! :)

I'm finally getting to walk around on my foot again, after 2 weeks in some sort of a cast I was put into an aircast boot for another 2 weeks of being non-weight bearing on it. I was entirely grateful for the hands-free crutch that we rented, but it was sort of a necessary evil- it was wonderful to have my hands free to do things, and to be able to cook and carry things, but it was not the most comfortable thing for my ol' knee, and honestly it was still quite limiting... Thankfully I was able to take breaks from it when Greg was home, and stretch my leg out straight a bit. Just 3 days ago I hit the 4 week mark from surgery and finally got to start walking in the boot- it is a hugely welcome thing, but man that boot is restrictive!! I have to go about as slow walking in the boot as I did on the peg-leg crutch... and I swear it encourages my knee to hyperextend, so I have to be cautious walking around, especially on uneven ground. Possibly the worst thing about it is how stinky it gets!!! I have to wear it 23 hours a day, and they did not provide extra pads to use while cleaning/drying these, so I am at a bit of a loss... I finally recognize my foot again, the swelling is nearly gone except right around my ankle bone, and I am able to do some tiny stretches up and down when the boot is off. I am totally amazed at how much my calf has shrunk in just 4 weeks, I would post a picture to compare the two, but I don't think I want my legs portrayed online... :) My next appointment with the surgeon is on March 12th, and I will supposedly be released from the boot at the end of March. Can't come soon enough... :)

Now for a few pictures...

Yes, the "panties on the head" trend did continue for at least a couple days... :)

The very first official snow of 2012, we got an inch or two... Gretta was less than thrilled.

I guess this was her first snow that she was aware of!! What IS that stuff?!?!

Meanwhile, Emma Kate delighted in making tracks all over the yard

And there was just enough snow to allow the sled to glide around- the girls both LOVED it!

One day Emma Kate had a great idea of going through one of my drawers... she pulled out every single bra I own, and they were piled up around both girls' necks, like they were jewelry or something! Clearly someone helped her put one on, and she got a kick out of it- we won't say who helped her... (Daddy) :)

So Daddy bought a bag of nuts in shells a while back, and so the nut cracker thing has been in use a bit. Emma Kate discovered these little loops on her pants, and decided all on her own that the nut cracker needed to be kept there in case she found a nut somewhere that needed cracking... she was so proud of herself!

Gretta showing off a little leg... can't wait until it's warmer!!! Crazy little Bah,

Oh no, wait, it's the sweet little precious Bah! How very innocent she looks! :)

Nothing better than when the two girls play together nicely... when that happens it's like all is right with the world... :)

Gretta is learning body parts pretty well, and is showing off where her belly is!

I get a kick out of how much of a squatter Gretta is...

The new man on the farm, Fuzz, saying hello to pone pone

They are best buds and frequently nap within several feet of each other

Daddy discovered that the tiller wouldn't start, and Emma Kate was trying all kinds of things to fix it- here she is attempting repair with windshield washing fluid... one of many attempts to get it running again

Gretta and one of her favorite books... upside down... :)

Trying to get the girls showing off their matchy-matchy valentines day outfits... next to impossible to get a picture with both girls smiling!!!

Emma Kate LOVED playing fetch with the aerobie!

And lastly, I had to put this one in- Emma Kate got her hands on the camera again and took a bunch of pictures. Her photography skills have improved a great deal, and I was especially fond of this one... you can see her toes at the bottom, trying to get a picture of Gretta's near-plumber's crack!! haha!