Love-Laced Letters: We love CHKD!

On Saturday, October 25th, Emma and mommy went to an open house for Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD) in Virginia Beach. Although the hospital itself is located in Norfolk, a beautiful new clinic opened in Virginia Beach and Carrie and Angie, Emma's angelic feeding therapists, invited us to come. Although I thought we'd just show up, say hello and leave, the open house turned out to be quite an event with live entertainment, a snack tent, petting zoo, free car seat checks, raffles and prizes, balloons, and a tour of the entire facility for those who were interested. So we stayed for awhile. Emma had a great time visiting her therapists, playing on the toys in the physical therapy area, meeting the golden retriever used for "pet therapy," watching the dancers on stage, enjoying some free snacks, and just generally walking around like she owned the place.

Another VERY important reason I wanted to attend the open house was because Emma is a model. It's true! After we finished our 30-second TV spot at CHKD's telethon in June, Joy, the PR director, asked us if we would consent to allowing Emma to be photographed for artwork to put up in the new clinic. Of course we agreed, and her "photo shoot" took place that afternoon. Chris and I received a copy of the picture they selected in the mail several months ago (as well as the final, edited copy made with Photoshop) and I wanted to be sure to see it in real life. Sure enough, Emma's picture was hanging at the end of a long row of pictures in the therapy department and...of course she looked adorable! While on the tour, we even had a few hospital employees stop us and ask why Emma looked so familiar.

And to my surprise, Emma's job as a rep for CHKD continued. While we were touring the building, Emma's picture was requested again (for what, I'm not sure) so she was allowed to play in the ball pit - an "off-limits-to-the-public" part of the physical therapy department. Finally, as we were getting ready to leave, we ran into Joy who asked us if we'd be willing to be interviewed by a local TV station about our thoughts on the new facility. Emma is SUCH a rock star - please, please - no more press. She'll sign autographs when she learns to write! :)