Dancing Queen [18 months]

 

 

Miss Em is 18 months! How blessed we are to have such a smart, lively, funny girl in our lives. We should call her goldilocks because look at those blond curls! Maybe we have a future in shampoo ads. 

 

Dance class is in our near future because girlfriend loves to get down!  If she hears a few beats, she'll stop whatever she's doing and start bouncing around.  Makes my heart so happy.

 

She's making new sounds daily. She can tell you when she needs to be changed and just went in the potty for the second night in a row! Her words are currently limited to please, ball, help, more, hello/yellow, and hi, but I can tell she's just on the brink of talking up a storm.

 

She just started in the Toddler 2 room with her teachers Ms. Linda, who watched Big E when he was a baby, and Miss Carissa, who watched him in the school age room.  It's really nice to feel such a sense of family at our day care. Her best buddy is Sutton.  He likes to dance too.

 

These pictures were the hardest to get.  She cannot seem to stay still for as long as it takes for a flash to go off on my camera. 

 

Em loves her stuffed animals - especially her pink sock monkey.  She loves her big dog Padre even more. He gets daily hugs from his little sis.  And then there's her other big brother...

Em loves Big E SO much! She wants to do everything he is doing and vice versa.  These two are my heart and soul.  I am glad they will always have each other.

I love my babies.

lady bug birthday party [Emma is ONE!]

Sweet baby girl is ONE! What a wonderful year is has been. I have tried my best to soak in every single moment with my sweet pea. I average about 300 photos and videos a month (triple backed up of course), so not too many moments went by without proper documentation. 

Her birthday party theme was lady bugs.  I didn't have too much other than her shirt, cake and balloon. Everything else was just red and black, but it all looked cute together.

I got my craft on and made these ladybug invites.  I think they turned out pretty cute. They were fairly simple to make, just required some new supplies since I'm not an everyday crafter.

Our Lady Bug is turning ONE!

          Her super-cute birthday shirt custom made by The Sassy Squirrel.

Her amazing lady bug cake created by Nellie's Custom Cakes.

Cute little daisy smash cake. All white, of course.

Her party was a lot of fun with family and friends.  She wasn't too sure about everyone singing to her and staring at her to eat her cake. Once everyone started eating their own cake, she got into it a little bit.

She received some beautiful handmade clothes and fun toys. She got a little kitchen that sings a lot of cute songs and the night of her party she started dancing and hasn't stopped since! She does a little side-to-side swing move and the classic bounce.  She just can't hold it in once she hears the music. 

The next day was Mother's Day. We went to Grammy's for a shrimp boil and then baby girl played and danced in the pasture while the boys fished in the pond.

In the last month, she has gotten her two top teeth, some blond curls, started pointing and making new sounds, and... drumroll... started walking!! She started out very hesitant, but now she jumps up and goes as fast as she can a few steps and then falls. She can go the length of the driveway if she's really focusing. She loves playing with balls and bubbles.  She makes the "buh" sound for both, as well as for her bottle.  She's kind of a tom boy too.  Loves to get dirty and play with (and eat) sticks and rocks. 

The photo below was taken in April. It's amazing how much she grew in a few weeks! The new little blond curls make a lot a difference. 

This blue dress was mine when I was her age.  Mom found it while cleaning out the barn - so glad she did!  It looks adorable on Miss Em! I call it the Shirley Temple dress.

And just one more because she's so cute.  Here she is lounging while mom drinks her coffee the Saturday morning of big brother's birthday party.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! We love you SOOO much!!

sugar bear [11 months]

11 months already. Baby girl is growing so fast. She took her first step on Easter morning and we felt the first sign of a top tooth. She knows what to do with a hairbrush when you hand it to her (although she also thinks her toothbrush should go in her hair).  She loves to swing, hates to wear her sunglasses or a headband, and loves animals - real and stuffed.

Good Friday was her first trip to the zoo. She liked to watch the monkeys jump around. It was a gorgeous day to be out and about.  This week she started in her new class at school. She is the only girl right now. And the only non-walker. I think she can hold her own though until her friend Elsa joins her in May.

first carousel ride at the zoo

trying on some binoculars

loves to swing!

spring school photo

Loving Spring! Loving my family! Loving life! :)

in one weekend

oh my how fast my baby girl is growing! in one weekend she began sitting up from a crawl position, took a few crawls forward, and started babbling.

sunday morning she was "talking" in her crib at 4:30 am. i go in to check on her and there she is, sitting up with her arms stretched up to me saying "bah bah bah bah". i guess if you have to wake up at 4:30 am on a sunday, this is a good way to do it.

update from the very next weekend...

first tooth (finally) popped through
crawling quickly went to pulling up
standing in her crib when you get her in the morning

monthly updates just aren't cutting it. i can't keep up with this girl!

christmas [in photos]

dressed in our Christmas best for Jeff & Rebecca's church service.

photo shoot with red santa hat and big brown dog.

Christmas Eve at Grammy's:

big E delivering presents and little E giving her new baby doll a kiss.

baby yoga

sibling love

reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with daddy.

Christmas morning: the face says it all. Elmo rocks!

7 months

the 7-month milestone was greeted with Emma's first ear infection. luckily we caught it early and she recovered within a day or two. 

the big news however is baby girl is crawling... backwards! she gets so excited to go, and then can only move backwards.

she also just started some solids.  she's had pot roast, carrots (a favorite), blueberries, peaches, cheerios (also a fave).. all kinds of good food! apparently teeth are not a requirement for solids. we're still waiting on the first one to pop through. this also means she has lost interest in that pureed stuff. glad i didn't invest in the baby bullet! 

favorite toys are a pop-up disney toy, her rattle, and the jumperoo! we have been trying baby signs, but so far the only one she has mastered is slamming her hand on the table for "more". another first is bathtime in the big bath tub with big brother. she thought this was the funnest thing ever (notice the huge waves)! 

time is slipping by too quickly, but we're loving every minute!

dear santa

homemade baby food!

I did it! I made baby food for the first time. And it was SO easy!

While cutting up veggies for the world's most amazing pot roast*, i threw some in baby girl's very own special crockpot. (the potatoes were just overflow - i didn't include those in her puree. however next time she's getting some roast!) I added some water and let it cook on low while I went off to work.



Nine and a half years ago I got a food processor for a wedding present.  And it finally made its debut tonight.  After figuring out how the thing all goes together (instructions are long gone), I scooped out the carrots and green beans and plopped them in the processor.

Why have I never used this thing before?! I am now officially in love with my food processor! I apologize for all the years of neglect, dear food processor.

I added in some of the cooking water to smooth it out. After reserving some in a bowl for tonight, I filled an ice cube tray with the remaining mixture.

Ta-Da! Baby girl's dinner is ready!

It's a hit! Yum! And yes, she eats sans clothes. She does not have any table manners yet.

All gone!

Now that's one happy baby with a full tummy!



Tomorrow I'll put the carrot-bean cubes in a freezer bag to have on hand. Next up: butternut squash from the farmer's market!

Homemade baby food - what a wonderful thing!  Sorry to big brother for never trying this before. Back then I was "cooking" when I warmed up a frozen skillet meal! 

*the pot roast really was the best I've ever had.  this time I put cream of mushroom soup on top instead of french onion soup mix. and luke picked out the roast. i'm still a bad meat-picker-outer.

4 months!

Emma is four months old! And what a happy baby she is! She is all smiles all day. She "talks" a lot, sounding something like a growl with some squeals thrown in. She has a hearty belly laugh too! She loves to play on the floor mat, holler at her mobile, and have people talk and sing to her.

Her checkup at the doctor weighed her in at 16 lbs 4 oz - 25th percentile in weight and 95th in height. Doc says she'll make a great downhill skier with her "muscular" thighs! Her hair is pretty short on top, but starting to grow in a little thicker. She still has some of her original baby hair in the back.

Emma made her first trip to Illinois over Labor Day Weekend. She did great in the car, only crying the last 10 minutes of the 5-hour trip there. She enjoyed getting to spend time with her uncles, grandma, granddad and great-grandma! She is a very loved little girl.

one month down...

it's hard to believe baby Emma is four weeks old today! she is looking bigger and a little chubbier, although she's still wearing newborn size clothes. she is starting to turn her head when she hears a familiar voice, and she can raise one eyebrow just like her mama. her legs and arms are really strong and she can push and almost launch herself over your shoulder.

sleep is progressing. she's spending about 5 hours in her bassinet (3 hrs then 2 hrs) before getting restless. usually by then it's around 4am so i've been bringing her to bed with me just so we can get in a couple more hours of sleep.

since her umbilical cord came off, she's had a couple baths in her tub. she loves bathtime!

she also had a quick dip in grammy's pool on sunday!

we also enjoyed a visit from aunt jane and great-grandma mary.

the first month went by so quickly! i feel so lucky to be able to spend the summer with my little girl.

emma's arrival

weighing in at 6 lbs and 10 oz and measuring 19 inches long, Emma Jane arrived healthy and ready to eat on May 11, 2011. she had little suck marks on her forearm from sucking inside the womb. the nurses said she has good muscle tone on her legs and arms. her little feet curve in to look like they are praying. she has lots of dark hair just like her brother did (before it fell out and grew in blond). Her eyelashes are really light which makes me think she will ultimately be blond too.

the first thing i thought when i saw her is that she looks exactly like me! she has my furrowed brow, my square jawline, and the stoffle lips and nose. i think this picture taken at the hospital looks just like one of my baby pics.

little Emma immediately wanted to nurse, and latched on like a pro. it took a little while for my milk to come in, and so we supplemented about 2-3 oz a day for a week or so. thanks to my expert latcher, many glasses of mother's milk tea and a week and a half later, i feel like we're doing much better now.

it was a cool and cloudy day when we brought her home - just like the day we brought Ethan home. we started tummy time right away and she is able to lift her head a few times and look around before wearing out. her big brother loves her so much and always wants to kiss her on the forehead and hold her hand. i look forward to watching their bond grow. if you ask him what his job is as her big brother, he'll tell you "protect her and keep her safe".

she is a very chill baby, hardly even startling when there's a loud noise. she's a great sleeper too (of course better during the day than at night). i think she just likes the sound of background noise. Emma makes so many funny faces in her sleep, appearing to cycle through emotions. my favorite are the involuntary smiles. it makes me excited to see the real thing soon.

i love my little girl. i'm doing my best to soak it all in since it goes by so fast.

hooked on phonics

i'm currently amazed by my baby boy's love of letters. he has started taking an interest in what words say and can tell you the first letter of most words when you say them. instead of drawings now, he covers sheets of paper in letters.

he can spell all the kids' names in his class, although he often forgets and says cooper starts with a "p". so i lovingly call him pooper now. of course his favorite name to spell is e-t-h-a-n!

he can also spell october because they spell the month each morning in class. it was halloween when he first amazed us will spelling it, so i guess it takes approximately 25 times of repetition for it to stick.

the other evening he was working on his bicycle and i over heard him rambling "z. zeeee. zebra. z." other times it's "g. geeeee. guh. g." you get the picture. he over-pronounces every letter, which is fine except for "r." he says "ARRrrghh" instead. i'm worried he'll grow up to be the contestant on wheel of fortune who asks for an "AR-ruh."

[that is my life's dream to someday be a wheel contestant.. and not freeze up. i kick some bootie at home.]

so proud of my smart boy! ms. tara is a wonderful pre-k teacher and it really shows. crazy to think he only has about six more months before he'll start kindergarten summer school!

4x4

a snapshot of E at 4 years and 4 months!

favorite colors: red and blue

favorite foods: applesauce, mashed potatoes & gravy, and bacon

favorite drinks: chocolate milk and lemonade

best friends at school: "best buddy" andrew and rhys - both since infant room at school.

teacher: ms. tara (pre-k)

new tricks: swimming "under sea" (a few strokes), working the remote, hitting the baseball onto the roof

current sayings:

"you're my best mama" just to be nice, or followed by "mama you're pretty" if he wants something.

"i don't know blah blah"

"blablacagaga" is his favorite made-up word

"hold the phone"

"what in the world?"

"c'mon brother" (referring to padre)

favorite song: rain is a good thing

favorite tv show: old tom & jerry reruns. thankfully we have dvr now so we can record them the only time they come on - at 1:30 in the morning.

favorite books: tow-mater and lightning mcqueen "el machismo", froggy rides a bike, and all curious george

daily chore: feed padre in the evenings. and he does with little protest!

that's the scoop on my baby boy! he just keeps getting funnier and cuter - i don't know how it's possible! :)

artwork

E has really been into drawing and painting these past few months. here are some of his latest creations.

this one was right after we got back from cancun in march. it's the ocean and the beach.

he loves to cover full sheets of paper in bright colors. that's gotta be a good sign, right?

here's one he painted for rebecca's baby. it's a bridge over a river. i like the way he blends the colors.

he can write his name forwards...

and backwards (this is a little creepy.. REDRUM style!)

i love my little man's creations. can't wait to see what he comes up with next!