Wee-New, Wee-New, Emerson Turns Two!

Emerson had a fire truck themed birthday party. We chose to have a small family party this year since Emerson is too young to remember big events like this, so it was just Jesse, Henry and I. BUT that doesn't mean it wasn't a fun and special day for the little guy.

The day started out rough. He woke up early crying and had a low-grade fever. And when you don't feel good on your birthday, you get to do whatever you want. That includes snuggling with mom and dad in our bed watching YouTube videos.




By the time we got up and around for church and he had had birthday pancakes, he was feeling much better.
(come to find out the next day, the reason why he hadn't been feeling well was because of an ear infection).

Playing with birthday balloons before church.

I attempted to be a good mom and put a few decorations together. It was really hard this year to get motivated since it was just us. But I wanted him to have something special to look back on, even if he doesn't remember now.

 

His favorite dessert right now are cookies, so he was in heaven when he saw his birthday cookie cake : )

My favorite thing about his birhtday was how much he loved being sung "Happy Birthday" to. I think we sang it well over a hundred times. : ) He really seemed to understand that he was having a special day.

Henry finally woke up from his nap and joined the party. Emerson happily shared one of his toy cars.

Thank you so much to all our sweet family and friends who sent gifts and wished him a happy birthday. He was spoiled, just as he should be on his birthday. 

Emerson: 18-24 Months

These past six months have brought on some major changes and challenges for Emerson. The biggest change of course was becoming a big brother in January! The second being weaned off the pacifier. Oh this was a challenge, but we did it and he has now been pacifier free for several weeks.

Weaning off the pacifier took two different attempts. The first was right around when Henry was born. What were we thinking? The second was just a few weeks ago. I tried a new trick that worked. We told him his paci was dirty and that he needed to throw it away. He was hesitant, but he took his paci to the trash can, threw it away and said "yucky." Over the next few days at nap/bed time he would ask for it and I would just have to remind him that it was yucky and he threw it away. He seemed satisfied with that answer and never cried for it. Parenting win!

Being a big brother has had its ups and downs for Emerson. He loves his brother, but doesn't quite understand boundaries. His idea of "hugging" Henry is going and sitting on him while saying "aw." We are working on being gentle. I am sure once Henry can hold his own they will be best buds.

 18 months old: Swinging is his favorite activity at the park.

As a parent, I can honestly say these past six months have been the most challenging. Along with a growing little boy comes a growing personality...and tantrums. The "terrible twos" definitely hit our house a bit early. Only a few more years and he'll grow out of it, right?

Aside from the challenges, there have been so many exciting things. I love watching his imagination grow. Seeing the world through a child's eyes is just about the best thing ever. His vocabulary has exploded and it has made talking to him quite fun. Overall, just watching him learn has been so fulfilling.

 19 months old: Our little train engineer.

Here is a brief breakdown:

Sleeping: Still a great little sleeper and usually sleeps a good 11-12 hours at night. If he wakes, he quickly gets himself back to sleep. Naps have been much more predictable. He is down to one nap only. Goes down around 1 p.m. and will sleep anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. The days he takes a three hour nap is pure bliss for me : ) When baby brother arrived we hit a few snags in the sleep schedule, but he has adjusted and we are back to a normal routine.

20 months old: Good times with Santa.

 

Eating: Still a little on the picky side when it comes to food. This boy does love his snacks though! Favorite foods are pancakes, eggs, cookies, grilled cheese and green beans. He likes to say "don't like it" when he eats something he doesn't like or "ooh yeah" when it is something he really likes.

21 months old: Love this sweet baby face.

Activity: Can now jump, spin in circles and run! Vocabulary has sky rocketed. He started out at 18 months saying one word, now can put three words together to make a sentence. Can sing his ABC's (mostly) and count to 10 (mostly). Favorite activity is playing outside.

22 months old: Probably my most favorite photo ever of the two of us. 

Doctor visit stats:

• Weight: 30 lbs 
• Height:   26 inches
• Other: He has battled several ear infections over the past three months. They seemed to all hit at once. He also battled several colds. Oh the joys of going to school. Teething his two-year-old molars has also been a beast! Not fun for Emerson or anyone near him when they hurt.

23 months old: Nothing better than a sweat shirt and no pants.

Likes, dislikes and other milestones:

• Celebrated second Halloween, dressed as a train engineer
• Still hates diaper changes...potty training will be nice once its all said and done
• Likes to watch cartoons now. Paw Patrol, Bubble Guppies are two favorites
• Won't say "I love you," but will say "I'm proud of you"
• Working on learning his colors
• Loves Play-Doh and coloring
• Discovered he can walk on tip toes
• Whining! Of this boy has discovered he can use his voice to whine...just like his daddy : ) Must be a guy thing
• Wears size 5 diaper still
• Wearing 2 T clothes
• Does not like to brush his teeth unless he does it himself
• Favorite animal is a cat
• Has memorized lots of words out of books and songs
• Can sing Twinkle, Twinkle, ABCs, and several rap songs (thanks to Jesse)
• Likes to build towers with blocks...and then knock them down
• Fascinated with any kind of truck (fire trucks, construction trucks, etc.)
• Is very bothered when he gets dirt on his hands or sees it on the floor..sigh
• Likes to clean-up when I sing the clean-up song. I hope this phase never ends
• Loves to have his "piggies" (aka toes) tickled
• Gives great big hugs and kisses
• Hates the nursery at church, but likes going to big kid Bible class. He does so well with older kids
• Working on his manners. He can say "please, momma," "thank you," and  "yes, sir" ...most of the time anyway :)
• Had first Easter egg hunt and did great

24 months old: Emerson loves giving high-fives!

Oh what joy and gray hairs Emerson brings to our lives : ) I wouldn't trade him for anything and I look forward to all the fun things in the year ahead.

Love my baby (mean big) boy!

Henry's 3 Months Old

Today has been bittersweet for me. I love watching my baby grow, but this month he has really grown away from his newborn phase and is turning into a more alert baby and I can already see his little personality shine through.

He is already a quarter of the way done with his first year! In 9 months we'll be celebrating his first birthday! Am I the mom who thinks this way?

My favorite thing about this month has been his smile. He has started to give out social smiles freely to anyone who will smile and make funny faces at him. He smiles with his whole mouth open, it is adorable.  I love this phase!

Here is a break down of this month:

Sleeping: Henry seems to be doing really well in this department still. For the first time this month he slept all night long! A good 10 hour stretch. He only did it once, but it gives me hope.  

He goes to bed between 7:30-9 p.m., wakes around 4 a.m. and then up for the day between 7-8 a.m. He wakes up usually just once in the middle of the night, but sometimes twice. I'm just happy that he goes right back to sleep if he does wake up. He takes 4 naps during the day, each about an hour long. He seems to have forgotten how to take a three hour nap : ) The only thing we currently struggle with is getting him to stay asleep at bedtime. He will go down easily, but within 10-45 minutes he is back up. We do this song and dance a few times before he finally decides to settle down completly for the night.  

Due to his doctors recommendation, I decided it was time to ditch the Rock n' Play and have him start sleeping flat in the Pack n' Play at night and in his crib for naps. The first night we tried this was horrible! He was awake every single hour! I had no idea he was so addicted to the Rock n' Play. Out of desperation I purchased something called Merlin's Magic Sleep suite and it has done wonders for us. It is made to help transition babies out of swaddles (or in our case, the Rock n' Play). It really has been magical, lol.

I am working more on putting Henry down "drowsy but awake" (man I really hate that phrase) and it seems to be going well. He is so much better at being put down and drifting off to sleep than Emerson ever was, which I am so thankful for because I just don't have the luxury to rock Henry to sleep every time...although I desperately wish I could.



Eating: Eating every 2.5 hours pretty consistently. Can't wait to stretch those times out a bit more. This month he definitely has become more distracted while eating. Unfortunately eating in a quite environment isn't always an option with Emerson running around.

Activity: I got out a little mirror that has music and lights on it for the car. Henry loves it! He thinks that smiling baby is pretty cute and funny. He has also started "talking" more and more. I just love all those cute baby sounds he makes.

I have been working more on tummy time and he seems to be doing better with it, although still not a favorite activity. He does love to be put on the floor so he can wiggle around. 

Has started noticing his toys and will try to swat at them. This has opened up a whole new form of entertainment. Now he is pretty content being left alone on the floor for a good 45 minutes.  

Doctor Visit Stats:

• Height: ?
• Weight: 11 lbs 12 oz
• Other: Had to take him to the doctor for cold symptoms. Really I just needed to take Emerson, but since he had similar junk going on, I had him looked at too. Thankfully it was just a cold and it ran it's course. Not much you can do for them when they are this little.

I captured one little smirk!

Likes, Dislikes and Other Milestones:

• Found his hands and loves it when they find there way to his mouth.
• Hates having tummy troubles because it wakes him up at night (momma hates it too).
• Wearing size 2 diapers.
• Wearing 3-6 month clothing.
• Stared loosing all his hair! He has become my bald little baby.
• Hates sleeping in the Pack n' Play.
• Loves floor time when Emerson is not around : )

Things to look forward to:

• Celebrating Emerson's and Momma's birthday! And that's about it : ) We don't have alot going on this month.

 Not our usual photo shoot pose, but I just love this picture too much not to share.



Confessions of a Mom of Two

• I am always tired, but somehow it doesn't seem to bother me.
• I thought I was a patient person...and then my baby grew into a monster, I mean toddler.
• Newborns are WAY easy compared to monsters, I mean toddlers.
• Showers are still like mini vacations.
• Laundry never ends. Somehow adding an 8 pound human to our family has extended my laundry duties by three days. It just doesn't add up.
• Cooking is considered a success if I get something on the table that doesn't get burnt because I forgot about it.
• I sometimes miss it being just Emerson and I playing. And then I also miss it being just Henry and I snuggling. Having two is definitely a balancing act physically and emotionally.
• I have become the exact definition of "skinny, fat." Not sure if my body will ever bounce back.
• I am having a fashion identity crisis. I so desperately want to pull off the cool mom/weekender outfits. Casual, but still chic. You know exactly what I mean. That mom who is in skinny jeans, a cute top and just the right amount of accessories. Instead I end up in t-shirts from college and outdated clothes. I give myself a little slack considering I have pretty much worn maternity clothes the past couple of years.

And for my final confession (as of today)...

• I am never alone. EVER. There is always a child I am holding or is in my lap. If I complain, my husband gently reminds me that someday my children won't want to sit in my lap or be held, and then I cry because I can't imagine a life without me holding a child.

Sometimes you just need to be put in your place and remember that they are only little for so long. Love my life and sweet babies. 

Hop, Hop Goes the Bunny

Me: "Emerson, what does the bunny say?"

Emerson: "Hop, hop." : )

Happy Easter, everyone! This year Emerson got to participate in his first egg hunt and egg coloring. I wanted to do a little bit more for him this year since he was older. He rocked the Easter egg hunts, but didn't quite understand the purpose of coloring Easter eggs. Maybe next year.

This was also Henry's first Easter! Next year he may be hunting eggs with big brother. Crazy to think he will be walking (most likely) by then.

 First Easter egg hunt for Emerson was at his school.

He clapped after each egg he found and even helped others find eggs. Sweet boy.

                         Easter clothes made by Gramma. How long can I get away with them matching?

Happy first Easter, Henry!

Sweet baby feet.

                                                  Neighborhood Easter egg hunt.

                                       Egg coloring. Lasted only long enough to snap a picture.