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.



Henry's 2 Months Old

Growth spurt! I know Henry will have many of these, but this month he has really filled out and has some cute chubby thighs to show for it.

Things have finally settled down and life is slowly starting to feel "normal" again. Towards the end of this month I felt well adjusted to our new schedule. Emerson has had the hardest time. He doesn't seem to mind baby brother being here, in fact he likes it when Henry is around, however...Emerson is not a fan of the attention that has been taken away from him in order to meet Henry's needs. I am sure given even more time, he will adjust.

Henry just seems to go with the flow around our house and the every day activity to keep up with Emerson.

Here is a breakdown of this month:

Sleeping:  I have tried to develop a little nighttime routine, but some nights that goes out the window. We try and give him a bath when Emerson takes his. Not with him (that would be a disaster) just around the same time. Emerson loves to help!

He is still consistently going to bed between 8-9 p.m. Besides going through the growth spurt(s), he has eliminated one of his nighttime feedings and only wakes up twice to eat, around 2 a.m. and then again around 5 a.m. Then up for the day around 7 a.m. This month he started giving me a good 5-7 hour stretch of sleep and then from there it gets shorter. The time change didn't seem to have any real effect on him, thank goodness.

He is taking 4 naps daily, but the timing is still all over the place. He only stays awake for about 1.5 hours before needing to go down for another nap. His late afternoon nap is the longest, lasting about 3 hours and his last nap usually ends around 7 p.m.

Eating: Such an efficient eater! He takes usually only 20 minutes to eat and is satisfied. I have been so blessed that he is a good breast feeder as I know this can be very challenging. He is still eating about every 2-3 hours. Every 2.5 is his norm during the day, unless a nap runs long.

Unfortunately Henry has some serious gas issues. I started eliminating dairy, caffeine and carbonation from my diet and that seemed to help him tremendously. Good for him, very bad for me : ( I am hoping it is something his little tummy outgrows soon, so I can resume my normal diet. Although, I am sure I am much healthier without eating so much cheese and drinking Dr. Pepper.

Activity: Not much to report here. He hangs out in the pouch quite a bit and usually gets the most floor time right after he has been fed and changed. He seems content playing on the floor for about 15 minutes and then he is ready to be held or do something different. Any floor time he gets while Emerson is awake is heavily monitored. Big brother loves to "hug" him, meaning putting his whole body on top of Henry's, or "patting" Henry's head, which sometimes is a little too rough. But it's all done out of love : )

This month he got to take his first road trip out of the state of Texas. Unfortunately his Great-Grandmother Joyce passed away and our reason for the trip was to attend her funeral. It makes me very sad that she never got the chance to hold Henry, but very blessed she at least knew of him and got to see pictures before she passed. On a positive note, Henry got to meet LOTS of relatives from my side of the family. He was a champ on our little road trip!

Doctor Visit Stats:

• weight:11 lbs 8 oz
• height: 23 inches
• other:  Got three shots and one liquid vaccine. Surprisingly he hated to liquid drops worse than the shots! He cried and then slept, so I consider that a success.

Likes, Dislikes and Other Milestones:

• Doesn't mind diaper changes anymore.
• Still working on tummy time, and still not liking it much.
• Sleeps in the rock n' play for most naps and bedtime. He needs to get used to his crib, but he just doesn't sleep as well. Doctor said it's time to transition him to a flat surface. 
• Does not like to be put down : )
• Getting better with car rides and being in his car seat.
• Starting to lose all his hair!   
• Out of all his newborn clothes and into 3 month clothing. 
• Still wearing size 1 diapers, but after I finish out his last packaging of diapers, I am switching to size 2.
• Celebrated Daddy's birthday and his first holiday, Valentines Day.
• Loves bath time.
• Starting to smile and coo more. I get the most smiles out of him right after a feeding and diaper change in the mornings.
• Baby acne and cradle cap is finally starting to clear up.

Things to look forward to:

• Grammy coming to visit over Spring Break.
• Friends from Katy coming to visit. 

Henry's 1 Month Old

Here I am again. Blogging away on the months activities of my baby, this time it's Henry's turn to take the monthly spotlight!

One month old. My baby is a whole month old. Time has flown by and time has stood still. It feels as though Henry has always been a part of our family and I love that it feels that way.

Parenting a newborn this time around has been so different. I don't know if Henry just seems easier than Emerson was as a newborn or if it just is easier because I am more confident in what I am doing...probably a little a both, but this time it just seems easier.

We had a few challenges with feeding for the first two weeks, but other than that the biggest challenge has just been learning to balance two children and the attention they need individually. I am feeling more and more confident each day we are on our own and we are all getting into some sort of normal routine.

Here is a breakdown of his fist month of life:

Sleeping: Henry is a typical newborn sleeper. The first two weeks he was a very sleepy baby and would sleep anywhere at anytime, waking for only short periods of time to eat. By week three he started to be a little more alert and a small pattern on sleep seems to have developed. He tends to wake consistently around 7 a.m., and is most awake in the morning. He will stay awake for several hours and then sleeps for longer periods of time in the late morning to late afternoon. Then he is more alert again in the evening, just before bedtime. I haven't figured out any pattern to naps yet. I just know when he is more likely to be alert and when he is more likely to be sleepy. Age will help fix that, so I am not enforcing any strict schedule. Bedtime is anywhere from 8-9 p.m. He wakes around 12 a.m., 3 a.m., 5:30 a.m. and then is up for the day around 7 a.m.

Eating: We struggled the first two weeks with feeding. He was a good eater and latcher, he was just so sleepy! Every time it was time to eat, he would go right back to sleep. It was stressful trying to manage Henry's eating needs while managing Emerson's needs as well, but we pushed through it and now Henry does great and is gaining weight just fine. He eats about every 2.5-3 hours. At night he seems to like to cluster feed just before bedtime. He usually wakes up three times in the middle of the night to eat.

Activity: Henry gets a lot of activity just by getting to do whatever Emerson and I are doing (reading books, singing songs, playing on the floor, going to the park, etc.). So he get's to do a lot of observing : )  He also get's held a lot or is worn in the pouch. We need to work more on tummy time! He can turn his head side-to-side, but he prefers to be held upright, so he is not a big fan of being on his belly.

Doctor Visit Stats:

• weight: 8 lbs 8 oz at two week check-up
• height: 21 1/4 inches

Likes, Dislikes and Other Milestones:

• Dislikes a wet diaper and getting his diaper changed. You just can't win.
• Not the biggest fan of my singing : ( He will learn to love it though.
• Likes listening as we read books to big brother.
• Likes being pushed (a little to aggressively) in the swing or rocker by Emerson.
• Likes sleeping in the rock n' play.
• Likes being worn in the pouch and being held upright, instead of laying down.
• Starting out liking his swing, but has slowly developed a distaste for it.
• Takes a pacifier unless he is really hungry. He knows it's not the real deal. 
• Car rides don't seem to have a soothing effect on him. 
• Likes looking up at lights.
• Has dark hair and eyes. We are not sure yet if his eyes will turn brown, but for now the are a dark blue.
• He is one ball of gas! Does not like it when he has the hiccups or is gassy (which is often).
• Slowly growing out of newborn clothes and into a few 0-3 month outfits.
• In size 1 diapers.

Things to look forward to:

• Celebrating daddy's 29th birthday and first Valentines Day.

And because this is real life, here are a few more pictures on how the photo shoot mostly went.

Tears...

 

...and big brother jumping in and out of every shot : ) 

  

I love my boys.