Big Girl Milestones

This past week was a big one in terms of milestones for my girls. On the 11th, Emsley turned 6 months old (that's half a year already!) and Elliana turned 5 years old!

Of course I am more sad about Ellie's milestone than Em's. I still can remember Ellie's birthday and the events surrounding it like it was yesterday. I feel like I blinked and the baby girl that made me a mom is now this grown up little lady that can't wait to start her life and spread her wings. :**(

Abby and Reagan, (two of Ellie's cousins) got their ears pierced this past year and Ellie begged and begged to get hers pierced. However, ever since I discovered I was having a girl I decided that her 5th birthday would be a fun time to get her ears pierced. So I kept insisting that Ellie had to wait.

Fortunately, after begging for several weeks she forgot about it. Saturday was her official birthday and we celebrated with just our little family of 5. We're doing a larger family party for her this Friday. We planned on going out to dinner to a restaurant of Ellie's choice. She chose Fazoli's because Spaghetti and meatballs is her favorite food. :)

Right before we left for dinner Caleb and I sat her down and told her that her birthday gift from us was getting her ears pierced. Her reaction was priceless! She smiled so big and said "Seriously? Seriously? YAY YAY YAY!" then she jumped around for a while.  It was so much fun!

Ellie is our adventurous one. She is so brave and she wanted this for so long so I thought that getting her ears pierced would be a piece of cake for her. At first she was all smiles and excitement,

but then as the big moment drew closer she started to say she was scared. :(

Once her ears were pierced she looked shocked. She may have turned a little white. I told her it was okay to cry. So, she did. She cried much longer than I thought she would. Here are a few pictures that capture her true emotion right after we left the store.

She just looks traumatized here, doesn't she?

But, by the time we were finished with dinner and on our way home, she was all smiles again and saying how she couldn't wait to show off her new earrings to just about everyone she knows. ;)

I still can't believe my first baby girl is 5. Here's what I posted about her on FB:

"Our Elliana Faith, how can you be FIVE years old today?! I remember your birth-day like it was just yesterday! I'm very proud of you big girl. May you always keep your zest for life, your huge smile that lights up any room, and your compassion for others. We loved surprising you today with your long time wish to get your ears pierced. Happy Birthday Ellie, and thank you for making me a mom! "

In other news, I must update our little miss Emsley on life at 6 months.

Emsley, here are your 6 month stats:

~You weigh 13 pounds, 12 ounces and are in the 9th percentile for weight. You are 25 inches long and are now in the 20th percentile for height. You didn't gain much weight this month but you grew a lot longer! You are stretching out and thinning out. :( I already miss your chunky, rolly look.

~You are still wearing size 2 diapers.

~You still wear some 3-6 months in clothing but you are beginning to wear a lot of 6-9 month clothes.

~You are still taking a bottle every 3-4 hours. After pumping as long as possible, my milk dried up. Your last bottle of breast milk was on Thanksgiving Day. :(

~We tried solid foods for the first time on Thanksgiving too. I'm ashamed to say your very first taste was a drop of pumpkin pie. I guess that's what happens when you're the 3rd baby. ;) Of course you loved it! You are taking to solid foods like a champ! Even your sister has had fun feeding you. :)

~You are a rock star sleeper at night, often sleeping 10-12 hours straight in the bassinet. It will soon be time to move you to the crib or pack n play. Since you are our 3rd baby we're trying to figure out where to put you until you're ready to share a room with one of your siblings.

~You're still not a great napper and nap times are still inconsistent with you. The only consistent nap is your early afternoon nap. That is always a good, long nap. You typically need another 1-2 short naps still.

~You are teething like CRAZY! You are constantly drooling and chewing on your fingers and hands. Unfortunately, in the last few days, you've acted like you're in pain. I keep looking for teeth but I don't see any yet

~For the most part, you are a very happy baby. If you are well fed and well rested, you love to smile, laugh and giggle. Nobody makes you giggle like your sister! We had fun catching this video of you and Ellie.

~You are SO CLOSE to rolling from back to stomach, but you're not quite there yet.

~You are sitting up more and more with support. We like to use the Boppy pillow to support you.

~You are becoming more and more content to be on the floor and play.

~You are so curious about your world now. You love to reach, grab and play with anything.

~One of your favorite places to be is your exersaucer. You hardly ever go in the swing or bouncy seat anymore.

~Your relationship with both of your siblings has really taken off this month. Nobody makes you laugh or smile like Ellie does. Although you are starting to smile and giggle more at Ethan too. I think your relationship with Ethan has grown most this month.

~You and Ellie got to play special roles in our church Christmas play last week. You played baby Jesus and Ellie played Mary. You were both adorable and you were a champ! You didn't cry until the very end and you were happy and quiet through 2 long songs!

~You have grown very attached to your white blanket. You must have your white blanket at all times for comfort and for falling asleep. 

~I can tell by the way you look around that you can't wait to be mobile and explore the world around you. I think you are so anxious to join your siblings an fun and mischief. ;) 

~Nicknames: Em, sweet girl and baby girl.

Emsley, we all love you SO much! We can't believe how quickly you are growing. You are such a sweet, easy baby and a joy to be around. I can't wait to see what God has in store for you.

Emsley at 5 Months

First of all, I need to thank my sister Jenn for another beautiful blog design! I adore the "happy" colors in this design, it's definitely here to stay for quite a while. :) Jenn, you are amazing!

Oh my word! I simply can not believe how quickly time is flying now. Our little Emsley turned 5 months on the 11th! 

Em, here's what you've been up to this month: 


~I would guess that you weigh somewhere between 14 and 15 pounds now. We'll find out your stats for sure next month! People still comment on how quickly you are growing and how chunky you are. Although, you seem to have stretched out and grown a lot longer this month too. You are growing like a weed.:) 


~You are still wearing size 2 diapers. Believe it or not, I think you'll need to be in size 3 diapers soon enough.


~You currently wear 3-6 month clothes and some 6 month clothes. I can't believe how quickly you are growing through sizes!


~I don't know what happened, but you broke my heart this month when you decided you were done nursing. I fought this so many times but finally gave in after a whole week of you screaming at the breast. I guess you decided you like the bottle best. :( I'm now pumping so that you are still getting some breast milk and you take a bottle of breast milk and/or formula 4-6 times a day.


~You are beginning to stare at our food like you want it. Just a few more weeks and we will be starting solids! I bet that will be a happy day for you. :) 


~You still sleep in your bassinet in our room. You are a rock star sleeper! You typically sleep 10-12 hours through the night! Your naps are still somewhat inconsistent, but in a typical day you take one short nap in the morning, one LONG(ish) nap in the early afternoon (1-2 hours) and another short nap before bed time. You still seem to love your sleep but you are also becoming very curious about your world. 


~You love when people talk to you. You really like to smile back and coo and blow raspberries. You also blow bubbles a lot when you are happy.

~You giggled for the first time this month and it made my ears and my heart happy! Although most of us can work really hard to get a giggle out of you, nobody makes you laugh like your sister Elliana! Half the time Ellie isn't even trying to make you laugh, but you just love to watch her and giggle.

~You are beginning to outgrow the bouncy seat and you only enjoy the swing sometimes. I think you prefer to be on the floor or the exersaucer. We started you on the exersaucer this month and you LOVE it! You also prefer to be anywhere that you can get attention from your siblings and your parents. You have made it clear that you will not be ignored! :)

~Speaking of your siblings, your relationships with both Ellie and Ethan continue to grow. You are always watching them and I can tell you can't wait to run around and play along. 

~You roll over from your stomach to your back all the time now. Mommy and Daddy saw you roll from your back to your stomach for the first time this month! We've only seen it once though, and you haven't done it again since. You are definitely working on it!

~You hold your head and your chest up really well when you're on your stomach now. 

~You are definitely teething. You drool a lot and recently you've been biting down hard on anything you can get your hands on. Believe it or not, you really like to bite on your own hands and fingers.

~Speaking of getting your hands on things, you are getting very good at reaching for objects, grabbing them and bringing them to your mouth. You'll put anything in your mouth. You especially love to grab your mama's hair. I am not a fan. Ha! 

~You continue to be laid back and easy going. If you are well fed, rested and changed you are such a happy girl. The key is getting you well rested though. ;) I think it is hard for you to get a good nap in with your loud and active siblings. 

~You still love to be held and cuddled. I LOVE it! Please don't ever outgrow this Emsley (yeah, right). 

~We continue to call you "Em" all the time. Even Ethan refers to you as Em. No other nicknames have really stuck.

Emsley, I can not believe that next month you will be 6 months old! Where has the time gone? We are all enjoying you so much! We are loving getting to know you more every day and getting to see your beautiful smile and your infectious giggle.

A Dream Come True!

Every Fall I say a little here and a little there about Caleb and his volleyball team. I'm always emotionally invested, some years more than others. In the end though, I always know that as the coach Caleb thinks A LOT more about his team, their goals and what they need to do to accomplish those goals. And in the end, when the season is over, I'm usually ready to get back to every day life within a few days or weeks while Caleb spends months thinking about what they could have done better and how they can improve next year.

Caleb has been coaching ever since he graduated from high school. He's been the head coach at RCS for 8 years. From day one it has been his goal to some day win the State Championship.

Over the years Caleb has gotten closer and closer to that goal. 4 years ago, he was the first coach to take the school to the championship match, but the team didn't play their best and lost to Fowler in 3 games. They took 2nd in State that year. That was the farthest RCS had ever gotten in Volleyball, and Caleb feared at that time that he would never get that close again.

Fast forward to this year. Even since before the season started Caleb told me that this team was special. He said they had the heart, the drive and the talent to win State. Not just that, but they truly loved each other. So, from the very get go this team was determined to win.it.all.

As the season went on, they started to beat teams they had never beaten before, and the word "undefeated" started to spread amongst the fans and parents.

The first time I saw the team play this year, I could tell they were different. Like Caleb said, you could see their passion for the game, their passion to win, and their love for each other. As cliche as it sounds, they were special.

They continued to be undefeated and the excitement grew. A few weeks before playoffs, they beat Lutheran, the two time defending State champions from last year and the year before. That's when the excitement REALLY grew.

Then the playoffs came. They swept their way through Districts and become District Champions and the following weekend they became Regional Champions!

Hopes were high as RCS knew they were going to State as one of 3 undefeated teams.

Hopes were high, but so were nerves. Caleb wasn't eating or sleeping well, and every time I talked to my dad (a HUGE sports fan and also following the team well this year) I almost started hyperventilating.

Before I knew it, we were bringing a big group of fans just there to support Caleb. Saturday we had his parents, my parents, all 3 of my sisters, two of their close friends from out of State (Kelsey and Amy), two of my brothers-in-law, a close family friend, 2 of my cousins, and my Uncle Randy came to watch and cheer on the team.

The Friday and early Saturday matches against Meeker and Ridgway were pretty uneventful. RCS swept both of those teams (won in 3 games) quite easily.

Then Saturday afternoon it was time for the semi-final match (the top 4 teams). We had to play Yuma, the team that Caleb most wanted to avoid until the championship match. Caleb had been watching Yuma closely and he knew they were seriously underrated.

This was the HARDEST match for me to watch. I mean, in the history of watching volleyball. The stakes were so high, and it was win or go home. Caleb had told me that if they could beat Yuma, then their chances were REALLY good for winning it all!

At first, Rez made it appear like they were going to win pretty easily. Yuma was playing hard and so was RCS, but RCS was ahead most of the time and won the first 2 games. Then, momentum changed. Yuma was ahead most of game 3 and we couldn't get ahead. After Yuma won game 3 my heart started to speed up and my palms grew sweaty. Game 4 was SO very close. Too close. Every time we won a point, Yuma won the next one. Finally about half way through the gamy we pulled ahead a little bit (just enough that I started to breathe easier) and we were up 24-22. We were going to win, or so we thought. Then somehow Yuma won game 4 28-26! It was like a nightmare before my eyes. Yuma's fans started to cheer "Deja Vu" over and over.

Last year, Yuma beat us in Regionals and the games AND scores were almost identical to what had just played out before us.

When game 5 started, the RCS girls came out confident and ready to fight. I breathed a little easier as each point was awarded to our team. Finally, they won 15-12 and the match was over. It was official, they had made it to the Championship match! It took my nerves a LONG time to calm down after that one.



I really like the way CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association) finishes the volleyball season with the State Championship matches. Before the match begins, they do a little ceremony and announce all of the teams (1A-5A) and their coaches while playing some inspirational music. ;) Then they have someone sing the National Anthem. It's a very cool experience to be a part of.



Anyway, we were all sick to our stomachs with nerves when game time came. As soon as the match started though, it was clear that we were the better team and we wanted to win more. After the first 3 points, RCS was ahead of Lutheran and swept them in 3 games! After all of the hard work they were officially State Champions!

I knew I'd be somewhat emotional and overjoyed when they won, but I was not prepared for the emotion that came over me. I screamed and cheered and then hugged my dad and started crying. I mean, I was a bit of a mess. After regaining my composure I looked around and saw tears in all of my sister's eyes, my mom's eyes and Caleb's mom's eyes. There's just something about watching the person you love most achieve a dream that they have waited so long to see come true! And honestly, I'm so glad that dream came true with THIS team. They are quality girls that worked SO hard all season to remain undefeated. They love the Lord and each other.

The celebration lasted all evening and there was a sense of complete joy and disbelief at the same time. It's one of those moments that you never forget and you almost have to pinch yourself and ask if it really happened.

Here's a couple of great articles that were written:
http://www.reporterherald.com/sports/preps/ci_24492435/resurrection-christian-volleyball-caps-perfect-season-2a-state

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20131109/HSSPORTS06/311090055/Resurrection-Christian-volleyball-team-makes-history-state-championship

This was the quote I liked best:
 “We all wrote, ‘Audience of One,’ on our leg,” senior libero Carly Whitham said. “That showed we’re playing for God and his glory.”



Here's just a few of the many great photos that were taken:

  

I think it's going to take a long time to come off of this cloud! 

A Princess, Pooh Bear, Piglet and Pictures

Just a quick post to say that we had a wonderful and safe Halloween!

This year Elliana wanted to be Princess Aurora, AKA Sleeping Beauty,

I chose Winnie The Pooh for Ethan since he's obsessed with his stuffed Pooh that he MUST have to sleep with every night,

And to go with Pooh Bear, I thought Emsley would make the perfect Piglet. :)

It was pretty uneventful. We enjoyed a slow day at home and then took the kids to see their Lito and Lita (Caleb's parents) in the afternoon to show off their costumes. 

After visiting them, we headed to my sister Jenn's house for some dinner and Trick or Treating with my parents, sisters and nieces and nephew. I love how much Ellie and Ethan love their cousins. :)

For most of the afternoon/ early evening Ethan was in a grumpy mood and REFUSED to put on his costume, but once I told him we were all getting ready to go on a walk to get some candy, he decided he had to take part in that! Ha! :) 

Once he was in costume and after Trick or Treating at a house or two, his mood quickly changed and he really enjoyed himself. 

The night ended with showing the kids this Ylvis The Fox video and they were all laughing so hard it had the adults laughing so hard we were almost crying!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jofNR_WkoCE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It really was a very fun night!

And on a totally unrelated note, we took our professional family photos with the amazing Becky Young last Saturday and we already got our photos back! She always amazes me with her talent. Here are just a few of my favorites:

I think I'm going to wait and share the best family photos for when we share our Christmas card. :)

I hope you all had a safe and wonderful Halloween too. I'm so glad it's November, bring on the holidays!

Emsley at 4 months

Our sweet baby girl is growing up before our eyes. For some reason 4 months feels a LOT older than 3 months to me. I'm not sure why.

Emsley, this is what you are like at 4 months old:

~ You weigh 12.9 pounds (18th percentile) and you measure 23 inches long (2nd percentile).

~ You are our biggest, chunkiest baby and people often comment about your rolls. :) We love that you are a healthy, rolly baby. :)

~ You are now wearing size 2 diapers (only 2 sizes smaller than Ethan), and size 3-6 months in clothes.

~ You like your sleep and can't seem to get enough of it. :) Being the 3rd child means your siblings often wake you up or you have to wake up due to our busy schedules and having to take you here and there.

~ You have established somewhat of a sleeping routine.  You are now sleeping 10-11 hours at night in the bassinet! YAY!! You usually go to bed between 8:00 and 9:00 PM. You like to take about 2 long naps during the day. Usually you like to nap in the morning and early afternoon. I think you sleep a total of 16 hours in a 24 hour period still.

~ When you are well fed and rested you are a very happy and easy baby. You love when people (especially your family) get close to your face and talk to you. You will always smile back and coo, blow raspberries and "talk" right back. You're talking a lot these days.

~ You rolled over for the first time a few weeks ago from your stomach to your back! You have rolled over many times since, just not from back to stomach yet.

~ You have started teething and you are drooling a lot! You also like to blow bubbles a lot too.

~ You have started self soothing by sucking on your fingers and hands, but perhaps that's just the teething.

~ You hold your head and neck up on your own very well now.

~ You like to sit up and you often pull yourself forward from a reclined position to a sitting straight up position.

~ You most like to be in the bouncy seat or on the floor talking with your family. You seem to have outgrown the swing. We've tried the bumbo a few times and you seem to be undecided about it. You like it for short periods of time.

~ Your relationships with your siblings continue to grow. Both Ellie and Ethan love to be around you! You love to smile at Ellie and talk to her, but you're unsure about Ethan at times. When Ethan is being loud and crazy around you, you become nervous and cry. However, there are also many times that Ethan is tender and sweet to you and in those moments you like to smile and talk to him too. I'm excited to watch these relationships grow over the years.

~ The most common nickname we use for you is Em. Ethan is always asking where you are by saying "Em? Find her?" :)

~ Emsley we all love you dearly and we're loving watching you grow! I'm excited to see more of your personality and talents as you get older.