Life These Days

Well, well, well I'm  actually going to get to blog twice this month. Go me!

This is going to be a completely random post but I just wanted to catch up on life these days.

I feel as though we're finally past the fog that is the first 2 or so months after we bring a new baby into our lives. I'm beginning to see what life is going to be like as a family of five. I feel as though we're settling into a new routine and a new "normal". It feels good. :)

Elliana Faith is starting preschool tomorrow. I don't know how it happened, really it happened all too fast. Caleb and I had many conversations this past year about whether or not we would put Ellie in preschool, and until a few weeks ago we had decided against it. Then once Caleb returned to school and I was alone caring for all 3 little ones it became obvious to me that we had made a mistake. Ellie was clearly becoming bored at home and I was failing at meeting her social and academic needs since the younger 2 were eating up so much of my time. So we contacted Caleb's school about their preschool program several weeks ago and we were put on a list. I didn't have high expectations for getting in any time soon. Then, Caleb called me last Thursday and said Ellie had been accepted and would be starting tomorrow. It happened so fast that I didn't have time to sort my mixed feelings out. I knew this would be SO good for her, but also sad for me. Suddenly I won't be spending almost every hour of every day with her. This will be good for both of us, and really I think it will be a great gap between now and starting kindergarten next fall. She'll only be gone on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

Ethan James-with each passing day I'm so thankful that God gave me a son. Ethan has captured my heart in a way that is so different from the girls. He makes us smile and laugh on a daily basis now. His vocabulary has really taken off in the last few months and he says the funniest things. For some reason, he thinks it's the best joke in the world when he adds "Elmo" to the end of a sentence. It never makes any sense, but he laughs every time. Ethan has also become obsessed with the alphabet and at the age of 2 he knows every letter of the alphabet and points them out where ever we go. He can also count to 13 and he recognizes colors and shapes too. He's definitely a smart one, and although I was once worried about Ethan living in Ellie's shadows, I have no doubt now that he'll make his own path and do very well for himself.

Speaking of doing well for himself, Ethan can handle himself and stand his ground when he wants to. Ethan and Ellie have just started little sibling spats. Ethan doesn't let Ellie tell him what to do. I always knew this day would come, but I am not enjoying playing referee and telling the kids to stop kicking or hitting or what have you. For the most part, these 2 have the BEST relationship and they love each other dearly, but they still fight just like all other siblings.

The weather around here has been HOT the last few weeks, and I am not a fan! I believe that with the beginning of the school year, fall weather should come along with it. And it should hang around for more than 2 weeks here.

Speaking of fall, I'm just chomping at the bit to put on some sweaters, jeans and enjoy all of the fall colors and flavors. Can anyone say pumpkin spice latte? Or how about some fall decorations around the house? Yes please!

Caleb's volleyball season is well under way and while I'm not thrilled to be seeing so little of him right now and in the coming months, I am very excited for him and the team. Almost every day he comes home with a grin on his face and says "Christine, they are going to be SO good this year!" Their goal this year is to make it to not only the State tournament, but the State championship match. I believe they can do it! Plus, the school has a brand new, huge gym this year. I'm really excited to watch his games (as much as I can with 3 littles in tow).

Emsley Jeannette is beginning to settle into a routine of her own and has become a wonderful night time sleeper (Thank you Lord!). She's also really starting to show us bits and pieces of her personality. She smiles on a daily basis now and every smile warms my heart. I think she will be my most easy going, non-wild child. I think we were overdue for a mild personality (wink). Of course I love that Ellie and Ethan are so over the top full of personality, but it's nice to have one like Em too. :)

On a side note, I got the BEST picture of Emsley and her smile today with my dinosaur phone. After a long time of looking into it, I discovered I have no way of accessing that picture and sharing it anywhere but on my phone. Add that to the growing, long list of why we need to join the 21st century and get smart phones. Sigh... we're working on it but it may be a while. It's a boring story about contracts. I hate phone contracts. 

Speaking of little Emsley, Ellie and Ethan adore her. They can't get enough of her. I often have to tell them to back off and give her space. I think Elliana thinks that Emsley is her own personal live doll, and Ethan is so tender with her. I can't wait to see how each sibling relationship grows over the years.

Between Caleb's schedule and life as a SAHM mom of 3, there isn't a lot of time left for me these days, but that's okay. I really am enjoying this stage of life as crazy as it is. I am looking forward to a haircut and color this week, and it will be the longest I've been away from Emsley since having her 11 weeks ago. 11 weeks... wow, where did it go? Anyway, I'm going to soak up every minute of that appointment. :)

Well, that's life for us in a nutshell right now. It's crazy, but it's good. I hope you all are enjoying your end of summer/ beginning of fall.

Emsley at 2 Months

Whew! Having 3 kids ages 4 and under has really kicked my boo-tay! I'm tired every day and have very little time for/to myself these days. I really hope to find the time to blog more than once a month again some day. ;)

That being said, to be fair to Miss Emsley I have to at least document each month of her first year since I did for Elliana and Ethan.

Emsley, you are TWO months old now!! I simply can't believe how fast the last two months went. 

~At 2 months old, you weigh 9 pounds, 10 ounces, and you are 21.75 inches long. 

~You are in the 16th percentile for height and the 10th percentile for weight. You are officially our biggest baby, which is crazy considering you are our only preemie.

~You're still wearing newborn clothes, but are just beginning to wear 0-3 months in clothes.

~You're wearing size 1 diapers.

~You are still nursing and/or taking a bottle every 3-4 hours.

 

 

 ~This was a big month of milestones for you. The biggest milestone that we celebrated was that on Friday, July 19th you were officially taken off of oxygen! We were so happy to see that you were healthy and strong enough to breathe on your own. :)

 



~You smiled for the first time at me (Mommy) at a little over 4 weeks old. It melted my heart and made me happy! You are now smiling on a daily basis. Most often you smile at me, Ellie and your cousin Devyn. :)

 

 

I still haven't been able to capture one of your big smiles on camera,

but these pictures are pretty darn close. :)

 

 

~You sleep about 16 hours in a 24 hour period. Some nights you even sleep through the night! On the nights you don't sleep through the night, you only wake up once. We are so thankful to have such a good night time sleeper on our hands.

 



~However, we have not established a good nap time or daily routine. Your daytime sleep is very inconsistent and varies quite a bit. You do seem to like to nap in the morning the most. 

~Over the past two weeks you have started to coo, blow raspberries and "talk" to me and the rest of our little family.

 

 

 

~I'm still trying to figure out your little personality. You are very happy if you are well fed and rested and... if you're in some one's arms. :) Maybe this means you are an extrovert? You often fuss to be held even if you are well fed and rested. You don't mind being passed around, in fact, I think that's when you are happiest. You also seem to be easy going.

 

~You have just begun to become more expressive and make many faces. Here's just a couple:

 

 

 



 

~Your sister and brother adore you, but they show it in different ways.  Ellie likes to help take care of you. She loves to hug and kiss you and I often have to tell her to be give you some space. Ha! Ethan likes to come over, rub your head and call you "CUUUTE!" and then "remind" me that you need your pacifier. After admiring you briefly he likes to run off and play. You sometimes don't love how loud both of them are and every time they scream near you (which is too often) or begin crying, you instantly start crying. I can't wait to watch your relationships develop with both siblings.

 

 

We love you so much Emsley and we already can't imagine life without you. You are the perfect addition and completion of our family. I'm so looking forward to watching you grow and develop into your own little person!

P.S. All of the professional pictures in this post were taken by my BIL and SIL Nate and Amanda. They have their own photography business called The Shalom Imaginative. I adore these pictures and will treasure them forever! Thanks Nate and Amanda!