Emsley at 10 Months

Our dear, sweet baby girl, how can you be 10 months old already? It's hard for me to believe that in 2 short months our baby days will officially be over (sniff sniff).

Emsley, this was a big month for you, with a lot of firsts. This is what your life was like at 10 months:

~I'm guessing you weigh around 17 pounds.

~You wear mostly size 9 months in clothes, but you are beginning to wear a few 12 months.

~You still wear size 3 diapers

~You decided this month that you would much rather eat table food than baby food. I still feed you baby food from time to time, but you are much more happy when you are feeding yourself, and eating what we're eating. Even though you don't have a mouth full of teeth, you can gum up most anything.

~Speaking of teeth, A BIG first for you this month was seeing your first tooth pop through your gums! Yeah! Your first tooth is your lower right central incisor.

~You still take a bottle right when you wake up, right before bed, and between meals. About 4-5 bottles a day.

~You are a wonderful sleeper! You sleep through the night (most nights) in your pack n play, and then join us in bed in the early hours of the morning (5ish) to sleep another couple of hours.

~You still take a short nap in the morning (a little less than an hour) and a long nap in the early afternoon (2+ hours).

~When you are healthy, well rested and well fed, you are a very happy baby. You love to smile and giggle and sometimes you even have a really loud laugh.

~I think you might be a singer. Whenever I'm singing or you hear music, you start "singing" along. It's so sweet!

~You have mastered the crawl and you get around very quickly now. You are very social so you will crawl wherever you can to be with us.

~Another first this month is that you pulled yourself up for the first time. This happened just within this last week so you are still falling some. I believe you will be "cruising" in no time. :)

~You love to be on the floor to play and to watch Ellie and Ethan and giggle at the funny things they do. You are a pro at sitting without support.

~You really enjoy bath time, except when Ethan is splashing too much. You like to splash and play with the bath toys.

~You never stop moving now, and because of this, you don't like to sit and snuggle much. Some times when I pick you up you rest your head on my shoulder as a way of hugging me. :) I'll take whatever I can get.

~You're growing really close to Ellie and Ethan and you love just being with them. They continue to make you smile and laugh all the time now. I can tell that you can't wait to be "big" like them and to run around with them. Truth be told, they adore you quite a bit too. :)

You even enjoy having your cousin Kailey around now too. :) Although, the last time we got together you kept trying to crawl on top of her and kiss her too much. ;)

~We continue to call you "Em" more than any other nickname. I don't know where this nickname came from, but I often hear Ellie and/or Ethan call you "Ems-a-bee". I kind of like it. :)

Emsley Jeannette, you are a joy and a blessing to our family. We all love doting on you and loving you for the sweet baby that you are. I look forward to what God has in store for your life.

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 3 Months

Wow. Another month gone by! Now that Fall (my FAVORITE time of year) is here, and with how busy we've been, I'm sure the holidays will be here before we know it!

Our little Emsley is THREE months old now and she's growing like a weed. Time for an update on our littlest lady. :)

Dearest Emsley, this is what you are like at 3 months of age:

~At 3 months, I'm going to guess that you weigh around 11 pounds. You have grown a lot this month and are even becoming quite round and chubby. We love your baby fat and have no doubt that you are happy and healthy!

 

~You are wearing mostly size 0-3 months in clothes and even a few size 3-6 month outfits!

~You're still in size 1 diapers, and I believe you will outgrow those soon too.

~You nurse and/or take a bottle every 3-4 hours.

~You are a great night sleeper, Mommy has no complaints about your night time sleep! You are sleeping through the night (9-10 hours!) in your bassinet most nights. I can't remember the last time you woke for a feeding during the night. However, your day time sleep is very inconsistent and you seem perpetually tired during the day. You have a hard time staying asleep for naps during the day (I can't imagine why with your loud brother and sister running around all of the time ;)). I would guess that you sleep 14-16 hours in a 24 hour period.

~You are smiling, cooing, and razzing consistently. It's so fun to get close to your face and let you "talk" and smile away.

 

 



~Your favorite places to be are in the swing, in the bouncy seat, or in any one's arms (especially your mama's arms). :)

~We tried putting you in the bumbo seat recently. You weren't too sure what you thought of it. I think maybe it was a bit too soon and we'll try again in a few weeks.

~If you are well fed and rested you are such a happy and content baby. You only cry when you're really hungry, tired, or desperately need a diaper change.

~Your sister and brother adore you. They're always asking where you are and trying to get close to you. Sometimes they love on you too much. We have to constantly remind them to be gentle and give you some space. Ha!

 

 

~You seem to have a very easy going personality so far. I'm excited to watch your personality develop and learn more about who you are.

~You love to snuggle and we love snuggling with you!

~You've made it clear that you will not be ignored as the baby of the family. You want to be a part of the family and with us at all waking hours. :)

~Nicknames: Em, Emmy, Baby Girl, Precious, and Baby sister. You are most often called "Em" by the family.

Duck, Duck, DUCK!!

I realized my blog has been reflecting my "Debbie Downer" mood lately and decided it was time to fix that!

I also realized that it's been far too long since I posted about our sweet little Ethan.

Our little man has really been blooming lately. His personality and vocabulary are growing by leaps and bounds. Ethan is quite funny (who knew) and more than anything, he loves to follow and mimic his big sister in anything she is doing.

We noticed that he will watch Ellie intently and try to do exactly what she's doing. He especially loves to try and play the same games Ellie does.

Recently when I was gone from the house one morning, Caleb tried playing Duck, Duck, Goose with the kids, fully expecting Ethan to not understand and just sit there.

To our surprise, Ethan understood the game (for the most part) and had to join in on the fun. He would go around patting our heads saying "Duck, Duck, DUCK!" and then take off running. The BEST part is when he came back to the circle to sit. At full steam and in mid-air he'd throw himself on the ground. I've said this many times before, but he is SUCH a BOY!

Caleb's parents were over this weekend and we decided to capture Ethan playing this game in action. He's too funny! Check it out:

A Season For Healing

I can feel Fall coming. The nights and mornings have been a bit cooler in recent days. Autumn/ Fall has always been my favorite season. I love fall for it's bright colors, delicious flavors (chai latte or pumpkin spice latte anyone?), warmer cute clothes, the coolness in the air, the feel of leaves crunching under your feet, apples, pumpkins, hay rides, corn mazes and of course Thanksgiving.

 

This year Fall means so much more to me though. It means the end of what was a very painful season for myself and many people that I love. I discussed my heavy heart on here about a month ago. At the time I had no idea things were going to get much, much worse for some of us.

I'll give you just a small picture of the pain that I'm talking about. Nearest to my heart is the loss of my beloved Grandma Nancy. Our family continues to feel the pain of missing her. Although each day has been a little easier than the one before, I have yet to go a day without crying (even a little) and almost every thought leads me back to her.

Then there's the pain of my friends and family. In our small couples group from church, we have a close friend that lost both of her parents in a tragic accident two weeks ago, and we have friends that are facing some serious illnesses with their children.

I have a sister and some dear friends that have been walking through the valley that is called infertility. Everybody's journey with infertility looks different, and while my journey was very short lived compared to many, I do know how painful it is. I know what it is to lay awake at night and wonder if you will ever get to become parents. To hold your own child in your arms. I have been praying for these loved ones for months and for some, years. I still trust that God is faithful, and that he does have a plan for each of these families, but sometimes it's so hard to understand what he's doing.

I posted this as my status on fb the other day: "And just like that the school year has begun and summer is over. I've never wanted a summer to end so much. Praying/hoping this Fall brings us a fresh start and healing to hurting hearts." This is my prayer. Please Lord, use this time to draw us closer to you and bring some healing to broken hearts.

 

Of course this summer wasn't all pain and sadness. We had some great times too. I just wanted to share some of our happier moments in pictures. :)

Ellie had her cousins Devyn and Reagan over for their first sleepover at our house. I woke to these 3 smiling, beautiful faces.

 

When they were getting dressed they all wanter to wear dresses and headbands to match. You've got to love little girls. ;)

 

And then there is my two babes. Elliana and Ethan. They are my biggest challenge and greatest joy. When I look at these photos, I see two kids that love eachother greatly and have fun playing together. Most of all, I see two kids that are growing up WAY too quickly.



Isn't it odd how sometimes we want time to stand still, and other times we welcome the changing of the seasons? I do know this, God holds all of it in his hands.

 

What do you think?

I can't get over how much I think Ellie and Ethan look alike as babies. My sisters don't believe they do. So, I decided to pair up a few of their photos side by side. They are roughly the same age in these photos. I think they look a LOT alike (male and female version of course). What do you think? (Please ignore the fact that the quality of Ethan's pictures is SO much better. I think I took most of Ellie's pictures with my phone.)

1 week old. This one REALLY gets me. I think they're identical in this one.





They are both 4-5 months old in these pics.

Wordless Wednesday