Emsley at 11 Months!

Like many of you, our May is CRAZY busy! Between end of the school year stuff, graduations and graduation parties, chasing and raising 3 little ones and running them where they need to be, housework, co-planning a retirement party for my in-laws (more on that later), and making decorations for the party, I have very little time for much else.

That being said, I had to squeeze in some time to document Emsley and what she's like at 11 months old. I can't even believe that our baby girl is already 11 months old. What? How did that happen? Only ONE month left of her babyhood! :(

Emsley, this is what you were like at 11 months of age:

This was another big month for you with lots of firsts!



-I'm guessing you weigh around 17-18 pounds and are around 28ish inches long! You continue to be our biggest baby.

-You are wearing size 3 diapers, only one size smaller than Ethan (although we're hoping he's out of diapers soon). I have a feeling you will get into the biggest size we've ever bought before you become potty trained.

-You are wearing size 12 months in clothes and most of the clothes you are wearing your sister was wearing at 18 months! I wonder if you will be our tallest child.

-You eat mostly table food these days. I'll occasionally give you some baby food to make sure you're getting enough fruits and veggies, but for the most part, you eat what we eat. Sometimes you'll get angry if we don't give you what we're eating.

-A first this month was your first chocolate chip cookie! I think this smile says it all. :)

-You still take a bottle first thing in the morning, right before bed and between some meals. You take about 4-6 bottles a day. This month we will begin weaning you off of formula and introducing cows milk.

-For the most part you're a great sleeper. You typically take a short nap in the morning (about half the time) and then every day you take one long nap (2+ hours) in the early afternoon. You sleep in the pack n play in our room at night and you will sleep 12 hours through the night there. Occasionally you'll end up in our bed in the early hours of the morning. :) If you don't get enough sleep it really changes your temperament.

-You now have FOUR teeth! THREE more came in this month! You now have your two upper teeth and your two lower teeth. Even Ethan and Ellie comment on how much you're growing and changing!

-Your hair is long enough now that we gave you your first "Pebbles" ponytail this month. :)

-You now have a handful of words. You can say "Mama", "moh (more)", "hi", and occasionally "Dada".

-You crawl so well that you get around very quickly! You're using anything you can to pull yourself up and cruise (walking holding onto furniture and other objects). I can tell you can't wait to run around with Ellie and Ethan.

-You still love baths but you don't like to sit in the bumbo for baths anymore which is a problem because I don't think you are steady enough to move around the bath as much as you want to. I have to keep a close eye on you!

-You are very social and happy (when you're well rested and fed). You remind us a lot of Ellie when she was a baby. You love to be with people and you're full of life, energy and smiles!

-You are very ambitious and you want to take on the world (another trait that reminds us of your older sister).

-You and Ellie have a mutual adoration for each other, and you and Ethan have a love/hate relationship. Nobody can make you laugh like Ethan, and he can be so sweet to you at times, but at other times he is quite a bully and he'll take things from you just to get a reaction. We are working hard with him to make him stop bullying you! It will be fun for us to see your sibling relationships grow and change over time.

Nicknames- "Em" is still the most used nickname, but Ellie and Ethan have come up with a few of their own this month. They like to call you "Ems-a-bee" and "Ems-a-baby". Ethan hardly ever calls you by your "real" name.

Emsley, you are such a joy and we all adore you! We can't imagine life before you now. I can't believe your first year is already almost over. I'm excited to see what the future holds for you our sweet baby girl. 

My Life In Small Square Photos

We did it! Caleb and I finally decided to join the 21s century! 2 weeks ago, after a lot of talking, researching,and hitting a few "bumps" along the way, we officially had both new iPhones in our hands. 

We're never going back. We are so enjoying these new "toys" and in the meantime trying not to let them take over our lives. 

Just as big as getting a smartphone for me was joining Instagram. Friends and family had been begging me for months and now I know why. It's so fun to see little snapshots of my loved ones every day lives. I've been enjoying sharing the small things in my every day life too. 

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites from the last 2 weeks on here too. 

So, without further ado, here they are:

 I got tendinitis in my wrist and thumb around a month ago and had to wear a

 brace/splint thingy. This is me announcing and celebrating that for the most part, 

my wrist has healed and the brace is off! 

I may or may not be taking too many photos of Emsley, but I'm all too aware that my baby days are almost over. So, I'm soaking up every little last minute of her babyhood.

Besides, babies are so perfect and photogenic. 

I mean, c'mon, look at this beautiful face and perfect little foot!

EASTER! I got some great photos on Easter. Here are my 3 little E's all dressed up for church. Oh my heart!

Here's Ethan trying to "catch" water from a squirt gun. 

(No, not an Instagram pic, but a must share).

And, our best attempt at a family photo. :)

Ethan's latest thing is picking dandelions and bringing them to me. 

The best part is that he calls them "candylions". 

I won't correct him anytime soon. I love it!

Ellie had a "Princess, Pirate, Pizza, Pop" party at preschool and she was SO excited! 

She loves any excuse to dress up!

And last, but certainly not least, some nature shots. 

I took this on the way home from dropping Ellie off at preschool last week. The weather was gorgeous all week, and I was feeling so lucky to live in the beautiful state of Colorado.

This is my favorite so far. I took this as the sun was setting at the park.

Well, that sums up my day to day life in photos. 

I fear I may never use my real camera again. 

Now, if only I can convince Caleb to take some "couple selfies" with me. We have VERY few photos of the two of us together. I'm so going to work on that. ;)

Emsley at 9 Months

I'm a bit late in posting Emsley's 9 month post. But we've been busy since returning from Vegas. Last week was busy since it was spring break, and now I'm dealing with some mysterious pain in my right wrist and hand. Oh well, that's another post for another day...

Back to our sweet baby girl. Em, I apologize for not having more or better quality pictures for this month. Like I said, we've been busy AND I've taken a few photos with the ipad. They are not great. :(

Emsley, this is what you are like at 9 months old:

~You weigh 16 pounds, 6 ounces (18th percentile) and you are 25.5 Inches tall (1st percentile). You dropped off of your growth curve for height this month, but the Dr. isn't concerned. She thinks you're about to hit a growth spurt. Besides, nobody would be surprised if you end up being small like your brother and sister. Although, you are now officially bigger than Ellie was at 1 year!

~You are still wearing size 3 diapers.

~You began wearing 9 months in clothing this month.

~You are eating solid foods like a champ! You love all baby foods (you are not picky).You started picking up cheerios and feeding yourself a bit this month. You also started feeding yourself a little cheese and cut up banana. So far you do not like the yogurt we tried.

~You still take about 4-6 bottles a day. First thing in the morning, between meals, and at bedtime. I so miss our nursing days.

~You have a lot of hair! So much, that we've started putting bows in your hair (YAY).

~Exactly on your 9 month birthday (March 11th), you officially started crawling, and you crawled across the floor for the first time! You're still getting the hang of it, and when you're tired, you'll go back to rolling again. I'm sure you'll get faster and stronger the more you practice.

~You FINALLY became healthy again this month! We began weaning you from the nebulizer treatments and you're doing quite well.

~You began babbling (a lot) this month. You can say "Ma-ma-ma", "Da-da-da" and occasionally "Ba-ba". I hate to admit it, but your favorite thing to say is Da-da.

~You have become a great sleeper at night! You typically do 10-12 hours in your pack n play.

~You either take 1 short morning nap (less than 1 hour) plus on longish nap in the afternoon, or you take one really long nap in the afternoon (2-4 hours). Your siblings still interrupt your sleep a lot. Poor girl, you never get as much sleep as you want or need. Yes, you are sensitive to sleep like me and Ethan, and when you don't get enough it really changes your mood.

~When you are well rested and fed, you are a very happy and laid back baby. You love to smile and giggle.

~Speaking of giggling, nothing makes you laugh more than watching your brother and sister. You are developing great relationships with both Ellie and Ethan, and your relationship with each one is unique. I hope you 3 are always close.

~We are still waiting to see some teeth. You've been teething like crazy for months, and you drool quite a bit. I don't see any teeth poking through just yet, but I'm sure we will soon.

~You love to be on the floor to play, and occasionally in the exersaucer. For the most part you want to be independent though, which means being free of swings and exersaucers.

~You still love baths and they continue to cheer you up when you are getting sleepy and grumpy for bed. You love to splash and play in the water.

~You have started getting separation anxiety this month and you cry whenever I leave the room. You are definitely a "mama's girl" and you like to be held by me or by my side most of the time.

Nicknames: Em, baby sister and baby girl.

Emsley, I simply can not believe you are already 3/4 of the way through your first year!You bring all of us so much joy and laughter. I'm excited to learn more about who God created you to be!

A Lot To Look Forward To

Caleb and I love to travel, but this is the longest we've gone without a vacation since we were married. I know it sounds spoiled since not many people get to travel as much as they want to, and with 3 kids and living on a teacher's salary, I feel very blessed.

Other than a one night get away, our last vacation was almost 2 years ago when we went to San Diego with Caleb's family. Since then I got pregnant and our 3rd baby came into the world 4 weeks early. Juggling a preemie baby, Ellie's new preschool schedule, Caleb's volleyball schedule and our wild 2 year old boy left no time for vacations.

But now there are so many vacations up ahead (some of them are small, long weekend get-aways) that I can't stop thinking about all of the places I'll get to cross off of  my bucket list.

First up is a long weekend escape to Austin to see this beautiful family. We'll leave on Valentine's Day and come back on President's Day.

Joe is Caleb's best friend and I adore Joe's wife Kim. We were not thrilled when Joe moved his sweet wife and boys to Austin. I haven't seen Kim and the kiddos since that move a year and a half ago. Since then we have both added a baby girl into our families. I'm excited to meet their little Madison and we'll be bringing Emsley with us so the girls can play. :)

Then, on March 8th, my sisters, my mom and I are flying to Vegas to celebrate my sister Alli's and BIL Brian's 30th birthdays! This trip kind of happened overnight and was totally random and impromptu. What started out as a hypothetical "Wouldn't it be fun if we joined Alli and Brian in Vegas?" turned into reality and it's going to be SO much fun! 

We'll only be there for 2 days and 2 nights, but we're going to enjoy every minute of it. I already know the highlight of our trip is going to be the Faith Hill and Tim Mcgraw concert we officially have tickets for. 

I.can't.wait!

Brian and Alli will be staying at the Monte Carlo and Jenn, Courtney, Mom and I will be staying at the New York, New York.

We owe the husbands BIG time for encouraging us to do this and for watching all of the little ones for us while we're gone.  

And then, speaking of New York, New York, Caleb and I will be going to New York in the fall!!! Pinch me now. This has always been a dream of mine and at the top of my bucket list. I can't believe it's going to happen.

This past Christmas Caleb's parents surprised each of their sons and daughter-in-laws with a card saying that their gift to us was a trip to go anywhere in the U.S. with them. It didn't take long for me and Caleb to come up with New York!

We'll only be gone for 4 nights since it's hard to leave these 3 beautiful babes behind for too long. 

We had fun doing our own little photo shoot at home today. :)

It's going to be really hard to prioritize what to cram into those 4-5 days since we can't see everything in that time. I do know that we will for sure be seeing a Broadway play (I'm pushing for Wicked),

seeing the Statue Of Liberty, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, etc. Basically, as many tourist stops that we can fit in. :)

I'm sure I'll talk a lot more about this as it gets closer. :)

As if all of this wasn't enough, next year (2015) we'll have a few more vacations. Caleb and I are planning on going somewhere tropical for our 10th Anniversary. Probably back to Riviera Maya where our honeymoon was. I can't believe we'll be celebrating our 10th Anniversary next year. Where did the time go?

Anyway, with all of these vacations up ahead, I am one excited and happy girl!

Oh yeah, and before I forget-  GO BRONCOS!! SO excited to watch the Superbowl this Sunday!

Emsley At 7 Months

Wow. Another month has flown by! Our baby girl turned 7 months old on the 11th!

First of all, I want to thank once again Nate and Amanda at The Shalom Imaginative for these AMAZING photos they took of Emsley! I adore these and will cherish them always!

These are technically Emsley's 6 month photos, but since they were taken at 6 1/2 months, and due to the holidays, I'll be using them for her 7 month stats and updates.

Some of these are not Nate and Amanda's, but I thought it was pretty obvious which ones were theirs. :)

Dearest Emsley, this past month you seem to have grown up a lot. This is what was new for you at 7 months;

~You began sitting up TOTALLY on your own. Now you enjoy sitting on your own to play all the time.

~For the first time, on Christmas day, you rolled from back to stomach to back again. You haven't done it a lot since.

~You are trying SO hard to be mobile. I think you're still several months away from crawling, but I can see you staring at things from across the room and trying to figure out how to get to them.

~You are a pro at eating solids. You LOVE to eat and open your mouth really wide. :) You love all fruits and veggies and baby oatmeal we give you.

~You can hold your own bottle now. If I get the bottle even close to your face you'll often times grab it from me and want to feed yourself. This makes me a little sad.

~You now LOVE to take baths! You'll often times splash in the water and just laugh the whole time.

~You practice "talking" a lot and you are quite loud. :) I can't tell if you're louder when you're happy or sad. You're not quite babbling yet, but I think you're close.

~I believe you weigh around 14-14.5 pounds.

~You are now wearing size 6 months in clothes.

~You are still in size 2 diapers but I think you will need to move into size 3 diapers soon.

~Due to having 2 older siblings with busy schedules, your nap times are still inconsistent. I feel for you. Luckily, you have a great, laid back attitude about it and are rarely grumpy.

~You are still sleeping through the night in the bassinet in our room. I think we will need to move you to the pack n play soon. We decided that we will move you into your crib in Ellie's room once you are 1 year old.

~You LOVE to watch Ellie and Ethan and laugh along with them! Your relationship with Ethan has grown the most this month (since you've always been close to Ellie). I can't wait for the day that all 3 of you are running around laughing together.

We love you more than words can say Miss Emsley! You are definitely the spoiled baby of our family and we all love to dote on you. :)