Life is busy, but life is GOOD!

As I write, I realize it's been two months since I last made a blog entry! It's not as if nothing has been going on, but rather quite the opposite, which is why I haven't written. In fact every day when I go to sleep, I sit and think about all the things I want to write about, to capture and be able to remember these times, but then I see my bed calling and who can pass up a comfy bed when you're totally exhausted? So, I am letting my house be a disaster and the laundry be unfinished and passing up a potential nap so I can finally sit down to try to sum up all that has been going on over the past couple months!

As I write Eli is 6 months and Emrey is almost 2 and a half!

He weighs 17 lbs and is 17" tall...

Some of the things Eli is doing at 6 months...

- almost sitting up on his own!
- rolling from back to stomach (and of course form stomach to back)
- babbling like crazy (he started saying "mama, mammma, mamma just last week)
- sleeping through the night (meaning from 7:30 - 4:30) most nights
- Loves swimming in our pool and splashing


- makes a complete disaster when he eats but really enjoys his rice cereal, LOVES bananas, peaches and sweet potatoes
- HATES pees and shivers with disgust when i try to sneak then in!
- laughs and laughs when his big sister runs by or generally does anything
- loves giving wet, slobbery kisses and is very interested in inspecting ears :)

Emrey and her friend Gabe, who visited over Easter

Emrey is almost two and a half and she....

- Loves playing in her new water table, making Bailey jump for water!!
- Loves her cousins, both her cousins in San Antonio (who we've gotten to see often since they've moved closer) and her cousins from Ohio, who just came for a nice long visit!
- Misses school...her mothers day out program finished for the summer and she often asks for her friends that she sees there.
- Loves to sing and dance. One of our babysitters teaches ballet to little girls and has been teaching Emrey some moves...it is really adorable. Some of her favorite songs these days are: ging-gang-gooly (a silly song my dad taught me growing up) ABC's, I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart and also loves making up her own gibberish songs. She also really LOVES to sing the Happy Birthday song. She sings the lyrics "happy birthday dear you...happy birthday dear you....happy birthday dear you......happy birthday dear you"...it's quite cute, the first 50 times....
- Loves screaming and generally being silly. This is tough as it can be unnerving at times...but Eli really loves being entertained by her shenanigans and amazingly doesn't seem frightened by her loud noises.
- She loves going "up-n-down" with her dad on the couch and has just started to enjoy playing hide-n-seek, but she's much better at seeking than hiding.
- She finally gave up her nook, once and for all, as we gave it back after we "took it away" the first time because she stopped napping. We had the same thing happen this time, but we stuck with it and now she's able to get to sleep with her "boppy" alone!
- Is showing much more of her own interest in potty training again...After Eli arrived back in November, Emrey had a serious regression with potty training (not surprising). I was too exhausted to help her all the time and or remind her when she needed to go and she only wanted me to help. So, needless to say, she has been back in diapers since and I figured when she's ready she would be all that much more prepared! So, the last few days, she's been telling us that she needs to go all on her own and wearing big girl underpants, even when we went out to the store today! So, we'll see if this time it sticks! I would be thrilled to only change one set of diapers!

Emrey and her cousin Anna doing some dancing!

Eli and his cousin Sam (born 4 days apart)

Emrey and Eli hanging out in the backyard

Brother and Sister

Eli 4 months, Emrey 2.25

Here's the latest of my attempts to capture Emrey and Eli in everyday life...Emrey was dancing in our bedroom and I was taking some photos of her, then Eli woke up and she wanted him to sit with her on the bed...She loves getting up in his face and saying "Hi Eli" very loud! Most days he loves it and returns her gesture with a big smile, but sometimes it's a bit much when he's just woken up, as it would be for me as well.

We just returned from a whirlwind trip, first to South Carolina to visit the Kings and check out their new place. Emrey had a blast playing with Ellis' old dollhouse and making a mess in the birdbath in the backyard! Then we headed up to Boston to visit family and attend a wedding of some good friends from our "earlier days". It was great to be able to see family and have a break from the day to day that we experience at home, and most of all, it was great to have help with holding and caring for children!

As for updates on the kids. Eli is such a happy, layed back kid. Around 11 weeks, he finally started sleeping more at night and was only waking up once per night, which was doable! But...after traveling, he has been getting up multiple times a night again, and it's killing me! Not sure if it's just getting back into a routine or getting used to his bed back at home or what? During the day, he is usually pretty predictable and naps every 1.5-2 hours. He is grabbing onto everything within reach, so it's no longer possible to hold him and try to cook etc...He is also drooling like crazy! I'm wondering if he might be teething already, because everything he can get his hands on, goes into his mouth, and if there's nothing in reach, then his hands are in there. He was a great little traveler, on our most recent trip and even slept through a 5 hour delay in the airport that got us into Boston at 3 in the morning!

Emrey is busy! She has so much energy I can't keep up with her. Her latest phrase that she likes to say is "hey mom, I have an idea" and when I say "oh yeah, what is that?", she almost always says "lets go to the park". This is certainly her favorite activity these days and we usually hit up the one around the corner once a day! She loves to climb and has no fear of climbing on high stuff! She still really enjoys reading and has some favorite books, one which is a library book called "pick a pet". We have renewed it as many times a possible and are on our third time of checking it out...she knows it by heart. She's still attending mothers day out, but has begun exhibiting a little more separation anxiety, which is something she really hasn't shown too much of before. She usually is glad to say goodbye once her good friend Rowan arrives and they go bounding off to the corner of the room, where they play in a padded area with mats.

Life with two...

Definitely more hectic, but also so much fun. Emrey is going through a rough phase, I guess they call it the terrible two's? We are trying our best to remain consistent and love on her and give her as many hugs, kisses, treats and attention when she is obeying! She is definitely still adjusting to having to share mom, but also enjoys getting to do things that baby Eli can't, "because he's still a baby"! She is also speaking in full sentences! Some that make more sense than others. Yesterday, when we were driving up to Houston to meet friends at the park, she said "mommy, I want ABC's all over me"! Emrey is getting over having "fifth's disease" aka slapped cheek...it's pretty contagious for young kids, but doesn't have any horrible side effects. It started with really bright cheeks for a couple weeks, that literally looked like they were swollen and then moved to a rash on her legs and arms! She didn't seem bothered by it at all. Emrey and Eli were also both sick with pretty bad colds and Eli got his first round of amoxicillin, due to his ears started to get infected...oh the life of a second child. He was up coughing pretty bad for several nights, which kept us all up, but both are doing well now! I just have to remember to finish up his medicine since he's doing better!

I gave her a little haircut a few weeks ago, to try to get rid of the "mullet look" she had going

Eli is smiling, cooing, talking and belly laughing! He actually woke Emrey up the other day, laughing from our bedroom! He is doing great with sleeping and now only gets up once a night/morning. This week, he's been pushing it back farther each night, going to bed at 7/8 and then waking up again at 2,3 and 4! Before we know it he'll be sleeping through the night! The next big transition will be moving him into the big crib in Emrey's room, should be interesting!

Eli, 11 weeks, Emrey 2.2

Herman park, feeding the ducks

Getting excited to ride the train

One of her best friends...Emma

Life with Eli

So, I'm going to try to be brief in these posts, so that I can get them posted! Eli is almost 10 weeks and as I said in the last post, smiling up a storm! He loves watching Emrey dance and run around and just sits watching her, with a look of awe and a little bit of nervousness. Emrey continues to be very sweet with Eli, helping to rub his head or bounce his seat, if he's crying. She will often say "awww, that's okay, buddy"...which is what I tend to call him. As for sleep...well, Eli is not quite as great a sleeper as Emrey was...She was sleeping through the night by this time. Eli is still getting up 2-3 times on average per night. I've often wondered if he's not getting enough milk, so he needs to make up for it at night, but as you can see from the pictures, he's doing just fine! He weighed 12.04 oz when I weighed him at the hospital last week.

As for Emrey, she is a great big sister! Highlights on her...she received her first haircut this past week, and sat very still for me, with the aid of a lollipop, to keep her focused. She had another allergic reaction to something at mdo this week, so it looks like she may still be allergic to peanuts, although they didn't see what she ate? A little benadryl calmed it down, but she still looked puffy when I picked her up! Of note, we had a "goodbye party" for Emrey's nooks this past week. She had a cupcake and we sang Happy Birthday Emrey, and then put all her nooks in a box, explained that she didn't need them anymore, because she is a big girl and then had her throw them out. She seemed fine with it all, until we went to go to sleep that night :( Overall, she's done well with the change, she just tends to talk for a while before going to bed, since there is nothing in her mouth!

7 weeks old!

Okay, so by the time I'm getting to writing this...Eli is now 10 weeks old! I had uploaded the pictures and then never got back to write anything..this seems to be the story of my life these days! There are not many things that ever get finished at one time. I'm trying to get used to this, but it's hard, seeing as how I like to check things off my list! Oh well....Eli is growing amazingly, as you'll see in the next entry I'm hoping to do today! He's smiling and cooing and laughing! He is quite a joy! Still not sleeping very well, although we've had several nights over the past couple weeks when he's only gotten up once! I feel like a new woman when he does that!

visit from Aunt Sarah

This is at a birthday party for one of Emrey's friends...it was a Pony theme...She was a bit nervous at first, but then warmed up and has talked about "riding the pony" at Ava's party for weeks now...

this is at another birthday party Ellis took Emrey to, it was at a little gym, she had a blast!

Eli's first few weeks home...

Eli has been adjusting to life outside the womb...and he's doing pretty well. He had already gained back his birth weight, plus some (weighing in at 7.19) at his two week appointment. He is still sleeping a lot, and enjoys sleeping in our swing much more than his cradle. Emrey is adjusting really well, although it has definitely been a transition. Here are a few shots from the past couple weeks...including a visit from my parents!

Thanksgiving Day...Emrey wasn't sure what to make of this little guy that came home with us!

She quickly warmed to him and wanted him to join her in bed while we sang songs to her.

Getting "pumped up" with Pappo....

and chilling with Nanna

The Men

Pappa Tommy and Lessy came over for a visit

And it wouldn't be a visit from my parents if my dad didn't take on some major house projects while he was here. We started updating our kitchen almost a year ago now...and needless to say, our progress has been slow. With a new one on the way, we were pretty sure it was going to be put off indefinitely...but my dad was AMAZING! He went right to work and helped us pretty much complete the painting of our cabinets, which is a HUGE job! Thanks so much dad! When we do finish, I'll post some before and after pic's so you can see the dramatic change!

Here he is painting into the wee hours of the night!