Emma is a rock star at tummy time. At 11 weeks, she is already rolling from back to belly, and she can scoot herself in a full circle. Of course, I have not checked up with any of the baby books in my library to confirm this, but I'm going to go ahead and call her advanced. I wish I could show you how she got on her belly here, but she only likes to roll over when Momma isn't watching or doesn't have camera at the ready.
Emma has the best laugh and the best smiles. Unfortunately, she is a bit shy in front of Momma's big black camera. So no big smiles for the lens today. Don't worry, sista. It will grow on you.
As promised, here are a couple super cute pictures of Grammy and the kids during her visit a few weeks back. Thanks for waiting patiently, Mom.
I really love how these came out, and I am pretty sure that Gram will be printing one for the fridge.
Especially this one. Noah is smiling and looking at the camera. Emma is of course being her cute baby self. And, Mom, it is such a great picture of you. You know how you always ask if you look old? Well, you don't... you look awesome! And, I hope I look as great as you when I get my senior citizen discount. I love you!
1. I've gotten into the habit of buying actual cd's at an actual store and actually playing them in my car disc player. I guess you could say, "I'm kicking it old school." Don't get me wrong, I love iTunes and the convenience of wireless downloads as much as the next person, but I have been feeling a bit of nostalgia for the good old days of the Record Bar and buying and learning an entire album... Side A and Side B. Right now, I'm listening to Adele 21. My favorite songs: Rolling in the Deep, Take It All and Don't You Remember.
2. One of the things I love about having a baby is that I feel like it's perfectly acceptable to sing out loud whatever song is running through my head under the pretense that I'm singing to the baby. Just the other day I was singing while shopping in Babies R Us. I looked down to see this. See she was listening and apparently she likes my singing.
3. I couldn't help but buy this sweet little onesie for Emma (and the matching bloomers and socks, of course.) Baby doll is what my dad calls his girls. Actually, I'm not sure if he calls Monique that or not, but he's usually not one to play favorites, so I can only assume he does. So, I couldn't pass it up because I know to her PaPa, Emma is the prettiest baby doll.
4. Have I mentioned that my mom saves everything? On our recent trip home, I brought back the entire Sweet Pickles book collection. Technically, it was my brother's, but I remember reading them as well. The series runs A to Z with each animal representing a very real human emotion. Take for example, Accusing Alligator who blames everyone else or Questioning Quail who can't make a decision. Noah loves the books, and I think they are good for the social skills themes. The books make me laugh though because it seems that the stories have no moral at the end and the characters just continue their bad behavior. Like Temper Tantrum Turtle (Noah's favorite), who kicks and screams when he doesn't get his way. All his friends start kicking and screaming too to make Turtle see how silly he looks. At the end of the book, Turtle walks away muttering about what's gotten into those animals, totally unaware that his friends were imitating him. Did I mention this is Noah's favorite one.
5. And, finally Emma is super strong and really close to rolling back to belly. Here she is hard at working doing tummy time. Tough stuff, right here.
It's hard to find a good sno-ball in our Texas town, but during the height of my pregnancy cravings I managed to track one down. Yesterday, I decided to treat myself again. And, I finally convinced Noah to try one. Umm... yeah he loved it. It's sno-ball for goodness sake. Or as Noah would say, "oh my gosh-ness."
My house was drowning in "stuffs," as Noah likes to call it, so a few weekends ago, I cleaned up and tossed out the mess. I figured I needed to make room for all the new "stuffs" that the school year will bring. I consolidated EVERY pencil that was lying around the house, and that's a lot of pencils!
Can you believe it? Two months old. We just had Emma's two month well check-up. It wasn't actually a completely "well" check-up. She's already had her first bout with the sniffles and is currently battling a second case. Otherwise, she got a healthy report from her pediatrician. She measured in the 60% for weight, 90% for height and 7% for head circumference. What's up with Dean and I making super tall children, and why are their heads so small?
Baby Emma showing off her baby skills with the classic newborn reflex, the archer pose or as Daddy refers to it... The Heisman.
Emma still sleeps a lot of the day, but most of it is centered in this one ginormous nap late morning/early afternoon. You know whats amazing about second children? When they're sleepy, you put them down, and guess what... 90% of the time, they actually just go to sleep. Nice. Nighttime sleep is still great. She gets up once a night around 3:00 AM and again when big brother jumps in bed around 6:00 AM. Sorry sista, your brother is a morning person.
When Emma is awake, she's either eating or tracking her big brother. She smiles a lot and is starting to coo. It's so sweet how much she sounds like a little girl. She has so much light in her eyes, and I can see that sweet and happy temperament emerging.
She is a frequent hiccup-er, mostly due to the fact that her Momma is not the best burper. She loves her bath. And, if we don't brush her hair right away, she ends up with a bit of a rat's nest. Speaking of hair, it's continuing to grow, although she is thinning in places. In the morning, she wakes up with these huge knots in the back. I foresee some teary hair brushing sessions in our future. She's super strong and has great head control even with the limited amount of tummy time she gets from her Momma. She is already starting to roll to her side. In fact, it is her favorite way to sleep.
My friend Judi and I braved the outlet this morning for tax free weekend. Monday is back to school, and I wanted something new and fresh for Noah's first day. The mall was ca-razy! Luckily, we had two sweet and well behaved little ones for stress relief.
When Molly saw this picture, she told her Momma, "That's baby Emma, she's my best girl."
Meanwhile, back on the homefront, Daddy took Noah for his own kind of tax free shopping.
I realize that I titled my last two blog posts with a question using the word "Who's." If you can imagine someone waving my hand in their hand in the air and saying, "Pick me. Pick me." Well, that's my response to both.
Two kids is just busier. And, my blogging is falling behind. Well, so is the grocery shopping and the housework, but I'm talking about things I actually miss doing. So, in the works is a two month old Emma post, a visit from friends, and some super cute pictures of Grammy and the kids. I'll hopefully this weekend upload the pictures, edit the pictures, upload the pictures to blogger, and finally blog about them. This entire process could take anywhere from 2-3 days. It's all about who needs what where and when. So, in case you've been missing Little Mrs. E, here are a couple recent iPhone pictures.
It's hard to believe that summer is coming to an end. I'm giddy with the thought of Noah being back in school. He is in desperate need of a little structure, and whereas last year school was a bit of a foray into unchartered waters, this year I know what to expect. I can't wait to see how much this little guy learns and grows this school year. Super excited to get it started.
I may or may not stalk the Laurie Berkner Band website. Her music is so fun and catchy, and I enjoy listening to it as much as Noah. I had hoped she would come in concert nearby, but mostly she performs in the northeast. Earlier in the summer, I saw a tour date in Grand Prairie, TX . My first thought was... Dallas (5 hours away) with a newborn (presently still in utero). There is no way we will be able to swing it. Total bummer! And, then Emma was born with her super cool, laid back style. I then thought, there is no way we are missing this concert! So, we went, and it was awesome.
The band just released a new DVD, Party Day, and Noah watched it the week leading up to the concert. He (and I) had songs like "Choc-o-lot in my Pock-o-lot," "Where is the Cake" and "Last Night I Had a Dream," stuck in our heads all week. The lady has got some catchy tunes... click below at your own risk.
As soon as he saw the stage, he got pretty pumped up. I think he knew exactly what was going on.
And, when Laurie, Susie, Adam and Bob hit the stage. Well, the look on Noah's face says it all.
He spent most of the concert in a constant state of jumpy excitement. The band sang both new and old stuff, and Noah knew them all.
The concert was pretty relaxed, and a lot of kids were stage front dancing to the music. Halfway through Daddy brought Noah down front. See the little guy on the right in the yellow stripey shirt. He loved it up front, and asked Dean, "want to go up?" Oh yeah, my little guy was ready to take the stage.
At one point, Daddy said, "Hey look Noah, it's Laurie." Noah pointed at her, and Laurie bent down and sang right to him. According to Daddy, she was close enough to kiss him on the head. I missed it, but how cool is that.
You'll have to excuse the pictures since no flash photography allowed.
Noah loved the concert, and I am so glad we took him. As soon as the concert finished, Noah looked at me and said, "wanna do it again?" And, let's not forget about Emma, who was a champ during the whole performance.
And, as we usually do for these types of events, we asked the nice lady behind us to take a picture. Technically, the concert was over, but I had forgtten to turn on my flash. Once again, better luck next time on the family photo.
We headed home right after the concert and listened to Laurie the entire way back. Here is Noah following some directions to "Pig on Her Head." The request... Put your toe to your nose.
As hot as it has been in Houston this summer, it is even hotter in Dallas. The Saturday we spent in town the temps were in the 110s. We decided to look for an indoor activity and landed on the SeaLife Aquarium at Grapevine Mills Mall. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones with the idea. The line to get in was about a two-hour wait. The season pass holder line was empty, so let's just say, we'll be making a few more trips to Dallas this year.
It was a pretty nice aquarium, and Noah had fun running around. He especially loved the stingray exhibit.
He was not that much of a fan of the glass-bottomed shark tunnel, so we passed through this exhibit pretty quickly.
Fish, fish everywhere.
Emma had fun too!
Thanks Daddy for braving the crowds.
And thanks Noah for being such a good boy. This picture below makes me so proud, my heart hurts. The place was seriously packed, and Noah and I strolled with Emma across the mall while Daddy reparked the car. I still can remember not too long ago having to chase/carry/stroll this guy through malls. How far he's come! I love you, Noah!
We spent last weekend in Dallas. It was a quick trip to see the Laurie Berkner Band in concert, but we also got to visit old friends, meet our new baby girl cousin, hit up the aquarium, and most importantly get in some quality hotel time.
Here are the kiddos all loaded up in the car. Can I just brag a bit and say that I am so proud of my kids being the... Best. Travelers. Ever. Noah is a seasoned pro, and little E at a mere two months is proving to be just as much of a pick up and go child as her big brother.
We headed out late Friday evening after Daddy got off of work. I decided to load up the car while waiting, and Noah was so excited. He kept asking me, "want to go on a trip?" I would say, "yes, we are going on a trip, but we have to wait for Daddy." He would reply, "Let's go!" I had to redirect him from wanting to wait in the car, which was parked in the garage, by having him fill up his backpack with stuff for the drive. That backpack stayed on his lap for the 5+ hours it took us to get to Dallas. Sweet, sweet boy!
So, here's the thing. My husband loves hotels. It's kind of his thing. So, if we are visiting a town near you, please don't get your feelings hurt when we decline an offer to stay at your house. Dean likes hotels. And, he is passing this love onto his children.
Here is Noah enjoying an elevator ride up to our room.
Here is all the "stuffs" that made it into Noah's bag by the end of the trip. Pencils from home. No. 2 pencils and a Batmobile from Uncle PNut. A seahorse notepad and pencil, sea creatures, octopus pencil and a truck from the SeaLife aquarium. Noah loves his "stuffs," and spent a good deal of time setting up all his stuff perfectly and then loading it back into his backpack. It's kind of a new thing for him.
Here is Noah's cozy spot where he slept all night and didn't get up once to come into our bed. Maybe Momma could find a love for hotels too.
Hotel living rocks!
Emma didn't miss a beat with the change in locale. I guess a pack-n-play's a pack-n-play as long as Momma is there to feed her in the middle of the night.
Dean has one cousin on his mother's side, who we lovingly refer to as Uncle PNut. Through the years, I have heard many a tale of all the shenanigans Dean and Uncle PNut have gotten into. Well, surprise surprise... Uncle PNut is now a dad. And, there are two little second cousins all ready to make some memories of their own.
Welcome to the world, Peyton Olivia. Born exactly two months behind her cousin Emma. How fun is that! Congratulations Uncle PNut and Aunt Christine! We are so happy for you both, and we know you will make awesome parents.
I'm a SAHM to a great little guy and sweet baby girl. Our family of 3 resides in the great state of Texas, but don't be fooled...we still bleed purple and gold.
![[Noah]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnovEEJKbwe-21dHZDYeyNixXHWW8EhWnc2wY-ufFAzTweaydQSIsbAZp9HjmMKQNG2AwbzfJeBOFiyNzww4m4GasdT0Z0xGeEcLE9Epw2hApHUWLEbjIRuB5I2VmtEy5CkEwFFpHa3-Ts/s1600/DSC_0424.jpg)
![[Emma]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrlw82fPjO98D65KmyEs-hmLxsekbItHXtAYPC94OhfNEP3i2QV5wJwsAmnktv1FN17cQW22VNW1zEM6CZhWVXkF2f0AF_jX34bimbYh1SBrUqo0IYCWmVvno6phX6WPoULIWVLLaTu6tP/s1600/DSC_0044.jpg)