Emersyn 2 Months

   I figured I better get around to Emerysn's two month blog post since she is closing in on three months already!  I am so glad I do these posts even if no one reads them.  We publish our blog into a book each year.  It is such an awesome way to preserve detailed memories.  I often go back to previous years to see what the other kids were doing at the same age.  They are truly priceless!
     Our little chunky monkey is now two months old (as I write this she is actually 11 weeks old).  She is just growing like a week and clearly likes to eat!  The doctor is always very pleased with her growth.  We are both blessed that my body can provide for her so well and give her everything she needs to grow and thrive.
      She had her two month appointment a few weeks ago.  She weighed 12.1 pounds (63%) and is 22.8 inches tall (55%).  She is pretty proportional and I can't get over that she has gained 5 pounds and grown 3 inches in just two short months!  No wonder her clothes are getting snug for her!  The doctor said she looked great.  We had to end the appointment with the dreaded two month shots.  Poor thing was not happy to get that done.  She was a little fussy for a few days following, but it always better than any of the horrible diseases those shots are preventing.
    Emmy continues to be such a joy in our lives. Her siblings continue to be so in love with her.  They love going up to her and talking to her and making her smile.  She loves them and always smiles so big for them.  She is lucky to be such well loved little girl with some awesome older siblings to look after her.
    Emmy continues to sleep like a champ during the day.  She is awake for longer periods of time, but she still takes some good naps during the day.  She is now getting into more of a pattern with her sleep.  She naps around the same times every day.  Her night sleep has been touch and go.  She will do pretty good, then have a few nights were she doesn't sleep well and is up a lot more.  I am guessing this may be due to growth spurts.  She is in a pretty predictable pattern for night too.  She always goes to bed around 8:00 p.m.  She then wakes up between 12:30-1:30 (more towards 12:30).  She then will wake up again around 3:30 or 4:30.  Again, I would give anything for her to give up one of those feedings so I can get some longer stretches.  But, for now she must still need those feedings because they don't seem to be changing.  I look forward to the day where I get better sleep, but for now I am coping.
   Unless she is tired or hungry, Emersyn is a pretty happy and content little girl.  She loves to "talk" to us.  She continues to love her play mat.  She is just discovering her hands and is now able to start to hold and manipulate toys.  That is a very exciting development to watch.  This week I got out her frog chair which she absolutely loves.  I think she loves being able to really look around and take in all of her surroundings.  She will sit in that thing as happy as a clam the entire time I cook dinner.  It has been a lifesaver to say the least!  She is also getting very, very close to rolling over from her back to her belly.  If I put her on her back, she almost always immediately rolls onto her side.  Today she came so close to getting onto her stomach.  She will be moving very soon!  She is definitely out of the newborn stage and is doing a lot more than just laying there and looking around.  It is such a fun and rewarding thing to watch.
    We love our little girl so very much!

Our little princess at 2 months

Big sis loves to get in the picture

Her shirt sums her up quite well

Crazy big sister

Another two month shot

   I am also adding a bunch of various shots I have taken in the last month of my phone.  I really need to be better about taking pictures and posting them.

All the kids reading together

Emmy has started to take baths in the big bath tub with Gracie.  She absolutely loves taking baths with her. She just lays in her seat so contently and watches Gracie.  

She does not like getting out of the bath.  This is the face I usually get when it is time to get out.  

Always smiling

I thought this picture was so funny

She loves sitting up

Chunks

Cuddling in Daddy's arms.  Like her sisters, she is such a daddy's girl.  

Just realaxing

Looking festive

She loves that pacifier and it is always nearby

Posing with her sister

Kisses from her sweet sister

Toy time!

Those cheeks!!!

I bought this new device for shopping carts.  She is finally big enough to ride in it.  She loved it!

Dawson 2nd Season of Basketball

Team picture

     Dawson is currently playing his second season of basketball. He continues to be on the same team as his friends and he has so much fun.  He has come so far with his skills.  He is much less afraid of the ball and really is getting better about going after it.  He is an awesome defensive player.  He does a great job rebounding and passing to his teammates.  Last weekend, he had his best game yet.  His coaches even pulled him aside after the game to tell him how proud they were of him.  I love watching him play because the constant smile he has it too cute!

Shooting the ball

Ready to go out there

Getting ready to pass the ball

He is a good dribbler

Great action shot!

Emersyn at 6 weeks

     Emersyn is now six weeks old.  Honestly, these weeks are flying by so quickly.  I blink and she is another week old!
   Emersyn continues to be such a laidback and happy girl.  She has done a lot of mental developing the last two weeks.  She is able to look around a lot more.  She loves to look at faces and her surroundings.  I can tell she is able to see a lot further away.  Sometimes, I will even catch her looking at the T.V.  It is neat to see her vision change so much.
   In the last week she has also started to smile.  There is nothing sweeter than a newborn's first smiles.  I love them!  She always gives her dad the best smiles, but I can usually get some good ones out of her as well.  She is definitely a happy little girl.
    Emersyn continues to sleep most of the day.  All that growing and developing must really wear her out!  She is waking up for longer periods of time.  She just loves to lay there and take in all the chaos around her.  One of her favorite things is to just lay on the couch and look around.  She will smile and coo and seems to content to just be around us.
    Sleep is still going well.  She is still on the same pattern she has been from birth.  Now that she is six weeks, I am hoping she will drop her first feeding and I could really get a good stretch of sleep.  It took her siblings a very long time to get there, so I am praying this time it comes much, much sooner.  I have big sleep hopes with this one!
      She continues to love her play mat and loves looking at the animals.  I am thinking we will need to get out the baby toys soon because she will definitely start appreciating them soon.  She isn't the biggest fan of tummy time, but we continue to work on it.  The other day she grabbed one of her toys.  I don't know if she did it on purpose or accident, but she held it for a some time and I was pretty impressed.
     The six week mark also means I got the all clear from my doctor to start running again.  I didn't really run during this pregnancy because I was very busy with school and my body just wasn't responding well at all when I ran.  I didn't want to chance anything, so I chose to not run most of my pregnancy.  I am still incredibly busy with school and the chaos of four kids, but running is so important to my mental well being.  I have gone on a few short, easy runs this week and I swear  I had an ear to ear grin the whole time.  Oh how I have missed my runs!  I am really easing back into things and I know it will be hard to get runs in most days, but I will try my best because it really is a great escape for me.
   Here are some pics:

She really likes her Wub a Nub

Doing tummy time

Cuddle time with Daddy

First smiles. She always smiles best for daddy.  Probably because he is so silly.  

Valentine's Day

    We had a very laid back Valentine's Day this year.  Since it fell on a weekday, and taking care of a small baby takes a lot of my time, we cut back on the festivities a little this year.  The kids got to have pink milk at breakfast.  They were excited to pass out Valentines to their friends at school.  They had class parties at school which I am told were a lot of fun.  After school, the kids came home to some special treats.  They got a little chocolate and some other fun surprises.  The kids had a heart shaped pizza for dinner.  I made Joey and a tasty dinner of chicken and asparagus.  We ate dinner in the dining room and got to have a special treat of sparkling cider with our dinner.  We didn't play minute to win it this year, but we did play some Apples to Apples which always has us in stitches.  We finished the night with amazing sugar cookies from a local bakery.  While it was low key this year, it was still a nice day.

Dawson got to make a special hat at school

Decorating a cookie at school

I think his goal was to squeeze on as many sprinkles as possible.  

Emmy wearing her adorable Valentine's Day outfit

All that cuteness wore a girl out.

Silly lips

Uh oh!  Someone was not feeling the love.

Silly group picture

Serious group picture

Love that face

Heart shaped pizza

Dinner time

Playing Apples to Apples.  This game is definitely our favorite.  

Ashlyn and Joey worked really hard on her Valentine's Day box.  It turned out so cute.