Happy Halloween!

This pic was taken at Dan & Kate's Halloween party tonight! We plan to take them (mostly Kason) to trick or treat at a few houses in the neighborhood tomorrow night and then pass out candy at home. Check for a great big post in a couple of days about all the fun from this weekend.



Warehouse Mouse & Smitty (from Disney's Imagination Movers)

I take it all back

After my post the other day, Emily decided to prove me wrong. Remember when I said she was teething, but was such a trooper and rarely complained? Yeah, well, disregard that. Lately, she has been cranky and clingy about 1/2 of her awake time, screaming bloody murder if I even attempt to put her down. She has also decided to keep us up all.night.long. Tylenol has nothing on this teething thing. I will be off to the store today to get some ibuprofen in hopes of a better night's sleep. Those two little top teeth are so darn close to breaking through, but they just won't come out. Instead, they are content to sit there and swell up my little girl's gums and cause her extreme pain. GRRR!!!

P.S. I am miffed about the recent recall of teething tablets. All these makers of children's meds and homeopathic remedies (and formula, for those similac users) need to get their acts together and give us safe products for our children.

A couple of things I forgot....

on Kason's post. Nothing big, but things I want to remember.

1. He is fully potty trained. After quite the battle with pooping on the potty, he finally got over his fear about a month and a half ago. Yay!!!

2. As he was outside swinging today, he counted straight to 30. I was amazed. After some prodding, with "thirty-....", he answered "thirty-one" and then, kept going. He can count and count and count if we just tell him what comes next, as in thirty, forty, fifty, etc. Who knew?

3. He has also been playing with Emmy's music table and loves to put it in Spanish mode to hear the Spanish ABC's. He loves music and picks it up right away, so he has a lot of it down. My Aunt Carmen (who was also my high school Spanish teacher) would be so proud.

4. Since we are on the topic of music, I should also mention that he loves Toby Keith's, "Getcha Some". A little inappropriate for a toddler? Maybe. But, it's oh so cute!

Emily - 9 months & 2 days

My sweet little Emmy -

Petite: that's how everyone refers to you. And, you are. Today, at your appointment, you weighed 16lb 14oz (13%). You have lost a bit of weight this week with your illness, though. You would have been somewhere around 17lb 5-6oz if you had not been sick. But, either way, you are just that, petite. You are now 27 1/4 in long, though. While not tall, you are definitely growing.

A proficient crawler, puller-upper, and sorta-cruiser, you keep Mommy and Daddy on their toes. You are so curious and want to check everything out. The fireplace is one of your favorites, so we'll have to work on that before the cold weather arrives. You can say hi and mama and dada, often in context and are working on bubba. You light up when your brother walks into a room and love to "wrestle" with him. You absolutely ADORE other children and they adore you, as well. Now that you are bigger and the weather is nicer, we lay a blanket on the front lawn and you get to actually play with the big kids instead of watching them as they play. It's a whole new world for you!

Even though you are tiny, you are a wonderful eater. Fruit is your favorite, but you eat your veggies, too (even if I do have to sneak them in sometimes). You have begun eating table foods and love it (especially carrots and peeled grapes). You are still nursing and mommy thinks we will have no problem going to a year, maybe more.

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Your favorite things:

Mommy, Daddy, Kason, and all other children, animals (as long as they stay out of your face), helping Kason with his puzzles, toys, toys, toys, chewing on anything you can fit in your mouth, watching SuperWhy (Kason gets to watch this in the morning while you are eating breakfast and no matter how hard I try, I cannot turn you away), blowing raspberries

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Other new things you are doing:

Signing - So far, you can do more and all done (in your own cute little way). Kason loves to help teach you new signs!

So Big - You put your arms up as high as you can when we ask how big you are. So cute!

Peek-a-boo - You've loved peekaboo for a while, but are just starting to pull the blanket over your own face to play.

Teething - You have two bottom teeth and are working so hard on cutting the top two. Your poor little gums are so swollen right now, but you are trooper and rarely complain.

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Mommy and Daddy love watching you turn into your own little person with your own opinions. We love watching you grow and learn each day and are so excited for the future. We worried a lot when I was pregnant with you that, even though you were planned, it happened too soon. We now see there was nothing to worry about. You fit right in and our family would just not be the same without you in it. You are our sweetie pot pie, our sugar plum, our Emmy-pants, our princess. We love you more than we could ever put into words and are so thankful to have been blessed with the two greatest gifts in the world.



Best Buddies:

Kason - Just Shy of 27 Months

I realized today that it has been a while since I've given individual updates and since I am using this as my own tool to keep track of milestones, etc, I need to get on the ball. So, here we go...starting with Kason.

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As I have mentioned before, you are turning in to a big boy right before our eyes. Gone is the baby we came to Texas with, and in its place is a little boy who continues to amaze his Mommy and Daddy.

From the day we brought her home, you have been the most wonderful big brother (although, we are already beginning to see some signs of future sibling quarrels) to your baby sister. You can be quite the little monster when you wake up from any sleeping period, until you see your Emmy. Then, you get the biggest smile on your face and rush right over to her.

We put you in a preschool/MDO a couple of weeks ago at our church and you love it. You go 2 days/wk, love your teachers, and are making lots of new friends. You tell me everyday that you played with Nathan and Carter (and a name that we cannot decipher). We are so happy you are doing so well.

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What you are Learning:

1. To read (sorta) - You continue to love books and letters, playing with them all.day.long, and are on the verge of reading short words. You know all of your letters, uppercase and most lowercase, and their sounds. In the past week or so, you have begun sounding out short words and trying to put the letters together to make words. You constantly pull your letters out and ask mommy to build words with you. Mommy and Daddy are amazed and cannot believe how quickly you catch on to new things.

2. Counting - Your counting skills are also improving daily. You can count to 20 and can now count objects.

3. Puzzles - You LOVE puzzles and can do 12 piece puzzles with no help and 24 piece puzzles with just a few hints.

4. Manners - You say please and thank you with semi-regularity and are getting very good at sharing your toys and taking turns.

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Things you love:

Letters, numbers, puzzles, cars, trucks, trains, watching football and soccer with daddy, playing football, soccer, basketball, baseball, wrestling with anyone who will let you, playing chase, tormenting Maggie, eating, Buzz Lightyear, SuperWhy, The Letter Factory, music, dancing, riding your tricycle, painting, coloring

You love any chance you get to play with other kids...Emily, the neighbors, your many cousins, school and church friends, random kids at the park or Chick-fil-A, etc, etc.

You want Mommy, Daddy, and/or Emily at your side at all times, whether we are watching Super Why on the couch or playing in the play room. You are a social being and want to interact.

You love to be silly and the center of attention. Anytime we are somewhere new or new people come over, you immediately begin putting on a show. You sing songs, you dance around, etc and can brighten up any room.
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In conclusion, you are the most wonderful, smart, curious, loving, gentle, rambunctious, little boy any mommy and daddy could ever ask for. We love you so much and are so blessed to watch you grow every day.

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Emily's 9 month appointment is tomorrow, so I will update afterwards.

Reminiscing

Tonight, Kyle was saying how he couldn't believe we have been in this house a year. Actually, we closed Oct. 21, so not quite a year. It feels like a year to me, though. A lot has happened since then...for starters, I'm not pregnant anymore. We have a beautiful, almost-9-month-old baby girl and Kason has grown sooo much since we moved in to this house. I went back tonight and looked at some old pictures from this time last year and am in shock at just how much he has grown and the little boy that he is turning in to.

These are some pics of him around this time last year....Emily, too. :P

October Busy-ness

October is shaping up to be a fun and beautiful month. The weather has been AMAZING and we are enjoying every minute, whether it be at the park, swinging in the backyard, playing with the neighbors, or laying out a blanket in the front yard. This past weekend, we went to the DFW area to visit family and had a great time. And, in the coming weeks we have the Fall Fest at church, the air show, the hot air balloon festival, and of course, Halloween.


Here are some pics from the past few weeks.

Emily & Nanny at the park

The Grandkids

MawMaw & Emmy

Kason with his new obsession, SuperWhy

Look at me...I'm crawling!

Kason brushing the goats at the zoo

Just being pretty

Family shot at the zoo