These Days...

Life these days...

Life with a 3 month old..

Felix now goes to bed early! He likes to be in bed by 7pm or he will start to get fussy. This is new within the last 3 weeks or so. I don't remember when we had to get a child in bed by 7! But I must admit I kind of like the freedom we have in the evenings. He is typically getting up once around 3am. He is just so smiley and lovable.. We can't get enough of Felix.

Life with a 29 month old... (almost 2 1/2!)

Hattie is a little fireball. I never know what she will say. One moment she's a kitty.. the next she's a baby... She has her Daddy (puppy) wrapped around her little finger. Each morning she has to have "two toasts". She loves watching Umi Zoomi. Hattie is very loving to Emmett and Felix. Although she did step on Felix the other day.. which might have been on purpose. She's happy happy happy almost all the time and literally does not stop talking unless she is watching Umi Zoomi! She goes to bed around 7:30pm and we are careful not to go too far past that or she will get over-tired and sometimes throw a tantrum. As she says "I threw a fit!". Luckily those are getting to be few and far between. We love our little chattie Hattie.. or Had! :)

Life with a 49 month old.. (Ha! just over 4!)

Emmett is sweet. He has finally learned that when we put him to bed he needs to stay there. He does a great job with that especially at night and goes to bed around 8:30. He's reading longer books. He's going to the bathroom all by himself (sometimes). He calls his sister "Had". If anyone else tried it I don't think I'd be too pleased, but coming from Emmett it might be the sweetest thing I've ever heard. He talks nonsense sometimes and thinks he's funny! He makes up words and then says - That's why. He's testing us each day by seeing what he can and cannot get away with but at the end of the day he just wants to be loved. And we do love him so much!

Emmett is Four!

• Emmett has really grown up a lot this last year. He has become so much more independent. He's learning to get himself dressed without our help, brush his own teeth, etc. When we get home now I am able to get him and Hattie out of the van and Emmett opens the door to the house and lets himself and Hattie in while I get Felix. Then, when I walk inside they are always hiding from me in the living room. Yesterday Emmett jumped out from under a blanket. 
• Emmett is awfully sweet these days. He really loves his new brother and kisses him all of the time. He is just so full of love for him. We are trying to teach him that sometimes it's not ok to kiss him though - like when he's sleeping. He and Hattie get a long pretty well most of the time too. They enjoy playing together. We often find them sitting right next to eachother on the couch while watching TV. I think the fact that they have a playmate has helped tremendously with our transition to a family of five. He is also full of love and kisses for Mom and Dad a lot of the time. 
• Mother's day this year seemed to really click with Emmett a little more this year. When I picked him up from daycare that Friday he had a rose for me and a present (they each made a bracelet and Emmett made a necklace for me!). He said "Happy Mother's Day" when I got there. Then on Sunday I was getting him ready for church and rolling up the sleeves of his button down shirt. He paused for a moment,, kissed me and said, "Thanks". I said, "You are so sweet Emmett." He then said "Happy Mother's Day" and gave me another kiss. It really warmed my heart.
• Emmett tells us a lot more stories these days. Some of them make some sense and some of them don't. He uses his imagination a lot. For his birthday he got a lot of "guys" to play with and it has been interesting observing his play so far. He is into Spider-Man right now. He still really enjoys books. We got several longer books that I hope he enjoys us reading aloud to him. We'll see how that goes. He is also very good with puzzles and is starting to enjoy building things with his Lego Duplos. He enjoys playing trains as well and is more into building the track with a little help than ever before. He also plays with his cars. He has a set of lacing cards and he really likes playing with the strings. 
• Emmett is a great eater. He tries a lot of things. He's not a big fan of many things with meat in them except he does like meatballs and sausage on pizza etc. I would say his favorite meal is pasta with alfredo sauce and shrimp. He loves vegetables, especially peas and corn but he also likes broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. He also eats most fruits including cantalope, apples, mandarin oranges, grapes, raspberries, and strawberries. He doesn't really like green beans or blueberries but we still have them sometimes anyway! He has also recently developed a lot of chocolate milk after trying it a few months ago. He likes candy too - in particular m&ms and starburst. He also enjoys popcorn.
• Emmett wears 4t clothes but his pants are getting short. His 4t shorts for the summer seem like they will fit fine until fall. 
• We are getting ready to send Emmett to preschool next year. It will be a big transition for him as he has been at Dragon Tots since he was 16 months old. He also will no longer be with Hattie or Felix. I don't think he even remembers spending a day apart from Hattie so I'll be interested to see how that impacts their relationship. He'll be going to the elementary school by our house and luckily they have wrap around care so we won't have to transport him at all during the day.
• Emmett will be playing his first organized sport this summer - soccer! He has actually been doing pretty well with kicking balls so I hope he has a great experience.
• He has started to outgrow his nap and no longer naps at home on the weekends. We try to enforce rest time but he continually gets out of his room so we typically end up allowing him to watch TV on the couch or in our bed to keep him from disturbing everyone else! He still naps at daycare for about an hour and then because of that he doesn't go to bed at night very easily either. I think we need to drop naps all together. So, that's on the horizon. It will probably be a grumpy transition.
• For his birthday this year we sent Spider-Man cupcakes to daycare on Friday the 15th. We went to the YMCA that evening as a family and went swimming because that is something that Emmett had asked to do. Then on Saturday we went to the zoo with Aunt Katrina and both sets of grandparents. I made Chocolate cake with peanut butter filling decorated like a monkey.

Emmett - 

We love you beyond words. I can't wait to watch you learn and grow during this fourth year of life. It's so hard to believe that four years have already passed since I held you in my arms for the very first time. You will always be our baby! 

Love,

Mom & Dad

Emmett Turns 3

Emmett Robert turned 3 on May 16, 2014. He had a good day at Dragon Tots and brought Mike Wazowski hats and chocolate cupcakes with blue frosting for his birthday celebration there. Of course he was the one that refused to wear the a hat! He can be a little a little arnery, but mostly I think he is unsure about all the attention he receives on a special day like his birthday. We practiced the night before. I would say "Happy Birthday, Emmett" and he was supposed to smile and say "Thank you!" After 2 times he said - "Mommy, not until tomorrow!"

We had a low-key birthday party with our families on Saturday. We went to the mall and played, then had pizza and cake at home. Here are a few pictures from the day...

Update...Hattie Jeanne

Hello blog.

There are many updates to be shared but I will start with my precious little Hattie Jeanne. Hattie turned 16 months on May 30th 2014. This time with her has really flown by. She is a joy at this age but she's really starting to test her limits. She's always looking for some attention and a reaction from Mom & Dad. Her newest trick is climbing onto the couch or chair and then she jumps up and down and looks at us for our reaction. There were a few times I didn't notice she climbed up so she yelled for my reaction. I'm guessing Daddy or I might have laughed/smiled the first few times we saw her do it.. and now we're in real trouble and trying to correct ourselves to let her know that is not ok!

She now walks up and down the stairs. She has the potential to do it on her own but so far we are always right there making sure she has a hand to hold. 

Hattie's vocabulary is expanding by the minute. She likes to greet us with "Hi Daddy" and "Hi Mommy" and then smiles. :) Some new words that come to mind are pizza, George (Curious George), Open (sounds like apple), thank you, ME!!, etc. She started saying "Hattie" at 15 months but has been saying Emmett for many months now.

She has started to sing. Her debut song was "Let it Go" from the movie Frozen. It's no wonder this is the first song she's sang since it is so popular. Emmett's first song was "Twinkle Twinkle" and we probably didn't even let him watch TV at her age.. 

She has a new affectionate nickname for her binky - it's her "Di-di". She's becoming quite attached to her precious di-di too.. She has started to ask for it at very inconvenient times like in the middle of supper. We are trying to wean her from it and only allowing it at nap and night time for now.

Hattie is into playing with puzzles and bubbles. She really likes her new swing set and points to her swings and says "Whee!" She also goes down the slide and likes to climb back up. 

Her hair is finally long enough to be put into a pony tail (with a portion of it) or piggy tails. It is styled in a bit of a mullett right now but I plan to change that once her sides and front grow out a little more so she won't look like a boy when we do cut it. She already seems to like bows and bracelets etc. 

At her 15 month appointment she weighed in at 24 pounds even and was 33 inches. She is still at the top of the charts for height.

Her stranger anxiety continues as well. It is considerably better than before. However, places like doctor's offices or portrait studios are places she would rather not be. Especially if someone she doesn't know might try to talk to her or touch her. Oh Hattie.. :)

She and Emmett really don't get along all that great. They have good moments. And bad moments. But they are always keeping tabs on each other. If Emmett isn't sitting in his chair for a snack or meal with her she points to his chair and says "Emmett?" When Emmett woke up in the middle of the night last night (very rare and he actually stayed home sick with an upset stomach today) he said - "Is Hattie awake?" Obviously not, it's the middle of the night! But, they are always thinking about each other. Two peas in a pod. Two peas in a pod who sometimes hit or push the other pea. But they always say "Sorry". :)

Emmett.. 2 1/2

My baby boy was born 2 1/2 years ago today... The time has gone by so fast. This is such an interesting age. At times I feel so bad for Emmett that we are just feeling our way through parenting him and every new phase that comes up is a new experience for us to try to figure out and he in turn can see how far he can push our buttons. I've been referring to it recently as the "first child syndrome". Parenting is quite the journey! It is so much easier when phases come up with Hattie because we know exactly how to deal - we've been through it already! So, 2 1/2 is not all roses.. but I wouldn't change our Emmett for the world.

On Talking..
Emmett is an excellent communicator. He speaks in full sentences. When we tell him a new world or phrase he almost always repeats it immediately afterwards. Tonight I was reading him a book (The Berenstein Bears New Baby) and he pointed and said "That's a boat." I responded "Yes, that is a boat. It is called a canoe." "A Canoe??" He also has the ability to tell us exactly what he wants. "Be quiet. The babies are sleeping!" He must hear that request often at daycare. Recently he told us "I'm the boss!" at the top of his lungs. We often choose to ignore these types of comments.

On Playing...
Emmett loves to play football - especially with his Dad. He will announce "It's time to play football!" Then he will go and get his football along with a baby bottle he plays with. We're not sure where the baby bottle came in but he puts it in his mouth and shakes his head from side to side. Hattie finds it hilarious. He is also really into playing pretend. He likes to pretend Daddy is sick. "Do you have a fever? Do you need a blankie? Do you want some medicine?" etc. He will make us supper in his kitchen, bring us coffee, cupcakes, soup, etc. He likes to pretend things are hot so that we have to blow on them. He plays well with the other kids at daycare. The like to pretend they are animals, play ring around the rosy or London bridges, dance and sing. Jack seems to be his closest buddy but they are all friends. The other day when we were leaving daycare Jack shouted after us "Bye Emmett, I love you!" To which Emmett replied "Bye!!! I love you Jack!" It may have been the sweetest thing ever.

On Sleeping..
We have struggled with Emmett's sleep lately. It seems to be better now. He has always been such a good sleeper, but there was a 3 week stretch where things weren't going very well. He was occasionally missing naps at daycare and he was fighting naps with us at home. We would have to go in and keep putting him back in his bed. There were 1-2 times where we did eventually give up. Then, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse he started resisting going to bed at night. On October 25th he kept getting out of his bed, I would put him back in, he would get out, I would put him back in etc. Rustin and I were taking turns until we finally realized that we were rewarding him by going into his room period. When we would go in each time he would have a little smile no his face and each time we would leave he would scream. So, we didn't go back in and by finally around 10pm he fell asleep on the floor of his room by his door. At 1am he cried again and went back and placed him in his bed. We told him from then on that we were not coming back when we put him to bed and had two nights of less than 10 minutes of crying and now we have hardly any crying at all. He is back to napping regularly at daycare as well. Looking back I know he was trying to test us. I think it is just what they do at this age. He needs to learn that we are in charge and we need to learn to be as consistent as possible. He needs to take a nap every day. He is exhausted if he doesn't get his nap. Like today. He practically fell asleep on the ride home from daycare.

On Being a big Brother...
We are still struggling a little in this department as well. Hattie admires Emmett so much. You can tell she is always looking to see where he is and what he is doing. For the most part he is good with her. Since she can crawl now they have started to chase each other around and play peek-a-boo etc. But, every once in a while he will hit or push her. I think that because they are both so little he struggles a bit still with her taking attention away from him. He doesn't like it if someone is giving Hattie attention when he wishes they were playing with him (like grandma or grandpa or anyone else that we don't see all the time). He does love her though and gives her kisses. He tickles her tummy and gives her toys. He struggles with sharing things with her but is willing to trade her for something etc so it is a good lesson for him. Hopefully they will have a good relationship.. but I suppose that will be up to the two of them eventually.

Happy 2 1/2 birthday to our little spider. We couldn't love you any more!!!

Halloween!

Mickey and Minnie had a lot of fun trick or treating on the 30th.

It was a really nice night for Hattie's first Halloween and Emmett actually enjoyed going door to door. The worst part about Halloween is definitely trying to limit the amount of candy he is eating afterwards! He would eat his entire bucket if we let him.

 

 

Our Little Hawkeyes

Iowa vs Iowa State Game 09.15.2013 

 

We watched the game at Ryan & Laurie's this year. Both kiddos were pretty well behaved and we had a great time with good friends. As much as I feel like a bit of a traitor (graduated from ISU in 2005), I must admit that I know I am raising two little Hawkeye fans. When your child knows the fight song.. dreams about basketball, football, and Hawkeyes you know the battle has been won. It's a good thing this Mama is admittedly not into sports..

My Baby

Emmett's new obsession - his toy "baby". This is the Stella Doll (boy) that we gave him for his first Christmas. He has finally taken an interest in it.

 

"Open up, Baby!"

 

 

Emmett likes to take Baby's clothes off, try to put them on, and dunk baby in his basketball hoop. :)

Emmett's Birthday Party

The Birthday Boy!

 

And Elmo was the theme! Mommy's homemade Elmo cake and cupcakes..

 

It was fun to have so many of our friends and family join us.. and the weather was pretty great that day at Greenbelt Park in Clive.



Blowing out the candles.. He only had one bite of cake. Too busy playing!

Brynn helped Emmett open his presents (thankfully or we would still be there!).

Bye-bye kisses..

 

 

It worked out well to have his birthday party outdoors and include lots of friends and family. We had a great time and know he did too. He really enjoyed playing with Brynn and Daddy on the slide, swings, etc. He had such a great party that he fell asleep on the way home. Luckily Mommy was able to take him up to his room and pull his shoes off without disturbing him too much and he took a long afternoon nap! And little Hattie was pretty good too.. took a nap in her stroller at the party!

 

Happy 2nd Birthday Emmett!!

Emmett Turns 2

Two years ago May 16th my little man was born at 9:31pm after a long labor and after what seemed like an even longer wait for labor to begin... I remember it all like it was yesterday and hope I always will. :)

Emmett,
You have changed so much from that little 8 lb 11 oz baby. You have grown and are now 26 lbs 6 oz (29%) and 35 1/2 (79%) inches tall. You are wearing size 2t clothing with adjustable waist pants that we have to tighten. Your shoe size is 7T. :) You love being at daycare although most mornings you hang onto our legs until we leave and you always run to greet us at the end of the day with your arms up yelling "Mommy Daddy, Mommy Daddy!" :) Your best friend is Jack who is only two weeks older than you.. and you guys say the same things all day long and he also calls me Mommy when I come to pick you up! :) Your favorite activities are going outside ("side"), taking walks in your little red car, bath nights, and watching George, Elmo or more recently Mickey Mouse. You are also starting to enjoy coloring and you are enjoying learning about your new tricycle. You love most foods and will try anything. When I ask you what you want for a snack you respond by saying "Um... cheese. And crackers. Yeah!" You are also obsessed with Goldfish and would eat then for every meal and snack if I allowed it. "Noodles" are a favorite as well and that includes macaroni, spaghetti, lasagna, rice, lo mein, etc. You also still prefer vegetables to fruit but we have found that you will eat canned fruit as well as grapes and bananas.. sometimes blueberries. You currently go to bed around 7:30/8, wake up around 6:30 and take a 2 hour nap from 1-3 every day. You typically will nap 3 hours on the weekends but you have started to try to fight napping all together at times. There have only been a handful of days where you went without a nap and you ended up in bed very early those evenings. You sing and talk all the time! Favorite songs to sing include Happy Birthday, twinkle twinkle, BINGO, Ring around the Rosy (Ring Around), Clean up song, Bear Bear Bear Bear (how do you do) - which we had never heard! and many more. You repeat EVERYTHING. You sometimes yell for daddy up the stairs saying "Rustin!" Some of the other things you have been saying lately include "I don't know where it is", "I'm the man!", "Ouchie!" (which we then have to kiss for you), "It's ok Hattie" and "I did it!!".
When Daddy left to go watch the races tonight he told you "Bye Bud." You responded by saying "Bye Daddy, I'll miss you! I love you, mmmuah!" He then gave Mommy a hug good-bye and you ran and hugged his leg and said "Me too! Me too!" The other day we asked you - "Do you love Mommy?" "Um hmm.. " "Do you love Daddy?" "Yep!".. Then silence until you said "And Love Hattie too!" So sweet.
Tonight when putting you to bed I told you "I love you Emmett." You responded with "I know, I know I know!". That is the best response I could have ever asked for.. because I am so glad that you know! :)
You normally do not get into too much trouble.. but there have been times recently where you have done some things you shouldn't have where we needed to let you know that it wasn't ok.. Such as the few times you have hit your sister. We try to watch to keep you separated when she is on the floor or we just have to put her somewhere out of your reach but occassionally you get to her before we can. To our surprise you were already pretty familiar with time out. Thankfully Dragon Tots also uses time outs when dealing with children misbehaving. You easily sat for your two minutes and then told Hattie sorry. You are a little fascinated by time outs lately and will put your Curious George or Elmo in one occassionally. You can count to 10 correctly and go past 10 skipping a few numbers here and there to eventually get to 20. You know almost all of your colors but occassionally get them mixed up.. We are starting to work on your letters and so far you know the letter "A". :) It's a good start for a 2 year old! You do know some shapes as well. You are just starting to be shy but after you warm up you are a big talker/singer. At times when you are being shy you make a face where you bring your lips in tight.. it is sweet. I can tell you think the world of your Daddy and are constantly saying "Play Daddy, play!" But when something scares you or you get hurt you yell for Mommy.

I hope you always know how much we love you little Emmett Robert. Both Daddy and I will always promise to accept you for who you are.. no matter what. Right now you are 2.. you are sweet as can be.. and you will go through so many changes in life. We are here to love and support you always. We will protect you from dangers in life to the best of our ability and guide you on a path towards independence offering you guidance so that you can eventually make your own decisions. We know that you will be great and are excited for the rest of what life holds for you. But, we are truly enjoying the moments with you now because they are sweet and they are fleeting.. I hope we remember all of this.. every day..  because we are going to miss this time with you when you are older! I have always wanted to be a Mommy someday and you (and your sister) have made that job as wonderful as I always wanted it to be.

All of our love,
Mommy & Daddy

March Picture Update

Looking back now, March was quite a busy month.. and Hattie has changed so much!

 

 Papa Frank and Grandma Pat came to visit for the weekend. We ate at our favorite easy and convenient spot - Grandma Max's. It's a truck stop on Douglas that is never busy and has great breakfast that requires no cooking on our part!

 

Family pic...

 

Sunday afternoon nap.

 

Favorite spot to snooze..

Picture Picture! Cheese!!

 

Mommy's first day back at work, March 18th and Hattie's first day at Dragon Tot's.

 

Looking a little scared but she was a perfect little sweetie!

 

Looking more like my side of the family here I think.. :)

Playing with Daddy!

 

Emmett's first swimming lesson. These pictures look like he was having fun, but that's before he started crying! ha. Tonight is lesson number 4 and he has come a long way! First night, not so great. I am so glad we are taking him for that very reason.

Megan was in town. We had dinner with the girls. :) She is getting ready for her second bundle to arrive in June. Can't wait.. more friends! :)

Hi Guys! :) I really like to smile.

 

Emmett meets the Easter Bunny at the Wayland Easter egg hunt.

Ready to collect some eggs (although he is trying to wander off in the opposite direction)!

Oh wow, there's a puppy here! This was the highlight of the Easter egg hunt.

Grandma and Grandpa Nelson came to look for some eggs too!

Hattie's first time meeting Great Grandma B. She fell asleep in her arms. Grandma must have the touch. :)

 

 Easter morning. The Easter Bunny found Emmett and Hattie at Grandma's house.

Silly Bunny! 

Sweet Bunny!

Meeting Great Aunt Rosalee.

Family picture on Easter.

Happy girl!