3 Years Old!!!!!

My baby is turning 3!

October 8, 2009 at 9:08am little Emma Jean was born. She weighed in at 8lbs 11oz and was 20.5in.

Every month I have taken a picture of Emma and now I have turned them into a little movie. Enjoy!

Here is a little about Emma at 36 months...

Eat:
Emma loves to eat (as long as she's not too distracted). Her favorites include pizza, cheese, chicken nuggets, strawberries, chocolate milk, and ice cream (frozen yogurt).

Sleep:
Emma still takes a nap in the afternoon from 12:30-2:30. I am praying she we keep this nap for a looong time. Bedtime for Emma is at 7:30. She sleeps in a twin bed with her 6 Mickey friends. Most nights Emma comes and gives her sister and me kisses then Adam tucks her in bed. Once in bed, Emma tells him to please take the monsters away. Until very recently Emma would say that her Mario (doll) took the monsters away. Side note: we finally figured out she doesn't actually thing there are monsters)

Sizes:
She typically wears 4T, but can fit in some 3T stuff. Her shoes are now 8.5s.

Stats:
Weight- 33lbs 2oz (70ish %)
Height- 39.25 inches (90ish %)

Likes:
Dancing (living room dance parties are a favorite), Acting (Sometimes she is a bird in a nest made of blankets, a cat, or a frog trying to catch flies. Other times our floors are a desert, a jungle filled with snakes, or an ocean that we have to swim across), Reading, Hitting baseballs, Mickey and Friends, Danial Tiger, Playing with her sister.

Dislikes:
Monsters, Scarey sounds, Swings, Carousals, When sister cries, and Waiting for food to cool

Firsts:
A lot of this year has been about life skills. She has learned to dress and undress herself. She has learned to brush her teeth and spit her toothpaste out. She has learned to use the potty and to even take herself. She has also learned how to be an awesome big sister.

This year Emma has learned a lot about the world around her. She has learned about sun rises and sunsets, rainbows, butterflies, the weather, days of the week, and so much more.

6 Months!

Happy 6 Months!

Eat:
Lilian nurses probably every 2-3 hours... honestly I just nurse when she wants so I'm not sure. We have offered her bananas this month... we started by giving her ripe small pieces but they were too slippery for her so I put some on a spoon, but she will only put the spoon in her mouth if she does it herself.

Sleep:
She takes 3 or 4 naps a day... she is a good napper. Now that she started crawling she isn't sleeping well at night. As soon as she gets out of deep sleep she flips over and blindly starts crawling till she rams her head into something then backs up and does it again and again. I hope this ends soon.

Sizes:
Mostly 9 and 12 month clothes.

Stats:
Height: 27 inches (87%)
Weight:18 lbs 3 oz (86%)

Likes:
Crawling, Pulling up, getting into everything, her sister, music, and being tickled

Dislikes:
Getting her diaper changed, not being able to reach what she wants, and food

Firsts: 
Crawling, pulling up, trying food, figured out her sippy cup

Take me out to the Ball-Game

One of the best reasons to throw a party is to celebrate a new baby. This past weekend I was honored to get to help host a baby shower for a good friend. As soon as I found out they were going to have a little boy I knew it had to be a baseball themed party. Here are some of the things I made for the shower... I had so much fun getting to make these. (partial names and addresses have been blurred to protect the innocent) 

The invitation.

Instead of a traditional guest sign in the guest were asked 

to autograph a baseball. 

 

As part of the decor I made three prints and framed them.

If you can see in the pic the letter o and number 0 are baseballs 

and the letter t is in the Texas Rangers font.

I made these wishes for baby cards for the guests to fill out.

 It will be fun to look at them in years to come.

A game we played at the shower designed to match the other decor. 

The prize was cute too, but I forgot. It was a plastic popcorn 

container with a gift card for icecream, a babe ruth, peanuts, 

sunflower seeds,and twizzlers.

Concessions banner in texas rangers font to go over the food table.

 The favor had to be cracker jacks. The baseball tag was done in

 photoshop then I used my circle punch to cut them out.

The shower was fun, even though the weather decided to not cooperate. I was already excited, but now I am super excited to meet their little man!

Other Updates:
-8 lbs to go (needing new motivation to get there)
-just getting ready for emma's birthday party.

A Day in the life of a Stay at Home Mom

A Day in the life of a Stay at Home Mom:

One of the blogs I follow (stalk) had challenged their readers to take pictures throughout their day and blog about it . I kept meaning to do this, but I always forgot about it until halfway through our day. I would say the following is a typical day for us.

Good morning:
As soon as we wake up (around 7:30) Lilian gets a diaper and Emma gets a dress or skirt on (modesty reasons since we are potty training and she has not perfected wearing underwear). Emma this morning wanted to watch Danial Tiger (new pbs spin off of mr. roger's). Emma usually gets her friends out of bed and Lilian jumps in the jumperoo while I make breakfast.

Breakfast Time:
Lately Emma and I eat breakfast on her little play table.
Lilian is usually either jumping or playing on the floor.

Errands:
We had several errands to run (Micheal's, Target, and Hobby Lobby). It was raining, so taking pictures was not a priority. The pic is of us after we got home. If we have errands to run they pretty much have to be done between 9 and 11 or it wont happen. While we are out and about Lilian is almost always in her Ergo carrier and Emma is in the cart, however I was feeling extra daring today and Emma just walked next to me.

Play Time:
Pretty much anytime we aren't sleeping, eating, or out and about we are playing. Watching Lilian slowly move around the living room cracks us up. Yes, that is a potty seat. No, it isn't one she uses. She likes for her 'friends' (dolls) to use it.

Lunch Time:
I know you are disappointed, but I forgot to take a pic. Emma had scrambled eggs and fruit while I had a sandwich. Super fancy. Usually, after lunch and cleaning up, I set out whatever I will be making for dinner (I'm not cooking tonight though). I've discovered that usually the time between lunch and dinner is the perfect amount if time for meat to thaw (I am sure common knowledge to some)..

Chores (I hate that word):
I don't mind doing things around the house... I even would say I enjoy most of it. Today I had to unload the dishes (my least favorite chore ever). I also had two loads of laundry, one of those being Lilian's diapers. I always try to get them done so they can dry on the line and sun during the afternoon. **the sun will get out baby poop stains... just lay whatever is stained outside or in a window and watch it disappear**




Nap Time:
Emma sleeps from 12:30-2:30 usually. Lilian also naps during this time (she also napped from 9:30-10:30ish). Until Emma wakes up, I sleep/rest with Lilian.

Good Afternoon:
Emma just woke up and is eating her snack while watching doc mcstuffins. Sometimes after she wakes up she just needs a moment.

Lilian decided to sleep till 3. As soon as Lilian wakes, Emma loves to rush in and jump on the bed and then squish, kiss, and tell Lilian how cute she is.

Hello Mess:
I am sure someone out there doesn't think my house is ever messy, but here it is. I was avoiding walking into the playroom all day. It didn't stay messy (or at least quite as messy) for long.

More Playtime:
I am totally loving that the Lilian is able to sit and go to toys and play, because Emma loves having a playmate.

Nap time number 3:
Lilian takes her third nap at 4ish. Lately I bounce her to sleep 95% of the time. I was spoiled by Emma, who, when she was little, would nurse to sleep 99% of the time. This bouncing a twenty pound baby is quite the workout. During this time, Emma is either jumping on or off of something or reading a book with her friends.

Dinner Time:
Adam was playing in a charity golf tournament for work and didn't get home until post dinner... so it was just me and the girls. I think Emma had a hotdog, Lilian chewed on stuff, and I had a sandwich again. After dinner on Fridays you can almost always find us enjoying some frozen yogurt.

 Bedtime: Emma hops into bed around 7:30. Lilian takes her last nap at 7:30 and sometimes will wake up at ten just long enough for a diaper change and to eat.

Lilian says Goodnight!

*** not included in this is changing 8 diapers, taking emma to the potty numerous 

times, cleaning up a toilet paper mess, 1 time out, and 13,001 hugs and kisses.***

(This day happened to be two weeks ago... I am a little behind. )

skirts and more skirts

So I went a little skirt crazy today. I whipped up four skirts... two for Emma and two as a gift for an adorable, little friend. I had the sewing machine out and still had the itch to sew something. I rummaged through my fabric baskets and pulled out some fabric. Then I searched through my box of trims and found some bias tape that coordinated. I love it when I don't have to make a trip to the store.

These are the two skirts for Emma's friend. The top skirt fabric might look very 

familiar to some people. I originally bought this fabric as table clothes for a friend's 

baby shower and it has been re-purposed into oh so many things. The second 

skirt is a 'Minnie' skirt, because she is a fan of Minnie Mouse.

 

 These are the two skirts I made for Emma. Emma calls the top one her 

Grey Minnie Skirt. The grey fabric was originally bought for her second

 birthday party (pirate themed). The bottom fabric was fabric I bought for a 

table cloth for her first birthday (wonderpets theme).

This is the outfit Emma wanted to wear today. 

The sewing machine is put away for at least a few days while I get stuff together for a baby shower. Next time the sewing machine comes out I am going to make myself a skirt!

a Nightstand and a Skirt

Emma has a Nightstand

Thanks to Aunt Sarah and her habit of constantly checking out craigslist for deals, we found Emma a nightstand. This antique (not sure how old but looks ooooold) minty spindley cuteness was only fifteen dollars! Right size, right price, right look... couldn't resist!

I thought that the color might even be okay in her room... I was wrong. The green walls and the minty table together weren't pretty. A can of half price spray paint that matches her wall (you can't see in this pic) and her future bedspread solved the problem quickly.

 

before: minty

after: aqua

Emma's Birthday Outfit

This week I sewed Emma an outfit to wear at her birthday party. It is a month away, but it meant a lot to me to do it so I didn't want to wait to the last minute. Emma picked out the fabric at the store. I thought for sure she would pick out pink Minnie, but I was wrong. 

I ended up having to create my own pattern, because I knew what I wanted and couldn't find it. I use the term pattern loosely... I sketched an idea, measured Emma, cut fabric, and then sewed. I just sorta made it up as I went. The little flower buttons on her top were ones I saved from her Minnie canvas that I posted about previously. It is a more tailored type skirt with invisible zipper... I left just enough room that I hope it'll still fit in April when we go to Disney.

Emma looooooved her outfit and couldn't wait for me to take her picture. She kept posing with one arm up and the other on her stomach... I have know idea where she got that from, but it was adorable.

 

I look at her and can't even believe she is still 2. It seems like she long out grew being 2. Where did my little baby go?

5 months!

Lilian is 5 months!

Eat:
Lilian still exclusively breastfeeds. She nurses every 2 to 3 hours during the day... it really depends on how long her naps are. At night she still wakes up and some point and eats, but since she sleeps with us I am not sure when or exactly how often. We gave her a sippy cup with water this month, but she hasn't gotten the hang of it yet. We probably will give her something the gnaw on at dinner this month maybe a pear... maybe not, we'll see.

Sleep:
She wakes up around 7:30 and then naps at 9-10 and then from 12:30-2:30 and then from 4-5 and then 7-8 (sometimes is down for the night at that point other times she will wake up for about and hour before bed).

Sizes:
She is wearing 9 month and 6-12 month clothes now. Anything 6 month and bellow is off in storage.

Stats:
17lb 6.2 oz. (91%)
26in (82%)

Likes:
She loooooves her sister. She loves to play on the floor and in her jump-a-poo (named so because it always makes her poo). Lilian loves to be held a kissed and snuggled. She adores sitting and playing on the floor with her toys.

Dislikes:
She does not like not being able to crawl... she will scream and yell when she starts scooting backwards instead of forward.

Firsts:
-sippy cup
-taking baths with big sister
-can sit by herself while playing with toys
-can scoot on belly backwards
-can get up on all fours and rock
-as of yesterday she can go from tummy time to sitting down by herself (she ends up in a splits like position, but it doesn't seem to bother her)

The following videos are of Lilian attempting to crawl. Adam says she will 

be crawling anytime now, but I think he has said that for weeks. Okay well I guess only one video wants to work... I will try the other again tomorrow.

Labor Day Weekend

Oh man, I love a long weekend. Minus the sinus infection, this weekend was wonderful. I got to see Adam for more than a few minutes, since he took his test on Friday and wont start studying for a few more days. I also was able to wrap up a few projects that had been half finished.


First up... A Minnie mouse canvas for Emma. It matched the Mickey one I blogged about earlier. Again, she helped paint the stripes, but lost focus quickly. She loves to hang over my shoulder and talk to me about what I am doing way more than actually helping make it. I can't wait to use these some how for her birthday party (just a little over a month!).

 a close up of the adorable buttons... some are flowers and hearts.

(I didn't go through the buttons yet to pull out the hot glue strings)

 Emma adores them. She looks at them with big eyes and covers her mouth 

with her hands and says "Oh Mommy, you made Mickey and Minnie for ME"

Next up... Emma's birthday invitations. I whipped this up in almost no time at all. Used Photoshop for the design (my simplest card to date), went to the office and printed them on card-stock, made a couple of hole punches, and tied some ribbon.

 I'll have to take a better picture of them later, the coloring came out strange.

Last, but certainly not least. I finished Emma's bed frame! It has been taking up half the garage for some time now.

I found this bed on craigslist. Not sure how old it is, but it appears to be an

 antique, solid maple bed. It was quite a steal at 40 dollars. It was in fair condition. The finish was very weathered (she had kept it in a shed) it had a lot of chipping and scratches.

Sanding was by far the worst part.

Here the bed is as a sandy mess.

 Here it is after one coat of american walnut water based stain.

 Here it is after two coats.

 Not done yet... here it is after three coats.

 Here it is after 4 coats of stain and two coats of satin 

water based finish. I probably should've done more finish coats,

 however it was hot and I didn't want to.

 Here it is all moved into Emma's room. She loves it!

I need to find a little side table or stool to set next to her bed

 so she can put her water on it. Adam thinks I should hang

 her Mickey and Minnie canvases I made above her bed, 

but I am not so sure.

Updates:

-10 lbs to go!

-Went to the dentist... it went. I have to go back several more times to have some work done. They said it could all be done in one visit, but with a nursing baby who doesn't take bottle that just doesn't work for me. My first appointment is tomorrow for what he thinks will be a root canal. :,( I had an old large filling fall out and he thinks when he goes in there to clean it out he might reach the nerve and would have to do one. I will be praying he wont have to.