We began full-on potty training today. She picked out her first big girl panties of the day, Tinkerbell. She was so proud. A few minutes later she ducked behind the coffee table and started to take them off. I immediately snatched her up and put her on the potty. And she went. We were both ecstatic! She picked out a Hershey kiss for her special treat. Then, she kindly asked for a diaper. And I explained to her that only Brenner wears diapers because he's still a baby. Emmy's a big girl now like Mommy, Mimi, Aunt Chelsea, and her friend Kamryn. So we get to wear big girl panties. Well that was alright with her. So she slips them back on. She spent the day coloring. She colored, colored, and colored. I've never seen a little girl color as much as she does. 
Then she gets bored with her underwear and wants new ones. So, we end up swapping panties a few times, until Emmy is satisfied. I'll do whatever to keep her in these panties! About two hours later, she has her first accident on the floor. I explained to her that when she has to go potty, she's supposed to tell Mommy so I can take her to the bathroom. After I get her cleaned up, I show her the big mess she made on the floor, and we both say, "Ucky! Bleh!" All in all, it wasn't a horrible 1st day. The final tally was 5-2. Only 2 accidents! Go Emmy! Keep it up little miss!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Potty-Training Boot Camp
Thursday, January 28, 2010
That's What I Like About You
Emberlyn is something else. Whether it's melt-down drama, making a complete mess, or waking up Brenner from peaceful sleep, she keeps us on our toes. She loves getting out all of her toys, flash cards, puzzle pieces, and doll accessories and spreading them across the length of the living room. So, I've been trying to teach her that she needs to clean up her toys before she gets even more toys out to play with. This is a daily struggle, but she'll get it eventually. I know, Emberlyn, cleaning up is never a fun thing.
She's also a drama queen. When she gets upset, she'll run into the living room, grab a pillow, take it to the kitchen, set it on the floor, usually right next to my feet, and sob into the pillow. And then when she's done crying, she'll look up at me and say, "I done crying mom!" And she always has her hands on her hips, whether she's trying to boss someone around, or if she's really proud of herself, she's always gotta have the hands on the hips. But you know when she's upset, because she folds her hands across her chest and "Hmphs." Oh the drama. She doesn't take naps. So, I know that she just gets really tired around 4. And then it's downhill from there. But when she does fall asleep, which usually only happens when we're in the car running errands, she wakes up in a terrible, whiny mood. So, I see naps as a lose-lose situation.
Her very favorite thing to currently do is color with markers. She has these color wonder princess books that have special markers that are invisible. Love them! They don't make a mess and I don't have to worry if she's coloring in another room. The markers only draw on the princess paper. The only issue we're having with coloring, is she doesn't like to put the caps back on. So, I'm showing her that when we're done coloring you put the cap back on. And only use one marker at a time. Yeah right, what's the fun in that?
She also loves taking a shower after her bath. This is how we get the soap out of her hair and she rinses off. As soon as we turn the shower on she shrieks and gets excited. And then she gets under the shower head and drops her head back. Then she plays peek-a-boo behind the shower curtain.
Potty training is in the near future. She did really well in the past and has completely lost interest. But I have high hopes that I'm going to get it done really soon. I already have her excited about big girl underwear: Minnie Mouse, Princesses, and Ni Hao Kai-Lan (her favorite show). I'm hoping she'll get more excited when we go shopping for big girl panties together and she can actually pick them out herself. She went on the potty twice yesterday, which has been unheard of in the last few months.
Her favorite obsession is snacks. She gets that from me. I'm a big snacker. So, every ten minutes, "Mommy, snack? Snack, pleeeeeease!" And when I pick out a snack that's her favorite, like gummy fruit snacks, she jumps in the air and says, "Boing! Boing! Boing!" I'll look at her and start laughing, and then I'll ask, "Emmy, what are you?" She'll say, "I'm a kangaroo!" No idea where this came from. But it cracks me up everytime she gets super excited about something, which usually revolves around snacks. Gotta love snacking.
She likes to call me Megan. I'll tell Emmy that I love her and 90% of the time, she'll return with, "I love you too, Megan." Since she has learned my name, this is what she likes to refer to me as. But other times I'm "mom" and went she wants my attention, she'll scream across the room, "Mooooommmmmyyyyy!"
She's an amazing little girl with a very curious nature. She loves her little brother. She's very caring. She wakes up with excitement each day. After all, breakfast is her favorite. And she keeps me moving. Thank you Emberlyn for being the greatest daughter a mother could ever ask for.
We got so much snow in Virginia Beach! I was excited to get Emmy bundled up and have her play in it. She walked 2 steps out the door, and wanted right back in!
Happy 5 Months Brenner!
Brenner is 5 months today. Every day is flying by. He's started eating oatmeal. He seemed to enjoy it. He tries really hard to roll over, and with a little nudge from Emmy or me he can do it! He was in his swing the other day, and I swear he said, "Hi!" He has become less and less interested in his pacifier. He'll usually take it at night, but during the day he'll chew on it and spit it out. Or he'll make a funny face when you give it to him and then he reaches up and takes it out of his mouth. He still prefers to eat on those hands!
He has such a good big sister. Emmy likes to make announcements as to whether Brenner's awake or asleep. "Brenner's awake! Mom, he's awake! Brenner wake up!" And usually it's because she wakes him up. Poor guy, just can't get a break. Emmy's too excited to let him sleep.
I can't believe almost half a year has gone by. We love you Brenner. 
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Family Trip to the Zoo
This past Monday, Wade was off work, and we decided to take the kids to the zoo. We met our good friends there. And little Evey and Emmy held hands almost the entire time. It was so cute! The funny thing is that Emmy could barely keep up with Evey. Evey was on the go! Places to go, more animals to see! Brenner hung out in the stroller most of the time. Soon enough Emmy will teach him all about animals. Her favorites were the lions and the elephants. I can't believe how many animals were not there. I was talking about seeing the monkeys all morning, and when we finished the park, I said, "Where are the monkeys? There have to have monkeys." Nope, no monkeys. We didn't see a lot of animals that I expected to see: hippos, bears, tigers (they were actually working on the tigers' exhibit). But it was still a wonderful time. There was a 4 month old giraffe, so that was neat to see. I'm glad we had such nice weather that day. Here are a few pictures of Emmy and Brenner's day at the zoo! P.S. I am having technical difficulties with my pictures. I hope to get this fixed soon. I have a few more posts I'm working on, but the pictures are not cooperating. For now, this is all I can do...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Brenner the Screeching Pterodactyl
He has found his voice and loves it! He does this new screeching sound that totally sounds like a dinosaur. (And yes, I know what a dinosaur sounds like...I've seen Jurassic Park)! I remember saying that exact same thing when Emmy was a baby. It's absolutely adorable and Wade just cracks up. I have to remind myself that Wade's never seen this stage. He deployed when Emmy was 5 weeks and came home when she was 8 months. So all of this is new to him. I love that he's here for this.
Brenner has also found both his hands and he holds them together like such a gentleman. He is really trying to sit up too! He's a strong little guy. I had him in his little bath seat that he lays on in the tub and I sat him up so I could wash his back. And he decided to clench his hands onto the front of the seat and hold himself up. I couldn't believe it! I had to unclench his hands to lay him back down. He's decided that he's 4 1/2 months now, and it's about time to be more independent and stop relying so much on his Mommy. Oh Brenner... You will always be my baby. Even when you're big like Emmy.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
4 Month Check-Up
Our Brenner boy has grown! He wasn't more than 17 pounds like I thought he would be. But he's close! He weighed in at 16 lb. 13.5 ounces. He's 26 1/4 inches long! He's in the 87th percentile for height, and 81st percentile for weight. He likes to bat his toys. And he enjoys sitting in his Bumbo, as long as it's not for more than 5 minutes at a time. He LOVES playing peek-a-boo! He's discovered this game with Daddy. Brenner can't get enough of it. We'll put a blanket over our head and pull it down and say "Boo!" And he lets out the biggest belly laughs you've ever heard. He's become very good at self-soothing. Sometimes, when he's very fussy, he doesn't want to be held and snuggled. Instead he prefers to be put down and left alone. Even though, I'd just like to rock him. Other times, he prefers to be walked around. He still very much enjoys his swing. This is where he usually takes his long naps. He's not sitting yet, but he's getting there. I'll lay him on the floor, pull his arms forward towards me, until he's sitting up. He really enjoys sitting like a big boy. He'll even balance for a few seconds. And then I'll slowly lower his body back down. And then I'll pull him slowly up and back down, and it makes him giggle. We're also working on rolling. I'll lay him on his side, put his arms up and roll him over. His big sister is having lots of fun with him too. She knows that being silly makes him laugh. So she finds new ways everyday to make him smile. Brenner you're the greatest! Here are some recent photos of our future linebacker! 
