Outdoor Fun!

We have been getting some nice weather, so Emmy's been having lots of fun with sidewalk chalk! Her favorite things to draw are lines and fish! And mommy is happy to help!





We have a great park that's about a block from home. Emmy LOVES the park!!!

My Emmy

Emmy likes to play dress-up. And Mommy likes to play too. Emmy is 2 1/2 and too cute for words. She's a sweetheart, a rebel, and an exciting little girl. Love you little miss!

Brenner's 6 Months!

It's been half a year...that went by fast!!! He's been growing and changing so much. I can hardly remember what he looked like when we brought him home from the hospital. There he was a tiny 6 lb. 13 oz. baby boy, and here he is an 18 pound baby boy that oozes with a charming personality!
Brenner's 6 months stats:
*18 lb. 10 oz. 80th percentile for weight
*28 1/4 inches long 95th percentile for height
Tallest kid in the class!

Brenner is such a good eater. It took him a while to get the hang of baby food. But he's now a pro! In the beginning he would eat about 1/3 of a container of food, and now he eats the entire thing! He even tries to grab the spoon and feed himself. And if he's not successful in taking the spoon from you, he'll stuff his fist in his mouth and smear it all over his face. But somehow, Mommy manages to keep mealtime pretty clean. So, no huge disasters yet. He enjoys eating: sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce, and pears. He's even started using a sippy cup. Not a complete pro yet, but we're learning!








He officially rolled over 2 days ago!!! FInally! And I wasn't even there to witness it. But Wade and Emmy got to. Wade put him on his belly, and he rolled over to his back. I got him to do it for me again this weekend. It's just so funny because he's been on the verge of rolling over for sometime, but just couldn't seem to do it. And he's a big baby, so that's a challenge on its own. But he did it, and we were so proud! Emmy was quite excited too. She's been trying to get him to do it for sometime too. Emmy said, "Mommy! Brenner roll over!! Yay Brenner!"

He's not sitting completely by himself yet, but he can sit up for a couple seconds at a time. He either falls to the side, or gets really excited and falls backwards. He is really into his feet. He kicks his play gym when we put him underneath it. And he grabs onto his feet and plays with them all the time. He also enjoys spending some time in his jumper. But most of all, better than toys, food, mommy, or daddy, he LOVES... Emmy! These 2 are so much fun to watch. The excitement that they share is just unbelievable. The ages that they're at just seems to be perfect. Brenner is so interactive with Emmy. And Emmy just loves having him as her brother.




On occasion, Brenner will sleep through the night. Most nights, he wakes up 2-3 times. Right now, he still has occasional middle of the night feedings, but I'm hoping that will change very soon so we can both get a good night's sleep. Brenner boy...sleep for your mama. He takes 2-3 naps during the day. One in the late morning or early afternoon, sometimes a short one in the middle of the afternoon, and then another usually around dinner time. He loves being put to bed in his pack and play at night. I lay him in there and he kicks his feet and giggles as I place a blanket over him. As if he's saying, "Finally! Bedtime!"









We have so much to celebrate with Brenner's 1st 6 months. Wade and I are incredibly lucky parents to have these 2 fantastic and healthy kids. So here I am, humbled, and counting my daily blessings...

Potty Training: A Complete Success

What a smooth-sailing weekend of potty-training. The 2nd day of potty training ended with no accidents! Not one! I was thrilled for her. And day 3 was also a complete success. Thank you to my friend Lindsay, who emailed me a 3-day potty-training guide. It worked! I truly didn't think we would have it down this fast. She's officially a BIG girl! She gets excited whenever she tells us she has to go potty. "Mommmmmyyyyyyy, I have to go poooootttttttyyyyyyyy!" And then she runs and giggles all the way to the bathroom.

Potty-Training Boot Camp

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!

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.