So BIG at 18 Months!

Emberlyn is such a big girl these days. Where did the last year and a half go? She turns 18 months this week. I cannot believe it. She is so into animals these days. She goes through each of her books, and points to every animal. She knows so many of them! She can say alligator (algar), hippo (ippo), octopus (ocpus), flamingo (mingo), giraffe (affe), zebra (ebra), shark (ark), tiger (iger)...and the list goes on! I can't wait to take her to the aquarium and zoo this summer. She's going to know so many of the animals, and have an absolute ball watching them! All day long all I hear is, "Mom, mom, mom, mom..." Whether she wants my attention, or needs help doing something, or when she wants me to answer her. I'll be looking right at her, but if I don't say "Yes, Emmy?" Then she'll keep asking "Mom, mom, mom." Wade's been gone the whole month, and I've had to fill him in because she's doing so many new things just in the last couple of weeks. She's constantly changing and growing up these days. I finally bought her a stool and potty seat last weekend. She's been giving me warning when she has to go poo poo. She'll pat her diaper, and say "poo poo." So, I'm going to try to catch her on time and take her to the bathroom and see what she does. I also try to put her on the potty before bathtime every night, just so she can get comfortable sitting on the potty. She's not napping much, or really I should say, AT ALL, these days. It's difficult to get things done, and we usually get the 5:00 meltdown because she is so exhausted. But every now and then, I can get her to nap for a couple of hours. Like today, and thank goodness for it. I cleaned up around the house, made a few phone calls, typed a few emails, and cleaned the bathrooms. Now, that's success! I've been without the camera this month, so I apologize for not having any recent pictures of Emberlyn. But I promise I'll post some soon! Emberlyn's quite the artist with her sidewalk chalk, so I'll have to take pictures. Oh, and hopefully we'll know soon if Emberlyn's going to have a baby brother or a sister. I have an ultrasound appointment on April 8th. Pictures to come!

Nearly 11 Weeks

Well, I'm nearly 11 weeks along with the pregnancy. And it's getting so much better. The nighttime nausea has diminished but the tiredness is setting in. I'll have to take some baby bump pictures because there's definitely a bulge. It's funny how much earlier you show with your second baby. 10 weeks with Emberlyn was nothing, 10 weeks with this one, I can barely fit into my jeans. I had an appointment on Wednesday and everything's looking great. I took Emberlyn with me since the doctor appointments are so short. They do my blood pressure, weight, and listen to the baby's heartbeat. Short and sweet, but Emberlyn wasn't having it. I had her in the stroller, and these days, that's just impossible. She wants to run and explore. I knew once I got her out, I would never be able to get her back in. So, I just kept handing her book after book, trying to entertain her. Once the doctor was examining me, Emmy just sat and watched very quietly. As soon as we were done, she was ready to get out of there. She's a girl on the go. Oh and her new thing that she does is, she'll place her hand on my shoulder when I'm playing on the floor with her, and she'll say "back." Which to her, means "I'll be right back." She gets that from me because I'll say, "Emmy, I'll be right back." So, now she'll come up to me and say, "back," and then she'll turn around and be on her way. It's the cutest thing.

Emmy, Not in the Tub!

Last night, I was giving Emberlyn a bath while talking to my mom and dad on the phone. All of a sudden, Emberlyn stands up and starts pushing. Oh no! Not in the tub Emmy! I quick snatch her up and put her on the potty. And she went! She did her first number 2 in the potty! As soon as she went, she fussed and wanted off right away! Sorry if that was too graphic, but I just couldn't believe it and wanted to share it. So, there you go...17 months and sitting on the potty! I don't think potty training is in the near future, but we'll have to wait and see. So many surprises with that little one.

Finally Kicked the Habit

Emberlyn has been stuck on that pacifier since day one. Totally not her fault of course because we encouraged it at first. And then I knew around her first birthday, I had to get rid of it. But, how? Cold turkey? I couldn't do that to her. So I decided to just give it to her when she went to bed instead of throughout the day. That worked just fine because that's the only time she ever wanted it! Now, what was I going to do to ween her? Yep, cold turkey...just take it away. So, a couple nights ago we decided that we weren't going to give it to her anymore. We took a bath, read books, kept the routine the same, just without the passy (pacifier), or as Emberlyn calls it, "pass." She would ask for it a few times. "Pass. Pass. Pass." And the next night, she asked for it once. And now, no problem! She doesn't even ask for it! So, at 17 months, I can finally say that she is weened from that pacifier!

The Cutest Girl on the Block

Here are some recent pictures of Emberlyn. She's 16 months and FULL of energy! Happy Valentine's!!!

She loves to read Frosty the Snowman every night before bed. Except according to Emmy it's "noman," not snowman.

And she loves to cuddle with her doll, her zebra, rabbit, or her dollhouse figures. She cuddles and then goes, "mmmmm," as she gives them a big kiss.









She LOVES to read!





This is Emmy's newest trick. She grabs our keys and then walks over to the door and tries to lock it, just as we do. She's very observant.

Someday I'm Gonna Be a Rockstar...

Emmy's going to be a big sister! That's right, Mommy's pregnant! We're due September 27th, one day after Emberlyn's second birthday. I had my first doctor's appointment 2 weeks ago. They did an ultrasound, and it was absolutely amazing. I only had one ultrasound with Emberlyn at 20 weeks. So, it was really neat to see what a 6 week old baby looks like. His/her little heart was just fluttering on the screen, and it gave me the chills. It was so incredibly neat to see how this little baby, the size of a sweet pea, had a beating heart. And just keeps rapidly changing from here on out. We're so excited, and can't believe how close their birthdays are going to be to eachother. I was 6 weeks during the ultrasound, but the baby measured at 7 weeks. They haven't changed my due date, since it's within 10 days of what I had said, but our due date may be closer to September 20th. We are absolutely thrilled! It looks like we have to wait until mid-May to find out the sex, which seems so far away! We decided not to be surprised. I'm too much of a planner. Wade's being deployed again in November. So it's the same song, second verse. He left when Emmy was 5 weeks old, and returned when she was 8 months. And it'll be the same thing this time around. So, it's a bummer, but at least we know what to expect since we've done it before. So far, this pregnancy has been pretty similar to my last one. Although, I'm getting night sickness instead of morning sickness. You'd think that it would be better this way, and I can just sleep through it. But, I have a really hard time falling asleep when I'm so incredibly nauseous. And accompanied with the night nausea, I've got insomnia too. I have a really difficult time winding down at night. I don't know if my mind is just going in circles, keeping me up. But it's driving me crazy. Other than that, I feel great, and I've already got a lovely bump. I swear the day I found out, I popped out over night. I guess it happens quickly with your second, but I didn't expect to look 15 weeks pregnant, when I was a mere 6 weeks! Ha! What I'm looking forward to most is seeing Emmy as a big sister. I know she's going to be fabulous. We can't wait to meet you baby! Oh and week 7- our baby's the size of a blueberry. Fascinating!

15 Month Check-Up

Emberlyn had her 15 month check up about a week and a half ago. She is 31 3/4 in. long which is in the 80th percentile. And she weighs 21 lb. 11 oz, which is in the 30th percentile. She's been within the same percentiles since day 1, so she's right on track! She's got a very hearty appetite these days. All day long, she'll ask for "cracker, cracker..." Even if she wants pasta, rice, or veggies, they're all crackers. Her newest word is "ba gaw!" We're still trying to figure out what that means. My closest guess is "big girl." We're just not sure. She's been teething, so it's been a little rough for her. She never has handled teething well. Now, we've got the bottom canines coming in. She's been taking two naps a day, which is very unusual for her. New teeth really wear her out. She likes to walk around the house with Avery, but our dog tends to trip her. So, we have to keep a close eye on those two. Her newest game is taking a pillow off the couch, placing it on the floor, and then rolling around and seeing who can win between her and the pillow. She literally wrestles with it, and it's so funny to watch. She's also such a lover these days. She likes to give hugs and kisses. When you ask her for a hug, she'll rest her head on your shoulder. And then when you ask for a kiss, she'll purse her lips together and lean up to you and say, "mmmm". And then she'll kiss you. It's too sweet. She's also become quite the drama queen. She was walking around the kitchen the other day and all of a sudden I hear "OWWW! OWWWW!" And I run over to see what the problem is and she points to her foot. So, I scoop her foot up, and she has a sticky note stuck to her sock. Yes, a sticky note. So, everything that bothers her now is a very dramatic and loud, "OWWWWWW!"

Fun With Emmy

Emberlyn is a real character these days! She had an ear infection and a terrible cough last week. The doctor ended up prescribing her an inhaler to do a couple times a day for a week. It's really helped with her congestion, especially at night when it's been the worst. But, other than that, things have been great! She's still trying to get around by walking, although she knows crawling can get her there quicker, so sometimes she'll resort to that. But, we're really encouraging her to hold our hands and walk from here to there. She's doing really great. She still talks 100 miles per hour. Some other words she's saying are: "ock" (sock), "oose" (shoes), "es" (yes), "up", "off", and "baa" (bath). Bathtime is still her favorite part of the day. She can do the sign for please: her hand rubs her chest in a circular motion and bath: both of her hands rub up and down the sides of her chest. She's funny too. I'll ask her: Emmy do you have a dirty diaper? And she'll grab onto her hiny and say "diaper." It's funny how she's recognizing so many words. I suppose at this age they're just soaking everything in and trying to repeat as much as they possibly can. We are just having so much fun watching her learn and grow!

Oh Where Oh Where Has My Little Fish Gone?

Emmy's getting a fish, so we had to buy a fish bowl and some pretty marbles. Emmy LOVED putting each one in the bowl. She's going to love it even more when she sees a little fish swimmming around inside.

Ta-Da!

This Gingerbread Cookie...

didn't even have a chance.

Christmas in Texas

We spent Christmas in Texas to see both of our families and it was wonderful! We spent the first half in San Antonio with Wade's family, and the second half at my parents' in Austin. But I never thought we would make it. We were supposed to leave Virginia on Friday, and didn't leave until Saturday due to delays. So, we got up Saturday morning at 2:30 am and got ready for our 6 am flight. We flew into Detroit and our connection was delayed to lovely winter weather up north. Many hours later, they boarded us only to have us sit on the tarmac for nearly 2 hours. Then, we flew to Minneapolis, only to be delayed once more for our connection to San Antonio. I tell ya, why we flew the northern route...I have no idea. But, it definitely felt like Christmas being surrounded with 13 inches of beautiful white. We were about ready to call it a Christmas in Minnesota. Other than that, it was quite a Christmas. Emberlyn held off long enough. She showed off her walking capabilities that I knew she had all along! What a stinker! She holds out her hand to you, palm side up, and says "awk" which means walk. So, we hold out our hands to her and she runs right along and dives into your arms. Her new nickname is Little Frankenstein due to her balancing act. It's really funny to watch. A BIG thanks to our families for being incredible hosts! I'm so glad we got to see each of you. It wouldn't have been a Christmas without you in good 'ole Texas. Thanks for letting our craziness into your homes, and we can't wait to see you again! We love you all!