Visit from the Teething Fairy

Emily has been teething for the past two months: gnawing on every toy in her reach, drooling constantly, etc. I wasn't sure if she was ever going to get some teeth...until this morning! She had a fever yesterday and was very cranky. We took her to the doctor, who said that she probably had a virus. I stayed home with her today, and her fever was pretty much gone by noon. I noticed that her mood was much better, too. Lo and behold, she grabs my finger and chews on it and I feel actual teeth! TWO! She has both of the bottom ones coming in at the same time! It's very hard to see on the pics--I wish I had an expensive camera with much better resolution! But in person, you can see the little pearly nubs sticking out of her lower gum.

New Set of Wheels

Nope, not a minivan, even though we're exploding out of the Subaru--Emily's walker arrived! I had bought one from a big box store when she started to get bored with just an exersaucer and swing. But it was very tall, even on the shortest height adjustment--her feet dangled 5 inches above the floor! I went online and read reviews (probably should have done that first) and found that many people scored it low for that very reason. Some of them had 9 month olds who still couldn't reach! Emily isn't the tallest in her age group, so I figured it could be a while til her toes hit the floor. I didn't need another toy that just holds her, I wanted something that she could scoot around in. So I actually did my research first this time, and I found many great reviews and comments about the Chicco walker (comes in Splash (circles) or Sea Dreams (fish)). It was a little pricey for a walker, but my kids are not early walkers, so she should get several months of use from this thing. It also seems built to last, so it should go the distance. And she LOVES it! The keyboard, the songs, the sounds, the lights, all of it...she is just entranced by the thing! And she figured out how to push her toes on the hardwood floors and made it down several feet of the hallway by herself the first day!

So many choices.....so little time til naptime.

Hmmmm...I'm digging this horn button.

See my feet? Flat on the ground! Not like my other stinky walker...

I look like I'm blowing raspberries in this picture, but I am actually squealing with delight! Emily has learned a new "I'm having a great time" screech that probably sounds similar to a dog whistle.

Jumping Jenny....errr, Emily

Emily finally has the core stretch to really get some hopping going in her Jumping Jenny. I have her set up in Garrett's doorframe so she can see me in the bathroom, hallway, and kitchen. She can really get some height in her bounces for a beginner! She's really getting bored with floor time, so I'm looking for more ways to keep her upright and happy.

Jumping exhausted her....she crashed hard for naptime.

Toadally Adorable

I was wandering my way through Walmart on a recent trip to town when I spied a display on kids' pajamas. They were packaged in little flat boxes and all sizes and designs were $5 each set. I had to get the baby two sets because they were so cute--one with a giraffe on the shirt that says "heads up" and one with frogs and flowers that says "toadally adorable". Once I got them out of the package, I saw that the waistband says "sleep tight"...too cute! I had to get 12 month for each pair since they make pajamas fit like doll clothes. I think these are Emily's first set of "real" pajamas (not a sleep and play or onesie). Milestone reached!

I'm so cute in my p.j.'s that mom almost took me to school in them....almost.

Sunglasses, Swinging, and Swimming

Emily and I hit the birthday party circuit on Saturday (Tim's friend Jackie has a little girl, Lily, who turned two) and besides getting some good grub and hanging out with other little rugrats, we scored some awesome goody bags. All the kids got sunglasses (in addition to other goodies), and Emily did her best "Elton John" when we put them on her during breakfast.

No autographs please.

Then it was time to try out our new baby pool from the Dollar General (only $8!). I put in a whole 1 1/2 inches of water, and Emily basically treated it like a giant bathtub. It's been mid eighties all weekend but the humidity makes it feel like summer already.

Yay, this giant bath is awesome!

Like my new suit from Target? Mom could barely handle how dang cute I was!

Caroline was very concerned about safety, so she got on her suit too and joined Emily in the "pool" (I use the term loosely...do you see the size of this thing?!). They had a ball, and Caroline made an excellent lifeguard.

Sistas in the pool!

Our other big "splurge" of the weekend...a swing! Timmy did some fantastic rigging, so now the swing is in the cherry tree out back. The older two pushed Emily for about 20 minutes while I mowed the grass and she loved every minute of it!

More sunglasses! Don't tell me you're not jealous...

Bend it Like Beckham

Garrett has been in his spring season of soccer for a few weeks now, but with our crazy weather, we've missed more games than we've played! Even our makeup games are being rained out, and at this rate, we'll be meeting up for games until the kids are too old to be in the 9-11 league. Luckily, it seems that the weather has calmed down (for now) and we successfully finished our game today at 2 PM. We have three more games next week (T, TH, and Sat) and heaven only knows when they will try to wedge in the makeup games from last week's three cancellations. Yeah, I like to root for Bruttha. He's awesome.
Garrett is first on the left (#44)

When you play for a league that doesn't even keep score, this is what a lot of your action on the field looks like.

Garrett (in middle) has moved from defense to offense, so now his little butt gets to run up and down the field all game. Thank you , Coach, for wearing my child out! He needs the exercise!

Emily: Six Months Old

Baby Girl Drinks is already half a year old! Lordy, where does the time go?!?! I have no official stats til this Friday when we go for our well baby checkup. I am expecting some shots and tears, but also a pretty good weight gain (last check on our home scale, she was almost 17 pounds!). Emily's skill level is exploding--she can sit up by herself for a few seconds but still prefers to brace herself against someone. She reaches for objects and gets them the first try. She can grab her pacifier out of her mouth, wave it around, then get it back in! She rolls over from her back to her front very easily, and once on her stomach, she pushes up with arms but her legs haven't gotten the message to move her forward.

STATS:

Weight: 15 pounds, 11 oz. with no clothes or diaper (50th percentile)

Length: 26 inches (50th percentile)

Head circumference: 15 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

Sizes: still size 2 in diapers, but it's a tight fit; 6-9 months in clothes, some 12 mos in shirts and one-piece outfits

What did Dr. B say? Emily looks great and is soooo happy! She said that starting solid foods at dinnertime on a consistent basis will most likely knock out that 1 am feeding I am still dealing with nightly. She also said we can start yogurt at any time (didn't know anything other than an orange veggie was an option, so yay!)

Emily likes: getting up at midnight for a late snack; snuggling with momma and daddy; grabbing daddy's beard; her Exersaucer; spying on people in public places; being the center of attention; having strangers talk to her; Miss Tammy at daycare; pickles! (we discovered this at Firehouse last week); napping in her swing; bathtime (squealing and kicking out all the water)

Emily dislikes: having to wait for food; not controlling the spoon when I feed her; wearing a hat; having to sit in her carseat while out and about (she would much rather be in the Baby Bjorn or being held); bathtime ending...that's about it! This baby is pretty darn happy most of the time!

New favorite toy: doll that rattles (I call her "Ruby" for her red shoes)

Look at those dimples!

Garrett and Caroline call this her "turtle face"

Happy 11th Birthday Garrett!

Yes, my baby boy is one year closer to being a teenager. Remember when he was born?! My millenium baby! Born May 17, 2000 at 8:57 PM. Three minutes before the end of the final show of "Beverly Hills 90210", which was probably the second most imporant event of the day (I believe David and Donna were in the background on the tv while I was pushing, but that's another story...). He's in 5th grade, all honors classes (top math, top English, you get the idea). He's had straight A's and B's for as long as he's been in school. Garrett plays the trombone in the band and is in TAG art, where he is gifted in drawing and painting. He loves Caroline, even when he fights with her, and adores Emily, whom he often tells "Look, it's big bruttha!! Big bruttha right here!" His most treasured possession is probably his new Nintendo DSi limited edition Pokemon set. He pretends that the cats bother him and pets them when no one is looking.

Garrett likes: LEGOS, DSi, Pokemon, his Razor scooter, pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, watching Jeopardy with momma, going to Kings Dominion

Garrett dislikes: talking on the phone, massive amounts of exercise, yardwork, flossing his teeth, poison ivy (he woke up with it in his eye today and missed school so that he could go to dr. for steroids), people messing with his stuff

Home Improvement

Tim has been working overtime to get the house ready for inspection so that we can get cleared to do the inside stuff (drywall, electrical, etc) to the additions. After wrapping the garage, he put up our new vinyl siding and I must say, it looks spectacular! This stuff has come a long way from the crappy plastic that people used to use on their houses. Best part? The color we loved (clay) was in stock AND on sale (almost 50% off!). Score! I think the new shutters are a nice touch, and I love the tan, white trim, black shutter combo.

The outside of the addition is next....Tim only has 24 hours in a day and at least 6 of those have to be devoted to sleep :)

My babies! They keep me busy...

Someone is into grabbing everything...including the camera!

Everywhere but the Kitchen Sink...

is where Emily takes her bath! So I added the kitchen sink too! She had a ball...and ate her rubber ducky, lobster bath toy (who comes up with these??? a kitty cat, doggy, even a birdy would be recognizable, but a lobster?!) and her washcloth.

Daycare is awesome! They make such nice goodies for Mother's Day! Emily worked very hard on this card!