Thanksgiving trip to Utah - Day 1 Flying 1st Class!

Packing for 2 kids is so much work!  I laid out all the clothes I was bring for Emmalyn the night before and took a picture so I could remember what went with what... And girls...sheesh... it's not just a shirt and pants that need to match but also tights and bows.  Traveling is certainly not simple right now.

We had tons of time before our flight so we walked around the airport and got some lunch.  Emmalyn was so excited to be in the baby bjorn.  She was smiling and cooing as we walked which of course attracted some attention to her.  It was fun watching people's expressions as she caught their eye and they'd break into smiles at this cute little girl.  She certainly has a magnetic energy and spirit.

When we were booking tickets, the cost to upgrade to first class wasn't that much after you factored in the cost to check all our bags if we flew coach.  So, we booked it!  I was looking forward to having the extra space for Maxwell to wiggle just a little bit more and to also make it easier to nurse the baby.  It ended up being so nice and worth it.  The food helped entertain Maxwell and the extra space helped all of us be happier.

The seat next to me was empty so Emmalyn got her own seat too (for short bits anyway when the skies were calm and she wanted some space).

Enjoying the airplane food (which was yummy)

Wish she would have fallen asleep in "her" seat but it didn't happen.

She did fall asleep on Momma though

Max, however, did NOT fall asleep on the plane so when we made it into the rental car, he crashed.  We headed to Grandma Nelsons and Peter stayed in the car with Maxwell so he could sleep a little bit longer while I went inside with Emmalyn.

Emmalyn meeting her Great Grandma Nelson

Maxwell and Great Grandma

After Grandma's we went to visit Katherine and her girls.

My niece Ari was really excited about Emmalyn and Adi was really interested too.

After a full day, we crashed at my Aunt Tammy's house.  From the very first day, it was a busy schedule!

Sometimes, one picture just isn't enough

I have lots of pictures from just a couple days.  The reason I have so many pictures is that I can't pick just one out of the many that I have.  Each one shows my kids with a different expression or something different from their personality and I just can't pick only one!  Sorry, not sorry.  :)

Maxwell got invited to his first birthday party for a friend at school.  He had fun at chuck e cheese but didn't play with any of the kids also there from his class.

He won something on one of the games and had to put in his name - this is what he typed. (Apparently his teacher calls him "Maxxy" sometimes.  uh....)

Maxwell showing me where his dimple is

Watching her big brother - he's so cool

Maxwell showing love for his sister

Watching each other

Love those sweet feet

She is such a happy baby

I can't get over how cute she is.  Perfection!

We are doing presents for a child off of an angel tree this year.  We have involved Maxwell in all the shopping for Christian and he's done a really good job of getting excited about getting presents "for Christian" without asking for the same stuff for himself.  (But of course we love getting stuff for Maxwell so a few things for him found their way into our shopping cart too.)

Doing a workbook

Peter showed him how he could stack the markers

I love that I caught this face in a picture because it's one of his expressions but not one that is around when I'm normally taking pictures

How high can you go?

...and it crashes

Having fun playing Uno...or having fun on our phones while pretending to play Uno?

She loves to read books and turn pages

Big grins

I love this adorable outfit - it's so soft, feminine, and NON PINK!

End of November and we are outside in t-shirts and blue skies.  Thank you, Texas.

Maxwell loves accessories...today he has on a Thanksgiving bracelet he got at school.

Big chin, big cheeks, big eyes, only wisps of hair

Playing dress up in a coat and hat that I have for her.  

The tragic thing was that this was the only time she wore this coat and hat!  I brought it with us to Utah but she didn't need it and then she never wore it for the rest of winter in Texas because it never fit the occasion.  :(  I should have created an occasion just to wear the coat and hat!

How many times can I talk about how cute Emmalyn is?

Normal life with my cute family - - Mid October 2014

Maxwell enjoying the accessories when we were out shopping for Halloween costumes.  Sometimes he is such a "boy" it catches me off guard.

Hanging with Daddy at the library

Daddy trying to read to them both.

Perfection

He caught one of the bubbles he blew!

Enjoying the warm fall weather

Those cheeks are something else

One of those major baby milestones - eating your feet

Video - She's so good at sitting up and spitting up.  It's disgusting and amazing all at the same time.

Nighttime routine - reading stories

Video - Maxwell has been doing awesome at swimming lessons.  After class, his coach asked if she could take him into the bigger section to see how he'd do with it.  He did awesome at swimming far!  I was impressed.  

She is so smiley but still doesn't laugh very much

It's nice to have clients who make great snacky food but not always good when you find yourself hungry because there's usually something within reach.  I've got my Perfetti Van Melle Airheads Bites, my General Mills Chex Mix, and all I needed to complete the picture would have been some Kraft peanuts!

Video - She's just so happy, even after midnight.  It's hard when she's engaging and being cute like this to turn off the light and go to bed.

I was working from home so I got to be around when she got a bottle (which usually doesn't happen)

I'm sure she was like, "you aren't supposed to be here right now"

Updates:
Maxwell actually did his own glue at school on a project!  This is a big deal since he hates getting his hands dirty.

He still stays in his bed even when he wakes up.  He will just sit there and call for us until we come and get him.

Maxwell can almost to showers by himself, he just needs a little help with his hair.  This feels like a huge accomplishment, to me!

He has staying dry during his nap for 2 days in a row at home.  That hasn't happened for a long time.  He gets to choose a prize out of the "prize bucket" if he stays dry but we haven't had to give out many prizes lately.  (And that's why we still put him in pull-ups at home during nap time and nighttime.)  He stays dry most of the time during nap time at school, I don't know why he can't do it at home!  Lately he has been saying that he will keep his pull-up dry when he is 16.  I sure hope it's not that long!

Instead of saying the word "Disgusting" he says "Bisgusting" and instead of "Remember" he said "Demember"

He is really excited about going to school in the morning, which I love!

He is so polite!

Emmalyn used to suck my face (cheeks) when she was hungry and now she nose dives towards my boobs.  When Maxwell was nursing, he used to draw circles almost with his fists and then would punch my boobs.  Emmalyn however will grab them and squeeze.   I'm just a punching bag. :)

On Oct 17 Emmalyn really started getting up on her knees often and she does it a ton.  She ends up pushing forward a little and getting to what she wants but it's not full on crawling yet.

She has a horrendous mad scream.  It makes Peter nuts.

I gave Emmalyn some avocado to eat and she did NOT like it.  She DID like it when I gave her a little drink of water though.

She can finally take her vitamin drops without choking when they go in her mouth (which is nice because they smell like the iron in them and stain everything)

She's big enough that I gave her a bath in the baby bathtub without the infant sling.

She's not a cuddler unless she is really tired.

She's great at going to sleep at night and will sometimes roll to her belly when she's sleeping but not always.

Right now, she's not as talkative as she used to be.