Emmalyn at 4 months Old

Emmalyn at 4 months...

Loves her dolly, it's her favorite toy
Is pitting up a ton
Recently we've struggled to get her down at night
We work hard to get tiny giggles, and found we get more giggles when she's nearly upset
She doesn't want to suck on her binky much anymore
Has THE cutest smile (especially with her tongue)
Has pretty, blue, big eyes (I wonder if they will stay blue)
Will coo and talk like crazy on her changing table
Has a temper - screams when she isn't happy
Loves her brother and just watches him.  She looks at her dad until he acknowledges her.
Hates the act of being swaddled but then is okay when it's all done
Sleeps in the swing a lot during the day but can lay awake for a long time first
Is happy on her play mat and ok with tummy time but doesn't like to sit
Wants to be put to sleep upright, on your shoulder, while you pat her back
Loves the bath and loves to splash
Loves to be outside but not in the carseat or in the car (heaven forbid the car stops moving)
Has lots of interest in what I'm eating lately
She's still 100% breastfed and is starting to get distracted when eating
She's getting 4 oz of milk at a time when she gets a bottle
Her hair is coming in lighter
I think her digestive system is okay with me having milk in my diet now but I still try to limit it
We are moving towards 4 hours of sleep at a time at night


More pics from the last half of August 2014...

The boys playing in their fort while eating their apples

Landen and Emmalyn are buddies

Tummy time, there's that tongue

I took Maxwell to his pediatrician for his 3 year checkup. He was so excited to go.

He was a little nervous to get his blood pressure but was so brave.

The first time we were in this room he was 2 months old.  It's amazing that 3 years have past!

He did great on the developmental questionnaire - It was for 2 - 4 year olds and you are supposed to go until you get 3 "no's".  We did the whole thing and only got 2 "no's". (both were physical development focused)

Maxwell Stats:

Weight - 32.6 Lbs 60th percentile!

Height - 35.75 inches 13th percentile! (not bad)

Blood Pressure - 100/65

Heart-rate - 108 bpm

I took the kids to the neighborhood splash park and we had it all to ourselves!  I later learned that's because it was back to school night so all the kids were at school learning who their teachers were, etc.  Maxwell actually played, which was nice for a change.

Video - Maxwell at the splash park

Sneaky hands worked their way out of the swaddle when she was sleeping

Our first box from Tiffany's.   Peter got to pick something out of a Tiffany's catalog for his one year anniversary at work.  We (me) picked a pair of square candy dishes.  Because, you know, M&Ms taste better when they are in a dish from Tiffany's.

My silly kids

Emmalyn got to watch a little TV.

Maxwell's 3 Yr Old Birthday Party!

When it came time to plan Maxwell's party, I struggled with what the theme should be.  He isn't really crazy passionate about anything specific like Dora, Toy Story, Legos, Trucks, etc.  Plus, I didn't aspire to doing something really complicated.  I decided to do a "circle" party and just have everything be focused on circles.  I was really happy with how it turned out.

The e-invitations I sent out

The decorations weren't complicated but still took awhile to get up.  We decorated the night before the party after Maxwell went to sleep.  I appreciated having Brittany's help - I am so lucky to have her as a partner in so many things!

When Max woke up and saw the decorations, he was SO EXCITED!  The first thing he said was, "Wow. It's my party. Can we get the cake now?"  :)  I explained he'd have to wait a couple hours.

Instead of a traditional cake we did a doughnut cake.  I thought it turned out really cute.

Caterpillar (or as Max corrects us -not "Caterpiller" instead it's "Catapillah".  Say it with a British accent like the show Pokoyo)

I love the birthday banner my cousin Michelle made for me.  It's absolutely perfect and I can't wait to use it for every birthday!

"Maxwell is three"

Our party favors were mini peanut butter flavored oreos, circle dot markers, and a drawing pad

I had some outside activities planned but the day ended up being rainy so we did most everything inside.  We ate food, blew bubbles on the covered patio, played with beach balls and round swimming tubes, and made fruit loop necklaces.

Max was territorial over this cooler with water in it and sat on it when Ian was standing there.  It was pretty funny since clearly Ian wasn't going to get into it.

Maxwell and Sam

Landen and Sadie

Pretty baby in her circle party dress

Making the necklaces

Evan enjoying his hard work

Three!!

All the kids in the media room playing with toys  (it was quite loud!).  We had 4 friends over and 2 cousins.

Time for "cake"

So excited to finally get cake and to sing Happy Birthday

I **LOVE** this picture and the pure joy on his face when he blew out all the candles.  It makes my heart so incredibly happy.

Video - Max looked up at me this is what he said.  (I made him say it again so I could get it on video.  It was so incredibly cute.)

Evan and Jessica

Andrea and Sadie

Playing trains

Blake, Leah, Ian, Maxwell

Sam and Brad

His birthday balloons

Trying to take a nap after the party but her sneaky hand made its way up to her mouth

I thought the party went great.  I was so appreciative of Brittany and Peter's help to keep everything taken care of.  I was glad I had a few things planned because these kids have short attention spans!  Parties are so stressful to me because I just feel so out of my element.  I just haven't been to enough kid parties to feel confident that I know how they should be run.  Everyone seemed to have fun and there were no big hiccups.  

We opened presents after all the kids left.  This isn't what I grew up doing but it's pretty common here (any maybe everywhere now?) to not open presents in front of the other kids so that the other kids don't get jealous of all the presents (I guess that's the reason)

Our friends Erika and Jake came over after to help us continue to eat all the food (which I'm bummed I didn't get a good picture of!  It was all circle foods like circle PB and J sandwiches, bagel bites, chicken salad on round rolls, carrot rounds, cucumbers, tomatoes, round chips, vanilla wafers, etc.

Ecstatically opening presents

Family picture!  I wish they were better and both kids were smiling but oh well.

Miss Erika got to make a necklace too

Max wanted to show her how to eat it.  :)

I sure love this handsome boy and his fun personality

Silly face with dimples

Trying out Emmalyn's bumbo.  His legs fit better than her chubby legs.  :)