August 8, 2010

4 years of life being celebrated for our precious baby girl! Emma Grace came into this world 4wks before she was "scheduled" to. After a tough labor and delivery resulting in a c-section she arrived at 5:58pm! She was a beautiful 6lbs 14.5oz and 19.5in long! She had a beautiful head full of black hair and gorgeous brown eyes like her daddy. After spending her first week of life in the NICU from complications with delivery she came home with us!! The past 4 years have been amazing. We have watched her grow from the sweet tiny baby she once was into a very sassy, independent little girl. I can only imagine what the future has in store for us with her. She learns things so quickly and remembers everything!! She has a wonderful outlook on every situation and can always make you smile. She brightens the world every day with her beautiful little face!

The first year of her life was a whole new experience for the both of us. We embarked on a journey of diapers, spit up, baby food, and all that comes with it. We learned new things from each other every day and were amazed to see her hold her head up on her own, sit up for the first time, speak her first words, crawl and even walk.

The second year of her life brought us new journeys into toddlerhood! The wonderful world of "no" and giggling to get out of things were very familiar in our house. We watched as she learned new things and really took on a personality of her own.

The third year of her life brought her into the role of big sister. She learned to help hold and feed her little brother as well as just sit and read to him. She became the most amazing big sister to her little man. She grew so much into her new role. Her third year of life is also when she became a "big girl."

Now as this fourth year of life has happened upon us I sit in awe of the amazing little being we have created. Amazed at her beauty as well as her sweet caring nature. She started preschool this year and absolutely loves it.

I don't know what the future holds for us but as a family with as much love as we have for one another I can only imagine how wonderful it will be.

First Day of Pre-k

Caden & Emma ready to ride

Emma & Audrey

Birthday Party Friends

June 5, 2010

One year ago on June 5, 2010 hubby & I drove to the Women & Children's hospital in anticipation of our little man's arrival! We got to the hospital around 10am and went right back to be set up for my scheduled c-section. After getting all the monitors hooked up and my IV started we quickly realized that those little twinges I had been feeling were labor pains! I was in active labor and had no idea! I contracted every few minutes but the contractions were nothing like Emma's delivery. Although I attribute those horrible pains to the pitocin! haha!! Heading into the operating room was familiar but a new experience all at the same time. The smells of the operating room brought back so many memories from Emma's delivery. After my spinal they began the process of bringing our little man into the world!! The delivery seemed to take forever but our little man was soon with us. He weighed in at 7lbs 15oz and was 19.5in long :) After being checked out and deemed as healthy our little man went out with daddy to meet his new big sister and the rest of the family! Emma was so amazed at the little being that was now hers. She was so careful and sweet with him.

Throughout the past year of Tanner's life he has brought so much joy to us! From the first time he crawled, walked, or said momma or dada he has been nothing but a blessing. We are so thankful for the precious gifts we have been given to raise and care for. I hope for the future that he will become an amazing person with so much love and happiness to share.

I'll leave you with photos to share our past yr with our amazing little man!!

June 5, 2009

June 5, 2010

Happy 1st Birthday!

Wow!

Time has flown since I last posted!! I rarely have time to update anymore so thinks have progressed a lot since my last post! Tanner is 9 1/2 months now! He's quickly approaching his 1st birthday! :( He weighed 18lbs the last time he was at the dr but he hasn't had his 9mth checkup yet so I'm not sure of the length right now. lol He loves any kind of baby food and table food. He loves french fries the most. ha! He will eat ANY baby food..peas, green beans, carrots, applesauce...you name it he eats it! He loves the wagon wheels, puffs, and crackers. He refuses to be in the exersaucer or jumperoo for any length of time. He started crawling at 7mths and has started quickly pulling up since. He tries to let go and walk but falls every time. He's so pitiful when he falls too! He has 4 teeth now! And has 2 more working there way through. Most nights he sleeps at least 12hrs but lately with all the new milestones he hasn't been sleeping as well. Hopefully that will work itself out soon. Mommy can use all the sleep she can get! He loves to play with his big sister and can not be seperated from her for any period of time. If she spends the night away somewhere else he will cry and pitch a fit for hrs and hrs!! He loves his big sister much more than I expected in these short 9mths! She absolutely loves him as well!! She loves to have him in her room watching cartoons or playing. She sings to him and kisses him non stop. I can't imagine having 2 better little loves! :) They are def. precious!
We are gearing up for Easter and planning an egg hunt for the bigger kids and then hubby & I will be going on the Easter ride that Saturday. We have managed to go on a few rides & 1 wknd camping trip so far this yr so we are def. getting a good start to having some "us" time. lol Time together in the woods on the rhino are fine with us, we don't need fancy dinners and dress clothes! haha!! Hubby is not one for that!! Things are going very well for our little family right now & hopefully they will continue to do so! Hope everyone has a wonderful wknd!! :)

pics

Show Us Your Life-Baby Gear

So this week it's show us your life - baby gear over at Kelly's Korner! As a mom of 2 I def. know what has worked for us and what has been more of a waste of money. Some things look so cute but then they turn out to pretty much be a waste. So if any new mom's or mommies to be have any other questions feel free to ask! Emma was a preemie so some things we used with her weren't useful with Tanner.

Thermometers:

Ear thermometers have been great with both mine! This is the Braun Thermoscan Ear thermometer that we use. It's very simple to use, the batteries hold up great! and it doesn't take but just a second to take the temp.

Travel System:

This is the travel system that we used with Emma and we still use the carseat with Tanner. Evenflo makes great baby gear and it's held up very well! There is hardly any wear and tear on the carseat or stroller. (and both were used with my niece as well)

Swing:

Swings are def. a MUST HAVE!! It was a life saver with Emma & it has been with Tanner as well. Both of mine have fought sleep when its nap time and putting them in this swing has made life so much easier! Tanner goes right to sleep if he's moving in this! It has 6 speeds and music and has the toy pictured here.

Bumbo Seat:

The bumbo wasn't useful with Emma, in fact we never used it with her. Tanner loves to sit up even though he's only 4mths. (almost) lol These are suppose to help baby learn to sit up but Emma was sitting up by 6mths with no problem! If your baby seems to want to sit up earlier then I would def. say to get a bumbo! Tanner loves to sit up while I cook dinner or just to watch tv with his big sister. :)

As for all those bottles you will need washed (if you bottle feed or pump) these dishwasher baskets are lifesavers!! Get at least 4! I hate washing bottles by hand because it takes so long to wash all the parts, esp. depending on which bottles you choose to use. I have tried to do bottles in the dishwasher a few times with only 2 baskets and some lid always falls off and ends up in the heating element! ha! As far as these go they also come in handy when you start using sippy cups! The lids and valves to sippies will do the same thing!

Exersaucer:

This was a God send for us! Emma played in her exersaucer from 4mths until I know at least 1yr! Tanner has just started using this and he loves to chew on the toys and watch tv. It gives you somewhere to put baby while you shower or cook if you choose to not use something else. These are def. worth your money!

Soothing Motions Glider:

The first 2 wks home with Tanner this is what he lived in! He slept in it all the time and loved it. It has 2 speeds and songs and the toy bar. I wouldn't say this is a necessity though. The bouncy seat or swing could easily replace this. Tanner just always loves to be moving so this helped from day 1 home!

Bedroom Bassinet:

This is the exact bedroom bassinet by Graco that we used up until this month. Tanner loved it! He slept in our room in this every night. It has the toys, 2speeds of vibration, music, lights, nature sounds, an alarm..everything! This was well worth our money. While the bassinet part is up it has the storage area underneath which was very helpful for those middle of the night feedings and diaper changes! It also rolls very easily so you can move it from one room to another!

Bottles:

The playtex Drop-Ins & The Avent bottles have worked best for us with both kids! The drop-ins don't have alot of parts to clean and the liners are disposable so it works out great. They have worked great at keeping air bubbles out of their little tummies too! The Avent bottles are simple to clean as well and they have not caused any gas/tummy troubles either.

Double Strollers:

This double jogging stroller is the one we have by Instep. It is a breeze to push and it works sooo great!! I don't know how we would make it without this. With 2 kids that are 34mths apart it's very difficult to find a double stroller that accommodates both kids easily. It was very difficult to push both kids in the tandem double strollers too. The ones that sit front to back are great as far as trying to take them to the stores or something but our experience has shown that they are HORRIBLE to push. Some people love there strollers that sit front to back but we hated ours. The wheels never seemed to want to push the weight of 2 kids and a diaper bag. Trips to the fair and anyplace that is not paved have become soo much easier with a jogging stroller. I don't actually jog with the kids nor does my hubby, but it it so much better to push than the other stroller. We originally had a Combi Counterpart Double Stroller and it was horrible. I suggest if you are going to have 2 children fairly close together or at least like we did, to get a jogging stroller.

These are just the things that have/have not worked for us so they may work/not work for you! Trial and error is a big part of being a mom! Diapers are always controversial for mom's- some work well for some and they leak for others! Don't discount using store brand baby products - diapers, bottles, formula. These things have all been used in our house at one time or another and we have a healthy 3yr old & 4mth old to prove it. :) Again, if anyone has any questions about any of this as a first time mommy or soon to be mommy of 2 email me! Going from one kid to two was a BIG transition for me and it was kind of difficult to say the least so if you have any questions about that either! I'd be glad to help!!

Where has the time gone?

It has been much too long since my last post! Little Man will be 14wks tomorrow!! yikes! Sassy pants had a wonderful 3rd birthday but mommy was very emotional that day. I just couldn't believe that my little 6lb 14oz baby girl had already done and learned so much. :( We had friends and family over to celebrate at our house. The kids enjoyed some water time in the 2 little pools, sprinkler, and slip n slide Emma wanted. They all had a blast and many did not want to go home. We have been blessed with such wonderful friends and family that the day was so special to us. There were many people who didn't make it for various reasons but we had a wonderful time. I'll add some pics at the end of this post. :)

At Little man's 3mth appt. he weighed 12lbs 11oz! He is a growing boy I tell ya! He loves to hold his head up and sleep on his tummy! He eats 6oz about every 3-4hrs sometimes more often. I think he's going through a growth spurt right now though. He was sleeping anywhere between 8-12 hrs a night and now he has suddenly started waking up to eat once during the night. Hopefully he'll be back to sleeping all night again soon. Oh how I love that time!!

Sassy Pants only weighed in at 27lbs at her 3yr checkup. She has always been in the bottom percentiles for her weight for age so it was no surprise. She had a great checkup other than the constant double ear infection that wouldn't go away. After 3 antibiotics she is headed to see an ENT Tuesday and hopefully we can resolve whatever the problem with the resistant bacteria in her ears are. Please say a prayer that she doesn't have to be put to sleep to have tubes!!!! I'm soo scared that that is whats gonna happen.

We took Emma on her first camping trip a couple wknds ago. She had alot of fun. We took the rhino on a cancer ride. All the proceeds went to cancer and since it is close to our hearts we were very happy to participate. We grilled, made s'mores, and slept in the tent for 2nights. She wasn't feeling too good on the last day though and was ready to head home. She had fun and was so excited though.

I am still doing classes online and at the college. It seems to never end but hey its leading towards a better future. The hubby is working as much as possible and the kids are both doing well. So I hope everyone has a great week and weekend!! Enjoy the pics!

Family Pictures!

Wow!! Time has flown by so quickly! I can hardly believe Little Man is 8wks old!! He has gotten to be so long and such a big eater! :) He thoroughly enjoys his bottle! haha! We had family pictures made by a great friend/photographer! These are just a few of the ones she took from our session and I am so in love already! Little Man was so great with it all and he took alot of great pictures. Sassy Pants on the other hand had a major meltdown and did not want to take any at all. We managed to get a few good ones I think! I did however just realize that I am the whitest out of the 4 of us! haha!!

Emma Grace will be 3 this saturday! I can hardly believe that she has grown up before my very eyes! It seems like just yesterday she came into this world a tiny little girl being transfered to the NICU. She has done so much since she came into this world and is well beyond her years. :) I am so excited for her to get to spend a couple hours with so many people that love her so much. This birthday I think will be the best so far because she will be able to interact and do everything everyone else is. I will def. post pics afterward!

Tanner goes for his 2mth checkup on the 11th so we'll see how much he has grown and how much weight he has gained. I do believe he is well over 10lbs though! He has the cutest little fat legs! Hopefully the shots won't be horrible! He hasn't had any since birth so i don't know how he will react yet!

Guess I will get back to my mounds of laundry awaiting me! Have a great week!!