Emme Asleep

This is how Emme sleeps. She always covers her head completely before she will go to sleep, even at night. Whenever I put her down for a nap or for bed, I have to go back in and uncover her after about 20 minutes. Elijah used to do the same thing when he was playing, but not when he was asleep.

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

This is a picture from our front doorway facing the sidewalk that leads to our driveway. The snowdrift is easily over 5 feet tall. Poor Elijah the 50mph wind was blowing the snow right into his face, so he was not going to look up at the camera.

Blizzard Aidan

Well, Blizzard Aiden hit Green Bay last night. With the wind and the drifting snow Green Bay and the surrounding area have issued a state of emergency. Church and the ward Christmas party were cancelled, as no one is allowed on the roads until after noon on Sunday. Luckily we were able to stock up at the grocery store on Friday, so we can hunker down for quite awhile if we need to. As you can see in the pictures we got quite a bit of snow. We can no longer see Elijah's poor snowman. Dustin had to dig the Jeep out of waist deep snow in the driveway so the plow could plow our driveway and the neighbors. Temperatures on Monday and Tuesday are suppossed to get down to -24! What! Not fun! We are grateful that the power hasn't been knocked out so that we still heat.

Elijah's First Snowman

Yesterday and last night we got our first good snowfall. Elijah, Dustin and myself were all so excited! Elijah and I were excited to build a snowman and Dustin was excited to drive the Jeep in the snow for the first time. Grown boys are silly! Last night Dustin had his fun and today Elijah and I had ours. This morning Elijah and I bundled up and braved the Green Bay wind to make a snowman. I think we did a pretty good job considering that I haven't built a snowman in probably 18 years! Elijah loves him, and I guess that is all that matters! He told me that he wanted to build a snowman as a present for Santa. What a goober!

Thank You Coffman Family

Yesterday Elijah received a huge box in the mail. It was his Christmas present from the Coffman Family. It was way too mean to make him wait to open it until the 18th, so he got to open it when Daddy came home from work. Elijah says "THANK YOU" to his Nana, Pop-pop and all of his Aunts and Uncles for his way cool dragon castle.

Christmas

Elijah is a very spoiled boy this year, he is going to get to celebrate Christmas three times this year. We are spending actual Christmas with the Coffmans in Texas, and then we are having our Christmas on the 18th and then we had Christmas with the Tuggles over Thanksgiving. The Tuggles gave Elijah an awesome Fisher-Price Castle with way cool dragons for Christmas. That is what he is playing with in the video. The castle and dragons are so fun to play with, they all do something special, so we have had fun finding out what all they do.

Emme Piranha

Emme has been teething for the last few weeks. Anything that even comes close to her mouth she tries to attack. Her mouth is almost always open and ready to bite. She will bite anything from a nose to a finger to her own feet. Because of this, we have given her the nickname "Emme Piranha." Luckily I have some great "teether" toys from Elijah that Emme seems to enjoy. Plus infant Tylenol and Orajel are amazing! PS: Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for Emme's awesome "cat costume" sleeper and her chew toy froggy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving Day! We love you, and are grateful for our friendships with all of you.

Emme is 4 Months

Emme had her 4 month doctor appointment today. She weighs 13lbs 3oz and is 25in long. She had to get two shots today and one immunization that she drank. She only cried for a second after the shots, and she was very brave. Unlike Elijah, who hid under the desk when the nurses came in with the shots! Emme also discovered that if she rolled over onto her tummy on the table she could eat the paper that covers it. She made quite a mess, and I had quite the pile of slobbery bits of paper to throw away before we left.

"Tato Heads"

Elijah LOVES Potato Heads. As you can see he has several, and he plays with all of them. His favorite one is the Mister Potato Head from Toy Story. He takes him apart and puts back him back together about 15 times a day. He has taken him apart so many times that the pieces are actually starting to get loose and fall out of the potato on their own. "Awesome, Awesome Mister Tato Head" also has to take baths with him, naps with him and he sleeps with him at night.

New Family Pictures

Grateful

Sometimes I have days when everything is rough and my schedule is off and the kids routine is ruined and nothing is going right. But thankfully these days are few and far between. But, I am grateful for these days because they remind me of how easy I really do have it, and how great my kids are. I am so grateful for Elijah. He has a kind and sweet heart. He is a happy and confident kid and he is very sure of himself. I am grateful for how funny he is, and the hilarious things that he says. I am grateful for the simple and beautiful way he sees the world. And even though he is almost three years old, he is still my baby. I am grateful that he and Emme adore each other and that he loves to help take care of her. I am grateful for Emme and how easy going she is. She is a good example for me, and she reminds to be calm and more "go with the flow". I love that she is very tolerant of her brother and even her daddy sometimes and the "loves and squeezes" that they give her. I am very grateful for her smile and how often she shares is with me. What a gift my kids are! I love every day with them, even the not so great ones.

Emme's Voice

Emme has recently found her voice, and now she talks all of the time (very loudly). It is hilarious though because when she talks she sounds very upset and she looks like she is going to cry but really she is quite pleased with herself. She does draw alot of attention when she decides to talk/screech in public. She is a funny little girl, and it always makes us all giggle when she feels she has something to say. (Sorry the video is sideways, I always forget about that on our camera)

Disney's Cars

It is very hard to motivate a two and a half year old to do something that they do not want to do, especially when it involves going number 2 on the potty (Elijah will hold it for days and days). Luckily we have found that Elijah will do just about anything for a Disney Car. Unfortunately we now have tons of cars all over our house. So we went to Home Depot and Dustin found Elijah a "way, way awesome Cars car holder." It is actually a very nice tool organizer, but it has big enough slots for some of his bigger cars that is works.

Potty Training

Well, it is official Elijah is potty trained! For the last few months Elijah has been potty trained during the day with #1 potties, but still wearing diapers at night and for naps. Unfortunately once Emme was born we had a bit of a set back, but the last two weeks Elijah has been sleeping both at night and during naps without a diaper! Yea! He has not wore a single diaper in about two weeks! Dustin and I are very excited to not have to buy diapers for him anymore, plus it will cut down on the wipes as well. Yea! We are so proud of our little man. (Elijah wanted to get his picture taken in his "new awesome OshKosh coat." He was very sad that his OshKOsh coat from last year did not fit him anymore, but luckily he has decided this one is a good replacement.)

15 Weeks

Last night Emmme rolled over (on purpose) for the first time! For a few weeks, she has been able to roll onto her side and stay there so that she can watch Elijah. I actually thought that it would take her longer to roll to her tummy because she does like being on her side so much, has been sleeping on her side since she was about 5 weeks old. Then this morning and this afternoon she has rolled over onto her tummy several more times, and once she even rolled from her tummy to her back. She is getting to be so big! She is at the stage now where she reaches for everything and then she can actually put it in her mouth. It is fun to watch her focus in on things and then try to throw her body around to get them. She tries to dive right out of your arms sometimes! She is awake alot more during the day, which is way fun. She and Eli have more time to play now. She loves to play cars with Eli on his car rug. Eli is not always sure he likes her destructive way of playing, but he always gives her some cars that she can play with.

Trick or Treat!!

On saturday night we had our ward Halloween party. Woody rounded up one of Bo Peep's sheep to go with him...she wasn't too happy to be "rounded up".

Emme's Blessing

Both sets of Grandparents were able to come visit this weekend for Emme's blessing. Also Emme was three months old on the 22nd.

Big Boy Elijah!

Elijah brought me the camera this morning and told me to take a picture of how he can put his undies on by himself. He was very proud of himself. He likes to wear the undies backwards so that he can see the picture that is suppossed to be on the bum. Seriously, whoever designed little kids undies so that all the fun pictures were on the back was a fool! Who wants to wear a fun picture that they can't see?

I realized that I haven't posted in a few weeks, so here is a little bit about what we have been up to. The last two nights Emme has slept all the way through the night! Yea! Elijah slept through the night at about 11 weeks as well, so we hope she takes after her brother. Elijah is excited to have her move into his room, so as he puts it "he can have a sleep over with his Emme girl every night." Too cute. Elijah is the best big brother, he really seems to love and appreciate Emme for who and what she is. I can't wait for her to be big enough so they can actually play together. Emme is fascinated by Elijah and other kids, and she very much wants to be involved in what they are doing. A few weeks ago in nursery Emme and I stayed with Elijah and Emme kept leaning forward out of my arms and trying to get down on the floor with the other kids. She always kicks her legs and waves her little arms inorder to try to play. Unfortunately for her, she almost always ends up fussing because she is frustrated that she can't play the way she wants to. It is crazy to think that she is going to be three months old this week. She is growing up so fast and I love every minute of it. I can't wait for her to be able to talk so she can tell me everything about her world. She really seems to have a sweet little personality and she is very sensitive to the mood and atmosphere around her. Elijah is doing really great as well. He is doing much better with potty training and is enjoying wearing big boy undies. He loves getting dressed up, especially wearing ties and church clothes, and he is amazing at staying put together and clean. He looks as good when he comes out of nursery as he does when he went in. The other Sunday they had chocolate pudding as the snack and he refused to eat it because it was messy and he was all dressed "fancy." He is becoming very independent and seems to need less reassurance from Dustin and I in public situations. We went to a work party the other night and Elijah quickly made friends with a few boys that were about 4 or 5, and he played with them outside for several hours without needing Dustin and I at all. We laughed too because he came inside after playing outside in the dark in wet grass and leaves for several hours, and his pants, shirt and shoes were still clean enough to wear to church the following day. He is the only two and a half year old boy I know that can manage that.

Embry is 2 Months Old

Yesterday Emme had her two month doctor appointment and we were able to find out how big she is. Emme is now 11lb 2oz and she is 23 1/4in long. She is right at the middle of the percentiles for her weight and the size of her head. She is on the long side for length. Dustin and I are so used to how long and SKINNY Elijah was as a baby, and still is, that we think Emme is positively chubby (in a good baby way of course). So when the doctor told me yesterday that she is very long and skinny for a baby her age, I realized how warped our perception of what a normal baby looks like is. LOL We think Emme is beautiful and we are so happy everyday that she joined our family 9 weeks ago.

Sibling Love

Elijah is the best big brother! He is always willing to play with Emme. He loves to read her books, sing her songs and show her all of her toys. Because of all the pampering Elijah gives her, Emme ALWAYS has a smile and giggle for him. I love to watch them play together, it warms my heart and makes for sweet days.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Dustin! Thanks for marrying me and giving me two beautiful children. I have had a great time being married to you these last four years. You are a great husband to me, and an awesome dad to our kids. You have been more than I deserve! Love you!

Embry

A few weekends ago, I had an interesting experience at Quiznos with Emme. It really is a very funny story, but also kind of sad for Emme. We had ordered our food and Emme and I were sitting at the table waiting while Dustin and Eli got everyone's drinks. So these two young college guys came into the restaurant and were waiting to order. One of them looks back at our table and stares at Emme in her car seat. The proud mama that I am I expect him to smile at her, like what a cute kid, and then look away. Instead he turns to his friend and says "dude, that little baby looks pissed." His friend turns around looks at Emme and says with a chuckle "yeah, she does." Then they both finally notice me sitting there and realize that I heard them talking about my baby, and they immediately looked at their shoes and turned around! I realize that I probably should have felt angry, but instead when I looked over at her, I realized that she did looked extremely angry! The sad thing is that I know that she wasn't really upset, in fact she was very peacefully sleeping! My poor scowly baby, I guess we need to teach her to smile more!

Nap Time!

I went to check on Elijah while he was taking his nap today and this is how I found him. What a goober! I tried to take the book away from him and get it off of his face, but he had a serious death grip on it. After a minute or two of trying nicely to get the book away, I finally had to literally pull it away from him. He opened his eyes, looked at me and said "not nice mom, I reading." And then he rolled over and was asleep again.

Emme Smiles!

Advanced!

Embry is going to be 7 weeks old tomorrow and she is already on an awesome schedule! She goes to bed every night at around 8 or 8:30, and then she is already only waking up once a night to eat. I hate to brag but I have to say, I think my child is advanced! LOL I love that I have two great sleeping kids. I think they both figured out right away that their mama needs her sleep or else she is grouchy! Embry is also the best eater. Elijah was a pretty good eater, but he was very easily distracted, and he liked to play around while he ate. Embry on the other hand is all business, which I love because she can go alot longer between each feeding than Elijah ever did. Embry can also already hold her head up all by herself when she is sitting up. And she can also hold it mostly by herself when I am up and moving around with her. We think that she is a pretty smart girl!

Thanks!

I am so grateful for my parents, and I wanted to take a second to thank them for all that they do. Thanks for always being willing to help Dustin and I in any way that you can. You both always go above and beyond in all that you do for us. Thanks for being awesome grandparents to my kids. I am grateful for all that you do and all that you have done for us. Thanks Mom and Dad! We Love You!

The Magic Carpet

Last week I unpacked Elijah's old "Magic Carpet" for Embry. Elijah loved playing on it as a baby and still enjoys the animals on it and Embry is quite fascinated with it as well. It truly is a "Magic Carpet."

Elijah and Embry

Eijah is 2 1/2 Years Old

Elijah had his 2 1/2 year old check-up today. He is 37in tall and he weighs 26.5lbs. Elijah is quite the talker these days, and both Dustin and I can understand him. Even other people can understand about 90% of what he says now. He loves to have books read to him and his favorites right now are The Paperbag Princess and The Color Kittens. Elijah likes to take books to bed with him at night, and he usually ends falling asleep with open books all over his body. He loves his Toy Story and M. Potato Head toys. Elijah definately has his terrible two year old moments, but overall he is a GREAT kid, and Dustin and I know how easy we have it. We are very proud of the little man he has grown it.

Fun at the park

Bath Time

Elijah loves sharing his baths with Embry. He is a great big brother and he loves to help me bath her. Emme loves her baths too, and she especially loves to have her hair washed.