Emma :: 2 years

Emma James,

Happy 2nd birthday sweet girl! I can't believe you are already 2. You are such a fun, smart, beautiful, and funny little girl. You keep us on our toes and make us laugh every single day.

You talk non stop. You are speaking in small sentences and repeat everything you hear. Your favorite things are baby dolls, playing outside, Mickey Mouse, and my jewelry. You are such a girly girl and love dresses, shoes, and makeup! But you aren't afraid to get dirty which I love.

You are a picky eater but you also love not normal toddler food. Some of your favorites are steak, salad, mac n cheese, dips, all fruit, guacamole, gummies, chicken, oatmeal, and cereal. 

You are such a joy and we love you so much. Happy birthday, Emma James!

Love,

Mommy

Emma :: 23 months

Emma :: 22 months old

Emma James,

You are 22 months old! Somehow I blinked and you will be 2 in 2 short months. 

You are so much fun right now. You are loving all things girly. You ask for shoes and bows all day long and we change them all day long. You love your purse, necklaces, baby, and stroller. We also painted your nails for the first time and you were obsessed! 

You talk NONSTOP and all day long. Your sentences blow my mind. Hudson wasn't talking in sentences until well after he was 2 but you are a chatterbox! I love watching you have little conversations with Hudson and some of your words aren't totally clear and it's so funny to hear him try and correct you. Y'all play so well together. You also fight so well but that's to be expected. I love finding you two in your room playing together. It melts my heart!

Yesterday when I asked you if you wanted to go outside and take pictures, you enthusiastically yelled, "YES!" And then stood here saying "cheese" for about 3 minutes. That's forever in toddler talk! haha! Such a different experience from taking your picture last month. You would not stay in one spot or look at me. It amazes me how much things can change in a short month.

This past Sunday was promotion Sunday and you did so well going to a new class with new teachers. I was worried about how you would do because you had finally gotten used to and loved your old class and teachers. You surprised me sweet girl! I was so proud! You start preschool in less than 2 weeks and I know you will do great. I just can't believe you will be in the 2 year old class!!

I love you so much and I'm so thankful for you every single day. 

Love,

Mommy

Emma :: 21 months

Oh sweet girl, you are 21 months old! Again, you have changed and learned so much this month!

I feel like you lost so much of your babyness while we were in Colorado and turned into even more toddler while we were away. You are stringing words together to make short sentences, your vocabulary explodes every day, you repeat EVERYTHING you hear. It's just so much fun!

You are sleeping so great right now. You can go to bed at 7 but you can also stay up later now which is SO nice during the summer. You can (can being the key word) sleep in a little which Hudson never does. You are napping for about 3 hours a day and sleeping about 12 hours at night. You sleep with so many things! Most importantly are your Lovie and pacis. But you also have Abby Cadabby, a bear, a bunny, a pig, a lamb, 5 blankets (4 of those are the breathable Aiden + Anais swaddle blankets). There are possibly a couple other things that I can't think of now. 

Your favorite foods are oatmeal, blueberries, watermelon, fruit snacks, yogurt, steak, sausage, bacon, strawberries, and cheese. You love snacks and ask for them all day long! You aren't the best eater if it's not one of your favorite foods but if you sit there long enough you'll eat a few bites. 

You love to dance! Any time you hear music (or Hudson sings the ABCs) you immediately start doing your dance. It's hilarious. You have loved swimming this summer and are getting so much better at swimming with your puddle jumper on. You love to jump in!

You love church now! For a while you cried every time we walked down your hallway. Now you run! You love your teachers and it makes me so happy. You also love to go visit your daddy at church. You know exactly where to go when we walk into the building. You head straight for the elevator and as soon as we get off you run straight for his office. It's so fun!

You are doing great with your paci. You only get it when you are in bed. We've dropped it in the car and you rarely ask about it now. Hopefully by 2 you will be done with it completely. I'm sort of dreading that!

We love you so much sweet girl! Happy 21 months. 

Love,

Mommy

Emma :: 20 months old

Emma James,

You are 20 months old! You will be 2 in just 4 short months. I know from experience how quickly these 4 months will go. I say this every month, but this is such a fun age with you. You are so full of life and personality and DRAMA but I love it. 

You love being outside and going on adventures. You do not like to be left out. If John and Hudson go somewhere, you are DEVASTATED that you didn't get to go. You are still so attached to your paci (which you call papi) and your lovie. We are going to start working to take the paci away around 22 months. Hopefully we will be done with it by 2. You love Mickey and Minnie Mouse so much. Your favorite food right now has to be "yummies" (gummies = fruit snacks) and "suckas" and popsicles which you say that word perfectly. haha! Basically, you love all things sweet. You also love breakfast sausage and bacon.

You are working on 6 (yes 6) new teeth! Some have just broken the surface and the others are right there. I can feel them all. After these 6 come in, you will be done until your 2 year molars. Phew! Teething with you has not been easy at all. I'll be so glad when this is behind us.

You are talking so much! You are talking in 2 or 3 word sentences and will repeat anything we say. This is so different than with Hudson. You also know what you want and will throw HUGE epic tantrums. I'm pretty sure you got that from me. Opps!

You had another ear infection this month. It's been several months since your last one so I'm thankful that you've been so healthy. You got a double ear infection, horrible diaper rash, and teething 6 teeth all at the same time. You were pretty miserable earlier this week but that's behind us now. Thank goodness!

You also seem to have had a growth spurt in the last week. Several people have commented that you look taller and your shorts and some dresses are much shorter. You LOVE swimming! You refused to wear your life vest or puddle jumper our first day at the pool but now you love the puddle jumper. You love to jump in from the sides and go under water. You also love to roll over and float on your back. You're a little fish! 

We love you so much sweet girl!! Happy 20 months!

Love,

Mommy

Hudson {3 years old}

My sweet Hudson,

Where in the world do I even begin? You are 3 years old today. You are the funniest, smartest, sweetest, and most loving little boy I know. You make your daddy, sister, and me laugh so hard. You are hands down, the best birthday present I've ever received. 

So, at 3 years old what are you up to? Most recently...YOU ARE POTTY TRAINED! You've been ready for almost 3 months but we had a long trip to Texas, then we got back and we were so busy with the end of school, activities, swim lessons, and KidLife (VBS). But the day after KidLife was over...we started potty training. It took you about 2 1/2-3 days to fully get it and you've done so great. It was so much easier than I was anticipating.

You talk NONSTOP. You were such a late talker that I was nervous that you wouldn't ever catch up. But that is not an issue at all. You are so curious and ask so many questions...over and over and over again. Ha! You love to tell us what we have planned for the day or what your plans are after you take a nap or wake up for the day. 

You love games and puzzles. You can figure out a jigsaw puzzle so quickly it amazes me every time. Games are a new love of yours. You got several for your birthday so we will have many hours of entertainment ahead. You love playing outside and with your train table and trucks. You are certainly all boy but you have such a sweet and affectionate side. You love your sister SO MUCH. Hearing you walk up to Emma and say, "I love you, Emma!" melts my heart every single time. You are also a typical older brother to her and can push, hit, and take away toys like the best of them. Your favorite shows to watch are Super Why, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. 

You recently did swim lessons and did so well with them. You can swim on your own a short distance and love jumping off the side of the pool. One of my favorite things you learned at swim lessons was how to swim to the side and hold on if you fall or get pushed into the pool. You learned not to touch the wall because it can push you away but to reach up and grab on to the side to wait for someone to get you out. 

You LOVE going to church. KidLife week was probably one of the best weeks of your life. You had the best time and learned so much. You memorized 3 bible verses and learned all of the songs and motions and talked about the bible stories all week long. I am so happy that you love going to church. You also loved school so much and did so well last year!

We could not be more proud of the little boy you are becoming and are so blessed to have you as a son. We are so thankful for you and your sweet spirit.

Happy 3rd birthday, Hudson. 

Love,

Mommy

Emma :: 19 months old

Emma, 

You are 19 months old! I've totally dropped the ball on your 19 month post (seeing as how you are now 20 months and 4 days) but I still took these pictures last month and want to get them up here. 

We love you so much precious girl! You are hilarious and such a joy.

Emma :: 18 months old

Emma, 

You are 18 months old! You are getting so big and grown up and I actually love it. Every day with you is so much fun and I can't believe you are my sweet daughter. 

You've changed so much this month. You talk SO MUCH. So much more than Hudson did at this month. You are starting to string words together like "bye bye Daddy" and "hi Ah-ver (Oliver)." You can repeat just about anything we say. Your vocabulary is huge and I'm impressed every day by what you say. 

You love your sweet friends so much. You get so excited to go to the nursery or when you get to see Audrey and Mary Everett. Y'all are so cute together and all get so excited to see each other. 

You still love to be outside. You can walk down the steps from the back door by yourself now and you will play outside for hours if we'd let you. You just love to be out there and explore. You love the park too. You can climb and slide and you try to do anything Hudson does. You think you are so much bigger than you are.

You and Hudson still play really well together but you also fight really well. :) We are working with both of y'all on sharing and not hitting. It's hard at this age. 

You are becoming a picky eater and I hate it. I've tried so hard to get you to be a good eater but it's just not working right now. You love strawberries, blueberries, chicken, mac n cheese, jelly beans, gummies, goldfish, and pretzels. You also love any breakfast meat...bacon, turkey bacon, sausage, etc. 

You weigh about 23 pounds. I'm not sure your exact stats. Our pedi doesn't do 18 month checkups if you are on track developmentally and at your 15 month checkup you were doing great so we won't go back until you are 2!

You are still teething all the time it seems. You now have 2 top molars so you have 6 top teeth and 2 bottom still. 

We love you so much sweet girl! We thank God for you every single day.

xo,

Mommy

Emma :: 17 months old

Emma James, you are 17 months old! You are quickly shedding any babyness that you had left and are becoming a full blown toddler. Your personality is so precious and you make me laugh every single day. 

You are starting to love books. For several months you would only sit and listen to 1 specific book. But now you will sit and listen to us read several books. You're also still so cuddly. I love it because you're so busy most of the time.

You still LOVE to be outside. Specifically, outside collecting sticks and bark and trying to eat them. Hence the dirt on your face. :) You and Hudson play so well together. You like to throw the balls for Oliver (even though they don't go very far) and get so tickled watching him run to get them.

You seem to be teething again which means you're getting your paci more than you should. I hate this but you are SO DANG FUSSY when you're teething. It's just not a battle I'm willing to fight right now. Once that tooth pops in, the pacis go back in the crib.

You've gotten a lot better about going to the nursery at church and the gym. You used to cry and get so upset but now you rarely cry. I wouldn't say you're excited about going but it's a step in the right direction! 

You are sleeping so great at night. You go to bed around 7 or 7:30 and sleep until about 7ish in the morning. You and Hudson go down for naps at 1:00 and you will sleep for 2-3 hours. Your favorite food is still blueberries. You would eat a pint in one sitting if I'd let you. Ha!

You are such a happy little girl and I can't believe you are getting so close to being 1 1/2. We love you so much and are so proud of the sweet toddler you are becoming.

Emma :: 16 months old

Emma James,

You are 16 months old! I can't believe you are the same age that Hudson was when you were born! This is so so strange. Ha! I thought Hudson was SO BIG when he was 16 months old and you still seem like such a baby some days. But other days you are such a toddler. I guess that's just this age. :)

You are SO BUSY ALL THE TIME. You rarely sit still...unless The Lorax is on. The only other shows you really like are Yo Gabba Gabba, Strawberry Shortcake, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You love your babies and rock them all the time. The sweetest thing. When I drop you off in the nursery, the first thing you do is go and find the babies and those keep you entertained the whole time I'm gone. Love that!

You are still doing great without your paci during the day. There have definitely been a couple days this month that I've given it to you because I couldn't take the fussing. You had about 5 days of brutal teething and you got your paci anytime you wanted during those days. You call your paci, "pass." You have 8 teeth total. 6 on top (including 2 molars) and still just 2 on the bottom! haha!

You and Hudson play so well together. Y'all love to chase each other, build block towers, and play cars together. Hudson also loves to play with your picnic basket and you steal the food from him. Watching y'all play together is one of my greatest joys. Y'all also know how to annoy and fight with each other too. :)

You weigh 23.5 pounds and are 30 inches tall. You are slowing growing but I like that you are petite. You're just perfect! You've also started wearing bows like a big girl this month. You can't wear big ones because they are too heavy but you have a couple of smaller bows that we can clip in your hair. You just look so cute!

Emma, we love you so so much. You are just the perfect little toddler and we love watching you grow and learn every day. 

Love,

Mommy

Emma :: 15 months old

Emma, you are 15 months old! You are changing constantly and I can't believe you are 1 month away from being the age Hudson was when you were born. For some reason that's just so weird to me.

You talk all the time. The only "sentence" you say is "no no mama" and you say that a lot. You know what you want and when you want it. You have SO MUCH attitude and sass. I love your little personality but I have a feeling you might be a little bit of a drama queen. :)

You love to build towers with blocks. You concentrate so hard and get so excited when you stack them taller than yourself. You love knocking them over just as much as building them! Your other favorite toys are still your baby and stroller. You also love your purse and will put it on your arm and carry it around while you do other things. Too cute! You also love being outside and will throw a fit when we have to come inside. See, drama queen.

We took your paci away this month except for when you are sleeping, napping or if you need it in the car. Today we went and ran a couple errands and I didn't offer it to you and you never needed it! Score! Also, when you wake up from a nap or in the mornings I'll ask you to put your paci in your crib and you will take it out of your mouth and throw it in. You are so proud when you do that! It wasn't this easy the first week though. 

You are sleeping really well at nights. You sleep at least 12 hours and for most of this month you were still taking 2 naps. A few days ago your afternoon naps were 30-45 minutes tops so we dropped your morning nap and now you're doing much better. 

Your favorite foods are still fruits, crackers, mac n cheese, and chicken. Oh and anything sweet you can get your hands on. 

We love you so much sweet girl! Happy 15 months!

Hudson :: 2 1/2 years old

Earlier this month (on the 10th to be exact), my sweet big boy officially turned 2 1/2. Since I don't do monthly posts for him anymore, I wanted to make sure and document this. He has changed SO MUCH in the last 6 months.

You were a late talker. About 2 months ago you started talking in sentences and are now talking our ears off. You are repeating so much of what we say and every day you have a new phrase you're saying. You still loves puzzles, coloring, any kind of craft, trucks, balls, playing outside, going to the park, and going on walks. Your favorite shows are Dora, Super Why, Yo Gabba Gabba, Special Agent Oso, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

This Christmas season has been so much fun. You love every part of Christmas. One of your favorite things to do is "rock baby Jesus." I'll sing "Away in a Manger" and you will rock baby Jesus. It's the SWEETEST THING EVER.

You are the sweetest big brother ever. You love Emma and it is so very obvious. Y'all play so well together. When one of y'all is asleep or not around, the other is clearly missing their sibling. I love the special relationship y'all already have and pray it only gets stronger. 

Meal times are not the most exciting thing with you right now. We are constantly negotiating with you on how many bites you have to eat. You are so obsessed with numbers that it can get pretty funny. We will tell you, "5 more bites" and you will come back with, "NO, 9." Then once you realized you've said a bigger number you'll quickly fix your reply. 

Again, you're obsessed with numbers. And the alphabet. You know all the sounds the letters make. You are also able to hear a word and tell us the first letter of that word. You got so many reading, site word, alphabet related gifts for Christmas and you're loving them. You've already learned so much in the last week.

I love this age so much. As far as terrible twos go, this is pretty easy. 18 months-24 months were much more challenging. The last 6 months have been a lot easier than I thought. Fingers crossed it stays this way. :)

Emma :: 14 months old

You are such a BUSY and talkative little girl! You talk constantly and although most of it doesn't make any sense, you do have so many words that we understand. You can repeat just about anything we ask you to repeat. 

Weight: 22 pounds

Height: 31 inches

You love giving high fives and blowing kisses. You LOVE older kids. You can sometimes get on the couch but not every time yet. You can definitely get down from the couch on your own. You love pressing the buttons on elevators. You get to do this anytime we go visit daddy at work.

You are obsessed with my closet. You will take a stroller and as many toys in there and just sit and play. It is a tiny closet too! ha! You still love your baby dolls and strollers. You also love to throw balls for Oliver. 

Words: Dada, Mama, bye bye, dog, hi, nemanema (M&Ms - haha!), nana (banana), Hus (Hudson), no

Emma :: 13 months old

You are walking everywhere now! Your sweet little personality is developing more and more every day and you make us laugh so much. Watching you and Hudson play together is so much fun. We just love you so so much!

Weight: 21 pounds

Height: 30 inches

You're still taking your morning nap from 9-10 and an afternoon nap from 1-3. You sleep at night from 7-7.

You've been drinking whole milk for a little over a month now. We started giving it to you right before you turned 1 and you love it now. You love any fruit and dessert. You also love cheese, eggs, and yogurt. 

You blow kisses and are starting to know where your nose, eyes, ears, and mouth are. 

Words: Dada, Mama, bye bye, dog, hi, nemanema (M&Ms - haha!), nana (banana)

You are talking SO MUCH! Much more than Hudson was at 13 months.

You love your stroller, baby, lovie, pacis, playing outside, Yo Gabba Gabba, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and playing cars with Hudson. 

You love your mama. You have pretty strong separation anxiety but once I am gone you do great. 

We've started brushing your teeth and you love it!

We love you sweet girl! 

Emma :: 12 months old

Emma James,

How in the world am I writing this post? One year old. You are 12 months sweet girl! This has been such a fun, joyful, and full year and we can't imagine our lives without you in it. You have such a sweet personality and light up the room with your huge eyes and smile.

This has been a huge month for you. You started walking! You will take many steps on your own. You aren't full time walking yet, but I really think you will be in a week or so. You will walk and when you fall down, you will crawl to pull up and walk again. You also talk. So much already. Since Hudson was a late talker this has been a huge surprise to me. You will try to repeat words we say constantly. You say "uh oh" all the time. You also say mama, dada, and yum. You tried to say birthday today and it was so cute. You hold up one finger when we ask you how old you are. You already communicate so much!

You still hate bows. This photo shoot took less than 2 minutes and you were distracted by the paci clip you were playing with so I was able to get a few pictures with a bow in your hair. I usually don't even bother with a bow.

You are still nursing one time a day. You have completely weaned yourself to this point. You nurse in the morning for less than a minute when you wake up. Because of this, we started giving you whole milk a few weeks ago. At first you did not like it at all. In fact you would take a sip and spit it out. Instead of just not drinking it because you didn't like it you would continue to sip it and spit it out. For a few days I blended it with a banana to sweeten it up and that helped. Now, you love milk. And as for that final nursing time in the mornings...I'm letting you decide when you are done. I've been either nursing and/or pregnant for over 3 years now and as ready as I am to not share my body with another baby I'm also letting you decide on this one.

You are still very much a mama's girl. You love being held and cuddling which I of course love. Hudson never was much of a cuddler and still isn't. You need to be held when you wake up. I love it so much. 

You love toys like your brother! You will play in the sunroom with trucks, blocks, balls, and Legos (this was pre-birthday and pre-lots of girl toys!) and be so content. You have also figured out how to stack several blocks and when you get 3 or 4 blocks you will say, "towa" which is how Hudson says tower. Oh, so I guess that's another word you are already saying. :) You love to push Hudson's cars around the house and your favorite toys that you got for your birthday are your push toy, baby stroller, dollhouse, and teddy bear. 

You love Oliver. You will roll around on the floor wrestling him and laugh so hard. He is so good and gentle with you and Hudson. You also love Oliver's water bowl and dog food. Ugh!

Emma James, we love you SO SO SO MUCH. Our hearts are so full and we are beyond blessed. We thank God every single day for you. Thank you for a wonderful, funny, challenging, exhausting, and beautiful year. 

Love,

Mommy

::12 month stats::

weight: will update after 12 month check up tomorrow

height: will update after 12 month check up tomorrow

eating: 3 meals a day and a few snacks

clothing: 6-12 months, 12 months, 6-9 months...you're all over the place!

diaper: size 3

Emma :: 11 months old

Dear Emma James,

You are 11 months old! I'm in such denial that you will be 1 in a month. This year has gone even faster than Hudson's 1st year. I'm not sure how that is possible. You are such a joy and such an easy baby.

You are so fast at crawling! I really don't think you are close to walking on your own. You do great walking by pushing toys and holding our hands but you can barely stand on your own without holding on to something. I'll be shocked if you walk before you're 1. I am SO okay with this!!

You have 3, almost 4 new teeth this month! Your top 4 teeth all started coming in about the same time. 3 of them have broken the surface but the 4th is still right below. So you have 5 teeth now! You are constantly drooling and have a runny nose. Teething was so easy with Hudson but they are not as kind to you. Although we haven't had to use any Advil, Tylenol, or Orajel in over a week so that's great!

You are really able to understand what we say and communicate back with us. You can sign "all done" and "more" but you also wave bye bye and hi. You understand when we say, "sit on your bottom," "let's go bye bye," "come here," "look," and if we ask you if you want to eat a meal. ("Emma, do you want to eat lunch?" and you will crawl to your high chair.) You also say mama, dada, and nigh nigh for night night.

You love to dance. When you hear music you will start bouncing and sometimes wave a hand in the air. It's so cute and funny! Your favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and love the Hotdog Dance at the end. You do very well playing independently but still love to cuddle and be held. You love reading books with Hudson.

Your schedule changed a little this month. You wake up between 6:30 and 7:00 and nurse for about 5 minutes. Then you eat breakfast around 7:30 or 8:00. You nap from 9:00-10:15ish. Eat lunch around noon and then nap again from 1:00-3:30ish. You nurse again when you wake up from that nap but only for a few minutes. Then dinner is around 6:00 and you go to bed at 7:00. You will nurse again before bed for a few minutes. You nurse for 30 minutes total each day. And that's a generous amount. Some days it's only 15 minutes total. You are weaning yourself slowly and I'm okay with this. I don't want to rush anything and I'm just letting you be in charge in this area.

You love just about any food except meat. You aren't a big meat eater at all. You love greek yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, cheese, scrambled eggs, goldfish, peas, green beans, and corn. You eat pretty much what we eat.

Your clothes are all over the place. You can still fit into some 3-6 month things, but you're also wearing size 12 month outfits. Your jammies are 9 months or 6-12 months. You are wearing a size 3 diaper and when you do wear shoes I think it's a size 2. You are also still ripping a bow out of your hair as soon as I put it in. I gave up on them for a while but I think I'm going to start trying again soon. You just look too cute with a bow on your head! 

You love to be outside. Now that the weather is cooling off we've started playing in the backyard and you love to crawl around in the grass. If we didn't have several steps down to the backyard you would crawl right out on your own. You don't know how to do stairs yet. You and Hudson play SO well together. I love watching y'all together and it makes me SO happy to see how much y'all love each other. You've also started playing with Oliver and it's so much fun. As always, he is so good with you and Hudson.

Emma James, you have made our lives so much more exciting. You are a little spit fire but you are so sweet and cuddly at the same time. You have a voice and you definitely know how to use it. We love watching you grow and learn and can't wait to see how you will continue to change and develop. 

We love you so much.

Love,

Mommy

::11 month stats::

weight: 20 pounds

height: 28 inches

eating: nursing at 7, 3, 7 meals at 8, 12, 6

clothes: anything from 3-6 to 12 months

diaper: size 3

And of course, Big Brother climbed up in the chair with his truck for a picture. :)