Blogging with Anni:Life with Emerick & Louis

Mr. Neb

2012-01-25T14:16:00.000-05:00

Louis turned 4 months old on January 21st, but I have yet to take his monthly snapshots because a nasty virus has been running it's course through each member of our family for the past 8 days. It started with Emerick. He was the sickest I have ever seen him. He has always been such a healthy child. He had hand foot and mouth once, and has had only a few colds with a low fever, but never anything that stopped him from playing (and if you know Emerick, you know he plays HARD ALL day!) Poor guy was up every 45 minutes two nights in a row crying un controllably saying "Mama save me!! Help me Mama!" It was the saddest thing ever. James and I both have it - yesterday was my worst day, and the only day I have had a fever. Yesterday was also Louis' 4 month scheduled Dr. visit, and had he not had that appointment anyways, I would have brought him in yesterday because he was SO sick. Yesterday was actually the 3rd day of sickness for Louis, but the first day he seemed bad enough to see the Dr. He was really struggling to breathe and sounded so congested in his chest. The Dr. gave him a nebulizer treatment which seemed to really help. So...we were sent home with our own Neb to use every 4 hours as needed while he is sick.

So for now, here are a couple of photos of Louis doing his breathing treatments. Hopefully in the next week or so we will be all healthy again and I will be posting Louis' 4 month snapshots and his growth stats!

Favorite Toy

2012-01-18T19:09:00.001-05:00

Louis already has a favorite toy, Sophie the Giraffe :-) If he is fussing (and not hungry or overly tired) Sophie will calm him down. He loves to hold her and to chew on her.

Just because...

2012-01-11T20:19:00.001-05:00

I don't post nearly enough photos on here these days...

Blonde Baby?

2012-01-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

I've noticed for the past month or so that some new hairs on the top of Louis' head seem to be growing in white! James' brother and sister both had white blonde hair as kids, and our nephew has white blonde hair! This snap of Louis really shows how light his hair is getting! What you can't see from photos is that the back of his hair is quite long, and still several shades darker than the hair on the top of his head. He also has very light eyebrows and eyelashes.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T12:45:00.000-05:00

We partied on New Years Eve at Aunt "Essay" and Uncle Aaron's house. Emerick got to play Guitar Hero, and is now obsessed. The tantrum when we left proved it, and on the ride home he said over and over again "No Mama's house! I wanna rock at Gracie's house!"

Louis stayed up past midnight, proving he knows how to party!

Louis' Bed

2011-12-29T16:29:00.002-05:00

Ever since Louis was about 1 month old, he has slept exclusively in his car seat. Nap time, night time, all the time. It is the only place he sleeps and STAYS asleep, so whatever works, right?

Tubby Wubby

2011-12-23T20:37:00.000-05:00

Just a little video of Louis lovin' bath time! I love his reaction when he splashes himself in the face.

Grasping

2011-12-22T15:29:00.002-05:00

Louis has been working on this new skill for about a month. He also loves (most of the time) to sit in his bouncy chair by the Christmas Tree.

Louis ~ 3 Months

2011-12-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

Louis is wearing 6 month size clothes and size 3 diapers (though I am squeezing him into the last of our size 2s!) I call him "Big Lou" because he really is enormous. He SCREAMS, instead of cooing like most babies. He screams a high pitched scream both when he is upset and when he is happy. He won't take a binky and fights taking a bottle, especially if Mama tries to give it to him. He has started using his hands to reach for the toys on the toy bar of his bouncy chair. He also lifts his feet to he can get a better look at them. He still loves bath time, probably his favorite part of the day. His little personality is blossoming and he is such a joyful little person to have around.

He doesn't have his next Doctor appointment until next month.

Not as big of a change this month as I saw from 1-2 Months I don't think, but still amazing to see these side-by-side.

Hats.

2011-12-13T16:37:00.001-05:00

Hoot!

2011-12-12T16:57:00.000-05:00

Louis has been sleeping through the night now for several weeks. He started sleeping 4-5 hour stretches, and then 5-6 hour stretches, and now most nights he will sleep 6-8 hours. He usually goes down for the night around 11pm (naps off and on in the evenings before that) and then wakes up anywhere between 5-7am to eat, then back to sleep for a couple more hours. He is really happy in the morning when he wakes up, but only stays up for about an hour before he wants to take his morning nap - which is usually from about 10am-noon. I am happy that we are on somewhat of a schedule now with him. The rest of the day after his morning nap, is always different. Sometimes he cat naps all day, sometimes he will take another solid nap in the early afternoon.

I took these photos of Louis at 11:30pm on Thursday December 8th just after he fell asleep for the night.

Ho Ho Ho!

2011-12-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

We took the boys to sit on Santa's lap today, and Emerick was really into it. He acted really shy, but this was the first year he didn't cry! He says he wants Santa to bring him a "Spiderman Guy" which he already has dozens of, but you can never have enough I guess! He calls Santa "Manta" but if you tell him to "say SANTA" he says it perfect. I don't get it!

Here are my cuties in the classic awkward Santa shot!

Our Elf is Back!

2011-12-04T23:09:00.001-05:00

Our Elf finally returned this year (our 2nd year) and Emerick is really excited about it. I think he has given the Elf a name...... PETER PARKER! We will see if that name sticks, but for now....here is our own little Elf sent from Santa - Peter Parker!

Louis Giggles

2011-12-02T21:41:00.001-05:00

Louis has been giggling for a little while now, and this video was the best I've been able to get so far! Taken at Grammy's house/playing with Grammy on 11/20/11. :-)

Louis ~ 2 Months

2011-11-21T20:44:00.007-05:00

Update: Louis had his 2 month checkup at exactly 10 weeks old, he is in the 98th percentile for everything! He weighs 15 lbs 2 oz, and is 24 1/2 inches with a 41 1/2 cm head! Big boy!

Louis is 2 months old today! Looking at these photos side by side really makes me realize how much he is growing! I am so excited to see the end result at 1 year old with this monthly series of snapshots! He has his 2 month Dr. visit next week (even though he will already be 10 weeks old) and I can't wait to see how big he is as far as the growth percentile, I am pretty sure he is bigger than Emerick was! I will update this post with his growth stats next week.

He has started sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at night just in the past few nights. During the day he eats every 2-4 hours. He loves to nurse, even if he isn't hungry, and he is very smiley (most of the time!) He is still a very moody little guy. He naps and sleeps at night in his car seat, the only place he will sleep for long stretches! Hopefully he learns to love his crib as much as the car seat, because he will only fit into it for so long. He will take short naps when he falls asleep playing in his bouncy chair.

Mr. Bones - Year 4

2011-11-16T20:34:00.001-05:00

I have always had a little obsession with what I call "Mr. Bones" jammies. Since before I had kids of my own, James and I bought them for our niece and nephew. Since Emerick was a newborn he has had a set of Mr. Bones jammies every Fall! Louis has his own set (in addition to the one Emerick wore as a newborn) because I found one with candy in the belly - who can resist?!

I never did get around to getting a snapshot of the boys together in their Mr. Bones jammies in October, so I decided to squeeze Louis back into the 0-3 month size sleeper (which by the way was already packed by up because he has outgrown that size and is huge!) and get a photo. And so, I took this photo.

Emerick quickly lost interest or so I thought, and got up off of the couch...So I took a couple of Lou by himself.

Emerick came back over, with his little toy CARS camera in hand, and started taking his own photos of his little brother!

Big Boy Bath

2011-11-12T20:54:00.000-05:00

I love bath tub baby pics! Here is Louis taking his second bath in the big tub like a big boy. He loves it!

Day 5

2011-11-05T14:08:00.002-04:00

My sweet friend and fellow photographer Lindsay took Louis' newborn photos for me when he was just 5 days old. Here is a little peak into the session. It was a lot of fun to not only hang out with Lindsay during the shoot, but to work together a little bit. It sure makes it easier to accomplish certain poses with 4 photographer hands ;-)

Enjoy!

{Baby Mine} Harford County, Maryland Newborn Portrait Photographer

Louis ~ 6 weeks

2011-11-03T20:38:00.004-04:00

My little Louie is not so little anymore! He has really started to get chunky just this past week. He weighs about 14 pounds and has already moved into 3-6 month size clothes & size 1 diapers that are quickly getting snug on him as well. I wasn't prepared to pack up the newborn stuff so quick! He smiles a lot and tries to coo, but doesn't always get his "words" out. He is super moody, and can be smiling and cooing away 1 minute and the next screaming his heart out, he's too funny. He goes to the Dr. for his 2 month checkup at this end of this month.

Louis' First Bath

2011-11-01T11:06:00.000-04:00

We didn't give Louis his first real bath in his baby tub until he was a month old! I had just been giving him baths in the sink (never got a photo of that). He really loves his baby tub though, much more than the sink! He let us know when the water got too cold and he was done...

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T17:48:00.003-04:00

It's Black Spiderman!!

Emerick ~ 3 Years Old

2011-10-29T13:14:00.000-04:00

Emerick had his 3 year checkup with the Pediatrician on Tuesday. He is 3'2" (60%) and weighs 35 lbs (85%) so in other words he is short and stalky, but we already knew that! He wears a 3t or a 4t depending on the outfit, and a shoe size 8 or 9.

He talks A LOT, and also talks back. A LOT. He is super sassy. I would say 3 years is more difficult than the "Terrible Twos" so far!

Emerick loves being a Big Brother, and despite how rough and tough he is, he is so sweet and gentle with Lou. He has adapted into life with a sibling really well (minus his sleep schedule which is way off right now)

He is still obsessed with Super Heroes, especially Spiderman and Batman.

He is getting better about having his photo taken. Here is a recent snap of my big 3 year old!

wink!

2011-10-22T23:44:00.000-04:00

This is Emerick "winking" !!

Louis ~ 1 Month Old

2011-10-21T17:03:00.001-04:00

Today Louis is 1 month old! I call him Mr. Moody! He loves to eat
and poop, but isn't the biggest fan of sleep. Hopefully he will learn to love sleep as much as his Mama does! He has a pretty bad case of newborn acne going on right now :-( He is already smiling and trying to coo!

More Louis Smiles

2011-10-18T19:23:00.000-04:00

I've never seen such a smily baby!

Webbies

2011-10-17T21:27:00.002-04:00

For anyone wondering if Louis inherited the webbed toes, he did!! They are just must less webbed than Emerick's :-)

Here is a LINK to a photo of Emerick's toes as a newborn, and here is a photo of Louis' toes!

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-16T22:53:00.000-04:00

Today we took the boys to a cool Farm that James found! There were lots of neat things for the little ones, Emerick's favorites were the giant hillside slide, the tunnel, and the kiddie tractor/wagon ride! He also loved the hay maze, but fell into a huge puddle of mud running through it! The Farm is a Cider Farm, and they had the best Apple Cider Slush and Cider Doughnuts.

Here are some photos, in no particular order since Blogger makes it really difficult to arrange photos, grrr.

Bright Eyed Louis

2011-10-09T20:11:00.000-04:00

This photo of Louis reminds me of THIS photo of Emerick.

Batman Party!

2011-10-07T00:09:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday we celebrated Emerick's 3rd Birthday with a Batman Party! We started asking Emerick what kind of party he wanted about 8 months ago, and his answer never changed. So this was the first year he chose his own party theme. It's funny he wanted a Batman party because he seems to like Spiderman a little more than Batman!

Grammy hosted his party this year, which was so helpful considering I have a brand new baby. This was the smallest party Emerick has had so far, just our closest family (+ the MHWs!) and it was also the perfect opportunity for some of the family that had yet to meet Louis to do so. Louis slept through all of the noise and being passed around at the party.

After everyone had left, Emerick said "let's have a Spiderman party now!" and the next day when Emerick, Louis, and I went over to my Parent's house he thought we were going to his Birthday Party again! He is so dang cute.

Blessed

2011-10-06T22:42:00.000-04:00

As any parent about to welcome another child into their lives, I wondered if I would be able to love the new child like the first. I am feeling so blessed right now. My heart is full, these boys are my whole world. There is more than enough love to go around.

The brothers meeting for the first time in the delivery room.

growing

2011-10-06T13:48:00.004-04:00

I took Louis in for a 2 week weight check this morning. 1 week ago he weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz (he lost nearly 1 lb in his first week) and today he weighed in at 9 lbs 7.5 oz. That is nearly 1 lb gained in 1 week, and he is bigger than his birth weight!

2011-10-05T22:29:00.001-04:00

Dimpled Darling

2011-10-04T22:27:00.001-04:00

We knew he had a dimple on his right cheek before he was even born.

Almost 2 weeks

2011-10-04T17:00:00.004-04:00

I can't believe he has been here for 13 days, but at the same time it feels like he has always been here. He's the perfect fit to our little family.

These photos were taken on day 12.

Three

2011-10-02T22:12:00.001-04:00

Happy 3rd Birthday to my little super hero!

The Birth of Louis

2011-09-25T21:37:00.021-04:00

Louis' birth story goes back to the very beginning of my pregnancy with him. I was determined to have a much more peaceful and pain free delivery than I did my first time. I hoped and prayed for all of those months, talked to my Dr., and the end result couldn't have been any more perfect.

*******

We had to be at GBMC at 6:15am on Wednesday September 21st to check in. There was someone ahead of us when we got there, so by the time we got into our delivery room it was around 6:45am. I immediately changed into a gown, and was then hooked up to the monitors. Then they gave me my IV and started the fluids. Before starting the induction the machines were already picking up some contractions. My Dr. (Dr. O) came in a few minutes after 7:00am and broke my water. At 7:20 they started the Pitocin. The Nurse checked me internally just after that, I was 3cm dilated and about 70% effaced - just as I had been at my last Prenatal appointment one week earlier.

It took a couple of hours or so from there for my contractions to become painful. Around 9:00am Megan and Jessie arrived to be there with us for the delivery. At 9:50am the Nurse checked me again, I was 4 1/2-5 cm. From there my contractions were pretty painful and I started thinking about an epidural. I had to pause during a contraction, but in between them I was fine to be apart of the conversation in the room. My contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart.

At 11:45 I got the epidural. It took at least 15 minutes to really kick in. It eased the contraction pain in my belly, but it seemed like as the epidural started to kick in, pressure "down there" was building. At this point I also got the shakes which is a sign you are close. I told the nurse I was feeling increased pressure, so she checked me again sometime between Noon and 12:15. I was 7cm.

The pressure was becoming un-bearable very fast, and not just pressure with a contraction - the pressure was consistently there. I complained to the Nurse about the pressure and said it felt like I was going to the bathroom. The Nurse looked, and assured me that I was not, but that I was probably very close to delivery. From that point the mood in the room changed and there was a lot of commotion. They started prepping the room for the baby, and the Nurse checked me internally again. I was a complete 10cm, and had gone from 7cm to fully dilated in less 30 minutes.

Dr. O came in right after that. He was obviously in a hurry. He took one look at me and said "You're uncomfortble! I promised you that you wouldn't be!" He had the anesthesiologist give me what he called a "Delivery Dose" which was an extra shot of the epidural medicine directly into the catheter in my back. That kicked in immediately and I could no longer feel the intense pressure. He said he ran over from the Operating Room, leaving his other patient on the table just as he was about to start a C-Section. He said he wouldn't be able to deliver me, and Dr. E (one of the other Dr's in his practice) would be right over! Things were moving so fast!

Dr. E came in just before 1:00pm and quickly got "dressed" for the delivery. The Nurse turned off the Pitocin.

A couple of minutes past 1:00pm I began pushing. Louis' head moved down and was immediately visible. I reached down and felt it. Since the Pitocin was turned off, my contractions became a bit farther apart and I had several minutes to wait between pushes. I couldn't feel anything during pushing, or Louis coming out. It was so surreal to have a baby slowly making his way out, all the while I could converse in the room between contractions/pushes!

I pushed through only 4 or 5 contractions, and at 1:23pm Louis James was born peeing all over Dr. E! He was placed on my chest before being taken to the warmer.

The Nurse took Louis over to the warmer a few minutes later to check him out, and weigh him. He was given a 9 & and 9 for his Apgar scores. His weight came in at 8 lbs 6 oz. Dr. E and the Nurse both insisted something was wrong with the scale, they said there was no way he was that small. It wasn't until Louis was re-weighed in the Nursery that we realized the scale had been off. His birth weight was actually 9 lbs 6 oz!

We were in our Delivery Room for about 2 hours after Louis was born. Megan and Jessie stayed with us, and James' Mom Mary, Aunt Debbie, Brother Matt, and my Parents along with Big Brother Emerick came to meet Baby Louis while we were still in our delivery room. Announcing his name was fun. We had only chose his name 5 days before his birth, and his middle name the day before his birth!

Emerick was adorable meeting his new Baby Brother. He had the cutest grin on his face and said to me "Mama! Who you holdin'?!" It was precious.

Louis' delivery was amazing (and soo fast!), it was exactly what I had hoped for. I even got to experience my baby being immediately placed on my chest, something I hoped and prayed for.

Here is Louis' Birth Day through images. Turn up your volume!

3 days old

2011-09-25T11:32:00.005-04:00

Introducing....

2011-09-23T16:44:00.005-04:00

Louis James (that's pronounced loo-eee)

September 21, 2011 @ 1:23pm

9lbs 6 oz

20 1/2 inches

Born after a very peaceful labor (induction) that lasted less than 6 hours :-)

Details and more photos later!

Mount Gretna - Year 2

2011-09-08T10:39:00.011-04:00

We spent this past Labor Day Weekend at the Gretna Cottage, our second annual Labor Day Weekend trip with my Parents "Grammy and PaPa". The weather wasn't the best, but we did get 1 day without rain to spend on the "beach". Saturday we explored the Indian Echo Caverns which Emerick loved. He is really into "caves" and pretends we are in a cave every time we enter a parking garage :-) We also went on the Chocolate Factory Tour Ride at Hershey's Chocolate World.

I would say the "beach" day was the highlight of Emerick's weekend, he loooves the water. This first picture says it all. Then, there is the photo of my HUGE belly at 37 weeks. I had to take a picture on my cell phone, as I was getting ready to take a bath in the clawfoot tub and caught a glimse of myself in the mirror. Dang!

Sleeping on Grammy

2011-09-05T19:10:00.003-04:00

Emerick has a habit of falling asleep on my Mom. He has never been the kind of kid (or baby) that falls asleep just anywhere. He usually needs his comfort items, and his bed or car seat. There is something about Grammy that he finds comfy, and he usually falls asleep on her at a restaraunt for dinner after a long day of play and no nap.

Butt Naked

2011-09-01T22:10:00.002-04:00

Emerick has a new habit of stripping when he is supposed to be taking a nap. This is how I found him the other day. Sound asleep, butt naked :-) It also blows my mind how bendy he is and the positions he can sleep in!

Baby Feet

2011-09-01T21:32:00.002-04:00

I took this video tonight, as I was laying on my side on the couch the baby was really wiggling around a lot, and he also had hiccups. The video is kind of dark, but you can see his foot roll across the side of my belly twice, and also some other wiggles.

36 Weeks

2011-08-31T20:35:00.004-04:00

Today was my 36 week prenatal checkup. All is good! I am 3cm dilated, 50% effaced and the head is very low. This past Saturday I lost some of my mucous plug, so things are moving along and I am hoping all this work my body is doing pre-labor will make for a quick labor/delivery. I have braxton hicks contractions every 30mins-1hour since losing my plug.

I also had an ultrasound today. The baby is measuring nearly 3 weeks bigger than my dates, and he is already estimated to weigh 7 lbs 12 oz. If I stay pregnant 3 more weeks (until induction date) assuming his weight estimate today is close, that would make Baby Brother just about the same birth weight as his Big Brother, somewhere between 9-10 lbs. Yikes.

Emerick was so funny during the ultrasound. He was very concerned about me laying on the table, and what they were doing to my belly. He

blurted out cute things during the scan like "look, a riber!" (river), "look the ocean!" and then when there were two images up on the screen at once he yelled "two baby brothers!". When there were colors on the screen (bloodflow) he yelled out "Blue Baby Brother!" and "Green Baby Brother!" He was very excited...he loves ultrasounds because he gets to "Watch Baby Brother" AND get a lollipop

:-)

32 week checkup

2011-08-06T16:59:00.006-04:00

I had my 32 Prenatal checkup this past Wednesday. Everything is good. The Dr. checked my cervix per my request because of the amount of pretty intense Braxton Hicks I have been having for many months now. I think I started feeling them before I was even 3 months along! At this point it is hard to walk through them because they are so uncomfortable and my belly gets soo hard. The Dr. said with a second pregnancy that is pretty normal, but checked me anyways. I am 1 1/2 cm dilated already! I go back in two weeks for my next checkup, at 34 weeks.

Even though I am feeling large - I have so far gained 14 lbs less than at this point with Emerick, and I also don't have the crazy swelling in my face and especially my feet, ankles and legs like I did the first time. It makes such a big difference. My "fundal" height measurement was right on this time, and not ahead by 2 weeks as it was last month at 28 weeks. I will have an ultrasound at 36 weeks to check the baby's position and size, and also to estimate the weight. I am predicting that this baby will be smaller than Emerick was, just based on the fact that I feel like my belly is quite a bit smaller than it was with Emerick around this stage of pregnancy. I am guessing somewhere around 8 1/2 lbs at birth. But, who knows! Here is a cell phone pic taken at 32 weeks!

Smiling in 4D

2011-07-17T23:07:00.002-04:00

Here is a little video clip of Baby Brother Smiling in 4D :-) Too cute.

Precious Preview

2011-07-16T18:43:00.003-04:00

Today we had a 3D/4D ultrasound done to get a peek at what Baby Brother looks like. He smiled for us, and appears to have a little dimple on his right cheek! Here are some photos from the scan, taken at 29 weeks & 3 days.

28 Weeks

2011-07-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

I had my 28 week checkup yesterday, even though I am officially 28 weeks today. Everything looks good. I've gained 10 lbs less so far than at this stage of pregnancy the first time, so that is good. I am measuring at least 1 week ahead, so no surprise that it will be another big boy.

Here is a video taken this evening at exactly 28 weeks. The baby usually has his butt sticking out just to the left of my belly button, which you can see him sticking it out and stretching in this video :-)

Carnival

2011-07-02T21:30:00.007-04:00

Today we played in the Bulle Rock Pool, and then took Emerick to the Carnival downtown Havre de Grace. He got a blow up Spiderman that he insisted be strapped in next to him on the little car ride. He had a blast, but all I had was my cell phone with me to take pics. Here is a picture of him on the cars ride, along with a video and also video of him and Daddy going down the big slide.

Belly Photos

2011-06-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Taken Father's Day - 25 weeks & 4 days

Emerick Funnies

2011-06-18T21:33:00.008-04:00

I realized that I hadn't been writing down the random silly things Emerick says/does and that I need to start before they fade from my memory :-( I will add to this post as I think of more...

*****************************************

Emerick's response to me asking him why he had thrown his toy on the floor and broke it:

"I don't know! I go insane!"

Apparently he outgrew his recent pair of play shoes, he kept taking them off saying "ouch" so I asked him what hurt:

"My shoes are hurting my socks!"

Driving through Bulle Rock, we saw a Bride and Groom being photographed, Emerick turned his head and upon noticing them yells out:

"Ohh! A Princess!" (we didn't even realize he knew what a Princess was!)

***updated 8/1/11***

In the dressing room with my Mom and me as we are trying on skirts he says to my Mom..

"Grammy? Are you a Princess?!"

After he fell onto his bum he yelled to me...

"Mama! Kiss my heiny!"

2 1/2 Year Photos (finally!)

2011-06-14T21:16:00.004-04:00

25 weeks

2011-06-12T22:27:00.004-04:00

This pregnancy is going by very quick. I am taking every day one at a time, and unlike my pregnancy with Emerick - I am in no hurry to deliver. I am enjoying the last of our weeks together as a family of three. There is no need to rush because I know Baby Brother will be here before we know it!

Preparing this time around has been easy and inexpensive. I went through all of Emerick's clothes, from newborn - 1 year and organized them, putting away all of the tiniest clothes in the baby's dresser/closet, and the rest are waiting in storage bins. We don't really have to buy anything except for diapers which I am stocking up on ahead of time. (we already have a bunch!)

All of my checkups have been quick and uneventful, as they were with Emerick. I am blessed to have easy uncomplicated pregnancies.

I started to feel this baby move at around 16 weeks, and he was not really all that active until the past 3 days or so, he has been moving A LOT. I can watch my belly move around, and I can tell that he is laying in there diagonal with his feet on my left side. Two nights ago I felt his hiccups for the first time!

We are planning to have a 4d ultrasound in July to get a sneak peak at what this little guy looks like! I will also be induced once again, and will most likely deliver sometime around the 21st of September! That means Emerick and Baby Brother's Birthdays will be less than 2 weeks apart. Another huge plus of having another boy - shared birthday parties! ;-)

Here is a quick bathroom mirror self belly shot!

24 weeks + 4 days

Two & a Half

2011-06-01T21:37:00.004-04:00

This blog post is long overdue - Emerick turned 2 1/2 on April 2nd :-)

He is suddenly very tall, and becoming quite lean. I am sure by the time he is 5 he will be a scrawny thing like his Mama and Daddy were. He loves the water, and we recently bought him a water play table to play with which he loves. We plan to enroll him in swimming lessons again this Summer. He is currently obsessed with superheroes and doesn't play with his Buzz and Woody toys as often :-( He says he wants to have a "Batman Bicycle" (translation: Batman motorcycle aka Bat Cycle) Birthday Party this year. He is talking in little sentences that are becoming more and more understandable to strangers, and not just those that are around him daily. He is excited about "Baby Brother", although I don't think he really understands that there will actually be a baby living with us in less than 4 months! He says his Baby Brother is going to sit in the very back of our car, not the seat next to him. He also picked out a pair of itty bitty Spiderman socks for the baby, and he talks about this daily - he is very proud! I can't wait to see Emerick become a Big Brother!

He weighs about 36 lbs and is about 36 1/4 inches tall. He mostly wears 3t pants/shorts, 4t shirts, and size 8 shoes.

He still doesn't let me take proper photos of him, so this recent snapshot of him passed out on our bed after a long Memorial Day playing outside in the water with his cousins will have to do! Proper recent photos will hopefully come soon!

18 weeks

2011-04-29T19:24:00.008-04:00

Wednesday I had my anatomy scan at exactly 18 weeks. Everything looks good, and he is still a boy! Is it just me or is this a really weird "boy parts" shot?

Here is a self portrait/bathroom mirror belly shot. It will have to do for now.

"I ride!?"

2011-04-19T20:36:00.002-04:00

Spring is here

2011-04-15T16:39:00.005-04:00

We are finally seeing some sunshine and experiencing some warmer temperatures, and Emerick is soaking it all up. You would think he has never played outside in his entire life! Actually, it has been a long winter and he has probably forgotten the times we played outside last year. He loves to swing, but most of all he loves to climb the rock climbing wall, and go down the slide over and over and over! He giggles the entire time and says "happy, happy!"

Not shy...

2011-04-11T08:35:00.000-04:00

15 weeks & 3 days

2011-04-09T20:37:00.004-04:00

And we found out the sex.... ;-)

Cast your Vote!

2011-04-06T20:42:00.001-04:00

"Angle of the Dangle"

2011-03-25T14:47:00.006-04:00

At our 12 week ultrasound/First Trimester Screen I asked the technician if she ever predicts gender that early. She said no, "because the penis and clitoris are the same size at that stage." So I left it at that. Being the crazy person that I am, a couple of days later I noticed that in one of the ultrasound photos she gave us, the baby's genital tuber is visible. For fun I started looking around the internet for ways to predict the gender based on that. I came across the "Angle of the Dangle" theory. You can read about it HERE. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page)

After you read about the theory and see confirmed images of boy and girl "nub shots" you can take a look at our ultrasound photo below, and take a guess for yourself if you think this baby is a boy or a girl based on his or her "Angle of the Dangle" !!

I would love to hear what you think, so leave a comment!

(click ultrasound photo to view larger)

Belly Beats

2011-03-20T19:49:00.002-04:00

When I was pregnant with Emerick we rented a doppler so that we could listen to his heartbeat at home. This was very reassuring for me before I could feel his movements, to know that he was okay in there. So this time we did the same thing. For the past 4 weeks or so we have had the doppler at home, and every evening I lay in bed for a minute or so and listen to the baby's heartbeat. Emerick has seen me do this once or twice, and tonight he found the doppler in my night stand drawer and came out into the living room with his shirt lifted, doppler on his belly.

Baby Details

2011-03-14T18:31:00.011-04:00

We found out on January 19th, 2011 that baby #2 is on his or her way. The due date is September 28th, 2011 which is just 4 days before Emerick's 3rd birthday! This pregnancy has already been a lot different than with Emerick. I was sick! The last couple of weeks I seem to be getting better as far as the morning sickness (all day sickness really) goes. I am already showing, but it is more of a beer belly than a baby belly ;-) Emerick says he doesn't want Mama to have a baby, but if you ask him "is the baby a boy or a girl?" he says "GIRL!" or if you ask the other way around "is the baby a girl or a boy?" he says "BOY!" haha! The baby's heartrate ranges from the 160's - 170's, so if you predict the gender based on that old wives tale, this baby should be a girl. Emerick's heartrate was always in the 140's, and the tale was true for him being a boy. We will definitely find out the sex in a few weeks, but we will keep the baby's name to ourselves until he or she is born :-)

First ultrasound - 7 weeks & 5 days (baby measured 7 weeks & 3 days)
We gave the baby the nickname "Gummy Bear" after this ultrasound

Second ultrasound, baby's profile - 11 weeks & 5 days (baby measured 12 weeks & 3 days)

Big Brother

2011-03-14T15:00:00.001-04:00

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~ Marc Brown

Pirate Poop

2011-02-17T18:49:00.004-05:00

This is currently one of Emerick's favorite books. When he asks me to read it to him he says "Pirate Poop" haha! Too cute.

Fun in the Snow

2011-01-28T10:34:00.007-05:00

We got over a foot of snow over the past couple of days, and to cure our cabin fever, we took Emerick out for a sled ride. He loved it! Much more than he did LAST YEAR. He squeeled "weeee" as we pulled him around and when we would stop for a minute, he would demand "one more time!"

2011-01-16T23:15:00.003-05:00

Please Touch

2010-12-27T16:20:00.014-05:00

My sister is in town for the Holidays, and along with Grammy we took Emerick to the Please Touch Museum in Philly. He LOVED it. His favorite was the grocery store :-)

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T23:24:00.002-05:00

Three Little Cousins

2010-12-22T21:35:00.002-05:00

We got together last minute with Gracie and Aaron this evening to exchange Christmas gifts a little early. Emerick loooooves his cousins equally (even though he calls both Gracie AND Aaron "Gay-cie" ;-)

New Traditions: A Special Visitor

2010-12-14T21:23:00.005-05:00

We have decided to start "Elf on a Shelf" this year! My parents got him for us this Christmas, to start the tradition next year, but I think Emerick will get a kick out of looking for his Elf every morning since he is fascinated by all of the decorations he sees everywhere. So we got the gift a little early. I am sure E will have a better understanding next year and also give him his name next year...but I am looking forward to starting this fun new tradition. Don't know what "Elf on the Shelf" is? CHECK IT OUT!

Here is our Elf! Isn't he adorable?

2010 Santa Photo

2010-12-10T16:21:00.004-05:00

Tuesday evening we took Emerick to visit Santa. I thought he would do fine, he has never been a child who is scared of strangers, or costumed characters, etc. (Despite what the past two years Santa photos look like). The whole car ride to see Santa, we told Emerick what we were doing and that Santa brings him lots of Buzz and Woody toys. He seemed excited. But, as you can see he was pretty scared of Santa. I would be scared of this "Santa" also! Last years Santa was scary too! But look at the 2008 Santa. He was by far the best one I have ever seen. So legit.

Mommy's Birthday Cake

2010-11-22T19:22:00.003-05:00

Today is my Birthday and right after I blew the candles out, Emerick touched the cake but then remembered he doesn't like his fingers icky....so he went for it face first! Our first reaction was "Noooo!" but then, I said "Go for it, I will get my phone and take a video!" We are soo glad, because this is without a doubt our favorite video of Emerick to date. The best part is at about .17! Turn up your volume!

Toy Story 3 on Ice

2010-11-21T13:40:00.007-05:00

James, my Parent's and I took Emerick to see Toy Story 3 on Ice a couple of weeks ago in Hershey, PA. We had great seats (2nd row on the ice) and overall had a really great time. Emerick skipped his nap, and so he didn't quite last the entire show, and we had a pretty good

tantrum, but like I said - overall it was a great time! We stayed the night in Hershey and so did my Parents and had a nice little weekened away :-)

We took a few pictures of the show and of Emerick watching the show....

Frown Lines: Then & Now

2010-11-20T13:58:00.003-05:00

Emerick was literally born making this little frownie face :-)

Grammy

2010-11-12T22:44:00.015-05:00

Emerick loves my Mom - his Grammy. Or as he calls her "Uh-Guh". (no idea why he calls her that, haha!) He recognizes we are going to her house from a certain point about 1 mile down the road, and always says "Uh-Guh House!" Last week I finally fulfilled my Mom's Birthday wish (her birthday was in July) and did a little photo session of her with her favorite Grandson. Needless to say, it was kind of a nightmare as I had totally anticipated. Emerick is the worst subject on Earth and absolutely hates to have his picture taken. Or have to sit still for more than 2 seconds. (he is a two year old boy, and a wild one at that!) We had about 1 1/2 minutes of cooperation and then it was meltdown/tantrum city. Here are a few shots that I did get that I think are precious.

You can click the above tantrum if you want to see it bigger ;-) Having your photo taken is torture.

2010-11-10T11:28:00.000-05:00

Morning Play-time

2010-11-03T21:26:00.004-04:00

Applewood Farm 2010

2010-10-24T23:56:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we took Emerick back to Applewood Farm for our second annual trip to pick pumpkins, ride the steam train, pet the animals, explore the corn maze, ride the hay ride, and eat hot dogs. That place is so much fun for a kid, I am sure we will be going back every year in the future. Emerick was really excited, and this year he understood that we were going to go ride a "choo choo" and the whole drive out there he kept saying "I cited! choo choo!"

Here is Emerick with the Engineer last year and then this year...

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"mmmm! this is good"

2010-10-16T00:26:00.003-04:00

We had breakfast for lunch a couple of days ago, and Emerick got his first strip of bacon. I think he liked it.

he looks like a model...

2010-10-14T20:19:00.003-04:00

...but he sure doesn't act like one. the boy hates his photo taken. but i still love him.

Showing off his fresh picked Pumpkins

2010-10-10T19:39:00.002-04:00

Emerick's Pirate Party

2010-10-10T14:19:00.001-04:00

Favorite Snack

2010-10-05T20:51:00.000-04:00

Two Year Growth Stats

2010-10-04T13:03:00.003-04:00

Today was Emerick's 2 year well check. He did great, and once again didn't cry when he got the shot in his thigh, such a tough guy. Here are his stats.

Height: 34 1/2 inches (55%)

Weight: 31 1/2 lbs (78%)

I was a little concerned about the percentile he was in today for height, since all along he has been right around the 70-80 percentile. The Dr. explained to me that there is a different growth chart that is used once a baby hits 2 years, and if he plugged his current height into the previous growth chart, he would still be within the same percentile range as he has been all along. Interesting.

Here are a couple of cell phone pictures of Emerick patiently waiting for the Dr. to see him. :-)

Happy 2nd Birthday!

2010-10-02T23:11:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little boy I have ever known! We love you!

What a difference a year makes...

Eating a slice of Birthday Cake on his 1st Birthday

Eating a slice of Birthday Cake (at the same restaraunt) on his 2nd Birthday

Style

2010-09-29T19:47:00.003-04:00

For the past couple of days Emerick has been going into his room and bringing out random peices of clothing to put on, usually baby legs. He still loves to wear a hat, and lately it has been this pirate hat that we bought for him to wear at his birthday party. Gotta love a boy with his own style :-)

2 Year Photos

2010-09-15T19:03:00.006-04:00

Things have been busy for me lately, and I haven't had much time for photographing my own child (which is never easy) or for blogging. In addition to work being busy, we went on a fun day trip to Hershey Park a couple of months ago, and last month we went with Papa and Grammy for a weekened at the Greer Family Cottage. I will try to get around to posting those photos later, but for now here are some of my favorite photos that fellow photographer (& friend) Lindsay Parks of Lindsay Parks Photography captured in July.

Antique Chair

2010-09-14T08:49:00.001-04:00

Hats

2010-08-21T17:50:00.004-04:00

Emerick is really into hats. If you are in the same room as him and wearing a hat, you better believe Emerick will snatch it to wear for himself. Baseballs caps can't be worn the way they are intended, he insists he wears them backwards. He even has a plastic constuction hat that he has to wear in the bathtub!

"Case of the Sillies"

2010-08-08T21:22:00.004-04:00

As I like to call it! Emerick had a serious case of the sillies tonight. I wish I had a video to go along with these photos! We were shouting "YES!" and "NO!" back and forth at eachother, and he thought it was hysterical! You never know what this kid will find funny :-)

Boys Will Be Boys

2010-07-30T21:10:00.002-04:00

Emerick and his cousin Tristan playing tonight...

Mr. Bones - Year 3/Age 2

2010-07-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

Every October since Emerick has been here, we have taken a snapshot of Auntie Samantha and Emerick wearing a skeleton outfit. Since she was here visiting this month, and we know she won't be here this October, we had to get this years shot a couple of months early. The first shot was taken when Emerick was 25 days old, the second one at 1 year, and now this one just a couple of months shy of his second birthday. I love to see the progress, Emerick has changed SO much!

"To infinity...and beyond!"

2010-07-26T20:03:00.003-04:00

Emerick has recently become completely obsessed with "Toy Story". He plays with his Buzz and Woody toys more than he does his cars (which he does still play with everyday). He knows that we can watch "Toy Story" on a desktop computer, laptop, cell phone, etc...so he is constantly asking to watch "Oy Soy" and bringing you your phone, or laptop if they are within his reach. My favorite thing is when he flies his buzz toy around the room and says "To infinity and beyond", which sounds more like "duhnitity eeeeyon!" It is the cutest thing on earth.

So tonight we bought him these buzz lightyear jammies, and we are going to try the Pull Ups overnights, instead of the Huggies overnight diapers, since the Pull Ups have Toy Story on them. That was the easiest time we have had putting a diaper on in a while. It has become a tantrum every time we have to change a diaper, which is so frustrating.

Medieval Times

2010-07-25T21:39:00.009-04:00

My sister Samantha and her boyfriend Peter were in town for the last week and a half, and we had lots of fun. Emerick loves both his Auntie Mantha, and Peter (whom he became bff with!)

Saturday July 24th was my sister's birthday, and we all went to Medieval Times. It was lots of fun, and a place I have always wanted to go. Watching Emerick was priceless. When the show started Samantha was holding him, and he was scared. He buried his head into her arms for a few minutes. After that, he was fine. He watched the show intensely, and repeated his favorite phrase over and over "OH WOW!"

He also enjoyed watching "Toy Story" during the show on Samantha's iPhone (obsessed with "Toy Story"), and taking Peter's hat on and off of his head over and over again (Sorry Peter)

Some pics...

Ate our entire meal with our fingers...

handsome monster

2010-07-08T20:48:00.004-04:00

I know I have said it before, but it is soo hard to get any decent photos of Emerick, even more so as he gets older. He is a tough one, or maybe it is just because he is mine. I need to get an official 2 year photo to use for his birthday invitation. Hopefully the plan to meet up with a friend/local photographer to do a photo session swap will work out! Maybe she will have better luck with my little monster!

2010-07-07T17:32:00.000-04:00

Fourth of July Fun

2010-07-06T19:29:00.011-04:00

I didn't take a ton of pictures this 4th of July, but here are a few. On Saturday the 3rd, we went to a BBQ (or cookout as you East Coast people say!) at Jessie and Aaron's, then went and watched the Red Lion Fireworks. Emerick loved all of the fire trucks in the area more than the fireworks, but he loved every bit of it. Mostly spending the evening with his cousin's Grace and Aaron!

On Sunday the 4th, we had ice cream at Broom's Bloom with Mom Mom & Danny. That place is so pretty in the evening. After ice cream Emerick got to run around, and then we headed to the Bel Air fireworks show.

We had a great time, and Emerick loved every bit of it. :-)

21 Months

2010-07-02T17:02:00.003-04:00

It is so crazy 3 months from today we will be celebrating Emerick's 2nd birthday! Where does the time go? I will ask myself that question for the rest of my life! That - and, where has my baby gone?!

Emerick is about 34 inches tall, and if our scale is correct he has lost some weight, and weighs about 27 lbs. I thought he looked like he had lost some, he looks much taller and thinner to me these days. His buddah belly is still evident although it is actually much smaller believe it or not! He went from 2T clothes, to 3T literally over a period of two days.

wordless wednesday

2010-06-30T20:19:00.003-04:00

just playing

2010-06-29T13:25:00.006-04:00