What's a Monday without some Milestones?

Well, nothing extraordinary really occurred this week for Emerson. No first shots. No first plane ride. No first deep freeze in the arctic vortex (ha ha, friends in Minnesota, it has been in the 70's here in AZ).

No, nothing major has been happening here. However, that doesn't mean that times aren't a changin'. It is so fun to watch Emerson grow and learn. You can almost visualize the cogs in his brain working overtime as he takes in each new experience and focuses his attention (more and more often) on his newest discoveries.

Emerson likes 5-oz bottles now, for one. He had an absolute fit of hysterics last Friday after a mere 3.25 oz in the morning at daycare. It took a walk outside in the stroller to calm him before I could get to him to feed him some more. On Friday night, he awoke every hour and half to eat. Can we say growth spurt?

Emerson has discovered that he has feet. He stares at his brightly-colored socks and follows his feet as he kicks them. Apparently, while in the care of his grandmom Davis-Hohmann this weekend, he tried grabbing his feet. Kyle and I wonder if we are giving him a disadvantage by always putting socks on him, as he hasn't really seen his toes or touched them without a sock barrier.

Emerson eats his hands constantly, but that is really not all that different than in his ultrasound pictures. However, what is astounding is that he has now slept for 2 nights without being swaddled, which is astounding to us! He has woken up after both nights talking in his bed, just hanging out awake. No tears. Now THIS I can get used to.

Lastly, I believe that Emerson is getting ready to turn over from his back to his tummy. He can pull his legs up to his torso, twist so his butt comes off the ground, and then he gets stuck. But with a little extra power and momentum I am pretty sure he'll roll right over before we know it!

So, as you can see, a lot is changing. (Oh, and I should mention he is getting a bit chubbier, too). I love watching it happen yet at the same time hope that it doesn't happen too fast. (Yes, I have reached that point of wistfulness).

Emerson did get to tour the new Gilbert Temple (LDS) this past Friday, and got to watch his papa's  Frisbee tournament on Saturday.

He had pooped just before this tour, so he was a little fussy...

But he held on until the end because he was mesmerized by the crystal chandeliers

The Temple was beautiful and all lit up at night it is really a true wonder of art and architecture that we were very privileged to get to tour during this limited time opportunity.

Flashback Friday

A month ago today was Christmas Eve already. Hard to believe that the magic of the holiday has been gone for as long as it has. Well, it isn't really gone, our tree is still up, but who's paying attention?

I just HAVE to tell the stories for Flashback Friday about our first Christmas. We had a couple of parent fails, as well as victories, over the course of the holiday season. I so desperately wanted to make sure that we went "all out" for Emerson's first Christmas, but I failed to use logic to reason out how much time we would have to complete all the tasks I had listed for our perfect holiday.

I think that the journey is best illustrated in pictures.

I had to add in little details for our little man...

From my favorite throw pillows...

To a third stocking! I will need to get actual matching stockings for the future...

Grandbaby's First Christmas Ornament from Grammy Jensen!

Emerson had a mini tree in his room

With some holiday candle holders to match his room decor, too!

We went all out for the tree!

With more Baby's First Christmas ornaments, and coincidentally right next to the whiskey...

I baked actual cutout cookies for the first time- just like my childhood!

And made gingerbread men, too!

We captured time with Emerson's first hand print ornament

And left out cookies and milk for Santa!

The presents piled high on Christmas Eve!

And Santa left his own special gifts...

So much fun!

So those were the victories... and looking back there were a lot of things I somehow managed to pull off with lack of sleep, returning to work, and lots of family time and travel trying to stop me!

However, I do have to share the fails as well...

We got the idea to make some ornaments, and I let my Pinterest posting get a bit overzealous. I swore that I could make Etsy-worthy ornaments (besides the hand print shown above) to commemorate this major milestone Christmas.

First, I succeeded in completing a project I've wanted to try out for the past year:

This is an ornament with remnants of my bridal bouquet inside. I painted the wedding date and E + K on it, too.

I even added to the original plan...

Emerson's hospital hat and bracelets forever preserved...

And his welcome-home flowers, too

Along with a knit hat from the volunteers at the hospital

And I should have stopped there, but I didn't. I had this BRILLIANT idea for gifts for grandparents...

It was the ultimate Pinterest fail...

We tried to get a newborn to open his hand, place it in paint, and place it gingerly on a Christmas ball...

This was the best we could get...

So we tried the feet with little luck as well...

And for my final holiday story, this is definitely a parent victory! (Ending on a high note, at least).

If you are a small child or have young children, stop reading now. I don't want to ruin the spirit for all...

We could not WAIT to play Santa for the first time and set out the gifts after Emerson went to bed. We were giddy about sneakily eating the cookies and drinking the milk, and wanted to start a tradition that we'd be excited for in all the coming Christmases. And then Kyle got a little cocky. This is what followed...

Om nom nom nom nom

COOKIES!!!!!

Let me at them!!!

Hey! Check this trick out...

I can do it with milk, too...

Did you catch it?!

Oh no! It went in my nose!!!! And then ALL OVER MY FACE...

HA HA HA HA HA!!! Laughing until there were tears followed....

WE TOTALLY NAILED IT!!!

So I know that this was an entire month ago, but I hope that these stories brought you a little holiday cheer to a dreary and dull January night!

The most memorable Christmas in a long time...

Emerson says "I love it!"

Fascination that I hope will never end...

 

Oops- missed a milestone Monday!

The reality is that sometimes there just isn't time. But, that doesn't mean the time has passed without some major milestone to report! So here we are on Wednesday with the latest and greatest for Emerson. He is 14 (WHAAAAT?!?!) weeks old today, too.

Emerson just had his 3-month photo shoot. Here you go! :)

I mean, for real here. How cute can you get?! Thanks, Baby Gap :)

Still love my vibrating chair, though! 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I just have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my loving and wonderful husband, but more importantly Emerson' father!

Emerson even got him a birthday card!

We went to the DC Steakhouse (downtown Chandler) for a great dinner, and then he got a massage!
I also got him a day in Tucson on a weekend when we are actually free!

Hope your 34th year brings as much adventure as your 33rd!

Love,
Emerson and Erica

Most Miserable of Milestone Mondays

Well, we have achieved another major milestone, but this one is one I'd hope to avoid. And I hope the rest of you escape it. We just endured Emerson's first stomach virus.

And then my first and Kyle's first in a very long, long time.

Nothing is worse than when you have to see your baby sick. I should have known when I picked him up from daycare Thursday and he had spend most of the day sleeping. Also the fact that his friend Evan had already been sent home for puking up his breakfast. But Thursday night, after feeding him at 2:25 a.m., he projectile vomited his milk. Luckily, his pjs were terrycloth, he was on his changing table with an absorbent pad, and he only eats milk, so it wasn't too gross. But, the remainder of the time he was up he kept making funny faces, smacking his lips, swallowing, and his stomach kept lurching. Ew.

I was such a wreck that I stayed up most of the night from then on, checking on him frequently to see if he was choking on his spit up. I was worried about how the morning would go, if he'd eat his morning meal, if he'd be in a good mood, and if I should leave him home and call in a grandma instead of taking him to daycare.

Well, he was happy as can be. No real change, except sleepiness, and not wanting to eat as much, was evident.

Friday at daycare he slept a lot, ate smaller quantities, and only spit up once. Then Friday night we were supposed to leave for San Diego. Luckily, I was so tired, and his papa was so tired, that we had decided it was best to drive after a good night's sleep. Sadly, that good night's sleep never happened, because after I went down to sleep at 7:00 (on a Friday night--another first!), I was up again by 10:00 vomiting myself. And Emerson had one last episode. So, trip to San Diego to meet new nephew/cousin Dylan was postponed.

I somehow got myself out of bed after about 20 hours in it the next day. Thank Grandmom Davis-Hohmann for coming by to help while dad went to Frisbee Saturday morning. Then, he started to get sick on Sunday, too. So-- we hope these immunities help get us through the rest of the winter!

Things are pretty much back to normal today. However, everyone at daycare today said they had the same weekend as we did.

Hope your weeks are much better! (pun intended)

Feeling much better with my cute booties on!

Check me out! I'm cute!

Super smiley!

Tuesday's Truth

I hate to tell you about this website that I found, for fear that you will stop reading what I have to say and instead turn to the truth and hilarity that Scary Mommy contains, but there, I did it. Please don't leave!

I am not the most liberal of all minds, nor am I close to prude or politically correct, but man do I enjoy a good satirical commentary. It must be the English teacher in me. I find it hard to focus on the serious, to be serious in the face of stress, or to write without using hyperbole. For that matter, I truly found my kindred spirits on Scary Mommy, and whether or not you are in agreement with my parenting style, feelings about parenting, or sense of humor in general, I am only whole when I can acknowledge my faults and limitations as a mom, as a woman, or as a person. So, that is my disclaimer, I guess, that anything I say that you may find revolting, worrisome, perhaps even insulting, is more for ME than for YOU. I need this blog, I need this release, and because I write it, I am good.

If I were to never say anything that I write, then you should be worried. I'd be cowering in a corner, singing nursery rhymes repetitively to the wrong tunes in the wrong keys, and praying for the grandmas and husband to save me from the insanity that is surely lurking in the near future.

Alright, now that I've got that out of my system, read this article to better understand where I am coming from: Baby 101

After my last post about the "truth" that I've experienced, I realized that yes, I, too, was an idealist who didn't want to hear it before I had Emerson. I thought that I could conquer any random problem that came with parenting with a little charm and creativity, just like I have solved countless other social and scholastic problems with much success. Turns out, I have learned the hardest lesson. The lesson is this:

I need more than myself, (my charm and creativity,) to survive.

I need the love of my family members who take care of Emerson when I just can't hold him for another second without losing all feeling in my left hand.
I need the friends who have gone before me and learned the lessons "the hard way" (AKA, "first"), and have been my lifeline from the start. Thank you for tolerating my endless desperate questions.
I need my coworkers who stepped in when I had my first real absence from work, unexpectedly 2 weeks early. And who continue to cover my butt when mommy brain prevents me from being as competent as I once was. And who allow for me to go visit Emerson, pump in the middle of the day, and sometimes take a little too long a lunch by covering for my classes.
I need the humor of the online community who find that parenting really looks much different in reality than in the idealized parenting classes, books, and movies. Read The Cantrell Clan, written by my sorority sister, for another good example.

I need people. And I am really bad at that. I don't even like asking my own husband for help, for fear that it is admitting my weakness and defeat. I hope that I can continue to work on this in 2014, consider it a New Year's resolution.

So thank you, people, for being my outlet, for being my support, and for continuing to read without being bribed by adorable pictures of the cutest little man in the world! I need you, too.

Many cards from many of my biggest supporters and role models

Milestone Monday

Today I will focus not just on the major events of the past week, but all the mini milestones that make me full of wonder!

• Emerson now tracks us as we walk around the room.
• He will turn towards us when he hears our voices.
• He is starting to relax his hands when he is sleeping or resting so that they are not always clenched in fists.
• He also is beginning to grab toys and other objects, besides my hair, shirt, or necklaces.
• He coos and responds when we are talking to him as if he believes to be communicating like us.
• He sleeps between 4-6 hours for his "long stretch" at night!
• He eats in under 30 minutes total sometimes! :)

And for the bigger events- Emerson experienced his first New Year (as many of you probably saw) and then the real treat--his first hike!

A little about that hike... Many of you have probably heard the story of my first date with Kyle. We hiked Telegraph Trail on South Mountain, for which I gussied up and got ready as if we were going to a fancy restaurant (at least I didn't wear a dress and flip flops). It was 94*. I was not in any shape to be hiking up the steeper incline, and we had to stop at least 10 times for me to catch my breath and bearings. Well, Kyle didn't judge me, I guess, but he sure does taunt me about it now and again.

This hike was like a bad flashback to that moment. I was out of breath. I got dizzy near the top. And I sweat more than anyone should in 70*. However, I had a 12-pound baby strapped to my belly. And I only stopped twice. I am darn proud I didn't fall! Granddad was nice enough to help with my confidence by carrying Emerson DOWN the mountain, though.

Here are some pictures and a video for you:

Ready to go!

Resting Up Top! And cooling down

Hiking up with grandad

A view of the valley

Flashback Friday

 A few pictures of my first Christmas and Kyle's first Christmas- 1980!!! 

(I was less than 2 months old, he was over 11 months old)

Kyle's first Christmas!

Erica's first Christmas!

Still getting so big!!! Emerson's first Christmas!!!

And his version of the Christmas jammies.

Who do you think Emerson is looking the most like these days... mom or dad? :)

It is absolutely impossible to not see both Kyle and Erica, in my opinion...