Sick boy + mom's glasses =

Snot-faced Geek!

But the cutest snot-faced geek I have EVER seen!

Emmy is One-Month today!

Yea! She is one month today! It might look like she has stuffed some birthday cake in those cheeks - but, no, she is just getting some chub in those cheeks. :)

So I think she is doing just fine and is acting, well, like a baby. During the day she has decided that she wants Mom to accomplish absolutely nothing except feeding her and holding her! She'll sleep for about 45 minutes in her crib (actually a basket) and then scream - she doesn't cry much, just screams! So then I'll get her and hold her and in about 11.2 seconds she is sound asleep. At least until I try to put her back down - then she'll inevitably scream out again. It would be fine and dandy if she were my first kiddo, but she ain't and so that makes it a little challenging at times. BUT she will sleep in her crib really, really well at nite. So at least that is good. But frankly I wish she would sleep well in her crib during the day and need to be held at nite b/c Ben is really good sleeping with Emmy on the Boppy. Oh well.

She has given me a few smiles the past week - purely on accident I am sure. But they make me excited for the coming months when she'll start smiling more and, hopefully, screaming less.

The boys still really enjoy her. Miles talks to her all the time and really likes to explain things to her and tell her what things are. It's adorable. Jonas has been sick with a little fever on Saturday and then an incredibly snotty nose and a cough ever since. It's been hard to make sure he stays off her - but actually he has done pretty good. But I'll still be amazed if Emmy doesn't come down with anything.







So when I asked her what she thought her best one-month feature is, she said her beautiful white tongue. Oh it is lovely.
















Here she is going to give me a high-five for both of us surviving the first month.


















Awwww, she was quite upset when I told her that, no, she doesn't get birthday cake for her one-month birthday.


Life can be rough - even for a one-month old.

My Love Affair

Yes, I am madly and deeply in love with another. FALL. I love Fall. There isn't much on earth that makes me happier than a crisp, fall day. If I were given the choice of having a perfect fall day or a day in which I was able to eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight, I would choose fall. I love it that much.

So my favorite part of today was my wonderful Fall Run. It was almost perfect (it would have been perfect if I was in Wilson, WY or somewhere like that). I loved that I had to run with my hands tucked in my sleeves and even a hat on. The cool air on my face was delightful.

Now how did this part of my day beat out another part? The part where I was sitting on the couch nursing Emmy (which has become excruciatingly painful - to put it lightly - due to some nice cracks), while poor snot-faced Jonas cried and screamed for me to hold him, and Miles went around the room taking whatever Jonas had been playing with - thus increasing the screams and cries of Mom. . . ummmm I mean Jonas.

Oh indeed it is a wonder how that Fall Run early this morning has been the favorite part of my day thus far. :)

Why I Love Ben

So one of the reasons I love Ben is that he is, ummmmm, a cute speller. That's right - a cute speller. Now I'm not going to call him a bad speller because really he isn't. For the most part my dear husband can spell just fine, but there are a few words here and there that come out wrong. But it's really rather cute. For instance he spelled "grateful" as "greatful" until he met me and I corrected him. And just the other nite I discovered another "cute," albeit wrong, spelling:

Yes, Plumb. As in plum. Love it. And, by the way, my husband actually went over to the neighbors with our boys in tow, picked a whole lotta plums, peeled them, pitted them, and cooked them into jam. Another reason why I love him. He wanted to do it -I made no suggestions or anything. I just helped pour.

Anyways, back to Plumb. So when I told him it was spelled wrong he laughed and then felt like an idiot because he had labeled about 5 jars wrong (the other jars contain plum-cinnamon jam and I had labeled those). He came to the consensus that the whole reason he spelled it that way is because of his Aunt and Uncle Plumb. :) Probably!

Pretty darn cute, though, huh?! He ain't bad looking either.

Help Wanted

So I need some experienced people to give me their suggestions. Right now, supposedly, is the critical time to introduce a bottle to a baby. Too early might lead to difficulty nursing, too late and the baby might not try it.

So. . . I would really love to have a baby that would take a bottle - once a day. That would then free me up to be able to be gone for more than 2 hours, or, more significantly, work a little bit.

But I have my concerns. I do not want to pump b/c 1. I hate pumping with cheap, inefficient pumps and 2. I can't afford a nice one. So that leaves me to supplement the bottle with (gasp) formula. Is that bad? Would Emmy like the formula more than milk (I doubt that). But Emmy might like the bottle more than nursing, right???? And I've heard that even dropping one feeding a day can diminish your milk supply????

All this has kept me from trying the bottle, but it's still something I want to do - I'm just not sure if it is worth it.

Any ideas, tips, suggestions????

Miles - the Student

Well Miles and I had our first Mom 'n MeSchool today. My goal is to do this twice a week, but we'll see how that goes. Here are pictures of our day:




I had to wake him up early from his nap, so he was a bit tired. When I went in to get him he told me he wasn't ready for school yet, but did agree to let me read him a book. He looks less-than-thrilled in this picture, but he was just tired. This boy LOVES to read books.


























After we read the book, Miles ran into the kitchen for school. We began by singing the "ABCs" and Miles did pretty darn great for a 3 1/2 year-old. At least I think so. He usually never sings it when I ask him to (like when we're washing our hands), but the good student that he is, he sang it for me. :) Then we practiced writing his name. I had written it out lightly with a pencil and then he traced it. He was REALLY excited about doing it. :)



























Next, we got out the paint and foam letters and stamped the alphabet on some cardboard. Of course Miles enjoyed this. If he didn't like his letter (too smudged, dotty, etc.) he would ask me to make a "nice one." He did a lot of "nice ones" himself and was always real pleased when it was "nice." (By "nice" he meant clear, crisp, clean, etc.)

So it was a fun first Mom n' MeSchool. When we went to wake Jonas up, Miles told him: "Jonas I did my school work today."

So I will treasure these school moments we have together because one day he will actually leave me for school. While there are times (uhhh, such as I-will-not-listen-to-mom-times) that this sounds nice, for the most part the thought of sending him away all day makes me extremely. . . sad.

Jonas - the Flower Child

It turns out that Jonas is, indeed, our long-haired, hippy, flower child. :) He must have seen me put a flower in my ear the other day because as soon as he picked this flower he tried to put it in his ear. So I took a few pictures of this funny kiddo. (For some reason when I ask either Miles or Jonas to smile for the camera they will smile BUT with their eyes closed - I'm not sure why?)

Emmy - the Sleepy-Head

Sleeping is good.


















But waking up is hard to do. . .

__________ Loves. . .

I saw this on my friend Rebecca's blog and thought it would be fun. So here I go.

EMMY LOVES. . .

* being held * falling asleep while nursing * slobbery kisses from her brothers * sleeping * fussing every evening for an hour or two * being "Daddy's Little Girl"

JONAS LOVES. . .

* calling things the wrong color * trucks and tractors * being real silly * saying "don't like it" to food, crying, and then eating it anyways * eating apples *smothering Emmy with kisses * saying "that noise?"

MILES LOVES. . .

* telling everybody how they should to eat, play, sit, etc. * watching the trucks in front of our house * playing outside * talking real sweet to Emmy * taking forever to eat meals - thus driving Mom crazy * playing with play-dough * pretending

EMILY LOVES. . .

* having her MIL and Mom come out * having a clean bathroom, oven, fridge, etc. (see the previous one) * morning walks * holding Emmy * that Emmy is such a good baby * dressing Emmy * Jonas' voice * Jonas' silliness and playfulness * Miles' inquisitivness and intelligence * Miles' "work ethics" * being married to Ben * chocolate * her family of 5

BEN LOVES. . .

* inline speed skating * sailing * weighing himself every morning (must be the wrestler in him??) * smelling molasses * teaching in church * helping out with Emmy * telling Emmy she is so beautiful * swinging Jonas high in the air * "working" with Miles * reading books to the kids * being married to Emily (I'm not assuming this, he tells me this all the time - what a guy!)

Two Peas in a Pod

I have 2 sets of Two Peas in a Pod. Emmy really, really looks like Jonas. It's hard to find

2 pictures showing this, but I think you can see a very strong resemblance in these 2.

My other Two Peas in a Pod are Daddy and his little girl Emmy. Such cute peas.

Family Time

We were spoiled to have Ben's family this past week. Here are a few pictures:




Great-Grandma Dee and Emmy.



















Grandpa Max giving Jonas a ride.


















Grandma Diana was here for a week - helping out with cooking, cleaning, playing, holding, shopping, etc. Here Miles had packed up the "airplane" and we were heading off to camp somewhere. I was the pilot, but apparently took a break while the kids got in some serious story-time. Thanks, again, Grandma Diana, for all the help and love!











Grandpa Max and Emmy.

Miles' first b-day party

Miles' friend Luke had a birthday party on Saturday. This was the first party that Miles has attended. Ben took him and said he had a good time. There was a "Thomas the Train" theme and so that had gotten Miles excited.


















Fun times, huh!?
































So these pictures crack us up. At the party they had a big pile of wood chips and buried in the wood chips were little toys and lots of candy. So the kids got to dig and dig for whatever they could find. The first picture shows all the kids having a grand old time. The second picture is Miles - Just Miles. He stayed in the pile long after all the other kids had moved on to other activities. What does this show? Preserverance? Determination? Enduring to the End? Never-quitting? Or simply a 3 year-old's love of Candy? You decide.

One Week

So Emmy is one-week today - well, technically, tonite! Wahoo. We all made it through the first week. All is still going well with everybody. Ben is becoming quite adept at sleeping in a reclined position on our bed - while holding Emmy on the Boppy. I am not yet to the angry stage of having to wake up a few times during the nite - but am sure that stage will come (I'll give Emmy at least a few months before I hit that stage, I hope!). Miles is good with her and has decided he does like babies. Jonas is very interested in her and doesn't leave her alone when she's on the floor. Emmy might be a little confused with her days and nights, but still does pretty good during the nite - as long as she is being held. :)

Is he happy to be a Big-Brother or what?!?!?!

And such a Sweet Big-Brother he is!

Sleeping like, well like a baby I guess!

Yes, she is already the affection of many handsome men (as well as some goofy boys) .