Christmas '09

I would say Christmas this year was a success in my book. Brian had to work Christmas Eve so Emme and I went over to Heidi's parents house and spent Christmas Eve with them which was really nice. We usually spend the holidays with Heidi's family since we have no family here and I always feel welcomed and part of their family. Emme had a ball playing with Levi and the other kids and she even got a present from the Christmas Angel (i.e. Marty and Jim, Heidi's parents).

Christmas morning we got up and I made breakfast and then we opened presents. Or I should say, Emme opened all the presents. She had a blast ripping off the paper and opening everything, she had quite a knack for it too. Before I could turn around, she had another one opened right away. She was sure one spoiled little girl I'd say. She probably had 20 presents under the tree from Brian's parents, cousin, and us combined. Her favorite thing she got I would say was her shopping cart complete with 100 fake food items and little boxes. While that might not have been so smart on my part, since I will be the one picking up all the pieces everywhere, she is totally in love with it. She pushes it everywhere and stops and fishes things out all day pretty much. She also loved the vtech toy I got her that you sit on and turn the wheel. That was a steal since I got it on craigslist in pretty much new condition for only $15, go me! Amoung other things, she got a billion books from her Nanny, some clothes, blocks, little pots and pans, a fake dishwasher, a puzzle, tons of various balls to throw around, a trainset/train table that we have yet to put together since she got enough stuff to keep her occupied for the time being.

After gifts, I made gingerbread cookies and then we made our way over to Heidi's sister's house for Christmas Day dinner. It's always nice to see Heidi's family and Emme loves playing with the other kids. Christmas definately seems to be getting more and more fun every year now that we have kids. Emme is in such a fun age where she gets more of what's going on and is more involved compared to last year where she was just a little baby blob. I know next year will be even better since she will be a year older, talking, and super excited to see what Santa brought her. Then of course, we will have number two who will be almost a year old as well, wow! Can't wait!

Santa Didn't Go Over So Well

We took Emme to get her Santa photo taken today at the mall and I was alittle nervous how well that would go, or not go. Last year she didn't seem to mind sitting on his lap but she was also only a few months old and didn't really know what was going on. Well, I had a plan to bring a candy cane in case she flipped out and maybe that would settle her down. Of course when we saw Santa, she immediately clung on to me for dear life and had a look of concern on her face. So I placed her on his lap and the following happened...
Needless to say, the candy cane didn't work and she wanted nothing to do with it or Santa. She was totally fine once I took her off his lap but the pictures actually turned out pretty funny. Oh well, I figure all kids have at least one picture of themselves crying on Santa's lap at one time in their life or another. Maybe next year will go over better!

About 5 weeks to go! Yikes!

It sure is sneaking up on us now, we only have about five weeks to go as of this coming Monday until baby number two makes her debuit. I'm trying to soak up precious sleep while I can because I figure that will definately dwindle when she gets here. I'm hoping that she will be a better sleeper than Emme was at first, I can always dream can't I? I think it is definately going to be a big adjustment to go from one to two, hopefully I will be able to handle the madness! I guess I will have to because I have no choice, right?

Good news I found out, Emme will be able to come visit me in the hospital. I had called before and the lady said she didn't think she would be able to because of h1n1 going around but my doctor said as long as it's a sibling, it should be fine. Heidi was at the hospital last night and saw a sign saying this as well so that makes me feel better. I was freaking out thinking I wasn't going to get to see Emme for three days which would be awful for me. I'm sure it would be harder on me than her but she is so attached to me lately, I think it would be very sad. I know she won't want to stay in a hospital room for long with me but at least seeing her an hour a day is better than nothing.

Well, we got the crib up in the new baby's room and got that all together so that makes me feel good that is checked off the list. We have a few various things left to do like get diapers, mattress cover, changing pad cover, and get the decor on the walls, but I feel like that is all managable in the time we have left hopefully. I will be curious to see how Emme handles this adjustment and having a new baby sister, hopefully it will be mostly painless! I'm really excited to have my parents here in five weeks, that will be a huge help to us and especially to me since I will be out of commission for alittle bit as far as lifting Emme etc. My mom really spoils her always picking her up and playing with her so I'm sure she will be just fine.

I should find out in two weeks when I have my next ultrasound how big this little girl will be so far so that will be neat to see how she is growing and compare her to what Emme was at that time also. We are on a countdown now!

Randomness

I usually write about things pertaining to Emme in this blog but today I'm going to write about a random store experience today because it's so ridiculous that I felt compelled to share the stupidity.

So I will never understand why stores give out coupons if they come with fifty thousand rules attached to them to use them. Being the bargin hunter I am, I always use a coupon if possible because those dollar or two savings can really add up and while we are fortunate to be able to afford pretty much whatever we want, in a reasonable aspect anyways, it always kills me to know I could have saved a dollar or two if I had a coupon. Maybe this comes from my scrimping and saving past when I had to work several jobs at once to make ends meet, but I think I will always have that scrimper and saver in me. Anyways, I digress...

Continuing on, I went to the local craft store to get some things for a craft project for the new baby's room and I had these two 40% off coupons that were good on one item until the 21st. So I was excited about that because that's a pretty big savings, especially if it's on a bigger item, which wasn't really what I was buying, but I'd rather save 40% on something no matter how much it costs than not at all. So, I go up to the register and I have several things to buy and I figure they won't let me use the coupons together in one purchase as often stores don't so I ask the girl to ring the things up in two different transactions so I can use both of my coupons. It was her first day so she asks the lady at the next check out if she can do this, which I already know she can because I've done this many times before without a hassel. The lady says, "yea you can do that but you will have to ring her up for her first purchase and then she will have to step to the back of the line to do the other transaction because then the people in line would have to wait for her to complete two transactions and she would be holding up the line." Ok, first of all, there was ONE other person behind me not 12, and how ridiculous does that sound?! So I can make one purchase but then I have to step aside for her to ring up the next customer and then I can step BACK into line and she can then ring me up again to use my other coupon which would take a total of 25 seconds tops. I mean, is it just me or is that the stupidest thing ever? I just looked at the lady and said "ok, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard before in my life but ok, I'm already here and I want to use my coupons so I guess I will do that." Wow, what is this world coming to? The crazy thing is that my mother in law uses those coupons too and Brian has told me before she has literally had to walk out of the store and come back into the store to use another coupon because of their rules before. Not sure if it was the same store, but that is also the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Too bad I like getting a deal so much otherwise I would totally swear off coupons for the rest of my life.

Pumpkin Patch Time

It's fall so that means pumpkin patch! We took Emme to Schnepf farms this weekend to see the pumpkins and enjoy the farm. They have fun things for kids to do like pet the animals in the petting zoo, go on rides, take a train ride around the farm, and pick pumpkins of course. Emme was alittle young for the rides but we did take her on the carousel. Needless to say, I think she was alittle weirded out by the experience because she tolerated it for about 2 minutes, then started crying because I think the horse going up and down scared her a bit. It probably didn't help that I wasn't on the ride with her, I took pictures and that could have been it too.
She LOVED playing the pumpkin patch though. She could have stayed there all day, picking up hay, moving the pumpkins around, she was definately enjoying it. It was a really fun thing to do and something you have to bring the kids to every fall for sure.

Scooter

Standing and a new pair of shoes

It really amazes me how fast babies or toddlers do things. One day they are going about their business, and the next, they are doing something totally new just looking at you like "yea, that's right, look what I can do!" Emme's newest trick is standing up in the middle of a room by herself without help or holding onto anything. Last week she started letting go of things while standing up for a few seconds and then all of a sudden, she is standing up on her own and thinking it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

It's so funny to watch her do this because she is actually really good at it after just doing it like two times, scary! Now, she is constantly doing what I call the "skier position" because she looks like a little skier going down a hill with her knees bent to get her balance. She gets quite a kick out of this as well because she will look at you when she stands up and starts clapping her hands with a huge smile on her face like she is really proud of herself. How fast she is growing up!

I figured it was time to get her some new shoes since she is cruising and standing up everywhere and the shoes she does have are alittle tight on her. To tell you the truth, babies don't really need shoes that much until they start standing up and walking along things because they are just crawling all over the place and not really using the bottoms of their feet. So we made a trip to Stride Rite and got her some nifty stage 2 shoes tonight, which are so cute and they make her feet look so much bigger than they are with these bulky shoes on. I definately think it's really important to get a toddler a nice pair of new shoes because growth and development of their feet is key. I also think it's a rip off for kids' shoes for the price they charge which makes me think I should get into the shoe business and make a ton of money! Oh well, our little bug is worth every penny :)

Emme is One!

Holy cow, my little girl is one! Where does the time go, really? I can't believe how grown up that sounds, I have a one year old! Emme's birthday party was a huge success, we actually had a ton of kids and friends show up and the kids loved the petting zoo we had in the back yard. I definately recommend that for a birthday party, it really made the kids' day I think. She got so many toys, it was ridiculous thanks to our great friends. We even stashed some away that we will take out here and there so she doesn't get bored of the things she has, they seem to do that quite frequently I've noticed.

She really loved the cake too once she figured out she could dive right in and squish the icing in between her little fingers. I'm sure she ate more of the icing than the cake, but whatever, it's her birthday after all, you gotta spoil them once and awhile!

Trip back to Wisconsin

Whew, has our vacation already come and gone? I can't believe our trip back home is already over but we had a great time. We were actually blessed with warm and sunny weather the whole time, can you believe it? If you are from WI or MN, you know how hard this is believe because at most, you get a few days in a row of warm weather and then it's cold weather before you can count to 10. My whole two week stay was beautiful, if not alittle humid, but you can't complain too much about that, it could be worse. Emme was a great traveler as well which I was worried about since I had to fly there myself a week before Brian joined us but she was absolutely perfect the WHOLE flight, I couldn't have asked for a better baby. She was good on the way back, alittle more figity just because she was teething but not too bad. Of course I ended up with a horrible cold the last few days we were there, I think that is a constant every time I travel I swear.

It was great getting to spend time with my parents and family as well as my Grandma and the Donald. Their new house is really beautiful and so nice to relax at. It feels like a little cozy retreat in the woods, very relaxing. We also got to see our friends Chris and Erica and their daughter since their family cabin is convienently just minutes from my Grandma's house. It was great getting the girls together to play again and see how much they have grown in the last few months. It was really hard leaving and coming home to no family but we are grateful to be able to visit several times a year.

Sleep Regression

Sleep regression...I had no idea this existed until my great little sleeper started this trend about a week ago now. Now my great little sleeper, is not such a great little sleeper. What happened???? I went from having my buggy sleep all through the night with no problems, to every time I put her down in her crib having her scream bloody murder and either A) not go back to sleep or B) cry for a bit, go to sleep, then wake up whenever and start screaming again multiple times. When it first started about a week ago, she was awake from 12 until 4 a.m. The next night, she would stay asleep after being put down for about an hour and then wake up screaming off and on through the night. I really have been trying to stick to my guns and let her cry alittle off and on in her crib and hopefully fall back to sleep on her own. While I'm not a believer in the cry it out method for an hour, I have been letting her cry off and on for about 10-15 minutes which she then seems to settle down and finally sleep.

This really breaks my heart because hearing her cry and say "mama, mama, mama" while jumping up and down in her crib is the toughest thing. I feel so bad for her because I know she just wants to be by me but I also don't want to give her the message that anytime she cries, she can just come hang out with me in the middle of the night. I also don't wanna put her in our bed with us all night since kids are smart and catch on real quick which would be a horrible habit to start seeing as we have another baby on the way. That to me would be a very hard habit to break and a total pain in the neck later. So I am stuck debating every night when to let her cry a bit and when to get her.

Last night she got so upset after about ten minutes, I went in to find she had thrown up all over herself, her crib, her blankets, yikes, what a diaster! I felt so bad for her and basically felt like the worst mom. She was so happy to see me when I finally went in and realized what happened, that made me feel even more horrible. Luckily, after I cleaned everything up, including her, and rocked her back to sleep, she went in her crib no problem and stayed sleeping all night. She has been only giving me a hard time going down the past few days but will not wake up in the middle of the night like at first, so maybe that is progress? I have no idea how long this will last, everything I have read says a few days, or a few weeks so I'm hoping that it won't be too much longer. Who knew that sleep can be such an issue out of no where? Being a parent is a tough thing to figure out sometimes. But seriously, how can you not love this little face?

Camping

We went camping a few weeks ago at Derik and Monica's cabin finally! We kept saying we would go and never have yet so we decided to make plans and just do it already. They have a really nice little cabin, or house as I call it about two and a half hours away in a little town or county called Starlight Pines. It was really a good time to get together with the Fales and their little ones. We even found a creek about an hour away that we went swimming at and it was the perfect temp the whole time we were there, in the high 80s. Can't beat that when it's 115 in Phoenix!

9/10 Month Pictures

Emme's latest photo shoot...

Chicken

Ultrasound at 12 weeks

Here are the latest ultrasound pictures from my appt today at almost 12 weeks. Due date looks to be January 11th for sure and everything went good at our appointment. It actually looks more like a baby now and not an alien :) It never gets old watching them squirm around in there, pretty neat!

Summer Fun

Pool Party!!!

Baby #2

Yes it's true, we having baby number 2! Ok that rhymed and sounded stupid but we are expecting another little one. It's crazy, I know! Even I am wondering from time to time how I'm going to handle two but I think it can be done. Hey, there are millions of people out there that do it, right? So I can too. Look at Jon and Kate plus eight and 18 kids and counting, now that would be a diaster! We are really excited and happy about this, it will be another exciting chapter in our life I'm sure. I can't believe Emme is going to be a big sister! Any tips from you moms with two kids or more, I'll take anything you can give. Like, is there a secret to more energy? Or how to get anything done while looking after your kids at the same time? I'm still trying to figure that out with one. Well I have plenty of time before he/she makes their debuit in this world, until January to be specific so I'm hoping I can get it together by then anyways :)