Happy Thanksgiving!

A few days before Thanksgiving, Avery and I had a cute conversation:
Avery: Is it Valentine's Day?
Me: No, but Thanksgiving is this week. Do you know what that is?
Avery: No.
Me: It is a time that we get together with our family, eat turkey, and think about all of the things that we are thankful for.
Avery chimed in, "AMEN!"

I guess that must have sounded like a prayer!

Big Helper

I think the first day of school was more tiring for Avery than it was for Garrett! She seemed a little lost without him, almost not knowing how to act when it was just her and I (and Emmett!). The first day of school she fell asleep on the living room floor, holding my phone and listening to kids music on Pandora radio.

Avery is very proud of her big brother and loves to help take him to school. She often rides her bike. When we walk home from school, I can tell that she wishes she could go to. She says things like, "I can't go to kindergarten yet." She can't wait to pick him up every day. She asks, "Is it time to go get Garrett?" Going back to work after maternity leave was tough because I miss all of those little moments.

After school each day, Avery often checks Garrett's backpack before we do! She wants to see if he has homework! She also checks in on his behavior. One day after school, she asked, "Garrett did you tease the girls today? Did you call anyone names?" I had to remind her that I am the parent, not her!

First Day of Kindergarten!!

My big boy started Kindergarten this year! I can't believe that 5 years can go by so quickly. Garrett is so excited for school. He was such a big kid when we went to open house a few nights before school started. He was excited and a little nervous before the big day, but not scared. The timing of Emmett's birth worked out perfectly so that we could walk Garrett to and from school for the first few weeks. He seemed to grow up overnight. Although we can't get a lot out of him about his daily activities at school, he has been talking a lot about science, singing songs from music, singing us the alpha friend songs and the good morning song, and talking about the Schools Out after-school program that he attends. We couldn't be more proud.

Emmett update

Emmett is one cute baby. We discovered that he likes to "talk" to things with eyes/faces. When Emmett was almost 3 months old, he was lying on the floor when I noticed him cooing to a Santa Claus book with big googly eyes that was propped up against the couch. Since then we've been propping up books with big pictures of faces as well as stuffed animals/toys with faces for him to "talk" to. And he sure does! The next night Greg had him cooing to the Disney princesses pictured on a pull-up box!

First Haircut

Awhile back Garrett and Avery woke up before us (as usual) but didn't hang around our room trying to get us out of bed. Instead they helped themselves to breakfast! They got out poptarts and Garrett got them both a cup of water. Luckily they actually chose to eat breakfast food (versus Cheez-its other goodies in the pantry). However, after they ate breakfast, they proceeded to cut their poptart wrappers into a million tiny pieces with scissors. I can't complain...at least I got little extra sleep!

About a month ago Greg was home with the kiddos while I was working later. He was changing Emmett's diaper when he overheard Garrett say, "Okay that's probably enough..." He found Garrett with a pair of scissors and a handful of Avery's hair. He called me right away, starting the conversation with, "You're not gonna like this..." Somehow I knew right away. I knew the day would come. Luckily when I arrived home the damage was not as I had imagined. It was a chunk cut out of the front left side but I think we can blend it in by creating some layers. And we often pull that part of her hair away from her face anyway. Whew. I was picturing a giant chunk out of the back. Avery has had her haircut several times by my hairdresser. This was her first "sibling" haircut!

Welcome Emmett Dean!

We welcomed our beloved baby boy into our family on July 14th, 2011. Emmett Dean Stohs was born at 8:03 am weighing 8 lb 2 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He was born by scheduled c-section. We were quite surprised that he was a boy since both Greg and I felt we were having a girl! Our first hint was during the surgery when Dr. Taylor said the baby had very broad shoulders and they had to widen my c-section incision. I have to admit it took an hour or so to adjust to the idea that we now have 2 boys! Emmett was born healthy as can be. He was a calm little man too, not even crying until they started to examine him on the warming table! He was able to hang with his Momma in the recovery room and I actually got to watch the nurse give him his first bath. These two things did not happen with Garrett and Avery's births, so it was quite a blessing.

Big brother Garrett and Big sis Avery came up to visit (with Grandpa and Grandma Stohs and Grandpa Reimer) about an hour or so after we settled into the postpartum room. They brought Emmett a balloon! Avery was a little unsure of all the medical equipment and hospital bed. She hung back by the wall during the first visit and wouldn't climb on the bed to sit by me. Garrett was a little quiet, taking it all in, but he did hold his little brother right away! Avery checked out Emmett while Grandpa held him. She said, "He likes me Mommy, he likes me!" We've all been enjoying him every since!!

Baby Update

Can it really be almost 2 months since I blogged last? Yikes. We've been busy around here....

Here's the latest baby update....I am currently 36 weeks along. My c-section is scheduled for July 14th. We'll have to be there bright and early at 5:30 am and baby will probably arrive around 7 or 8 am. I've been having a lot of mid-upper back pain this pregnancy, feeling as if my ribs are crushed, which means I've resorted to spending some time each night sleeping in a recliner. Yuck. I actually googled "broken ribs in pregnancy" about 2 weeks ago! So I am very ready for baby to arrive!

I feel like this baby might arrive early based on the number of Braxton Hicks contractions that I have especially when I walk any distance at all (i.e. walking the dog around the block) and the painful rubbing of the baby's head against my pelvis which seemed to start a little early this time around. So we will see. My c-section is scheduled for 39 weeks and my actual due date is the 20th of July.

The kids and I had hoped to squeeze in a lot of summer before the baby arrives, but that isn't really happening. The weather has been really cool so hanging at the pool and even playing with water toys at home has been limited. I guess I should be thankful for the cooler weather!

I think the kids are excited about the baby. Garrett still thinks the baby is a girl and Avery is wishing for a boy. I'm trying to prepare them that it could go either way! Garrett is very sweet and asks me questions about if I think the baby would like this or that. I think he will be a good helper. He also has been telling me that all of his favorite stuffed animals are "newborns" except for his stuffed Cookie Monster, who is 5 years old, just like Garrett!

In the beginning of my pregnancy, Avery said she had two babies in her tummy, a boy and a girl, but then she lost interest for awhile. Now she has one again. We were eating supper the other night and she leaned over to tell me, "My baby is kicking in my tummy right now." She has also been 'mothering' her stuffed animals, strapping them into the baby's bouncer and feeding them with an old sippy cup that I let her play with.

The countdown is on...only 18 days to go!