Boys

I now remember why we had to buy every imaginable child proofing item when Garrett was a baby.  Then I think back at how most of those items seemed completely unnecessary when Avery was a baby.  I mean, do you really need a toilet lid lock?  We are being reminded that yes, you do, when you are raising boys.

At 10 months old, Emmett clears my nightstand of every item each morning, usually in one quick swipe.  He knocks all of the shampoo bottles in the bathtub each time he passes by the bathroom.  He sticks his hands in the toilet, eats paper and rocks like crazy, and would rather knock all of the books off his nightstand than snuggle at bedtime.  He also shuts his fingers in drawers and the lazy susan almost daily.  He has a very specific cry when his fingers are stuck so I know what has happened before I even see him.  He almost fell down the first flight of stairs off our deck 3 days ago, but thanks to Garrett for yelling at me, I grabbed him just as his hands slipped off the first step.  Whew!

Sometimes I think I may never fully understand the male brain.

Here are a few more of Emmett's accomplishments lately:
-signing "more"
-waving (he waves toward himself!)
-lots of new dance moves!
-holding his own bottle at daycare
-eating table food, although he has doesn't have a single tooth!

This first year is going way too fast!

Am I still a cool mom?

I asked Garrett two nights ago if I should come and eat lunch with him at school sometime.  I had a lot of fun the last two times and he did also!  He hesitated and said, "Well, I feel like I don't have much time when you come so maybe I'll just eat with you at home."  (sad face)  "Oh," I said, "what if I bring you McDonalds?" (bribery) Garrett hesitated again.  "Well, I DO like McDonalds...."

Emmett's Stats

Wishing you a belated Merry Christmas!  Someday I will post pics of Emmett's first Christmas, but the way things go around here, it might be springtime when that finally happens!

Emmett had his 6 month checkup (about 1 week before he actually hits the 6 month mark) and it turns out he is one solid boy, just as we suspected! 
Height: 27"
Weight: 17 lb 11 oz (holy cow)

Emmett is hitting some milestones too!  At 5 1/2 months he discovered that he can army crawl.  Now he is all over the living room floor.  He can move really fast if he is after something that motivates him, like the dog's Kong.  Greg discovered last night that if he says, "Come here, Emmett," that Emmett will army crawl over to him and up into his lap.  Pretty darn cute. 

His big accomplishment this week is spending a lot of time rocking back and forth on his hands and knees.  Shouldn't we figure out sitting before we start to crawl?  How can my baby be growing up so fast? 

Having a baby on the go makes me a little nervous this time around.  The kids have a lot of toys with little pieces and I am constantly finding small objects on the living room floor.  We'll have to keep working on that and keep a close eye on Emmett!

First Big Snow

I don't know that you would call 2-3" of snow a big snow, but we sure have been enjoying it. We broke out the sleds, drank hot chocolate, and made snow icecream. As we headed home from the nearby sledding hill yesterday, I mentioned that today would be a school day and that I needed to remember to take Avery's snow pants to Lynette's (daycare). As soon as I said it, I waited for Garrett's response. You could see him slowly start to process the idea that he would be sitting in school and not playing outside. He asked, "Mom, when am I going to get to play in the snow??!!" I assured him that we would make time for that after school. We did.

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!

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!!

Kindergarten, Here We Come!

The past two weeks have been very busy for us! Garrett had his kindergarten physical, luckily with no shots required (we took care of those at the 4-year check-up). His current stats: Height 44", Weight 35.8 lbs, Body Mass Index 0% (off the charts). His body mass was never high (usually around 5% but it took a downward dive so we are supposed to get this skinny boy to gain about 3 lbs this summer. Sounds like an easy feat, but I can't remember the last time this boy gained a pound. Guess we'll have to start eating his favorite food (PB&J) more often to make sure that he's eating enough! Garrett enjoyed the visit and was all smiles for the nurses, as usual. When a nurse asked him if his Mommy and Daddy know if they are having a boy or a girl, he promptly replied, "It's a girl." Very matter of fact! I had to explain that we actually don't know what we are having.

Yesterday we headed to Kindergarten round-up. Garrett was all smiles and acted a little shy when the principal said 'hi' to him. All of the future kindergarteners were divided among the kindergarten teachers and got to hang out in a classroom while the parents sat through an informational meeting. We won't find out who his teacher is until right before school starts, so they just randomly divided them up. Garrett happened to be in the same group as his friend, Julia, from daycare that will be attending the same kindergarten as him! He seemed excited about that. He got a stamp on his hand, colored a picture, and wrote his name on it while they were in the classroom. I can't believe what a big boy he is! It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and now he is headed to kindergarten very soon! He is excited about kindergarten and I hope that school is a wonderful experience for him. The principal said that parents are always welcome to come and eat lunch with their child. I'm looking forward to some lunch dates with my boy since I'll have Thursdays off this next school year!
Here are some stats about our school (which is about 1 1/2 blocks from our house!): I believe it is the 3rd largest elementary school in Lincoln (that scares me a little bit). They are expecting approximately 120 new kindergarten students, divided among 6 classrooms. The biggest class in the school is the current 2nd grade with 138 students.

What We've Been Up To...

I should be able to think of a more creative name for this blog post but for right now, that's all I've got. Here are some updates...

Garrett's stitches are out! We've been using steri-strips to hold his gash closed a little longer while it finishes healing. Today should be the last day. Swimming lessons can resume this week since he is fully healed! These are all wonderful things!

Avery has discovered my perfume. She came into the kitchen last weekend saying, "mell me, Mommy, mell me." She wanted me to smell her - she leaves off her 's' sounds. It's too cute to start correcting it yet! Turns out she had sprayed my perfume right onto her forehead. Thank goodness she didn't get it in her eyes! Guess I'll be keeping that out of reach from now on. She is very proud of 'being like Mommy!'

Avery is really into nail polish. Unfortunately we don't always have the same taste in colors. I prefer pinks and reds and she prefers green, orange, and purple! She insists that our nails must match so now I am wearing green, orange, and purple! It's hard to resist my little fashionista's style recommendations.

We have a sick bird for the first time in 13 years. Yes, much to Greg's dismay, the birds are going on 13 years now. Harry came down with a sinus infection and is taking a daily antibiotic (by tiny oral syringe!). We discovered that avian exams cost about twice the price of a dog/cat. But like I told Greg, we can't let her die of something easily treatable, and turns out, that was the case. Let's just say that Greg and I are becoming very experienced at medicating a tiny bird, again, much to his dismay. The birds have also been very unsettled lately, squawking at anything and everything. I think their general tolerance for a noisy environment is decreasing with age. It just so happens that my tolerance is decreasing with pregnancy. Anyway, this weekend, for the first time ever, I had suggested that maybe they need a quieter home. When I asked Garrett what he thought about this, he said, "No Mom! They can live in my room. If they keep me awake at night, that's okay." That boy has such a big heart. We definitely can't give his birds away.

My doctor's office is working on getting my c-section date scheduled. The date will be either July 14th or 15th, both good dates for birthdays, I think! I really seems like a reality when we start to talk about a birth date! This last trimester is going to fly by. I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for the sleepless nights and restricted diet again, but I sure am ready to start sleeping on my back again!

This might be the best news yet...there are only 33 days of school left!! Woo hoo!

Welcome to the World of Boys

Within 1 week's time, Garrett experienced his first goose-egg to the forehead/black eye and stitches! I already briefly blogged about him missing the front porch steps at Grandpa's house and his big black eye that formed later that day. Thankfully that is looking much better these days. On Saturday we went for our bike ride to our neighborhood park. A steep sidewalk leads into the park and Garrett and Avery typically fly down this on their Strider bikes. That day, Avery decided to hang with me and Garrett raced ahead. I could see his front tire start to wobble followed by a big crash. Thankfully he was wearing his helmet, but it didn't protect his forehead very well. He came running toward me with blood running down his face, a big gash in his forehead, and a bloody nose. We wiped up the blood the best that we could and I tried to calm him down. Anyone that knows Garrett well, knows that he is our spirited child and his reactions are usually elevated above most children's. It was a long slow walk toward home. Thankfully our friend, Audrey, who lives nearby, gave us a ride. I wasn't sure if we would need stitches or not, but luckily our pediatrician's office is open on weekends, and they said to come right in. When the doctor saw him, he asked if he had lost consciousness (referring to his black eye) and I had to explain that his black eye was from the previous weekend. The doctor laughed about that and said, "Welcome to the world of boys." Sure enough, my buddy needed stitches. He didn't want anyone to touch his face, so they had to "papoose" him with velcro to a backboard. It still took 2 of us to hold him still while the doctor gave him 5 stitches! My poor boy! Avery was a good sport too. Thinking that he wouldn't really need stitches, I had taken her along with me. She sat in the corner and rocked Garrett's stuffed cookie monster back and forth. Let's just say that it was traumatic for everyone involved! But the good news is that his stitches are healing nicely and he gets them removed on Thursday. We'll probably be a little more cautious around our house for awhile.

The Things They Say...& Random Things

We just returned from a wonderful spring break visiting Grandpa Reimer and family. We also celebrated Sissy's birthday with the Stohs family and the Reimer family over spring break. Pictures will come when I finally get them downloaded. We came back from spring break with 2 tired kids and one very black eye. Poor Garrett missed Grandpa's front porch steps completely on the way down. His forehead caught the brunt of his weight. Luckily he had no signs of concussion but got a nice scrape on his forehead and a very black eye. It's starting to turn yellow around the edges so I know it's healing. He's a tough guy.

I wanted to blog about the cute things my little kids say....

Avery associates everything purple with K-State (her daddy is very proud of this). When she sees purple, she says, "Go K-Steak!"

I'm amazed at how much Avery and Garrett are alike. When Garrett was 2-3 years old, he was obsessed with dogs and would pretend to be a dog everywhere we went. I remember him barking and licking packages in stores! Avery often pretends to be a dog and refers to herself as "Arfie." "Arfie will open the door." "Arfie wants another sucker." The funny thing about this is that Garrett also referred to himself as "Arfie" for a short time, but Avery would have been too little to recall this.

When Avery hears something new, she will often respond, "I didn't know that..." with a really high inflection on the word 'know.' Garrett did exactly the same thing when he was 3, and again Avery couldn't possibly remember that. How is it possible that she says some of the exact same things that he did at her age???

Garrett asked me tonight, "Mom do you remember when my favorite color was blue? And now it's orange and green."

Our Ultrasound

We had our 20-week ultrasound today! Several hours later, I still can't believe that we did NOT find out if we are having a boy or girl! The suspense might kill me, but it is exciting! The baby is perfectly healthy which is the most important thing. Garrett and Avery joined Greg and I for the ultrasound, which was a pretty special experience to see them smiling and watching their little baby brother or sister on the monitor. During the ultrasound, the technician asked the kids what names they liked for the baby. Garrett came up with the following ideas: Peaches, Diego, or Possom (wait a minute...aren't those characters from Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs?) or Dora. The baby's heart rate varied from 138 to 133 beats per minute and later 154 with the nurse. We'll see if my theory (and gut feeling) that it's a girl holds true. I have always heard that lower heart rates are girls and that held true for Garrett and Avery. We got to see a lot of movement including the baby opening and closing her mouth and swallowing. It took a long time for the technician to see an air bubble travel to her stomach to pinpoint that the stomach was located in the right place, so the ultrasound took a really long time. We even took a break and tried a second time before she located the stomach. But eventually she saw it and everything looked great, so all is well.

Garrett's First Love

When I picked up the kids last week from daycare, Garrett pointed out one of the school-age girls sitting on the porch. "See that girl over there Mom? I like her. I think I'm falling in love." He gave me a big smile. I couldn't tell if he was teasing me or serious. I asked, "What's her name?" He replied, "I don't know..." (This week I finally remembered that her name is Morgan.) Garrett might have his first crush. My boy is growing up!

Still running

I have to brag about myself a little bit today. I am still running 1-2 times per week. Granted, I'm running a little slower and mixing in some walking breaks to keep from getting really out of breath, but I'm still doing it. I'm only covering 2-3 miles at a time now. But the dog still needs his exercise and my goal is to stay really fit for as long as possible this pregnancy. I have my doctor's blessing to run as long as I am comfortable. The last 3 runs have been a little less comfortable with my growing belly, so I'll be curious how much longer I will continue. This weekend we spent our Saturday afternoon on a nice bike path south of town. The kids rode their Strider bikes, Greg rode my bike, and Casey and I had a nice jog. It was a beautiful day and felt so good to be outside enjoying the fresh air as a family. That night after baths, Garrett crawled into our bed and I tucked him in while we finished getting Avery ready for bed. He was such a tired guy that he fell asleep! He hasn't fallen asleep like that (outside of his regular bedtime in his own bed) since he was 1 or 2 years old!

But the baby wants it...

We made a family trip to Target this weekend because we were out of all of the necessities at our house. Avery got to do a little birthday idea shopping to see what she might want for her big day. To our pleasant surprise, she was really into the big dollhouse that I've had my eyes on for awhile now (sigh of relief...my little girl actually wants a dollhouse and not a monster truck...). After that she got to pick out some plates/napkins for her party. She spotted the Tangled plates right away and added them to our cart. Then she spotted the Spongebob Squarepants cups. She said, "Mommy, the baby likes Spongebob. Can the baby get Spongebob cups?" Nice try!

Fooled

Happy Belated Valentine's Day by the way! We had a nice relaxing evening at home. The kids came home with lots of goodies from daycare and a favorite neighbor of ours stopped by with delicious sugar cookies (frosted - my favorite!). Lynette had given the kids frosted sugar cookies at daycare too. When we walked in the door after school that day, Garrett said, "Mom, can I eat my cookie, because the other kids ate theirs and I didn't have time to eat mine." I pulled it out of his goody bag and let him dig in. A little bit later as I was sorted through Avery's goodies, I realized that she had a cookie too, so I seriously doubt that the other kids ate theirs without Garrett! I think every kiddo came home with one and he managed to get his before supper!

No Petting the Baby

I showed Avery how much bigger my belly is getting these days. Her response was, "I don't want to pet her, Mommy." I smiled and told her she didn't have to touch my belly! She still says that she has 2 babies in her tummy. The last 2 times that she talked about them, she called them her "Garrett babies." How do they come up with these things? Garrett overheard this and was NOT happy!

Is He Real?

Garrett asked me a few weeks ago if the Easter Bunny is real. I said, "I don't know...what do you think?" He said, "No, I don't think he is." Maybe he has heard this from the big kids at daycare? A few days later he asked if Superman is real. My response was the same, asking what he thought. He said, "I think he is." I smile when I think that my little boy doesn't believe in the Easter Bunny but he does believe in flying superheroes.

Leave the snow ON

We've had a lot of snow lately. It snows, it starts to melt, and it snows again. I'm beginning to feel like I just really want to see the ground and the grass again. I remember feeling that way last January too. Avery loves the snow. She loves to look outside at it. She likes to play in it too, but she gets cold quickly and she's usually ready to come inside right away. Garrett, on the other hand, could take up permanent residence outside. The last two big snows, Greg has kept busy helping the city plow the streets after his regular work day. When Avery learned about this last week, she became genuinely upset. She said, "I don't want Daddy take the snow off. I want Daddy leave the snow ON!" She seems to think that her Daddy is working against her love of the snow. She was almost in tears. The next day she witnessed Greg snow blowing the driveway. She stood in the garage yelling over and over, "I want you leave the snow ON, Daddy!" Of course, with the loud snow blower, he couldn't hear her and kept on going. She eventually came inside and then watched him from her bedroom window, yelling the same thing!