Random Bits

First there was the happy couple, two
They went to the temple and said, "I do"
Next came Emmett, number three
And happier we couldn't be
Now we have an announcement once more
We are happily expecting family member number four!

Baby Girl Cress, due late March, 2013

I am 20 weeks along now; things are going great.  I was SUPER tired between weeks 6-12 or so, but I'm back to having energy and feeling great.  I had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago and we got a CLEAR view that this little one will be a girl.  I'm super excited to be able to do all the fun girly stuff now.  =)  Just like with Emmett, we will probably wait to decide on an official name until after she is born.  My official due date is March 22nd, but we'll see when this little miss decides to make her entrance. 

This little one has been super wiggly the past few days; I think she moves more than Emmett did at this stage.  I'm definitely looking forward to meeting her.

In other news, we picked up a crib for cheap on Craigslist that I refinished (we found a stain that was really close to the original color, so I just stained over the finish and then put a couple coats of polyurethane on it.)

 Here's the beginning picture: notice the super scratched arms and top rail?

The finished product!  Even though it's not perfect, I'm proud of how it turned out.

Just this morning I found that Emmett has been chewing on the arms and top rail.  Needless to say, I was pretty irritated since I'd spent 4 long days to get it looking nice again.  Tomorrow I will be getting supplies to prevent any more damage happening to them.  *sigh*  Silly little man.  But I guess I can't really blame him all that much; when he's standing up, they ARE right at mouth height.

Well, that's about it for us right now; I'll do the usual Emmett-centered post next week and talk about Halloween and such.  Hope you all are doing well!

16 months

This past month has been a fun one.  I got called into nursery, so Emmett has been able to come in early with me.  Thank heaven, because he was becoming a HANDFUL during Sunday School!  I'm only in there 1st (well, really 2nd) hour, and Emmett just stays when I'm there.  But he has been loving interacting with all the kids and seeing all the new toys and books he gets to play with.  Almost every Sunday, he goes and brings me a doll at least  once.  I'll wrap it up in a blanket and give it to him to hold.  Then he'll give it kisses....he is so cute...he's going to be such a good big brother. =)

We also took him to a pumpkin patch yesterday.  We tried putting him on the cart you take out with you to bring the pumpkins in on, but after 5 feet or so he was done.  So I pulled it with one hand and held his hand with my other.  I'm not sure how much he liked the patch.  I think he had a hard time walking because his feet would get caught on the vines and such.  After Jeremy picked him up, he didn't want to be set back down.  I'll have to take pictures later of the pumpkins we each picked out.

 Sitting by a pumpkin

 Pointing at another pumpkin

I want this one please!

Other than the pumpkin patch, it's mostly been life as usual.  Emmett is understanding more and more of what we say and what words mean.  He's at a really fun stage.  Some things he's doing now:

• He figured out that water comes out of the dispenser on the fridge door.  He will sometimes put a cup (usually one of his stacking cups) up to the dispenser to try and get a drink. Other times, he'll just push on it with his hand and get water everywhere.  I'm sure glad that we can lock the dispenser!
• He will sometimes put cups on his feet and try to walk around
• He understands 'bath,' 'book,' 'shoe,' 'outside,' 'upstairs,' and 'doggie'
• He has started to nod his head for yes
• He will sometimes get a book or his shoes when asked
• He will assist in getting himself dressed (put arms up for arm holes in shirt, put feet up for pants/socks/shoes)
• He loves pulling cards out of wallets.  So much so, that I've had to put some old gift cards and club cards in my old wallet so he can leave mine alone.
• He makes car noises when pushing cars/toys with wheels
• He LOVES sunglasses.  We were at Olive Garden last weekend and he was having a rough time; one of the high school kids there for Homecoming gave him his sunglasses, and he was happy as a clam afterwards.
• He has figured out how to flip through photos on our phones, as well as how to start/stop the videos.
• He holds phones and other things up to his ear and will cock his head
• He can point to his ear, eye, nose, mouth, and belly button when asked (usually)
• He has started to hit (we're trying to nip that in the bud!!)
• He likes playing with his play fruits and veggies (2 pieces that velcro together and he can pull apart.  Sometimes he'll pretend to eat it)
• He has been really cuddly lately; we have been loving it!
• He loves baths as long as there aren't bubbles!  We thought we'd add bubbles one night as something fun, and he freaked out!  We had to drain the entire tub, rinse all the bubbles down the drain, and refill the tub before he was happy.
• He loves his daddy and will call/ask for him throughout the day
• He LOVES eating cherry tomatoes from the garden
• He likes that his snow boots light up, but isn't sure he likes them on his feet
• He might be allergic to shrimp.  Which I'll be super bummed about because we LOVE shrimp!
• He loves pasta, rice, toast, peaches, and cereal in milk
• He usually insists on wielding his fork/spoon himself
• He loves to pull the sweet chili sauce out of the fridge door whenever it is open.  I'm not sure why, but he always goes for that particular bottle.

 With his foot in a cup

 A pretty common sight around here; Emmett sitting surrounded by ALL of his books.  But at least he likes them!

 A super cute video of Emmett dancing

15 months

So I've been kind of putting off this post because I haven't wanted to take the time to do it.  It's not so much the WRITING part, as much as it is taking the time to upload pictures from my phone, etc.  But I finally kicked my behind into gear and am getting this written. =)

15 Month Stats:
Weight: 28 lbs, 2.5 oz (90%)
Height: 33 in (94%)
Head Circumference: 48.1 cm (77%)

He is definitely starting to thin out a TON.  His height percentage now exceeds his weight percentage, for the first time in his life! lol  It's been fun to see him grow and develop, but it's a little sad to think that my baby is growing up.
 
Emmett has been a WHIRLWIND of energy lately.  I don't know who's more exhausted at the end of the day, him or me.

Some of his new things:

• He has mastered climbing.  He climbs up his slide himself, he'll climb up onto the table, the couch, anything he can get to.  He is driving me crazy!!
• He consistently signs "please" now.  It's actually pretty funny when he really wants something, because his desperation comes across in his "please."  He'll frantically rub his hand across his chest.
• He signs "all done/all gone" and will sometimes verbally say "all gone" (ah gah)
• He signs "food/eat" when he's hungry.  Although, sometimes I think he says it because he wants to go upstairs, even when he's not necessarily hungry.
• He somehow learned to walk on his tiptoes.  I'm really not sure how he learned it, but it's pretty cute to see him walk across the floor on his tiptoes.
• Emmett has learned to "give kisses."  Usually this results in him leaning towards us with his mouth open and slobbering all over us.  But it is adorable, nonetheless.
• We started him back on wheat and he hasn't shown any sign of a reaction.  Whew!  I've also started to give him cheese/yogurt and I haven't noticed anything either.  I am super thankful for that!

Some things he likes:

• Playing with balls.  He loves throwing them and running after them or having us play with him with the balls.
• His little people toys.  He loves that they have buttons he can push to make noise as well as other pieces that he can move (i.e. doors).  He usually doesn't like to have the people in the vehicles, but today he put one in the driver's seat.
• Toys he can push.  I found a "popper" (I'm not really sure what you call it...the toys that kids push and the balls inside the bottom bounce around) at a yard sale and my mom had a toy that makes music when you push it, and he absolutely LOVES to play with them.
• Bubbles.  When he sees the bubble container, he usually points to it and signs "please."  Sometimes he wants us to blow bubbles for him, and sometimes he just wants to carry the container around.
• Cars.  He loves to drive his little toy cars around.
• His stuffed bear.  You know the kind of toy where you pull on the bottom and it makes noise/music as the bottom retracts up?  That's how this one is.  He sleeps with it and will sometimes carry it around the house.  It's pretty cute.
• His blanket.  It's gotten to where it usually stays in his crib, but occasionally he wants to drag it around a bit.
• The cuckoo clock.  It's not a TRUE cuckoo clock, but it plays music on the hour or when you push a button.  His morning routine includes pushing the button to hear the music and watch the lights flash.  And most times when we go in his room he wants to push the button too.
• Electronics.  He LOVES pushing buttons on anything electronic (phones, computers, the printer, remotes, you name it.)
• Cherry tomatoes.  My dad has a few plants in his garden, and Emmett loves to point at them and have me pick him a few to eat.  I was a little hesitant the first time because he'd sometimes throw them, but so far lately he's been eating them really well.
• Peaches.  I bought some of those peach fruit cups to send with Jeremy in his lunches, and Emmett ate a few.  They have since become his FAVORITE food.  Whenever the cupboard isn't baby locked, he runs over there and points to one/grabs one (depending if they're all in the closed box or if one's accessible) and signs "please" frantically.  We're trying to convince him that the ones in the jar are just as good as the ones in the little plastic bowl.
• Escaping.  Wherever he can.  Whether it's pushing open the pocket door on the main floor and attempting to flee upstairs or if it's taking off down the gravel driveway in his bare feet.  I think this kid is going to keep me on my toes!!
• His stacking cups.  He's figured out how to stack them up or nestle them together on his own.  And when I build a tower out of them, he's more than willing to come over and knock it down. =)

 With his stacking cups

 At my grandparents' lake house, ready to go out on the paddleboat.

 At their first MLB game, cheering on the Mariners.

 Despite his expression in this picture, he really quite enjoyed wearing my mom's sunglasses.

I've got some videos I wanted to post, but apparently Google is having issues with them.  Not sure if it's a google v. apple problem or something else.  I'm also having problem with my computer not being able to rotate some of my pictures.  I can't see any rhyme or reason to it, but it's having issues.  =(  Oh well, hope you all enjoyed the post I was able to do!

14 Months

Emmett continues to grow like a weed!  And he's been learning all sorts of new things!

Some of his new achievements include:

• learning how to climb up on top of things (especially the ottomans we have put in front of the tv's so he couldn't get to the dials and mess with things.  Now he just climbs on top and fiddles with the dials or reaches the remotes.  I'm not sure how we're going to babyproof that now)
• signing "please" for the first time.  He actually did it twice in one night, but I haven't been able to get him to do it since.  Figures.
• going on a paddle boat for the first time.  He LOVED it!  My grandparents have a cabin on a lake, so we took the paddle boat out while we were there and he'd just sit there and suck his thumb and look all around.  The day we left I put the lifejacket he'd been using away, and Emmett saw it and got all excited because he thought we were going out on the lake again.  I felt bad that we didn't have time to.
• dragging his blanket around with him.  One day I went to get him from his crib after a nap and he wanted to bring his blanket with him.  I let him, and he would just drag it along behind him and between his legs.  It was super cute, but he was getting his blankets dirty!  So my mom bought him one of the small (oh, probably 15" square) blankets with a little stuffed animal attached in the middle.  He has since transferred his attachment to that and it's adorable to see him carry it around with him.
• He now has 12 teeth!  All 8 front ones and all four molars have now come in!  I can't believe how many teeth he has!
• He has learned how to go down a slide.  My mom bought a small Little Tykes slide and while he hasn't quite figured how to climb up himself yet, if you set him on the platform he'll wiggle forward enough to slide down.  He gets the biggest smile and it's super cute to watch.
•  He has learned how to play fetch!  He's seen us play it with the dog enough times that when we threw a hot pad and told him to go get it (it was similar in shape to the dog's frisbee), he went over and picked it up and then brought it back to us.  He also will throw the dog's toys for her to fetch (although I think she gets frustrated that he doesn't throw them very far; maybe 18 inches at the most) and he loves to play tug of war with her!

Some of the things he likes are:

• eating raspberries off his fingers - when we're outside he'll sometimes point to the garden and we know that he wants us to take him to the raspberry patch and pick him some raspberries.  He just can't get enough of them!
• going for rides in the Burley (bike trailer/stroller).  Many times when we're outside he'll go around to see if the garage door is open, and if it is he'll push the Burley out and try to get inside.
• watching the Olympics - especially the swimming.  He'll sit in my lap, suck his thumb, and watch entranced at the swimmers in the pool.  Maybe we have a future swimmer on our hands?
• He loves to go out on the trampoline.  He hasn't figured out how to jump on it yet, but he'll crawl around on it and he has so much fun.
• He is fascinated by pinecones!  He'll walk to the edge of the patio and point at the pinecones until I move one close enough that he can reach out and grab it.  It then becomes his favorite toy to play with for at least 5 minutes.  Hooray for cheap toys!

In other news, we found out that Emmett has lots of allergies.  We told his doctor at his one year visit that we thought he was allergic to eggs, so she ordered an allergy test for him.  It took me forever to take him in to get it done because I'd only remember after the lab had closed, but we finally got the test done.  The next morning his doctor called with the results and said not only was he allergic to eggs like we'd thought, but he was also allergic to oats and milk, and tested slightly positive (so he may or may not actually react) to rye, soy, wheat, white potatoes, and peanuts.  I was flabbergasted, because he's had so much milk (and he LOVES cheese and yogurt) and we hadn't noticed ANY reaction to any of the other foods.  So we immediately cut out all the offending foods to see if they might be causing his diaper rash that won't go away.  It's been 2 weeks now and I really haven't noticed any significant difference in his diaper rash or his temperament, so I guess I need to call his doctor and figure out what the next step was.  She was saying that we could re-introduce things slowly and see if he reacts to some of them, but I don't have a clue what to look for since he hadn't had any noticeable reaction to the foods before (with the exception of eggs.)  It's been difficult to come up with foods for him to eat, since he can't have pasta, breaded chicken, bread, etc.  And I don't want him to get tired of eating the same things all the time: rice/corn chex, kix, bananas, raspberries, applesauce, sometimes other fruits/veggies if I can get him to eat them, and sometimes some sort of cooked chicken.  But at least he seems to like the foods I've been giving him and he especially likes the rice milk.  I think he drinks that better than he drank the whole milk.  We're really hoping he'll grow out of most (if not all) of his allergies as he gets older, but in the mean time we're just thankful he's not allergic to corn or rice so we actually have something we can feed him.  (And we're grateful that he likes fruits and veggies most of the time)

And now for the pictures!!

Emmett playing fetch with the hot pad

 Emmett holding his blanket and reading "Goodnight Gorilla"

Emmett and the replacement blanket (notice that he has climbed up onto the ottoman)

I had another video to put up, but Blogger keeps having problems with it so I guess you don't get to see it.  And I have other cute pictures, but for some reason my computer can't rotate them and save them...I'll have to see if I can get that sorted out.

Update

So instead of doing the usual Emmett-centered post, I figured I'd let you all know what's been going on with us first and then move onto his milestones.

A couple of weeks ago Jer and I celebrated our 5th anniversary.  Can we really have been married that long?  We went to Apollo's Greek Restaurant in Richland and the food was FANTASTIC!  We had planned on going to the Cool Desert Nights parade after dinner, but it was raining pretty hard.  So we went out and rented a movie to watch together.  It was a nice night.

The next morning we took Emmett and went to the Cool Desert Nights car show.  It was a lot of fun.  Emmett enjoyed looking at all the cars (and so did we) as well as the people.  His favorites were a 1960's forest green VW bug and a 1993 red Dodge Viper.  He had a blast pointing at all the cars and would definitely let us know if he wasn't done looking at a particular car.

For the 4th, we drove down to Utah to visit Jeremy's family.  Emmett FAR exceeded our expectations with how well he did for that long in the car.  We only had to stop like 3-4 times each direction so he could walk around for a few minutes before we continued on.  We had a really good time with Jeremy's family, and they really enjoyed getting to spend time with Emmett again since they hadn't seen him for a year.  Jer and I also met up with some old friends who were also living in Utah.

And now for the Emmett update:

• He is so stinkin smart!  He has figured out that doorhandles are what open the door and has started attempting to open them.  So far he has been unsuccessful, but I'm sure it won't be too much longer.
• He is starting to say "dada" a lot and I think he's put it together that that's what Jeremy is called (to him, anyway)
• He now has 10 teeth; all 8 front ones and then the two bottom molar-types
• He loves yogurt and cheese, and he went CRAZY over chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A
• He is such a ham!  The other day I was feeding him and in between bites he would scrunch his eyes and make a funny smile with his bottom jaw jutting out.  When he realized he was getting attention for making the face, he started making it even more.
• He can eat with a spoon!  At least, until he decides to reach in and attempt to eat with his hand...
• He STILL has this diaper rash (I CANNOT seem to get rid of it; it's been probably at least 3 months and it just cycles through getting better and worse) so we're on a last ditch attempt using Gentian Violet.  It was recommended by a friend of the family who is a nurse, so I'm really hoping it helps him.  The poor little guy has just been super itchy.
• Although Emmett does fantastic on long car trips, he doesn't do so well with sleeping in new places; he cried himself to sleep almost every night we were in Utah if I didn't lay down with him until he fell asleep.  And sometimes he would wake up 2-3 times during the night.  And then as soon as we get back home, he settles back into his normal sleep pattern.  Well, I guess you can't have everything, right?
• He has been loving the fresh fruit/veggies out of the garden. So far he has had strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, green beans, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and peas.  The only one he didn't like so well was the peas, and sometimes some of the others were a little hit-and-miss, but that's pretty normal, right?
• He understands the word "outside" and will come right to you if you mention that word.  He LOVES being outside and would spend all day out there if he could, even though it's been super hot!
• He got his first haircut!  He was super wiggly, so thankfully the stylist was really fast and really good with kids.  It was a little sad because he did definitely look older, but he still looks adorable.
• He has started kicking a ball around.  He doesn't do it terribly often, but he's definitely figured it out.
• He is a shameless flirt; he enjoys waving to little kids, especially girls.
• He LOVES dogs but didn't want anything to do with a little kitten or a fairly small bunny.  He wouldn't let me help him pet them.  I'm not sure what his aversion was, because he likes the full-grown cat.
• He loves to get into anything he's not supposed to: remotes, phones, dog toys, dog food, the drawers full of kitchen towels and washcloths, etc.  (And he apparently ate some dog food, too)

 Before his haircut

 The end result!

 His bath-time mohawk

Emmett is ONE!!

Happenings of the last month:

• Emmett took his first steps alone (towards the dog, not a person, of course) and then was full-out walking within 2 1/2 weeks.
• Emmett got tooth #8 (his lower left molar-type tooth)
• He "wagged" his tongue back and forth
• He got his first taste of yard-saleing (and the bounties it brings lol.  My mom and I got him $350+ worth of stuff for around $60)
• Emmett LOVES music.  One of his 'Little People' toys (that we got yard saleing) makes sounds, one of which is playing a song.  One day he would sit and push the button quickly to get to the music, look at a book while the music was playing, and then repeat the process.  It was ADORABLE!
• He has started pointing.  He'll point at things he wants, people, and things he wants to go look at.  It has definitely helped the communication!
• He figured out stairs.  The first time was when he was walking around the church during 2nd hour (he was being antsy in class so I took him out and let him walk.)  We were in the chapel and he went right up the steps to the pulpit without hesitation!  And he'd really never shown much of an interest in the stairs before.  Since then, he has conquered the stairs at my parents' house.  If the door at the top is open, he'll escape right on out to wherever his little heart desires.  Otherwise he'll either a) pound on the door until someone comes to rescue him or b) cry until someone comes to rescue him.  Luckily he hasn't fallen down them yet.  I'm trying to figure out the best way to baby-proof them; they're circular, so I don't know if a baby gate would even be able to grip the walls very well.
• Emmett went swimming for the first time and LOVED it.  Although he was not happy when I put his hat on him.
• He has figured out how to open the pocket doors in the house.  We had been using them to keep him from getting to the rest of the house, but he has learned how to open them if they're left open even 1/4" and sometimes manages to get them open even if they're completely closed.
• He has started "dancing."  He'll either sway to the music or swing his arms across his chest.  It's super cute.
• He loves to eat whatever we're eating for dinner.
• He will mimic some animal sounds, especially the dog barking.

Jeremy's dad was able to make it up for Emmett's actual birthday.  His work was kind enough to get him a route up this way and then allowed him to take a couple of hours and go off-route to see us.  It was really good to spend time with him and I know Emmett really enjoyed playing with him.  He made Emmett a super cute wooden car and trailer for his birthday.  Emmett LOVED them and immediately started playing with them.

For Emmett's birthday we had egg-free chocolate cake (which was AMAZING, btw) with fresh strawberries (from the garden) and whipped cream on top.  It was super tasty.  Emmett wasn't quite sure what to make of the big pile of goodness on his tray at first, but after I dipped my finger in the whipped cream for him to taste a couple of times, he went after it.  That kid sure loves his whipped cream!  Jeremy's grandma and one of my good friends from high school came to celebrate Emmett's birthday with us.

We also went and got pictures taken this past weekend.  Hopefully you'll be able to use this link to go take a look at them.  They sure turned out super cute.  And in case you were wondering, yes, he will be getting a haircut soon.  Jeremy wanted to wait to cut his hair until after we got his 1 year pictures taken.  So the appointment has been scheduled for Tuesday.  I'll try to get some pics up shortly thereafter.

And of course, what post would be complete without pictures??

Emmett with Grandpa Cress on his birthday.

 The classic cake shot: This was toward the end of him eating it.  Notice that all the whipped cream and most of the strawberries are gone, but there's still a goodly amount of cake lol.

 Emmett sleeps like this quite often, but I always think he looks adorable with his bum sticking up in the air!

 He was walking around holding these 2 glitter balls for probably 30 minutes, just having a blast.

Swinging in his new (to him) swing.  He LOVES it!  (In case you couldn't tell by his face)

Emmett "dancing" to Sultans of Swing

Allergies

Well, poor Emmett had his first allergic reaction this week.  Jeremy had made some tasty tater tots and eggs for breakfast, and Emmett was begging for food (as per usual) so we gave him half a tater tot.  And another half.  And probably a few more.  About half an hour later, Jeremy asked if Emmett had been scratching his face; I said he hadn't, and took a look....the poor little guy had pea-sized red spots all around his mouth and on his chin.  Emmett didn't really seem to be bothered, but I wanted to make sure the reaction got better before we put him down for a nap.  We gave him some baby loratadine that the pharmacist had recommended on a different occasion, and within an hour or so the spots were gone.  I was too worried about getting them gone (which isn't a bad thing) that I forgot to snap a picture.  Oh well.

So for now we'll try keeping him away from food with eggs in it.  And when we go in to the doctor next week I'll ask his doctor whether he thinks we should take him in to be tested.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll grow out of it (I did).  I haven't noticed a reaction before, and I know that most cakes and stuff have eggs, so maybe he really only reacts if it hasn't been baked; or maybe he just hasn't had enough exposure when he's had other things with eggs in them.  Either way, I'm going to talk to his doctor next week.  And it looks like I'll be making an egg-free birthday cake for him just in case.