21 Months

 Well, we got Emmett into the Ear-Nose-Throat doctor and have surgery tentatively scheduled (he has a pre-op visit scheduled, and if the ear infection has magically disappeared, then he won't have to have surgery.)

• Loves playing basketball
• Loves playing with his balloon they gave him in nursery like a month ago
• Loves puzzles
• Likes to "brush" his hair (he will raid the drawer in the powder room to pull out all the combs and will use them to brush his hair)
• Likes the book "Llama Llama Red Pajama"
• Loves watching videos on YouTube
• Likes watching Curious George
• Made motion + noise for Jeremy to drag him around in his diaper box "car"
• LOVES his baby sister--wants to hold her, gives her kisses/hugs/cuddles.  We have to watch him to make sure he doesn't smother her
• Learning to recognize his bath toy animals (can point when we ask him which is ___)
• Loves bagels with cream cheese
• Likes the frosting on sugar cookies (the cookies themselves, not so much)
• He really liked the gorilla statue in Grigg's
• He liked going around and looking at the stuffed animals/animal heads at the local sporting store
• Likes to blow through a straw to make it whistle (the straw from my hospital cup)
• DOES NOT like when I have a bandaid on (he also wouldn't leave my heparin lock alone when he came to visit in the hospital)

 

 Emmett and Daddy in front of the gorilla

Emmett eating his bagel with cream cheese

 Meeting his sister for the first time

Adelynn Joy

She's here!  (Well, she's been here a while already, but here's the blog about her ;) lol)

Adelynn Joy Cress was born at 2:11 on March 2.  She was 20" long and weighed 7 lbs, 14.3 oz.  We are so in love with this little girl!

Birth Story:

I'd gone into the doctor for my 37 week appointment on March 1.  The ultrasound showed (well, estimated) that she was about 8 lbs, and she'd been measuring in the 94% (ish) so the doctor was a little anxious for her to come sooner rather than later.  He checked me and told me he didn't think I'd make it another week and decided to strip my membranes.  (I found out the next day that I was at 4 cm).  The rest of the day I felt pretty crampy, but was feeling mostly fine.  Jeremy and I went out for dinner and did a little shopping (I needed to get a gift for a baby shower.)  I kept waking up throughout the night feeling crampy and a little off.  Around 6:00 am, I woke up and was having contractions.  They started about 8 minutes apart and then started getting closer together (3-5 minutes apart).  Jeremy and I finished packing the hospital bag and got Emmett ready for the day.  I called my aunt, who is a labor and delivery nurse, to see if/when I should head to the hospital.  She told me that she usually tells people to come in when their contractions are getting pretty uncomfortable.  Well, I was to the point where I was having to focus when I was having a contraction, so we decided it was probably time to head in.  We had a ton of books that needed to go back to the library in a couple of days, so I gathered them up to drop them off at the collection station at Walmart (which is nearby) so I wouldn't have to worry about them getting back on time after the baby came.  Then we headed to the hospital.  (This was around 10:30-11:00)  They had me change into a robe and were going to check me.  Luckily, my doctor was already at the hospital due to another patient being in labor as well, so he came in to do the check and I was dialated to 6 cm and baby was at 0 station (head was really low).  They moved me into a birthing suite and got my IV ready so I could get an epidural right away.  I should mention that I lucked out and the gal from my ward who is a L&D nurse was working that day and she ended up being my nurse!  After my epidural, the doctor came back in to break my water.  A little before 2:00, they checked me and I was dialated to 10 cm, so they took the bed apart and got things ready to deliver the baby!  It only took 2 contractions (3 pushes per contraction) and our sweet little girl came right out!  Her little nose was squished to the side, but she was gorgeous!  Before they weighed her, the doctor had us all guess how much she weighed.  He guessed 8 lbs, I guessed 7-14, and Jeremy guessed 7-15.  I was right! =) lol

Just like with Emmett, it took us a while to come up with a name.  We had a list of 7-8 names we liked, but none of them really seemed to fit.  Finally, Jeremy thought of the name Adelynn, and it just seemed right.  Joy is after Jeremy's grandma.

Addy has done a lot better at nursing than Emmett ever did, so that has been a real blessing.  She's still not quite back up to birth weight, so we have to take her to the doctor more often, but she didn't have problems with jaundice like Emmett did, which we are very thankful for.

Emmett has been doing surprisingly well adjusting to having Addy around.  He loves her a lot and loves to hold her and give her kisses and hugs.  Now if we could just keep him from trying to maul her to death lol.  ;)

In the hospital!

 Right after she was born

 You can sort of see her squished nose

 Emmett meeting her for the first time

 Just chillin

36 Weeks

Well, I made it to the final month!  There isn't too terribly much to say; Baby Girl has been doing great (but measuring pretty big...she's already estimated to weigh 7 pounds and has been in the 89-94%. Yikes!) I can't complain too much; I've been having heartburn pretty fiercely the past week or so, but even that's not terrible once I get my Tums lol. I have definitely reached the point where I can no longer do my own pedicure, so I've been trying to talk Jeremy into giving me one lol. I'm definitely starting to feel big, and it has become an ordeal to roll over in bed haha.  But soon, our little one will be here and it'll all be worth it. =)

This was me at 33 weeks; I need to take another picture soon because I'm much bigger than that now lol

20 months

Yes, I realize that we're only like a week and a half away from Emmett being 21 months, but it's better late than never, right?  ;)

Emmett's ear infection still hasn't cleared up, even after a round of antibiotic injections. =(  So we now have a referral to an ear-nose-throat doctor and are waiting for them to actually GET the referral so we can schedule an appointment.  Poor little guy =(

Some highlights of this past month include:

• He takes the wireless mouse and uses it like a phone.  He'll click the buttons while it's against his ear and say "yah"
• He knows the actions for "Popcorn Popping" and will ask for it by either shaking his finger or making the popping action.
• He enjoys the YouTube video of Elmo brushing his teeth and will ask for it by pretending to brush his teeth with his finger
• He will line up toys in a row (usually his Little People)
• He enjoys toys he can drag behind him (popper, music roller, puppy, chatter telephone)
• He dances when he wants our phones, thinking that we'll give them to him because he's being cute.
• He LOVES eating those mini oranges
• He prefers eating at the counter or table instead of his high chair
• He loves playing with his ball
• He's starting to get into cars/trucks more
• He LOVES taking medicine
• He LOVES blankets right now.  It doesn't matter what blanket it is, he'll grab a corner and snuggle up with it.
• He loves to turn the lights on/off
• He loves to color
• He likes his flap books more (is more interested in his Little People flap books than he used to be)
• He likes to have us check to see if he has stinky feet (the doctor did it to him once and he thought it was hilarious)
• He HATES having his nose or face wiped
• He loves seeing birds outside (especially seeing them flying around.)  About a month ago we had an INFESTATION of birds in the trees outside and Emmett noticed they'd fly out of the trees when he got near, so he ran down the tree line scaring the birds so he could watch them fly.  (I was scared that we'd get pooped on!)
• He enjoys playing with his stacking cups again.  He knows when they're nested correctly and when he needs to find one that fits better.
• When he was getting the antibiotic shots, he'd walk around on the toes of the leg that received the shot that day. (But he must have a high pain tolerance--the doctor told me that they might be painful enough that he wouldn't want to walk at all)
• He will randomly come up and kiss my belly (the baby) on his own.  It's so sweet!

We sure love this little guy and can't imagine life without him!

Being a "bucket head." He apparently likes it, for whatever reason, lol

 My little cuddle bug =)

 Being a "bucket head" again.  But you get to see his cute little belly

 Building a tower with his blocks

 Playing basketball with Daddy

 Getting ready to shoot the ball!

19 months

Yes, we're still alive; I promise.  Life just gets in the way of posting when I (think I) "should" lol.

This month:

• Emmett played in his first fort.  I don't think he quite knew what to think of it.  He'd only go inside if I was in there too.
• He loves to pray and will fold his arms when he wants us to say a prayer.  It is so adorable.
• When the Christmas lights were up, the first thing he wanted to do in the morning was turn them on.  He would point and grunt until we turned them on.
• He was fascinated by grandma's olive wood nativity set, especially Baby Jesus.
• He once picked up said Baby Jesus and gave it a hug -- it was the sweetest thing!
• He loves to point at the ornaments on the Christmas tree and have us say what they are.  And if we miss that he's pointing at them, he'll start ripping them off the tree.
• My parents had a set of 3 lighted snowmen out in the front yard, and Emmett liked to go see each of the snowmen and touch their noses.
• He liked to tap/touch each of the red lighted balls suspended from the porch.
• He got some new bath toys for Christmas that swim around the tub, and he LOVES them!
• He LOVES playing with the Little People train he got for Christmas.
• He loves the book Llama Llama Nighty Night
• He was so excited about the Sesame Street toys he got for Christmas (a stuffed Cookie Monster and Elmo as well as a Cookie Monster mp3 player toy) In fact, right after opening the stuffed animals, he held them up to his neck and hugged them.
• He loves the PBS kids app because he can watch Sesame Street on our phones!
• He sure can watch Sesame Street...I swear, he'd watch it all day if I'd let him!
• He is becoming the king of tantrums!  But once he realizes that we're ignoring him he usually stops pretty quickly.
• He started to fight us less when we were brushing his teeth, but has since resumed fighting us every night when it's time to brush his teeth.
• He has figured out how to unlock the sliding glass door, but thankfully hasn't started opening it.
• He will put on grandma's yellow slip-on shoes when he wants to go outside.  (He noticed that I'd slip them on when we went outside and now thinks that putting them on = going outside)
• He doesn't really say much even if we ask him, unless we bribe him with Sesame Street/fruit snacks/candy
• He has started wanting to hold our hand when we put him down for bed and will stick his hand through the crib slats if we don't stick our hand in.

The poor guy had a fever all of Christmas day and wasn't really interested in ANYTHING (except for his light-up CAT trucks, but even that was halfhearted).  We took him in the next day and he had a nasty ear infection.  After a round of antibiotics and at his checkup 3 weeks later, it was still infected, so he just finished up another round of antibiotics.  Hopefully that'll clear his ear up.  He's currently had a little bit of a cold (stuffy nose + cough) and has had a fever off and on, so I hope he gets feeling better soon!  There's nothing worse than seeing someone you care about feeling miserable and not being able to do anything about it!

 I love that if you look closely, it looks like he's got a little goatee going on; he'd been eating black beans lol.

 Reading to himself

 With daddy

 Cheesing for the camera

Wearing Grandma's yellow shoes

Daddy reading a book for Emmett.  I stopped the tape right before Emmett really got into it and was laughing.  Oops!

18 months

Well, Emmett is now nursery-official.  It is super nice (although he's technically been going for a month or two now...definitely a perk of being in nursery myself!)

His stats
Weight: 29 lbs, 1 oz (86%)
Height: 34.25 inches (94%)
Head circumference: 48.5 cm (71%)

He is definitely growing up; with his latest haircut he definitely looks like a little boy.  He's not a baby any longer.  It's a little sad.  But he is in SUCH a fun stage right now--I'm enjoying it!  I think he got my long torso and short legs...poor thing.  Whenever he wears 2T pants they have to be rolled up an inch or two ;)

This month:

• he combined the signs for "more" and "please" on his own (only a couple times, but still)
• he blows on hot food
• he signs "help"
• he gives hugs on his own
• he signs "more" with fists instead of open hands (closer to how it's supposed to be signed)
• he signs "drink" more correctly 
• he loves playing with magnets on the fridge
• he has learned how to play with the shape sorting ball (he can pick a shape and turn the ball to find which slot it fits in to on his own)
• he has learned how to walk up the stairs while holding to the wall
• he LOVES the ranch veggie straw chips
• he LOVES his booster seat--we took it on our trip to Utah and he would pick it up and carry it to where he wanted to sit and then sit in it.
• he loves playing with blocks
• he LOVES macaroni & cheese--when we stopped at Applebee's he ate 1/2 to 1/3 of his kids' entree!
• he is SUCH a good traveler! He amazes me with how well he manages the long drive to/from Utah.
• he turned the doorknob to open the door (thankfully he's only managed to open the door once...but I know it's not far off now!)
• he makes barking noises when the dog is barking
• he saw a reindeer toy and barked because he thought it was a toy dog
• he learned how to take the tray off his high chair and will immediately take it off and throw it to the ground when he is done (which drives me crazy because it also means he chucks any and all food that was on the tray to the ground as well)
• he is becoming quite a little helper!  He loves to throw his diapers in the trash after we change him and will help us pick up his toys when we ask him to.  He's even pretty good about picking up one type of toy (blocks, play food, etc) at a time and putting them all away before we move on to the next type.  I'm pretty impressed!
• he still isn't saying much verbally--it's just "mama", "dada/da", and "gone."  Hopefully he'll start to verbalize more words somewhat soon.

I'm still not QUITE sure how he'll handle having a little sister because he loves being the center of attention and gets upset if he wants our attention and we're not giving it to him.  However, I'm a little encouraged because there's a couple in our ward that have twin baby boys and at the ward Christmas party Emmett got all excited when I asked if he wanted to go see the baby.  And he did REALLY well with them; he would point at their body parts (and not actually poke their eyes when pointing there) and did really well being 'soft' when patting their heads.  I know it could be different when he's stuck with one all the time, but it reassures me a little, anyway.

And now for the pictures!

 Wearing Grandma's crocs

Snuggling with Daddy, watching Sesame Street

 

 Smiling for the camera!

Playing with his magnets

22 weeks

Baby girl and I are doing great.  I had an appointment on Thursday (the 15th) and her heartbeat was at 124.  She has been super active!  Most times when I'm laying down she'll start punching and kicking all over.  It's so much fun.  I think that's my favorite part of pregnancy (although hopefully she won't stretch out for minutes at a time like her brother did!)  I've recently started to break out again. =(  But for now at least it's not as bad as it was when I was pregnant with Emmett!

I have to take the glucose test in 2 weeks.  I'm really dreading it.  I don't want to have to deal with gestational diabetes again, but I'm kind of preparing myself for the worst.  At least it won't be until after Thanksgiving, so I can indulge in ignorance!  ;)  Really though, I am trying to be careful with what kinds of food I'm eating (although why is it that when I'm pregnant I always crave chocolate a TON more than when I'm not?!?) so I can keep my weight gain under control.  I've gained 7 or 8 pounds so far, and my doctor is okay with that.

I've been having quite a bit of round ligament pain this time around (at least, that's what I think it is).  It's annoying, but at least it's not debilitating.

It's amazing how much you take modern medicine for granted until you can't take things like cold medicine anymore...hopefully this sickness clears up before we head down to Utah for Thanksgiving.

I get to have another ultrasound in 6 weeks, and I'm looking forward to it. =)

This picture was taken about 2 weeks ago, when I was 20 weeks along.