She loves him

She loves him. 

Fast forward two plus years and I'm sure all I'll be doing is playing referee and bribing for cooperative behavior. Now fast forward twenty years though and I hope they both share this same caring look to each other. I hope they admire each other. I hope they support each other. I hope they share inside jokes and talk about how mom worries too much. I hope they share broken hearts and laughs all the same. I hope they treasure this bond they are already starting to build. 

I hope she always looks up to her brother. I hope he never looks down on her. I hope she always goes to him and he listens better than he does now. I hope he continues to care for her, and teaches her to care for others. 

I hope he sees that longing to join that she has in her eyes, and continues to let her in. 

Emerson Marie - 6 months

Little lady has half of a year under her belt! 

This month finally brought on a good growth spurt, look at those thighs!

New discoveries:

She is holding her own bottle! The first work morning she did it I was on cloud nine with my extra minutes to get ready. She chugs for a bit and then loves to play with it, usually while splashing milk in her face. She does a better job than Jackson did about keeping it with her (or at least not screaming when it falls).

She is a food lover (hence the new chub)! She has successfully had bananas, pears, squash, sweet potato, peas, green beans, apples, and cereal. 

She is sleeping the night in her own bed (well at least till J starts to stir).

She was finally big enough to prop up in an exersaucer at school.

Emerson is also finally off her reflux medicine and we are so happy to have that all behind us. 

 Emerson started wearing a Docband helmet this month to correct some flattening of her head. More on that in another blog post. She overall doesn't mind it and I am happy to say we are almost half way done too. She gets breaks from it and has now started to just rub her head. It is so neat to see her overall more independent. 

 She LOVES her toes and knows the second she has bare feet to grab and bring to her mouth. 

She thinks her brother doing jumps or throwing a ball is hilarious.

She is much quicker to giggle and is usually ticklish around her neck. 

 Her eyes are this mystifying grey, navy, green. They are deep and pretty and oh so big!

Emerson Marie, you are such a sweet joy to our lives. I absolutely love seeing your personality develop and your beauty grow, both inside and out. You melt my heart with your tiny attempts at a hug and your wonderment of your brother. 

It's been a fast and wonderful half a year and I can't wait to see what the next half brings!

i like the way you roll

"i like the way you roll"

 your friend, Jackson

He is so excited for his Valentine's party at school. He loves to give (and receive) gifts so I can't wait to see how he does handing these cute cards out to all his friends.

So many allergies and choking hazards with edible gifts that I wanted to come up something fitting for a boy and fun for others to get.

I made the card, printed them, and then used scrapbook double sided tape to put them on cardstock. The car is then stuck on with a double sided thick scrapbook dot.

Jackson thought they turned out pretty neat! 

This car is not meant for wee little ones, but is perfect for 2-3 year olds. Jackson has played with these cars before and we  haven't had any issues but supervision with your child is always recommended.

blank Valentine

Valentine card inspiration from here.

Happy Valentines Day!



Valentines Date Night

My little man and I went out for a Valentines Day date!

To be honest he was a little confused by the whole idea of going out to a dinner with just Mommy...but after shaking the post nap blues he had (we had) a great time!

I took him to somewhere he had never been before but was very kid friendly. He kept looking around and saying "Ive never been here before."

He greeted the waitress and sat at his own side of the booth. He looked through the menu and ordered...almost everything...twice. 

He fidgeted in his seat, trying stand up to look out the window. All his chocolate milk was gone before the food arrived. And he was very concerned about the crayons and coloring sheet they gave him. 

He talked about his day, asked for more milk, complained he didn't get chicken and ate the fries off my plate.

He pouted a bit for crazy random reasons but always bounced right back to actually eat all his broccoli (and liked it).

He smiled...practically the whole time.

DIY Kissing Booth

Looking for a fun prop for a Valentines photo? 

This was easy to make and turned out so cute! 

Materials:

 2 wooden crates (18" long, 12" wide and 9.5" deep) 

2 basswood rods

2 basswood flat sheets

white paint

chalkboard paint

ribbon

canvas hearts

red paint

6 small nails

I painted all the pieces separately and then assembled when all dry. I nailed the tall rods to the top crate and then the flat sheets to the top of the rod. I kept the crates separate for move easy and then I plan to reuse them in Emerson's room for storage. 

The top sign was a bit flimsy but it was never knocked over so it worked! The ribbon of hearts is now hanging on display in our family room. I wish I would have painted both sides of the hearts now that I am using it again.

The last thing you need are two cute toddlers and a strawberry shake!

To see more of the photos go here.

This project was fun and the photos turned out awesome! 

This post was first seen on Little Quacklings.

3-6 Month Favorites

Its hard to believe Emerson will be 6 months soon! I wanted to pull together a list of things that have been consistently used and loved, some have really stuck around but in different ways. 

1. Strawberry teether // The thin stem makes for the perfect grip for tiny hands and the leave stand has different textures on each leaf that easily find her mouth.

2.  Wrist rattles // I have actually hardly ever used them on her wrists. The fasten great to play mats, car seat handles, teethers, her Wubanub, you name it. She has always been fascinated with them. 

3.  Lamaze Doll // 

4. Wubanub // She is able to hold on to this much better...now she needs to start finding it at night!

5. Snowsuit // The early mornings can be really cold. So when we are off for the short trip in a cold car to school this has been helpful! She looks so cozy in it!

6. Pink & gold pacifier clip // I absolutely love this pacifier clip! It is a great length and gorgeous colors!

7.  Knotted headbands // These have fit so well because of their thin, soft fabric. I would buy up every color if I could.

This post was seen first on Little Quacklings.

Kisses, 25 cents!

Jackson and Sophia sitting in a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G...

Well there may not have been any kisses but there sure were adorable glances, sweet looks, and genuine happiness from this toddler "couple." 

My friend and I took the snowy weekend to take some Valentine's Day shots of our kiddos. It was so much fun and I am a tiny bit obsessed with how they turned out. Be ready for photo overload here, sorry but I could hardly handle this cuteness!

The kissing booth was made by me: two wooden crates, wooden rods and two flat boards, chalk board paint, white paint, and burlap hearts painted red strung with ribbon. I had a lot of fun making this (I may have got a little too excited). The photos were also taken by me (so happy to be learning more) with a little help from the photographer that did Em's newborn and three month shots.

Hope you all have a LOVEly February!