February 13, 2011

Emma is Three Months!

Emma modeling an outfit the boys helped pick out. Thus the various colors and patterns :) We weren't going anywhere that day!




Three months have passed since our little Emma girl entered this world! It always saddens me a little as time goes by, and things from the past grow a little fuzzy in my memory....like Emma's pregnancy. I was thinking tonight about the way she is now, and the way she was in my womb. I can look at her personality now and think to myself "Yup, that's the way she was inside me, too!" So laid back. So "go with the flow" and such a little pounder with her fists & feet when she gets excited! I remember that she would always start bouncing & kicking around after the boys went to bed & James and I were relaxing watching a movie or whatever. I can just picture her in there acting just like she is now, with her sweet little excited eyes!
Of course I am SO glad she is here with us now....I just don't want to forget those things, and am wanting to write some memories to keep.

It's hard to believe it's already been 3 months since E's birth! In some ways it seems like she's been here forever, and in others it seems like just yesterday she was born.
Emma's personality is really changing and becoming more like a real little "person" now, instead of just a little newborn. It's amazing to think of who she is, and watch her becoming that before our very eyes.It is all happening so quickly! Every child grows up faster than the one before them! James and I are both amazed at HOW QUICKLY Emma is growing up!
I feel a different type of bond with little Emma. It's not "more" than the boys - just different. It's amazing how you can feel the difference of girl to girl.
She brings so much joy to our lives!
I love watching her & the boys together. She loves them so much, and they love her just as much! I hope they always love each other, and that she knows how blessed she is to have two wonderful protectors & friends. I want them to be close!
This little feminine, frilly, girly, pink & purple addition to our home is SO wonderful. God has been so good to us!

Things to note from Emma's month:

She LOVES her bed & mobile. When she wakes up from a nap she will often kick & stare.

Emma likes to sleep in her own bed now a lot for naps. Before she would snooze in the bouncer or wherever, but she seems to sleep better now in her bed.
When she gets tired she wants to be laid down w/ her binky and her blanket over her shoulder. She holds onto it with her arms and cuddles it into her face. Then she just goes to sleep. It's amazing!

Emma has made a little chuckle from time to time for the last several weeks, but on January 21st, 2011, Emma really and truly laughed as Patrick jumped around close to her. I had him try several different kinds of jumping, but finally we found the one way that really tickled her. She liked him jumping face to face towards her, and when he did, her enormous, adorable and sweet little grin appeared, complete with some adorable laughs! She did this over and over at Patrick (who was delighted!) and then we got Nicolas to do it too, and she laughed and laughed at him as well (he was also delighted!) They wanted nothing but to do that after-wards, and soon she got overstimulated and tired, and was soon snoozing away. She loves her brothers, and they her!

Emma has been SO verbal this month! She LOVES to talk to people, and makes such expressive faces! Her eyes get all big and light up, and she makes the cutest little looks with her lips! Little "O" faces and such. Just adorable. She usually is kicking madly and waving her arms about wildly all the while, too. When we say something, she will "talk" back to us. SO CUTE!

After her first laugh, she has just kept it up! She loves to laugh at the boys. One day we were all playing ball in the living room, rolling it back & forth, and she just giggled at it all of a sudden! That was the first time James got to hear her laugh!

The end of this month has found her just full of smiles! She loves to make eye contact, and then her whole face lights up and a huge, adorable grin breaks forth on her precious little face!

She still has the most adorable, squish-able cheeks, and people are still commenting on the wonderfulness of them! :)

We are having a hard time telling exactly what color her eyes are. The closest we can say is a dark blue, but we aren't sure.

Her eye lashes have grown a lot this month! I'm very happy to report that she too has inherited her fathers long beautiful lashes! She is just beautiful!

She has the most adorable little "mohawk" hair! :) Most of her hair has thinned or fallen out by now, but her mohawk still stands, and I encourage and love it! :)

This month I've noticed a difference in her sleep. She is becoming more aware of things around her, and not sleeping as soundly out in public, being moved about from place to place etc. But still extremely laid back, and can/does still conk out when out and about....just not for as long or as soundly.

She isn't fitting in the moby as well as she used to. I really want to get an Ergo. She is SO long, and when she's not in a cuddly position in the wrap, it feels kinda awkward. But occasionally when she scrunches up like she did as a newborn, the moby still works well.

She weighs around 15 lbs. now, according to the home scale/home scale method of weighing. She is LONG, and a bit more skinny looking at times than I'd like. She, like her brothers has a big head :) (in size I mean!) In general she is a big, healthy looking baby though, and I believe big for her age. I'm glad to see that her legs are looking more "roly" then the thin little legs she had the first couple of months. Now I just want her belly to fill out more. I think she had a growth spurt up this month.

She still has long, beautiful fingers like her Daddy.

She coos so cutely :)

She LOVES to look at her hands. (one hand in particular - her right.) She holds it up and STARES at it. James was playing with her holding up a toy and after a few times of helping her, it really did seem that she was reaching for it/holding it on her own!! Patrick & Nicolas love to bring out her toys and play with her. P is especially good/sweet at this. He puts the rattles on her hands/feet, and is so nice to her. One night E & James built a block tower together. She loves people to interact with her, and she loves to look at things.

I love to watch her sleep with her arms both back by her head. She especially does this in the mornings after I nurse her in our bed and get up. She is asleep so hard with her arms both straight up, and her beautiful little rosebud lips together, and her sweet little round head! I love to look at her beautiful little face. We are so blessed!

She is practicing the first step to rolling over this past month! She LIFTS her legs/feet up SO high, and turns over sideways. The boys LOVE this, and start doing it with her.

Nicolas still finds her so hilarious. When she cries, Nicolas of course has to to tell us, and his way is to scrunch up his face and make this loud, horrible crying sound :) with a few "Bebe! Bebe! Bebe!"'s put in there, too! so funny and frustrating at times :)

The end of this month has found a bit of a change in her daily naps. They have not been as long. Not sure if this is due to her long night sleeps (still happening, with a few little changes, but still MANY hours of mostly un-interrupted sleep!) or what, because she does seem to get VERY tired, and fall asleep eating. We'll see what happens this coming month.

Emma was slightly sick this past month for the first time. SO scary & sad. She ran a low-grade temp. for one day, plus a little the next. I was so glad when God healed her.

She has gotten more vocal about when she is sad about something, when she doesn't like being put down etc. A little whiny sound, too - especially when she was sick :( So sad.

She is a social butterfly.

Not a huge fan of tummy time. I don't do it that much, either. N finds it hilarious, too, of course.

P & N love her pretty outfits & "hats" as N calls her bows. They are often heard "awwing" over her or saying (P anyways) "Aw Emma, you look so pretty!!!" P called her "Miss Beautiful" one day :)
She is such an addition of grace & beauty and femininity to our home!

Emma had her 1st Valentine's Day, and attended our Church's valentine's banquet with us. She was the perfect, most adorable little angel in her red dress & bow! She sat happily in her car seat the entire time, just needing to be rocked back and forth a little here and there. Such a blessing!

We love you, Emma Bliss!!

February 09, 2011

Patrick Sayings & Memories of our Family


"I sure wonder if Poppi took my old tricycle that was red like this and smashed it and made a scooter...."

Patrick made a "fly trap" ie, his paper plate from lunch with some peanut butter on it & a chip. He wrote "FLY" all around the edges & said "I'm gonna write "FLY" on here, then he'll know it's for him."

"God, Thank You for my scooter. I like it a lot."

"Emma, I love you the best than ALL the sisters in the world!"

"I think spanking is an interesting thing."
Me: "Why do you think that?"
"because I wonder what would happen if you spanked blocks. hard ones."

"....and we put our eyes right close to each other to make four eyes" (I guess talking about one of his siblings & putting his face right against theirs....)

"In Heaven I wondered if people could just open their doors & thank God for their food."

He said he wants Daddy, Mama, Nicolas & Emma etc. to ALL go to Heaven at the same time.

He said sometimes in Heaven he would lay down on the floor of our house & take a nap. (upon hearing that there is no night)

I was changing E's diaper in another room while the boys were eating lunch. I heard a cough and said "Are you guys ok?" both of them responded that they were, then Patrick said "Are you girls ok?"

Singing a song together. Words in the song Nicolas can say are "Jesus" "Heart" "Me" "Day" I find it funny that right when they are singing about all they do being on "display" that Nicolas starts bothering his brother's hat ;)


He was telling me something he told his babysitters (Kathleen & Rebekah B.) and part of it was "....Mimi & Poppi, their names are really Dennis & Grandmerry"

I was explaining to Patrick how a reward system was going to work, and how when we finished it we would do it again. When I finished saying how we'd do it over & over again he said "over & over again until we get to Heaven?!!"

"Sometimes Chick-fil-a has yucky music, but I LOVE it. I'm never going to trade restaurants!"

Patrick was learning about Illinois & the Sears Tower and said "Why is it called the Serious Tower?"

We were talking about things related to picking your nose and Patrick told me: "I used to wipe them on my PJ's, but now I just throw them on the floor so you can
vacuum them."

Nicolas loves to say verses! He can say "Allll" with a hand motion, but he didn't do it here....


In the car one day Patrick said "Emma is doing this (made an up-turned face with nose high in the air & eyes fluttering shut) so she is PROUD!"

James has an owie on his leg, and Nicolas prays the most pitiful, sad sounding prayers for him. They go something like this: (with hands folded & eyes tightly squeezed shut, with a rather hushed & high pitched voice) "Daddy, Daddy, ow, ow, Ah-man" (sometimes he whispers the Amen)


"Bananas Gorilla has SIX WATCHES. Nobody needs that many watches!"

Talking about death & what happens to your body & soul: "....and your spirit goes to Heaven or hell...and your spirit is you?"

"look at that lovely green grass! I want to live in that house!"

"When I drink Juice it makes me SMILE!"

"I love my baby brother SO MUCH!"

(back from when I was preggo with Emma..) he is always watching out for me and telling me I "shouldn't do" such n such "because you're pregnant!"

Calls Nicolas "Little Fix It" & himself "Mr. Fix it"

Nicolas was wanting me to draw "woof woofs" (dogs) and pointing at the paper, Patrick said "He shows you where to make them! That's so CUTE!"

Eating a burger one day, Patrick said: "It tastes like it needs to cook a little bit more, but Thank You!"

About Emma "She looks like Poppi, Mom, with that little bit of hair!"

"Bless you Emma!"

P laid their food on a blanket and said "Camping! So we're gonna burn up our food and eat it, 'cause we're camping!"

"You just need a little love from your elephant!" P said to Emma, giving her a toy elephant of hers.

I asked who wanted to pray at lunch. Patrick said "Me!" and began praying. Of course right then Nicolas got upset that HE wanted to pray and said loudly in the middle of P's prayer "ME!!!" It was a bit humorous to see them "fighting" about praying....

We had not read this story before. He is taking off with his reading!