Ever since daddy bought the girls their Jammin' Jeep, we have had a little trouble with Emily learning how to keep her foot on the accelerator. The Jeep is recomended for children ages 3-6 so it's understandable that she doesn't understand that she has to have constant pressure on the accelerator to keep going. She also has a little trouble steering as she always wants to hold on to the "window shield" bar. Avery is starting to like the ride, at first she was a little scared, but once she's buckled in she has fun riding with her big sister. This past weekend Emily started to pick on the idea of constant foot pressure and her Aunt Alyssa filmed a small video of her finally riding by herself. Of course, at the end you'll hear a little excitement from Auntie because Emily was headed straight for the garden. I don't think she would have loved a car crash.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Mother's Day 2011
I am so blessed and happy to be the mother of two wonderful little girls. This past Mother's Day my mom took my babies to San Antonio so I could get the weekend to clean house, relax and also cook a Mother's Day lunch for our fantastic mothers. Everything turned out great and we all had a wonderful Mother's Day. Thank you Ama and Nonna for all the wonderful things that you do for our family...you are the strength and the light that keeps our families going strong and filled with love.
 |
| Avery in San Antonio all dressed up. |
 |
| Shoe shopping in San Antonio |
 |
| Emily playing on the slide |
 |
| Emily in her Jeep |
 |
| Mommy and Avery |
 |
| Mommy and Emily |
 |
| Mommy and her babies |
 |
| My first Mother's Day gift from Emily made at school |
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Happy Easter 2011
This Easter was wonderful and it was exciting to see all of our family from near and far and enjoy all the celebrations. Emily is at the age now where she could Easter egg hunt so we had three that she participated in this year. She learned really quickly to pick up the colorful eggs and place them in the basket, and she also learned how to open the eggs. After one or two opened eggs to realized that there were goodies inside that she liked to eat, especially chocolate. She kept signing for more and more chocolate. Avery and Emily got some wonderful baskets from Ama and Apa with nice presents inside and some really great outfits from their Nonna and Papaw. Mommies camera was down but I did get some nice shots of the brand new Jeep riding toy that daddy bought for his girls. Emily was so excited about her new toy but she is still trying to figure it out. She loves riding in it but doesn't understand how to keep her foot on the accelerator to go at a constant. She'll grow into it really soon and I'm sure Avery will love to ride with her big sister. Here's hoping Avery won't want one for herself anytime soon.
 |
| Daddy put the girls brand new Jeep together |
 |
| Daddy helps Emily in her new Jeep |
 |
| Emily helps Avery to her seat |
 |
| Checking out the controls |
Emily at 19 Months Old
Emily Mae is a bright, shining light and is ever so smart. It is amazing at how much she observes and then mimics what she has seen. This new found love for watching people is great for learning but it can also be rather tumultuous at times when bad behavior is observed. One "bad" learned behavior she picked up on at school is wrestling. Emily loves to push people down and then jump on them. Wrestling is fine with mommy and daddy but when it's done with smaller kids at school or with baby sister it can be a bad thing. Avery does not like to be pushed down by her big sister.
Another behavior we are trying to help rid of is biting. At first we thought Emily was biting because of teething issues or trouble showing emotions. Lately she has become increasingly unpredictable when it comes to biting. Sometimes she will bite when another child takes a toy or when there is peace within the group. Her teacher has to watch her closer now so she doesn't get sent home for another biting incident. After three bites in a day mommy or daddy has to pick up their child. I'm hoping it gets better as she is getting older and will eventually grow out of the habit.
Emily still loves to put things together and take them apart. She will watch how someone closes a bottle or snap a conenctor and then will try it herself, most of the time with success. Then she will ask to do it again and again. Even at school she will strap herself in her seat. Emily is a fast learner. Speech is getting better and better. Emily's vocabulary is still growing and she is still using her sign language. Now she is using the vocabulary she has and pairing it with gibberish. This is her way of starting sentence formation and trying to better communicate through words. It sounds so funny and you can't help but laugh. It's a little daunting at times trying to figure out what she wants or is trying to show us but with a little patience we eventually understand.
Tantrums are in our midst but I must say, compared to other children I've seen, Emily's tantrums are mild. When she doesn't get what she wants she calmly lays on the floor and stares at you. I let her have her tantrum and then try and redirect her to something else to take her focus off of what she isn't getting. This tactic works really well right now and I'm hoping it keeps working for us in the future. As far as mommy is concerned, Emily is a wonderful child and is such a joy to be around. We lover her more and more each day and can't wait for her to show us all the new things she's learned.
Another behavior we are trying to help rid of is biting. At first we thought Emily was biting because of teething issues or trouble showing emotions. Lately she has become increasingly unpredictable when it comes to biting. Sometimes she will bite when another child takes a toy or when there is peace within the group. Her teacher has to watch her closer now so she doesn't get sent home for another biting incident. After three bites in a day mommy or daddy has to pick up their child. I'm hoping it gets better as she is getting older and will eventually grow out of the habit.
Emily still loves to put things together and take them apart. She will watch how someone closes a bottle or snap a conenctor and then will try it herself, most of the time with success. Then she will ask to do it again and again. Even at school she will strap herself in her seat. Emily is a fast learner. Speech is getting better and better. Emily's vocabulary is still growing and she is still using her sign language. Now she is using the vocabulary she has and pairing it with gibberish. This is her way of starting sentence formation and trying to better communicate through words. It sounds so funny and you can't help but laugh. It's a little daunting at times trying to figure out what she wants or is trying to show us but with a little patience we eventually understand.
Tantrums are in our midst but I must say, compared to other children I've seen, Emily's tantrums are mild. When she doesn't get what she wants she calmly lays on the floor and stares at you. I let her have her tantrum and then try and redirect her to something else to take her focus off of what she isn't getting. This tactic works really well right now and I'm hoping it keeps working for us in the future. As far as mommy is concerned, Emily is a wonderful child and is such a joy to be around. We lover her more and more each day and can't wait for her to show us all the new things she's learned.
 |
| Drinking from the water hose |
 |
| Cool shades...ready for a day at the park. |
Avery at 8 Months Old
Avery is at the point in her life now where she is starting to learn how to crawl. She gets a little frustrated when she is on her belly because she can only go backwards but she is such a determined baby. She can now go from a sit down position to a crawl position by leaning forward, which she usually down when something she sees something she wants. When an object is in front of her she will try with all her might to grab the object. It may take her a while, but by golly she is going to get at it. We have to watch her all the time otherwise she is grabbing at everything and anything that is near her. It is amazing at what those tiny little hands will catch and grab. I especially have to watch Emily, since we are trying to teach her how to share, sometimes she will give Avery some small crackers or fruit snacks that can be a choking hazard.
Avery now has two bottom teeth and will soon be getting her top two front teeth. Her eating habits are changing and she is trying new solid foods while still eating her soft baby food. The other day we started giving her yogurt bites which she likes, but she what she really likes are baby cookies, but they make me nervous because she can bite them into pieces. So I got her baby rice cakes instead.
A milestone we are getting close to are the words "mama" and "dada". As of yet, Avery has only said gagaga and other baby sounds, but I know any day now she will be saying mama or dada. Just the other day she said nana so I am hoping to hear her say mama really soon. She is so funny when it comes to her babbling. Sometimes she will look at Emily and then babble something as if trying to start a conversation. Emily will just look at her and then start to laugh which then gets Avery laughing. I think Avery knows how to get Emily going, she is so smart.
Allergies are finally under control but I'm not convinced they are completely gone. After a bad cough for three or four months, her doctor finally gave her some antibiotics which seemed to have helped. Other than the occassional sneeze or cough she doesn't have any congestion and sounds clear. Being able to breathe better also means she is sleeping better. Avery can now sleep all night long and only wake up in the morning for her bottle. She usually goes to bed by 8pm and is up between 5 and 7am for her morning bottle. This makes mommy and daddy very happy.
Avery now has two bottom teeth and will soon be getting her top two front teeth. Her eating habits are changing and she is trying new solid foods while still eating her soft baby food. The other day we started giving her yogurt bites which she likes, but she what she really likes are baby cookies, but they make me nervous because she can bite them into pieces. So I got her baby rice cakes instead.
A milestone we are getting close to are the words "mama" and "dada". As of yet, Avery has only said gagaga and other baby sounds, but I know any day now she will be saying mama or dada. Just the other day she said nana so I am hoping to hear her say mama really soon. She is so funny when it comes to her babbling. Sometimes she will look at Emily and then babble something as if trying to start a conversation. Emily will just look at her and then start to laugh which then gets Avery laughing. I think Avery knows how to get Emily going, she is so smart.
Allergies are finally under control but I'm not convinced they are completely gone. After a bad cough for three or four months, her doctor finally gave her some antibiotics which seemed to have helped. Other than the occassional sneeze or cough she doesn't have any congestion and sounds clear. Being able to breathe better also means she is sleeping better. Avery can now sleep all night long and only wake up in the morning for her bottle. She usually goes to bed by 8pm and is up between 5 and 7am for her morning bottle. This makes mommy and daddy very happy.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Two in a Tub
It's easier on mom to take both girls a bath together instead of separately, it saves time and water. Avery is great at sitting up on solid surfaces but she isn't ready to sit in a tub on her own yet. She tends to flail her arms arounds which causes her to lose balance and slip everywhere so I still keep her in her baby tub while Emily sits in the tub in front of her. They love to take baths together because they make each other laugh, but I still have to watch carefully as one day Emily tried to flip little sisters tub over with her still in it. Not funny! I know the warning label says not to fill the baby tub in the adult bath but it works for us and we leave the drain open so the tub doesn't float. I am always in the same room with girls and sitting next to them, with the exception of these photos which I stood up to take. Bath time is right before bedtime so the girls look a little tired.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)