Emerson's 9 Month Update!

I’ve thought about writing this update a million times, but just haven’t found the time to actually sit down and write it. Life has been busy lately as summer has hit and traveling has been in full swing. Sadly, Emerson is now closer to 10 months old than 9….time just never slows down! I was just telling Josh that this year has truly been the quickest of my life. This month marks 1 year since we've moved to Lizella and it just doesn't seem possible. Emerson is truly turning into a “toddler”, as opposed to, an infant right in front of my eyes. She has made so much progress with so many things and this month has been a blast watching her grow and learn. It blows my mind to think that in a little over 2 months, I will have two toddlers. How in the world?! I’m cherishing each moment with our sweet girl and loving each month that passes more and more!

Height and Weight: This month Emerson had her 9 month check-up, so we were finally able to see how her height and weight had progressed over the past 3 months. Emerson now weighs 16 lbs. 11 oz. and is 26.5 inches tall. She is in the 30^th percentile for both height and weight, so that was encouraging to see. She's gained almost 3 lbs. and grown 2 inches in the past 3 months. A few days after this, Emerson got her first ear infection. I could tell she wasn’t feeling well, but since we had just been to the doctor the day before I thought it may just be viral. Unfortunately, she woke up miserable the next morning and turns out it was a double ear infection. Thankfully, our doctor is open 7 days a week, so we had no problem getting her checked and getting the medicine she needed quickly even though it was a Saturday afternoon.

Eating: Overall, Emerson is an excellent eater! I am so thankful after having a picky eater the first time around. It’s really nice to have a kid who will eat just about anything (for now). There are days where she doesn’t want to eat as much, but she still eats a decent amount of solids each day. Emerson will shake her head back and forth to tell us “no” when she doesn’t want any more food. It’s actually kind of nice, as opposed to, her getting upset about it. Emerson still loves bread (loves sharing a peanut butter sandwich with Grayson) and also any type of soft and cooked veggies (lately she has loved cooked squash and peppers). She also loves beans, cheese, and meats (BBQ, taco, hot dog). She still likes grapes and blueberries and is back to eating chopped up pieces of banana. Today, she ate a piece of pizza (deconstructed). At this point, the only “puree” I feed her is yogurt. She hasn’t been as into eating puffs and yogurt bites lately. She does better with regular food. She eats what we eat just in smaller pieces and loves it! She likes to eat what mommy, daddy, and Grayson have….she wants to be just like the group! Emerson does okay with feeding herself, but at this point, I still feed her most everything myself. I try to give her opportunities to “self-feed”, but don’t do it too often…mostly because she isn’t great at it! Ha. Emerson is breastfeeding less and less. She breastfeeds every 4-5 hours and can go longer if needed. This is so bittersweet for me. For over 3 years now, I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding. There is a part of me that is ready for a break, but I also love breastfeeding my babies and feel very grateful that I've been able to do so for so long. I plan on weaning her at 12 months, but I know a part of me will miss it. Emerson has started biting at times during her feedings, so I won’t miss that! She has started drinking out of a sippy cup. She doesn’t fully understand it, but she is slowly getting the hang of it. Emerson loves stealing Grayson’s sippy cups and gets giddy with excitement each time she gets to hold one!

Sleep: Sleep has been okay this month. Emerson is all over the board. Sometimes she will sleep longer stretches at night (she slept 10 hours straight once this month!), but usually she wakes up once a night. And lately, it’s even been twice a night. She is pretty consistent about waking up once a night though and the time varies. Everything is the same, as far as, her sleep schedule goes. She is still napping twice a day and going to bed/waking up for the day around the same times. (8:30-9pm – 8-8:30am) She doesn't nap well if we aren't at home and just doesn't take super long naps in general. We have been out of town twice in the past two weeks and nights have been really rough for her. She goes to sleep fine in the pack ‘n’ play, but wakes up throughout the night. She did take some good naps while we were out of town from lack of sleep at night. At this point, I’ve gone almost 10 months without sleeping through the night, so I do get very tired sometimes. It’s discouraging for me to still have a baby that doesn’t sleep through the night (I always feel like I must be doing something wrong!), but I know that one day she will. Hopefully! Emerson has also been wanting us to rock her to sleep this month. She used to be better at putting herself to sleep, but this month, she has really wanted us to rock her to sleep each night and sometimes for naps. Sometimes it’s frustrating, but it’s also super sweet! She especially loves when daddy rocks her to bed. 

Clothes: Emerson is in a size 3 diaper, but she’s about to move up to a size 4. She is also in some 6-9 month clothing and some 9-12 month clothing. She is somewhat petite for her age, but the bigger clothes aren’t so big on her anymore and she can wear most of them!

Mood: Emerson’s personality is coming through more and more as time goes on and it’s so fun to see it develop! She has always been very laid back and happy with that little bit of fire and sass and that’s how I would continue to describe her! Overall, she is a very happy baby, always smiling and laughing at everyone. If for some reason she isn’t happy about something, she is becoming more vocal about letting you know that. She has also learned to “fight back” with Grayson. When Grayson takes a toy from her or something that she is enjoying playing with, she will put up a fight and won’t let him have the toy. Or she will scream very loudly about it. She is learning to stand up for herself, that’s for sure! She shakes her head “no” at me if she doesn’t want something and gets very upset if you take something that she has away. She has been very clingy to mama this month and doesn’t always want other people to hold her. If she sees me, then she cries until I come get her. If I am out of her sight, then she is usually content being held by others. She is doing much better in the church nursery and any setting where I have to leave her for a while. Emerson is a mama’s girl, but I’m not complaining. She also loves and recognizes daddy and Grayson immediately. She lights up when they enter the room. Grayson still gets the most laughs out of her, but she is also laughing a lot more at mommy and daddy! Emerson is still very curious. She is really checking everything out and wants to hold and touch everything. She is definitely entering that "getting into everything" phase including the trash cans and the little rocks in our fireplace (she loves to stick them in her mouth and I'm constantly having to get them out). She is still super sweet and loves to cuddle. She gives the sweetest little grins all the time and says “Dada” when her daddy is holding her. Emerson is becoming more and more vocal and is talking a lot these days! Baby talk that is! She doesn't really say any real words yet except "Dada", but she loves to say "Gah Gah" and "Baba". She is also getting better about repeating the sound that you say. She loves to explore and is very content crawling around the living room putting everything in her mouth! Emerson has also started getting her feelings hurt. If I have to get on to her or "scold" her, she immediately bursts into tears! She is definitely sensitive in that way. Emerson is full of sunshine and sweetness! I love the bond we have as mother and daughter. 

Milestones: This month Emerson started CRAWLING! It was such an exciting milestone for us because Grayson skipped crawling and went straight to walking. It’s so fun to have a “crawler”, but it’s also been a game changer (and has shown me how dirty my floors are!). Having two mobile kids is a whole new world! I have to watch Emerson like a hawk because I never know where she is going to go or what she is going to get into. But it’s so fun to see her crawl everywhere and finally get to where she wants to go all on her own! She has also started pulling up to her knees constantly. She hasn’t pulled up to her feet yet, but she’s very close. We need to lower her crib! Her mobility has really changed and majorly improved this month! Emerson can also give high 5’s and play "patty cake" which is really fun! She just laughs and giggles and smiles from ear to ear while we do "patty cake" together. 

Teeth: Still 4! But she has been more grumpy lately, so I’m hoping another tooth is on its way!

Loves: Waving at anyone and everyone, clapping along to music, splashing in the bath tub or pool, making friends wherever we go, riding in the shopping cart like a big girl, still loves all of Grayson’s toys instead of her "baby" toys, putting everything in her mouth, crawling everywhere, rolling a ball back and forth, patting/smacking everything, being tickled, giving high 5's and playing "patty cake", always finding shoes and attempting to chew on them (so sanitary!), getting up on her knees to explore, being rocked to sleep, still loves being held but wanting to get down and explore more and Emerson really loves her family (mommy, daddy, and Grayson). Emerson and Grayson have started to actually "play" with each other recently and Emerson just giggles and smiles the whole time! They love to crawl together all over the house...Grayson has reverted back to being a baby! Haha. 

Doesn’t Like: Getting strapped in the car, having to sit still for diaper and outfit changes, getting licked in the face by Cedric (overall, she isn’t nearly as into Cedric as Grayson was), taking away something she is playing with, gets overwhelmed by big crowds, standing on her feet (she immediately sits down when we try to stand her up) and she will cling on to me and refuse to let go when I try to put her down if she is in the mood to be carried. 

Things I Want To Remember:

1^st Haircut (bangs) – I wouldn’t consider it her first real haircut, but Emerson had her bangs trimmed this month! She did great and didn’t even really notice what was happening. I don’t plan on a proper 1^st haircut for a while! She has a lot of really long baby hairs that she's had since birth. She never lost any of her hair and she was born with a lot. But I plan on letting it continue to grow out and then get it "shaped" when she's a little older. 

1^st Trip to the Beach – We went to Jekyll Island with Josh’s family for a few days and then went back to Jekyll Island for a few days this week for Josh’s work conference. Emerson loved the sand, but hated the ocean! She ate way too much sand for my liking, but she was not a fan of going in or near the water. She seemed a little overwhelmed at the beach with Josh’s family last week (17 people in one house). She was very clingy and more fussy. Emerson seemed happier this week at the beach with just Josh’s parents there with us. I think she may do better in smaller groups which is how I am too. Josh and Grayson are the extroverts of our family! That being said, she loves her cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents and had a lot of fun with them! Our nieces and nephews loved playing with Emerson and helping me take care of her while we were at the beach. 

                                                   

Mommy Update: Emotions have been all over the board this month in my world! Emerson is definitely my easier child right now, but having a challenging, moody, high energy and attention demanding two year old AND a mobile, breastfeeding, and more opinionated baby makes life a little more complicated. One minute we are all playing together and having a blast and the next, they are both crying and things are chaotic. Grayson and Emerson have a typical sibling relationship – they are best friends but also get irritated with each other. Grayson loves to pester Emerson, but then he gets sad when she goes away or he can’t play with her anymore. Emerson thinks Grayson is so funny, but she also cries a lot when he messes with her. She likes to smack him and pull his hair (in play) which never results in anything good. Recently, Emerson stuck her finger in Grayson’s mouth and then Grayson bit her. It was quite dramatic and pretty typical of their interactions lately. They want to be near each other all the time, but then they keep bugging each other. I’m having to adjust to dealing with their “sibling interactions” more and being a little like a referee. Grayson has started to get a little jealous of Emerson in the past month or two, so that has also been something I am learning to navigate as a mom of two. Grayson has been fighting sleep a lot lately and the tantrums have been rough, so this mama is tired! And tired mamas are emotionally mamas. Recently someone told me that they thought my kids were "always happy and always smiling and basically perfect" based on my social media posts. I couldn't help but laugh when I heard this because that is definitely not the case. I’m the first to admit that I am no expert at having two kids. We are almost 10 months in and I still feel like I struggle at times. A part of me feels embarrassed admitting that because most moms who have 2 kids appear to be rocking it and lots of other moms have more than 2 kids and are also rocking it. Two kids may not seem challenging to some, but where I am with an almost 2.5 year old and a 9 month old, it can be hard. Some days, I can get overwhelmed and discouraged and other days, I feel like things are great! I can be really, really hard on myself and think that I am not a very good mom on those challenging days. The same lessons that I learned the first year of being a mom with Grayson are lessons that I continually have to remind myself today. Don't compare yourself to other moms. Don't compare your kids to other kids. Give yourself grace. Stop being so hard on yourself! Remember that you are doing the best you can and that's all you can do. A bad moment in the day doesn't make it a bad day. Don't beat yourself up for mistakes you or your child makes. Don't let your worth as a mom depend on how your child behaves or hits certain milestones. Every child is different and each child has their own little mind and can make their own decisions. Having a 2 year old has taught me that it is my responsibility to teach my child right from wrong. They aren't going to naturally know and that's okay. It doesn't make them a bad kid. Being a mom has taught me so many things about myself and also made me question myself more than I ever have before. I will never claim to be the perfect mother, but I will always try my very hardest to be the best parent to my children. I will always pour everything I have into raising them even if I don't always see the fruit of that labor (yet). This season is amazing and wonderful and exhausting and straight up hard sometimes all wrapped up into one. Life as a mom is always busy and hectic, but like I say each month, I am trying to soak in every moment because I know I will miss these days. I share this not out of self-pity, but knowing that I'm not the only mama in these shoes. We all have those days and we are in this together!

Emerson's 8 Month Update!

Emerson is 8 months old and time continues to fly! I think it's because she's our second child, but the months just go by so quickly with her. (Probably because I am extremely distracted with another child and life is just more chaotic now.) I cannot even wrap my mind around the fact that she will turn 1 in four months...seems impossible and extremely sad! This month was a really fun one with Emerson and full of a lot of milestones! So many things clicked for her this month and that was really exciting to see. We love this girl so much and she is such a joy!

Height and Weight: Emerson seems a lot bigger these days, but I don't have any current stats on her. She will get weighed and measured at her 9 month appointment next month. Everyone laughs because she's such a petite baby with monster thighs! Both my babies have had the chunkiest thighs for whatever reason. I love seeing Emerson with all her rolls!

Eating: Emerson is eating really well! She still prefers carbs (bread, puffs, crackers, teething biscuits), but she also likes yogurt, eggs, beans, little bites of meat, pasta, yogurt bites, cheese, grapes, and most purees. I rarely feed her purees at this point, but every few days I will, just to keep her stomach from getting backed up. Emerson will eat most cooked veggies like carrots, green beans, peas, etc. She is getting a little more picky about texture and will no longer eat avocado and banana bites. Sometimes I struggle with ideas of what to feed her, but for the most part, she eats a good bit each day. Emerson is going a lot longer between milk feedings which is a big change! She goes 4-5 hours between feedings now and is much less dependent on breast milk. Breastfeeding is still going well and it's hard to believe we are coming to the "last leg" of breastfeeding together. Emerson has always been an excellent milk drinker (only from mama, this chick doesn't do bottles!) and I cherish our quality time together in that way. Emerson hasn't taken a sippy cup yet, but she loves to chew on and play with Grayson's. Emerson isn't the biggest fan of sitting in a high chair, but we try to do it as much as possible. She would rather eat on the go!

Sleeping: Sleeping has been okay. Emerson cut 2 teeth this month, so that took a toll on her sleeping. She wakes up 1-2 times a night and generally goes to bed around 8:30-9pm and wakes up for the day around 8:30am. She's had some 8 and 9 hour stretches this month, but woke up twice a night this week since her top two teeth came in. Emerson is doing really well at "putting herself to sleep" instead of me always having to nurse her to sleep for bed and naps. I can lay her in her crib when she's tired and she will fall asleep with minimal crying/whining. I tend to put her to sleep with a blanket and her doll, but I still closely monitor her with the blanket. Emerson takes 2 naps each day in the morning and afternoon. If we are out and about, her morning nap is much shorter, but if we are at home, she will take a longer morning nap. Lately, she's been taking a 2.5-3 hour afternoon or morning nap, but I think cutting teeth has just worn her out.

Passed out on the boat!

Clothes: Emerson is in a size 3 diaper and 6-9 month clothing. Of course she's small for her age, so I can stretch it and a lot of smaller sized onesies still fit her.

Mood: Emerson is still our happy and laid back girl! This month she has had quite the desire to be mobile though! She prefers to be moving now rather than sitting still. She is trying to get into more and more things and is full of curiosity. Emerson grabs at everything and anything and I have to be careful of what she's trying to get and what she puts in her mouth lately. She is extremely busy! She loves to smack at everything with her hands and is very into exploring different textures and surfaces. Emerson always has a toy or any random object that she can find in her hand ready to explore and chew on. She is a trooper most days and puts up with all the toddler drama of her older brother like a champ. She's just along for the ride and loves to people watch while we are out and about. She's such a good baby and honestly I feel like I don't give her enough attention a lot of the time because she just doesn't demand it (while her brother demands all of it). She's usually happy and goes with the flow, so there are times where I feel guilty for not spending as much time with her. Emerson definitely has more opinions as the months go on and gets especially upset if you take a toy or something away from her that she is chewing on or playing with. She wants more of Grayson's toys and doesn't take it too well if he takes something out of her hands. Emerson is constantly smiling and sticking her tongue out. She's talking and screeching (out of happiness) a lot more, but she also has her quiet moments. She's such a sweetheart and loves to be cuddled by mama. No complaints there! She's still not the biggest fan of strangers holding her and starts to cry when I leave her in the church nursery. She's very aware of when I walk away and gets upset. That's really one of the only times she cries -- when I leave her (especially with a random Easter bunny or pink puppy) or when she's cutting teeth! 

Not happy when I take something dangerous out of her mouth!

Milestones: This month Emerson started doing all sorts of new things! She now says "Dada", claps her hands, waves at people, takes regular baths with Grayson (no more baby bathtub), rolls over consistently both ways, is starting to react to hearing her name, and gets on all fours in position to crawl. Her movements and falls are much more controlled these days. She knows where she wants to go and is trying to get there!

Teeth: 4! I feel like she's been teething off and on for the past few weeks, but her nose has been runny for about a week and you could tell she was in more pain. Thankfully, Emerson cut her 2 top teeth this week back to back! 

Loves: Bath time, splashing in the water and chewing on all the bath toys, still smiles the most at Grayson and Cedric, loves being held and carried by mama and daddy, playing with musical instruments in music class, playing with all of Grayson's toys, being on a blanket outside, playing in the dirt like big brother, messing with Grayson by swatting at him and pulling his hair (kind of funny to watch!), Baby Bjorn carrier, being thrown in the air, looking at herself in the mirror, watching other kids and people in general, still our cuddle baby, swings at the park, being tickled, and riding in the shopping cart like a big girl!

Doesn't Like: The Easter Bunny, being handed off to anyone, riding the boat (except it does soothe her to sleep!), being buckled into her car seat, taking away a toy or dangerous object that she's playing with, and any diaper or outfit change.

Things I Want to Remember:

•  Emerson's First Easter -- Emerson's first Easter was really fun! We had an Easter egg hunt and got to meet the Easter Bunny at church. She was NOT a fan of the Easter bunny, but she really enjoyed getting to play with her Easter basket and the plastic eggs! Of course, I enjoyed getting to dress her up for the occasion. 

Mommy Update: Life with two young children is hectic, but fun! That's the best way I can put it. I am usually tired and some days are hard and long, but there are so many awesome moments in each day. Grayson is my constant challenge lately, but Emerson is my sweet girl who balances it all out. I love spending time with Emerson and especially love seeing the sibling interaction between Grayson and Emerson. It makes my heart melt every time! Like I already mentioned, the only big thing about this month has been guilt for not being able to give Emerson all of my attention. Luckily, even if I am not able to give her a lot of attention in that moment, I am typically holding her and loving on her in that way. I think it's just the reality of having more than one child, but it still sometimes makes me feel sad that I am not able to pay attention to her in the way I did with Grayson when he was a baby. There are still a lot of challenging moments and I've had random people and friends help me out more now than ever in the past. Sometimes both the kids are melting down at the same time and those are the really hard moments where I will gladly accept assistance. I still have to battle the picture I have in my head of perfection -- in my mind I should be the perfect mom and my kids should behave perfectly at all times. Obviously, this rarely happens, but I tend to beat myself up for the bad moments. I've trying to remind myself that it will never be perfect and that's okay. Each day is full of good moments and learning opportunities. And hey, we have all survived up until now, so really, that's a win. But overall, I feel like life is good! My plate with full with my kiddos, but I am also filled with so much joy on a daily basis. On the days I get overwhelmed, I have to remind myself that there is no where I would rather be. And that's the truth. I am constantly reminded of how quickly time is passing and how I want to cherish each moment with my babies!