My Little Buddy is 8 Months Old!

I can hardly believe that last week, January 22nd, my little buddy turned 8 months old! Wow! How time flies! Edan is doing lots of new things this month! He is mostly down to two naps a day, the first nap at 9:30 and the second at 2:00. He is on the 8, 12, 4, and depending how long the second nap is(sometimes he is in bed for the night between 6-6:30)7:oo feeding schedule. He absolutely LOVES his bottle and has been drinking 32 ounces of milk daily for the past few weeks. My little buddy still despises peas, but loves green beans and carrots. He gets oatmeal and 1 jar fruit in the a.m., 1 jar of green veggies and 1/2 jar fruit at the 12 p.m. feeding, and 1 jar orange veggies, 1/2 jar fruit mixed with oatmeal for the 4p.m. feeding, and a bottle right before bed. He is still on Prevacid for his reflux and does really well chewing up his pill. Here are some new things he has learned to do since last month:

1. Drink from a sippy cup

2. Using his pincher grasp to pick up puffs










3. No longer requires to be swaddled for sleep time, but uses a "favorite blankie" and a paci
4. Claps his hands together










5. He has tried peanut butter and loves it! Emma thought it was a great idea to give him a taste of her peanut butter sucker(that is what we call peanut butter on a spoon). I was so panic stricken I didn't get a pic, I was too busy wiping the pb out of his mouth with a wet paper towel. I now know that Edan will be a peanut butter lover just like Eli and Emma!

6. Getting more mobile and reaching for toys








7. Trys to sit up from a tummy position 8. Loves hand toys and things he can bang together! 9. A new friend for bathtime 10. I don't see any teeth yet, but our little buddy has a beautiful smile and a delightful personality! I love you, Edan Brian!

Happy Birthday Eli and Emma...Happy Birthday to you!

We celebrated Eli and Emma's birthday this past Sunday at our house. We had some of our family and friends over to celebrate Eli's 8th and Emma's 6th birthday! We had the party at 4 so I just made three different dips and everyone's favorite, Chicken Wing Chicken! Sarah August made their delicious cake!

Emma greeted the guests at the door: Here she is with her Aunt Leanne, her bff Lily, and her Papaw:

While waiting on all our guests to arrive, Eli showed everyone his Christmas gift from Santa, the Wii!: The favorite game of the night was Mario Kart! Lilyana, Rebekah, Lindsey, and Bradley enjoyed the fun:!

Finally, everyone was here and it was time to sing, eat, and cut the cake! Eli and Emma love being sung to!:

After everyone had eaten, it was time to open presents! Eli got lots of great things! Some money, gift cards, a calendar, and some clothes!:

Emma's newest addiction is Junie B. Jones books, so her best friend Lily got her a new book entitled, Junie B. Jones is a Beauty Shop Guy, and also a Junie B. journal. Emma was shaking she was so excited. This is her opening her journal!:

When Lily had to leave Emma gave her a great big hug for such a special present!:Thank you, everyone, for coming to celebrate Eli and Emma's birthday!:

It's a Razzle Dazzle Day, It's Emma's Birthday!

Today, January 6, is Emma's 6th Birthday! This morning on her first day back at school she was so excited she was shaking! We have been counting down the days to her birthday ever since Christmas! She loves days that are all about her! We love you Emma Grace and we hope your birthday is as special as you are to us! Happy 6th Birthday!

Emma's "Special Present"

Well, Santa had come and gone at our house, the kids opened their presents, and it was time for one more Christmas stop, Papaw and Mamaw's house! We go there on Christmas morning for another breakfast and to open gifts with Lindsey, Bradley, Laura, and the girls. I have to give you a little background info first before I get to the main part of the story. Back in early December we were having some behavior issues with Emma and I discussed them with mom so she made up this story and told it to Emma.

Santa: Ma'am with the red sweater on...

Mom: Who me?

Santa: Yes, do you have a granddaughter named Emma?

Mom: Yes

Santa: Did she read an entire book to her whole Kindergarten class?

Mom: Yes

Santa: Was she the Super Kid last week?

Mom: Yes

Santa: Was she on the naughty list for not obeying her Daddy and Mommy a few weeks ago?

Mom: Yes

Santa: Well, you tell Emma that I am proud of her for doing so well at school and if she will keep up her good behavior at home and at school I will take her off the naughty list and bring her a special present.

Ok, so this was the story. Mom told this story to Emma and she told everyone! Even when I took her to the pediatrician, Emma told her! All of you know Emma, the socialite, she is not shy! And, she did, her behavior was great after Mom told her this story! So anyway, back to Christmas morning at Moms. We are about done with opening gifts and mom says, "Oh, Emma, there is one last gift and it says To Emma From Santa on it!" Well, Emma is smiling and giggling, and starts unwrapping the gift. Inside the gift there is a letter and it says,

Dear Emma,

You have been a very good girl since I talked to your Mamaw at the Mall. I have left your "special present" at your Mamaw's house since you love to do this there.

Love,

Santa

P.S. See you next year and keep up your good behavior!

Here is Mom reading what Santa's letter said.:

At one point, and I wish I would have gotten this on camera, Emma put her hands up over her mouth and started screaming! This is her opening her "special present!":

It is a Paula Deen Kid's Cookbook! Oh my goodness, Emma was beside herself! This is what she does when she goes to her Mamaw's house, she takes out all of her recipe books and looks at them for hours! Maybe she will be a chef when she grows up! Thank you, Mamaw, for making Emma's Christmas so special!

The Sweetest Gift

I bet you girls didn't know my husband was a poet. Well, neither did I! After Eli, Emma, and Edan got through opening presents on Christmas morning, Brent said there was one last present under the tree in an envelope with my name on it. I opened it up and this is what it said:

Merry Christmas to the woman I love,
We have been so blessed this year from our God above.
He gave us a third child, a layoff, and a new job that's sweet!
It allows me to work four 10's off Fridays now that can't be beat!

So this is my special present to you from me,
Don't get your hopes up, it's not a Honda Odyssey!
This gift takes muscle, a paint brush, and probably a broom
We are finally going to make over the bonus room!

It may take some time so don't be in a hurry.
I will have to work real hard to make us some money!
Pick out the colors, the couch, and the floor,
the TV, the lamps, and all the decor.

It will be great to have a room the whole family can be,
and laugh all night at the kids playing the Wii.
I hope you like your gift to you from me,
Maybe one day I can buy you that Honda Odyssey!

Merry Christmas

I love you,
Brent

Is this not the sweetest thing you have ever read? This meant more to me that any gift he could go out and buy! You can imagine by the end of the poem I had tears running down my face! I have such a sweet husband who is so caring and thoughtful! This is what the poem looked like.:

Christmas Morning

I was sure that on Christmas morning, we would be up early, but oddly enough Edan was up first! We had to wake Eli and Emma up at 7:30! I told them I was going to downstairs to see if Santa had been here and indeed, he came to our house! This is them waiting patiently while I took a quick peek at Santa's trail:While they were sitting on the steps, I told them"Santa's Been Here!" This is Eli and Emma's first reaction to what they saw!:

Here is Eli checking out what Santa left for him!:

A Wii! How fun! Santa pulled through on one of the three gaming systems Eli had on his Christmas list! Next, was...

New Bakugan Battle Brawlers! Santa also brought Eli a new Star Wars book and a case for his Nintendo DS. Eli's stocking consisted of a Wall-E electric toothbrush and Star Wars underwear. Emma was thrilled when she saw what Santa left for her!:

Santa left Emma some of her favorite things! Books(Fancy Nancy and Junie B. Jones) and a wheel of crayons and markers! Emma's stocking consisted of a Hello Kitty electric toothbrush and some High School Musical panties! She was beyond excited! Edan was suprised to see his new toys!:

Santa left him a cute Tugboat bath toy and a Dunk and Cheer Basketball Goal! He loves it! When he pushes the rim down it plays music! Santa also left Edan some sippy cups and new paci's in his stocking. At Amherst Elementary they do a Holiday shop for the children. Eli and Emma both "shopped" and got each other something: Eli got Emma a pen that said #1 Sister on it! She loved it and gave Eli a big hug. She says this was her favorite Christmas present!:I didn't get a picture of the Speed Racer Ball that Emma got for Eli. They were both so thoughtful in picking out their gifts for one another! Eli also got Brent a #1 Dad trophy from the shop. This was a wonderful Christmas with our three children. Thank you, Lord for all your blessings in 2008!

Santa's Comin'!

After visiting three different places on Christmas Eve, we were finally back home to get ready for Santa! Edan was terribly tired so he didn't participate in the cookies and reindeer food. Eli and Emma made some cookies at the pajama party and they each picked a cookie for Santa. Here they are taking the cookies to the fireplace.:Eli wanted to make sure the cookies were just right on the plate.:

After getting two cookies arranged perfectly on the plate they were ready to set it beside the fireplace.:

Ok, so now we were ready for the magic reindeer food that we made at Eli's Christmas party at school. At this point, they were just getting so silly and excited! Here is Eli almost delirious with excitement!:

Before we went outside to sprinke the reindeer food, they jumped up in Brent's lap, they thought they heard bells outside!:

After Brent and I convinced Eli and Emma that it wasn't Santa they were ok to go outside and sprinkle the food.:

So, finally the cookies were all in place, the reindeer could find our "sparkly" front yard, and it was time to get Eli and Emma to go to sleep! Now, this could be a little difficult. They started out in their own beds, but after a while Eli got into Emma's bed! He wanted to sleep with her! How sweet! Brent and I decided to go ahead and let them sleep together. Here they are in Emma's twin size bed!:

I loved seeing them this way! After a while they stopped whispering and finally drifted off to sleep. It was going on 11:30! When I didn't hear them anymore, I went back in to their bedroom and they had all the blankets and covers over their head! Eli and Emma were nestled all snug in their bed while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads!