Memoiral Day Memories

This Memorial Day weekend was spent at Mimi and Pop's house with Auntie Meggie, Ellie, and Toddy. It was Emma's first sleep over at Mimi and Pop's withot Mommy. She had a blast, and did not really miss Mommy or Daddy.



Since it was warm all weekend, the girls played outside in the pool, running through the sprinklers, and at the water table...oh, and of course, the swings. They had a wonderful time. Ellie cheered on her younger cousin, and baby sister (as she calls her) while she was running through the sprinklers. She yelled, "Go for it Emma!" Ellie was excited for her little sister to run through the water.

Uncle Toddy and Pop even got in on the water fun.


Emma even learned how to pee standing up from her best friend and big cousin, Ellie.

Saturday night was spent at Nanny and Poppy's anniversary party. Emma and Ellie had a nice time spending the evening together and unfortunately, Jackson was not a happy camper. We came home and he went right to sleep.

On Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful family picnic with our Aunt, Uncle, and cousins from Maine. They loved the kids and Caitlin even did a great job of putting Jackson to sleep.

And after Jackson's little cat nap, he was a smiley little boy.



Even though Emma was in great spirits the entire weekend, she had a high fever all day Sunday. We called the Dr and they told us to take her to the ER. We did, and it turns out she has a double ear infection and swollen glands. She was so pittiful looking and we all felt badly for her. However, she did not complain one time...she is a trooper!

Jackson is Two Months!

Dear Jackson~

Today is your two month birthday and you are changing daily. It's hard to believe that it has been almost 9 weeks since you were born. You continue to be a joy and a blessing, and we are excited to embark on the many journeys we have ahead.



At two months you are:

• pretty good at holding your head up
• sleeping well. You usually wake around 3 (sometimes 1) and sleep until 4. Then I put you in your swing and you sleep until I get you out. (You are just like your sister. Emma would do this too.)
• are always happy after I feed you in the morning. I lay you down after you eat, burp, and spit up and you smile and talk to Emma and me.
• you smile alot!! It appears that you have dimples. Your left dimple is more prominent than your right.
• you love to babble. In the morning you babble and in the afternoon you do too. You babble mostly at your sister and me. I think you may be telling your sister she is a whack-a-do.
• you still roll over from your belly to your back.
• you do not like your car seat unless you have just eaten or are so tired that you do not need help falling asleep.
• you still love to sleep in your swing for naps.
• you love when Emma and I sing, "Toe, knee, ches, nut, nose, I, love, you."
• you weigh 11 pounds and you are 23 inches long.
  
• your sister adores you!! She always wants to be where you are and sings songs to you.
  

We love you and can't wait to see what 3 months bring.



Love,
Mommy

Circus

Today I took both kids to the circus. Emma loves animals, and I figured that she would love the circus. She was mesmerized by all the acts. She sat in the seat by herself until intermission. Jackson and I sat next to her. He ate while she watched, and although I didn't get a picture, he enjoyed some of the show too.

She was clapping for all the acts, and enjoyed the Tigers the most.

At intermission we decided to have some popcorn and lemonade. As you can see, she wanted to hold the popcorn and ate it until she couldn't reach it with her hand.

We had a great time. Both kids were wonderful and I can't wait to take them again next year.

New friends

Emma started the day off by making doughnuts, I just wish they were real doughnuts.

Today my best friend from college came over for a play date with Emma's new friend Evan.

We enjoyed a nice lunch and the kids played on the swings and at the water table.

Emma even managed to find a tiny caterpillar.

It was a wonderful visit. Emma finished off the day with reading a book in her "Elton John" sunglasses.

Beach Time

It will soon be time to return to the beach. Emma made me think about this when she was looking at this picture and saying "No eat sand."


We have a great time as a family at the beach. Last year we spent the week with my family at Fenwick Island, and the week with Tommy's family at OBX. This year we will be spending two weeks at OBX. The first with Tommy's family, and the second with my family to help celebrate my brother's wedding. We are extremely excited and looking forward to both.

It will be even nicer taking Emma and Jackson this year.

Jackson's Birth Day

Jackson Thomas was a scheduled C-Section on Saturday, March 27, 2010. There were no surprises with his birth, such as his sister's. We knew what time we had to be there, and things were started as soon as we arrived. However, his birth was a bit funnier than his sister's.

Since Emma's birth was a bit difficult and Tommy was unable to experience the moment of finding out the sex, he wanted to know. So, at 21 weeks, Tommy found out Jackson was a boy...I did not. I kept guessing for a few days after, but could no longer hold out. I made Tommy tell me. We chose to not tell people we knew, because we did not want them bugging us, as we wanted it to be a surprise. However, my sister, mom, Tommy's mom, and sisters were in the room with us as the nurse was talking to us, and she let it slip that we were having a boy. It was a bummer...but all that really mattered was Jackson was healthy.

We (Tommy and I) were taken in to the OR for the procedure to begin. Tommy said from the start that he was not sure how he would react, because he hates needles. Boy, was he right. Right before Jackson was born, Tommy got up and said he needed to leave. Our anesthesiologist (who was great) had him sit down and helped him through his moment. He even took Jackson's first pictures, since Tommy was sitting over a garbage can.

Jackson Thomas was born a healthy baby boy, at 9:54 am, on March 27, 2010. He weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 inches long. He looked like my brother Todd, and my niece Ellie at birth. He had beautiful red/blond hair with blue eyes. He was extremely handsome and a wonderful addition to our families!! He is my parent's first grandson and Tommy's parent's first grandson. He is the little brother to the best big sister!

Emma's Birth Day

Emma came into this world on August 5, 2008. She was scheduled to come one week earlier, but had her own plans, and I was induced. My mom came down on the day of the induction. Tommy and I were to be at the hospital at 6. We were extremely anxious to arrive, and arrived early. The nurses were surprised to see us because they wanted us to come the night before...as there was no room at the inn on the 5th. They sent us home. Emotionally, I was extremely upset. I didn't want to leave the hospital without my baby (at the time we did not know Emma was a girl). Tommy and I went to the Hershey Pantry to get something to eat (I couldn't eat anything) and then we met my mom and went home. Mom and I watched some TV, went shopping, and then it was time for me to go be induced.


It was an easy induction. Things were moving along nicely...until I hit 6 cms. At that point, I was at 6 for quite some time, and they decided to do a C-Section. I wasn't too upset about it, as the previous year my sister had one too.

Emma Lee was born at 10:37 on Tuesday, August 5th. She weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 inches long. She was so beautiful and looked just like her father. Tommy and I were unable to experience her first cry since I had general anesthesia, but we have happily experienced everything since.

More pictures...

from Mimi and Pop's. Too priceless to not include.

S'More fun at Mimi and Pop's

Saturday was off with a bang...at 5:30 in the morning. I decided to sleep Em and Jackson in the room with me. Jackson went down right away and slept until 3, then went back down and slept until 7. However, in between there, he was making noises and Em of course heard it and decided she needed to get up at 5:30.

Mom and I took both kids up to see Nanny and Poppy and then took Emma to the park. She had a great time, after another little girl came and pushed her down. Mimi took Em around on the equipment and pushed her on the swing. As I have mentioned before, Emma loves to swing and would swing all day if someone would push her. When we got home, Uncle Toddy (Emma's favorite person) took her up to feed the cows.

We finished off a lovely weekend at Mimi and Pop's house with cookouts and S'more's. Of course we had hot dogs, or dog-dogs as Emma calls them. Jackson is always fussy around dinner time, so Pop was pushing him in his stroller on the bumpy road. Emma has never had S'more's before, so we decided to toast some up. Uncle Toddy helped her toast the marshmallows and Mimi helped her eat it.

On a final note, Emma loves doughnuts on a Sunday morning. I took her for doughnuts, and as you can see, she had a little of everything.


We had a great weekend at Mimi and Pop's house!

Day 1 of Fun

We decided to make a trip to Mimi and Pop's house this weekend. Needless to say, Em loves it at Mimi and Pop's. After tonight, Jackson loves it too. Usually he is fussy from 6:30-bedtime. However, tonight, Pop had him outside for a walk in the country air and had him on their deck watching/listening to the water and he was not fussy at all.


Emma was outside most of the day. She was swinging, riding around on her "four-wheeler" (Barbie Jeep), watching the baby geese, cow watching, and riding the Mule with Uncle Toddy. Most of the way home she was asking for Mimi, but was thrilled to see Uncle Toddy.


It was a great day of fun outside and she hit the hay in a matter of minutes. Jackson went down easily as well...I hope he stays down most of the night. He will be 8 weeks tomorrow and is not yet sleeping through the night. He is almost there. Waking once around 1, then another time around 4:30. Let's hope in the next 2-4 weeks he is getting rid of the 4:30 waking.

First boat ride...

Emma enjoyed her first boat ride on the Union Canal. Not to mention she looked adorable in her life vest. She wore her vest the entire time and did not complain one time.

Sunny Days...

Are meant for playing at a playground and going to visit Aunt Jessie at her horse show. We were supposed to go to gym class this morning, but Aunt Jessie called and said we could come visit her at her horse show. Up until this point Emma has not had the courage to pet a horse. However, that changed today. Emma not only petted the horse, but she fed Tiso (that is the horse) carrots. We had a fun time visiting Jessie and petting Tiso. Jackson on the other hand cried the entire time. It was my fault. I woke him from this peaceful sleep at home, to throw him in his car seat and come for a ride with his sister and me. He didn't like it and did not fall back asleep.

After the horse show, we stopped at Grammi's so I could feed Jackson and then we went to the great little playground in Palmyra. It is perfect for toddlers. It is fenced in and the equipment is made just for 2 year olds and up.

Today was also Emma's last music class. Jackson, Em, and I went (daddy had a golf excursion with his football coachmates and couldn't come).

It was a wonderful day and tomorrow we get to go to Mimi and Pop's for a wonderful weekend!

Weight check and Cut Face

(Notice the before and after pictures)

Yesterday Em went to Grammi's in the morning to play with her friends, and Jackson and I went to a breastfeeding support group to meet with other mommies, get a weight check, and get some advice for going back to work/sleeping/spitting up. At the group, Jackson was great. He weighed 10 lbs 5 ounces, which was a 6 ounce gain in a week. He even fell asleep on me, without being swaddled, rocked, etc. We picked up Emma and came home for snacks and a nap.

Later in the day Jackson, Emma, and I went to the store. After we came home, Jackson was playing on his floor gym and Emma was reading a Farm Animal book. Well, she fell onto the floor, and her book hit Jacks underneath his eye. It bled and he cried for a good 10 minutes. I felt so bad for him. The sad thing is, I was sitting right next to him on the floor to help prevent this exact thing from happening. I guess you can't always predict these freak accidents.

It was funny (not the accident itself) what happened after wards. I got an ice pack for Jackson, and was applying it while he was crying. Well, Emma needed an ice pack, and she would put it on her head and cry at the same time. She of course didn't hurt him on purpose, so there was no reason to get mad at her, or make her apologize. It was simply an accident.