Weekly Funnies

We have had so many funny things happen over the course of Emery's short life so far!  He just cracks us up all the time whether it is how he says a funny word, makes a noise, or something smart that he does that he doesn't even realize!  So, here's my first "Weekly Funnies!"  Check back frequently.  I'll try to do Sunday-Saturday and update each post as new "funnies" happen!

Superbowl Sunday:  We went to a new church on Sunday just to visit!  We had a great time and Emery seemed to really enjoy the nursery as well.  Again, we've NEVER been to this church before and he went right into the room with the worker.  We stood there and watched as he ran right across the room to a toy truck and started playing.  It was so funny.  We came back an hour and a half later and yelled, "Emery!" He was so excited that we were back!  He thanked the nursery workers and we were on our way.  They made sure to tell us what a good and easy boy he was the whole time!  We were very proud  parents!
We were watching the game and all getting very excited!  The Packers made an awesome touchdown and we were all thrilled.  Emery noticed all of our excitement and started going "Yay yay! Oh my!"  He continued much of his excitement for the rest of the day! :)


Monday:  Emery is such a little "love-er!"  He just loves to love on and be there for his mommy.  Lately I've been having a bit of discomfort with the pregnancy making it more difficult to get up and down from the couch...etc.  Emery decided he wanted me to come and play with him in another room.  I tried to explain that mommy has "owies" so if he could bring his toys and books to me that I could play more easily.  That wasn't working.  So, he kept saying, "Mommy.  Come."  I started to try to get up and he held out his hands and pulled me off the couch as hard as he could.  Now, he helps me every time I need to get up and uses his whole body weight to help me up off the couch.

Tuesday:  I love to "milk it" when Emery feels badly for mommy.  He is always coming to my rescue when I'm sad (just like I do for him).  Like I said, I love to "milk it!"  So I will, at times, fake-cry so he comes to comfort me.  It was so funny, though, yesterday because he was sitting on a chair near the computer and I was laying on the couch.  I started to fake-cry and he was really having a hard time getting down from the couch quickly enough.  He kept saying, "Mom!  Mom!  OK!?"  He had such a concerned face as he was trying to safely dismount the chair!  He came running over to me when he was finally successful and climbed up, hugged me, and started to go, "mmm mmm mmm" as he swayed.  He then pulled away, looked in my face with a big smile and tilted and said, "Mommy?  OK?"  I said, "I am with you here."  He decided to grab his "boppy" (blanket) and come lay down by me and fall asleep.  It was SO CUTE!

Wednesday:  After Emery woke up from his nap I decided to give him a little snack of some "bapes" (grapes).  He LOVES "bapes" and berries!  I handed him the little container of "bapes" and he was just so content!  I came back and stole a couple from him and he said, "No..." really quietly.  I smiled and said, "Yummy!"  For the rest of the time he kept handing me grapes...we ate every other one...He's learning to share! :)

Emery wanted to read some books this afternoon!  So I pulled a bunch out of his little bookshelf and brought them to the livingroom.  I had to change his diaper really quickly and he grabbed "Baby Bear Baby Bear What Do You See?" by Eric Carl.  He held it above his head as I was changing him and started to read, "bear bear see? fox. fox fox see? skirl. (squirrel) skirl skirl see? goat. goat goat see? hern (heron)...etc"  It was SO FUNNY as he just "read" the whole book front to back!  Apparently we've read it enough that he has it down pat.

Emery really wanted to play Mario when daddy got home today...I didn't want him to play though.  He really needs to not be playing Mario so much.  (He doesn't really play--he watches and would be satisfied if we just left it on the demo mode all day...).  He started to get upset and we said, "do you want to read some books instead?"  "NO!  Mario!"  I said, "Why don't you go show daddy your puzzle?"  "NO!  Mario!"  After a few minutes of ignoring his whining he looked at Josh and said, "Puzzle!?"  He had such excitement about showing daddy his puzzle.

Thursday:  Emery was very particular about what he wanted for lunch today.  He wanted a hot dog, some Doritos and a banana.  He got through most of each item but there was a little bit left of everything.  I saved what was left of the banana thinking he might eat it later...however, it doesn't take long for bananas to discolor after hitting the air!  So, a while later Emery came to me and wanted a treat.  I said, "how about your banana?"  He said "no" for a while and later changed his mind.  I handed it to him...he looked at it and screamed as he handed it back to me.  Apparently discolored bananas are really scary.

21 Weeks and Full of Emotions

I haven't updated my blog in a LONG time...I'm still learning to do this as best as I can. In January we found out that we're having another BOY! We are so excited. His name will be Levi Knightlee. It was so fun to watch him at the ultrasound. He is VERY active and is sitting VERY low...which is pretty uncomfortable for me most of the time. The ultrasound tech said that he seemed to enjoy snuggling right up against my cervix...not totally wonderful for me. I have another prenatal appointment on Valentine's Day, but so far everything looks great. The ultrasound tech and the doctor agreed that he was measuring pretty big and, based on his measurements, our due would be June 9th instead of June 18th. The doctor said he'd take note of that, but we'll just keep my current due date for now. I'm thinking that his measuring big and sitting low will possibly cause me to go in earlier rather than later...let's hope so! :) I can't wait to meet my little man!

I cannot believe we are already halfway to meeting Levi Knightlee face to face. I am remembering what it was like to see Emery for the first time and it was just INCREDIBLE. I could have never prepared myself for the amount of love I felt for him. There was nothing that Emery did to "earn" my love for him, and yet I was willing to lay my life down for him in the very moment that he entered my world. While the pain of labor didn't fade away (for weeks...and weeks), it seemed like such a small sacrifice in exchange for this most precious gift. The permanent scars I received from bearing him for 9 months seem like beautiful memory marks for me of my most precious son. I remember being so exhausted when he'd wake up in the middle of the night, I would be sore as my body changed due to nursing and just going back to normal, he would cry or scream and interrupt ever other "important" thing going on in my life...and yet I still looked on him with complete love. I remember laughing and saying, "If anyone else was to act like this, I could not live with them...I would not like them. But because it is him, it doesn't matter."

God has taught me so much about unconditional love through Emery. There is nothing that he could ever do that would make me love him less. There are times that he frustrates me or makes me sad...but I always love him. I have my moments that I just need to get away...but I still love him and would die for him. I am an imperfect person and love Emery this much. God is perfect. How much more His love must be for us!

Because I am imperfect, I am worried about how my relationship with Emery will be affected by having another baby. As I anticipate my attention being pulled in many directions very soon, I have been intentional about cuddling more with Emery. Instead of putting him down in his crib to nap, I've been holding him. He fell asleep in my arms last night on the couch and it was very difficult to bring myself to put him to bed. I just want to soak everything in before June. I am afraid that Emery will feel unloved, unwanted, or just not enough for me. I am so scared about not having enough love to go around...or just simply not being good at distributing it to the 3 men that will be in my life. It's easier for Josh to understand when my attention is everywhere else...He will feel just as torn apart as I will between the two boys. I will do my best to involve Emery in everything with Levi, but there is only so much that he can do...and only so much that I can do too. Praise God that His strength is made perfect in my weakness...I know that I am weak and imperfect, so I will be forced to rely on Him for my strength.



Another thing Josh and I did in anticipation of Levi's arrival is take a little mini- "baby-anniversa-moon." (Babymoon, Honeymoon, Anniversary) We took a weekend cruise to Mexico with Carnival Cruises. It was so refreshing. It was very difficult for us to leave Emery for the weekend...NO CONTACT for 2 full days and 2 half days. We left Friday around noon and returned Monday around noon. We really enjoyed having some time just the two of us. We never were able to celebrate a honeymoon since we got pregnant with Emery right after our wedding. We had gotten married in January and thought we'd take a little trip the following June after I had finished my final semester in college, but before I began student teaching. Well, it didn't work out that way. We found out that I was pregnant in the middle of March! AH! I wasn't sure what we were going to do. Josh didn't have a job yet, I didn't have good health insurance--none for maternity...I really felt nervous, but knew God would provide. He really came through for us and gave us the gift of an amazing little boy! :) Since then we've always had other things come before our own vacations. Any money we may have been able to set aside has been used to visit family instead of going on vacation. It was such a blessing to finally have this little trip together! We were able to reconnect in a way we hadn't been able to since we had Emery.

We appreciate all prayers as we await Levi's arrival. He is already a blessing to us and we cannot wait to meet him. We would specifically appreciate prayers for a healthy 2nd half to the pregnancy, a swift and healthy delivery, and for Levi's health as he enters this world.

2011--It's a New Year!

I can't believe that it's already a new year! It seems that the older I get the faster time flies! Our family is definitely looking forward to all that is in store for us this year from a new baby, to a new nephew and all of the wonderful memories we plan to make!

The New Year is beginning with a couple of colds here in the house. Emery got sick on the 29th after a lot of goings on for Christmas. So he's been sick for 6 days so far and we've seen little improvement. He had an ear infection as well and that seems to be going away. His cough sounds horrendous, though, and I just feel awful watching him so sick. I also got a cold--probably from Emery--but mine isn't nearly as bad since I am capable of blowing my nose and doing other things I know will help.

Wednesday is Josh's and my 3-year anniversary and it is amazing to me! Sometimes I feel like we've been married for so much longer since we've been through so much together already. Other times I feel like the last 3 years have flown by! As bumpy and crazy as it has been, I wouldn't change any of it for the world. I am thankful to have gotten to go through the bumps and curves with Josh. We are celebrating our anniversary by heading to Burbank for the day to watch the taping (and maybe get on!) the Price is Right. It's something I've always wanted to do and I figure what better time than now to give it a shot!? I just hope I get to hear him say, "Come on Down" to one of us!

We've been in our new apartment for a couple weeks now and I still feel like it was a good move for us, so this is a good sign :). There's always the worry that things change once you get in. There is definitely more space for us and we're enjoying that. Emery is loving the extra space he has in his bedroom and it helps us to keep his toys in there so he can play!

We pray that you and your family have a wonderful 2011 and that you would be blessed far beyond your imagination!