she loves her "stister"

i just wanted to write about some of the things avery does with emery before i forget - they're both changing and growing so fast! avery still calls emery "babyQ" sometimes, but if you ask her the baby's name, she says emery. she calls emery her "stister" and will randomly come up to her and say "this is my stister, she's so cute, i love her so much!" whenever we're in the car, she reaches over into emery's car seat to hold her hand, and usually holds it for the whole trip. when emery starts crying, she'll say "it's okay emery, we're almost there, mommy's coming, it's okay". she has also started taking away emery's pacifier when we're in the car, and hiding it....hmm not a fun game for mommy! when i'm driving, and reaching behind me into em's carseat to find her pacifier, avery will tell me "not there, not there, over there" - like we're playing hot/cold to find the binkie :)


avery has also started calling us "guys" - come on guys, come see what avery's doing - guys, are we ready to leave? - i'm going to get a toy, okay guys?

she has started the fine art of procrastinating bed time - needing a drink, to go potty, another blanket - anything she can think of, so we've started telling her that it's bed time, and we are done answering her. so she'll lay in bed, calling "daddy.........daddy............PETER!" we both have to pause before we anser because we're laughing.


emery is getting bigger too - she was 10 lbs at a 6 week checkup (although, she's a month old in these pictures). she's really started cooing at us and smiling more - she's very talkative first thing in the morning, after she eats. she's still got big beautiful bright blue eyes - everyone comments on them - and her hair is already coming back in after losing the newborn fuzz. it looks dark, but you never know. my prediction is she'll have shoulder length medium brown hair by her first birthday....peter and i think that while avery was the spitting image of him, and still is, emery's looking a little bit more like her momma. :) it's funny though, because she also looks like avery - its the coolest thing, creating people!

thanks!

cute cheerleader - thanks auntie heather & uncle michael!

homemade with love - thanks meg!

the madden clan

we went to the park with abby, ella, luke & morgan - even mike showed up for a couple minutes- but we missed caleb! he was in school, so he missed out on the fun:)

avery thinks she is just as big as 3year old luke and 4year olds abby & ella. she did a great job of keeping up with them, and they did a great job of playing with her - especially ella, the "mommy" of the group.stopping for a snack break - thanks morgan!

trying to teach avery how to roll down the hill...

luke's showing his feelings...

fun on the tire swing

thanks for a fun day!

the adventures of the ellis girls...

emery is four weeks old today - we have gone out several times since she was born, and i've even taken the girls out by myself several times. it usually goes well, but sometimes its stressful. today was not - we woke up and got ready right away to go to the SS office to apply for emery's SS#. when we got there, though, it was 20 minutes before it opens, and there was a line of about 30 people already. emery hates her car seat, and i didnt' want to wait in the line that was in the parking lot with avery, so we drove up to peter's work to drop off his water bottle (where he told me i could apply by mail for her SS...yay!). so we left there, and went to the grocery store. avery was wonderful in the carriage, and since emery slept in the sling the whole time, i was able to focus on keeping avery occupied. when we left, though, emery woke up and started crying, which quickly escalated into screaming, so i decided i'd have to pull over and feed her. i stopped by a park that was on our way so that avery could play while i was feeding emery. this is the first time i've really nursed in front of people - there were two mommies with their kids and one daddy. awkward when the daddy's little girl came right over to me and was trying to talk to the baby and touch her, so then the daddy came over....but i don't think he knew what i was doing until he was right next to us (yay to me for discreet nursing) and then he was just talking to his little girl and they went and played on the playground...avery was great, going up the stairs and down the slides and talking to me while doing both :) then we came home, where i was able to put away all the groceries, even washing and slicing all the vegetables to go into tupperware in the fridge for easy access. emery went down for a nap, and avery and i ate lunch (on time...wow!) and then avery went to bed. and here i am, when i should probably be sleeping myself. but instead am fiddling around on the computer...oh well. life is good today.

and then there were four....

emery was born at 8:45 am on Tuesday, April 14th. she weighed 8.12 when she was born, which is so funny, because that's exactly how much avery weighed when she was born, but emery measured about 2 inches shorter!

the labor went classically perfect - i couldn't have asked for a more amazing experience. giving birth was by far the coolest thing i've ever done. although she slept through most of the labor, avery was awake and in the living room with us, watching, for almost 2 hours before nana came and picked her up. it was exactly what i'd hoped for. she just sat, quietly watching, asking questions - not at all scared or worried. and her pajama shirt was a curious george shirt that said " i'm feeling curious.." - i think that was incredibly appropriate!

avery loves being a big sister - she is definitely adjusting because she's alot more emotional than before, and her tantrums come alot faster than before, but she absolutely loves "her baby" and likes to give emery lots and lots of kisses and hugs. she knows she can't touch the baby's head, so she touches her ears. if you ask her the baby's name, she knows it's emery, but she usually calls the baby "Q" or "baby Q" - i wonder how long that nickname will last! :)

bye lo my baby

just like daddy

avery has a toddler bed in her room that she does a great job of sleeping in, but sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night, and we usually just bring her into our bed. she is a big snuggler, which daddy & mommy love, love, love!







suprisingly, she slept through daddy's snoring right in her ear. although, she snores too... :)






i can't get over how long her legs and arms are. she's growing so fast! i love the moments where we get a glimpse of the baby she used to be... but even more precious are the tiny indications of who she will become. being a parent is the most exciting, rewarding, challenging thing ever!