balloons...

happy 4th of july

we've been very busy! here's a briefing of the last couple of days.....

monday we went to 6 Flags for the first time:

thursday we went to Boston for the day, and peter was sworn in as a new citizen of the USA!

after the oath, the court clerk asked for all the children of the newly sworn in citizens to come up on stage and help lead the pledge of allegiance - once she was up on the stage in the courthouse, jason bay (red sox left-fielder), who was also being sworn in that day, went up to lead the pledge, and gave avery a high five on his way up the stairs!

friday we went to westfield for the fireworks display:

avery had to go potty, so daddy took her into the woods because the portapotty line was too long for a tiny two year old bladder :)

when we got in the car to go home, we asked her if she had fun. she said she liked the boom in sky, it was so pretty, she had to go potty, and she was scared of the woods = when peter asked her why she was scared, she said "because i need you, daddy"..... awwwwww!!

Emery, these were your first fireworks! before they started, we sat on the blanket and played with you - you have started "talking" so much! you just make noises all the time, even if noone is talking with you! you've also started laughing a little bit - you're very fun to entertain and you always make us smile! when the fireworks started, you had just drifted off, but you woke up right away with a furrowed brow. every "boom" you would peek out from under your blanket and gaze at the sky, and then snuggle back under until the next. you fell completely asleep about half way through, and slept the whole walk back to the car. i love these snuggly times with you, and i can't believe how fast the time is going. already when i'm holding you, you arch your back and try to wiggle around so that you are facing the world. you always want to see what's going on - i love when i'm nursing you and you stop and look up at me with milk dribbling, then smile a big smile and go back to eating - these moments are so precious to me!

Avery, these were your third fireworks, and daddy and i can vividly remember your first. this year, instead of mostly snuggling with us, you wanted to play with katie and van...running around in the grass, chasing the ball. laying on your belly with them, looking at pictures on daddy's phone, you looked like such a big girl - i almost couldn't see the baby anymore. but then when the fireworks started, you crawled into daddy's lap, wrapped in your blankey (puppy side up, of course), and curled right into that spot in his arm that you've loved since you were 2 months old, and i saw my baby. you were actually a little scared of the fireworks this year - not at first, but after a few of them had come up, you started to cry a little. daddy asked you what was wrong, and you said they were coming to get you...he said, they're so far away avery, as far away as the moon, and i will protect you. you calmed right down and started laughing at how big and bright they were - you and daddy have a beautiful relationship.

these are the moments i want to have forever, because before we even turn around....

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! :)