Merry Christmas 2014!

Our first Christmas as a family of four and, boy, was it busy! Christmas celebrations kicked off Tuesday when we went to go visit Santa with Ginka, Uncle Dave, Aunt Arynn, and Hutch. Up to this point, every time Ethan saw a picture of Santa he would say "SANTA!" and seemed happy. However, as you can clearly see from this gem below, it was quite a different story once we put him on his lap. I posted this on Facebook and people were like, "oh I'm sure that was so hard on you..." Are you kidding? It was AMAZING! I was dying laughing and snapping pictures the entire time! The whole experience lasted about ten seconds - haha. Best $5 I've spent in a long time!

Our big Thoma/Denk/Smith/Graebe Christmas took place on Christmas Eve. We were so excited to have our entire family together this year - all 17 of us! Our gatherings are definitely a lot noisier and messier, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The more the merrier, right? =)

 

 

It is so much fun to see all the cousins playing together...five under the age of three! And then there's Aidan and Sydney who are so great with their little cousins...they take such good care of them! Ethan didn't really understand the concept of Christmas...we would open a gift for him and he would immediately see the toy and say "out," "knife"! Haha - smart kiddo! He loved his new train set...

Christmas morning was spent with Dad, Kristen, Jayden and Kaleb - the flu decided to come visit Jeffrey :( I love how all three boys are into trains, police cars, fire trucks, etc. Of course we tried to get a picture of all the kids (as we were approaching naptime) and this is the best we could do....Kristen and I just laugh because these pictures really are a true snapshot of where we are in our lives right now..meltdowns, smiles, chaos. Hilarious.

 

 



 

Saturday afternoon, Mary and Steve came over so we could celebrate Christmas and watch the Hoosiers! Ethan got another cool train set that was pretty entertaining to watch Eric and Steve put together (with Ethan's help)! "Tools, tools." =)

 

Between traveling back and forth from Mom's house, napping in a new environment, lots of people, etc., Emerson did such a great job! I am so excited Aunt Laura got her this super cute chair to match Ethan's =)

She sure as heck didn't let anyone hold her for longer than 15 seconds, but she was ALL smiles when I was holding her or she was in her little seat.

All this momma wanted for Christmas was a cute picture of her kiddos...it wasn't easy, but I'll take it.

I can't stand how absolutely perfect they are! And just for fun...a photo shoot wouldn't be complete without Ethan crying right? Bless his heart - this was taken on Christmas night when bedtime was long overdue and all I wanted was a picture of their first Christmas together. Haha, I can't help but laugh  - Ethan crying and Emerson just happy as a clam. I love them to pieces.

We are beyond blessed with an incredible family. We look back now and reminisce on Christmases when there were no kids running around. Before you know it, we'll be reminiscing on Christmases when our kids were babies and we were more worried about naptimes and trying to get them fed. Looking forward to a wonderful 2015 and can't wait to make plenty more family memories!

All About Ethan - Part Two!

Ethan is changing by the minute so I thought it would be fun to give another update on just him! He is such a JOY every single day! Here are some fun highlights:

• His vocabulary has expanded ten-fold and keeps picking up new words every day. It's an absolute blast hearing him piece together words to make phrases. Right now he mostly says "I" followed by whatever he's doing..."I vacuum, I sing, I nap, I hide, I drum, I golf." I love when he can make a connection and either say a word or make a hand gesture. For instance, when we are driving and he sees a bulldozer or construction vehicle, he says "ohhhhh, scoop, scoop, scoop" and makes a scooping motion with his hand because in our book at home there is an excavator that "scoops, scoops, scoops."
  

 

• He can say his name "Effan." He looooves to say mommy. We're pretty sure he says it just to say it, but I don't mind it a bit. Lately, every time Eric or I leave the room Ethan is immediately saying "daddy, daddy"? And throughout the day Ethan will ask for daddy 50 times and then say "daddy work." He also asks for "sis" whenever she's napping or not in his sight =)

• Speaking of all the words he's picked up, it's really fun to go through his flashcards now and hear him recognize almost every single one. It literally is amazing! I've said this before, I know every parent thinks their kid is the next genius, but I'm just so proud of him! It's just cool to know that all those times it was just us repeating the word he was actually listening and soaking it in.



• He is really into hiding right now - both himself and toys. He loves to bury himself under pillows and wait until we discover him. He's always loved our closet too (guess it's a good thing he's not afraid of the dark quite yet)! He thinks it's hilarious when he hides his cars under the pillow, puts his tiny animals in the pillowcase, etc. He also cracks himself up when he puts a blanket over the vacuum and pretends like it went missing even though it's still clear as day - haha!
  
   
   
• He is ALL about dancing and anything musical. I absolutely love it. He learned the "Hokey Pokey" at church and it's probably one of the cutest things ever - he gets so excited whenever we sing it. He also loves to do the "hot dog dance" to the song of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He's always been very interested in music, but it's been really cool to see him make it such a big part of his day. His piano is one of his favorite toys, he likes to play guitar, and he's enamored when someone is singing on TV. He always asks/signs for "more, more" after they are done singing a song. I really think music could play a very important role in his life!

No big deal - just eating cereal w/a bucket on my head.

• He has found that some of his pants have pockets and he loves to walk around with his hands in his pockets. So stinking cute.

• Ethan has figured out if he uses his stool or a box, he can climb up on things much easier. The other day I found him in his bathroom with his feet up off the floor trying to turn on the faucet. I couldn't help but laugh.
  

 

• One of his nightly rituals with his daddy has become running up and down the hallway/living room of our house. They say "on your marks, get set, GO!" and Ethan takes off running moving his little legs as fast as they will go. He swings his left arm only - like a little chicken wing! He loves to say "March!"
  
• We had Ethan's yearly allergy appointment a couple weeks ago. He was retested for his egg and peanut allergy and he's still allergic to both. He got 11 pricks on his back and had to wait about 15 minutes before the doctor came back in. He was awesome and just laid on his belly and looked at pictures on the IPad (despite his back being soooo itchy)! He's also allergic to mustard seed - something I had the doctor test for after Ethan had a reaction to Dijon mustard. Mustard is easy to stay away from...we more so need to stay away from mayonnaise based products because of the egg. Then he had to get his blood drawn (just part of the allergy testing procedure). What a trooper. He definitely cried, but he was such a good boy - he still talks about his "boo boo" and tells everyone he comes into contact with that he had a boo boo on his arm where the band aid was.
  

 

• While Ethan is sweet about 99% of the time, don't let me fool you - he's 2. We still have plenty of meltdowns (i.e, when we have to put our jacket on), he takes his crayons and draws on the couch which results in them being taken away, and is known to hit when he gets super frustrated.
  

 

• He loves anything having to do with fire trucks, police cars, bulldozers, airplanes, and lawnmowers.

• He went to his first IU basketball game of the season with daddy - they had such a great time! Eric said his favorite part was all the flags during the William Tell Overture timeout - an IU tradition! Since the game last weekend, he's all about "ba-ball" and throws a tiny inflatable beach ball up in the air like a basketball.
  

I know there are things I'm forgetting to write down, but Eric and I are just enjoying Ethan so much right now. He is all about hugs and kisses, us singing songs to him when we put him down for naps and bedtime, and loving on his baby sister. We love you buddy!

{Five Months Old - Emerson!}

Hi Family and Friends!

I'm FIVE months old now! Time is flying by so fast, my mommy is having a hard time keeping this blog updated! Don't worry though, I'm ready to tell you all about what I've been up to and show you lots of cute pictures!

• I love my brother Ethan. Every morning when I'm sitting on the couch in my boppy pillow, he will come over and do one of four things: (1) kiss me, (2) hit me, (3) try and poke my eye out, or (4) lay a toy in my lap (usually one that is not baby approved)! I love to watch him play in the living room. I also like when mommy puts us both in the rocking chair together. Ethan thinks I'm going to "get him" because I'm always reaching out for him. It makes him laugh.

• My big brother likes to hold me. When him and mommy wake me up from a nap, he hops into the chair and sticks his arms out. I sit in his lap, he will give me a kiss, and then be all done =)
• I make two noises: either a high pitched squeal or a low pitched growl that comes out in a whisper (most often the latter). I'm not mad or upset when I growl...I'm actually happy and usually smiling, which is probably why mommy and daddy think it's funny!
  
• My face is getting round and I'm getting some leg rolls!
• I had my first cold of my life. I had a little cough and a running nose. It bothered me so much I started waking up at night because I wanted my mommy. She told me everyone wants their mommy when they are sick. Good thing she takes such good care of me.

• Daddy feeds me a bottle for my last feeding of the day. It's 8 oz. (just for reference: my brother drinks 9 oz.)! I love mommy's milk! It helps me stay full so I can stay asleep throughout the night.

• Speaking of sleep, I'm still an awesome sleeper! I've stretched out my morning naps and they typically last 2.5-3 hours. This is my most predictable nap. Then I will usually take an afternoon nap lasting the same amount of time. Mommy wraps me up at 8:30pm and puts me in my crib by 9:15pm. Until recently, I was sleeping until 8am-8:30am. But, now that I'm getting bigger (and longer) I've started to break out of my swaddle which wakes me up around 5am-6am. She's going to find another swaddle that gives me more room in hopes that I will sleep later.

• Look at this fun comparison of my brother and I - if I had a little more hair we would look like twins!
  
• I love to grab anything that's right in front of me. This includes: any drink mommy is holding, a burp cloth, daddy's phone, or any toy that's put in my lap.
• I have a complete love affair with my toes! They are so cute. I really like it when mommy leaves my socks off so I can stare at them. Or I like when I'm getting my diaper changed and can raise them up in the air and touch them.

• I'm finally big enough to play in my jumperoo now! This was one of Ethan's favorite toys when he was a baby. It's so much fun to bounce up and down. I think Ethan secretly wishes he could still fit in the jumperoo...he always wants to play with it when I'm jumping and he loves to dance to the music it plays.

• I love when mommy and daddy give me kisses on the cheek.
• I celebrated Thanksgiving in Tennessee with my family! I got to see Pa and Gigi again and also meet all my aunts, uncles, and cousins! I was such a good girl the entire trip. You can read about our trip here.

• My mommy doesn't have to wear me in the wrap as much anymore. The wrap was the only place I was content and the only way she could get me to sleep. But, now I'm getting bigger and I like to stretch my long legs and not be so curled up. Before naps and bedtime, she will swaddle me and wrap me up like a burrito in a warm fuzzy blanket =) Then we will go rock in the rocking chair and I fall straight asleep.
• I can roll from my belly to my back!

• When I'm sitting on the couch or in someone's lap, I can pick toys up and put them in my mouth. That takes a lot of concentration.

My house is decorated for Christmas and I like it. I like to look at the pretty lights on the Christmas tree. I may go visit Santa this weekend. He's taking a break from his toy workshop and visiting Bloomington to take pictures with little kids like me! Thanks for reading my five month update - I can't wait to tell you what Santa brought me when you read my post next month!