Happy 3rd Birthday Ethan!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY ETHAN PERRY!!

 

 

We had so much fun celebrating our sweet little man turn THREE a couple weeks ago! Three years...my, oh, my. Wasn't he just a tiny five-pound peanut that literally fit in the palms of our hands? This birthday was definitely special because it's the first year he actually understood it was his birthday.

 

 

We totally played it up before his big day and a couple days a week he would ask, "mommy, it's my birthday?" I would say it's coming up soon and ask what he wanted...and he would respond with one of the following: cupcakes, chocolate, brownies, excavators, and ice cream! Haha. His love for all things construction made me get excited to have dump trucks, bulldozers, and excavators as part of the décor.

 

We had a little party the weekend before his actual birthday with all the grandparents, Uncle Jeffrey, Aunt Kristen, Jayden, and Kaleb. He had a blast opening his presents and LOVED everything he got - a tool belt, a tool box and set of tools, a construction vest and hard hat, a power drill, a new bulldozer, a Radio Flyer tricycle - just to name a few!

This boy went straight to work and started hammering the floor because he was "building things." Gotta be the cutest construction worker I've ever seen...

 

He hasn't put his tools down since his birthday either! He uses his hammer to build houses, his wrench to fix the door, his saw to cut down the tree...and a million other things he uses his imagination for! To top his big day off, he indulged in brownies and ice cream...happy boy!

His real birthday fell on a Monday so we started the day off with a special birthday breakfast where Emerson and I (really just me!) sang "Happy Birthday" to Ethan. Once daddy got home from work, we went to his birthday dinner at Chick-Fil-A - his choice! They were so sweet and gave him a birthday balloon and a gift card for ice cream.

 

 

 

We always say how lucky we are to have our kids grow up with all their grandparents and extended family in their lives. It really means a lot seeing our families come together to celebrate our little munchkins! Ethan is so loved and brings everyone so much joy and happiness! We love you pumpkin!!

 



Emerson - Months 13 & 14!

Our sweet little babe is changing right before our eyes and I'm finally sitting down to recap what she's been up to since her birthday! If we had to describe Emerson in one word, it would be:
F-U-N-N-Y!
Literally 99.9% of the things she does just cracks us up. Between her facial expressions, the way she moves, the blabbering, etc., she makes us shake our heads and smile with how stinking cute she is.

•  She loves to hold things and carry stuff in her hands. Even when she first began walking soon after her first birthday, she always had to be holding something.
• Give this girl a stuffed animal, a blanket, or anything soft and she is happy. She loves to walk around with it propped up on her shoulder where she can rest her head and be comfy. Ethan was never really into stuffed animals so I love seeing how much comfort they bring her.
  
• Emerson will mimic ANYTHING you do. If Ethan screams, she screams. If daddy shakes his head, she will shake her head. If I touch my nose, she will touch her nose. Don't we always say kids are like sponges? Seems to be especially true right now!
  
• Her favorite word up to this point has been "dada." But, now it has changed to "doggie." Followed by "woof." Everything she points to in a book is a doggie. She can also say mama, te-te (kitty), and some version of brother when she's talking about Ethan.
  
• Her favorite toy: remote controls.
  
• She loves to put a blanket over her head and walk around like a ghost and play peek-a-boo.
  
• Emerson is obsessed with her toothbrush. She always saw Ethan brushing his teeth and would beg for one until we gave it to her.
  
• Which speaking of teeth, she officially has her first two teeth!! She did pretty well with the teething - definitely more fussy than normal, but never ran a fever. It has changed her gummy little smile so much - still just as cute though! =)

• She uses sign language and tells us when she wants "more" and when she's "all done." That's on a good day - most times she tell us more by screaming and tells us she's all done by throwing food on the floor =)

• Emerson has picked up quite the pace with her walking in the last week...she is full fledged fast walking/jogging - haha. She cracks us up because when she 'runs' her little right arm swings across her entire chest with each step she takes. She will run "laps" from point A to point B - back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
  
• It's safe to say daddy is the center of her world. Not only does she say his name 3,560 times a day, but she is the official welcoming committee when he gets home from work. She hears the door open, immediately starts saying "daddy, daddy, daddy", arms are straight out, and she will collapse in his arms. Melt.
   
  
• She loves to sit in your lap. She will pick up a toy, walk towards you, turn around, take the last few steps backwards, and then PLOP down in your lap. Never fails.
  
• It's amazing how smart we think she is. Mostly because we see her playing with toys that Ethan never showed interest in at her age. She just seems to be very intuitive when it comes to things being open vs. closed, putting rings on a stick, 'hiding' toys and then finding them, coloring with crayons or chalk, etc. A couple weeks ago, we watched her hold the toothbrush in one hand and toothpaste in the other. Then she tried to put the toothpaste on her toothbrush - and we've never shown her that before because we weren't brushing her teeth (because she didn't have any)! It's just fun to see these kind of connections being made in her busy little mind!
  
• She will put anything in her mouth. In her eyes, the more dangerous the better. Rocks, coins, play dough, water bottle caps, grass, flowers, crayons, cat food, banana peel...just to name a few =)
  
• Her appetite has definitely slowed down. I started noticing that she doesn't eat *quite* as much as she used to, but she can still pack it in! Veggies are the hardest thing to get her to eat, but I'm thankful she loves fruit, meat, and carbs!
  

• She continues to be an amazing sleeper - takes a two hour morning nap from 10am-12pm and a two hour afternoon nap from 3pm-4:45/5pm. Sleeps at night from 8pm-8am.
  

These are just some of the highlights I've tried to capture in the last couple of months. I try and keep an ongoing list on my phone of funny things or milestones until I can sit down at the computer and write it all down. Clearly this just scratches the surface at what a beautiful, HAPPY, and smart little girl she is. We love watching her be Emerson =)