Wednesday, September 30, 2009

updates a plenty..

well, after a crazy month that left me with not much time and very unmotivated to do much of anything (hey, i am pregnant after all!!), i am back! sorry it has taken so long to update again and i know people were sitting around anxiously awaiting my next post!

a few things i wanted to touch on before i get to the "what emerson is up to these days" part. first, i doubt i will post videos on this blog anymore. sorry. it is wayyy too much of a pain to do it. i have to download the videos and then convert them to an online format and then upload them onto this site. the whole process takes over a half hour for a 30 second video....much longer for a long video. so, if you want to see videos, check my facebook because its much quicker there (and i have 2 videos to post tonight).

also, i am linking up with my friend kim for a new site that she is running www.mamaneedsthis.com . i am helping to write reviews on products for the site. its a cool site, though still in the beginner stages but we are working on adding content. its a neat site and will be loaded with reviews of great products that moms could really use. you should go check out the site and see what is up there. i wrote 2 of the reviews already, and hope/plan to do more. i am in the process of contacting companies to get products to review, but in the meantime i reviewed some kick butt products that moms need (and i so happen to already own!). anyway, in addition to checking out that site, you should go check out her other site, which is mainly for green related baby products and cloth diapering. she does lots of giveaways and stuff... its www.dirtydiaperlaundry.com (see link in my sidebar)

so...emersons 1st birthday is approaching soon!!! i dont know if i should be jumping up and down with excitement or if i should crawl into a ball and cry :( i cant believe its been almost a year!!! and newbaby's birthdate isnt too much further past that! (Still no name yet in case you are wondering!) i am excited about emersons birthday party, which is next weekend. its gonna be pretty small, but then again, my house is tiny...haha. it couldnt be a big party if i wanted it to be! its halloween themed...and every party from now until she can protest will be halloween themed. haha! so grandparents (and everyone else), get your costumes ready! emerson is going to be something super cute for halloween, but i wont say yet..i will post pics eventually though.

i also should probably update a little on this pregnancy. i feel like i should start a new blog after the new baby is born, but i hate to leave this one behind. i wish i had come up with a more neutral web address since it is obviously emerson-specific. is it unfair to newbaby to just include her on this website?? well, regardless, i will post updates on the pregnancy here and there on this site for now and figure it out later. anyway, all that being said, as i mentioned above, newbaby doesnt have a name yet. we are still in discussions regarding it and are having a hard time agreeing on names. i think our top favorites now are: eli, tessa and amalie. i am not sure which one is my absolute favorite but brads favorite is eli. i have a feeling that eli might be the name to win out, but maybe we will just wait and see what she looks like and go from there. we have had the middle name picked out since we started talking names. well, there are technically 2 middle names we know we are using.....not sure if we will pick one of the 2 or if we will use both and have newbaby have 2 middle names like emerson does. it will depend on which first name we go with i guess, since one of the 2 names doesnt flow well with most names. its a secret though so dont bother trying to get it out of me!! (hey, gotta have some sort of secrets since you all know its another girl and i am sharing first names. i knew i couldnt keep either a secret but i can keep the middle name a secret a lot easier).

on my end, pregnancy is going well. tired as usual and feeling kinda round, but i guess both are to be expected. haha. its hard having enough motivation and energy for emerson. mom, i dont know how you did it....especially since michael was hellbaby. props to you. just in case anyone was wondering, i do plan to have a vbac (vaginal birth after cesarean) this time. well, i hope to anyway. i found a doctor/midwife team that is very supportive and i feel really confident that they will help me achieve my goal. i am also working on seeing if i can get a doula but finances might make it impossible. i am hoping that i can have the natural childbirth that i wanted last time, this time. :) cross your fingers for me!

lastly, emerson updates! she is "talking" up a storm, having conversations with everyone and everything. she doesnt make much sense but does say certain "real" words. in addition to mama and dada, she says cat, kitty, doggie, dante (one of our cats names), tickle tickle tickle (she never says it just once...haha) and some other words i probably am forgetting. she will say words once sometimes and then wont say it again. she is also walking, or at least on the brink of walking. i decided that saying your kid can walk is subjective. she takes many steps in a row, but isnt walking full time. she will prefer to walk over crawl though...she will only crawl if she cant stand up first or after she falls from walking and is still trying to get somewhere. i think within the next few weeks she is going to be walking full time. she also claps for herself and others and is making the funniest face ever when she eats. i will have to have brad get a video of it because it is seriously the most funny and cutest thing ever.

okay...so this is seriously long!! lots to catch up on though. i will try to upload some pics soon, but until then, go watch some videos of her on facebook!!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

at the state fair.. and a video or two

so we went to the state fair on wednesday with our friends. it was a good, but long day! here are some pics from the day and a few videos at the end so you can see how big and grown up emerson is getting. hehe. i miss her being a baby blob!
she actually found a 4 leaf clover! but she ripped it apart before i could grab it and save it!
i get sooo many compliments on this dress. thanks auntie ashley!

at her first african drum circle... she loves to drum!

check it out! i have 2 teefers!
funny face...











Tuesday, September 1, 2009

birthday ideas...

okay...as i mentioned before, some people are asking what to get emerson for her birthday. we are obviously open to any ideas or gifts that you would want to get and even if you dont want to get any, thats fine too. but i did want to make a list of things in case people wanted ideas for her birthday, or even for christmas. some stuff is cheap, and others are probably something that people would pitch in if interested. her birthday is going to be the sunday of columbus day weekend, which i think is oct 11th or something.

anyway, her friend has a kitchen set and i think it would be cool for her to have one too. she liked to play with it and it would be nice for both her and new baby to play with as they get older. i did some research on different ones and wasnt so interested in the cheapie plastic ones since they crack and break and generally dont last as long....so here is the one i found (i love the color and that its a retro kitchen:
http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-53156-Red-Vintage-Kitchen/dp/B001FP3WZO/ref=pd_sbs_t_5

and to go along with the kitchen, some pots and pans:
http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Toys-Super-Cooking-Set/dp/B000F3S0B8/ref=pd_sim_t_2
or
http://www.constplay.com/cgi-bin/constplay_cgi.sh/WService=constplay/constplay.com/family/product.htm?stateInfo=?&dept_id=26&pf_id=CHN-20L&utm_source=shopzilla.com&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=CHN-20L&utm_campaign=WEB+20090827
or
http://www.amazon.com/Junior-Chef-Cookware-11-PC/dp/B0001V3QUE/ref=pd_sbs_t_1

some food would be good too. i dont have any specific one chosen, although i like the wooden food more than plastic food with those cheapie cardboard boxes that last all of 5 seconds. i looked around on amazon but i didnt want to post a link because this is probably something that you could buy in a store, like a toy store or target, and not pay shipping. also, it would be good to see it in person and figure out whether its a choking hazard. since i couldnt see the sizes online i am not going to link to anything...but playfood is good.

this coat for winter...i love that it has built in mittens! she probably would be between 12 and 18 months so i would prolly go with 18 to be safe:
http://www.columbia.com/baby-jackets/kids-baby-jackets,default,sc.html?sz=1&start=1

emerson loves musical instruments, so age appropriate musical instruments are always good...things like maracas, tamborine, etc.

winter clothes in 12-18 month sizes. stuff like pants, sweaters, sweatshirts, long sleeved shirts, etc.

developmentally appropriate toys. toys that take brain power to figure out how they work.

please dont buy elmo or dora or any other "character" type stuff. we are trying to keep media exposure to a minimum. hehe. plus she doesnt care for any of those characters and we kind of want to keep it that way!

so...obviously there are a million other things that would be great for her as well but those are some suggestions if you cant think of anything. we appreciate anything you would choose to buy.

we plan to get her balls to make a ball pit out of her pack and play or her blow up swimming pool. she loves balls and the ballpit at the ymca so i think she will like it. i also might take her to build a bear so she can make her own teddy, although i have no idea how much that costs so i might skip that. hehe.

if you are coming to her bday party....and you are all invited, make sure you are thinking of what your costume is going to be! its a halloween party!