Emerson - 8 Months

Emerson turned 8 months old on April 22nd. Time is flying with him! 

• Has still only rolled a handful of times, but I have now seen him roll from back to front and front to back at least once 
• update: 4/29 he has started to roll quite a bit more, mostly from his back to his stomach and then gets upset until you roll him back over
• Got his first tooth pretty much on his 8 month mark; it is a bottom middle tooth
• Weighs around 20 pounds - everyone still likes to comment on how chubby he is
• He's a good eater
• Eats some fruit/vegetable or a mix in the late morning before his 11-12 ish milk
• Eats some oatmeal in the evening around 7:30-8 and the nurses between 9-10 before going to sleep
• Has some awesome nap days where he'll sleep 6+ hours in a day, and then has some horrible nap days where he only sleeps a little over an hour for the whole day
• Still sleeps in our bed at night, but I'm hoping this will change soon!
• update: as of 4/26 he is now sleeping in his own crib and is doing great
• Matt went on a fishing trip, so I took the opportunity to "sleep train" him in his crib
• He usually sleeps all night from about 10pm-7am, waking up once to cry for a minute or two
• Is so good with his fingers and grabbing things. He can grab his binkie really well and likes it a lot more now
• Super happy and smiley, like always
• Deacon likes to make him smile and help him when he does cry
• He seems to like the car better now. Sometimes he cries a little when we get in, but not very often
• Is growing, growing - he's wearing 6-9 month clothes and even fits in some 12 month clothes. 
• Likes to watch Deacon and see what's going on
• Likes to test everything out in his mouth
• Doesn't drool hardly at all - hopefully it stays this way, even when he gets more teeth
• I think he's over his stranger anxiety; he doesn't cry when strangers hold him anymore
• Does great on stroller rides 
• Feels so good to squeeze & hug and is fun to tickle
• Moves his feet when he's in the stroller or car seat
• His nails sure seem to grow fast and are sharp!
• Still doesn't have much hair, but it's growing slowly
• Looks at you with such wonder and amazement
• Likes to play with his toys
• Sometimes sticks just one finger in his mouth to chew on
• Seems to like music
• We love him and are so blessed to have him in our family!!

St. George & Easter

Our family took a little road trip to St. George to see Matt's parents and my grandparents over Easter weekend. Both kids did pretty well on the drive and we had a great time; it just went by too fast! The weather was very nice and we were able to do a lot of fun things. The first day I went with my mom, grandma, and aunt to get pedicures and out to lunch, while Matt and the boys played with Grandma & Grandpa. Later that night we took the boys to see my grandparents. The next day I tried to squeeze in quite a bit, and luckily we were able to do it all. First we drove to Snow Canyon and played in the sand with Grandma. Deacon had a lot of fun digging around and being buried in a hole. In the afternoon, we went to the City Center where they have a splash pad and carousel and played around. They had an arts festival going on at the same time, so it was very busy, but we still had a fun time. The water was a little cold, but felt fine once you were in it for a bit. Later that night we drove to the new All Abilities park and let Deacon play there. We thought he would be able to ride on the train that is at the park, but it had stopped running for the night by the time we got there. There was still plenty for Deacon to do and he even got to see the volcano "erupt." On Sunday, we saw what the Easter Bunny brought, had a small Easter egg hunt, and went on a golf cart ride to the dog park. All in all, it was a great trip and went pretty smoothly with two kids this time.

April 14

 

April 15
Sand Dunes:

City Center:

 

Playing at the park & watching the volcano erupt:

April 16
Easter Sunday:

Egg Hunt:

Emer's first Golf Cart Ride:

One funny story I want to remember is on the drive to St. George, Deacon saw a satellite up in the sky (we left late and it was dark). He asked us what satellites do, and among other things, Matt said they take pictures of space for us. Deacon started to talk to the satellite and said "send me a picture." He then waited a second and said "it's not talking," meaning that the satellite wasn't talking back to him or sending him a picture from space. We told Deacon that the satellite is very far away and can't hear him. He then said "open my window." He wanted to yell up to the satellite so it could hear him. It was too funny and so sweet and innocent. 

April Mall Trip

We went to the Valley Fair Mall on Saturday in April to pick up some prints I had ready at their photo studio and decided to make an afternoon of it. We brought lunch for the kids and let them do several activities they have there. The Easter Bunny was at the mall this day, too, so Deacon got to see him and get his picture taken. Livy was too scared to see the bunny, so she watched with Matt and Emerson from a distance. This mall also has a train and a carousel the kids got to ride on. It turned out to be a fun day. 

 

Kids riding the train:

This is how Emerson kept himself entertained while the other kids rode the train:

Carousel ride: