ahoy, matey

Pirates beware: Emery is officially patch-free!

At our appointment at Primary Children's today, Dr. Dries told me that Emery's eyes are looking fabulous while he's wearing his glasses and we can discontinue using the patch. I'm THRILLED and Emery is unknowingly ECSTATIC. We've been battling the last little while, as he can rip that patch off faster than you can say "shiver me timbers". He loves his glasses, but hated that darn patch. The only bad thing about the appointment was my feelings of failure when I had to report that since having Ruby, Emery's wearing of the patch fell from 100% accuracy to 30%. It hurt my heart for a second, as I thought we'd have to switch back to wearing it 2 hours a day. But alas, SUCCESS. Dr. Dries even told me that all my hard work had paid off-- or the 30% effort I'd put in. Either way, we're happy around here!

my new sundress

the queen on her throne...

Dear Daddy,

Mommy and I were hoping when we went to Strawberry Days in PG this weekend, we'd find something cute for me. Luckily, you spotted it at the first booth we passed and you suggested we get it. Thank you for my new dress-- I think you have fabulous taste and I can't wait to go shopping with you again!

Slobbery wet kisses and chubby arm hugs,

Ruby

she didn't mind posing, but mommy took a bit too many pictures

and Ruby had enough.

Ruby's turtle neck

At Ruby's two month check up, I told Dr. W that she often leaned her head to her left side. He checked things out and said she was fine and to just keep an eye on it. Over the last two weeks, it has gotten much more noticeable and so I called the triage nurse this morning, who said I should bring her in immediately and not wait until her 4 month check up at the end of the month.

Come to find out, she has a mild case of torticollis, which is a condition where, on one side of her neck, the muscles are too tight. It's like a permanent kink on the left side of her neck. Diagnosis: lots of tummy time and physical therapy. The PT doesn't worry me, but upping the tummy time makes me nervous-- she hasn't gotten much of it because Emery has a habit of stepping on anything that's in his way, including his sister. We'll see how it goes...

And one other thing-- she weighed 19.1 lbs. today. That's bigger than Emery if memory serves me well and I thought he was a big little guy. As Grandma Jeanne would say, I wish I could put a brick on her head to make her stop growing so quickly!

3.5 month buby update

She's as sweet as ever, bringing lots of peace and love to our home.

She sleeps through the night, from about 9pm until Emery gets her up in the morning around 8am.

She's eating about 6 oz. at every feeding and is a great burper!

She wears size 3 diapers.

She has really long eyelashes, just like Emery.

She loves her swing but doesn't like pacifiers.

She lights up when Emery comes near or when she hears mommy's voice.

She's outgrown LOTS of clothes and wears 6-12 month sizes now.

She seems to always be warm/hot, just like her brother and mommy, so she wears lots of summer dresses and onesies to keep cool.

She doesn't mind the big bows mommy always puts in her full head of dark hair.

She quite likes baths.

She sucks on her fingers/whole fist to comfort herself.

She LOVES batting at toys and even held a toy today for quite awhile.

She's calm, kissable, and filled with smiles!

fine lines

Emery got a hold of a pen this morning and created a masterpiece.

I'm not sure if it's more Felix the Cat or Gomez Addams... you decide.

talking points

Rocking Emery before his morning nap today, he put his hand on my chest. I started stroking his arm and he said, "NI-ce!" just like I always say to him when he's being sweet with Ruby. I'm always grateful to see some of the good words I say get put to use.

This morning, he brought me his easter basket and told me to "fix it" because the handle had broke. He's really starting to put thoughts together instead of just using one word to express himself. It's crazy how quickly he's picking things up these last few weeks... I'm hearing things all the time that I didn't teach him on purpose, but that he's just picking up through hearing everyday conversations (or that he's hearing me say when I am angry... like "shoot!!"-- I'm waiting for a couple of my slip ups to come out of his mouth at some point).

Last night at nonna and papa's house, we had a fun dinner with Spencer, Missy, Julie, and Stu Edgin. Sitting next to the table in his high chair, Emery was being really loud and trying to get me to notice him. It got a little quiet and I asked him if he just needed some attention, to which he replied clearly, "attention!" Needless to say, we paid him much of it the rest of dinner.

really?

I didn't know that I needed a coloring book as big as my son.

Thanks to Costco for helping me with yet another unnecessary but fun find.

try it. you'll like it.

The "funny faces" segment on Yo Gabba Gabba is now one of Emery's favorites.

After much training, he's become a natural at sticking his tongue out.

If he were on the "cool tricks" segment, he could show his whiny face--

something he's practiced a lot lately.

This is Ruby's I-want-to-nibble-her-cheeks face. She exercises it often.

dress up

Emery is proving that even with just a younger sibling, he can still play dress up with the best of them. Who doesn't want to wear his 3 month old sister's yellow shorts and pink jacket?!? What's even better, he managed to get both his legs into only one of the shorts' leg holes. He fell at every step, but it was still quite a feat.

Papa and Uncle Corey started building Nonna's chicken coop today.

We heard there was a truck involved, so we had to stop by.

The truck was a bit scary, so Emery opted out of a ride in it.

But the dirt was awesome.

Ruby has gotten really good at entertaining herself with her hand.

I think she's gonna be a southpaw like her mommy, Uncle Corey, and Aunt Holly.

Before heading home, Emery got to show off his balance beam skills to Uncle Corey, who was thoroughly amused. Nice hat.