Happy Birthday Emmett

Emmett is 3 years old today! In keeping with my pictures from the past, I had to share some of his. Here is his as a brand new newborn.


This next picture is the next day in the hospital. I just LOVED his hair. Kind of spiky and so soft. He had a hat on usually, but when it was off I just couldn't resist his hair.



The next 2 are pictures I took in my quest for the perfect birth announcement picture. (I didn't use either of these.)



Finally, a picture when is isn't so newborn, but still a baby. Just too cute not to share.

I realize that many of my posts about Emmett are about his ability to drive me a bit mad. That is true, but I do have to say that he is so sweet, too. He is a very helpful little boy. When I have work to do, he is always willing to help and is a good helper. Emmett loves to help me in the kitchen, too. He is also my dishwasher helper. Emmett is also a very quick learner. He just seems to pick things up without much effort and on his own. Things like potty training, puzzles, and letters to name a few. Emmett makes us laugh. He is a funny little boy. He is always trying to climb onto our backs/shoulders/necks anytime he has access to them. He just climbs up there and hangs out. The other day he stood behind me and turned my face to his and kissed my cheek -- about 10 times. I was laughing so hard. He also likes to turn our faces toward his when he is talking and he doesn't think we are listening. Emmett cannot talk, tell a story, or listen to a someone else unless everyone else is quiet, and that sometimes applies to loud background noises. He does not like scary images or talk of scary things (ghosts, witches, "scary" parts in kids' movies)--unlike Ethan who loves this stuff. He is recently a daddy's boy. If he is scolded at all during the day he cries, "I want my daddy!" Emmett is also our adventerous eater. He will try anything and likes a lot of things most kids don't like.

He just had is 3 year well child visit. As always after such visits, I rush home to see how he compares to Ethan's height and weight at that age. Emmett is a bit taller and a bit heavier than Ethan was at 3, which surprised me, especially the height! As I looked back at his growth I was amazed! He started life out in the less than 3rd %ile! And now he is in the 75th %ile for both!

The Aftermath

The party is done. Crumbs, toy twist ties, wrapping paper, packaging, and toys line the floor. Here they are playing with some of the new toys.

Preparations for Emmett's 3rd Birthday Party

Today was our prep. day for Emmett's birthday party. Due to the the large number of family members who attend our parties, we usually need to make 2 cakes. This year I made my standard super-rich chocolate bundt cake. I then made a second of these cakes to make the these two fun cakes. My mom, though, gets the credit for the decoration of these cakes. She also watched the boys this evening so I could get a last-minute birthday gift and so Aaron could study for an upcoming test. She even made some extra food for the party! What a great woman.

When Emmett and I were making the frosting this morning, he wanted to dump ingredients in for me. I kept beating him to it (honestly, who wants to hand over a measuring cup filled with powered sugar to a 3 year old?). So, when I got the cocoa out he insisted he dump that one by saying to me, "I want to dump the diet coke, mom." HILARIOUS! (coke/cocoa -- for those of you who didn't get it!)

More Birthday Pictures

Ethan Eating his Sundae, Emmett and Mia, Playing in the Trail, Inspecting the Grasshoppers

Happy 4th Birthday Ethan!

On Sun. we celebrated Ethan's 4th Birthday. Friends and family came over to create their own ice cream sundaes. We polished off 2 gallons of ice cream in no time! The kids had a great time, too. They ran all over playing on the swing set and in our Adventure Trails. Aaron even organized a grasshopper catch competition to see who could catch the biggest grasshopper. It was cute to see them all running around the yard chasing after grasshoppers. Ethan received great gifts and many of them Transformer related. He got a lot of new games for us to play as family, which I am very excited about. It is fun that he is getting to the age where we can play games now. Carson ended up spending the night ... they just kept talking and talking. I think they finally crashed just a tad before midnight. Just too much stimulation with new toys and a Transformer pillowcase to sleep on! More pictures to come once I get them from Tabitha's camera!