What a great day!

We had a great day today! We ventured out to the ever-famous Madison Brat Fest with Greg, Gina, our friend Wendy AND Ada and Emmet. We gooped up with sunscreen, stuffed the diaper bag and loaded up the beloved Radio Flyer Deluxe wagon (someday I will refer to it just as "the wagon" but for now it's still just too special) and hit the road. To say that we rarely leave the house would be a huge understatement so we were a little apprehensive as to how they would react to such a new environment. The weather was beautiful and the Brat Fest was packed with people. The Brat Fest happens to be the finish line for the Madison Marathon and although it used to be just a little festival it has become a huge ordeal complete with carnival rides and bands to listen to. We were able to find a section of grass to park the wagon and spread out a little bit near a stage where a band was playing. Ada and Emmet loved it! Ada danced to the music and they both loved eating brats and hot dogs and playing on the grass. Emmet enjoyed playing with uncle Greg and the hat that he wouldn't keep on his head. Ada tried to escape a few times to go see a "baabee" (baby), which happened to be a little girl who was probably 2 years older than her. Roger and I spend so much time being pseudo single parents that I am still reveling in our family day out and about! It was a blast! My only regret....I forgot the camera!

In other news....Ada has been trying to "mother" Emmet the last couple of days. She has started saying "no no" when he throws his food on the floor. This is rather funny as she seems to think it's perfectly okay that she do it. This morning Emmet did a face plant and was very upset. Ada typically cries or at the very least whines and fake cries when Emmet cries. Today while Roger held Emmet and Ada was whining I was explaining that Emmet was sad and he was crying and I mentioned that he needed a kiss. We scooted closer and she got up and gave Emmet kisses and patted his head. So so so adorable! Also, this afternoon while they were having a snack Ada was intent on feeding Emmet. He was busy playing but she continued to follow him around trying to put a cracker in his mouth. My little mother hen!

That's all for now! Wish I had some pictures to include with this post. I'm still kicking myself for forgetting the camera. Greg took some with his phone so maybe there will be some later!

Emmet stacks

One of Emmet's favorite activities lately is stacking blocks and he's getting pretty good at it too. I love watching him experiment with bigger and smaller, putting things on top of or inside of, and of course stacking things that don't stack well (i.e. balls, phones, stuffed animals). The other night while I was cleaning up dinner I looked over to see that Emmet had stacked 4 blocks all by himself. Of course by the time I got the camera he had knocked them down but he did stack 3 and was working on incorporating a phone when I had returned with the camera.

Ada was having fun talking on her phone...until Emmet confiscated it for his stacking adventure!

Introducing...THE Radio Flyer Deluxe

For Mother's Day Pops brought us a grand surprise...The Radio Flyer Deluxe. We were so excited as this gives us another option besides the stroller,which Ada and Emmet have not been happy in lately. We were so excited to try it out....AND, the verdict is in (you just never know how 1 year olds are going to react to something new) THEY LOVE IT! Seriously, very little to no whining, they babble and giggle and point at things while we're walking. Last weekend Nana and Pops came to babysit so we could go out to celebrate Roger's 38th birthday and Pops took some great pictures of their wagon ride.

Nana pulling Ada and Emmet in the wagon! YIPPIE!

Believe it or not, in the middle of our subdivision there is a farm complete with horses. All of the neighborhood kids like to visit them. This was Ada and Emmet's first time since last summer when they were obviously oblivious (he he, that's kinda funny) to horses. Ada said "neigh neigh" and Emmet barked at it.

Ada pointing at Pops.

Emmet getting sleepy in the wagon.

A trip to Nana's

Ada & Emmet playing piano. Despite their solomn faces in this picture they were having a blast.


Nana's give such yummy treats! Ada was a little unsure of her popsicle at first. This is the face she started showing off whenever Pops picked up the camera.


Mommy & Emmet share a popsicle. Again, such a solomn face...typical Emmet.

A couple of weekends ago (yes, I'm behind) I took Ada & Emmet to Nana's house for a visit. They had a great time playing her piano and eating popsicles on the screen porch. Nana and Pops were pleased as punch to have us over and so was Buddy, their dog. It was great to get out of the house and yet be with people so familiar.

Just the two of us

Ada and Emmet have been interacting with eachother so much more lately. Of course this is adorable at times and frustrating too. Along with the kisses, snuggles and giggles there is also hair pulling, biting, pushing, tackling and slapping. There are times though (as pictured above) when they are enjoying a video together, side by side when I can take the opportunity to snap some pictures. Roger and I are both enjoying parenting at this stage, even with it's challenges. They learn something new every day and it's absolutely fascinating to watch!

Ada News

Ada's fat lip

We're not sure exactly how it happened but Ada received her very first fat lip last week. Roger was cleaning up lunch and heard her crying, when he went to check on her he found her dripping with blood. Poor little girl. She was acting just fine later in the day but looked pretty bad.

Ada has become quite animated as of late. She is cracking us all up with her "talking" and "reading". She loves to "talk" and will babble on and on and on to the dog, while pointing at things, to Emmet. She also "reads" and is absolutely adorable while she reads out loud and turns the pages of her books. He favorite words right now are "daddy", "baby" and "neigh, neigh". She's definitley showing her personality lately and will be crazy happy and excited one minute and then throwing a tantrum the next. She is keeping us on our toes and is close to walking but is still a little unsure of herself yet. She is more and more a toddler and less a baby every day. Where does the time go?

Emmet news

Emmet "W" sitting

Much to my dismay Emmet's favorite sitting position is the "W" sit. He seems to have plateaued again as far as gross motor skills. He CAN crawl but only chooses to do so when he's heading for something to pull himself up to his knees at. Otherwise his main mode of transporting himself from one place to another is scooting, which he has gotten pretty darn fast at and continues to be adorable even though I would much prefer to see him crawling. He does not like to stand and will only do so for about 3 seconds before he collapses. He's still pretty wobbly all around and is ,at times, not quite stable while sitting, which is probably why he chooses to "W" sit. I spoke with our P.T. at school who gave me some suggestions on activities to do with him to help him build up his upper body and core strength. Of course trying to get a 1 year old to comply to some of these things is not always easy. They have their 15 month appointment in a month and we'll speak to the doctor again then about our concerns. In the meantime my P.T. at school said "don't freak out, it just sounds like he's got really low tone and you're going to need to work with him on it." She also offered to come "play"/work with him over the summer! I will be taking her up on that offer.

In other news one of Emmet's favorite things to do lately is SCREECH AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS! Ada thinks this is just hysterical and will yell at him to egg him on. He's been babbling a lot more lately too and is very much into stacking blocks and playing with his puzzles. He is a goofball when you get him going, otherwise he's pretty quiet and loves to watch Ada. I just love my little guy!

Mother's Day 2007

I had a great Mother's Day this year. We had wanted to make a trip to the zoo but the weather wasn't cooperating so Nana and I spent a few hours together shopping. Afterwards the sun was out and the weather was beautiful. We spent the evening grilling out at home with Nana, Pops, Greg and Gina. Ada and Emmet enjoyed the company and entertainment. Pops brought us a Radio Flyer Deluxe, which we can't wait to try out. I so enjoy spending time with my family and just feel so blessed. I can't believe it's been a year already since my very first Mother's Day. I can honestly say that, even with it's challenges, being a mother is THE best thing ever!

A year ago....hard to believe

So, I was feeling nostalgic and was looking at pictures from this time last year. My how life has changed. We were utterly exhausted last year at this time...walking around like zombies not sure what we were doing. Now we have regular naps (I'm saying this as Ada has just woke up from a 20 minute nap that is usually close to 2 hours) and crawlers, babblers, near walking for Ada and two toddlers that keep us on our toes. I can say we are not nearly as exhausted but we're still pretty darn tired and would love to stay up late and sleep in again, if just for one day. Although, for me anyway, my internal alarm clock is set...sleeping in just isn't the same anymore. BUT, I wouldn't change a thing. Oh, just in case there's any confusion Ada is on the right and Emmet is on the left.

Nana & Ada

I had to post this beautiful picture of Ada & Nana.

just a little post

I just had to post a couple of cute little things and one not so cute thing that happened tonight.

Cute thing #1
While reading Goodnight Moon to Ada and Emmet tonight Ada said "shhhh" when
I came to the part "and a quiet old lady who was whispering".

Cute thing #2
Emmet has starting pointing at things now too. We have a book with pictures of
family in it. When I ask "where's ______" he points right at the person.

Not so cute thing #1
Bath time has changed from a wet, exhausting yet fun time to an extremely exhausting, heart pounding, frustrating time. I have been successfully bathing them both at the same time but may need to change that routine now that they are both refusing to sit down and trying to escape the tub. UGH!!!!!

That's all for now!

Fun at the park

We took Ada and Emmet to the park on Sunday. It was 80 degrees and windy. They both really enjoy being outside lately. Emmet literally throws a tantrum as soon as we walk inside. Emmet smiled while he was swinging. Ada was very interested in two older girls who were swinging next to her. We are really enjoying this warmer weather so we can all get out of the house and get some fresh air.

The fun never stops

Just a quick post tonight on our newest developments.

Our biggest news is...
Emmet is crawling!!!!! He started crawling last Sunday. He isn't doing it full time yet but he's working on it. He's also figure out how to get himself up to sitting from laying down and is starting to pull up on furniture. Once again, it seems just when Roger and I start to really worry he develops several new skills in a matter of a week. Also, his hemangioma is looking great too. His hair almost covers it completely now so I hadn't looked at it in a while but after recent inspection it is nearly flat, has the white spots we were told it would get eventually and is very light pink in color as opposed to it's once bright red. I'm just so relieved and proud of my big boy!

Ada continues to demand lots of attention and is pulling up on everything and anything. Last week I found a coaster in our VCR, which I know she put in there because last week Emmet couldn't reach up there. But, the most entertaining development of Ada are her many attempts to sing and do the motions for "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". Oh, it's so adorable! Ada is also constantly pointing at things, especially ceiling lights and ceiling fans. I imagine that if she had words she would be saying "what's that?" over and over again. She's also been saying "ba bye" and is trying to say "moo moo" and "neigh neigh" when she looks at a book about farm animals.

They are both really enjoying eachother, well most of the time. The really enjoying chasing eachother around. There are times that they become irritated with eachother too, especially when it comes to fighting for mom's attentions. Every night they give eachother kisses before going to bed, which absolutely melts my heart.

No pictures this time but it's time for me to hit the hay.

Adventures at the Children's Museum

Since I was on Spring Break this past week, Nana took Friday off and we bundled up the babies (yes, it was FREEZING) and headed downtown to the Children's Museum. It is always quite a production getting out the door, especially in the cold weather. Neither Ada or Emmet were happy about being shoved into their bulky winter coats, which they can't move in, and strapped in the stroller to walk from the parking ramp to get to our destination. BUT, they did enjoy their time in a new environment. They were mesmerized by all of the people and kids and probably would have been happy just watching what everyone else was doing. I'm so glad we went and look forward to spending some more time there as Ada and Emmet get a little older!

Ada and Emmet in the museum's version of "babyland".

Emmet, Ada and Nana look on as some kids work a contraption on the wall near us.

Ada checking out the cool toys.

Emmet the explorer.

more museum pics

Emmet rocking in a cow. Nana and I were both surprised how quickly he caught on a was able to rock himself. He was incredibly pleased with himself!

Ada having some words with a cow. Really, she was looking at a little girl sitting on it.

Ada also enjoyed rocking on the cow.

Ada's first steps

Last weekend at Aunt Gina's birthday party Ada decided to take some unassisted steps between Daddy and Nana. She can only do two steps in succession but she is just pleased as punch with herself. This has become a favorite game of hers lately too. The look on her face when she reaches her destination is amazing!

Sibling love

Here is proof of the kisses and affection I mentioned in a previous post. Doesn't it just make your heart melt?

Our 1st playtime outside

It's hard to believe that we were actually playing outside a couple of weeks ago. As I write this it is probably 25 degrees outside and the wind is blowing. Yes, it is spring time in Wisconsin! Ada was courageous and was happy to explore. Emmet was a little more cautious and definitely did not enjoy touching the grass as is evident by the first picture. We're so looking forward to the warm weather returning, Ada and Emmet spend a lot of time staring out the patio window...I imagine thinking that very same thing.

The House

We got Ada and Emmet "The Laugh and Learn House" for their birthday. They absolutely love it. It has provided some great fun for all of us. It really is a very cool toy. The door opens and closes, window goes up and down, light switch turns the light on and off, the doorbell rings etc. Along with all of the working parts is a voice stating what's happening (i.e. up, down, open, close, on, off) and of course it plays lots of music. I was hesitant because of it's price tag but do not regret the purchase at all!

Our Real Birthday

On March 20th (Ada and Emmet's birthday) we had a small family birthday celebration at breakfast with blueberry pancakes, which they loved!