Wordless Wednesday

Happy Valentine's Day!

We didn't have any big plans this Valentine's Day.  I got both kids dressed in their Valentine's Day outfits and we headed off to school.  Both kids were having Valentine's Day parties in the afternoon at school and Shawn was planning on going.  Em was super excited about her party and handing out her Valentine's to her friends.  I cheated a little bit and used the same valentine's as last year for her.  I just ordered some of the same ones for Evan. 


2 of my 3 Valentines (see that mark under Evan's eye - a "friend" bit him at school!  Poor boy!)

I tried to get a pic of Evan without his paci, but that didn't go over well.

Shawn surprised me at work by sending me 2 dozen roses.  I thought that was the end of my surprise until I got another email saying I had yet another package to pickup.  This time it was chocolate covered strawberries.  Yum!  I will admit that getting surprises sent to work is fun!  :)

We didn't have any special dinner plans this year.  We thought about going out to dinner, but Evan wasn't feeling great so we opted to just order some pizza. 

I'm a lucky girl to have 3 Valentines!

Twenty Months

Dear Evan,

You are officially out of the "teen" months and into the "twenties."  It's crazy to me when I think about the fact that you're only 4 months away from being 2.  I really have no idea how that is even possible!

I feel like you've learned so much in just the past month!  I can see you turning into a little boy instead of a toddler.  You just seem so much older.  You continue to practice your colors all day, every day.  You like to point to things and tell us which color it is and also sign the color.  You've learned a few more colors this month and can now recognize and say (and sign) blue, green, orange, yellow, purple, red, pink, brown, black and white.  You have officially transitioned from saying mama/dada to saying mommy/daddy.  Now when you wake up we hear you yell mommy or daddy, until we come get you.

You have learned to call Emily by her name.  You call her "Emmy."  All day we hear "Emmy, Emmy."  You always want to know where she is and you get upset if she's upset.  Don't get me wrong, you two love to push each other's buttons and often times have trouble sharing with the other, but I know you guys love each other so much! You can also say your own name.

Starting this month you have really begun to play more independently.  You don't need mommy or daddy playing with you at all times.   Up until now you could care less about the tv, but starting this month you've begun to show more interest.  You like watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Chuggington and the Chica show.  You do not like Sofia the First, which of course happens to be your sister's favorite show.

You still love to read books.  Your 2 favorites are Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Goodnight Moon.  You say their name when you are looking for them (Brown Bear and Moon).  Starting this month you have begun playing Peekaboo Barn and The Wheels on the Bus on my phone.  You love it and will constantly say "animal" and "bus" over and over again when you see my phone. 

Unfortunately, you are still in the hitting phase.  We've asked at school and they say you don't do it there, so I really feel like when you do it at home, you aren't trying to be mean.  Instead I think you think it's funny.  As a result, the timeouts have continued.  We've had to move timeout to the pack n play in the guest room because you won't sit in the corner.

Your vocabulary continues to grow each month.  You can now say several 2 word phrases.  . ."all wet, all done, bounce house, more fruit, etc."  You are still completely attached to your lovey and paci.  You can now say "lovey" which is helpful to let us know what you want.

As with every month, your appetite continues to be hit or miss.  Some days you won't be the least bit interested in meals and other times we can't give you enough.  Fruits and veggies are still your favorite.  You love sweets!  Whenever you tell us you want a snack (you say "snack"), you immediately point to the candy and suckers.  That's all you would eat if we let you.

You had your second case of strep this month.  I'm really hoping this doesn't become an ongoing issue like the ear infections.

Happy 20 months, little man!  Love you!!

20 Month Stats
Weight: No appt. this month
Length: No appt this month
Head: No appt this month
Bedtime: 7:30
Awake: 7:00
Naps: 1 nap a day from 12:30-2:30
Diapers: Size 4 Pampers
Clothes: 12-18 month pants, 18-24 month shirts and jammies
Favorites: climbing, jumping, playing outside, reading books, fruit, Em's kitchen, lovey, paci
Development: saying more words, saying 2 word phrases, recognize and says all colors, recognizes and names family members
Teeth: 16 - just missing his 2 year old molars
Shoe Size: 5 Extra Wide

Wordless Wednesday

Conversations With Emily

Em: "I don't like my name anymore.  It's too old.  I've had it for like 20 days."

Em: "You can call me Ina."

 

....................................................................................................................................................

 

This was our conversation driving to school this morning. . .

Em: "Will you buy my baby some clothes from that store in the mall?"

Me: "You have lots of clothes for your baby.  They are in the little suitcase in your room."

Em: "No, not for my bitty baby, my real baby, the one that's in my tummy."

Me: "Oh, that baby.  Well, let's wait until the baby comes out, then we'll buy clothes."

Em: "Ok, that sounds good."

Conversations With Emily

We were eating dinner last night when Em told us she had to go to the bathroom.  Shawn told her that her green beans would be waiting for her once she was done.  Here's our conversation upon her returning from the bathroom.

Em: "These don't taste very good." (as she's holding up a green bean)

Em: "I think it's because I just washed my hands." (she was using her hands to eat them)

Shawn: "So having clean hands made them taste bad?  Did you not get all the soap off?"

Shawn: "Maybe you should use your fork instead of your hands then."

Em: "Nope, this isn't working either.  They still taste bad." (she's picking them up and putting them on the fork)

 

As I'm doing dishes I look over and notice that she's now eating some more of her grilled cheese.

 

Me: "So does your grilled cheese taste bad too?"

Em: "No, it tastes good."

Me: "Hmm, guess the clean hands aren't the problem then."

Shawn: "Seems like you need a better excuse now, Em."

Daddy / Daughter Valentine's Dance

Each year our city puts on a Daddy/Daughter Valentine's Dance.  We've looked into it in the past, but the recommended ages are Pre-K and up.  I actually didn't even think of it this year, but out of the blue Shawn sent me an email with all the info and told me he was going to sign up to go. He is such a great Daddy!  I knew Em would love going and I was excited for them to go.  I suggested they sign up for a later dance, instead of the recommended one for Pre-K, so they could go out to dinner afterwards.  Shawn agreed and so it was all set.  After signing up, he mentioned it to his friend Tommy and he and his daughter, Aubrey, decided to join.  I'm glad they did.  I knew both Em (and Shawn) would probably have even more fun if friends joined them.

I searched online at Macy's and Dillards and picked out about 4-5 dresses that I liked.  I showed each one to Em and she got the final say on which dress she wanted to wear.  She was so excited when she got it in the mail and could try it on.  She wouldn't stop twirling! 

Em loved getting all dressed up for the dance.  She was so excited that Daddy was getting all dressed up too.  She kept telling me, "Daddy is going to look so handsome" while we were waiting downstairs for him. Shawn ordered a corsage for Em and she loved her flower.

Shawn said he was surprised at how nice everything was.  He said they had tons of snacks and the ballroom was all decorated.  He said it was packed though!  He said for the first half all Em wanted to do was sit and have snacks, but by the second half she was up dancing.   Shawn said it was really dark inside the ballroom, so his phone pics didn't turn out so well, but at least we got some.

After the dance, they had reservations at Benihana.  We've never taken Em to a place like this before, but I knew she would love it.  They went out for ice cream after dinner.  It sounds like they had fun and we're hoping to make this an annual tradition.

And while Em and Shawn we're having some Daddy/Daughter time, me and Evan were having some quality time of our own.  Evan helped me run all of my errands.  He did such a great job running errands with me, that I treated him to a ride on the carousel and some ice cream at the mall.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Gram

As I've mentioned in the past, I love when the kids get Happy Gram's from school.  I especially loved reading Em's from last week.

And I loved Evan's note on his daily sheet from today.

Conversations With Emily

One night I caught Em jumping on her pillows in her room. I asked her to stop and then went to leave.  She started to close the door behind me, but not before saying:  "I'm not closing my door because I want to jump on my pillows, Mommy."  That's totally what she was doing though.

We were sitting at dinner one night when Em said "Daddy is a knower because he knows stuff.  And he knows what needs to be fixed and how to fix it."

January I Phone Pics

Emily and Aubrey at Rudy's

Mimi and Papa bought Em this craft box for Christmas and she LOVES it!

On the way to school one morning.  He insists on holding this tiger the whole way.

Em told us now that she's 4 she can do adult things.  So we told her she could give Evan a bath and put him to bed.  Here she is reading him a bed time story.

Daddy/Son Selfie

Mommy/Son Selfie

On the way home from dance, Em decided that her monkey needed to be buckled in Evan's carseat.

Normally Em doesn't take a nap on the weekends, but this day I caught her sleeping with all of her animals.

Em had a playdate over at her best friend, Serena's house.  Her mom sent me these pics.

I bought brand new tights for Em and the first day she wore them she came home looking like this.

Evan loves when it's time to help change the air filters.

So big.

Helping Daddy rake the leaves.

A swing for 3?

What? You don't vacuum your sidewalk?

Or put a firetruck in your fridge?





This boy LOVES bubble baths!

Enjoying 70 degree weather in Jan!

Snuggles in bed on a Sunday morning