More favorites: Emily's 2-month-old photos

Photography by Inma Ruggieri
www.sevillaphoto.com

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I changed the settings on my blog, so now anyone can post a comment. I appreciate you taking the time to read my postings. =)

~ Amber

Emily Grace - 2 months old

I can't believe my baby is already two months old! She is now 11 pounds 10.5 ounces and 22 1/4 inches. I am amazed at how fast she's growing and how much she smiles and babbles. For the most part, she's been a very content baby (as long as she's burped often). She enjoys her big brother's company when he's nice to her. =)

One night she slept for eight hours straight, but on average she sleeps six hours straight. She usually nurses and goes right back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. This is a blessing, since I love to sleep!

Our friend/photographer, Inma Ruggieri recently took Emily's 2-month-old photos. It was her baby shower gift to me. I love the way they turned out! Here are some of my favorites below. I will post more of my favorites once she gives me the rest of them.

Potty training my big boy

The early days of potty training...
Ethan when he was 20 months old

Wow, this past week has been crazy! On Monday morning when Ethan, my 2 1/2-year-old son woke up he decided he no longer wanted to wear a diaper. To my surprise, I found him jumping on his bed in his birthday suit. My smile quickly turned upside down when he said, "Mommy, I went pee-pee in the bed." I had no idea if it was an accident or if he did it on purpose to get my attention. Rather than getting upset, I took it as a hint that he needed to be potty trained immediately. He had occasionally gone potty in his chair, but always refused to go poop in it.

He had several accidents in his underwear that morning, but I was told by my sister who successfully potty trained her daughter to not give up once I start. She was the support I needed to get me through this, otherwise I would have given up that morning.

Before his nap I put a diaper on him with underwear over it to prevent another accident. Unfortunately, he outsmarted me by taking off his diaper and wet the bed again! That's when I had to walk away and give myself a "time-out". Later that day when he was due for another nap (since the first one was very short) I was ahead of the game. I found some tape in Ryan's toolbox and wrapped it around the top of his diaper. Then I put his underwear and a pair of jeans over it. Evidently it did the trick, since he gave up and went to sleep after attempting to pull the tape off.

On Tuesday he did much better and had less accidents, although he still refused to go poop in his potty chair. On Wednesday he totally caught me off guard. He went poop twice in his potty chair after telling me that he needed to go. Ryan and I were so proud of him!

Today he went to stay with his grandparents for two nights, which is the first time he's been away from home overnight without us. I, of course, made sure to pack his potty chair. So far he's been going potty there and I'm praying that he'll go poop too. I obviously miss him, since I'm sitting here writing about him. =)

Despite all of the controversy, we've been rewarding him with stickers, chocolate bunnies, and will give him the "Thomas the Train" table/train set if he goes poop in his potty chair two more times. There's no turning back now. I'm determined to try to see the light at the end of the tunnel, even while cleaning up unwanted messes. I now admire all of the parents who have potty trained their child. It's definitely one of the most challenging things a parent must do.

Priceless...

Today was an interesting day and I'm sure that most moms with toddlers can relate. =)

When I told my 2-year-old son, Ethan that his baby sister had bad gas he replied, "Does sissy need a gas station?" Then he managed to shove a piece of a chocolate bunny graham up his nostril. He yelled, "Mommy, please get it out!" Luckily, he blew it out right away. I was relieved we didn't have to take him to the hospital, since I desperately needed a shower and Ryan was in the middle of a house project. Just before bedtime while holding me tightly he repeatedly said, "Snuggle one more time...don't leave...don't say bye-bye." His sweet little voice made it so difficult for me to leave his bunk bed after kissing him goodnight.

He is a very active little boy that often tends to frustrate me, but at the end of the day I realize that it's all worthwhile. If I have to experience busy days and sleepless nights in order to raise two precious, healthy children then I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Ethan being silly today (2 1/2 years old)

My active & lovable little man

Emily looking so cute & relaxed today (7 weeks old)

She's been smiling for the past 3 weeks now =)

Terrible two's

Ethan has been one very active toddler, especially since his baby sister was born. He has done some things over the past couple of weeks that I’ve found to be both hilarious and scary. Some of these incidents have occurred when I was half asleep or sound asleep, since I’m sleep deprived due to having a 7-week-old baby.

This morning I woke up to the clinging and clanging sound of coins next to my bed. Ethan had found his daddy’s spare change. Ryan recently taught him the names of each coin, so I assumed that he was only playing with a few. I found it to be no big deal, since he does really well with money as far as NOT putting it in his mouth. Later on, when I walked by his Little Tikes police car I glanced down and saw a huge pile of change in the “trunk” of his car. I couldn’t believe that he transported all of those coins by hand while I was sound asleep. As I was laughing hysterically he said, “Take a picture…call daddy.” He read my mind. I immediately took a picture and called Ryan at work to tell him what a character his son is. Ethan was so proud of what he had done.

Now last week was a different story. My precious son nearly caused me to have a heart attack. When I woke up at 7:30 a.m. it was very quiet and Ethan was not in his bedroom, or anywhere else in the house. As soon as I started to panic I spotted him through the back sliding door. He was in the backyard playing with his toys, which he got from the garage. I calmly explained to him that it is very dangerous to go outside without mommy or daddy. That experience has caused us to take better precautions, which will keep our active toddler inside. Fortunately, the inside of our house is very childproofed.

I’ve found that constantly keeping an eye on Ethan is very tiring, especially when he’s in the same vicinity as his baby sister. It is one of the most challenging things I’ve experienced so far as a mother of two.

Proud of being a coin collector

Ready to go shopping with daddy's $

Oh no...he found mommy's mascara

Little warrior ready for a scrub down

Mother's Day

I know I'm a little late, but this Mother's Day was the best one I've had so far. Ryan and I decided to host the special day, since Emily was only two weeks old. It was such a blessing to spend the day with my family and friends, especially with BOTH of my kids. Ryan cooked the meal we had on our wedding day for everyone, which was absolutely delicious. My gifts from Ryan, Ethan, and Emily were a new backyard porch swing and a fan for my laundry area, both of which I love! Here are some photos from my special day...