Emma | four months

Emma in now four months old! She continues to be a little sweetheart and a wonderful addition to the family. At her doctor's appointment this week she was measuring in the 97th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. She definitely takes after her dad! She recently switched from nursing six times a day to five, which means she is taking less frequent, longer naps and going to bed a little earlier. She eats at 6:00, 9:30, 1:30, 5:30, and 9:30. She usually wakes up a little before six in the morning, but will go back down with a pacifier most days. 

She still loves tummy time and is getting pretty close to rolling over. She loves to grab things, but gets really worked up after just a few minutes so we usually have to give her a break. It's amazing what simple things will get her overstimulated! Braden still loves to talk to her, kiss her, lay by her, and peek at her in the crib. One of his favorite things is when Braden gets to see Emma wake up from a nap. He always gets so excited and says, "Oh hi, Emma girl!" (or Sweetie pie, or Emma Emma)

Emma | 3 months

I can't believe Emma is already 3 months old. It has gone by so fast! Well, not the first four weeks, but everything else has. :) Emma is now on a set eating/sleeping schedule, which has made all our lives easier. She eats at 6:00 a.m., 9:30, 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, and 10:00 p.m. She has been getting much better at having about an hour and half of good awake time before napping between each feeding. She loves taking baths and kicks her legs the whole time. We have been working so hard to make sure she turns her head both ways so she won't have to get a helmet like Braden. So far she doesn't have any flat spots! We love to watch her become more and more alert and aware of what's going on around her. We love this stage!

Here is the comparison between Braden and Emma. I think they look a lot more similar than these pictures show. 

Since I never got to post Emma's one and two month pictures, I'll just include them here!

Family Pictures

While Kristin and Greg were here over the weekend, we decided to do some informal family pictures. We got the kids dressed, walked to the building across the street, and were done in fifteen minutes! My kind of photo shoot :) Braden was in a crazy mood since stake conference was right during his nap earlier that day. It was right before bed, so I'm actually surprised we got any pictures without him crying! 

Kristin is so good at taking pictures and Greg did a fantastic job getting all of us to smile and laugh before each shot. They make a great team!

While Devin and I were taking some pictures of the two of us, Greg was showing Braden the screen of that electrical monitor (see picture at the end). When Greg had to put him down to help Kristin, Braden had a meltdown. He cried full volume in this position for a good two minutes! I love this picture because it pretty much sums up all of the emotions he was feeling during pictures. 

Emma's Blessing

We blessed Emma on April 12, 2015. It was such a beautiful day! It was really different not having any of either of our families there, but we have become close to a lot of our ward members so we didn't feel alone. Emma was very well behaved and stayed quiet throughout the blessing. We had purchased her blessing dress a few months before her blessing so it was tight and very short by the time she actually wore it. I loved seeing her little legs with those flower shoes. 

Braden | twelve months

What a wonderful year it has been having this little guy in our lives! Looking back at the crazy months leading up to his arrival (having 8:00 a.m. classes at the peak of my morning sickness, walking around the Tanner building in the business school nine months pregnant with a huge belly, taking my finals all in one day just two days before giving birth, etc.), sometimes I can't believe I made it through! It was one happy day when he was born and Devin and I could take a deep breath. Looking back also helps me realize how worth all of it was. Nothing could have prepared me for the joy that little boy has brought into my life. He is such a special blessing in our lives.

Here are a few things about one-year-old Braden:

- He has seven teeth now (four on top, three on bottom)
- He is ALWAYS holding either a spoon or a measuring cup. Most kids have a favorite blanket or a teddy bear, but for some reason Braden has become extremely attached to his hard plastic utensils and measuring cups. A master chef in the making!
- He loves being in on the action. If I am cooking dinner, he wants to be held so he can watch what's happening. 
- He loves to play his mini piano that his Young grandparents gave him for his birthday. I love to watch him bounce up and down to the music as he plays.
- He loves to stand at his bedroom and wait for Devin to come home. I love to watch his excitement as Devin pulls into the driveway and knocks on the window. Braden loves his dad :)
- His favorite foods are mandarin oranges, toast with jam, yogurt, fruit snacks, and applesauce.
- He battled through a week of sickness over Christmas break, which thankfully was the first time he's been that sick. 
- He's still very timid when it comes to walking, but has loved walking behind the bus the Clarke grandparents gave him for his birthday. 
- He learned how to wave when saying hi. Sometimes he just wiggles his fingers without lifting his arm though, so it can be hard to notice :)

We love him so much!

Braden | eleven months

Here is what Braden has been up to this month:

- He has become a great crawler and only knows one pace: FAST.

- He is much more adventurous and always has bumps and bruises to prove it.

- He still loves to play with any kind of ball and is getting better at throwing.

- He learned how to clap

- His facial expressions get funnier every day. He loves when we copy the face that he's doing.

- He laughs at EVERYTHING! Sometimes I can't tell if it's a real laugh or a courtesy laugh.

- He does something funny and then looks around the room to make sure everyone saw it.

- He loves reading, but sometimes turns the pages faster than I can read them

- He loves going to the park to swing on the swings

We absolutely love the stage he's in right now! He is so active and so fun to play with. We're having to do some major baby proofing, but we're happy to do it.

It was impossible to get any sitting pictures of him this month! He would not sit still! 

This just about sums up the photo shoot. He seemed to be completely aware that he was not doing what I wanted. 

Trying to escape 

My favorite face! 

He loves toast with butter and jam!