On June 9th, Ryan and I's adorable niece turned 3. I really can't believe she's THREE. I vividly remember going to Lupe's with the Martin clan the night before- Tiff's last single supper. I remember sitting at work during quarter for one of my clients dancing around in my seat all day in anticipation. I remember texting Tiff while she was in labor and being in awe of how calm she seemed. I remember going to visit Kylie when she was a tiny little glow worm her first day home.
Fast forward three years and here Ryan and I are with our own little glow worm. Time plays some crazy tricks!
Anywho - to celebrate, Ryan, Emery & I went over to Ryan's parents' house on Kylie's actual birthday for a family dinner. Delicious spaghetti, homemade cake and presents- what more could any 3 (or 30) year old chickadee ask for? As usual, we had a wonderful time just hanging out and laughing at Kylie's antics.
Over the last year Kylie has grown into such a sweet, sassy little lady. Ryan & I are so proud to call her our niece. I can't wait to see what year four brings! Happy Birthday Miss Kylie.
All kids' favorite part of any party.
Melanie really went all out. How cute is this?
It's a bad idea to blog pictures of cakes when you're hungry.
Not really feeling Uncle Ryan getting in her grill with the iPhone. She's still the prettiest little future pop star you'll ever see.
All for me?
Cousin Emery & a very tired looking Mama.
Tiffany and Kylie deciding who gets to keep which articles of clothing.
Surrounded by a sea of pink- such a cute little girly girl.
On June 8th Ryan's former co-worker, Bryan, married his longtime girlfriend, Gaby, and they were kind enough to invite us. The wedding was at St. Martin's Episcopal church and the reception was on family land in Bentwater out in Conroe. It was probably the most beautiful I have ever been to. After attending I'm surprised that Gaby and Bryan had enough faith in Ryan and his operations co-workers' manners to invite them. I think they also questioned the decision as they put us at the very back table by some industrial sized fans in hopes of silencing any inappropriate remarks they may have made.
Not only was the wedding over the top stunning, I had a fabulous time. Ryan's old operations co-workers are so. much. fun. I spent the evening listening to them talk about 2 chains, use canes in multiple inappropriate pictures and poses, shamelessly make fun of eachother and just generally cause ruckus. On top of the sheer entertainment value of hanging out with them, the wedding itself had a mariachi band. How fun is that? The icing on the cake was that Dena & Shawna were the photographers. So, it was basically the perfect recipe for an ah-mazing night.
I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves in terms of just how gorgeous the soiree was. Thanks to Gaby & Bryan for letting us be a part of their day- we wish you all the happiness and Baylor wins (when not playing UT), in the world. :c)
Succulent garden with my initials? Yes please.
This is only a small sample of the mind-blowing table decor. Every table was slightly different but equally breath taking.
What? You can't see the dance floor from here? All part of Bryan & Gaby's wise planning.
Just a part, yes that's right, a PART, of the incredible favor table.
More favor table action. I hovered for an inappropriate amount of time in this area.
Gorgeous cupcake display. These cupcakes were to die for. I would know because I had two.
Has Bryan mentioned that he went to Baylor? He did.
This, believe it or not, is a porta potty. With granite. Are you wondering why I took a picture? You would too if you found the 8th wonder of the world.
Awesome mariachi band. This picture doesn't even begin to do the beauty of this portion of the tent justice.
Blurry pic of the hubs and I. It's probably better that way by this point in the evening.
Ryan, John, Vishal & Kelly. Eating meat with their hands. Can't take them anywhere nice. I also just realized I took no pics of the bride and groom. I promise they were there. I'll have to nab a picture from Shawna. :c)
The Story
Oh, where to begin? This has been an amazing month... or the end of it has. The first 75% of it were exactly like month 2, but the last week was mind-blowingly awesome. The first few weeks of a baby's life people keep telling you that "it will get better at 3 months." I started wanting to punch them in the mouth a little bit when they would they would tell me that. I thought there was no way that could possibly be the case. I kept thinking- so this precious baby is going to magically stop doing all this stuff overnight? Sha. Fat chance. But then... she kind of did. So... my apologies to anyone I mentally considered flicking in the nose. You were right. My bad!
Why hello there. Nice to see you again.
Let's go back through our lists of challenges, shall we? Challenge # 3: Colic. I would say we have totally kicked this! Babygirl still fusses sometimes but it's typically for a purpose. It's so nice to at least feel like you can solve whatever issue she is having and not to just be blindly grasping at straws during endless crying fits. By blindly grasping at straws I do mean making a million laps around our kitchen island, just to be clear. Thank you, sweet lovebug!
From the looks of that belly you would never believe her Mama had cried profusely because she was too skinny just two short months ago, would you?
Challenge #4: Not being able to set her down. We have made SO MUCH progress on this front. It's truly incredible. Drumroll please... starting May 29th, we have been able to get baby girl to sleep in her pack n' play! That means Mom & Dad have FINALLY gotten to move out of the living room. My triumphant return to sleeping in a bed like a real adult was all I dreamed it would be. Emery started out slowly. She started at a perfect time, too- two days before we left for Miami and six days before I started back to work. The first night she only slept in there for 3.5 hours and I couldn't get her back in after her first feeding. After that she took to it like a champ! She slept in there for between 5-6 hours and then another 2-3 hours both nights she stayed with Ryan's parents while we were gone. Everyone cross your fingers that we don't regress... Mama might have to move out. Seriously though, this has been the greatest gift this little nugget could have given us.
Practicing sliding home to make Aunt Tiffy proud?
Challenge #5: Napping nightmare. A little bit of progress has been made on this front. Towards the end of the month she got to the point where you no longer have to take her into a dark bathroom and run the faucet to get her to sleep. We also don't really have to swaddle her anymore. You still have to be holding her to get her to take a good nap though. We have tried transferring her to the pack n' play after she's asleep and it tyipcally isn't a success. This is precisely why she doesn't sleep very well at school. I'm encouraged by her improvement though and I am hoping that in the next month or two she'll get this one down. If not, I'll take her nap times for her because since starting back at work Mama is REEEEAL tired.
Challenge #6: World War Car Seat. *sigh* I guess if I'm being honest I have to say a little progress has been made on this front? She has about a 20 minute max time limit for happiness in the car. That's if you don't hit any stop signs or lights. It's also assuming that she was just fed and has napped sufficiently. It's like baby jenga riding in the car with that one. Any wrong move and everything will come crashing down. I am thanking our lucky stars we picked a school close to our house because she screams in the car on the way home most evenings. We've tried using a mirror this month and it's really not helping much, unfortunately. If this is the only challenge we have left though- I will gladly accept it.
Perfecting her reverse crunch. It's never too soon to start good workout habits.
Are you waiting for me to outline some new crazy antics for the month? Shockingly, I don't have any. She did have a period about a week before I started back to work where she refused to take a bottle. That was a fun one. One evening I found myself in our master bathroom hiding, drinking a beer while listening to Ryan unsuccessfully trying to feed her in the next room. Totally the motherhood dream. Fortunately we figured out pretty quickly that we needed to change the nipple on the bottle. That seemed to resolve the problem... for now at least.
Overall this month has been chock full of lots of fun firsts. Our precious boogie gets more and more interactive and fun by the hour. She loves to imitate faces right now and it completely warms my heart. Also, when she's in the right mood she will lay next to me and "talk" for 5-10 minute periods. It makes me so excited for the future when she talks and we can understand what she's telling us. Well, 3/4ths excited and 1/4th paralyzed with fear about what she has to say.
Good thing Mama picked the longest calendar she could find.
We've been able to tell little Miss has a personality from the very beginning, but it's so fun to see it evolve. For instance I can tell that she has her Mama's type A need for things to be exactly how she wants or envisions them. If they aren't- she certainly let's people know. She also has her father's complete and utter skepticism of any and everything around her. She really doesn't trust new situations or feelings at all. I pray she harnesses that same skepticism when it comes to the male species. I can't wait to see how these aspects of her personality grow and change as she gets older. We have had so much fun with our little lady this month and I can't wait to see what the next month has in store for us!
The School Stuff
I'm adding this section in this month since she's started school. I am incredibly surprised by how well she seems to be adapting to school. I expected her to be overwhelmed and to cry most of the day, but she seems to be experiencing just the opposite. Maybe she was just bored at home by her Mama and Daddy?
Can you guess where Mama was in this picture?
Thus far in her few short days at school we only have a couple stories. The first one I find funny is from the day we took her for a trial run before I officially started back to work. When we picked her up, Emery's morning teacher, Ms. Melby, remarked that it had taken them a pretty long time to get her to smile at them. It made me laugh because I envision baby Ryan was the same way.
One afternoon when I picked her up, a teacher (Ms. Horne) from the next room was feeding her. She was telling me how precious Emery is and all the usual things that teachers tell parents to make them smile after a long day at work. Emery's normal afternoon teacher, Ms. Gomez, told me that Ms. Horne was remarking earlier about how strong she was. Ms. Gomez told me she was quick to point out that she screams equally as strong. Good to know she is herself at school. :c)
Precious little ruffled bootie.
A different afternoon Mrs. Gomez was telling me how much Emery moves for an allegedly non-mobile child. She demonstrated for me physically how she pushes forward with her feet. Please try to envision a grown woman imitating an infant's lurching forward and try not to laugh. That's what I was doing.
I'm so glad to see that her teachers are enjoying her and taking care of her the way we would at home. Little boogie is so lucky!
Checking her calendar. She's a very busy girl.
The Stats
Height at 2 months: 25.25" inches (97th percentile)
Weight at 2 months: 12 lbs 15 oz (50th percentile)
Head at 2 months: I kept forgetting to measure and I think I'm past the point where measuring now would be accurate. Her head is way too big for her 13.5" bows. Helpful? No?
Diaper size: 2
Clothes: 3-6 months. Emery completely outgrew her 3 month stuff not long after her 2 month birthday. I think kissing the 3 month clothes good bye was rougher on Mama than anyone else.
Feeding: She still eats pretty much every 3 hours, give or take 30 minutes. She has either 3 or 4 four oz bottles at school depending on Ryan's schedule and how busy I am at work
Firsts:
First time wearing 6 month clothes (May 12th)
First time to sleep through the night (May 12th/May 13th)
First time she tried to imitate us sticking our tongue out or blowing raspberries (May 13th)
First time to put her toes in the pool (May 18th)
First time she reached for a toy during tummy time (May 19th)
First time to consistently roll from tummy to back (May 21st)
First time to sleep during the night not on Mom or Dad (May 29th, 3.5 hours in your pack n' play)
First time to stay overnight without Mom or Dad (May 31st - June 2nd)
First day at school (June 4th)
Games: She still really loves practicing standing. This month we have added a little more to the jumping game. From a laying down position, she grabs our fingers and we slowly guide her to sit up. Then we pull up a little bit and she pushes herself into a standing position. Then she "jumps." She also really loves looking at Mama or Daddy and blowing raspberries or just talking. Sometimes she gets upset if we look away or aren't paying attention to her.
Songs: Mama has been singing Pop Goes the Weasel a lot. Thankfully Nonnie reminded me how the song goes. We also sing Do You know the Muffin Man thanks to her new car mirror. Daddy & I still mainly make up songs though. We are true lyricists.
Foods Dripped on Your Head/Fished out of the Moby Wrap: Oatmeal, beer, trail mix and ketchup.
Other Notables: Her hair has started to grow back, thankfully. I am sure everyone will miss mullet photos. It definitely looks lighter but what color it will be is anyone's guess. Some days it looks light brown, sometimes blonde and sometimes it even has a red tint to it. She looks a lot like her Dad all the time, but she looks JUST like him when she is tired or right after she's woken up. She has MASTERED the pouty bottom lip and distressed eyebrows. The face comes approximately 0.5 seconds before she starts wailing. It's so precious and SO dramatic. I need to try to catch it on camera.
By this time you know the drill. Same song, third verse. :c)
Also, I apologize in advance- it appears this month I've either gotten far better at taking pictures or I've just realized that I should take 300 in any given situation and cross my fingers for a few keepers. As a result, there are quite a few photo ops that I couldn't narrow down to just one favorite. I know that's annoying, but it's my blog and I'll photo overkill if I want to, mmmk?
Hey, Mom - have you seen these?! When did they get here?
I would only look at the camera BEFORE Mama remembered to put on my headband. So use your imagination to combine this picture and the one before for maximum cute factor.
This little mini-mullet situation cracks me up. Future Emery - I am not afraid to bust this photo out on your first date. Behave accordingly.
On this special day, Emery refused to fall asleep so Mama diligently walked laps around Nonnie & Grandpa's first floor house for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Future Emery - YOU ARE WELCOME. Eat your vegetables.
Nonnie... get a load of this- Mama wants me to nap. Isn't she crazy?
In this picture I think Emery resembles her Pawpaw Martin. Also, P.S. Gerber- 3-9 month onesie my behind. She's about 2 months and a week here and it's borderline wedgie-esque.
Standing up trying to hightail it out of the Dr's office to escape her 2 month shots. She did not succeed. After the screaming fit she had I would venture to guess all other patients that day wished she had.
Poor sweet baby was so knocked out after her 2 month shots that she busted out this new baby sniped position at Nonnie & Grandpa's.
Two month shots are so hard Nonnie! Let me tell you abo.... Zzzz.
The allusive double plank.
*sigh* I dont like the bug that's already there. You think this one will keep me from screaming? Adults are so ridiculous.
Remember last night when I didn't want to go back to sleep after my 2 am feeding? Gosh that was hilarious!
This is a symbol of survival. Of what, you ask? Oh, just the car ride heard round the world. The last weekend of nights Ryan worked before I went back to work, Em and I drove up to the lake. She never does well in the car but this time she. did. AWFUL. Poor baby was at threat level midnight the entire trip. All 1 hour and 40 minutes of it. As soon as I made it to the lake, I got a beverage. Not the first, or last, time I'll be driven to the bottle by motherhood.
You would think he'd been the one in the car. Grandpa is a superstar at tummy time.
She doesn't look quite as into it as Grandpa, does she? (Also, please don't call CPS - Sophie's foot was not really in Emery's eye. Bad camera angle.)
There's nothing cuter than a sleeping baby. It's not quite as cute when I do this. Just ask anyone who knows me.
Have you ever wondered what Ryan would look like as an infant in a dress? I believe this is your answer.
Nonnie, we've got to get this down before my 4 month shots. I'm not dealing with that again.
Practicing her best I-just-came-out-of-dinner-at-the-Ivy-OMG-how-did-the-paparazzi-get-here look for when she inevitably becomes a star.
"I've got my toes in the water, my @ss in Nonnie's hands..." I think those were the original lyrics.
Catching a snooze on Grandpa.
This better be the last picture for today lady. I don't care if Daddy is at work or not.
Did you think I would forget how much I hated this outfit when you put me in it to come home from the hospital? Guess what? I didn't.
I also hate it while laying down.
You're going to try to put me in the swing? Are you out of your mind?!
Please note her complete and utter disregard for toys. She's far more mesmerized by the couch.
Oh hey Mom! I see you are getting ready. You seem to think that putting me in this bouncer will keep me quiet for a while. It will... until you start using the eyeliner. Then right as you put it to your eye I'll start screaming. Do you really need both eyes anyway?
Mama got so excited that Emery rolled over that she decided to bust out all kinds of big girl toys.
Dad, are you seeing this? She's taking another one. We're just going to the grocery store. What's the big deal?
What?! A lion on Old McDonald's farm? Really scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren't we Mom?
Rocking her M&M onesie from Grandma & Pawpaw Martin. Trust me, she's way more excited than she looks.
Moooooom. Lola's breathing on me!
So stinking precious.
What are you doing back there, you creeper?
Psssst. I'm still not sleeping. I know you think because I woke up every hour and a half last night that putting me down in this thing will surely result in sleep, but no such luck.
Aunt Melanie was so sweet to come over and watch Emery the morning after she woke up every hour and a half so that Mama could sleep. Aunt Melanie wants me to make sure you know she did not leave baby girl like this for long. Don't call CPS on her either.
So your Mom doesn't...
... take pictures with multiple headbands to see which one looks best?
Alright bug. Let's do this.
Just love that little BEEhind. (Totes just did that.)
You're real close Mom. Why don't we back up a little bit, huh?
You want me to roll over again? Nah. I'm good. Think I'll just gather this whole blanket up in my hand and stink eye you instead.
Hey, aren't you the bug from my seat that stared me down the other day? Perhaps either eating you or coating you in slobber will solve this problem.
Looking cute as a button in her outfit from Aunt Melissa for her school trial run.
Those other babies made me so exhausted that I actually slept in my swing for two hours!
I made Aunt Melanie take this picture of Em & I before I left for Court's wedding. This was meant to hold me over until I made it to Miami. I think I made it to the airport. Maybe.
Mom! I'm glad you're back. We have some things to discuss (see below).
Aunt Julie does indeed love her. Props to Ryan for putting the head band on for a picture before he took her to school.
I love this picture!
The first time that Daddy ever picked out an outfit for me. Will Mom let him do it again? Stay tuned for next month to find out.
This month, we have an added bonus- video! I'm taking this documentation thing preeeeeeetty seriously.
What's this "bedtime" you speak of? I'm not interested.
First time putting her toes in the pool.
First time rolling over.
Lady, I have got some things to tellllll you. Listen up.
