July!

I'm lovin' this! Really this is perfection! Dickerson party of 5. Party would be an accurate description of the vibe around the house right now. Emrie Ann and Henry seem to be extra excited and even more energetic than usual. Emrie Ann is loving dressing baby Greta by picking out each outfit,it has been lots of fun! Henry is full of love for his baby sister. He is catching on,but the reminders are constant that we have to be gentle and use soft hands with the baby. He has an occasional melt down when mommy can't carry him around but I suspect that those will get fewer as time passes. Besides he seems so heavy to me now, did he grow or does he seem huge just because Greta is so small? Emrie Ann jumps at the chance to hold baby Greta and rub her skin, she is in heaven while rubbing that super baby soft skin.

I realize it has been a month since I updated my blog, shame on me! Lots of fun has happened in July. The kids enjoyed the 4th and the fireworks. Henry was too busy to sit still and watch so he and Papa Emery did lots of wondering around. Emrie Ann enjoyed the light show but Mama Jane had to hold very tightly her hands over Emries ears. Mommy was quite uncomfortable at this point with Baby and I am pretty sure my walk had turned into a waddle!

My weekly OB checks began, which was a good feeling to know the end is getting near! Although I was absolutely sure that I would go past my due date as I did with Emrie and Henry. Kids have a way of proving you wrong, huh?

We did some shopping to prepare for Baby and Emrie enjoyed helping pick out the outfits for a newborn baby boy or baby girl. She talked Alot about the baby in HER belly. We all got quite a kick out of her and HER baby. Emrie said one evening during a dinner she didn't really care for that her baby in her belly didn't like that food. A good excuse in her mind for getting out of eating. It worked the other way around too if it was something she really enjoyed-Surprise her baby did too!

Henry is so busy and just loves to be outside! In typical little boy fashion he can find dirt anywhere and requires a bath after most every trip outside! And it is not uncommon for him to eat some dirt either! He is still in the midst of his terrible twos and diaper changes are one of his least favorite things to do. (hmm maybe potty training soon, we'll cross our fingers for an easy transition!) Henry is oozing with orneriness, he has been a little stir crazy at home since the arrival of Greta. The crazy heat has kept us inside and he gets a little squirrel-y bring trapped indoors.

We also did our first camping of the year on the big hill with the Martins. It was a perfect evening for a fire and all the yummy camping food! The kids sure enjoyed the toasted marshmallows, I did too(with a side of Tums!). I made one short attempt to sleep in the tent with the kids but quickly decided that being that far along in my pregnancy made sleeping on the ground even less desirable than it is non-pregnant! So mommy and Henry caved and went to sleep at Mama and Papas! Emrie was so proud the next morning, she was so happy to have seen shooting stars and to have made it through the night in the tent for her first time! The first time Emrie saw me after having Greta and she realized my belly was somewhat deflated belly she said "Now we can go camping mommy!"

Greta Jane arrived on Friday July 15th at 2 in the afternoon. My water broke Thursday evening 11:30pm after just dropping off to sleep. I was not prepared to dash off to the hospital and neither was Greg but Dr Santino had advised us to quickly make our way to the hospital. So we gathered up our necessary items and left home feeling nervous and anxious. Beth and Jeremiah came right up to watch the kids which were sound asleep when we left. My contractions were regular and 5-7 minutes apart. Progress was slow through the night and sleep was not obtainable. Friday morning around 9 they decided to give me Pitocin to help speed up and regulate the contractions. Shortly there after I received my epidura, Praise God! l:-) Mom had arrived early Friday morning and after slow progress she thought she would have plenty of time to run to Logan. Greg got a little..(okay a lot!) anxious without her there and contractions becoming stronger and more frequent. I called mom and she turned around and headed back to the hospital. (Thanks mom for being there you certainly help to keep Greg calm!) Mama Linda waited anxiously in the waiting area eager for the arrival of our new baby! (Thanks Linda for the new pj's!) After intense contractions began around 2 it was time to start pushing and at 2:13pm Greta was in my arms!
7 lbs 6 ounces a beautiful miracle, a gift from God!

Aunt Beth and Jeremiah brought Emrie and Henry to meet their baby sister just a few hours later.

Uncle Aaron and Aunt Ea took Emrie to see her first movie that evening, Winnie the Pooh. She LOVED it and ate a whole bag of popcorn!

Saturday afternoon exactly 24 hours after Greta was born we left the hospital very anxious to be at home.

Aunt Beth and Mama Jane were busy around the house doing laundry washing up all the baby girl clothes and assembling the pack'n plays into changing tables and bassinets. Mama went to the store to load us up with groceries and fixed our dinner. Aaron and Ea came over that evening and Daddy and Aaron hung the swing/glider that Baby Greta got for her Big Sister and Big Brother! A fun, exciting, exhausting day!

Praise God for a month filled full of blessings!

Baycation Yay!

We are at the beach and life is good! One full day down and it was a complete success! Traveling to the beach was not to bad either, we bought our first family mini van and it was a smooth and spacious ride! Praise God for it and now we have room for the new baby! We won't have to take Emries advice and put the baby in the trunk of the sedan! I felt sad and happy watching the kids ride to the beach they weren't sitting side by side as closely as they would in the car so Emrie couldn't rub Henrys skin or fall asleep holding hands as they so often did in the car. But they also couldn't aggravate the other quite as easily either. I will always have the sweet picture in my mind of them riding hand in hand together. Sunday, today the kids were up and at 'em at 6:45. We were in the pool by 8 and to the beach at 9. Sunblock was applied thoroughly before heading out and reapplied often out in the sun, but the weather was not to hot but a perfect high eighties! Emrie enjoys the freedom that her Puddle Jumper life vest allows her at the pool. She swims here and there busy kicking and splashing and of course keeping track of the comings and goings of everyone else. Henry is not crazy about a life vest but is happy to be in the pool and thinks he doesn't need to be held at all times. I have a hand on him at all times when near the pool, he is just at that perfect age to have no fears and no understanding of all the danger, meanwhile I have all the fears and worries running laps thru my head. Beach time was priceless. Both kids were busy usually running in opposite directions. Emrie wasn't to brave getting very far into the water, which was perfect, and Henry would put his toes in a little but they mostly ran around digging and playing in the sand. At one point this evening Emrie was losing her bottoms to her swimsuit from the load of sand she was carrying around. Henry was pretty well covered head to toe and it didn't seem to bother him one bit. We hosed them off in the front yard stripped down and bathtime was in order!

Praise God for providing a new safe and spacious vehicle for our growing family!

Beachy Thursday :-)

Thursday already! Time surely flies when your having fun. The kids have played so hard this week. It was been lots of fun to watch them running on the beach, watching the airplanes-each one gets Henrys attention, Emrie collected shells for quite some time with her hot pink shell collecting bag just to insist that Jeremiah bury them all in a big hole. Henry gets a little tired running on the beach at which point he flops down wherever in the sand not minding one bit he gets covered in it. Henry will probably be more content next year in the pool when he can have a puddle jumper and have the freedom that Emrie enjoys. He does like his little cabana float for a while and likes to pretend he is making coffee with his little blue watering can. Last night we flew kites and the kids did really well. Henry did pretty good holding onto his panda bear kite, he had more interest in it than you would think for a 1 year old. Emrie she was really into it! Mama and Papa got her a silly looking little girl kite and she flew her high for probably an hour. She had her up as far as her string could go and after winding her in to put her away she let her back up again! Perfect weather on the beach both day and night when the sun gets warm the water temp is perfect for cooling down. Henry has enjoyed the porch, he wanted to eat his breakfast outside this morning. I think he likes having a birds eye view on the pool, and neighbors! We went shopping this morning of course Emrie got a real charge out of that, she so loves to get new clothes! Henry doesn't seem to mind going store to store he even took a little cap nap while we shopped. He was happy to wake up to us eating Chick fil-A. At Atatlya Huntington Beach State park we attempted to take family photos which is a challenge to say the least when dealing with 3 & 1 year olds. Perhaps we got one good family pic but I haven't seen them yet and I am betting Emrie has her lip out or Henry is arching his back in protest to such an awful activity as family portraits! Oh well it captures the nature of a young child perfectly I am sure.

*Sigh for a perfect week going by entirely way to fast.

Praise God for good weather and family time!

*Sigh*

Seeing things her own way!

Henry with blue sand everywhere!

Boy... it has certainly been a rough afternoon for Mommy, to be perfectly honest. What started out as a great day with lots of fun and giggling quickly turned into an upsetting, frustrating, quarrelsome afternoon.

On our next to last Friday of school Lilly and Lydia came to spend the day with us. Oh how excited the girls were to be together as BFFs. They played and laughed enjoying each others company to the fullest until a few hours into the day when sharing didn't seem like fun anymore and the others actions were growing slightly annoying. That was okay it was lunch time and then naps and that would be the cure all, Right?

WRONG!

Mommy and Daddy had made arrangements to go out for dinner, while Aunt Beth and Mama Jane would take the kids to go see Great Grandma Morgan.

After an hour of napping I attempted to wake Emrie and struck out, so moved on to Henry who was slightly out of sorts but manageable in getting awake and dressed for the outing.

Back to Emrie for attempt number 2 in getting her ready to go and then the trouble began.

Dun, dun, dun.

She didn't want to wake up, she didn't want to get her hair pulled up, she didn't want to go, she didn't want to get in Aunt Beths car, she didn't want to get her shoes on, she didn't want to go anywhere, she didn't want to go see Great Grandma, she didn't want to go out to eat, she didn't want to leave, she didn't want to etc. etc. etc! (All these things, by the way are things she likes to do!)

"You are going, Mommy and Daddy won't be home. You will get ready and you will get ready now." says Mommy

And then the crying, flailing, kicking, swatting, pushing all begins.

Strong will and determination on her part is in full swing, you can see the monster in her eyes that she will under no circumstance give in to the requests of Mommy. So the "spoon" makes a number of appearances to no avail. Daddy arrives home just in time to administer some punishment and motivation to get her down the steps and out the door with Aunt Beth and Mama Jane.

My breaking point had been met and tears were rolling. How on earth could one little 3 year old posses so much aversion to authority? Where did she get that? How can she be so love able and so snugly and then BAM!

I do believe a dinner out was fully earned and much needed for this Mommy.

Punishment is still in the works for a certain little girl who doesn't obey her Mommy and Daddy. I am praying we find an effective, fast acting remedy!

Henry takes it all in, boy I wish I knew what he thinks when we battle with our strong willed girl. I hope he sees that it is not worth it and not is taking notes on how to do it bigger and better!

I peek in on them sleeping, my heart swells and wonder how could anyone not love even the lows and trials of being a parent. She is learning, he is learning, Mommy and Daddy are learning. We have a Heavenly Father who is always patient and loving with his children, (even the strong willed, bull headed ones) hard to wrap my head around that but so thankful for his love and guideance.

Praise God for today and the lessons we learn.

May!

May 1st was perfection...church, lunch, naps and playtime outdoors.

In my last post I didn't realize saying Good-bye to April would allow for saying Hello to May by spending the first full week with the flu...boo!

May 2nd until the present has been less than ideal. Henry and I both were sick at the same time his seeming to be short lived after vomitting he was able to rest well thru the night...me not so much. I don't know if being 29 weeks pregnant made matters worse but recouping from the flu has been challenging. A great big shout out to the Martins, Mom and Mama Linda for pitching in and helping me out! Emrie Ann and Daddy were next in line and while resting sounded great to me more laundry, lysol, bleach, crushed ice and popcicles were in demand a lot!

Anyway we made it thru and I am hoping with all my might that no more nasty viruses come our way for a long time!

Henry update-He is talking and talking alot! This evening I was trying to get him to say his own name it sounded more like Hermie than Henry. He is a kisser, and to hear him say I Love You in his own little way is beyond words! He is all boy and loves to be outside, digging in the dirt or eating the dirt. He is trying to climb up the playhouse ladder or up the slide, neither of which I allow him to do! He holds his little index finger up and says "Be Back" as he walks away from me in the backyard or playground as if I would just let him wonder whatever he wants to go, the gesture is so cute. For the not so cute...if he doesn't want whatever food I have put in front of him it gets tossed to the floor with telling me "NO!" or he swats his cup away in disgust if I try to give it to him and he doesn't want it. But then he does have some manners...he is a little confused though he tells me "your welcome" sounding a bit German when I give him something he should say thank you for.

Emrie Ann update-She is growing...her legs are getting long! She is all about "baycation" and the order of events that lead up to vacation are discussed daily. She also says her belly is getting bigger because she has a baby girl in her belly. In some ways I feel like we have come so far with her and her strong willed ways, but then we have our days when I feel like we have gotten no where! Today a prime example on going outside or not, ended with she and I both in tears because she wears me down like no one else. I know I have this on going battle to consistantly fight with her, so I pray that our little battles of today hopefully make our later ones a bit easier with the firm foundation that MOMMA ISN'T GOING TO GIVE! Rest assured it is never to long before her little fingers are close to mommy once again looking for comfort, and love and of course her "peace"...skin.

Praise God for allowing us to be sick and get over it with healthy bodies!

Good bye April.

I am bidding farewell to April it started on a high and is ending on a low and that is fine but Good Bye Now!

I have battled a cold for nearly 3 weeks, grrrrrr! A mild cold for the first 2 weeks and for a whole week now it has progressively grown worse...although today may be the turning point I have been hoping for! I had a check up with Dr. Santino last Thursday and she instructed me to take Benedryl and Tylenol and I haven't missed a dose since! On top of my misery of a stuffy head, sinus pressure and throbbing the kids have each had a fever and battled the sniffles, snotty noses and coughs. I am pretty sure Daddy is next.

Anyway we still managed to have a fun Easter. We had pre-Easter festivities with Grandma Linda, Aaron, Ea and Uncle Bryan Friday evening. Henry had his fever that evening and was more into lounging in Grandma's arms than much of anything else.

Saturday we went to Mama Janes and Papa Emerys for dinner, bunny cake making, and coloring eggs. Henry was beginning to feel better and Emrie was beginning to feel worse and I was still stuffy headed and miserable. Emrie was eager to set out the carrots and milk for the Easter Bunny before heading to bed.

Sunday morning the kids were happy to see that the Easter Bunny had paid us a visit leaving lots of fun stuff and yummy snacks.

I took the kids and went to Mama and Papas while Greg went to church. Emrie wanted to wear her Easter dress from Grandma Linda despite not going to church, so she and Henry put on their clothes and I was able to take a few outdoor pictures between all the rain clouds. We got a couple good ones!

We also had Aunt Beth take a family Easter photo of the four of us and I will probably not publish that picture...for my face looks swollen and the baby weight is not flattering on me one bit!!

Our Easter egg hunt was able to be outdoors when the rain and clouds cleared out. Emrie and Henry found lots of brightly colored eggs filled with treats. Emrie thought the Easter Bunny had been very sneaky coming out and hiding all those eggs. Henry carried his basket just like a big boy and was happy to fill it all the way up.

Our visit to visit Papa Mike, Nornie and Poppy was postponed since Emrie was feverish all afternoon, but when we are all feeling better I think the Easter Bunny visited there too!

While it is easy to get wrapped in to all the candy and Easter Bunny fun I tried to deliver the message of Jesus in and along the way in preparing for Easter by using this which I found on Focus on the Family.

A Easter lesson for our toddlers!

Real Easter bunnies:

~are white as snow because Jesus takes all sin away (Isaiah 1:18b).

~are gentle, kind-hearted and forgiving (Ephesians 4:32).

~have big ears that are quick to listen (James 1:19).

~have big eyes to look carefully and choose what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

~have no voice for complaining or arguing (Philippians 2:13).

~are quiet in prayer, but hop with thanksgiving and rejoicing (Philippians 4:4-6).

~have BIG feet to go tell others about Jesus so they can be like Easter bunnies, too (Matthew 28: 19-20).

~eat what is healthy by filling up on God's word every day (Psalm 119:11).

Happy Easter!!

Praise God for his son Jesus, for Easter and for family!

Spring Break

Emrie looks a little chilly...because it was!

Henry loved the sand and the freedom to run!

So happy that we were able to have a spring break getaway! Virginia Beach was a nice vacation spot although I have a fondness for our Surfside beach house that has won my heart forever. We were oceanfront in a condo which was nice to see the waves and hear the ocean sound 24/7. The weather was less than perfect but that did not keep us from enjoying our time there.

Being nosy would have paid off had we walked down the beach about 100 yards on our first day there we would have been able to see a 40 foot Sei whale that had died and washed ashore. Day two we did witness the whale or the pieces of whale being dragged down the beach by a front loader to its burial hole. A little interesting way to start the week. We did enjoy some sight seeing, like the boardwalk, lighthouse and some sand dunes or sand dudes as Emrie called them. The kids enjoyed being out in the sand digging, crawling, running, walking and playing the most and on a few days it was super chilly but they did not mind that one bit!

We went shopping one afternoon and purchased Henry his very own Build-a-Bear! His dog is Wags and is one extremely cute puppy! Emrie took Paws along to get a new outfit as well, Paws got a cute summer dress, shoes and a purse! Apperently Paws will only be allowed to wear that outfit to church because right now the outfit is hanging in Emries closet waiting for Sunday morning to come. Emrie has Sunday Only clothes so I guess it is only right for Paws to have the same.

The kids did well traveling in the car, Henry was a little more restless than Emrie but overall pretty good. I felt like I was constantly pulling snacks or tricks out of my bag to keep them occupied but we did well. No emergency potty breaks and no car sickness!

Emrie was pumped to stay at the hotel and I was relieved that Henry actually fell asleep in bed with us since he is a creature of habit when it comes to his night time routine! The pool was a plus at the hotel on the way home!! Emrie enjoyed floating around by herself(what a big girl!) and Henry got used to the water and enjoyed swimming around with daddy.

Henry has moved into Emries room, a transition I thought would be more difficult than it has, we are on night 3 and it has gone extremely well! Nap time is a little rough but after they both jabber for quite a long time it does eventually get quiet and I am able to sneak in a quick siesta too!!

The kids played outside this evening since the weather was so nice. Emrie was busy trying to play with the garden hose and trying to turn the water on. She had her socks and shoes off running around like it was 80 degrees and summer! Henry ate more dirt than I am sure he should have but seemed to enjoy his time getting filthy from head to toe! Bath time was mandatory tonight!! Quiet filled their bedroom quickly at bed time, I like that, it means they played hard!

Praise God for a wonderful vacation!