a bunch of B.S.: 2014

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Emmett is ONE!

Jason and I thought that Miriam's first year went by quickly... but Emmett's first year was like a blink. It's hard to believe that this little guy is already a year (okay, by now he's actually 15 months), yet, at the same time, it is getting hard to truly remember life as a family of 3 (and even crazier to consider that these beautiful children were once only the stuff of dreams).

Emmett has taught me a lot over the course of the past year. I worried so much, prior to his birth, about how on earth I could love a second child as much as Miriam. Everyone told me that I would, and I guess I believed that... but there was a little part of me that wondered if I might just always love her a teeny bit more. Well, Emmett, you can rest assured that I love you every smidgen as much. I think it was actually easier to fall instantly in love with him the second he was born because I didn't have that scary, overwhelming feeling of "OMG... I am responsible for keeping this child alive, growing, healthy, nurtured, loved, mentally stimulated, etc etc etc." I knew we could do it. We knew the ropes (well, at least some of them), and we knew at this point that we are good parents. So a lot of that early fear and pressure was absent, leaving more room for instantaneous joy. This was not to say that the first year was easy. It never is, but Emmett, you really did give us a run for the money with your reflux and colic. There were a handful of days that I got literally less than an hour of sleep in a 24 hour period. 2-3 hours of sleep total in a 24 hr period was pretty much the norm until he was 3 months, at which time I was able to get a whopping 4-5 hrs total in a day. Buddy, when you are a growing teenage boy who just wants to sleep in until 11 AM every Saturday and Sunday as a teenager, I hope you will remember the extreme fatigue that Dad and I suffered through for you as a baby and come give us big, tight, unexpected hugs as a thank-you. :) Sleep deprivation not withstanding, Emmett's been a pretty easy baby to raise, thus far. Like Miri, he's temperamentally quite easygoing and good-natured. Emmett smiled early and often. He has the most contagious grin of anyone I know.

An early smile...

Goofy grin

Happy boy!

Besides being happy most of the time, other words I would use to describe Emmett include inquisitive, intelligent, persistent, and gentle. He has a very keen interest in discovering the world around him. My mom always says that she thinks Emmett is going to be an engineer, and I can see why she thinks that. Even before age 1, you could see that he wants to know HOW things work, WHY things work, and he wants to master the world he lives in. And when he is interested in something, that's where the "persistence" comes in. Miri has always been relatively easy to redirect from things. As a baby, if I didn't want her touching something or going somewhere, I could show her another toy or close the door to a room. Emmett can be rather difficult to deter. You can't just close a door... you have to pull that thing so tight until you hear a click, because he will stand there and push at it. You take an object from him and try to replace it with something else... well, you better be ready for his indignant response. At times, this facet of Emmett's personality can be a little tough to deal with, but I think it's going to serve him really, really well in life. Despite Emmett's tendency to know what he wants and to go for it full-throttle, he's also very gentle, both physically and emotionally. You can see this child has empathy already.

So Emmett, that's who you are at one, and we love you sooooooo much. You have stolen the hearts of your family. Thank you for being just who you are.

And here are some very belated pictures from your fiesta de cumpleanos. Your day started with a Bashaw family birthday tradition... donuts! Your very first donut, in fact. You loved it... guess you are indeed a Bashaw. :)

You played with Miri, Mommy, and Daddy much of the day. This included grudgingly playing the maraca in a parade...

while your big sister was the parade leader... with a drum over her head.

Later, Gammy and Boppa joined us for presents, dinner, and of course, dessert. Miri was happy to help you open presents. You received many great gifts, but you were still of the opinion that wrapping paper, bows, and envelopes are more fun.

For dinner, we had ranch chicken enchiladas, beans, and rice. Around this age, you were a pretty picky eater, but my ranch chicken enchiladas were a surprising hit with you. We kept your first birthday cake pretty simple... don't worry, buddy, we will make sure you have more "fun" cakes in the future when you have some discernible favorites.

It was a lot of fun to watch you devour your very first taste of birthday cake. You were tentative for a very few seconds, before cautiously poking it with one tiny finger, which quickly progressed to giant fistfuls of cake. Like Mommy and Miri (and even Daddy too), I think you are going to have quite the sweet tooth.

You are so loved, Emmett, by your family, friends, and teachers. I can't wait to see what this next year brings!

And I must include your vital stats for 12 months. At your 1-year well baby check, you were 31" long (87th percentile) and 19 lbs 6.5 oz (21st percentile).

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Christmas 2013

Well, it's now March, and I'm only 2+ months behind! But I really wanted to get in at least a few quick words and pictures about the Christmas season! Christmas seems to get more and more fun each year, and we had a lot of fun with the holiday season this year.

Tuppin the Elf returned on 12/1 and was with us through Xmas Eve until Santa picked him up and took him back to the North Pole. Tuppin had a lot of goofy capers this year! As the kids get older, Tuppin is developing more of a personality and showing his silly side. Here are just a few pics:

The kids met Santa. Miri did great. Emmett.... well, let's just say that it changed our previously-held viewpoint that he was fearless and completely lacked stranger anxiety. We actually saw Santa twice-- first at school the evening of the Xmas program and another time at his workshop in Cedarburg. For time #2, we did not torture Emmett by putting him on Santa's lap. See, we're good parents! ;)

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... the "main events"... soooo much fun! On Christmas Eve, we went to mass at St. Boniface. Father Loyola always invites the kids up to the front for the homily and involves them. Jason and I were floored when Miri saw all the other kids going up to the front and announced she was going too. She is a bit reserved by nature, so we were truly very shocked. She walked up the aisle and sat up there all by herself. I believe she was very likely the youngest of the probably 30-40 kids up there by a solid year. Later, she was told us that she was disappointed when Father Loyola didn't call on her to answer any of his questions about Christmas. She thinks she's such a big girl (and I guess she kind of is)! After church, Gammy, Boppa, and Aunt Mary came back home with us for dinner, cookies, and some good family time.

Christmas morning was a blast! Miriam and Emmett must have been good kids this year, because Santa was very generous. As were our families. Everyone received many wonderful gifts! It was really fun to see Miriam so excited to have received gifts she had asked for (namely, a flashlight from Santa... she was a bit disappointed that it wasn't purple as requested but was accepting of the note that Santa left explaining that the purple-flashlight-painting elf had been out sick, so he'd left a multi-colored one for her instead). Emmett, like most babies his age, was more impressed by wrapping paper to tear (and try to eat) and boxes to climb on. :)

After gifts and a yummy breakfast at home, we headed over to Gammy and Boppa's for more extended family time. In addition to Gammy, Boppa, and Aunt Mary, we got to have some time with Adam, Rochelle, Kaden, and Charlotte. Miriam is extremely enamored with her big cousin Kaden and so looks forward to getting to spend time with her in particular. For some reason, I have very few pictures from Gammy and Boppa's house on Xmas Day, but I'll share a few from the day after Christmas when the kids and I were able to get in some extra play time with Boppa, Gammy, Aunt Mary, Adam, Kaden, and Charlotte.

It was a beautiful Christmas, and I look forward to so many, many more.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Where to even begin?

Oh boy... Jason and I are getting Fs for our consistent upkeep of the blog. I could write a million excuses, but that will only take up precious time and text, so I'll save it and simply apologize to our few readers, and to our kids, as this blog is ultimately for them (a modern-day baby book, if you will). I'm sorry!

And now moving on...

Fall.