Chatterbox

I think we are going to have a pretty social little boy on our hands.  Emerson loves to talk, especially in the mornings.  If you get him going, he will monologue.  It is just SO fun to listen to!  Recently, he has started talking when he wakes up, instead of crying.  It's fun to listen to him on the monitor.  You'll even hear an occasional giggle or squeal.  And he'll talk while riding in the backseat of the car, facing the rear of the car.  He doesn't even need an audience!  Conversing with Emerson is one of my favorite things to do with him.  I think it's one of his favorite things too.  He would rather talk with mom and dad than play with a toy, for sure. 

He has also started noticing other babies the last few weeks.  He smiles at them and squeals.  He's done this with several of our baby friends, but he also does this with the baby in the mirror.  At first I don't think he realized the baby in the mirror was himself.  But now I'm starting to wonder if he knows.  He will do different motions, like stomp his foot, repeatedly and watch real closely in the mirror.  And he smiles at himself and stares right into his own eyes.  It's real cute.  Who knows if he realizes it's himself, but this is one of our regular activities to do each day because it's pretty entertaining. 

Who's that guy?

We also went to Petco today, because I had to buy something for Brody and I showed Emerson the fishes, birds, ferrets, and mice.  He watched them really intently, but didn't smile or anything.  He probably knows they're similar to Brody (all animals), but doesn't know what they are.  Then we strolled on over to Barnes and Noble and enjoyed a few books.  It was a fun outing with my little man.

I think he was dreaming that he was either a superhero or a rockstar

Hubba Hubba, Hubby

Caleb is lucky enough to have his birthday fall right around father's day every year.  Now that he is a father, we will try not to just combine the two.  I have to be a good wife and post about what a wonderful husband I have on my blog or else I would look bad... just kidding :)  In all seriousness, I do feel like I am the luckiest girl alive.  Those of you who don't know Caleb very well might already know that he's quite the hunk ;)  But when you get to know him more, you realize there is more to him than his dashing good looks, much more.

Caleb is the most kind, gentle, patient, laid back, wise man I know.  He is a godly man who is a leader to our family.  He has always been a wonderful husband to me.  And as I've seen lately, he is an amazing, fun dad as well.  Emerson already loves him so much!  I never have any reason to complain about him to my friends.  Most of the time I have only good things to say!  I have not once wished I had married someone else.  I really do feel like Caleb is the perfect match for me.  His personality and life perspective are such great complements to mine.  He truly does make me a better person.  God has used Caleb in my life throughout the past several years to shape me more into who God wants me to be.  Not all husbands are like this.  I am humbled and grateful that God has given me such an amazing man to do life with.  I try to never take him for granted.  I love him and I love our little family.  We're feeling blessed that Caleb was born this day 25 years ago.  I know how much joy Emerson brought to us the day he was born, and I know that Caleb brought the same joy to his parents the day he was born.  Thanks, Gutshalls, for giving your son to me :) 

Anyway, just wanted to share with you what an amazing husband I have.  We are celebrating his life this week :)  Enjoy the pics below:

Konked on daddy's lap

Emerson, proud of his father's day card

Livin' for the weekends!

Hi friends.  I value weekends so much these days, since Caleb works full time now.  I'm lovin' every moment of family time.  Last night we went to Nick and Val's house to grill out and I meant to bring my camera to get some pics of our boys (their boy, Caleb, is 7 months) but I forgot the darned thing at home!  And I wished I had it too, because the boys were interacting with each other and Emerson even smiled at little Caleb.  They were instant friends :)

Caleb's friend, Kyle, is visiting for the weekend, so he stayed at our place last night.  I love having company, especially now that we have a guest room.  It feels good to feel hospitable!  And visitors are always fun.  So this morning we made it out to the farmer's market.  Fayetteville's farmer's market is the best I've been to.  Love the produce, live music, crowds, and dogs.  One of my favorite things about being a Fayettevillian.  We left the market with some lettuce, broccoli, and some tomato basil bread.  Yum!  Here is a pic of the boys.  Emerson is sporting Kyle's sunglasses.

Tomorrow we will go to church and then head up to Joplin for the afternoon to celebrate father's day, my mom's birthday, and Caleb's quarter-century birthday.  Caleb's first father's day :)  Love it.

Dippin'

We took Emerson swimming for the first time this past weekend.  Going into it, Caleb and I both expected him to cry.  I figured we’d only be at the pool for about 15 minutes.  He loves bath time, but a pool is much colder than his warm bath. 

So, we lathered him in sunscreen and got him all decked out in his cute trunks that Nana got him.

Then we headed to Wilson Park’s pool for their opening night.  It was pretty warm outside, but we went at about 6 at night, so it wasn’t blazing hot.  Caleb eased him into the water and to our surprise there were no cries!  We ended up staying in the water for about 30 minutes!  We were all a little pruney by the time we left.  Emerson had a lot to look at and stayed content the whole time.  I would even venture to say that he enjoyed himself at points!  He was the  cutest little guy in the pool.  He slept really well that night, too.  I think “swimming” wore him out.

Here is a pic from a recent bath.  Our little duckie!

And... Super Baby riding his noble steed.

Brody... not a fan.

Sweet Baby E

I feel like I have so much to blog about, but I don’t want to bore you all or create a novel that nobody wants to read!  So, I will try to space out my posts, attempting to make them short and sweet.  We’ll see how that goes.

I want to jot down some things in this post that I want to remember about Emerson at this point in his life (2 ½ months). 

-Emerson has become quite the social little guy.  Sometimes I will hear him talking by himself while in his crib or in the car seat.  He is especially talkative in the mornings. 

-He is sleeping longer and longer at night.  Last night was his longest at over 8 hours between feedings.  I had to wake him to feed him. 

-He likes to stand up these days (with our help, of course).  Sometimes he’ll even take 4 steps in a row!

-He likes to “sing” with mommy.  Basically this entails him cooing the whole time.  But he does it all the time when I sing.  I really think he is trying to join in!

-He is always so attentive and observant.  It seems as if he is always looking around and taking things in.  People often comment about how alert he is.

-He loves mommy and daddy.  He definitely knows us and his face lights up when he sees us.  This is so rewarding for mommy :)

He is still such a joy for me to stay home with.  Granted, we have our tiring days.  But I am so thankful I get to stay home with him.  I don’t think I’d want to share him with anyone else all day!  Below is a video of Emerson singing with mommy.  Check back in a few days to hear about Emerson’s first swimming adventure.

 

During a play date with Ruby (6 wks) and Jesse (4.5 mos.)

First time in the Bumbo seat (he doesn't really enjoy it this much)

Just thought he looked handsome so I thought I'd snag a pic!

Emerson's first official dance at a wedding last weekend.  Makes me think about how one day we will do the mother/son dance at his wedding.  Tear*

 And the best for last:

Love this family pic!  Please notice how Emerson smiled for the picture and it was totally unprompted!  We were at the summer concert series at Gulley Park.  So. fun.