Halloween Pics

I apologize in advance for the messiness of this entry...certain people keep bugging me to see pictures and another person is trying to hurry me out the door. But hey, it is done!
We had a wonderful Halloween season, and I say season because it is starting to seem like there are as many activities to do surrounding Halloween as there are for Christmas! Have a gander at some of the fun that we had!
Our first activity was my mom's group pumpkin painting party, no pics, but Emma's personality was shining through that day. We got there and she diligently painted her pumpkin and was the only kiddo there (and this is no small group, there were around 15 kids painting) who painted the ENTIRE pumpkin. She wasn't too big on playing with the other kids, more of an observer...no clue where she gets that! But she did find Mya's carebear and was content playing with it in her own little world.
We missed the mom's group halloween party because I was sick, that was very sad! But we made up for it with a great trip to TG Farms Pumpkin Patch. We had a wonderful time playing on the slides, picking out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, relaxing during the hay ride, petting all the animals and getting lost in the corn maze!We then had our first ever experience at Haunt the Zoo. It was a great time, very crowded, but lots of fun! Emma was ever so excited to see another carebear there, Harmony Bear.
And last of all came the much anticipated day of Halloween. Rosary had a great class party and trick or treating brought lots of candy and compliments of our sweet monster and cuddly carebear!

A Quick Peek Into Our World

The first couple of pics are of Reed. He is getting very mobile for four months. He can roll over both ways and even uses that to his advantage to move from point A to point B. These pictures show how well he can lift up his head and torso. Big boy! He is also teething, I have gotten a call from daycare the last two days telling me that Reed isn't his normal happy self. After a trip to the doctor on Friday to rule out an ear infection, I have decided it is just teething...






















These show the magnitude of obsession that has recently befallen our house. The pictures speak better than any words....And yes, these are all of Emma's doing. Well, after looking this was the only one I found, but we have been lining care bears up to watch TV, to get ready to go to lunch, to watch Emma take a bath. Poor Daddy usually has a care bear in his hands from the time Emma wakes up until the time she goes to bed....bad news, we just found 4 more in the garage. Oh, and in case you can't tell, in the picture the care bears are all laying on Emma's Halloween costume...Bedtime Bear (yup, that would be a care bear for all you guys and people that don't have kids or didn't grow up in the 80s)

Emma G's first single hits the airwaves

3+ years in the making - here it is! Emma's first music video. Complete with fans lining up in the background.

Rolling Stone's gives this four stars. They said "on the surface this sounds like any other 3yr old, but the deeper meaning of the lyrics "the only color in the rainbow is blue" has so many meanings it's unbelievable. And then the sudden switch to the "play in the park with your mommy", one can only wonder how those two subjects are linked together."

Emma herself did not have any comments after this was released, simply leaving her fans begging for more.

GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!

I HAVE FEET!!!
They are so much fun to hold, it is my newest past time. Ok, actually I have been doing it for awhile, but mommy and daddy just got out the camera tonight to take a picture.

Time Passes So Quickly

We always forget to update everyone, it doesn't matter if it is the website or the blog. I guess we just need to learn to slow down and take the time, but it just hasn't happened yet.

Luckily today the house is clean, the kids are asleep (for now), and I have a few minutes before I start tackling my pile of grading, so here I am!

Where to start? I honestly don't remember where we left off so I will just start..

Emma's first day of school!

It was a hit! She loves her teachers and her new friends and is now enjoying having Meme as one of her teachers, although that was rough at first. She has been learning about apples and can now point out the letter "A" and say a cute little apple finger play. Next week is "B" week, with butterflies and I know I will have some fun things to report from that. She has two new best friends, Ella and "owder Emma". Since there is another Emma in the class, our sweetie is Emma Grace, which is fine by me!

Reed updates-

He is getting to be a big big boy, weighing near 14 lbs on our scale at home. He is 3 1/2 months old and is trying to roll over both ways now and starting to sit for a few seconds at a time all on his own. He is still a smiley happy baby who loves his sister more than anyone. He is doing great at daycare and seems to be a favorite among all the staff there, mainly due to his smiles and easy going personality. The director stopped me the other day to tell me he cried for the first time (it had been 3 weeks that he had been going by that time) and his main teacher said the same thing!

Justin-

Working as usual and is very excited for the start of football season. We have been in some mourning around our house with the death of LeRoi Moore, the sax player for Dave Matthew's Band. He was a very gifted musician and his death came as a huge surprise.

Amanda-

Very glad that I am teaching French this year part time. The work load for science would have sent me over the edge, but this arrangement is perfect. I get to interact with adults sometimes and use my education. On my days home I am much more likely to play and do fun things with the kids because of my breaks. I am struggling to get used to teaching little ones, I am afraid I am too nice to them b/c I don't want to make them cry (that includes up through probably 3rd-4th grade) I can handle my big kids just fine, but the little ones seem to steamroller me! Time for me to get a bit tougher with them!

All in all, life is going well!

Reed's favorite pastime

Here is little Reed enjoying one of his favorite activities - flying. We call him "rocket boy". He is almost three months old already. Amazing. He is such a joy.

CLICK HERE FOR NEW PHOTOS OF REED!!!

Two Month Stats

Reed went to the doctor today. We found out that our big boy is right on track, gaining two pounds in the last month. He is now up to 12 pounds, 9 ounces and is 23 inches tall. The doctor said his muscle tone is excellent and that he is very advanced with his neck control and because he can roll over. This is wonderful, but this time around I wouldn't mind if my little one doesn't start scooting for a long time!

Reed's growth is slowing down compared to Emma's. Emma was 11 pounds, 14 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long. Emma also ate a lot more than Reed does.

He had to have 4 shots and one oral vaccine. He wasn't a big fan of the oral vaccine, but really hated the shots. He has been sleeping ever since then with only small breaks when I wake him up to eat.

Time Flies

Two months have already passed since Reed was born. In some ways it seems that it cannot be possible that time has moved that quickly, but more often it seems that he has been a part of our family forever. It is already getting to a point where I cannot remember a time without his sweet face.

Some quick Reed updates:
Likes- riding forward facing in the sling, "talking" with anyone who will converse with him, rolling
over tummy to back, being outside, being swaddled, smiling, sitting and standing in laps, and most of all his sister
Dislikes- being left alone, his crib, not getting fed right when he wants to be, mommy feeding him
bottles, the sun in his face
Milestones- sleeping through the night most nights, rolling over tummy to back, smiling and cooing.

Today was great. Emma was singing along to "Numbers Rhumba" (yes, I do wish I could say it was a cooler song, but hey who said The Wiggles aren't cool!!) and all of a sudden Reed starts cooing and talking to Emma. He talks all the time face to face, but not just on his own...guess he was singing along with his sister. I have a feeling the backseat is going to be a much louder place in the near future!





I am so utterly amazed at the love between the two of them. I know things will get rougher once he starts getting into all of her things, but Emma just adores him. When I pick her up at mother's day out it isn't me she is excited to see, but him. I figured by now the novelty would have worn off, but the love grows every day. Reed is the same way, any time he sees Emma his face just lights up and he already hangs on every little thing she does. Who knew they could be so close already!

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Watch and see little Reed show off. He was doing this a few days ago, and only 8 weeks old at that. And then his big sister comes to congratulate and put some lovin' on him.

The Birthday Day Girls

Well, it was that time again. This time it was birthday #3 for Emma and Mackenzie a few weeks ago. For those of you who didn't know, they were born only a week apart. We had a little get together at our house and the girls, along with Cali, played together with bubbles, chasing frogs, playing on the toy set and just looking cute. Emma, Cali and Mackenzie (left to right).

Summer Fun

Yes, we found the elusive, and child-wearing-out, all wonderful spray park. Emma absolutely loves it and keeps asking to go back. Here we caught her with some of her friends playing and having a grand time.

Front yard transformation

Ok, so some of you have asked how the front yard is coming along so I thought I'd share a couple before and after pics (please don't ask which is before and which is after, I may have to hurt you).

Hot off the press

Here is our little boy tonight hanging out in our front yard. All the while his big sister was learning one of the best lessons in life...yes, "red light, green light". Although I'm not sure what a purple light signifies but that was Emma's own twist. Maybe she knows something we don't.

Happy Birthday to Emma!

Yes, our big girl is three years old. Here she is blowing out her birthday candles. Then she preceded to lick the candles like any kid should, and we each got one candle to hold after she was done. It's amazing how time flies by. And how OCD she seems to be sometimes. It's cute, and scary....Her favorite present was her cottage. Here she is inside of the monstrous contraption. She's already had several parties in there, and no dogs allowed. Only Care Bears, mommy, daddy, and all of her play food. And Little Mermaid.

You be the judge

Twins? Ok, not exactly, but here are shot of both
babies around the same age. I think they look similar.

One month old!

We celebrated Reed's one month birthday a couple days ago. My how time flys. He looks so big now. I promise we'll get new pics up really soon. Just wanted to update everyone on what's going on around here. We've settled in nicely, Reed is sleeping for the most part when he should, Emma is adjusting well (though is having a hard time going to bed by herself now). Emma is going to two different mother's day out type programs right now along with gymnastics so her life is full of new places, new friends. Really that's about it. We're just trying to keep up with them right now. Talk to you soon.

Ghost of Elvis

Nothing like a good dance session to bring out the ghost of Elvis. Check out the hip movement. This must be what all the Elvis impersonators practice to. She looks like a natural. Grammy would be so proud. Too bad we can only take so much of the Wiggles in one sitting. And speaking of the Wiggles, I am still blown away that we gave in so easily after swearing that Emma would not listen to them (not because they're bad, just really weird). Not that they're not weird now, I've actually realized they're weirder than I originally thought - especially the dude in the yellow shirt - but Emma loves them, so I must too.

80's rock star hair

Had fun with Emma last night in the bath. She had some cool 80's rocker hair going on so I had to take a few shots of it. The first is the typical lead singer big hair, then the second is the "new and improved" Axl look with dreads. I think it's a dead ringer. Got to admit, I was a big Guns n Roses fan. Maybe I can teach her to sing "Sweet Child of Mine" or maybe "Welcome to the Jungle" - kind of appropriate. But not really.

Reed Michael Stephens - PICS ADDED!

Yes, we finally decided. Reed Michael Stephens. 3.5 days old. He is out on his first outing with his mommy to her student's 8th grade graduation. We are home now and adjusting well. Emma loves her little brother, loves to tickle him, give him kisses and loves to force the binky into his mouth. A big thank you to Nena and Papa (and aunt Ashley) for watching Emma while we were in the hospital. See you later.

UPDATE: Click here for more pics of Reed!!!

33 hours old and going strong

Me and mommy. I'm full right here and wondering where my other glove is. Oh well. I am officially 33 hours old and just wanted to online to say hi to everyone who has stopped by and called. I loved meeting all of you. But especially my old sister, she was really fun.

Day Two

So we made it through the first 24 hours with flying colors. It was a very, very long day but very wonderful too. Emma is adjusting great, she loves to give soft kisses to her baby brother and giggled like a little girl (ok, she is a little girl, but these giggles were new) when baby brother held her hand. We go home tomorrow morning. Here is another pic, working on a slideshow that will be up soon.

First pic - call the press

Here is the first shot of baby brother. This was just minutes, maybe seconds, after he was born. Just cleaned him up, put his hat on (his hat actually fit too - it never fit Emma's head). He is a happy boy and is resting now trying to get his temp up. Delivery was smooth and he didn't really cry that much, he was happy to be out.

New addition is here!!!

Hello world! That's what baby boy said at 7:39am this morning. The delivery went fairly smooth and he is resting now. 8lbs 1oz, 19.5 inches, but not near the size of head that Emma had, so that was good. Will post pictures later today. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

Push and push

Ok, almost 5am on May 15th. Been pushing, prelim stuff of course, doc isn't even here yet. But things are progressing extremely fast. We know the baby has brown hair.....

Baby update

No baby yet. Kinda nerve wracking knowing it could be any second or a week from now. And still no name.

Introduction

OK, so now starts the Stephens' adventure into blogging. Since Emma will be co-ruling the household from now on, we didn't think it would be fair to make baby brother share space on perfectemma.com. So this will probably be the route we will go to keep everyone updated on the crazy happenings in our house - 2 cats, 2 dogs, 2 kids and presumably 2 very happy, but very tired, parents.

The latest update is that baby brother is not here yet. Doc thinks he'll be about 7lbs or so. His cousin was just born today and he was 9lbs, so watch out. Emma is fine, looking forward to being a big sis and helping out (we hope). Jobs are fine and the new house is great. OK, that's it for now.