Do they look alike?

You tell me.....

Emerson Lately

Emerson is officially a consistent roller! She has rolled over here & there before now, but not at all consistently. As of Monday, December 28th she has started rolling over everytime we put her on her tummy. I know this is weird, but ever since we found out that she hadn't gained weight since her 4 month check up and she only grew half a inch, I keep thinking she is behind. I know Dr. P said it was no big deal that she didn't roll over on a regular basis and that when she wanted to, she would, but it was still weighing on me. So I feel a little better now that I am seeing her roll. Here she is in all her rolling glory!

All smiles after a bath

I took this same picture of Jackson - I'll post a comparison next

Matching PJs

Kicked back in her new duck tub!

Look at that mouth - this girl is a serious eater. An aggressive eater!

The start of a future career?

One of the partners in my brother's law firm is the captain of a fire house here in Houston and he invited us to visit the station on Saturday. Jackson went decked out in his fire gear - Yaya & Pops had given him the coat a while back and he got the boots for Christmas. Gabby & PaPa completed the look with a cool fireman hat that has a siren. He looked so cute! Captain Brian Storts was so sweet to let Jackson crawl all over the fire engine, give a tour and even educate us about the workings of a fire house, engine & gear. He was also the one that informed us that the 343 printed on Jackson's boots was the number of firemen that lost their lives on September 11th. We all had a great time & Jackson especially enjoyed honking the fire engine's horn and turning on the sirens. He cracked up every time! At one point a call came in and all the fire fighters came running out, but then they realized it was only for the Rehab team who goes out to help fighters working fires that have been burning for a long time. We learned that all the sweating they do while fighting fires can lead to health problems, so they have to take a break every 30 minutes or so to get a drink of water, cool off and maybe eat a few crackers or something. I have no idea how Brian manages to fight fires in his spare time all while being a partner in a successful law firm. And he's a husband & dad! What a guy! Who knows maybe this will be the thing that causes Jackson to want to become a fire fighter later (Mommy shutters at the danger...), but either way it was a fun day! Thanks Brennan & Captain Storts!

Jackson in his "gear"

Brennan in the truck

Captain Storts with me & Jackson

Our little family

Pops, Clay, Aaron, Emerson, Jackson, me, Brennan & Yaya

Climbing in the truck to turn on the sirens

Honk the horn...

....then crack up laughing!

In the back of the engine

Emme in the fire truck - we should have put the hat on her!

Christmas, Christmas & more Christmas!

We must have been very good this year because Santa & our families were very good to us! Emme's first Christmas was a great one! Christmas Eve night we spent with Aaron's family. Gabby & PaPa were very generous and we all made out like bandits! The kids also opened their gifts from J & Jennifer and Bryan & Candace. They loved it all and got so many cute clothes & toys. Thanks guys! Gabby & PaPa stuck around very late helping Santa. Aaron was enlisted by Santa this year to make a dollhouse bookshelf for Emerson and he was working late into the night/early into the morning on that, so PaPa helped Santa put Jackson's train table together. Santa would not have been able to make it to all the other boys & girls if it weren't for PaPa, so thank you, PaPa! Both kids slept late on Christmas morning, in fact we had to wake Jackson up at 9:30am so that he could see what Santa brought him. We had set up a video camera to catch his reaction, but he walked straight in and started playing with his train table like it had always been there. Too funny! Santa brought Emme her dollhouse, pink duck tub, a stacker, a baby doll, some little toys & PJs. Jackson got the train table, a construction set, a musical Thomas toothbrush, coloring books and some PJs. We then opened gifts from out of town family & friends and then got ready and went to Yaya & Pops' for my side's Christmas. We opened gifts there and ate and ate and ate. I'm still stuffed, but ate some more today because it was all so good! We had more Christmas today once Nana got back from Lamesa. Now, where to put all of this new stuff? I'm formulating a plan before I tackle the actual putting away, at least that's how I rationalize my lack of motivation! I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas - we sure did!

Emme's first Barbie

Sit-n-spin!
He got the hang of it very quickly.

Emerson in her reindeer PJs

Jackson in his Christmas PJs.

Santa Came to see Emerson!

and Jackson!

It was a hit!

Santa came to Yaya's too! More trains for Jackson.

A doll, tea set & blocks for Emme.

Sunglasses from Santa

Yaya & her babes

Yaya & Pops with the kids

Jackson's new fire boots.

We found out today when we visited a fire station (more on that later) that the 343 on his boots stands for the number of firefighters that were killed on September 11th. I guess Nordstroms knew that, but we didn't. Pretty cool!

How Emme spent gift opening time.

Jackson & Brennan in his waders for duck hunting

After Emme woke up, we opened her gifts.

School Pictures

Merry Christmas, sweet friends! I will post Christmas pics soon, but I've been sitting on these for a while. The kids school pictures were pretty good this semester. Last year, Jackson was crying in his spring pictures, so this is a vast improvement!

Emerson is 6 Months Old

Emerson has officially been in our lives for half a year! She turned 6 months old on the 16th. We had her well check on the 14th (hers and Jackson's- boy was that fun!). Developmentally she is reaching all her milestones - she can sit unsupported, she can roll over both ways - she just doesn't care to all that often, she is eating well, sleeping well, napping well. The only thing she is not doing well is growing. Not too sure what is up with her, but she LOST 3 oz since her 4 month well check. She weighed in at 14 lbs 6 oz and was 25 inches tall. This is like 25% for both, I think, down from 75% at 4 months. Not too sure how she lost those 3 oz and it is only 3 oz, but still - in 2 months??? Of course, I am very worried about this, but Dr. Pielop says he is not overly concerned. He saw 3 other babies do the same thing that day, but we are going to do a weight check on Jan 11th when she goes for her H1N1 booster. I'm hoping that since she has a big jump from 2 to 4 months when she was in the 75%, that now she is leveling out. I have been praying that this is all it is and there's nothing more to it. Like I said, she eats well, doesn't complain/scream that she is hungry or anything, so I don't know what it could be. I had already planned on her starting to take 1 formula bottle a day since I cannot pump 12 oz to keep up with her and I'm only pumping 6 oz. She will still breastfeed in the mornings, evenings and at night and she will get one breastmilk bottle at school along with her one formula bottle. I'm was sort of bummed about this, but it is what it is. I made it 6 months with Jackson too before the stupid TAKS test got me - I was tutoring and had no time in the day to pump, so we say Jackson was the "one kid left behind" since it made my milk dry up. Maybe my body can only do it for 6 months, who knows, but right now I'm still feeding her what I can and supplementing the rest.

Emerson is the sweetest baby girl. She still loves being snuggled and prefers not to be put down. She sleeps through the night from about 7:30pm to about 5:00am. I would prefer she sleep just a bit longer, but I can't complain about nine & a half hours! She naps well too - I can just lay her in her bed and if she cries it is usually for only a minute or two. She takes 2-3 naps a day. Dr. Pielop said she could start eating small, soft bits of table food, so...
December 19th she had her first solid table food - asparagus & baked potato - LOVED both!
December 21st - avocado
December 22nd - blueberries
Looks like I won't have to be in the baby food making business too much longer!

She is an absolute joy to be around and she brings such laughter and music to our hearts. Her smile melts my heart. She has her Daddy wrapped around her tiny, dimpled little finger! Jackson adores her and ligths up when she is near. She has completed our family that I didn't realize was incomplete!

Emerson Kate Hiler - 6 Months Old

She was not really in the mood for chair pictures

Showing off her sitting skills!

Playing with her yoddeling bear

Uncle Brennan brought her from Austria.

We love you, Emme Kate! Happy 6 Months!