Just Some Pictures from around the House

Santa Baby!

Just chillin'

I had Liam say "mischievous" for this picture. He really said it!

Looks pretty good in Mommy's shoes!

(playing kitchen, before the haircut)

and so this is Christmas

We got out the Christmas tree today!

Liam really had a ball helping us put it together and hanging the tinsel & ornaments. Davy enjoyed his nap during the festivities. There's nothing like pulling out stuff you haven't seen for a year and hanging it up on a plastic tree in your living room. Here's a picture of the three of us in front of the tree. Paul figured out how to set up the camera so we could all be in the picture. Too bad Davy was still asleep! It was especially fun b/c this is the first time we've put up the big tree since before Liam was born. Last year we put up a small tree on a high shelf out of Liam's reach. I am still trying to decide whether or not to set up the small tree somewhere else in the house. It's so fun to be living in a house at Christmas time! I'm trying to talk Paul into letting me get some lights for the outside of the house too. Who wants to go outside hang them though, now that winter has struck -- I think it actually FROZE outside last night-- and two weeks ago we were all playing in the backyard!!

Here are a couple pictures of Liam posing by the tree. Doesn't he look grown up? I can't believe that this is Liam's third Christmas.

Here's a recent "tummy-time" photo of little Davy. He will be three months old on Monday! He is really starting to lift up on his hands. Doesn't he look like he's ready to crawl?

Here are the boys together in their new double stroller, kindly donated by my cousins whose kids are older than ours. We tried it out last night on a trip to Costco and Walmart, and the boys just loved it. Liam really likes sharing the stroller with his little brother. They are just too cute.

Ever So Thankful!

Can you believe it's that time of year again? That's right folks, break out the turkey and the cranberry sauce, Thanksgiving is next week! So, for your enjoyment, here's a list of things that have brought me joy this year.

1. Paul. I am married to the most wonderful man in the world. Paul washes dishes, bathes babies, and buys the groceries. What a SuperDad! (Pictured here being adorable with our newborn.)

2. My little Davy Pie! What a sweet baby. He is just as happy as can be most of the time! He just starting to figure out his hands and is beginning some early batting practise. He is also lifting up a little when I put him on his tummy.

3. Liam. He gives the best hugs in the whole world, and he has learned how to say "I love you." (Unfortunately, he occasionally says "Liam NO love... fill in the blank.") But, no matter how big he gets, or how stubborn, he'll always be my little baby bear.

4. Chocolate ice cream. Don't know why, but I'm currently addicted. I want to eat ice cream every day. I really need to quit the stuff but its sooooooo yummy after a long day of being Mummy. (Yeah, that rhyme was dorky, but after reading Dr. Suess all day, they just sort of start poring out!)

5. Pacifiers. Why didn't anyone tell me that I was crazy for not wanting to use one for Liam?? Now, I still don't like to see a three year old with one in his/her mouth, and I really only use it when David is sleepy and already fed, but wow!! I was just nursing Liam any time he sucked on his hand at this age -- and let me tell you that can wear a woman out! Wrap up Davy in a blanket and put one of those in his mouth and he falls asleep!!
6. Memory Foam. Paul and I invested in a four inch memory foam pad for our bed about a year ago. SO worth it. Ahhh... thinking about climbing into it soon!

7. My Faithful Blog Readers. Especially Becky, because you always leave comments. Thanks for the online love friends. :D

And many more people, places and things, that are too numerous to count and list. With love to you and yours. This is Kato, signing out. Happy Thanksgiving!

and this fish on a rake!

Mmm... I like fall time. I've always enjoyed the changing colors of the leaves and that crispy feeling in the air that makes you want to pull out a sweater or a fleecy blanket. It always reminds of walking to school as a little girl, holding Mom's hand, breathing in that chilly air, small feet just crunching along. This is the first year that Paul and I have had a yard to rake. Having a yard dramatically increases your sense of the seasons. The yard REALLY needed to be mowed this weekend and it would be hard to mow with all of those leaves lying around, so on Friday night Paul & I took the boys to Target to buy a rake. It our version of a wild night out! We had three options to choose from, but we finally selected one with a red pole a massive plastic head (scoops more leaves and doesn't rust). When we got to the aisle with the rakes Liam got really exited and pointed and said "rake!" He knew about rakes because of The Cat in the Hat. Liam pretty much has that book memorized! Let me tell you, that single book has done more for Liam's vocabulary than any other thing I could name. :D Then we spent most of the day on Saturday in our backyard raking and mowing -- oh, and playing in the leaves and taking photos. We had a blast! Here are a few photo highlights from the day.

T is for 2

So, Liam is 2 years old and Davy is 2 months old. So, I have 2 kids aged 2! Boy, Liam is REALLY acting 2 today. All he says is "no this" and "no that." There were a couple of power struggles that got a bit trying, but Mommy held her ground. Sorry, Liam, but crying is not going to convince me that its a good idea to let you eat yogurt in the living room. A few cool things about Liam being two: he knows his abc's, can count to 15 (though we're having trouble breaking him of saying "five-teen, and eleven-teen"), and can pretty much understand anything you say to him now. I had him put away his own laundry today. He knows were everything goes!

Little David is growing like crazy. We moved him up to size 2 diapers this week. I still have half a box of size 1s, but he is just too big for them! I guess the church nursery is about to get a donation. He barely fit into his giraffe suit for the fall extravaganza at my parents church on Saturday. He was adorable though. I wish I'd remembered the camera! Of course, he had to pooey on it and have his clothes changed before the costume contest. Liam refused to even dress up in his Elmo costume, even though he's worn it 15 times already around the house! Just being 2 I guess. He did have a blast doing the crafts and painting a pumpkin with his grandma. Here are a couple of photos for those of you who skip my ranting and just want to see the kids...


Davy and his bear

Just Being Cute

Smiling Happy Liam (picture taken before 2nd birthday - this is how I like to think of him when he's being unreasonable)


Liam Playing with His Kitchen
This boy loves to cook! :D

Flying High

They say time flies when you are having fun. I suppose that I must be having too much fun lately then. It's hard to find a minute to write on the blog between nursing the baby, chasing the now two-year old, doing bible lessons for small group, and making sure everyone is dry, fed, and happy. Let's just say, it's hard to think. As I type this little Davy is napping in the bassinet and Liam is watching sesamestreet.com videos in a another window on my computer. Liam loves Elmo and Big Bird! His language skills have really taken off this month, so he actually understands what they are saying. :D So, anyway, here are a couple of pictures of the boys.

Yikes! I should have taken the red eye out of that one, huh? Davy looks a little scary! LOL. He likes to spend most of the day chilling in his bouncer or the swing. He's already grown out of the 0-3 months pajamas I bought him 3 weeks ago.

Here's Liam on the phone with his Grandma. We got him a helmet for his tricycle after reading an article in Parents magazine about head injuries in small children. Now he likes to wear it around the house, just for fun!

Well, Liam is getting stir crazy, so, I think it's time to sign off for now. Love to you and yours.

Welcome Home Baby David!

David Thomas Emra was born on Labor Day 2009. (I can't believe after joking about it for months, I actually went into labor and gave birth on Labor Day.) He was named after his Papaw Turner because he was born on Papaw's 55th birthday. It's pretty cool that my grandma and I were doing the same thing on the same day, 55 years apart. Her David was her second son as well. Our little Davy weighed in at 10lbs 12 oz. As you can see from the photo, taken at age 8 days, he looked about a month old when he was born!

David's Birth Story
So, around 11 pm on the 6th of September, I got up to go to the bathroom again, and decided I was too antsy to go back to bed, so I got up and came out to the computer. I played minesweeper for about an hour, when I realized I was having contractions that maybe I should time. I timed them for half an hour and saw that they were four minutes apart. Panic ensued and the contractions were starting to hurt. I became afraid we wouldn't make it to the hospital. (Our new house is 45 minutes from the hospital.) I woke up Paul, and called my mom who said we had better get to the hospital. Paul grabbed my bag and Liam and we headed to the car. The time between telling Paul "let's go" and actually getting in the car lasted an eternity. In the car I casually let Paul know that I was going for the pain meds this time. These contractions hurt! When we FINALLY got to the hospital, the nurse checked me and I was already at 8 cm! All right. Within minutes I had my epidural and the pain part was over. I really wonder what possessed me to be so hard core about "natural" childbirth last time-- epidurals are awesome! I was able to doze in and out for a few hours when suddenly I was feeling a lot of pressure. I told the nurse, and she checked and said it was time to push! I was SO excited and happy that I had made it this far. I pushed for a VERY long time. Unfortunately, after over three hours of pushing, the baby just wouldn't come out. The nurse said it looked like he needed to turn his head, b/c the bony parts of him were banging on to the bony parts of me. I pushed and pushed, until finally the doctor and nurse agreed that it was time for C-section #2. I was pretty disappointed, and did cry a little bit, but it wasn't as bad as the last time b/c I knew all along that this was likely to happen given the way Liam was born. So they wheeled me across the hall to the operating room and pulled David out through my abdomen. The anesthesiologist standing beside me had a funny reaction-- he burst out with, "My gosh! That's an 11 pound baby!" And he was almost right. 6 more ounces and he would have been. It was 9:33 am on September 7th. So, that's how Baby Davy got here, on Labor Day '09. I was very grateful to have been given a second chance to labor and I thought it was cool that it happened on Labor Day--and now I know without a doubt that I just make babies that are too big to come out of me the through the "traditional" route.

Brothers!!

Here are a couple of pictures of my two boys. I can't believe Liam will be two in less than a month! My how time flies. I was in the hospital for 4 days, and in that time Liam seems to have tripled his vocabulary. Something just "clicked" and he's talking his head off! Whole sentences! It's craziness. The hardest part about the c-section is that I am not allowed to pick up Liam. I have a weight limit of ten lbs (which, technically means I can't pick up David either, but just try and stop me. LOL). Fortunately Paul's parents are here to help me while I recover, but it's been SO hard not to pick up Liam. For the picture below, someone had to put him in my lap!