The Ivie Family Blog

The Ivie Family Blog

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Letters to the Sweetest Pea I know

Emma Reese,
6 months ago I didn’t think I could love another as equally as Ryan and then you came and proved me wrong. You have been such a blessing and an awesome sister to Ryan. I love how content you are and that you love watching your big sister. I’m looking forward to the day I can watch you and Ryan laugh and play together. I love you so much and cherish the time I get to spend with you.
Daddy

Sweet Pea,
That is just what you are. The sweetest little girl. What a wonderful addition you are to our family. We were missing something until you arrived. Now everything is just right. The past six months have been so fun! I have been lucky enough to be home so much. Since you were born I switched to part time and it has been the best decision I have made. I love being with you and Ryan so much. So does your dad. You are such a different baby than Ryan was. You have the most laid back temperament. You almost never cry. I can count the number of times you have cried tears on one hand (and two times were from shots!) You like to cuddle and be carried around. Your favorite spot is on my hip. You put everything in your mouth and drool like crazy! If Ryan is in the room you are captivated by her. I love to watch you watching her. Oh the fun you two are going to have! And soon! You are right on the verge of becoming mobile. I can't believe my tiny baby is getting so big! I love to snuggle you and give you your bottle at night. You look up at me with your big eyes and smile. I hold you a little longer than I need to just to breathe you in a second more before I lay you down to sleep. I know how precious these moments are and how quickly you will grow.
I can't wait to watch you grow into a toddler over this next year. (And see what your hair will look like!) You are already following in your sisters footsteps and reaching milestones early. You will learn so much from her and you two will become such good friends, I hope. Ryan is lucky to have you as her sister. We can all learn a lot from your sweet temperament. Thanks for being you. Our sweet, long legged, laid back, go with the flow, never fussy, always smiling Miss Emma Reese.
I love you to the moon and back!
Love,
Mommy

Letters to our TWO year old Munch

Ryan Layne,
I cannot believe 2 years has flown by already! I don’t even remember what life was like without you in it. You are the most amazing girl and I love watching you grow and become smarter, wiser, and more loving every day. Thank you for allowing me to be your Dad. I love you and Happy Birthday.
Daddy

Munch,
I really cannot believe that you are two whole years old. And like your daddy said, "what the heck did we do before we had you?!" You are my heart and I cannot imagine a day without you. You make every day so fun and new. We are amazed by all that you can do at two. If you keep this up you are going to be smarter than me by 4! You are such a sponge to your surroundings. Nothing gets past you. You are not only very verbal but you get it. You don't just repeat words you have conversations. There isn't anything that you can't communicate with words. When you throw tantrums it is not because you cannot express yourself, you do that as well as any elementary school kid I know. You get frustrated and upset because you are like me: hard headed, demanding and impatient. You know what you want, you know how to ask for it, and you want it now. "No" is not a word that you like to hear. Me neither. So, although I get frustrated by your tantrums, your Mamaw always reminds me that you are just like me. I know that your determination and hard headedness will end up being qualities that help you succeed in life. I have no doubt that you will continue to grow up to be a strong willed independent girl. I wouldn't want you to be any other way.
This past year you took on a new role. Big sister. And you have held the title beautifully. What a lucky girl Emma is to have you to look up to. You are so gentle and thoughtful to Emma and she watches everything you do with complete adoration. She is going to learn so much and be so advanced just because she was lucky enough to be your little sister. Thank you for loving her so much. We are very proud of the sister that you have become.
So, on this second birthday let me thank you once again for all of the joy that you bring to my life. Your voice and your smile light up my life. When I come home from work you run to greet me and you say "Hi Munchie!" just like I say to you. When you wake up in the morning you call for me until I come. I love that you want and need me. Being able to be at home with you more this past year has been such a blessing and I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. Since you were born it seems that time has sped up. The past two years have gone by so fast. I am so glad that I am getting all of these precious memories with you. I don't want to miss a second. I really think that this next year is going to be the best year yet! You are about to start preschool and I can't wait to watch you make new friends and learn so much. Happy Birthday sweet girl.
I love you to the moon and back.
Love,
Mommy

Ryan Layne is TWO!

I quit doing monthly stats at a year because I really didn't want to be doing 36 month stats! I felt like a year was good enough and I make an effort to talk about all the new and cool things Ryan is doing (and saying!) as they happen. But, I felt a TWO year old needs a comprehensive summary of her fantastic-ness! So, here it goes.

Weight: 25.5 lbs (50th percentile)
Length: 35.5 inches (90th percentile)
Eating: AWESOME appetite! Such a good eater. Her favorite breakfast right now is: a hard boiled egg, Eggo waffle with syrup, strawberries or raspberries and milk. Her favorite lunch right now is: cheese, crackers, turkey or chicken, tomatoes and water. Her favorite dinners are: spaghetti, Fuzzy's Tacos, Chickfila, Happy Meals. She loves broccoli, squash, avocado, mac n cheese, animal crackers, Dum Dum lollipops, Popsicles.
Sleeping: bedtime is a little later, mostly because on C shifts when I am home alone with the kids I have to get Emma down first.. We usually head to our bed around 7:45 and read books until 8:15. Ryan is usually asleep by 8:30. She still gets her 12-13 hours though! She wakes up between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m., and about once a week she sleeps in until 10 a,m,. I think it is her catch up day. I am so grateful that we don't have to wake her or Emma up for daycare. The days when Chris and I both work my parents come to our house so the girls can sleep in. So nice! Come Sept. 1, when Ryan's preschool starts, she will have to wake up by 8:15 two days a week so we can get her there by 9. And, speaking of school, we are down to one nap! We did it! It actually isn't that hard to do since she sleeps in so late. We usually feed her lunch and then she goes down for a nap. And it is a long one! Three hours usually. Play hard, sleep hard. That's Ry's motto!
Size: 24 month and some 2T clothing, size 4 diapers. Size 6 shoe.
Newest Accomplishments: memorizing books (sometimes after only reading them to her 2 times), thanks to the Letter Factory she knows what sounds each letter makes, she can say the whole alphabet and can recognize most letters, she can count to 20 forwards and backwards and in Spanish, knows all of her colors, all of her shapes (even hard ones like octagon!), Ryan can say anything and everything - and she does non-stop. There is nothing that she cannot say. Here are a few of my favorite things she says.
1. "I don't know." It is the way she says it.
2. "I can't believe it!"
3. "Wow! That's a lot of mud" (referring to her diaper, she says it exactly like her daddy does)
4. "That's incredible!"
5. "Me, hold you."
6. "Nite nite, Emma"
7. "Me hungry. Unna eat some food." (usually one of her stall tactics at bedtime)
8. "That's amazing!"
9. "Please and thank you." All at once. When I remind her to say thank you this is her reply!
10. "That's super cute!"
This list could honestly go on and on. Her voice is so precious and she can say so much that pretty much all day my heart is melting listening to her.
Loves: swimming (going under!), pushing Emma in the stroller, playing in the sand box, her light up shoes, picking out and wearing pajamas (all day), organizing her hair clips on the floor in the bathroom, airplane and horsie rides from Mom and Dad, Winnie The Pooh movie, riding the carousel, Sunday School, her family (she talks about all of her family members all of the time), Toy Story, Incredibles, Thomas, Mickey, Barney, Happy Meals, library story time, playing with her dollhouse, all animals, saying prayers, trains, firetrucks, firemen, Lego's, candy, snuggling, reading books (with and without us), and of course: bunny and paci.

We had a fun day celebrating Ryan's birthday as a family on the actual day. Another great thing about part time work is that I was off on a Thursday! We went to a toddler "water park" (city pool) that is less than 3 miles from our house. It only cost $3 to get in and the whole pool is only 1 foot 6 inches deep! It was perfect for Ryan. We ended the day with a Happy Meal and Ryan was all smiles.


Awesome water slides for kids

Chris, Ry and Emma taking it all in.


Perfect depth for the Munch

She was so excited!

I couldn't believe how great this city pool was.

My TWO year old swimmer

My six month old Sweet Pea

Fun with Daddy!







There was also a very shalllow (like 6 inch area) perfect for little ones

She looks so old!

They had a blast!

"Yippee!"





Yum!



Happy Birthday Baby!


We love you and I feel like celebrating every day because I get to be your Mom!

Emma's 6 Month Stats (HALF a year!!!)

She wouldn't hold still

(and I accidentially had our new point and shoot on a bad setting)




Dr. Nussbaum commented at Emma's 6 month appointment how long and strong she is! And the wonderful nurse Kathy had to flatter us and tell us that we make beautiful babies. We agree, but aren't sure how we got so lucky! Sweet pea got 3 shots. It was sad, but she recovered quickly, and so did I. It is very odd to see Emma cry tears, she never gets that upset.
Eating: Four 6 oz breast milk bottles a day (at 8a.m., noon, 4 pm. and 7:30 p.m.) , three "meals" a day (at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.). Emma is eating all vegetables and fruit and I am about to start giving her meats. She is also ready to start some table foods mashed up. She has tasted ice cream and a whole strawberry and loved both! I am wrapping up on breastfeeding but have over a months worth of milk stockpiled in my freezers. I will happily pack away the pump at home and at work, and I should still get away without buying formula for another month.
Sleeping:Emma is an excellent sleeper at night but can get by on less naps than Ryan did at this age. Some days she only takes one two hour nap and other days she will take two 1 hour plus naps. Her nap schedule is a little inconsistent, but she never acts fussy! I think we take advantage of that sometimes and go, go, go, She does fall asleep in her car seat, and then I feel bad! Emma's bedtime is between 7 and 7:30. She usually sleeps in until 9 (or 10:00! on days when Chris is home with her- unfair! and also part of the reason her nap schedule can get thrown off). Every now and then she will wake up between 5 and 7 a.m. and want her paci, but other than that she is down for the count. She sleeps through all of the loud shenanigans that her big sister likes to pull!
Size: 6-9 months and some 12 month clothing, size 2 diapers (I will have to buy my first diaper for Emma this month! Thanks again diaper shower family and friends!)
Newest Accomplishment: rolling like crazy in all directions, able to sit unsupported for over 5 minutes (with me close by), able to get into downward dog (on hands and toes), able to scoot backwards all across the floor, can get on her hands and knees in crawl position but face plants when she tries to lift a hand to go forward
.

Likes: watching Ryan, stuffed zebra she snuggles in bed, putting EVERYTHING in her mouth, Murph kisses, watching Mickey with sister, sitting in front of Ryan's dollhouse playing along, Old McDonald, bathtime in big tub (she loves to flip onto her belly), swimming, the song Mamaw wrote for her "Sweet Pea, Emma Reese", listening to books and looking at the pictures.

Nicknames: Sweet Pea, Punky, Loud Mouth McGillycutty! (she is a blabber mouth!) :-)
Lil Punkin!

We've got ourselves another paci loving baby!
I bet by next month she will have figured out crawling!


I do Emma's bedtime, I cherish these moments
(it is one of the best parts of my day, along with Ryan's bedtime)


How did I get so lucky???
I get to spend everyday with these three loves!

I can't imagine our lives without Miss Emma

Enjoying her bath before Ryan gets in and dumps water on her



She flips over quick in the tub

Oh my. What a cute little bottom!

I love my babies after baths!

They are so squeaky clean and smell delicious!



Pretty blue eyes

Sweet pea

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A BIG THANK YOU!



Wow! Ryan is a lucky girl! She had such a wonderful birthday party and got so many great gifts. Thanks to all the family and friends that came to the party, brought/sent gifts and helped her collect books for the Parkland Pediatric Burn Unit. We collected 70 books to donate! We rode the TRE train into Dallas to Parkland to deliver the books. I hope that Ryan will always want to help others and give back.

Ryan opened all her gifts one evening after work

She didn't need any help this year!

A tea set!

Emma watched with Pa

Such a big girl! Gosh, I love her!

She loved the Winnie The Pooh gift bag!

A new bag to carry her library books in!

Thanks, Ashlyn!

THOMAS!

Emma also liked the Pooh bag!

Emma and Mamaw waiting for the train to take the books to Parkland


Ryan patiently waiting for "Thomas"


"Oh my gosh" she said when she saw the train!




I was glad we all made it on!

We had both girls, the stroller and a giant rolling suitcase full of the books!

Thank you Mamaw, we wouldn't have made it without you.

Sweet pea, along for the ride!


Ry LOVES trains

Mamaw and Emma

Look at those long legs!




She was looking for cows and trucks

Some of the 70 books we donated.

Thanks to everyone!

The child life specialist thanking Ryan.

Ryan was interested in the toys!




Waiting in the heat for our train home.