Baby Singewald: Almost Caught Up with Life in the Fast Lane! (September

After the events of the summer, it was hard to believe that it was already time to head to workshop the end of August and that September was soon upon us, which meant we would be celebrating John's 3rd birthday and Phil would be returning to work! Emma joined me at workshop the end of August and charmed all those around her! She was a model baby throughout all the meetings and events taking place!

On September 3rd, John celebrated his Golden Birthday and turned 3! As a very talkative child, we knew he wouldn't be on the normal development chart, as he technically should only have been speaking 2-5 word sentences at this point. In reality, John was talking in full sentences and full paragraphs! His fine motor skills were incredible and he continued to love to draw, color, dance, sing and play with any kind of sports ball possible! By now, it was extremely clear that John was a leftie and Phil could not have been more excited to practice his left-handed pitching!

John opening presents on the morning of his birthday....

He was SO excited to see what was inside....

A Thomas and Friends Glow-in-the-Dark puzzle!

Because John's birthday started the Labor Day weekend, and we were blest to have most of our family be able to be in town, we celebrated John's birthday on Saturday afternoon/evening. His 2nd year of life was filled with a love for Lightning McQueen and all things Cars, so it seemed only appropriate to have a Cars themed party! I had planned on making him a Lightning McQueen cake, but with a 2 month-old baby, I knew my limits and thought I would only frustrate myself to go with that endeavor this year! Instead, John had asked for more of Lightning's friends so we could drive them around together, so we incorporated that into his cake and it was a hit!

John LOVES his Lightning McQueen stories! They are some of his favorites!

The cake...

What a cute family! Emma was all tired out from celebrating!

Mmmm.... chocolate cake! John's favorite!

John was thrilled with every present he opened! He was blest to receive a Lightning McQueen car that zooms around the tub, his cash register so he can go shopping and swipe his credit card (which we've talked about in real life is not free money, but rather a place that keeps track of the money you spend so you can pay for it all at one time!) and even some books, clothes and a backpack! Such fun!

The fun of John's birthday was followed with Emma's Baptism after the 10:30 Mass on Sunday, September 4th. She was a model child and slept through most of it, although she did find an opportunity to throw up all over me during Mass before the actual Baptism occurred! At this point, we were still trying to figure out Emma's medication for her reflux, so being thrown up on was second nature! She was still cute and the day was fantastic celebrating her Baptism!

All ready to go!

I love his precious look here. He is such a wonderful, protective big brother!

Emma's Godparents - Uncle Tim and Auntie Crystal

With Papa and Nana....

and Grandma and Grandpa!

John showing off his alligator arms dance move on the altar... He kept calling it the stage! Good grief!

Emma's cake! Be sure to notice the cuts on the left side! Her daddy was a little overzealous to get into the cake and didn't think about getting a picture first!

Snuggle time....

and computer time! John loved showing Uncle Steve the new computer he received from Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday!

The new road carpet Uncle Matt and Beth gave John was also a hit...by kids of all ages!

Cute little moments!

Fun at the park! During my maternity leave, we were blessed with wonderful weather which allowed us to go for a nice, long walk to the park almost daily! We all loved the time outside together!

Other cute moments!

More fun at the park!

There's nothing as fun at home, as playing with our train!

Emma - 2 months old!

Emma LOVED her new mobile we purchased for her! We had hidden the one away from when John was a baby SO well, we couldn't find it! However, we were excited to be able to incorporate a little pink into the mix... and dance too!! Emma was so excited as she watched her "dancing bears" as we referred to them!

Emma trying on her Halloween costume....

The end of September we headed to Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee to find our way through the outer space maze full of planets, rockets and stars! John was so excited to go and once there, loved the tractors, maze and all the exotic animals we were able to see!

We can't get enough of those smiles!

Emma telling stories...

John and Emma snuggling...

and then John making her giggle!

Emma telling us about her dreams... so cute!!

All dressed up and ready for Phil's cousin's wedding!

Baby Burrito!! Emma loves to be swaddled!

John's 3 year pictures! What a ham!

That's the look of a negotiator!

Teddy and Elle had to get in on the fun too!

Future Senior picture... I can see it now....

Emma looking cute - almost 3 months old!

John LOVES reading to his baby sister!! SO CUTE!

Once a month during the school year, the library has a play and learn program, so while I was home on maternity leave, I was able to get in on one of them. It was all about community workers. John was so excited to be able to dress up as so many workers in one spot!

Is this what these are for?!

Emma loved her first attempt at sliding with Grandpa! We can't wait to see how crazy she'll be on the playground later in life!

John's loving the leaves!

He loves helping up north at Nana and Papa's house too!

Ready to grouse hunt! (Don't worry... I'm just Phi's spotter!)

Super Hero, John!

So content...

Emma is rockin' her sunglasses!

Our little giggle monster who LOVES laughing at the silly things her brother does!

Our tuckered out little fire fighter!

Because we celebrated our 5th Anniversary only a week after Emma arrived, and I wasn't really feeling up to a big night out on the town and Phil was really limited to what he could eat, we decided to postpone our festivities until we were both feeling better. Phil had given me tickets to dinner and the show, Hairspray, at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, and it was fantastic!! It was the best show I've seen at the Dinner Theater, which is saying a lot after working there and seeing every

production for 5 years!

Pumpkin Patch time!!

John could not wait to get to the pumpkin patch again this year. It was not surprising that he remembered every little detail about going last year, right down to the tractor where he was able to stand in the wheel! We had to get an updated picture, but based on his recent growth spurt, it's doubtful he'll be able to stand in the wheel next year!

Emma - 3.5 months old!

John has always loved fire trucks, so when we had the opportunity to go to the fire station open house, we couldn't pass it up! John was thrilled to be able to spray the fire hose, see all the different trucks and fire fighting gear and even ride in the fire truck! He was so engrossed in the ride, he wouldn't look at me to get a picture!!

Fun moments at home the middle of October before I went back to work....

Swinging....

John was planning in his teacher planner too, just like mom! He loved his holographic stickers!

Over MEA weekend, we enjoyed a few days up north before I headed back to work and dance team started again. John loved raking the leaves with Papa Bob and they made a huge pile of leaves to jump in. He loved every moment of it, since we only have a few small trees at our house and couldn't make anything like this pile at home! He ran around and played outside for hours! We all had a great time revisiting our childhoods and played in the leaves!

Emma grabbed her elephant, and for the first time, got it to her mouth!

John had his first pheasant hunting experience up north over MEA with Phil and Papa Bob! He loved dressing up and wearing Phil's blaze orange vest and going out with the "big" boys to go hunting!

All ready to go!

Deep in conversation with Papa before leaving...

Family fun time in the leaves!

Emma had to sport the camouflage too!

Having fun with Mom's new iPhone camera!

My dad has cut John's hair ever since he was really little, but now that John is so big and sits up taller, he was able to graduate to the big chair in the basement to cut his hair, rather than use the highchair in the kitchen!

As time passed and it became closer to Halloween, John couldn't wait to carve pumpkins this year! We had planned to each carve a different Sesame Street character, but when the time came to start the carving, it was too late at night and we just went to the old-fashioned faces! John was thrilled to be able to carve his own!

A very cautious Dad...

Best look ever from Phil!! He thought he was going to lose his face with the carving tool!

Mom's turn!

John loved his final product!

On Halloween, John dressed up as the most handsome fire fighter around...

and Emma was the cutest little lady bug we'd ever seen!

We love those smiles!

We started our trick-or-treating at Papa Bob and Nana Joan's house! John was in awe when the door opened and there stood The Cat in the Hat! John was thrilled that Nana had dressed up too!

After we left Papa and Nana's house, we headed to Uncle Steve's house and then to Grandma and Grandpa's house, where we enjoyed a pumpkin shaped pizza! Next year, I'm sure John will have a greater interest in trick-or-treating at more houses, as he'll be more interested in the end result!

On Nov. 3, Emma found her toes for the first time and she was thrilled! To this day, she still loves to play with them and suck on them!

One foot is never enough!

Handy Manny is one of John's favorite shows to watch, and for good reason! John loves to build things with Dad and help on projects around the house. If Phil mentions needing to grab a tool, John will grab the same tool, along with his tape measure (which is frequently found on the side of his waistband). John had an opportunity to build a wooden frog with Dad, and loved it!

Emma was showing more interest in monkey as time passed. At 4 months old, she was starting to hold on to him and snuggle with him a little. He is still one of her best friends... next to her pink blanket!

John is a great snuggler too!

Emma is 4 months old! Time is flying!!!

Still loving her toes!

...but NOT liking her tummy!!! Whenever we put her on her tummy, she was very persistent about starting to suck her thumb and go to sleep or roll over when she was finally able!

She HATED tummy time!

At 4 months old, Emma also had her first teether experience and enjoyed it!

So, it's supposed to go in my mouth, Mom?

Hmm... If I move it to the side, I can kind of get my thumb in my mouth yet...

Ahh... there we go! Thumb in and pure contentment is found!

Emma also loved her first Bumbo experience! She was thrilled with her new, somewhat independent way of life and new vantage point, and mom and dad were thrilled with having a little more time hands-free as Emma was able to explore!

John has always loved to draw! Late last Fall, John because extremely interested in anything that had to do with The Lion King, as the ads for the 3D movie and the Broadway show could be seen everywhere. After watching select parts of the movie a few times, John started to draw the characters. Scar was the character of the day on Nov. 20, as he explained his drawing to me in detail as he did it!

He was so proud of his work!

Scar has a head, two eyes, and a mane on the top of his head with a body, his ten toes (all with individual legs attaching them to the body) and a very curly tail! For just a little over 3 years old, we were extremely impressed with John's artistic ability, as well as his ability to place body parts correctly on the picture!

Along with drawing animals from The Lion King and enjoying the movie, John also couldn't get enough of the songs, especially Hakuna Matata! He does an incredible job singing it and always brings a smile to our faces when he breaks into song!

Fun in the car!

Emma's all snuggled up, ready to go, with an adorable hat!

Cute, cute, cute!

The end of November, at about 4.5 months old, Emma had her first cereal. You can tell it was not a real positive experience.... Thankfully, she has been an incredibly good eater and is willing to try just about every food since those first unfavorable bites! She has loved peaches, pears, applesauce, squash, sweet potatoes and peas, to name a few!

Over Thanksgiving break, when Phil and I were home, we knew John was ready to give up his Nuk. At three years old, and EXTREMELY attached, we had wanted to allow him to get through our summer of uncertainty with Phil's surgeries and my c-section, not to mention getting used to sharing our time and all belongings with his adorable little sister. We knew it would be difficult, and that we would have to work together with my mom to break John of his Nuk habit (since he naps there every day while we're at work), but we knew he could do it! I had read an article in Parents magazine about how the Nuk Fairy comes to houses and will get all the Nuks in the house and leave a present for the big boy in place of the baby Nuks. Well, John is certainly motivated by special things like this, so we started to set the stage a few weeks before we acted on it! We told John the Nuk fairy was watching for when he was ready and that when she knew he could do it, she would come!

One morning, there was a bag and a note for John! The adventure had begun! The note asked John to gather all of his Nuks and place them in the bag and leave them out for the Nuk Fairy. When he was sleeping, she would come and leave a surprise for him. He was thrilled! He and Phil went around the whole house and found all the Nuks (well, all but two that I found later and quickly hid!) and placed them in the bag. John was SO proud! (He was quick to ask though if all of Grandma's Nuks were also going to be taken, since he wasn't sure the Nuk Fairy knew where she lived! He was hopeful a few would be left behind!) However, before the last Nuk could go in the bag, John had to get a picture with it... in the Bumbo! What a silly kid!

There goes the last Nuk, in the dump truck!!

John's ready to put the last one in the bag!!

After a somewhat rough night of having difficulty settling down and going to sleep without his Nuk.... John was so excited!!! The Nuks were gone, and Hiro and Kevin (friends from Thomas that John had wanted) were waiting for him!! He couldn't wait to celebrate and play with them!

John has always been very snuggly with his sister, to the point where we had to watch very closely for "over-loving" on Emma when she was really tiny. As she's grown bigger, he still loves to snuggle with her and is so patient when she wants to snuggle, and he wants space! What a great big brother! Over Thanksgiving break, they enjoyed snuggles in John's bed while I put away laundry in their room one day!

So Cute! Emma loves Eddie the Elephant (also a gift from John when she was born!)

It's baking time! John has always enjoyed helping cook in the kitchen and we thought it was time that Emma get in on the fun too! This was our first brownie baking experience for the three of us and it was wonderful!

Emma, all ready to go!

We had gotten John a gingerbread house to decorate, but I neglected to read the directions before promising we would complete it one evening! Because it was supposed to sit for at least an hour, we put the walls together, got John ready for bed, he put on one of my long-sleeve t-shirts so he didn't get his pj's full of frosting and then decorated it. The frosting was a little drippy and there wasn't much for decorations, but John still enjoyed every moment!