Our Soccer Stars

Alden & Emmett both played soccer this winter. It was a bit much for Emmett, who had played in the fall too, but he learned a lot & we convinced a bunch of his friends from the ward to join our team for the 2nd session. We had Alden play with his old team, back in our old neighborhood, because we love his coach! But it got a bit old driving him out there for practice. But we did enjoy seeing some old friends every week. And we sometimes had dinner with my parents, which is always fun.

I love these pictures of Emmett, who is always good for some funny faces or interesting hand positions. That kid is awesome! He has been making so many new friends too. Between our ward and his soccer team, I think he'll know at least 18 new kindergartners at the elementary school next year.

Emmy's a big boy

I'm just going to write this post and totally ignore the fact that I haven't posted to this blog in 2 1/2 months. More on that later.

This week Emmett and I are working on potty training. And it seems to be going pretty well. He finally started acting interested and ready in the last few weeks. He's been taking his diaper off when he's wet. And he even insisted he needed to go potty one night last week (after we put him to bed, of course). And he actually did. Miracle.

I worry that things have gone so well because he's been a bit sick and not drinking nearly as much as usual. So while we go sit on the potty 20 times a day, he only goes 3 or 4. Not many accidents though. He's learned that when the kitchen timer goes off - it's time to head into the bathroom.

Yesterday was good and Emmett filled up the rest of his potty chart. It has 15 circles on it and he gets to choose a sticker every time he goes. He's filled up 2 charts now and somehow he decided he was getting gum for this one. We've never really let the boys have gum, so it's the mystery of the thing I guess. All three boys and I were dressed and at the store before 8am this morning. Emmett picked out some watermelon Hubba Bubba and I let Alden get something sugar free. Here is our big boy showing off his accomplishments.

Emmett-isms

I was just changing Emmett's diaper so he could take a nap. He was chanting, "cutie, cutie." I asked him who was a cutie. His reply: "My buns!"

I guess he is listening when I tell him he has cute buns all the time.

The Middle Child

There is so much going on with Alden lately, and Roland is always hitting new milestones - poor Emmett is getting left in the gap. So here's a post dedicated entirely to my mischevious middle son, cute monkey-face and all.

Mr. Chocolate face there is a result of Emmy finding my stash of extra yummy and expensive hot chocolate mix. Of course it was the day after I bought it and he spilled the first half of it all over the car. I guess he has good taste. Notice the scissors in the background that he used to cut it open more, and the magna doodle pen he was using as a spoon.

Emmett loves his cousin Jaycee - sometimes a little too much. They are only a year apart and are destined to be good friends.



Emmett wanted to be all buttoned up in a coat I found and was storing away for next winter. Even though it's like 80 degrees in our house and he only had a diaper on underneath.

This blue jumpsuit was made by my sweet grandmother, who passed away last fall. She made it for me, when I was two. It was also worn by all three of my younger sisters and both of Emmett's girl cousins. I think he's masculine enough to pull it off, even though it was pretty tight in the crotch.



Emmett spends a considerable amount some time locked in his room for time-out. Once I went in to get him and found him in this dresser drawer. He was fully reclined, sucking his thumb, and just hanging out with his blanket. He loves that duckie blanket.

I took this glamour shot after Emmett helped himself to my mascara. He often watches me put on makeup, and I am just trying to remember that saying about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. I'm just glad he didn't get it in his eye.



The first day Alden had preschool Emmett was sick. The baby sleeps during that time, so Emmett & I had some snuggle time on the couch. I finally convinced him to take some Tylenol and he drifted off for a 30 minute nap. I hate it when my kids hurt.

Emmett wore underpants for the first time. He is doing quite well on the potty training, but we are pretty passive around here. He's only 2 years old (and 3 months) so we have plenty of time. But he uses the big potty quite regularly and sometimes I put underwear on him for 20 or 30 minutes at a time, when I think he'll be clean & dry. He's very proud of his Elmo underpants.




I love my Emmy!

Emmett Hugs

Emmett loves to give hugs and kisses, but you have to be careful!

Emmett-isms

The other day I was playing with Emmett and I called him a monster or something. He said, "No monster, I monkey!" I guess he hears it often enough. The boys spent some time in the backyard over the weekend and Emmett has discovered that our grapefruit tree is climb-able.

This picture is from last week. I had to put Emmy in time-out in his room and it was getting close to nap time. When I went to get him I found him asleep on the floor, clutching his blanket and sucking his thumb. He found a cushion to lay his head on.

Monkey Boy Turns 2!

Emmett James Carpenter had his 2nd birthday on Saturday, May 10th. We had a little party at Candlelight Park, the scene of many of my birthday parties growing up. Not everyone could make it so we were a little short on kids, but the boys enjoyed playing with Gabriel, Corinne, and Jaycee, as well as Dillon & Mary Joe Spencer. Thanks to all Emmy's grandparents and many aunts and uncles for showing up to celebrate! With Alden's help, Emmett opened lots of thoughtful presents - thanks everyone! His favorite is his Spiderman scooter from Mom & Dad. He calls it Mya Man. I tried to stick with a sports/ball theme since the birthday boy loves that. We had cupcakes and made it home before lunchtime. I love Emmett's birthday shirt - he picked out this Mickey Mouse shirt himself at Walmart.

It's amazing how Emmett's body has changed just in the last month or so. He's no longer a baby, but suddenly a boy. His fat little legs have leaned out, and his face shape seems to be changing too. We're very proud of him - his vocabulary grows daily and he is the most polite kid I've ever seen. He always says please and thank you. And sorry - which is good, because he needs to say sorry a lot. Emmy is still our most active kid, proving he can climb to the top of anything in our house, including the top shelves in his closet. He finally will watch 5 or 10 minutes of tv and likes The Wiggles, Thomas the Train, or Elmo. He drinks more water than anyone I know, bringing a corresponding number of wet diapers. He loves to play catch and ride scooters. He has a cute little gallop when he runs. Emmett is still very attached to his blanket, running to Blanket for comfort whenever he gets hurt, rather than Mom or Dad. He sucks his thumb when he's tired or inexplicably, whenever he holds a baby. Emmett loves his brothers, following Alden around all day and trying to smother Roland with love whenever Mom isn't watching. He thinks he can pick the baby up by himself and we're just lucky nothing serious has happened yet. I have to keep a very watchful eye. You've probably never met a kid who can get into trouble faster than Emmett, but I just adore that cute face - from his gap-toothed smile to his squinty eyes when he smiles. We love Emmett!

Forgotten Naughtiness

Emmett was sick all weekend. Like, miserably sick. Like, make-us-all-miserable sick. Just a virus, of course, nothing too serious. Fever and pain mostly. He said, "tummy hurt!" a lot and whenever he tried to eat or drink anything he said, "hurt!" Which means he didn't really eat or drink anything for several days. I think that saved us from the vomiting and diarrhea the doctor said he would have. We literally pinned him down and poured medicine down him a dozen times or so and just held him while he cried during half the night. He seems to be feeling much better today.

Let's hear it for my wonderful husband, who stayed home to help on Thur. and Fri. and then did more than his fair share all weekend. He was really excited to go back to work today and escape the craziness!

But before I forget to document another event...

Early last week I tried to feed the boys dinner and instead of eating Alden informed me that he and Emmett were ready for bed. So we got jammas on, read books, and said prayers. And I locked them in. They weren't quiet long, of course, but I was nursing the baby and didn't hear anyone getting hurt so I ignored it. When Aaron got home he went to check on them and immediately screamed for me.

Emmett had pulled down everything from the top of his dresser (a recent fave) and smeared an entire tube of Desitin all over himself. His face was covered and it was in his eyes. His hair was plastered with the stuff. We though Alden had done it at first, but realized his hands were clean, literally. Aaron threw Emmy in the tub and scrubbed him hard about five times with Emmett screaming. But he still smelled like Desitin for days. And no, we didn't take pictures. Darn it!

Desperate Times

We are in serious trouble over here. I think our whole world changed yesterday.

Emmett can (and does) climb out of his crib.

My 22 and a half month old has done this a couple times in the last few weeks but not consistently. I've foolishly been putting him in his crib for time-outs occassionally and yesterday he came out like 10 times. He napped just fine though. And went to bed okay too. But around 9pm he wandered out with his trusty blanket and his empty water bottle. He often wants us to refill it once or twice a night. And I wonder why I have to wash his PJs and sheets almost everynight!

From 9 to 10:30 we put him back in bed five or 6 times. And then it was 5 times in 10 minutes. And then, until 1:30am I sat on the floor in front of his crib and pushed him back in everytime he tried to climb out. Hundreds of times! And he obviously cried a lot too. I would have just locked him in there and let him cry it out, but Alden is in there and Emmett attempted to get to him and wake him up several times. Good thing Alden was on the top bunk last night. And after missing four hours of sleep last night Emmett slept in... an entire hour! A tiny bit of help for me. Thank goodness Roland is catching on well to the sleep thing and I was only up once to feed him. And thank goodness Aaron didn't have to leave quite so early this morning.

So what do I do now? I have long relied on Dr. Weissbluth's book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. When I consulted it frantically at 10:30 last night, and then read again carefully this morning I found a few suggestions - one of which is doing pretty much what I did. I followed his rules of being non-engaging: no talking, no eye-contact, etc. He says it can take several nights but should be solved after that. I have the greatest respect for old Dr. Weissbluth but worry about his time tables. With Alden, the whole extinction sleep training thing was supposed to take 3-5 days - we stuck at it for 3 weeks before seeing results! But because it finally changed our lives completely with Alden, I've been a big believer. The other suggestion in the book is to get a crib tent to keep them in. Sounds great to me! The only drawback is the $70 pricetag. And when I read reviews some people complained about the quality - and only one company makes these for some reason. If it weren't for Alden in there, I'd just lock Emmett in - which I did try for naps this morning and found him asleep in front of the door.

So, thoughts? Comments? Inspirational words? Please share! I'm thinking about giving it one more try tonight to see how it goes - and then head for Babies R Us tomorrow if needed.

The Light of My Life and Bane of My Existence

Oh, Emmett. My sweet middle child. He is going through that really cute stage right now where he is learning to talk, smiles all the time, and does hilarious things. But he drives me nuts too. He is a little monkey, constantly climbing on the tables, couches, cupboards, beds, dressers, or anything else he can find. He loves his baby brother, Roland, just a little too much and will not leave him alone. But he seems to favor Roley's bouncer and swing just a little more. Emmett has already broken one swing and I can not keep him off the new one. If Roland isn't sitting in them, they have to be locked up in his room. But Emmett also gives the best hugs and can say, "Love you, Mama!" Who can resist that sweet face and mischevious, gap-toothed grin?