5-Months (April 22nd)

Emerson Marie is 5-months old!!! Whataboutit?! I cannot believe my beautiful chicklet is almost 1/2 way through her 1st year. She is such a joy, and has been since the day she was born. Emerson is the happiest baby I know. Jacob was always a happy baby, but he always was a bit more serious, Emerson will smile at anyone or anything...she is just so happy and relaxed (I'm sure that has almost everything to do with being the 2nd child vs. the 1st). It is a rare moment that we don't see Emme smiling or without her fingers in her mouth...she is not a big paci lover, seems to soothe herself on her own. Emsees puts a smile on all of our faces all the time...she can even make her big brother who might be throwing a tantrum to break a smile. Jacob is so her favorite...Mommy and Daddy are a close second.

Emerson is currently 16 pounds, 10 ounces. She is a chunker, and we wouldn't have it any other way! I cannot get enough of kissing her little rolls and beautiful cheeks. Though it will change soon enough...with activity being a new thing....She has had a busy month. Emerson has been keeping busy using her legs more, putting all of her weight on her legs and practicing the "standing" pose- you can just see the joy and pride in her eyes as she stands tall...mommy is soooo proud!!! She is very close to sitting up on her own...we are almost there. And, tummy time is more "playtime" now. She is really enjoying holding onto her toys, chewing on them, and studying them...she does much of this during tummy time as well...and every now and then she will try to reach for something and cannot, and will "try" to move forward....we might have a mover sooner than later! Rolling over is becoming more common around here (she has done so a few times from tummy to back), these last few nights, I have been noticing that as Emerson whines for one of us to come in (and we don't- sleep training 101)- I will view her on the monitor, and she is "trying" to roll over to her tummy. I am curious when she will start to figure it out, I have a feeling she will really love sleeping on her tummy. Emme has just completed her 1st full month on baby food. We've just been doing fruits and veggies- mostly "easily" digestable produce because we have had some bouts of constipation lately...so we have been frequenting all the "P"s~ pears, prunes, peas, and pumpkin...it seems to be regulating her sensitive tummy a bit more.

Emerson has also experience various firsts this month~

• 1st time on Airplane (did great~slept like a baby)
• 1st time at the beach (she is a bathing beauty)
• 1st time in a pool (loved it more than even her big brother)
• 1st full walk (multiple times because the weather was so nice)
• 1st time eating baby food
• 1st Easter

Emme is exclusively drinking formula this month, no more nursing. It has been a struggle adjusting...her bowel movements have been a bit messed up (bouts of constipation)- we visited the chiropracter, and she has been "regular" ever since (I also have been focusing on more prunes). Schedules this month are starting to form in her day. She is sleeping 1 hour in the morning, 1 hour late morning/early afternoon, 2-3 hours middle afternoon. Sleeping is improving. She has decided not to fight the crib anymore, and as "learned" to love it- that and a little bit of "sleep training"- (ie. crying it out). Overall, it has been a month of lots of "Big Baby Girl" stuff.

I love you Angel. I cannot believe how much more I can love someone each day when I thought if I loved them anymore my heart would burst...well, it hasn't yet...my babies are just making me stronger. My heart is so full. My beautiful baby from heaven. Cannot wait until next month

Florida 2011

Florida 2011~
Florida 2011 with the entire Morkes Family was a success. Well, that depends on how one considers a success...I will get to that in a bit. We visited Captiva Island, Florida this past week for an entire week. We stayed at South Seas Island Resort- a huge resort on Captiva- pretty much makes up the entire island. The resort is made up of miles and miles of tennis courts, pools, beach, and villas, homes, condos, etc. It is a total family resort with tons of things for kids. The "main" pool area (because they have pools everywhere) is made up of the baby pool areas, swim school for tots, craft areas, sandboxes, ice cream and candy shops et. We enjoyed our time in the condo properties. With 14 people (4 kids), my parents rented (2) condos. Our condo area included its own shared pool and beach area, so every morning we were able to walk right outside to either the pool or beach. Our condo consisted of us and my parents...there were (2) bedrooms, so us Rojas' shared (1) bedroom (wow! that part was not fun...especially with a baby who HATES cribs and JUST wants to sleep in her bouncy seat- and every time she cried, we feared for our lives that Jacob would wake up, also, the sheets on the bed were so "crisp" that I swear everytime we moved in bed, Emerson would flinch and be ready to wake up. So, I spent the majority of our trip on the couch with Emme in her bouncy so Jacob wouldn't wake up- sleeptime was not happy time) Once the sun came up, Jacob was ready for the day - bright and early, and by the time we got out the door (which was a good 3-hours after we were up) "the boy" was ready for a nap- he even asked for it! What?! We are in Florida, by the pool/beach...what do you mean you want to sleep? So we got a couple hours in here and there outside, and then we would be inside for naptime. Once naptime ended, we would get ready for dinner. We went out a few nights for dinner and then ordered in and grilled out one night. The girls (my mom, Loren, Karen, Cara, and myself) had a nice night out one evening and with some spa services during the days and the guys went golfing a few times (3 days to be exact- Rocky only went 2 of them). It was a very easy-going trip, not very relaxing (with kids), but very nice. It rained nightly and the sun was up everyday. We were fortunate to see Brigid, David, and Chase for lunch one day as well. Jacob and Chase had fun dancing to the music at the restaurant and eating lots of great food.

We did experience some sickness, sadly. EVERY kid was sick atleast 1-5 days. It started with Mason, then Alyssa, then Jacob (high fever, coughing, runny nose, and vomiting), and now Emerson (runny nose and cough). Horrible. Most of the kids slept it off in the sun, the others had a hard time even sleeping at all at night (Emerson and Alyssa- the 2 chicklets). Sleeping was not very successful for some of us nor were dinners at restaurants, unless they were early...

Emerson LOVED the "fresh air"- we took lots of walks (since she has been couped up all Winter indoors) and the pool...her 1st pool experience, she smiled and smiled while enjoying the water in her little suits or diapers and sun hat...super cute "Little Plumper." Jacob wasn't so fond of the pool or ocean this time, he just cared about the sand...and building sand castles. People would come up to us and say- "this is the happiest kid on the beach!" He really was.

Thank you to my mom and dad for the fantastic vacation. We love you and look forward to annual Morkes Florida trips. Cheers!

"The Newlyweds"~David and Cara
Jacob and sand= Love.
Beach Beauty~ Emerson Marie

The 4 of us
Bathing Beauty...in the kitchen sink after a long day at the beach
The loves of our lives...
The 4 of us.
The 2 Boys~ Jacob (2 1/2 years) and Mason (14 months)
Happy Baby
Grandma Joey and her Baby Emme
The 2 Girls...and Uncle Jared (Emerson just about 5 months, Alyssa just about 9 months)
Mommy, Daddy...and their Little Girl
Pa and Baby Mason
Mommy and Emme
Daddy and Jacob
The 4 of us
Baby Alyssa~ 1st time at the Beach
"The King of the Beach"~ Jacob Brayden
Girls' Night~ Cara, Loren, Karen, and Jill
New Mommies~ Loren and Karen
Mom and her girls~ Jill and Cara
My dad and I~
The Devich Family~ Alyssa, Jared, and Karen
Our Princess~ Sleeping Beauty
Chunky Girl~
Our Little "Surfer Dude"

FOOD!

Emerson had her 4-month appointment 2-weeks ago, and we were given the go ahead to start introducing cereal and baby food! I waited until we got back from vacation to introduce FOOD! It is a bit messy and just more work so we thought we would start slowly when we returned from Florida. I also cannot believe that my little baby could be ready for this already. She is just really getting her balance while sitting in her bumbo seat, so this seems crazy to me...she is still so little (well, not physically! My little plump chicklet Ha!) Today was the day, and I think she enjoyed it. I decided to start her with fruit BEFORE cereal this time since she has had some constipation issues...and will slowly introduce cereal next week...here are pics of Emme's first "spoonful" of pears! Yeah Emzees!