Seven Months

So far, Jackson has been a pretty easygoing toddler. He doesn't throw fits, he has never bitten anyone and hasn't hit for a long time. He's pretty easily distracted, doesn't get really angry about things, and doesn't mind taking naps or going to bed. We've been lucky so far.

We think we're definitely going to get a run for our money when Emmett becomes a toddler. When he's happy and content (meaning, he isn't hungry or tired and has everything he wants at the moment) he's just the sweetest thing... smiling, cooing, the whole bit. But when he doesn't get something he wants - like, for instance, if he wants to be picked up when I'm fixing Jackson dinner, or if he wants to eat the notepad that's in front of him and I take it away, or if he decides he's bored where he is and I take too long moving him or picking him up... look out!! He has developed quite a good red-faced scream. I can tell the difference now between a mad scream and a sad scream. Sad is accompanied by a pouty lower lip and tears. Mad is just red and loud. :)

He has also gotten quite adept at a "stiff as a board" pose. If I try to sit him down on the floor and he doesn't want to sit, he becomes as stiff as a board with his feet flat on the floor and I have to push on his stomach to make him bend and sit. As you can imagine, a mad scream usually follows this. The same exact thing happens when we try to put him in the car seat without his permission. Totally straight-bodied stiffening followed by a stomach push and mad scream. It is actually kind of funny that he already knows how to make things difficult for us to try to get what he wants!

He is so totally cute, though, and is usually a happy, good baby. I am very, very thankful that he is still consistently sleeping through the night, even if his naps still aren't the greatest. I think Jackson may just be an unusually good napper and has skewed my perception of how napping should be. And I absolutely can't resist Emmett's chubby cheeks, tummy, and thighs. He gets an overload of kisses on a daily basis.

I'll have to try to get a video of him soon, because he is really close to crawling. He's trying so hard! He gets up on his hands and knees and pushes himself forward, only to land on his face, poor thing. He can scoot backwards like you read about, though. So when he face-plants he just rolls over onto his back, or pushes up to hands and knees and tries again, or scoots himself backwards. That's another thing that we notice about him - he's pretty tough. He doesn't cry easily when he gets hurt from things like... a flying ball that his brother threw in his direction (accidentally, of course), or from reaching for something too far and toppling over from a sitting position, or face-planting from wanting to crawl so! badly!

We were blessed the other day to be a part of my friend Katie's "photoshoot" for a website she's creating. She made a flight suit onesie for Emmett after he was born, and asked if he would model it for her website. She makes all kinds of amazing onesies, t-shirts, and dresses for kids, as well as aprons and bags for women. I'll post a link to her site as soon as she gets it up and running. Anyway, Kelly Armijo, the photographer who took our family pictures this year, photographed the kids for the website and I was able to buy some of the shots from her. I just adore them and was SO happy to have some recent great pictures of Emmett, as the last ones Kelly took of him were newborn shots. Katie has all sorts of awesome antiques, toys, and furniture at her house, and this plane was just perfect for Emmett's session. These are some of my favorites...


I couldn't believe how green his eyes look in these next pictures...


Jackson was supposed to model a flight suit t-shirt, but Katie wasn't able to get it ready in time, so he just got to hang out, run around, and play with all of the cool toys while we were there. Kelly was kind enough to have me plunk Jackson in the plane for a few seconds while she snapped some pictures of the boys together, which I was so grateful for. She originally wanted E to sit on J's lap inside the plane, but neither one of them was having any of that. So we settled for putting E on the ground. I cannot believe that Kelly got any good shots at all, as J would not look at the camera. He barely even looked up from the steering wheel! She is amazing!