a blessing for Penn Albin

Jon blessed our handsome Penn this past Sunday, Father's Day. I love to see Jon father our children in all ways, but there's something especially powerful when his love and God's love combine in a priesthood ordinance like a blessing. The doctrine of eternal families is so real. 

Penn is so special, so lighthearted, and so fun. I know he'll bring joy to us and his acquaintances for his whole life. I also have no doubt he'll keep us on our toes. Love this little boy.

Also, I love his linen romper gifted by his grandma and his crocheted blanket made by his great grandma.

emory is still our number 1

For several months, I've been trying to soak up the last of Emory's young childhood innocence. I had a realization sometime last fall that he's growing up--every joyful and or painful stage of his life gets him closer to milestones like kindergarten and a little further away from my being my little boy. He's already moved to preferring his dad more than me (I know this is a natural process, especially for Emory who is Jon's miniature clone) and I'm learning to accept it and not take this preference personally. I mean, I'd choose spending time with Jon over anyone else any day as well. Anyway, we've had our struggles with a 3 to 3 1/2 year old gaining more independence over the past several months, but something switched in Emory when Penn was born. He went from allowing insecurities to overcome him to becoming a proud, responsible older brother, relaxed about having a new baby in the house. I'm sure that speaks volumes about my misery in pregnancy the last couple months, but thankfully I know we can all recover from that and move on! We've had only a couple moments since Penn's birth that really remind me that Emory is still as young as he is, and  I'm so happy to see my first little boy blossoming so positively. I adore him. It's crazy how overnight, he seemed so grown up as soon as we met Penn--he's suddenly way heavier, with way bigger features and so much maturity.

And now some photos of the past several months, that epitomize Emory throughout these stages...

with a Ferrari 308 (his favorite) at the LeMay car museum in Tacoma last November (also, those are his favorite pants and he always chooses to wear them when they're clean)

working with his tools to help put the lights on the tree

loving nana and nunu's kitties; playing mariocart on the wii with Amber

pure joy on that face!

dutifully carrying his backpack through the airport for our flight to Salt Lake City

 

enchanted by the snow (and snow plows) in Utah--he sat on the heater of our hotel and watched snow plows and trax whenever we were in our room

loving hot chocolate--for months hot chocolate and play doh went hand in hand

 

using chopsticks for the first time on a "family date;" on a mama date with me to starbucks (I believe we went to subway and the park that day as well, all dictated by where E wanted to spend time)

throwing a birthday party for Jack, his baby, and animals. my third trimester self could only muster cookies, though E requested a cake. also, Jack has been E's best friend, baby, and alter ego for the past several months... Jack loves cheetos for just about every meal and most definitely for protein, he has frisbee and tennis and track, goes to dances, and if E gets in trouble, Jack told him to do it. also of note is the baby in Emory's tummy, who I think is gone now that Penn is here, but he always got the hiccups and kicked often, and E even shared his own pregnancy woes with the midwife during my appointments.

 

loving the spit sucker thing at the dentist; falling asleep on my lap (this happened a couple times in January, and I only realized several days later it was due to a nasty virus we all caught)

loving his overalls and the beach, and scooping rocks with a found shell, of course

 

bringing toy after toy to our room to play in my presence during lazy pregnant mornings; pushing the stroller he's now too big for on several family walks to try to encourage labor and enjoy early spring weather

shaving like his daddy taught him to (don't worry, there's no blade)

How could you not love Emory Shawn? Now here's to hoping having Penn around has cured E of his aversion to primary and sunbeam class--we'll find out this Sunday!

this little boy turned 2 today

(these photos were all taken last Sunday; birthday post to follow)

We spent a full and fun day with our little man for his birthday. We drove home from Everett tonight, exhausted from birthday spoils and treats, and now we're sitting in bed, thinking of what we love most about E at this stage in his life.

*his seriousness--maybe this comes from being around adults so much, but the kid just takes everything in and really understands it, whether he talks much or not

*his need to do things on his own terms--just this past week or two he finally started to really mimic our words and say them, including new words such as car or "gcahhh," one or "wuuuh," two or "tschew," three or "gggree," hi or "eyeh," dog or "gah"

*his acute audio sense--we think he's an audio learner because he mimics sounds and identifies things by sound rather than name (sirens, cows, dogs, horses, lions, cars, boats, planes, motorcycles, etc.)

*his obsession with cars--the kid could not be more like his father in this respect

*his love for taking rides in sports cars--he has recently fallen in love with a Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet and sticks his arms up in the wind on rides with his dad, and begs for more swerving back and forth as he giggles from the thrill

*how he kneels for prayers and tries so hard to be reverent and fold his arms, no matter what he's holding, and closes his eyes, making his eyelashes disappear (Jon insists I include this point because my eyelashes do the same thing and that's why he loves it so much)

*his love for the golf cart--Jon takes him on wild rides down at our house site and "jumps" it over a little hill; the bigger the impact, the faster, and wilder, the better the thrill for our kid

*his gestures and communication skills, though sometimes a pain because of limitations--like when he doesn't want to be picked up or go elsewhere, is trying to catch a ball, or wants to hold a cat, or just when he wants something (he has a specific gesture for each situation, all different, and all very Emory)

*his methods for giving hugs, waving, and giving kisses--we've all taken on the E wave, stiff arm and wrist, hand turned sideways

*he is Jon's mini clone--Jon says, "I love how he totally gets it when it comes to vehicles... whether boats or planes or cars or motorcycles. His ears and eyes are already tuned and he's only two. He just gets it. It's not something I have to teach him, it's just something we appreciate together."

*his head shakes--yes and no; adorable

*his decision making--when we ask him questions and he really thinks about it, like choosing between which 2 cars he wants to hold out of the 10 in his box (garage) or bag at the time, or which book he really wants to read, or what he wants for breakfast--he really weighs his options

*his insecurities about new shoes--we can't figure this one out but it's hilarious how much the kid hates new shoes; whenever he gets them, he refuses to walk until someone forces it and even then still whines his way through the first 10 minutes or so, and then he falls in love

*his routines--for instance, a couple weeks ago, he learned how to do a somersault and it happened to be right before bedtime, so now he has to do a somersault or two every night after we say prayers

*his attachment to things--his few favorite stuffed animals (Guillaume the giraffe, Ed the dog, and Eddie the puppy), his bed, his cloth diapers we used as burp cloths

*his facial expressions and love for being the center of attention, particularly at the dinner table where he acts as house comedian, so excited and talking about who-knows-what in gibberish

Anyway, we could gush for hours, because seriously, this little boy is our world. We adore him, and are so grateful to have shared the past two years with our Emory Shawn.