Merry Christmas 2009!

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

Merry Christmas and Blessings from the Andrew Emmitt family!

With the addition of Samuel Andrew Emmitt in May, it has been a wonderful year!

Thank you to all that have supported us with your prayers. We celebrated Daniel’s second birthday at the end of October! He had a sedated Echo in September. The Cardiologist told us that his heart looked amazing. We go back in February for a check up and another Echo, but he is not on any medications and leads the life of a healthy two year old! PTL

Daniel is a smart, smart boy! He can tell you his last name. He walks around the house singing his ABCs (seriously - alllll the time!). He counts to 11. He loves Curious George, Caillou and Elmo. Finally likes us to read books to him. Isn’t a horribly picky eater, but definitely loves the sweets. The one real funny thing he does is refer to himself in third person. He hardly ever says “Me or I” – just “Daniel.” “Daniel hungry” or “Daniel watch George.” It is kind of cute and funny (hopefully he grows out of it!)

Samuel – also known as Sam and Sammy and “beef cake!” Seven months old already – it went by so fast (okay, I can say that now because he is FINALLY sleeping through the night)! The Christmas card doesn’t do Sam justice. He is a smiley, happy and BIG baby boy (we took about 15 different pictures and that was the only one that Daniel was smiling in!). In the past two weeks he has cut his first two teeth, is sitting up on his own and YES, sleeping through the night! Not quite crawling, but rolls all over the floor. Sam is our eater. He has never balked at any baby food, he will eat it all! He weighs more at seven months than Daniel weighed at one year. It was a tough few months at first, but now we are so glad that they are so close in age. Sam lights up every time Daniel walks into the room and Daniel loves having someone to play with.

In September, Andy and I celebrated our six year anniversary. In December, thanks to the graciousness of the best two sets of grandparents in the world, we were able to take our first vacation in four years. We went to Riviera Maya, Mexico for a week and it was wonderful! The boys didn’t even miss us!

Air-Tite Insulation will soon celebrate its five year anniversary! Andy is working hard every day to keep it running, even in this economy. We are all very proud of what he has accomplished! Andy is still serving as a member of the Kent County Republican Executive Committee, 3rd Congressional District Republican Committee Treasurer and the Michigan Republican State Committee. He is also back volunteering when he can as an assistant wrestling coach for Byron Center High School.

I am in my eighth year of service working for Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. This past summer she announced that she was endorsing Mike Bouchard for governor, and would be running as his Lt. Governor! We were all very excited, because they make a great team and are exactly what Michigan needs at the Capitol! I continue to work as her Director of Constituent Relations and am currently planning her 2010 Thank You Tour of all 140+ branch offices. I have also served the past year on the Search Team for a new Senior Pastor at First Reformed Church of Byron Center. In August I became a member of the South Kent Rotary Club and truly enjoy this great group! I also have the honor of being recently chosen to receive a 2010 Fellowship to the Michigan Political Leadership Program out of MSU. It will be a busy, but fun, year!

We ask that you remember our military brothers this holiday season. Steven is currently stationed in Afghanistan and most likely won’t be home until next April. Josh is stationed in Hawaii and is working on Ranger School. Lisa is working on her RN and Doug became a Navy Reserve Officer this year. Sarah and Steve are expecting their first child in May 2010. Nathan is growing like a weed and is in the 7th grade. Mom & Dad Kilgore (Gammy & Papa) doing well, although Gammy has a very sore elbow from carrying Sammy around for a week!

Mom & Dad Emmitt (Nama and Bopa) are also doing well. Nama recently recovering from double foot surgery! Tim and Molly are expecting their third child in April. Shelby and Nate are working their way out of Flint – hopefully soon!! Kate and Todd are planning a September 11, 2010 wedding and doing great in their new home in Kalamazoo.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

God Bless in 2010

The Emmitts

TWO!

Two years ago today I was lying in a hospital bed. I was having easy contractions, wondering when we were going to meet our baby and praying that God would heal our child’s heart. The posts are still here! Take a trip to the past if you have time. Then thank God again :D

The boys are doing really well. We’ve had a couple colds, but we are thankful that the flu has not hit us yet. I’ve been really torn about the flu shots – anyone that wants to offer advice, please do!!

We are celebrating Daniel’s birthday with tacos and an Elmo cake – provided by Nama! Can’t wait to take a bunch of pictures.


Daniel talks in full sentences. He is a little chatterbox! He counts – sometimes to 10! He likes to call all letters A, B and F. He has even been helping Gammy with the barn chores!


They almost seem like they could be twins. If we sit Sam in the Bumbo chair, Daniel will bring him toys to play with. If Sam is crying, Daniel runs to him and says, “Its ok Sammy!"

We did our second annual fall photo shoot last week. Daniel doesn’t like to smile for pictures anymore. He wants the camera! Sometimes he manages to take some pretty cute pictures!

We have Daniel's two year check up in two weeks. We will make sure to update again soon.

Sam is 5 Months

And started eating solid foods - rice cereal.

As expected, the boy loved it!


He is also rolling over!


For the past three weeks, Sam has not been sleeping well at night. For those of you who know me, know that I am crazy when it comes to their sleep schedules. Yet, now Sammy's lack of night time sleep is driving me crazy! We haven't had more than 3 hours of consecutive sleep in weeks - we were getting more when he was first born! I can't imagine it is a growth spurt, because he is huge! Hopefully we can move past this soon.

Daniel is a chatterbox, but we love it. It is so much better being able to communicate with him. He discovered that he can open doors - even the fridge... He doesn't really enjoy the cold weather and having to stay inside so much. He spends a lot of time watching his friend, Curious George. This afternoon he counted to 10! He now tells us when he is "stinky" too! Hard to believe he is almost 2 years old!

Busy Mommy!

Sam is almost 5 months old, but here is his 4 month picture! At his 4 month check up he was 16 lbs 3 oz (75th percentile) and 26 1/2 inches long (90th percentile!) He is wearing 9 month pjs!

Sam LOVES Daniel. He lights up whenever he comes into the room. When Sam is crying, Daniel says, "Its okay Sammy!" They are going to be playing together in no time. Makes us glad that they are so close in age!

Two weeks ago Sam was Baptized - it was a GREAT day!!!
He wore an outfit that his 20-year-old Uncle Steven wore the day he was Baptized!

Sam slept through the whole service. Grandpa stood behind us as our Elder representative. It was awesome to have him and so many family members and friends there!

Last weekend we went to Mackinac Island for the Republican Conference. Daniel stayed home with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Steve. Sam came with us - he was the youngest volunteer there and did a GREAT job!! This picture is in front of Mission Point.
Here we are on the porch of the Grand Hotel.
Daniel had a sedated Echo last month. It was a nerve-wracking experience, but had GREAT results! Daniel had to have an IV put into his hand - not fun. I was crying before it even started. Here we are looking at the little plastic cover they put over it.
After about 20 minutes of the Echo, the cardiologist finally said that his heart looked great! He told us that he could enjoy a "normal" childhood and he didn't think that Daniel would need another surgery!! We will go back next Spring for another check up, but he shouldn't have to be sedated again (thank goodness!) It was an answer to prayers!!

Work and life keeps us nice and busy. We love our boys - as you do too! We update our Facebook accounts as regularly as possible - so check us out there for more pictures :D

Picture Time

A few favorites!




The cutest two boys ever!

I have lost count!?

Wow – it IS totally different with the second child!

I have no idea how many weeks old he is – I think he’s at 14??

I do know that he is 3 months old!

Sam is getting so cute! Everyone I say that to says that he has always been cute – but I think he’s making that transition from “infant” to cute and cuddly “baby.” Okay, he’s probably pushing 15 lbs – that might have something to do with it!

This picture really shows how long he has gotten - wearing all 6 month clothes!

We had a fun weekend in Holly last month. Daniel loves the mulberry bush.

He also loves bubbles!

We went on vacation to Silver Lake again this year. Andy found us a great deal on a camper to rent. We say that when the boys are both potty trained we are going to go back to camping in a tent – we’ll see!!!

We were actually grateful to have a nice big camper that week. The first morning we were there, Daniel woke up and threw up alllllllllll over. Then he had the runs the whole rest of the week, including gas pains that were so bad they made him cry and grab at his stomach every few minutes. Other than that and the cold weather, :D we had a great time.

It was cold, but we still hiked our way over to the beach a few times. Daniel had so much fun playing with Uncle Nate in the sand.

Sam was amazing! Of course, before we left I was so stressed out about where he was going to sleep and if he would be okay sleeping in the same area as Daniel. We ended up putting him on the bench of the table and he slept wonderfully! Even on the beach he did great!

When we got home however, he went through his 3 month growth spurt and was up 3 – 4 times in the night… We’ve been back down to just once for the past two nights – hoping that continues!
Daniel is a parrot. He is mimicking everything we say and talks in complete sentences half the time. And he is finally eating!! He’s been really picky since Christmas, but seems to finally be willing to try new things and eat (or drink) veggies. He loves V8.

We’re still working on the potty. He sits on it multiple times a day, but doesn’t go but once in a great while. At least he’s used to it and feels comfortable on it. We don’t think it will be too much longer before he really understands and wants to use it.

Daniel has to have an Echo done at the hospital on September 9th. Due to his age, they require that he be sedated. Due to this, he has to have a complete health and wellness check at the ped. prior to the Echo. Please keep him in your prayers – pray that his Echo show that his heart is working and growing perfectly. We appreciate it!