Thursday Five

Happy Happy Thursday!!

Today is a FANTASTIC day..but you'll just have to wait and read my five to find out why..

Wanna play..all you have to do is post 5 things that have made you

Jubilant

Giddy

Excited

Thankful

Stoked

Keely over at MannLand5 started this fun carnival so here is...

My Five

1. Julie Ann got married! We headed to Conover for her wedding weekend and it was a blast full of fun activities. Here we are pre-wedding with a blurry picture from my phone. Doesn't she look stunning?!? I mean seriously. Then of course the ceremony was a tear jerker. Is there anything better than the emotion on a wedding day?

2. Emerson was a party girl. She was a super good sport at the reception. I even brought her out with me while the bridesmaids were introduced and she got to be introduced too! Then she did the chicken dance with me and clapped her hands on cue. I see some future dance parties in her future! She looks a little dazed in this picture but for a girl who didn't nap I say she held in there.

3. I have a photoshoot tomorrow with a sweet baby girl. I'm so excited I can't stand it and maybe if I'm lucky her Mama will let me hold her for a bit. I'll post pictures here once they are complete.

4. We're going to farm day on Saturday. The company I work for part-time, The Produce Box, is having a family farm day where we can tour the farm, taste things. How fun! Have you ever had a cucumber straight from the farm? It's amazing. So head to your farmers market and pick one up. They knock the grocery store stuff out of the water.

5. Our church is doing a Sunday night series where some seminary professors are speaking on certain topics. This Sunday is "Hearing God's Voice in Scriptures." I'm really excited to take it in. I feel very fortunate to have such great resources.

6. I'm adding a 6th because I finished Emerson's scrapbook for the first year and got it yesterday. BEAUTIFUL! So pleased.

Happy Thursday!

More 15 month pictures

If you want to see more 15 month pictures of Emerson become my fan on facebook! I have a whole gallery there. That's all I have for now!

15 months old

Emerson is 15 months now. It just sounds like a much more mature age doesn't it? Not so much baby anymore. Emerson has gone through numerous changes in the last month. Most importantly walking. She is a full time walker, an almost runner plowing through our house. I've been seriously impressed with how stable and balanced she is. I guess that's what happens when you walk with someone's finger for months!As a result of walking she has discovered climbing. Trying to get on top of anything she can. One of my favorite things is if she sees me now she will run over and put her arms around my neck. Oh the love. She also loves to give kisses, especially to babies, and lay her head on top of someone else as a sign of affection. Even the dog gets love! She really enjoys books now and can even say, ''book." She constantly goes over to her chair pulls out a book and sits down to "read." It's so cute but of course she always tries to taste the book as well. Emerson loves to play ball and is constantly calling for one. She can even put the ball in a small basketball goal we have. She's not really into playing with dolls yet instead sticks to a shape sorter or musical toys. Emerson has definitely become a Daddy's girl constantly calling for him during the day and always thinks he is on the other end of the phone. When I tell him she is home she will shake her head back and forth and pant like a dog in excitement. I think she has been observing Mia too much. We just finished up our swim class and she loves the water. We even went to the pool yesterday and she was beyond ecstatic and had a blast splashing around. Her language development has definitely taken off as she will try to repeat a lot of words. Last week she said bowl, puzzle, door, and okay. I just love hearing her sweet voice. She is still a full fledged animal lover and goes crazy to encounter any furry creature. Her hair is growing like a weed and if she would let me put clips in it she wouldn't definitely be sporting some new hair do's. I'm excited for this summer and to see her change and grow. We love you Emerson and the little toddler you are becoming!

A little update

Emerson has been wild this past week. Into everything and she basically thinks she is three.

She keeps trying to walk down the incline of our small yard but she doesn't quite have that kind of balance yet. So she just gently bounces on her head and gets back up. Over and over and over. At least she is persistent!

This girl loves to be outside.

She also loves dog toys. Emerson is obsessed with Mia's tennis ball and thrower. You can see how thrilled she was to have it in her possession.

Apparently found a plastic bag along the way too. So if your toddler is bored look at petsmart for the hottest toy.

"Should I pick it up or leave it?"

This past weekend we went to three parties! We were super busy. But, celebrating is never a bad thing. Although I'm on cake overload. First we had a friend's 30th birthday where I had a moment of bad judgement and gave Emerson a taste of chocolate. To say she liked it is an understatement. She basically went into convulsions when I wouldn't give her more. Not like I gave her much to begin with. Think pin size. Seriously, she is truly Mark's baby. Ha! Next up we went to my Grandma's 81st birthday party. Emerson was sassy and picky. She wanted everything off the food table but only to throw it in the floor! There was a kitten there so it made up for her irritation with my food selections. Apparently celery isn't her favorite. Last we went to my niece Avery's 1st birthday party. Emerson had a blast since it was at her favorite park. Although I think she thought it was her birthday since she tried to take all the presents. She even gave Avery a sweet kiss! Or kisses. She didn't want to stop giving the love! This is toddler language for Happy Birthday. Tomorrow is Emerson will be 15 months old. Friday we have her check-up. I sure hope our Dr. is ready for my monstrous list of questions. "Why doesn't my baby sleep?" "Why won't she eat any food but eat her books?" "Is it normal for her to bite me and laugh?" Oh the fun. Any guesses on her stats. She was 16lbs even 2 months ago. I have not a clue. :)

The importance of reading

In our house we think reading is very important. From an early age I have tried to spark an interest of books in Emerson. Seriously, I use to read to her when she was a month old. Now that she is a mature 14 month old she is reading often on her own.

Studying, and taking in all the knowledge that is available to her.

Really digesting the meaning of the words.

I'm so proud of her for her eageriness to learn.

Sometimes it's nice to just curl up with a good book.

And take it all in.

"I thought we weren't suppose to chew things?!??"

I will try not to make all my pictures seventies style. Although it's so tempting. Here is one a la natural.

Wordless Wednesday

Baby's best friend

We had a fun weekend. We took Emerson swimming not once but twice! It was our first weekend at the neighborhood pool and thought it would be way to cold for but she didn't seem to mind in the least. She had fun splashing around. I guess our "swim classes" paid off. Saturday we went to a family festival put on by Mark's work. There were pony rides and I thought Emerson would love it but she was actually completely terrified by them. Then I tried to take her through the blow up playhouse and she wasn't a fan of that either. While we were eating lunch she kept saying, "Ball, ball." I turned to the table beside us and saw the kids had a beach ball. From then on we were on a mission to win E. a ball. She was ecstatic and we even took it to the pool. I'm a little light on pictures this week so here are a couple videos from yesterday.

Sometimes Mia can be playful with Emerson and it's hilarious to watch. Even funnier is she will run around then randomly go upstairs with no warning. Emerson was not a fan of her early departure.

One of those days

I just had one of those days yesterday. The kind where you sorta feel off. First we headed out to Target to get mason jars for some homemade jam. Turns out they were sold out and instead I came home with a massive box of honey nut cheerios, smores goldfish, and a yellow sundress for Emerson. I think she has had too many trips to Target because as we were shopping she kept trying to grab things off the sales rack. Then when I walked away she held her hands out saying, "No, no." This time I made sure I had a cart with a seatbelt after our escape attempt at the last trip. But, alas Emerson is a tiny gal and as I was pushing she stood up and faced forward with her hands raised in the air clapping. Perhaps we should take a shopping safety 101 class. The whole time we were there she kept waving and saying Dada. Apparently it looks like a place where he would be. She doesn't do it anywhere else. Ha! I ended up leaving with nothing I needed and still having to stop for jars. Finally I had to stop at Earthfare for the third time in two days to get the jars I wanted to avoid getting in the first place since I thought they would be elsewhere cheaper. I have a feeling they clerks there think I'm crazy.

We came home and got ready for our Produce Box deliveries. It was nap time and Emerson was not really in the mood to wait around. So nothing else was going to distract her except a trip outside. She literally ran away from me trying to eat every rock and trash in sight.

Finally we got our boxes and I found Emerson opening one and eating lettuce out of it. Unwashed, straight from the farm lettuce. Awesome. After a long afternoon we got back around 4pm. I went to get my hair cut which I was pretty excited about. Apparently everyone thinks I'm 18 because the stylist started talking about how she hated kids and kept asking me about UNC. Ha! I was too tired to correct her and say, "Hey lady, I'm almost 27 and I'm a proud Mama!" Wow, I've had some weird hair stylist interactions this week. I left the salon and my phone completely went black and froze so I couldn't use it. Bizarre! So anyways I'm just out of whack this week. Emerson had another bad night of sleep. I'm so confused since sometimes she will sleep 7 hours at a time then sometimes, like last night, will flip out of if I lay her down. Of course the one night I decide to make strawberry jam she is restless as can be. So picture me holding a baby in one hand, while trying to boil jars with my other hand. This maybe why my left elbow hurts so bad. Haha. Ok I'm done venting. I'm going to try to get out of my pj's now.

A little share

I just read this blog , "Putting order on the tongue", from Courtney at Women living well. I found it extremely insightful so I wanted to pass it along. Definitely a must read for every woman. Enjoy!

Mother's Day

We enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day together. Mark made me a yummy breakfast then we had brunch at the country club where I stuffed my face with tons of food. Don't worry the brunch was at 1pm so I didn't double up too much. Emerson enjoyed walking all over the place and wore herself out if you can't tell by this picture. By the way Emerson is wearing my dress from when I was little and I thought she looked oh so sweet.

This is our photo from last Mother's Day where she is also wearing my baby outfit! I love this picture so much that Mark and Emerson got me an iphone cover with this picture on it. I was so surprised because I had never seen anything like it. Now I can look back everyday to how tiny my Little E. was on my first Mother's Day. Such a wonderful memory!

Here is part of the brunch crowd. The MIL, Grand-MIL, myself, and tired E.

Our new family picture.

I've pretty given up that we will ever have a picture of all three of us looking at the same time. Well maybe for a few years at least.

Father and daughter enjoying the outdoors. Check out Emerson's new shoes!

This year I'm even more grateful for the gift of motherhood. I've been beyond blessed to be able to take care of Emerson everyday, to see her milestones, and to be called Mama. I love her so much and I'm grateful for this wonderful time with her. It's only been 14 months and I can't imagine my life without her. Happy Mother's Day to everyone!