Memorial Day Weekend 2011

We tried a neat restaurant in the Crown Center Friday night. Fritz's received a "YAY" from Emry. Here she is proudly wearing her complimentary conductors hat. She LOVED how the little train car delivered the food. We WILL be repeat diners. :)

Ready to hit the road!

We headed to Iowa for the day to help celebrate Allison's 2nd birthday. Emry was intrigued by their princess car. :)

On top of her dental hygiene!

At the splash park in Zona Rosa. Our peanut is growing up so fast!

Chuck E Cheese

We went to Avery's 4th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's this afternoon. Emry quickly learned how to put tokens in the machines and LOVED riding on the pretend vehicles. We accidentally took home quite a few extra tokens so I guess we'll just have to go back. :)

Marvelous Mother's Day

No pictures from this day. I know what you're thinking...slacker...and yes, I wasn't on my "A" game with photos. Just use your imagination to picture our activities for the day.

I had a wonderful 2011 Mother's Day. We began the morning with a delicious breakfast at Corner Cafe. Then we headed to church and Emry actually did okay in the nursery...the first in a LONG time. She held on even though it was well past the beginning of her first nap. After church, we came home, put Emry down for a nap and I headed to Grass Pad to pick out my flowers. We spent the remainder of the afternoon/evening doing yard work and planting flowers. Our front bushes are trimmed, backyard landscape has been redone, and all flowers are planted...that makes mamma happy! Spending time with my two favorite people and being outside made this day absolutely perfect! More importantly, I'm so thankful that I'm a mother to such a special little girl. My love for Emry is constantly growing and I feel so blessed that God placed her in our lives.

Water Baby

We had our first of three "Water Babies" class this morning. We have a neighborhood pool and go to the lakes in MN a few times during the summer so we feel it's important that Emry get reacquainted with the water and feel comfortable in it. She didn't love the water but did okay. She HATED when she went under water. She'll learn to hold her breath soon enough. Here are a few shots of our peanut.

Growing Like a Weed

I took this pic at a birthday party this past Sunday. She looks so grown up and is really starting to thin out and lose her "baby" look. My little girl isn't so little anymore.

Visit from Grandpa Jeff

My dad came down from Minnesota to visit with us this past weekend. Our time together passed quickly but we made the most of it. Emry loved spending time with her Grandpa Jeff ("Reff"). Here is a picture of them testing out a double rocking chair at Cracker Barrel. We love you! Come back soon.

Easter 2011

We had a whirlwind Easter weekend traveling from KC to IA to MN to IA and finally back to KC. Even though it was chaotic at times, it was wonderful seeing our families and watching Emry interact with them. She had a great time!

Time at Grandpa Jeff and Grandma Kathy's.

At Gma Julie and Gpa Ted's.

On Easter day at G & G Sheriff's.

As you can see from this post and previous posts, Emry is an expert egg hunter now.

The Hunt is On!

Emry got to meet the Easter Bunny and participate in her 2nd egg hunt this past Monday. Steve's social committee at work organized an Easter event for staff member's children or grandchildren. We missed the first activity of dying eggs because Emry was busy getting her 15 month shots. We were able to sneak in just in time to hear a story about Easter and meet Mr. Easter Bunny himself. Emry is so busy these days, she spotted many eggs before the hunt officially began, so Steve and I quickly put the eggs back in their proper place after she handed them to us. Once the hunt began, most of the older kids discovered and grabbed them which was okay because Emry was more interested in the library books. All she wanted to do was attempt to pull them off the shelf and plop down to read. Go figure!

30th B-day Bash

Yesterday was the non-surprise birthday bash I planned for Steve. He and 11 of his buddies golfed during the afternoon, then they met us (me and other wives) at Minsky's for pizza and drinks. We had a great turn out and fun was had by all. The most important thing was that Steve had a blast! You deserved it...Emry and I love you so much!

15 Months

Our sweet girl became 15 months on Thursday! I'm a little behind on this post as we've been busy, busy, busy. I don't know why but each month, I'm amazed at how much she changes. She's a happy girl (majority of the time) with a great disposition. She's sensitive (like me) and also determined to do or get what she wants. She loves learning and exploring the environment she's in. Here is more of what she's up to:
~ she tries to repeat most words
~ knows all the words listed in her 14 month post and has recently learned what sound a snake makes.
~ attempts to use a spoon and fork when I remember to let her try
~ identifies her head, hands, feet, knee, belly, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth
~ doesn't like her teeth to be brushed anymore
~ gives us "lovin"
~ gives "day-dee" a nice rub and hugs my belly
~ eats most fruits and doesn't prefer vegetables
~ loves books
~ is walking full time and RARELY crawls
~ sleeps from 7/7:30pm to 7:00 am
~ still takes two naps (we tried transitioning to one and it didn't quite work)

As always, she's our FAVORITE thing in the entire world. We love you sweet girl.

Emry and I headed to The Grove in Zona Rosa to check out the baby chicks and ducks. She said "teet-teet" and "cack, cack" while they scurried around.

Exciting News for Halloween 2011!!!

Our family of three will be expanding to four, on October 31st! Steve and I were thrilled beyond belief when we found out we are expecting our second child. It happened so much quicker this time! I'm almost 12 weeks along and everything is great. We had our second appointment this afternoon and heard baby's heart beat for the first time. It was 166. Emry is starting to understand that mommy's belly is changing and when I ask her where baby is, she'll rub her own belly. She did rub my belly for the first time tonight and even gave it some "loves." So adorable! She's going to be an amazing big sister and hopefully will share the attention well. Here are some shots I took of her tonight but they're not the best. It's VERY difficult to get a 15 month old to sit still.

Daddy's 30th Birthday!

Steve turned the big 3-0 today! We celebrated by heading to Tommy's in Gladstone for a yummy dinner. He loved his gift from us too(it brought tears to his eyes). Next Saturday, I planned a golf outing for him with his good buddies and afterwards, we're all meeting at Minsky's for pizza and drinks. We love you daddy!

Fun at the Fields

We went to visit Steve at the fields tonight not just to say hi but also to enjoy the GORGEOUS weather! High 70s and complete sun...what could be better? Now that Emry is walking, she loved toddling around the enormous playground. She only got kicked in the head once by a young boy who was on the monkey bars and didn't see her. Don't worry, she's totally fine...it was more of a graze to the head. Steve's coworker's wife also came tonight with her two sons who are 4 and 2. You'll notice Carter (4) sliding down while Emry tries to climb up. She'll learn soon enough. :)

Little Peanut was all tuckered out. She barely stirred when I opened the sliding door. Absolutely love this pic. What an angel.

Eating Like a Big Girl

The last few days Emry has been practicing using a fork and spoon to feed herself. Check out her skills!

First Easter Egg Hunt

Emry participated in her first Easter Egg hunt this morning at our church! We had a yummy brunch and then headed out to the playground to hunt for the eggs. She did surprisingly well! She found them on her own and actually placed them in her basket. It was the most adorable thing! Now she's ready for the real thing on Easter.

And...about two weeks ago she consistently started walking on her own and improves every day!