Chatterbox

Currently, our little family is borrowing a house in Downtown Denver near the Zoo, a huge golf course, and (the best part!) City Park. A few mornings a week we get out of the house after breakfast and go for a walk around the neighborhood and through the park. It’s a wonderful place to push a stroller, and has a great playground for both little and big kids. I think it’s the main thing we’re going to miss about this area when we move!

Lets go already!

 

Looking at plants with Daddy

The playground (in the distance!)

 

Happy Girl!

Her favorite thing is to find the most perfect piece of bark in the whole place.

On the way home, she wanted to hold Daddy’s hand. Very sweet!

This next picture was too cute to pass up, so I had to post it. (Just for the record, though, it’s completely the reason we’re joining a gym this week. Sorry to all of you that have to see how large my rear end has gotten lately… Yikes!) Anyway, Emily likes to walk with us along the path like this and point at all the geese. She loves the park! Getting her back in the stroller though is sometimes a little tough.

On a different note, I read an article recently that said a child Emily’s age should be able to say about 7 words. Um, I think we can check that milestone off the list! Rob and I counted as many words as we could think of that she says, and we stopped when we got to 50. She’s always been a chatterbox, but it seems like she picks up at least a couple new words each day now. Just so I can remember, I want to list some of the things she says most often:

Bye-bye (she says bye-bye to everyone and everything! Tonight she said, “Bye-bye bubbles!”as we left the bathroom after her bath. Haha. :), hello and hi, sit, stand up, mama, daddy, blanket, book, ball, blocks, up, down, more, please and thank you (she will sometimes say these appropriately on her own) milk, cracker, noodles, apples, cheese (her favorite), hot, walk, outside, SHOES! (another favorite), socks, pants, shirt, hat. She says the names and makes the sounds of a few animals: puppy is her all-time favorite, and she also knows kitty, cow, pig, duck, chicken, birdie, and elephant (complete with arm motion for the trunk. I love it. :). She names body parts: head, nose, eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, chin, hair, arms, hands fingers, tummy, knees, feet, toes.

She’s catching on to new things really quickly, also. If we point to something and tell her what it is, she’ll usually repeat it. Today in the grocery store I found a magazine I had been looking for, and like a total dork I said, “Yesssssssss!”. The next thing we know, Emily’s in the shopping cart going “Yesss! Yessss!” complete with the silly arm motion! She’s dorky just like her Mama it seems. She also loves to read books with us now, and sings songs and makes the hand motions like we do- her favorite song is The Itsy Bitsy Spider! I think I sing that one 27 times a day. :)

Our little social butterfly has been to the church nursery twice now and they say she does great! She smiles and waves at everyone wherever we go, and loves the attention she gets back. I don’t think we have a shy kid, that’s for sure! I’m really enjoying watching her grow and learn, even if I think she’s getting to big too fast. Being a Mama is the best thing I’ve ever done. I have a friend who’s pregnant with twin girls and I am so, SO excited for her and her husband!! Little girls are absolutely wonderful, even if I do want to pull my hair out sometimes. I can’t imagine our life without our sweet Emmie, and I thank God every day that he gives me with her.

Life is Good. (And tomorrow, to the gym!!!)

Spokane trip and Emily’s first birthday party!

(I know it’s a long time ago now, but I still wanted to get this posted so we can remember it.)

A few weeks after Emily turned one, she and I drove to Spokane to visit her grandparents and Auntie Rachel and the boys for a few days. We got to go to the park and the beach, and had a great BBQ with Grandpa! We sewed with Grandma and got to spend lots of time relaxing and just hanging out. Rob joined us for a day or two and then we all drove home together.

Grandpa teaching Emily how to jump on the bed. (Thanks, Grandpa! Haha.)

What’s in this bag?

Poooooooooooony Boy with cousin Ryan!

One highlight of the week was Emily’s first birthday party! It wasn’t a huge affair, just cupcakes and ice cream, but we sure had fun! She didn’t care much for the cupcake though, but I can’t really say I’m disappointed in her lack of a sweet tooth at this point in her life. I’m sure she’ll get there soon enough!

 

 

 

 

   

Another big moment this week was a tough one for this Mama. Emily got her first haircut! It was a moment that really made me realize how big she’s getting and that they just don’t stay little very long. She looks so grown up now! Happy and sad at the same time. Sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

Paula, who cut her hair (and mine too!), has been a friend of our family’s for years and years. She used to cut my hair when I was little too, and she even did my hair for my wedding. Thanks, Paula, for everything! We love you! :)

Thank you Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Zach, it was a wonderful weekend! Next trip over will be for the 4th of July and another great BBQ. I can’t wait!!

Busted.

 

11 Month Update!

My tiny new baby is turning into a walking (almost), talking (almost), toddler right before my eyes! We’re packing to move to our new home this week and I’ve been coming across all the pictures I took when she was brand new. It’s so much fun to see how much she’s changed and grown! Pretty soon it will be time to hand over the car keys.

HA HA HA HA HA!! Oh boy, was that funny or what?! (If you know me you’ll know that Emily will NEVER be allowed to drive. Ever. She’ll be lucky to get a bicycle when she’s 16.) Car keys… Ha. :) Anyway, eleven months old! She’s different each day and we’re having so much fun with her!

At eleven months, Emily:

…still has just 5 teeth. She does wonderfully when it comes to chewing and eating though! She loves spaghetti, toast, mac n cheese, rice, pretty much anything with substance, and she really prefers to feed herself. She will refuse it all though without some kind of sauce. Plain noodles? Please, mom. Gimme the good stuff!

…is ramping up her skills in the language department. She makes all kinds of different sounds and will string “words” together to make little Emily-sentences. It’s very cute! We have no idea what she’s saying, but she sure does! When we talk to her, she answers, and is very excited when we have a conversation. This is one chatty kid already!

…has decided walking is not such a bad thing after all. She’ll hold our hands and practically run across the room now, but is hesitant to try and stand without our help. Crawling is still her preferred method of transportation though, and she’s become a pro furniture cruiser. She’s a munchkin on the move for sure!

…will point at things that she wants to see or a place she wants to go now. She can’t quite say what she wants yet but she’s learning that if she points, we’ll take her there! I have a feeling there will be a lot more pointing (and demanding!) in our future, ha ha. She’s a stubborn little thing and likes to get her way. I’m sure I don’t know where she gets that from…

…has started giving us kisses! She really doesn’t give much warning though, her method is more attack-and-slobber. She blows kisses too, especially at night time. Melts her daddy’s (and mama’s!) heart.

…LOVES people. She’s very social when we go out and about and will waive and point at people and giggles like crazy when they waive back. She sometimes acts shy but for the most part she’s a people-person. I’m glad to see her personality coming out more and more!

…is our own little vacuum cleaner. She can find the smallest piece of lint or food or dirt on the floor and if we’re not quick enough it goes straight into the mouth. GROSS. This game is not my favorite. But it has made sure I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of my Hoover, that’s for sure.

I can’t believe this is the last post I’ll get to write before my baby turns one. It’s been one heck of a rollercoaster for sure, but I wouldn’t trade a second of it for anything! She keeps us on our toes and makes life interesting, and we love her more than we could ever say. I wonder what the next month will bring! :)

Random Bullet Update

• I was starting to feel like the only thing I did in my spare time (and I use the term “spare” loosely) was to sit around on the computer wasting the day away, so I decided to do a week-long technology detox. Rob joined me, and from Monday to Sunday last week (ok, Saturday, but close enough right?) we didn’t go online except to pay bills, didn’t play video games, didn’t check Facebook from our phones, didn’t watch hours of mindless TV. We read a lot more and watched a few Netflix movies instead of just randomly flipping channels all night long. We listened to music instead of the TV for background noise. We didn’t have to battle little hands for the computer keyboard or remote control. It was nice! Alas, all good things must end, and on Saturday we gave in. I have to say the break was really refreshing and I realized how much time I spend “plugged in”. I’m making a concious effort now to do more things that don’t require a computer, and I have to admit the house is cleaner and I have more energy than before! Now, lets see how long I can keep it up, ha!
• WE HAVE TEETH! 4 of them are all the way through, and I think there are a couple more on their way in. Emily doesn’t seem to mind them very much now, but there were a couple days there where she was sleeping even worse, if that’s possible, while they were coming in. 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom so far. Hooray!
• Yes, we’re still nursing, even with the teeth.
• Grandma came for a visit yesterday! My mom was in Seattle for work and got the chance to spend a couple hours with us before her plane left. It was a quick visit but we had a great time! Emily loves her Grandma and Grandma spoiled us like crazy. I’m glad you had time to see us, MOM! Thanks again for stopping by! :)
• I can’t wait for the spring to arrive and bring some warmth with it! We’ve had a few sunny days lately but it’s SO DARN COLD that I can’t get out and enjoy it. Sunshine? GREAT! 30 degrees? No thank you. Hurry up summer. We neeeeeeeeed you.
• Rob turned 31 this week! He’s not overly excited about it. I say, bring on the old age! Haha! I also say, I’m only 28. So there. ;)
• I’ve started learning how to use coupons to save money. So far so good! I’m not really sure exactly what I’m doing yet, but I have been able to save at least 25-30% off our grocery and drugstore bills so far! It’s really nice to see your total drop after they ring all your coupons up. If it means spending a couple hours a week planning meals and chopping up a news paper so that we get to hold on to a little more of our money, I can do that. And really, it’s fun! I LOVE anything that’s based around organizing, so this is perfect for me. And the more I learn about it, the more we save. (Ok, I know, I’m a total nerd. You may begin the giggling now.)
• I love bread. That is all, for now…

My two favorite people.

Mess Maker

We had spaghetti for dinner tonight, and for the first time we all dined on the same thing. Emily was in messy-noodley-heaven.

See?

 

I think it’s safe to say she’s a fan of spaghetti. :)