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!!

Merry Christmas!

So I realize that Christmas was more than 2 weeks ago and I haven’t posted about it yet. I’m sorry! I’ve been consumed with other things like COUPONS! And BREAD! (More about both of those later…)

Anyway, Christmas. It was great! We spent the actual Christmas weekend with Rob’s family in Denver, CO, and Emily got to go on her first plane ride! She did really well on the first flight, sleeping most of the way and playing contentedly the rest of the time. The flight home though, not so much. We were slightly delayed because of an issue with someone’s seat assignment (the flight attendants spent a half hour straightening out a ticketing error that gave one seat to two people… duh.) so we ended up sitting on the plane for almost an hour before ever taking off. She slept that whole time and about a half an hour after take off, and for the next two hours she was AWAKE! She was fascinated with the plane seats for a while but when that novelty wore off it was overtired-cranky-get-me-off-this-plane-right-now baby. That was fun. The guy next to us couldn’t have jumped out of his seat faster when we landed, haha.

The trip itself though was great! We got to spend time with Grandpa Moose and Grandma Goose and saw a few of the sights of Denver! Christmas night we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens and looked at over a million Christmas lights that they had put up all over the garden. It was awesome, if a little cold. But we bundled up and Emmie was happy snuggled in her Ergo carrier with her Strawberry Hat on.

She didn’t really want to sleep very well while we were there so I had to spend a good deal of time trying to get her to nap. But when she was awake she was happy and smiley and had a great time playing with Grandma! We also went to the Christmas eve service at their church where Grandma sang in the choir. It was truly a beautiful service, complete with candles and Silent Night. Perfect.

Before we left for the trip, we opened presents and spent a day together at home just the three of us. Emily didn’t really seem to get the whole Santa thing, but it was still fun! She ate ribbons and shredded paper, and eventually played with her new Shopping Cart. It’s noisy and bright and obnoxious and she LOVES IT. As soon as we put her down to play she goes straight for it every time! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Ancel! She also made out like a bandit with all her new clothes! She’s the best dressed baby around! :)

I didn’t get any pictures of the trip to Denver (we didn’t want to deal with the big camera on the plane) but I do have some from before we left! Maybe Grandma Shankland can send me some pictures to add here…!

Our tiny little tree!

“I GOTTA GET THE BOOOOOOWWWWW!!!”

Mmmmm… Bow.

Happy happy!

What have you got?

The Shopping Cart!

Daddy putting together his first ever toy. Yay!

My little shopper.

Don’t mind the mess in those photos, we were having way to much fun to worry about cleaning up! Haha.

All in all, Emily’s first Christmas was a smashing success. Good times were had all around, and they didn’t even lose our luggage! Next year though, we’re staying in Washington state. Anyone want to come to visit us? :)

More Traveling!

Last weekend our very good friends Andy and Alex were married in VA, and Rob was asked to be the best man! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make the trip over with the little one, but I hear it was a fantastic time!

Congrats again you two, we are so happy for you!

While Rob was running all over the state of Virginia helping out Andy (by keeping him out of Alex’s way) and eating great food, I went to Spokane to spend a week at Grandpa’s house with Emily. We had a great time, too!

We were lucky enough to get a chance to see Tara and Karter and baby Kennedi while we were there, too! Tara and I figured out that we’ve been friends for 20 years! WOW! It’s great that our girls are only a few months apart in age!

The girls and the kiddos.

Grandma and Emmie!

Giggles for Grandpa.

Tara, Karter, and Em.

Sweet baby Ryan. He’s getting so big!

Tummy time with Grandpa.

They became very good friends this trip!

Hanging with Uncle Zach.

Grandpa and his boys!

Silly, silly.

We had lots of fun, and now that Emily is getting bigger, she does a lot better with trips like this. We were lucky enough to find a portable swing at a second-hand shop, and she LOVED it, so we actually got her to nap a little bit. That made the trip MUCH more enjoyable. But as much as we love to travel and see family, we were SO GLAD to be home! A week away from Daddy makes Emmie quite the cranky-pants!

The next big thing on our list is Thanksgiving, also in Spokane. And then comes Emily’s first plane ride to Denver for Christmas! Anyone with tips on flying with an infant, please share! I’m more than a little nervous about that so any advice would be much appreciated.

P.S. Apparently bananas are very tasty but not so good on the tummy. This solid food business is tough!