Three days and counting

Apartment R-304, I will not miss you.

I will not miss your ill-designed, non-soap-holding soap dish in the shower. I will not miss your complete and total travesty of a pantry, nor the absurd lack of cabinet space in the tiny kitchen. I will not miss the LOUDEST HEATER EVER in the living room, or the burn-your-fingers-off baseboard heaters in the bedrooms. I will not miss the ridiculous layout of your living room, the silliest “linen closet” ever made, or the overpowering mold smell in the guest bathroom. I will not miss the bottom-of-the-line washer, dryer, or dishwasher, and I will not miss the cheap windows that let in EVERY noise from outside and fail to keep heat in and cold out.

Most of all, I will not miss you, neighbors! I will not miss you, slam-the-door-as-hard-as-you-can guy because you live right next door and go in and out to walk your dog 17 times a day, spitting sunflower seeds everywhere you go. You suck. I will not miss you 324576 neighbor kids and the screaming at the top of your lungs ALL DAY LONG right outside our apartment. Your parents suck. I will not miss you old people downstairs and the banging on the ceiling, and I will CERTAINLY not miss you bottom floor guy and your constant cigarette and cigar smoking or your disgusting charcoal grill that you insist on using every single day in the summer. Really, I’m pretty surprised you didn’t manage to burn the whole place down one way or another.

New rental house, you may not be perfect and you may have taken your sweet time getting ready for our arrival, but I’m already looking forward to you SO MUCH. Saturday is move day, and it can’t come soon enough. Apartment R-304, goodbye forever. You will not be missed!

Afternoon Snack

Today after her nap, Emmie snuggled up with daddy for a snack of puffs and some Top Gear on TV. It was good stuff!

 

  

Is there anything better?? :)

Because you can’t have enough cute pictures!

The box is always more fun!

 

Giggling with Mama

Are YOU talkin’ to ME?

Learning how to do the walking thing!

So big

Already a ham for the camera.

Kisses for daddy!

St. Patrick’s Day!

First trip to the beach in 2011.

In between packing (for a move that has been pushed back THREE TIMES now) and planning a baby shower for my good friend Kimmy, I’ve had a lot going on! Hopefully I’ll be able to update a little more frequently once we get settled at the new house. Life is busy, but good. Really, really good. :)

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! :)

Peter Pan had the right idea all along.

I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve tried, started and stopped a few times, but I keep feeling like the only things I have to write about are negative and pointless. We’ve been in a slump of sorts, and I’m finding it hard to be positive. So instead of fill this blog with whining and complaining about things that aren’t in my control I chose to just avoid posting.

Rob has been home from work going on six weeks now. At the end of January he took a nasty trip down the stairs outside the apartment and knocked himself out. He didn’t remember falling, just waking up, so he endured weeks of testing to determine the cause of his fall. They didn’t find anything and (FINALLY) gave him the OK to go back to work this past Monday. However, he woke up Saturday morning with Bell’s Palsy and the entire left side of his face is paralyzed. No, I’m not joking. It’s very painful and, needless to say, he wasn’t able to go back to work as planned. They say it should clear itself up within a matter of weeks, so he’s just hanging out at home resting, trying to recover.

In the mean time, we’re packing to move. Next weekend we’ll be leaving our apartment (and the door-slamming, constant-car-horn-honking, screaming-kid-having, pull-a-knife-on-your-friend-and-get-the-cops-called-to-come-arrest-you neighbors) and moving into my brother’s old house that he’s being kind enough to rent to us. I’m excited! It’s just about a mile from where we live now and it’s a HOUSE! With a GARAGE! AND THERE’S ONLY ONE NEIGHBOR AND SHE’S OLD!!! I can’t wait. Things are hectic around here right now but it seems like there’s really a light at the end of the tunnel, and thank goodness for that.

In other news, Emily is growing and changing like crazy. I can’t believe it’s almost time to do another monthly update! She’s so much fun and really seems to be turning into her own little person. I’ve been planning her birthday party and I’m so happy that she’s almost one! but then at the same time I’m so sad that she’s almost one. :( I’m no good at this “letting her grow up” stuff. I mean, really. Who wants to grow up anyway?

I’ll leave you with a picture of my favorite little eater: Princess Mac ‘N Cheese! No matter how crappy things get, she’s always good for a smile and a snuggle. Ah, I love that baby. :)

Heartbreaking

When you have time, please pray for this family. Their daughter Lucy is going through a very hard time fighting cancer and they have a long road ahead. I just can’t even imagine being in their place. We will be praying for them and hope you will, too.

10 Month Update!

Emily Marie is officially ten months old now. We’ve finally crossed over into double digits! I’ve started planning her first birthday party and I really can’t believe she’ll be ONE soon. It makes me both happy (for her) and sad (for me). Time just passes too quickly these days.

Anyway, on to the update!

At ten months old, Emily:

…weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 17.5 pounds. I don’t know how long she is as we don’t have another doc appointment for her until 12 months old, but she’s definitely getting taller! All her 9-month clothes are getting shorter by the day and she’s getting ready for some of her 12-month things. I’m pretty sure she’ll be wearing a size 3 diaper forever though. Skinny kid.

…still doesn’t like to walk while we hold onto her hands. She’ll take a few steps behind her shopping cart as it rolls away from her, but she’d much prefer to just stand or sit and play. Walking isn’t her thing yet. I’m okay with that for now though. She’s fast enough at crawling as it is!

…is really cruising now! She can crawl super-speed to the couches, coffee table, kitchen chairs, or anything she thinks she can pull up on, and will pull herself along their edge until she’s close enough to reach whatever it is that I’d put up high out of her reach. Newspapers seem to be a favorite, as does the laptop and it’s cord. I think she knows what the worst place is for her to be and just waits until I’m not looking to go there and get into mischief. And she can’t even walk yet! I’m in trouble, aren’t I.

…loves to imitate her mama and daddy. She’ll click her tongue, clap her hands, waive, and the latest addition is shaking her head no. (That’s a fun one, haha!) And she’s starting to understand what it is that we’re trying to tell her, also. She LOVES to try and stand up to grab the faucet in the bathtub, and usually now when I tell her to sit down, she does! Of course she just stands right back up again... But it’s wonderful to see that she’s learning to understand us!

…has 5 teeth now and knows how to use them! That’s all I’m going to say about that.

…has decided that it’s far more fun to feed herself than it is to eat from a spoon. She loves rice and pasta but won’t eat it without some kind of sauce. She likes the taste of taste! She’ll try pretty much everything I put in front of her, and if she likes it she’s a pretty good eater. If it’s not her favorite though, over the side it goes. Have I mentioned we have carpet in the dining room where we feed her? Awesome.

…is becoming more and more of a snuggler, especially with her Daddy. Before, she’d prefer to just be sitting on our laps and playing but lately she’ll lean back and cuddle up with us. I can’t tell you how happy this makes Rob. (He’s a bit of a teddy bear, that guy.)

Each day I look at this precious baby and see how much she’s changing and growing and it just amazes me that she’s ours. That God trusts us enough to give her to us to love and enjoy. She really is our little miracle and I feel so blessed each time I see her smile or hear her giggle. (Or hear her make fart sounds at Daddy after he lets one rip. Which in turn makes him try and do it again, and it’s a vicious cycle now. Sigh.) What a gift she is and I love her dearly! Ten months down, many more to go. 

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. :)

Happy Girl