Thursday, April 30, 2009

New Swimsuit and Tidbits

While I was off being pampered last weekend, Brad and Emma had a talk and decided that it was time to get her a new bathing suit and pool in anticipation of the warm weather. I tried to get her to model her swimsuit. Here are a few of the results of my efforts.




Lately Emma would rather play at mealtimes rather than eat UNLESS you give her a big person fork. Apparently the toddler utensils just aren't cutting it anymore. However, if I give her a big fork, I can usually get her to eat.

This week we have also had to take her baby with her every time we go anywhere. We also have to have a sippy cup with us because baby gets very thirsty so Emma is always trying to give her milk or water. It is too cute. She is going to be a big helper with Junior!

You may recall a couple of weeks ago that Emma was holding hands with her friend Charlie while we were walking at the park. Well, she ramped it up a notch yesterday with little Collin at daycare. She gave him not one but two kisses as we were getting ready to leave. He was definitely a willing participant both times. Brad may be in trouble with this little girl!

Finally, I think that I heard the word "no" for the first time this morning. The first time was in response to me asking if she wanted more breakfast so it fit. I can't remember exactly what was happening the second time but it was definitely more of a "I'm just being cantankerous" no. I guess that word was going to creep into her vocabulary sooner or later.

Brad is back tomorrow evening and barring any flight delays should actually get to be home before Emma goes to bed. Yippee!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Bubbles Video

Bubbles

Emma received her first bubbles in her Easter basket this year and we got to test them out the weekend before last. For a long time, Daddy was blowing bubbles for her and she was just watching intently. As soon as he set them down though, she grabbed up the bubble wand and went to work making bubbles of her own by waving her arm around like Daddy had done. She was successful about half the time but had a great time and was so elated when the bubbles would appear.


Needing a rest after all that work making bubbles!

Monday, April 27, 2009

17 Months Old

Emma is really trying to communicate more these days and her two key phrases are "There you go" or "Here you go". She has "thank you" down quite well so I think we need to start really working on "please". Emma is also starting to develop into the typical toddler with her tantrums although they don't happen that often. It is hard not to laugh though because she takes such care in laying herself down so that she won't get hurt before she proceeds to turn on the waterworks and kick those legs. They are usually short lived since we don't pay much attention. Just the other morning she started in on one and realized after about 5 seconds that nobody cared so she looked up and smiled. It was too funny!

Emma has become quite the little helper around the house. She loves to try and help sweep and will get us the broom if there seems to be a need. We have also increased our consumption of napkins as she is constantly wiping up her area while eating and if she happens to spill a little milk or water on the floor, she has to take care of it immediately. After dinner, she also likes to collect up all the dishes and then pass them to either mommy or daddy (usually mommy) to take to the sink. She even helped me empty the dishwasher last weekend, handing me the plates and bowls one at a time. I can't wait to see what she thinks of next. We also had a big month with visitors as Emma got to see Grandma Kate, Grandpa Jimbo, and Grandma Kristi. She impressed all of them with her new skills and hopes that they can come back again soon.

We finally got a little Easter egg hunting done yesterday, two weeks late. Emma had a great time collecting the eggs in her basket although she felt a little gypped to open them and find them empty. After the fun, she had to go see if Pocket (the dog next door) was outside; she stood at the fence and called for him. Finally, the neighbors just happened to let him out so Emma got to see her favorite dog. Here are some pictures of our 17 month old from yesterday afternoon.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Here's Junior!

19 wks, 6 days old

Thursday, April 23, 2009

20 Week Ultrasound & Emma G.'s Fun with Grandpa Jimbo & Grandma Kristi

We had the big ultrasound this morning and it's a... In deference to Grandpa Jimbo, I will not post it here but the information can be found in other locations or by asking Brad and I directly. All I can say is good luck to Grandpa Jimbo if he thinks that nobody is going to slip in the next 20 weeks. Junior looked great and was measuring right on schedule at 19 weeks, 6 days and is 11 ounces. The doctor said that all the anatomy that they could measure looked perfect so it seems that we have a healthy little baby cooking so far. I will scan the profile photos tonight and post them later. I need to go back and look but when we saw Junior's profile, both Brad and I thought Junior was the spitting image of big sis. It is hard to believe that we are halfway there. I guess it goes a little faster when you have a toddler at home that you are constantly chasing after.

We got to spend one day with Grandpa Jimbo and Grandma Kristi this week since the weather in Denver cancelled their original travel plans last week. At any rate, we got one day and a beautiful day it was. We spent some time out back in the morning and then strolled down to the park in the afternoon. We were happy to oblige Grandpa Jimbo's need for a Mexican fix that night. Emma was especially happy since she got to enjoy some chips and salsa. She is the salsa queen (it is more sweet than spicy)! Here are a few photos of Emma at the park and a couple that include the Grandparents since we didn't get a lot of good ones.





Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Weekend

Happy Easter from Brad, Laura and Emma! We dyed some Easter eggs yesterday and let's just say that I am grateful for the cleansing powers of baking soda and lemon juice. If not for them, Emma would still be multicolored today.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Fun with Anne & Charlie

Emma and I had a play date with our friends Anne and Charlie yesterday morning. They took us to their favorite park, which has a great jungle gym that is suited just perfectly to little legs. They also have a nice little walking path, which we strolled around after we had done quite a bit of swinging and sliding. Afterwards we headed back to their house where Anne kindly made us some lunch before we headed home for a nice, long nap. Thanks for all the fun yesterday!

Definitely Emma's favorite park activity

How cute is this?

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Just Because

Emma had an Easter egg hunt yesterday at daycare and came home with two eggs due primarily to the fact that she was much more interested in the rocks. Miss Andi is probably Emma's favorite teacher at daycare. Emma has learned to say her name although she kind of drops the "A" and it is just the ndi part but I heard it with my own two ears yesterday morning. Apparentley when they are loading the big kids up in the big red buggy for a ride, Emma stands at the gate of the nursery yelling "Ndi, Ndi, Ndi". She does not want to be left out. As you could tell from the photos yesterday, Emma has really progressed with the use of her utensils and it has really been over the last week. In fact, while the fingers are still used a little bit, the focus is on the fork or spoon. This morning, she would only eat some banana if she could pick it up with the spoon. Here are a few new photos but remember, the family photographer is out of town so they aren't great.




Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - No Assistance Required


Tuesday, April 7, 2009

We Are the Champions!

Woo hoo! While it wasn't much of a game to watch, the Heels are the National Champions and I don't have to hear any "Rock Chalk Jayhawks" until next year! Emma is really getting the hang of the fork and spoon these days especially the scooping motion. Initially, she was solely a stabber but has learned that it is easier to get some things if you scoop. I got some photos this morning of her eating her yogurt all by herself that I will post tomorrow. In the meantime, here are a few more photos from this weekend. I was told by Brad that I needed to keep the blog updated this week so he could see Emma while he was gone. She was too cute on the phone with him last night; grinning and nodding her head. She did have a little bit to tell him about her day yesterday and said "Hi Da" and "Bye, bye". I was told that aesthetically, the shadow in the photos below is distracting but that is what happens when I am taking the photos and not Brad.





Monday, April 6, 2009

All By Ourselves

After a full house this weekend with Grandma visiting from Arizona, as of yesterday evening, it is now down to Emma and myself. Brad headed off to Virginia for the week for a class so the girls are winging it this week. Emma had a great time with her Grandma this past weekend. They had a day to themselves on Friday and played hard enough that Emma even took two 1 1/2 hr naps that day. After all the play, Emma was famished so we went out to dinner where she could enjoy her favorite delicacy, frog legs.


Emma got her first set of golf clubs on Saturday and went out for a little practice time in the freshly mowed backyard (Thanks Daddy!) until she was distracted by the dogs next door.


Butch was next door visiting his friend Pocket. Butch was big enough that Emma could certainly have ridden him but she was not intimidated in the least. Of course, there was a fence between her and the dogs.


Emma was glad to spend some time with Grandma and show off all of her tricks to somebody else. Thanks for everything and see you again soon.