Happy Birthday Ivan!

Ivan's birthday was May 25th and his sister Silvana invited us over for a wonderful home cooked meal and cake. It was a delicious dinner and Ivan had a great birthday. He also got spoiled with a crap load of Utah gear and a weed whacker (the perfect gift for him right now).

After dinner, Emery spilled her milk on the floor ... we did what any parents would do and made Emery clean it up. Just kidding! However, the kid is just like me and likes to clean so she wanted to clean up her own mess. She cried whenever we took the sponge from her.
See, she was smiling, I promise!
Here is Emery modeling in my shoes. She loves wearing the few pairs of high heels that I own and surprisingly, can walk pretty good in them.

Dirt, Dirt & More Dirt

We had a dump of dirt delivered on Thursday and worked all day yesterday to get our backyard leveled out. (Well, Ivan and my brother-in-law Danny did most of the work). Emery loved being outside and got even dirtier than last week. When it was time for her to come into the house, I stripped her to her diaper and hosed her off, she was all muddy and I didn't want that in my house. Lucky for me, she enjoyed the hose :)

Emery sweeping right after seeing me do it.
Emery is always in the middle of the action
Ivan and Danny would wheel Emery both ways with the wheel barrow - she loved it!

Of course, what Emery does, Carter has to do too..

Then she decided to get a drink of water ...


We all had a really good day yesterday and we all slept wonderfully last night. Now, if only the rain will go away today so we can move the rest of the dirt and actually park in our driveway again.

Oh Shit!

Umm .. those have been Emery's favorite words for the last couple of weeks. The funny thing is that she uses them in the correct context too, like when she drops a book or looses a shoe. I guess the reality has set in that she understands and repeats everything that we say. I will now be replacing "oh shit" with "ut oh". Hopefully she forgets the curse words before long.

Loss of a Friend

Below is the obituary of a friend of mine. We weren't the closest friends, but we saw each other a few times a year at get togethers. She leaves behind a loving husband and three very young children ranging in age from 2 years to 7 years. Included is the name of their foundation if you are interested in donating to their family.

This will also be printed in the Deseret News and Salt lake Tribune Tuesday May 18

Michelle Langston Bancroft (January 22, 1981 - May 18, 2009) Sign Guest Book

We say good bye to a loving Mother, Wife, Daughter and Friend as Michelle has been called back to the loving arms of her Heavenly Father. Michelle succumbed to a three year long courageous battle with cancer. Michelle fought a hard fight without complaining or asking why she was forced to go through any of the pain and suffering that she endured. She was born on January 22, 1981 in Salt Lake City and she passed away on May 18, 2009 in Saratoga Springs.
She is survived by her devoted husband, three young children, mother, father, brother and sister along with several nieces and nephews. Michelle touched the lives of so many throughout the country as many read about her struggles and triumphs on her blog. Although leaving a void in our lives she will never be forgotten as we know we are joined with her together for eternity. Our sincerest heartfelt thanks goes out to the staff of many Doctors and nurses that provided her such incredible care at Huntsman cancer institute through several surgeries and treatments.
Michelle’s family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to an account in her name at Zion’s First National Bank where half will be contributed to her children and the other half to a cancer foundation in her name. Memorial services will be as follows:
Funeral services will be held Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Saratoga Springs Stake Center, 587 South Saratoga Road. Family and friends may call Wednesday, May 20, 2009 from 6-8:00 p.m. at Wing Mortuary, 118 East Main, Lehi and Thursday morning from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the Stake Center. Interment, Lehi City Cemetery. Online guest book at wingmortuary.com.

Weekend Fun

We went to Wheeler Farm on Saturday for their "May Days" event. We had never been there before, but we all enjoyed it. There were lots of booths and tons of cute hair things for Emery. I've convinced myself to stop buying cute hair clips, bows, etc until Emery will actually leave them in her hair, so we didn't buy anything from the shops (a free outing always makes it better). Ivan and Emery enjoyed a grape snow cone though. Emery loved looking at the animals. It was so cute how she would bend down and rub her fingers together to try to get the animals to come to her.


On Sunday, after I got home from work, we decided to tackle some much needed yard work. I'm very motivated and determined to get our yards looking good this year. Emery was out playing with us and literally got the dirtiest she has ever been. She was eating Cheetos and sharing them with Carter. She then decided to show us what a big girl she is and drink out of a cup, all alone. She sure isn't a baby anymore!
Yes, she put her shoes on all by herself.


And here's our precious dog Carter. He loves being outside with us all when we are doing yard work. Today, he especially enjoyed sharing Emery's Cheetos.
Emery just being cute. However, she kind of looks like she has evil fangs in this picture, don't you think?

18 Month Well Baby Visit

We had Emery's 18 month appointment today. Below are the details and Emery's new accomplishments:

Weight - 22lbs - 15-20th percentile
Height - 31 3/4 inches - 50th percentile
She got one shot and didn't even cry - she's one tough girl!

Words she is saying: mama, dada, up, open, MINE, ut oh, no and lots of babbling these days

She is becoming very independent. She only wants to eat foods that she can feed herself. She is trying to put her own pants and shoes on. She regularly helps me with dusting, laundry and putting items in the trash.

Emery is also very observant and catches on to things very quickly. I was washing my face for bed tonight and she knew exactly which bottle to hand me in the right order. Amazing to me!

Dr Ring said that Emery is right on track for everything. I asked about Emery's weight and some of our struggles with food and she said that it's normal for kids her age to eat one good meal every day or every other day. She said that Emery's eating habits are totally normal and not to worry. She will eat when she's hungry and she won't starve. It was good to hear and to know that I can stop stressing about the amount of food that Emery does or doesn't eat.

I'm planning on getting Emery's pictures taken in the next week or so for her 18 month pictures. So, pictures to follow soon.

Just for fun, here are a couple of pictures of Emery.

Her 1st picture ever - November 7, 2007 at 4:52p

1 week old

She loves SHOES!

As we all know, Emery loves to be outside and she loves shoes. Ivan took Emery outside the other day while doing some yard work and she got filthy. She also got her cute tennis shoes all muddy (good thing they came clean after one run through the washer).

Anyway, I was at Walmart yesterday and saw crocks for $3. Who can beat that? So I bought one pair for home and one pair for Lola's thinking they would just be used for when she is playing outside and getting dirty. Well ... Emery has been obsessed with them ever since. She even pulled her socks off last night and put on her crocks with her jammies. And, she's wearing them again today. I've always hated crocks and swore that I would never wear them or buy them. Guess I was wrong on that one. Here she is with me trying to get her to pose for the camera. Apparently, she kept thinking "stand up" meant to really sit down :)

Clothes, Clothes & More Clothes

My friend Wendy is pregnant with her last baby and it's a boy, so she recently gave me three boxes of clothes for Emery. As I started washing them and putting them away, I could not believe the amount of clothes that Emery has for this summer. I don't think we will need any clothes at all for the summer. See below:

Shirts and a few dresses:
Pants and t-shirts:
Dresses and shorts:
Jammies:
And here are Emery's bows. I have quite a few really cute one's. Unfortunately, every time I put a bow in her hair, she pulls it out. I swear she does it just to get under my skin. Last Sunday, I came home from work and Emery had a clip in her hair. The minute I walked in the door, she pulled it out. Ivan said the clip had been in her hair for hours and she hadn't touched it. I guess I just need to quit giving her any attention when she touches them. Any other tips?