Christmas Eve 2011

We had the family over on Christmas Eve for dinner and cookie making/decorating. Of course, the night had to start with Emery opening a small present. Emery has really turned into a girly-girl - all she will wear are dresses, she loves pink and she wears her tiara quite regularly. A huge difference from the girl who wouldn't be caught dead near any of the above just 6 months ago Grandma Lola and Paisley enjoying a fresh baked cookie Here is the mess we ended up with - but it was all worth it And the final result After Emery went to bed, I wrapped the gifts and put them by the tree. Santa came for the girls!

Just an Update ..

Paisley's new favorite place to play and hang out
Emery loves playing with my camera .. here a few pictures she took - a self portrait and a picture of Paisley Emery was sick for a few days earlier in the month and she loves to help cook - so I basically had her making her own noodle soup but she loved itPaisley already likes to collect things. She carries around this Halloween pumpkin everywhere and adds the most random things to it. If I'm doing laundry, she always steals socks and Emery's undies to add to the pumpkin..Here is what she had collected one day in the pumpkin..

Paisley's 1st Haircut

I finally took Paisley to get her first haircut. I love it and wish I had done it a little sooner.

BeforePaisley wasn't really all that thrilled to be there
And kept reaching for me to rescue her the entire timeShe did a little better after I gave her a little snackAfter! So stinking cute!

Santa ..

Ivan took the girls to a Christmas party with Tia Elsa earlier in the month and the girls got to meet Santa. From the picture, it looks like Emery enjoyed it and Paisley had no idea what to think about the hairy man that was holding her.

Just Some Cute Pictures ...

Just downloading pictures from my camera and trying not to get too far behind on blogging. I just love my cute little family so much and they bring a smile to my face every time I think of them ..

Emery at her best .. dressed up as Cinderella and talking to Papa on the phonePaisley LOVES to crawl into this chair in Emery's room and stand on it... she's crazy I tell you!
Ivan and Paisley playing on the computer. Ivan is still a computer nerd and plays computer games regularly. The girls both love sitting on his lap playing the games with him.The girls are so loving to each other and I love it!Paisley got into the habit of waking up at 8a for a few weeks. Previously, she would sleep until 9-10a so I had plenty of time to shower before she woke up in the mornings. When she was getting up at 8a, Emery was still sleeping so I was on my own to shower and keep Paisley entertained with me in the bathroom while trying to prevent her from completely destroying the bathroom every single morning. I resorted to a cup of cereal and sippy of milk. Paisley would sit on her stool and eat her cereal and drink her milk the entire time I was in the shower. I think that's the longest she has ever sat still but it worked so I went with it ..
Papa being silly with the baby..
Paisley will squeeze her eyes shut on demand now .. We then caught Paisley sneaking food under her tray to save it for later. She was so sneaky and once we caught her and told her to stop putting food down there, she threw a fit.

Paisley Update

Here are a few things that Paisley is up to these days ..
Saying: ut oh, mama, papa, mas, agua, gracias, thank you,
Clapping and giving high fives
Eats everything
Loves to run right into Emery's room as soon as she wakes up to steal Emery's sippy of water
Puts her toys in the trash - and digs stuff out of the trash - we call her "the trash digger"
Puts shoes and toys into the laundry baskets
Knows where her nose is
Waving bye bye
Is figuring out there is a dog in the house

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention - she can throw a fit like the best of them. She stomps her little feet, moves her arms around and cries like no other. Paisley does not like to be told "no" to anything.

Emery's Favorites @ 4 Years Old

Favorite Food: chicken
Favorite Fruit: grapes
Favorite Vegetable: green beans
Favorite Drink: milk
Favorite Cartoon: Tom and Jerry
Favorite Movie: 101 Dalmations
Favorite Color: Pink, Purple and Blue
Favorite Toy: Doggie Doo Game
Best Friend: Makayla
Favorite Book: The Rescuers
Favorite Snack: Chocolate Mints - Peppermint Patties
Favorite Thing to Do: Paint
Favorite Outfit: Dress with leggings
Favorite thing to do with Paisley: play with her
Naughtiest thing you've ever done: "I don't do naughty things"
Favorite Language to Speak: English and Spanish
Favorite Animal: Giraffe, Elephant and Penguin
Favorite Vacation: Camping

Polar Express - All Aboard!

I took Emery to the Polar Express train ride a few weeks ago. Ivan stayed home with Paisley so it was just the two of us on a Mommy Daughter date. We went to dinner before hand and I let Emery choose where we ate. She chose Chili's and was such a big girl the entire time we were at dinner. She was so excited to go on the train ride - she told everyone that even glanced at her that we were going to go on the Polar Express. I ended up having to drive up to Heber alone - it's never a good thing when I have to drive somewhere I've never been before alone - especially in the dark and it being out of Salt Lake. Needless to say, I got totally lost! But, luckily, I was meeting Jodi and Rory up there and they saved me from a complete disaster and we made it to the train station in one piece.

We had a great time and Emery enjoyed seeing Santa and telling him what she wanted for Christmas.

Good old high five for Santa!
Telling Santa that she wanted a jewelry box and roller skates, with a helmet of course
All of the kids playing around
Emery loved the cookies -she ate her cookie and mine. She also loved the hot chocolate they served ..

Paisley's 1 Year Pictures

Here are Paisley's professional pictures taken at 13 months. She is the cutest little thing - but she takes after Ivan and doesn't necessarily like getting her picture taken. She also didn't want to sit still at all. Eventually, Amanda got out a box of Kix cereal to bribe Paisley with. A little snack/treat will do the trick every time with Paisley.

Lastly, she got to dig into a cupcake. Much to our surprise, she didn't dig right into it. I think she likes to savor her food. She oh so neatly ate all of the frosting and never even got a real bite of the cupcake.

Emery Turns 4!

I have no idea where the time has gone. I'm also in shock that I'm the mom of a 4 year old! Wow! Emery is growing up to be the most amazing little girl and I'm so proud to be her mom. She's so smart and has really come out of her shell over the last year. She is a great helper (most of the time) and is a great big sister to Paisley (most of the time). She definitely has opinions about most things - what she wants to eat, what she wants to wear. The other morning, we were getting her dressed and she said she wanted to wear a dress - she has also turned into a girly-girl over the last year. Anyway, I was going through her closet showing her the dresses she had to choose from. First she said, "no, that one is too red. No, not that one, it's too shiny. OK, that one will the pockets will do". She really has opinions!

As always, we had a great turn out for Emery's birthday party - I am grateful everyday for our support system and for everything coming out to make the day special for Emery.

Blowing out her candle ..

During the party, I kept making comments about how everyone was going to sing Happy Birthday to Emery. With every comment I made, Emery would respond with, "I don't want to sing Happy Birthday". I kind of blew it off and just said, "you don't have to sing, we will sing to you". Well, once it came time to sing to Emery, she ran from the table, went to her room and shut the door until we were done singing. I never realized it before, but she really doesn't like to be the center of attention. Here she is dashing from the table into her room..
Emery was showered with great gifts from her party guests ... a sleeping bag that she has slept in every night since her party
She loves scarves and all accessories
Oh, and snow globes - the girl loves snow globes
Just a few cute pics of Miss Paisley ..