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 ..

Trip to CA

We made a quick weekend trip out to CA earlier in the month. The girls both did really well on the flight. We had to buy Emery her own seat and just had Paisley fly as a "lap baby". The funny thing is that Emery preferred to sit on our laps and Paisley wanted her own seat.

Paisley loved looking out the window while we were flying..

Since we were already in CA, I convinced Ivan to go to Disneyland one day - and it so happened that we got to go on Emery's birthday. She is one lucky girl!
Paisley was amazing at Disneyland. We were there for 8 hours and once the sun went down, it got really cold. Of course, she refused to wear the beanie or gloves I had for her, but she was still a happy baby.
Just as Paisley adores Emery, Emery adores Makayla and wants to be just like her. The girls had a blast hanging out for the few days we were together. At Disneyland, Emery's favorite rides were Star Wars, The Matterhorn and Big Thunder Mountain. I stayed back with Paisley for all of the big rides but I did go on Big Thunder Mountain once with the girls. They had already been on it 3-4 times with Ivan. Emery was so cute - while we were waiting in line, she kept making comments like, "Mama, don't be scared, I will protect you." "There is one part where you put your arms up and go "wee". She is the cutest little girl ever!
We spend an afternoon at Grandma Marge's - Paisley loved being pulled around in this little shopping cart!
The entire weekend, we ran the girls ragged. We were on the go from 830a until 10p every single day. Paisley was lucky to get in one, 1-hour nap each day while we were driving. By the time we got back to the hotel each night, she was D-O-N-E!
My cousin Nick took to the girls immediately. He had such a great time playing with him and they did too. I think the three of them ran around Grandma Ruth's house for 3 hours straight. I sure wish Nick lived closer so I could use him as a babysitter :)
My sister, Makayla, the girls and I with my Grandpa Don
The girls and Nick playing

Paisley @ 12 Months

Okay, I'm only 2 months behind on this one. But, I did take her 12 month picture much closer to when she was 12 months old. Anyway ...

Paisley is still the best little girl around. We still call her the "Baby Monster" and feel like she is into everything. She totally admires Emery and wants to do everything just like Emery does.

As soon as Paisley gets up in the morning, she runs into Emery's room to get Emery's sippy of water from the night before. Then Paisley runs through the house as proud as can be. Paisley loves taking baths with Emery and wearing/carrying around bags and purses. She's definitely a dare-devil and is not concerned with getting hurt and isn't fearful of anything.

12 Month Stats:

Height: 29 inches

Weight: 21.4 lbs

I want to say she was in the 75th percentile in both height/weight, but the appt was 2 months ago so I am not 100% sure

This is what Paisley does to entertain herself while I am trying to bake ..

Halloween Fun - Cornbelly's and Pumpkin Carving

We had a great Halloween season again this year. Since having Emery, I've really tried to make the holiday's a big deal - especially since there are so many fun activities that take place for each holiday.

As usual, the pictures loaded backwards and I'm not going to fix them. So, from the end of the festivities to the beginning, here we go:

At the end of the night of carving pumpkins, Emery went to bed like any other princess would - crown and all.

We carved pumpkins with Grandma Lola and Uncle D this year. This is actually the first year we have carved pumpkins since Emery was born. I thought she would be into it this year but it was still tough for her to be able to carve them. She also refused to put her hands in the pumpkin to help clean it out - surprise, surprise! I didn't think about it until after the fact, but next year, I think I will have the girls paint their pumpkins vs carving. Then they both will be able to participate and have their pumpkins decorated. Emery did get to choose the design of her pumpkin and then I carved it for her.
We also decorated a Haunted House ..
I took Emery to Cornbelly's with my Mom, Elan and the kids. I decided to leave Paisley with Grandma Lola - I think she will be able to enjoy Cornbelly's next year.

We enjoyed a tractor ride - doesn't Emery look thrilled - ha!
After 4 hours, we were relaxing by the fire pit. Emery and all of the kids had a blast. I think they could have played for another 2 hours but by this time, it was dark, late and getting pretty cold.
My mom and Collin rode on the very manual bikes
We went through the Corn Maze - we did much better this year