Thanksgiving and Stuff...

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving. We all went to my cousin Amelinda's house and had a great time visiting and of course, some great food too!

Makayla, Lilly and Zepher
Auntie Silv and Emery

Our attempt to get a family picture .. Emery wasn't cooperating though..A couple of random shots of me dressing up my child :)


We took the kids to Nicklecade today to play video games. I must admit, although a little ghetto, it was actually fun and inexpensive! Emery rode her first "ride" and held on for dear life the entire time. She wasn't sure what to think of it.

Emery's 1 Year Pictures

Here are Emery's 1st year pictures (just a few weeks late). I'm lovin' Kiddie Kandids - they are quick and efficient which is exactly what you need for a very busy 1 year old. Enjoy!

Bad Habits?

So, I do feel like I can toot our own horns a little bit because Emery is already off bottles and has only ever taken a binky at night when she goes to bed and for naps. She's great in the car, loves the bath and isn't a picky eater.

She also has never really slept in our bed .... until NOW. About a month ago, we went through two nights where she just wouldn't sleep in her crib, so she ended up in bed with us. Then, on Saturday's and Sunday's, when we are all home, we'll hang out together in our bed when we first get up for about an hour or so.

This week - Monday night - Emery was up crying and ended up in our bed from 230-430a (when I had to get up for work ... ugh!). Tuesday night - Emery was up crying and in our bed from 130-230a (when I put her back in her crib and luckily she slept the rest of the night in her crib). Wednesday night - She got up at 11p and was in our bed for about an hour.

I'm so worried that we've already started a bad habit. I don't want Emery sleeping in our bed. I already have to fight for room between Ivan, Carter and myself all in a queen size bed.

How do you do it when they get up in the middle of the night and you are exhausted? Get up and hang out with them in the living room for a bit? I kind of tried crying it out, but once she gets that upset, she isn't going back to sleep!

Oh, and here is a cute picture just because. Emery loves to play ball and tug-o-war with Carter. But, she especially loves to cuddle/love with him. How do you think Carter feels about Emery cuddling/loving him?

Emery's 12 Month Update

Yes, I'm very late on this one .. I have to admit I'm glad the monthly pictures are now finished. They've been a whole lot of work. Anyway, here we go ...

12 Month Update:
20 lbs - 30th percentile
28 1/2 inches - 35th percentile
7 teeth
walking/running
shaking her head "no"
completely bottle free!
sleeping/eating well
loves books
loves to cuddle with Carter or anything soft!
knows where her tummy is and how to brush her hair

Random Photos

When Emery finally decides to play with her toys (instead of shoes, cell phones, remotes, etc) she usually sits very nicely taking all of her toys and books out of her basket, making a huge mess. But, then she is very content reading her books by herself.

After the birthday party, I decided it was time to pack up some of Emery's toys. Each time I would put a toy in the bin, Emery came right behind me and decided she wanted to play with it .. go figure!
This is Emery's new hat for the winter months. I love it! It has velcro just under her chin so it will stay put. Surprisingly, she actually likes it.

Happy 1st Birthday Emery!!

We had Emery's 1st Birthday Party tonight at our house. We had a great turn-0ut and lots of fun. Thanks to those who were able to make it and for all of Emery's toys.

Here is a picture of the dining room that Ivan and I decorated. It turned out really cute.


Emery got her first official Utah Cheer leading dress. We can't wait to put it on her next season so she can cheer on the Ute's with Ivan.


Emery was so cute when we were singing Happy Birthday to her. She loved the attention! Notice her cousin Jayden in the background trying to blow the candle out for her.
I got booed for undressing her for the smash cake portion of the party. Ooh well, I'm not great at removing stains from clothes - I'm much better at thinking ahead on how to prevent them.
Emery's cute smash cake. My friend Michelle's Mom made it for her - it was the cutest little panda bear .

As expected (and I was relieved) Emery didn't really like to get dirty with her smash cake. She didn't really eat any of it and cried when she couldn't get the frosting off of her hands. Ooh, well, the cake was adorable (even though I forgot to get a picture of it before I gave it to her).
Below is a picture of the toys after everyone left. This child is SPOILED!! I'm scared to see what Christmas will bring in just a few short weeks. Note - we don't need anymore toys, we just need a storage unit for toys!
And, I bought this adorable tiara for Emery's birthday, and of course, I forgot to even put it on her. This is Emery modeling the tiara at the end of the night in her jammies.
This picture is sick and wrong in so many ways - but still cute. Emery and her cousin Jayden french-kissing!! I know Emery will hate me when she gets older for posting this picture for everyone to see, but isn't that what parents get to do?
My mom with my Cousin Amelinda's little boy, Quinlynn.

Happy Halloween!

Here are pictures of Emery's 2nd Halloween costume. I attempted to make her a punk rocker - it didn't quite work out as I had imagined, but I still think it's cute!



Emery with her cousin Hanna who was dressed up as "Wendy's the restaurant".

An eventful weekend...

Although we didn't go anywhere or do anything too exciting, a lot has changed this weekend with Emery. She has...

• Officially starting walking regularly. It's so cute, she walks pretty fast, smiles the whole time with her arms out like she's reaching for someone. Surprisingly, she's been pretty coordinated and hasn't even fallen once. I'm sure it will come in time though.
• Become a cuddly baby and I'm so happy about it. Up until now, she's been too busy and independent to ever cuddle. She got up early this morning before I left for work and just wanted to lay with me and cuddle. I'm loving it!
• Figured out how to pick her nose - gross! She loves exploring with her right index finger and usually chews on it due to teething. I think one time she missed her mouth and then figured out that her finger fits perfectly into her nostril! I keep telling her no, but I guess it was bound to happen sometime.
  

Countdown about Summer...

Ten things I wish I could say to ten different people right now:

1. You have made me the happiest person since coming into my life.
2. Thank you for taking care of our baby and cleaning up the house tonight.
3. It was a wonderful weekend visit and I can't wait until Christmas.
4. Your life is in turmoil and I wish you would realize it.
5. You are my best friend and I am so grateful to have you in my life.
6. I'm sorry that we don't talk or see each other as often as we should.
7. I am so proud of your family's strength and I think of you daily.
8. Please leave me alone so I can get some things accomplished.
   

Nine things about myself:

1. I am a freak about dry skin and put lotion on my hand after washing them - every time!
2. I hate to get my face wet.
3. I love pajama pants and bare feet.
4. I am somewhat addicted to blogs.
5. I have become much more of a people person over the years.
6. Having a baby has really changed my perspective on life in a good way.
7. I still sneak into Emery's room after she's gone to sleep to check on her.
8. I HATE putting laundry away.
9. I need a massage.
   

Eight ways to win my heart:

1. Bring me a big fountain coke with extra ice
2. Costco cake.
3. Take me to get pampered with a pedicure or massage.
4. Put the laundry away for me.
5. Make me laugh.
6. Make me feel safe and secure.
7. Watch home shows/HGTV with me and act interested.
8. Give me unexpected little things - notes, treats, hugs, etc.
   

Seven things that cross my mind a lot:

1. Am I the best Mom I can be for Emery?
2. What will go wrong next with the house?
3. Do I really have a shopping addiction?
4. Keeping my house clean.
5. Guilt for not following through with ideas that show my gratefulness for those who help me.
6. I hope Utah Football wins this week...
7. Is Carter really miserable now that Emery is here?
   

Six things I do before I fall asleep:

1. Wash my face and brush my teeth
2. Watch shows that were Tivo'd that day
3. Pack Emery's diaper bag
4. Check email, blogs, etc.
5. Check on Emery
6. Set my alarm
   

Five people who mean a lot to me:

1. Ivan
2. Emery
3. Mom
4. Mandy
5. Grandma Ruth
   

Four things I'm wearing right now:

1. Pajama pants
2. T-shirt
3. Hair clip
   
4. Wedding rings
   

Three songs I listen to a lot:

1. "I know I've been a real bad girl" ...Gwen Stefani?
2. Whatever is on the radio..
   

Two things I want to do before I die:

1. See Emery grow up and be involved in all of her special moments
   
2. Build my dream house
   

One confession:
I made Ivan keep Emery up past her bedtime so I could see her tonight after I got home from work late. I hope I don't pay for it in the morning ...

Halloween Party

We had a family Halloween party at Aunt Vickie's tonight .. Costumes were required, but only a few people followed the rules. Everyone who dressed up looked very cute though ..

Shannon, Aunt Wanda, Aunt Vickie and my Mom

Shannon dressed as Mary and had Emery be her little lamb..
Grandma Phyllis and Emery


By the end of the photo-shoot, this is what Emery looked like. Poor child, she was dressed like an animal most of the day and also in front of flashing camera's all day. I finally said, "Emery is done" and took her in to put her regular clothes on. Even though Emery couldn't say it, I think she was very grateful that I finally called it quits for her.

Gardner Village

I have family in town this weekend from California, Nevada and Arizona. We decided to head out to Gardner Village this afternoon, although it wasn't exactly what we expected. Most of us had never been to Garner Village during Halloween season and while there were lots of fun shops to go into, we didn't think about the fact that there were 3 babies, 2 kids and about 10 adults. Needless to say, we didn't get much shopping done, but we did enjoy the warm weather and being outside. Here are a few pictures from the day (not surprisingly though, I have the most of Emery).




Emery had her first taste of a donut. Of course, like her Mom, she was in love at first taste and couldn't get enough ...

Self Feeding..

We've been trying to get Emery to self feed for the past few days. She loves Cheerios (will seriously get all excited and dance when she sees the box of them) so we decided to practice with them. Ivan and I were sitting on the couch feeding her Cheerios. Ivan ended up putting a Cheerio on the couch instead of putting it into Emery's mouth. What did she do?

She leaned over with a huge open mouth and put the Cheerio directly from the couch to her mouth without any hands! I totally knew that's what she was going to do and it was hilarious!

After that, Ivan realized he had to put the Cheerios further back on the couch so she couldn't reach them with her mouth. She finally figured out the concept of self feeding and is getting better and better as the days go by. I'm hoping she'll have it down enough by her 1st birthday so she can feed herself cake!

Emery's 11 Month Pictures

Yes, I'm late ... I love the idea of taking monthly pictures like this, but I have to admit I'm glad there is only one more month ..

Anyway, below are Emery's 11 Month pictures. I love the 1st one other than 1) she isn't smiling and 2) she has a dirty sock in her hand. Which one is your favorite?

Things this past month...

• Emery now has 4 teeth - two top and two bottom
• She loves to sleep - sleeps roughly 16-18 hours/day still
• She loves all table food
• She loves to rough house with Daddy and Carter
• She loves to play with books, shoes, socks and all electronics
• She loves to race around the ottoman in the living room

Fruit vs. Veggies??

Overall, Emery is a great eater. She loves table food and will actually "run" to you when she sees food. The other night, I had just fed Emery her 2 containers of baby food and then I was eating dinner. Sure enough, my little shadow ran over and had to share whatever it was that I was eating. There aren't any table foods that I can think of that the child won't eat - including pickles, salmon, yougurt and steak.

Anyway, Emery has been refusing to eat her baby food fruits for about 6 weeks now. The craziest thing is that she can tell which are fruits and which are veggies - how, who knows? It must be something about the colors of the foods? I won't even say anything about which I'm feeding her and I'll mix up the order between fruits and veggies.

As soon as I put a little bit of fruit onto the spoon, she looks away and refuses to open her mouth. If I actually happen to get the fruit into her mouth, she spits it out. It's funny to me that she is so particular and actually prefers veggies over fruits. Oh well, I'll keep trying to get some fruit in her here and there.

Are you there?

I saw this post on another blog and I can totally relate:

Have you ever been engaged in a conversation with another person and they are completely ignoring you? That's what it's like to blog if people don't leave you comments. I know you all check the blog, so use your highly honed computer skills and start leaving me a comment every now and then. I'm not going to name names, you know who you are. That's enough for now.

Have you wondered HOW to leave a comment? It's easy, just follow the steps below:

• At the bottom of each post, it says who posted and the time posted. Click on "comments".
• A page will come up where you leave your comments
  
• Yes, you have to do some validation by typing in some weird letters that pop up by the website
• It's as SIMPLE as that

So, Mom, Danny, Brenda, Karen, Mac - I know you guys are out there. And, I'm not sure who else checks in regularly, but start leaving comments please.

Thanks to my friend Jodi who always supports my blog by commenting on it!