Easter Weekend Photos

As always, we headed to California for Easter weekend. We flew this time and Emery was wonderful on the plane, even though we had to wake her at 6:30a (3 hours earlier than her normal wake up time). We had a great weekend and got to spend quality family time together.

Here is Ivan playing tea party with Emery ... he's practicing for what is to come with our little Diva! He is the greatest Dad and doesn't mind doing the girly things at all
Makayla with my Cousin Shannon
Emery and her Cousin Brandon playing nicely ... well, Emery acted like she was going to play with him and then really just teased him with everything from a sippy, food, toys, etc

Makayla and Lilly - they have so much fun hanging out together

Quinlan wearing Emery's PINK sunglasses :)
The whole Riley Gang
Emery's 1st Easter Egg Hunt
Then, she put the egg up to her ear and talked to it like she was on the phone
She's wearing her new sandals. She was obsessed with the sandals the entire weekend and wanted to have them on all of the time. (no, we didn't let her wear them out of the hotel room with socks!)
I was laying in bed combing Makayla's hair after shower. Emery just had to be right there involved. Can you tell how exhausted Emery is? She went 4 days with no naps and was a total trooper the entire time. With how much she likes to sleep I was surprised she was as good as she was, but we sure did appreciate it.
Makayla and my Sister Michelle
They got me back onto a horse. Most probably wouldn't believe it, but I did grow up around horses and used to ride them all of the time. It's been at least 20 years since I had been on a horse but I had to take Emery on her first horse ride.
Great-Grandma Ruth, Michelle, Me, Makayla and Emery
Ivan let Emery put her feet in the pool at Grandma Marge's. It was a good idea until it was time to take her away from the water. Emery loved playing in the pool and had no fears at all. We know she would have just jumped right in if Ivan didn't hold onto her.
Emery's 2nd Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma Marge's
Her 1st time hitting a pinata ... she thought she was totally hot stuff!
Us with my Dad and Sister Michelle
The last day ... sitting at Denny's waiting for our breakfast to come. We entertained Emery by having her watch videos of herself on Ivan's phone.

A Fabulous Purchase

So .. we all know, I kind of have an addiction to spending money and buying a ton of baby gear. I don't know what it is, but I freaking love baby gear! Anyway, Emery loves to sit on my lap, I've always joked that she though my lap was her own personal chair.

Then, I saw some great mini-chairs at Pottery Barn for kids that were absolutely adorable. But, they were $85 each and I couldn't bring myself to spend that much for a kids chair. Then, my friends Michelle and Amanda reminded me about the Down East Home Outlet store in Sandy by Macey's. I went there for jeans and also bought this adorable chair for $40 bucks! What a steal! Yes, it's blue but they have the chair covers on sale at Pottery Barn right now so I'm going to buy a pink one for Emery. Emery loves her chair .. here she is this morning sitting with her puffs, reading a book while I made her some eggs.

And here is Emery sitting in my bed watching cartoons and reading a book while I was getting ready. It just freaks me out that she's big enough already to just hang out in bed and watch TV. So sad!

My Cutie Pie ...

The other night, Ivan was in the kitchen and Emery had been quiet for a few minutes. He walked around the corner and found her like this - in the bin, with his cell phone, just hanging out. She was totally at peace and couldn't figure out why we were laughing so hard at her ...
Just a cute picture ... look at her teeth - crazy! She sure isn't my little baby anymore.

Flashback to July 2008

We went to Jackson Hole last July to celebrate Sam's birthday. Enjoy some cute pictures we took while we were there ....

A Perfect Day for a Trip to the Zoo...

We had a wonderful day at the zoo. We got there around 230p and the weather was absolutely perfect. Emery liked the animals but still seemed to be more entertained by people watching (just like me!). She also loved playing at the play ground and with the huge ball/water at the entrance to the zoo. Unfortunately, my camera battery died so I don't have any pictures from the end of the day.

Look at my little diva ... ready for the zoo - sunglasses and all!



This giraffe was so close to us. That is some random guy visiting the zoo feeding the giraffe a leaf..
Trying to get a picture of Emery before she ran away ..

More Random Photos ...

I was folding laundry today and Emery likes to play with my ... umm .. underwear .. well, she walks away and I finish laundry and forget all about the underwear that she was playing with. I go back into the living room to finish vacuuming and she's put my underwear around her neck. Apparently she thinks they are necklaces??
Emery loves to be outside and gets stir-crazy if she's in the house to long. You can always tell when she's hit her limit of being inside - today she put her coat on, grabbed her diaper bag and went and stood by the front door.
I really need to get Emery a purse of her own. I gave her my purse to play with and she threw a fit when I took it back from her. Doesn't this picture look like she's lifting weights? And, the purse was still empty at this point.
Can you tell the child loves her puffs??

A few pictures...

Emery loves to climb up on the couch and play with her wipes container, beanie and jacket. If she is quiet and we can't find her, she is usually on the couch, just like this.

We went to the Discovery Center @ Gateway today. Emery loved playing in the water but started to act like she owned the water area. She still doesn't talk a ton, but she sure does know the word "MINE". Not a good sign. Oh, and she also pulled a little boys hair, twice. I was quite embarrassed but luckily none of the parents were around. We really need to work on learning to share. Any advice for an only child?
After a few hours at the Discovery Center, we went to lunch at Applebee's. It was a much better experience than Red Lobster a couple of weeks back, thank goodness. I'm trying to get Emery to like wearing her sunglasses. At first, she just wanted to wear them upside down, but she got the hang of it with a little help from Ivan.

Kitchen Update

I am proud to finally be able to post before and after pictures of our kitchen.

Before: May 2008

After: March 2009 - we took down some cabinets to open up the kitchen/dining room, painted the cabinets, installed granite counter tops and replaced all of the appliances. I can finally say that I am happy with my kitchen.

Meltdown at Red Lobster

Ivan has been dying to go to Red Lobster since it is apparently lobster fest season. I honestly don't even know what that means and Red Lobster is one place that I really hate going to. The last time we went there, I had mashed potatoes and a salad for dinner - and our bill was outrageous - I just hate going there. Anyway, I felt like being very nice tonight and gave in to Ivan's request to go there. We waited for about 25 minutes and as soon as we sat down, Emery refused to sit in the high chair. She refused to drink her water which she usually loves. She nibbled on a few saltine crackers but refused the soup. She just wasn't a happy camper and was whining the whole time. Ivan finally took her to the entryway of the restaurant so I could eat and then I switched spots with him so he could eat his Lobster. About 3 minutes later I came back and said, "time to get your food to-go, she's had it". I felt bad, but we had suffered and tried to make Emery hold out for close to an hour. She just wasn't having it. As soon as we got into the car, and 2Pac came onto the radio, she was clapping and laughing away. I'm hoping tonight's event was a one-night deal and we can continue to enjoy dinners out.

Emery's New Tricks

Emery loves giving Carter dog bones. The minute we get home, she runs over to the kitchen to give Carter a bone. Too bad she shuffles her hands through them and makes Carter wait, he's not happy about that part. We are working on teaching her that one bone at a time is enough.

She also gets herself onto the couch now. A little scary for us, but for the most part, she's good about getting down in a safe way. Notice the headband, she put that on all by herself. I think I've got a "girly girl" on my hands already.

Emery and Laundry

I was folding laundry in the laundry room today and Emery left with 4 pairs of her PJ's. It was completely quiet in the house for about 5 minutes, so I went looking for Emery. I first went to the office, she loves to play there. Nope, not there. On the way to the office, I passed the living room, kitchen, dining room and family room and hadn't seen her. I then go back to my bedroom/bathroom thinking she's there. Finally, she's in our room and this is what she's doing:


Putting her PJ's away with Ivan's socks!

Finally, proof that Emery loves to put laundry away!

Emery's 1st Haircut

We finally took Emery to Cookie Cutters today to get her first hair cut. I was worried that she would be a total Mommy's girl and cry the entire time, but this place was amazing. They put a video on, gave her a play station controller and a sucker, blew bubbles, the whole nine yards. She was happy with the controller and honking the horn of the little car that she sat in. She was wonderful and the lady who cut her hair was quick and precise. Emery got a little bob with layers to make it look thicker. She looks so grown up. I love it and wish I had gotten her hair cut sooner.