4th of July Fun

My niece Makayla is in town for 10 days so we've been very busy. Below are a few pictures I captured over the weekend.

Makayla and Emery coloring together I bought this pool at Walmart for $30 and I think I will get every penny's worth. It was totally easy to blow up and is the perfect size for Emery - even Makayla loves it!Well, Emery didn't really like it the first time we tried to put her down the slide.
The second day (and diaper free) was much better - she loved it!After bathtime, Emery was entertaining herself and being quiet for too long. When I went to check on her, she was playing Ivan's PS3 all by herself and having a blast!
We went to the Discovery Center at Gateway today. I didn't take many pictures, but here are a couple. Emery loved being in the baby stroller .. her bum almost got stuck in it.Amelinda and Quinlan joined us today. Quinlan isn't walking quite yet, but he still enjoyed the baby area at the museum.
My two little cuties in the car!

Mini Me

Emery walking in my boots. She loves these boots and actually walks really good in them.
She put my flip flops on today and I thought she looked just like me. Jeans, t-shirt and flip flops is what I wear 90% of the time.
Whenever I try to take a picture of Emery, she kneels down like this. Finally today, I realized why. I kneel down just like that every time I try to take a picture of her so I think she thinks anytime the camera is out she should kneel down. Very cute, but it makes for a more difficult time of taking pictures.By the way, I think we are officially binky free as of tonight. I cut a huge hole into one of Emery's binky's on Monday night and have been putting her down with it for naps and bedtime since. Tonight when I put her down with the binky with a hole in it, she handed it right back to me. I left the room and shut the door and she went to bed without a peep. I swear, she is the easiest kid around! She has been waking up earlier than normal because when she had her binky she would use it to soothe herself back to sleep. But, for us, earlier than normal is like 730-830a so it's really not that bad. Good job Emery for being binky free!!!

Advice Needed

I'm not sure if this just comes with the territory of a 20 month old baby or not. Emery is so stinking needy and clingy, but only with ME! Ivan tells me all of the time that she isn't like that when they are home together and that he only sees her act like this when I'm around.

I love the fact that she is a Mommy's girl, but honestly, it becomes draining and I don't want her to be a whiny kid. Last night, we were out doing yard work and Emery was hanging all over me and whining for me to hold her. Ivan took her in the house to feed her dinner and she freaked out. She wasn't mad about going into the house, she was mad because I stayed outside. When she gets up in the morning and I'm home, she just wants to be held and carried around the house and whines and whines when I don't hold her. I've tried just ignoring it and trying to distract her, sometimes it works and other times she just continues to whine.

Any advice from you experienced Mommy's out there??

Misc. Pictures

Emery sweeping the floor, she is the best helper!
Wearing my heels .. when I saw her walk out of my room like that I thought about how quickly she will be walking out of her room in heels ready for a date - ugh!
Emery's newest toy! We actually very rarely buy toys for her (I'm addicted to clothes and shoes though). Anyway, Emery loves to play with kitchen bowls and utensils so I bought her her own little kitchen. She loves it! Now I just need to find some play food for her to cook up.
The real thing .. making brownies with Daddy..
Is this not the worst beggar-dog you've ever seen? We were making pigs in a blanket for lunch today (gourmet, I know but it's better than Del Taco, right) and I look over to see Carter, hovering over and staring right into the oven. I swear, he was mesmerized and couldn't take his eyes off the oven for anything.

A Moment that Made my Heart Stop!

With it being Monday, I went to work at 6a and Ivan was to drop Emery off at Grandma's at 930a so he could be at work at 10a. Around noon, Danny, my brother in law, called my cell phone. My heart stopped for a second because, honestly, he never calls me. I called him back and he began to say "when you drop Emery off, be aware they are doing road construction and the road is closed, blah, blah, blah". I stopped him and said, "I'm at work, didn't Ivan drop Emery off?" Danny says no and that they haven't heard from Ivan. I told him I had to call Ivan to see what was going on and hung up.

I then got a little worried. I hadn't talked to Ivan all morning, which isn't unusual, but if Ivan hadn't gone to work, he would have called me to tell me. So, I call his cell phone, no answer. I call again, no answer. I call the home phone, no answer. I literally called each number 10 times within just a few minutes. Oh, and a text to Ivan asking if everything was ok. No answer, no response. I then call Danny back and say "you still haven't heard from Ivan?" Danny says no and I explain that Ivan should have dropped Emery off at 930a. He then senses I am worried and says he will call his mom and Ivan again. By that time, I am freaking out. I go over to my friend Jenn and explain the situation and have tears in my eyes. I tried calling my Mom to go to the house but she didn't answer. I am thinking the worst ... that the house caught fire and my family is gone or that there was a car accident. I then decide to leave work to drive home to check on them and tell Jenn I'll be back.

Then, Danny calls back and says, "I guess Ivan did drop Emery off this morning. Sorry, I must have misunderstood." Oh my god, I was relieved and pissed at Danny all at the same time. I can honestly say that I felt like my world stopped for a few minutes due to the fear of thinking something had happened to my Husband, baby and Carter boy. I'm so glad they are healthy and fine!

Friday Play Date

Emery and I met up with my friend Stacey and her son Camden who will be 3 in August. We went to lunch at Applebee's and then headed to the Childrens Museum at Gateway. Although the kids didn't actually play together too much (too much going on at the museum) we had a wonderful afternoon.


The baby stroller was new since we were at the museum last time. Emery loved it and pushed it around with her about 90% of the time.

Just to follow up on a previous post. Apparently, the way to get Emery to eat is to give the food to Carter. Then, she decides she wants the food. The gross thing is that we caught her dipping her fries in Carter's water and then eating them - sick!!!Somehow, we've totally confused our kid! She also thinks that pots are for drinking water out of them. Each morning, she sees me fill a pot to make her eggs (don't know the name, but like hard boiled but with runny yolk - disgusting to me, but she likes them). One day, she got a little pot out of the cupboard when I was filling one for her eggs and I put some water in it, figuring she would play with it. Instead, she started drinking the water, silly girl! But, she has basically perfected drinking out of a regular cup now.

Chef Emery

While making dinner tonight, I was trying everything to keep Emery entertained so I could finish cooking. I gave her a whisk and small bowl. She then went through the spice cabinet to grab a few spices and hung out on the couch mixing up something special. She was having such a good time that I had to tear her away from her "toys" to actually eat dinner.

The Yawns

Have you ever met a child who tries really hard to hide their yawns? I hadn't either .. until I met sweet little Emery. She obviously has made the connection between yawns and bedtime/naptime. Anytime she yawns, she turns her face away or oh so innocently runs her hand and arm over her mouth to cover them. It's so stinking adorable!

Sharing Dinner

Ivan gave Carter some left over spaghetti tonight. Of course, Emery decided she wanted some too. I guess the trick to getting her to eat is to give the dog some of the food first. Go figure!

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 :)