A Day at the Zoo

We had a great trip to the zoo today. We got there early, well, for us it was early and the weather was perfect.

Emery and Grandma Lola playing with Emery's favorite thing - water!
Makayla's feet got tired and Emery refused to be in her stroller so Makayla took advantage of it and got a free ride for a while.
Myself, Quinlan and Emery. Emery wasn't quite sure what she thought of me holding another baby. At one point, she moved my hand so I wasn't touching Quinlan - too cute!
Makayla and Lilly

Pool Day

We met up with my family this afternoon at the Cottonwood Heights pool. I had never been there, but I have a feeling we will be going again very soon. Emery loved being outside, being in the pool and watching all of the other kids around. I don't have many pictures since we were off playing the whole time, but here are a few quick one's I was able to catch.

Thanksgiving Point Petting Zoo

I took the kids to the petting zoo on Wednesday and we had a great time. It was nice to get out of the house and run around while petting animals.
Emery "weeding" the grounds


Makayla riding the ponyMakayla and Emery enjoying a Popsicle and water at the end of the tripWe got home and Makayla decided she wanted to model! Here are her best poses

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.