Festival of Trees

We made our first ever trip to the Festival of Trees last weekend. I got a ton of ideas for our tree but have yet to make any of it happen. We had a good time and Emery's favorite tree was the Dr. Seuss tree - it was awesome, even though you can't really see it in the picture.

While I was vacuuming the other day, Emery was really quiet for about 5 mins so I went to check on her. I found her with the sugar and flour (open by the way) and the blender out. I think I would have stumbled upon a HUGE mess if I hadn't caught her when I did. Good thing my mommy instinct kicked in when it did.

Busy, Busy, Busy

We've been very busy lately. Just wanted to do a quick update.

We went to the Discovery Center at Gateway on Sunday. We have an annual pass but hadn't been there in a few months. It's nice to see that they added a few more things for the kids to play with and Emery had a great time.



We put up the Christmas tree and Emery loved decorating it. Everytime she walks by the tree she says, "ooh".
Finally, some Emery updates:

• Can put on her own socks and shoes - oh, and take them off too
• Moves around the dining room chair so that she can reach/access anything in the kitchen
• Loves to play with water and do dishes in the kitchen sink
• Loves to help cook, load and unload the dishwasher
  
• Started two word sentences - most of them include the word no, but she is talking more and more everyday
• Loves to be sang to by ME (only my daughter could appreciate my singing)
• Favorite songs are:
• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
• Rock a Bye Baby
• The Wheels on the Bus
  
• ABC's
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Wants to be rocked and sang to every night before bed
• Can recognize the numbers 5 and 8
• Has turned into a Papa's girl - when she's hurt or crying in her crib, she could care less about me, it's all about Papa
  

Let it Snow!

Ivan took Emery outside today to enjoy the first snow of the year. First, we had to get her all bundled up!

Emery's 2nd Birthday Party

We had Emery's birthday party on Sunday and it was a huge success. Thank you to all of our family for coming to celebrate with us.

Emery helping me make the icing. This was her first time licking the beaters and she kept asking for more.
Homemade cake and cupcakes. I wanted to decorate each cupcake with Elmo's face too, but I ran out of time. Either way, I'm proud of my baking abilities and I think I will make it a tradition now to make Emery's cakes for her birthday's.
Present Time! Emery grasped the idea of opening gifts pretty quick and was very excited with each gift she opened. She is one spoiled little girl and we heard a lot of "MINE!" during the process of opening gifts.
Emery took several of her gifts straight over to Uncle D to show off what she got.
Cake Time! Emery was a little shy but loved being sang to. I still sing Happy Birthday to her and she always responds with "mas, mas!"

She loved eating the icing. She actually touched the cake more this year than she did for her first Birthday. Although, it was just with one finger each time, she still doesn't like to get dirty.Trying on her snowsuit and beanie - she's reading for sledding with Ivan as soon as the first snowfall comes.She loves her new Dora bike. By the time spring comes, she should be a pro at riding it around.

Hiding Spot and Halloween Update

For Halloween, I took Emery to South Town mall for her first trick or treating experience. Wow, that place was crowded. We got there half way though the trick or treating and half of the stores were already out of candy. I figured it would be mostly babies and toddlers but I was wrong. Emery did ok, but I think next year will be a lot more fun for her. After we passed one store and Emery got one piece of candy, she wanted to sit down to eat the candy. She didn't quite understand that she could get a ton of candy if she just waited. But, we both like to people watch, so we hit up a few stores, got about 10 pieces of candy and enjoyed looking at all of the costumes.

I think she enjoyed helping me hand out candy at home more than her own trick or treating experience though. As kids would come to the door, Emery would stand at the window and say "wow!" to the kids' costumes. I would hand out candy and then close the door. Emery then realized how trick or treating worked and after I closed the door, she came to me asking for candy ;) Below is a picture of all of her loot from her trick or treating at the mall. I told you it wasn't much!

This is Emery's new hiding spot. She loves to sit inside the cupboard and try to close the door on herself. Silly girl!

Emery Turns 2!

I can't believe my baby turned 2 today. I so vividly remember being pregnant with her and the day my Dr. told me I would be induced that evening. I was terrified of labor but was so excited to finally meet my little girl.

We got to the hospital at 10p on Wednesday, November 6th. I was given Cervidil and was to get some rest - right! I was basically up all night from nerves while Ivan slept peacefully on the couch. My Dr. came in at 8a to break my water and start the Pitocin. I sat up to put on my makeup for the day and my water gushed everywhere! I told my nurse that I refused to get out of bed after that and I held true to my word. Around 11a I was dialated to a 2 and the nurse asked if I wanted the epidural. I wasn't in any pain but after she looked at the anestesialogists schedule for the day, it was then or never so I got the epidural. Ivan and I just hung out for the day and waited for our little girl. I was terrified all day. Every single time the nurse entered the room, my body shook uncontrolably, like I was freezing to death. It's funny how your body reacts to stress and fear. The Dr. told me that with it being my first delivery, it would be a while and I should have the baby around 8p that evening.

At 4p, Ivan was getting hungry and wanted to go get some lunch. I told him to hurry because I had a feeling that it would be sooner than 8p that we would have the baby. Right as he was about to leave my Dr. came in and checked me. I was 10 centimeters and he had me do a few test pushes. He told me that I would probably push for about an hour and left us with the nurse while he went to do paperwork. Fifteen minutes later, Emery was there and ready to be born. Unfortunatly, the Dr. wasn't in the room, so we had to wait for him. I waited for 20 minutes for him to come back and I was over it! I was asking the nurse to find any Dr. around, even a foot Dr. - at that point, I didn't care who delivered the baby. The nurse kept reminding me that I was her first patient in labor and delivery and that she had never delivered a baby before - not very reassuring. My Dr. finally came back and wanted to chit chat with me about how quickly the pushing went. I was yelling at him that I didn't care about any of it and I was just ready to have the baby.

Emery was born at 4:52p and she looked just like Makayla. She was tiny, 6 lbs 7 oz and 19 1/2 inches. She was the cutest little thing!

It's been 2 years and Emery is the highlight of our lives. She has the best personality and it such an easy baby (how long do I get to call her a baby for?). Below are a few of her highlights right now:

• Is just learning to jump
• Wants to copy everything I do and is the best little helper - loves to load the dishwasher, vaccum and dust
• Asks for ice and french fries everytime she is in the car with me
• Loves to be rough housed with Papa
• Adores her Uncle Danny - she calls for "D" all day long
• Adores Carter just as much - she loves to hug him and give him kisses
• Is a great sleeper - usually sleeps from 9p to 10a and takes one 2 hour nap
• Adjusts well to not having a set/regular schedule
• Loves shoes, clothes and make-up
• Favorite DVD's are Elmo's Potty Time, Earnie 1,2,3 and Blues Clues ABC's
• Loves to sing ABC's and Happy Birthday
• A great eater for Grandma, not so much with Mama and Papa

2 Year Well Baby Visit

We had Emery's 2 year appt today. She is looking great and right on track in every area. She weighs a whole 25 lbs (25th percentile) and 33 in tall (50th percentile). Our pediatrician, Dr. Shelly Ring is amazing, but is out on maternity leave so we saw another Dr from the office. I now appreciate Dr Ring even more. The other lady just wasn't the same. Here are a few recent pictures since I've been neglecting our blog the last couple of months.

Emery trying out her Halloween costume. I bought it early so I could figure out if she would go for the hat or not - luckily, she thinks her costume is adorable and loves to wear it. My cute little pirate!

The other morning I was cleaning the kitchen and the house was silent. I went to look for Emery and she was just chilling in her stroller with Elmo looking out the window. I think she was still trying to wake up for the day.

Vegas Baby!

Ivan and I drove to Vegas last weekend for the Utah/UNLV game. We had a good time, but we also realized that as you get older, Vegas just isn't the same. Some highlights from our trip:

• Utah/UNLV game and Utah won!
  
• I got a massage
• Ivan watched the Giants game totally uninterrupted (too bad it was a bad game)
• We saw 2 movies - more than we've seen in the last year
• In N Out every day - yummy!
  
• We saw Le Reve at the Wynn - amazing show!

Emery spent the weekend with Grandma Lola, Aunt Silvana and Uncle D - she had a good time but was mad that we left her. She refused to speak to us on the phone all weekend - they would offer her the phone and tell her it was Mama or Papa and she would respond "No Papa!" and run away. Nice! Luckily, once we got back, she was back to being a Mommy's girl and I was pleased.

My Cleaning Helper

I've been obsessed with Spring cleaning (yes, I know it's Fall) over the past couple of weeks. My goal is to deep clean two rooms per weekend until the house is done. Today I was taclkling the living room and back door area, including cleaning blinds and scrubbing walls and baseboards.

Of course, Emery wanted to join me. She sat right down and started scrubbing the walls and baseboards. When she wanted to clean the wall higher than she could reach, she stepped up on the baseboards to get higher - hilarious! I wonder how much of a fine I will get for not following the child labor laws :)

At one point, we were both scrubbing away, Emery stops, pats my shoulder and I look over. She gave me a kiss - melted my heart! I guess Spring cleaning isn't too bad when you have a helper who still loves you even when you're cleaning, right?

Circus Time

We took Emery to the circus last Sunday. I was nervous about how Emery would do being confined to a small area for 2 hours, but I figured we have to start somewhere. A place filled with other kids is the perfect place to try it out, right?

The first half of the Circus, Emery did pretty good. She wanted to sit in my lap and then move to her chair and went back and forth a few times. Just before intermission, she was very restless so we went up to the concessions stands to walk around. The second half of the Circus was a little tougher, but Emery had a good time making friends with the little girl in front of us.

Emery's favorite part was of course the animals. She would kind of sit and watch them when the elephants, horses and tigers came out. As soon as the animals went to the back, she would look over to the door where they came out of and hold her hands out trying to pet them - too cute! I've now determined that any outing with a 2 year old that isn't a disaster, is a success. So, the Circus was a success.

I didn't get many pictures, partly because if Emery saw the camera she would have wanted to play with it the entire time and because the battery was going dead. But, here's one of the elephant!

Elmo & The Fair

Since Emery is obsessed with Elmo I was thinking of having her be Elmo for Halloween. I bought a costume to try out, but it covers her adorable face way too much. I did get some cute pictures while testing it out though
Emery in the Elmo costume zoned out to ... Elmo - who would have guessed?
We were getting ready to leave the house and Emery wanted to take everything with her:
Elmo - check
Puppy - check
Toothbrush - check
Purse - check
Goldfish - check
I made her compromise by only taking Elmo and the Goldfish
We went to the State Fair yesterday and had a great time. Yummy food and great weather - it doesn't get any better than that!

Emery couldn't wait to pet the huge, dirty cow!
And the goat..
We waited in line for 10 minutes to get a balloon flower made by a clown. Emery got so excited when it was her turn. Too bad she popped the entire balloon within minutes of walking away.
Emery's first funnel cake - it took her a minute to taste it, but she was in love after the first bite
She also loved the grilled corn on the cob.
So much that we had to buy her a 2nd cob for her to eat all by herself - she gobbled up one and a half all on her own.

Future Call Center Employee?

We went to Ivan's work today for a few hours today and Emery showed us that she is a call center employee in the making.
Here she is zoning out to Elmo on U Tube
Sporting her Utah gear!

My Day

I was off today and had planned to spend a few hours at the outlet stores in Park City. Below is an overview of our day.

930a - Emery gets up, feed her her daily eggs for breakfast, we both get ready
1130a - leave for Park City
1135a - daily stop at Sonic for a coke for me. I've started to get Emery a kids cup of crushed ice everyday when I stop there because she loves ice so much. She now can spot out a Sonic while we are driving down the road :)
12-215p - shopping in PC - got a ton of cute winter outfits for Emery. I did remember myself and Ivan for one shirt each
245-330p - Nap time
345-6p - reading, playing, Elmo time
615p - driving home from Del Taco, Emery projectile vomits in the car. I have no idea where it came from, she just started coughing and then vomited. We were almost home so I gave her a napkin to clean her hands and face. I dry heaved the whole way home thinking about cleaning it up.
640p - after I ate, I pulled Emery's carseat out of the car to wash it. We were outside and Emery was still eating a soft taco. All of a sudden, Emery starts crying and I see her taco on the floor - I yelled at Carter to make him go to his bed and picked Emery up to comfort her. She was crying more than usual over lost food so I looked at her hand. Sure enough, Carter nipped her hand. No blood, but there were teeth marks. I'm assuming he was just trying to get her food, but unacceptable. The crate will be returning and Carter will be put there while Emery eats!
710p - bath time - Emery was washed and just playing in the tub. All of a sudden she coughs and vomits again. I quickly grab her out of the bath so I don't have to re-bathe her. Once she stands up, she pees everywhere.
730p - call Mandy for vomiting advice
745-830p - reading and Elmo time
845p - bedtime and my internet time. I do have the monitor turned up really loud and I'm sure if I hear one little cough from Emery, I'll rush into her room.

I can't believe we made it almost two years before Emery vomited for the first time. I'm hoping it was just a one time thing today and that Emery isn't really sick with the flu or something. She's acting totally normal, other than the occassional cough/vomiting episode. The first half of my day was wonderful but I have to admit, the second half I was counting down the time until bedtime.

It's also the first Utah football game of the day. Ivan has been gone all day and this will be our reality for every Saturday until the end of November. (Except October 3rd, their off week.)
Go Utes!!!

Poop, Poop & Elmo

Emery has been waking up the last few nights around midnight basically just wanting to hang out in our bed, and eat trail mix. Last night, I had put her to bed twice already and she was up crying for a while. I was trying to get her to go back to sleep and finally my mommy-guilt kicked in, so I went in to get her. As soon as I opened the door, I could smell poop and I felt bad that I had left her crying for a little bit. Then, I noticed that she had gotten her diaper off and pooped in her crib. Still in denial, I lifted her up and went to wipe her bum and put a diaper on her, figuring I would just have to change her sheets.

Little did I know, that she had stepped in the poop, had it on her hands and between her toes. Off to the bathtub we went, at midnight. Lucky for me, Ivan had just gotten home from his friends, so he had the duty of cleaning up her room. Not until he snapped a picture of course (sorry if it's nasty, I had to document it).
We've been losely working on potty training for a few weeks now. Each day this weekend, Emery has pee'd in the potty 3-4 times per day and pooped in the potty today. She's well on her way to being diaper free.
When Ivan got Emery up from her afternoon nap today, she had taken off her diaper and pants AGAIN! Her diaper was thrown across the room and she was quickly trying to wipe up the pee in her crib with her pants. So tonight, we've resorted to .....
Good 'ol duct tape! Ivan's Mom is going to kill us when she finds out, but I've already changed Emery's crib sheets twice in two days and we all know, that's a chore in itself. We'll see how it all goes tonight.
And, it's all worth it because Emery is such a sweetheart. Here is a picture from her this morning. She loves Elmo and her Elmo Potty Time DVD (I think the potty training has been sped up by the DVD by the way). I had Emery's carseat in the house from washing the cover and she sat in it, with Elmo and her blanky for about 15 minutes this morning watching the Elmo DVD. Just another cute picture showing how much fun Emery is