Paisley's 1st Birthday Bash - September 2011

I cannot believe my little baby turned 1 already. Where, oh where does the time go? We decided to have a "Monster" themed party since we call Paisley "The Baby Monster". It's something I started when she first started crawling and moving around and it's just kind of stuck with her.

My intentions were to create monsters on cupcakes out of candy and such. Well, time got the best of me and about 5 days before the party, I realized I wasn't going to be able to follow through with plan. Luckily, Halloween stuff was out everywhere and I found these cute monster suckers for sale. The bad news is that I had to pay more in shipping than I did for the actual suckers since I procrastinated so much. Oh well!

Paisley wasn't quite walking yet by the time she turned 1. She was getting her self into a standing position, but hadn't dared to take her first steps.
She loved opening her gifts, with the help of Emery.
I just love this little girl so much!!
Auntie Betty bought this cool game for Emery too. Betty is always so good to the girls and comes up with the best gifts ever!
Paisley tried to sleep through her entire party. She was just exhausted that day. She actually went to sleep during her party and I had to wake her up to sing Happy Birthday to her. She wasn't all that thrilled that I woke her up, stuck her in her highchair and had a bunch of people singing to her and watching her.
We totally thought Paisley would dig right into her cupcake. She LOVES all food! She wants food all of the time and she normally feeds herself all of her food. I'm not sure if it was because she was tired or what, but she wasn't really into it.
We gave her a spoon to see if maybe she just didn't want to get her hands dirty .. But, she just wasn't into it
Cute little Atticus sure enjoyed his cupcake though
All in all, we had a great party. I am so grateful for all of our friends and family that come support us and our girls. We are very blessed to have such a great support group.

Summer Pics - Early September 2011

Paisley is finally to an age where the girls can play together and I love it! There are those times already where they are not so nice to each other (taking toys from each other, Paisley pulling Emery's hair) but for the most part, they play really good together.

I have been wanting to buy a swing set since Emery was about 1 year old. Ivan was never a fan of the idea. He thought the yard was too small and that the it wouldn't get used. Well, I finally convinced him - it also helped that Emery saw one in a neighbors house and started asking for one. Ivan and Uncle D spent 3 days putting the swing set together. My job was to keep them going with drinks (this was in early September and it was HOT), meals and yummy treats. Emery loves playing on it and Paisley got a baby swing for her birthday and she loves it too. Now, we just need to teach Emery how to swing herself.

Random Pics - August 2011

Just catching up with some random pictures from the summer. We enjoyed birthday parties and fun in the sun this summer.

And of course, as all parents do, just a tiny bit of kid torture - wait for the next picture!
Priceless!
Ivan is such a good dad to the girls. He is always the first one to jump right in to whatever they are doing and give them a hand.
Now this one isn't torture - there is a little bit of a smile from Paisley

Bear Lake - August 2011

For the past 2 years I have been wanting to make a trip to Bear Lake. I've come to realize that although I've lived in Utah for 15+ years, there is a lot about this state that I have yet to take advantage of. Bear Lake is really close to us and it was a great little weekend getaway. As we were driving home, I was already thinking of the trip we will make next year - and that we will stay an extra day or two - we all just loved it there!

The view on the drive out of Bear Lake on Sunday - it was kind of sad that we had to leave so quick..

We happened to go during Raspberry Days - it seemed to be a big hype for Bear Lake. Before we left on Sunday, we hung out in town and went through the little "fair" type area they had set up. It basically was a bunch of tented vendors selling stuff - the same stuff at the fair - and the same stuff I try really hard not to buy. Needless to say, I was able to control myself and not buy a single thing - it also helped that we didn't stay too long because Ivan had to get home to finish a final that was due that evening.
Emery absolutely loves bouncy houses. She has been known to spend hours going through them
Paisley enjoyed a quiet little nap while Emery played
As usual, the pictures are not in order - but, at least I am updating the blog - so I'm not going to spend time fixing them. Sorry but I have learned that I have to lower my expectations with some things :)

The second day in Bear Lake, we got up, had breakfast and headed to the lake. We were there for about 4 hours and had a great time. Right before we left, Paisley was exhausted and fell asleep in my arms. Luckily for me, there was a picnic bench for me to sit at because otherwise my arms would have fallen off - it's hard work holding a heavy, sleeping baby. I did really enjoy the cuddle time with her though.
Grandma Phyllis and Emery out in the lake .. this was after Ivan taught Grandma Phyllis how to row the boat :)
Emery loves playing in sand!
Paisley - just content with hanging out and eating anything and everything that was within arms reach
This is the infamous "boat" that Grandma Phyllis just had to rent. It was $50 to rent! We used it for like 4 hours - I tried really hard to convince my mom not to get it, but she was determined. So, we strapped it into the back of the Armada and drove back to the beach. It ended up being a good rental - Emery and Grandma Phyllis had a good time going out into the lake and having lunch on the boat.

The Fair

As we do every year, we went to the fair last month. I remember walking around the fair last year, just a couple of weeks before I had Paisley and all of the strangers commenting how I shouldn't have been walking around in the heat with being huge and prego. It's crazy that this year we were walking around with an almost 4 year old and almost 1 year old - time goes by way too fast!

Anyway, we had a really good time - fun rides, good food and quality family time.

Emery rode a ton of rides - most of them by herself. She wanted to go on all of the big kid rides with Ivan, but she wasn't quite tall enough this year. Even this morning when we were driving to Grandma Lola's, Emery was talking about how she wishes she was older and taller so she could go on the bigger, faster rides. She definitely gets that trait from Ivan!

Emery absolutely loved this slide. I think her and Ivan went down it at least 5 times!

Emery's photography skills ..

Paisley - the BIG Girl

In the last 3 days Paisley is 100% off of formula and bottles and has just started WALKING! It's bittersweet for me - it's nice not having to deal with formula or hand washing bottles every 2 days, but these are all signs that she's growing up so quickly.

She now points to everything that she wants. And, she screeches when she doesn't get what she wants. She has her own little personality and I just love it so much.

Emery and Paisley are getting to the point that they can play together - well, I still think it is a little more of Emery terrorizing Paisley, but they each hold their own and they "play" together for a while. Emery is still doing great with Paisley. I have caught her recently giving Paisley random kisses on the forehead and it just melts my heart. I hope my girls grow up really close together and have an amazing sisterly bond.

A Little about Emery...

I was driving the girls to Grandma Lola's this afternoon before I went to work. Emery was talking about going to "work" to see her friends too. I asked her what she did when she was at work and she said she "sharpens pencils" and "writes". She said it so matter-of-factly, like she really thinks she goes to work and sharpens pencils and writes.

Here is something else that Emery says, probably daily.

"I didn't hear the special word. Now, say it all over again nicely"

Let's just say, I say that to Emery sometimes when she doesn't say please and demands something of us vs asking us nicely for something. I've really realized over the last few weeks that Emery is a complete "mini me" and repeats everything I say. I think I'm in trouble ...

Middle of the Night Guest

Emery has been in her big girl bed for over a year now. When I was pregnant with Paisley, she started getting up in the middle of the night - always between 2-4a to come sleep with me. I was huge, pregnant and exhausted, so I would usually let her sleep with me for 1-2 hours then I would take her back to her bed.

It was about 8 months ago that I decided I was done with it. I made up this little calendar and gave Emery a sticker for every night that she stayed in her bed all night. Once she made it 7 consecutive nights, I would buy her a movie. Nothing like child bribery! Well, it worked - I bought her a Dr. Seus movie and she did great with staying in her bed - for a while.

Fastforward a few months. Maybe 2 months ago, she was back to getting up every night between 2-4a. I did the same thing I did before and let her sleep with me for an hour or 2. I finally got sick of always getting up and trained her to go to Ivan's side of the bed. BIG MISTAKE! Ivan loved cuddling with her and Emery started sleeping in bed with us basically all night.

One night last week, Emery had both me and Ivan up all night moving around and kicking us in bed. We decided to put a stop to it again. This time, no bribery. She's old enough to get it and we just told her she had to stay in her own bed all night. All was fine for like 4 nights.

Last night, I wake up to someone rubbing my arm. I'm half asleep and don't think much of it. Then, I feel something a little crinkly against my face. It's Emery's BUTT (and pull up) in my face. She had quietly and sneakily gotten into bed as not to wake us up. She was trying to get under the covers when I woke up. She knew she was busted and I put her back in her bed. This little girl is so smart and sneaky! Let's hope she stays in her own bed for the next several nights so I can get a good nights sleep.

Eventful Trip to McDonald's

I took a vacation day yesterday and was so excited for what I had planned. I was planning on taking Paisley to Grandma Lola's for a few hours so I could spend time with just Emery. I had planned on going to Cottonwood Heights pool since we haven't been able to go much this year. Luckily, I texted my mom in the morning to see if she wanted to join us and she informed me that the pool didn't open until 3:30p. I was so bummed! I was trying to find something for us to do .. Raging Waters was closed until 4p. It was too stinking hot for the zoo. So, I did laundry and just played with the girls until Paisley woke up from her nap.

We ended up going to McDonald's for lunch and to play in the play area. Before we go anywhere, I make Emery go potty so we don't have to go through the hassle of going in public places. She said she had gone potty already so off we went.

As soon as we got our food and sat down, Emery says, "I have to pee". Ugh! Great! And, to top it off, I was STARVING! Like ready to faint starving. I will admit I was a little frustrated to have to wait to eat. I tried to get her to hold it, but she knows how to get to us so she said a a little louder, "I'm going to pee my undies mama". Off we go to the bathroom.

I'm holding Paisley and my purse. I'm trying to help Emery get toilet paper out of the roll. It's one of those rolls that is tucked in so tight with the roll over it that it doesn't want to move. It's also 1 ply toilet paper so it's just a pain. Finally, Emery is done. Then, she can't reach the sink. I'm still holding my purse and Paisley and I hold Emery up with my other arm. She's heavy!

We get back to the table and I eat half of my cheeseburger. Then Emery looks at me funny. I say, "what is wrong". Emery says, "I have to poop". Are you kidding me! We go to the bathroom and go through the hassle of the toilet paper and washing hands all over again.

Back to the table to finish eating. We all finish and Emery takes her shoes off to go in the playground area. I look over to Paisley and she's doing "the look". She then starts pooping. After she is done, we make a 3rd trip to the bathroom. We were at McDonald's for almost 2 hours and went to the bathroom 3 times. I was exhausted by the time I left. I still wish the pool had been open and I could have relaxed a little and got some sun. At least I still got to spend the day with my girls ..

Red Lobster?

Ivan absolutely loves Red Lobster. He loves sea food. Me, not so much. I also don't care for Red Lobster because they have very few non-sea food items, and it's very expensive. I am not a fan of spending $50+ on a dinner that I don't enjoy at all.

Well, Emery has taken after Ivan and loves fish. She brings up going to Red Lobster all of the time. I just asked her what she wanted for dinner and she said Red Lobster. I quickly responded with "no" and this is what she went on to tell me...

"Mama, don't hate Red Lobster, it's good"

"Papa likes Red Lobster. You like red (the color) so you like Red Lobster"

"Mama, you can eat here at home and Papa and I will go to Red Lobster"

"You can have cheese bread, beans and chicken" (what we had for dinner a few nights ago)

She's pretty convincing, but I will avoid Red Lobster if at all possible. Or, I will let Ivan take the girls to Red Lobster on his own and I will have a burrito from Lonestar. Or McDonald's - or anything other than Red Lobster.

Bath Time!