we did in fact come back

The Magic House lived up to its name! The past weekend was a blast despite a minor hiccup! Our hotel decided to tack on a $100 'deposit' since we use our debit card instead of a credit card so our funds were more limited than we'd planned. Luckily we thought to bring all of our gift cards and made great use of them! We bought breakfast and snack foods from Target to keep in our room which saved us a small bundle in order to splurge on a delicious meal (complete with dessert) on Saturday evening. Here are some highlights of our trip:

• Friday was spent at The Magic House and we all had a great time! There were plenty of hands-on exhibits to keep Emery occupied. Nolan & I were able to sit back (a little) and simply watch her explore. We can't wait to make a return trip when she's older.
• Saturday we all slept in and then had the entire pool to ourselves! That's a benefit of staying at a business hotel over a 'family-friendly' one!
• Saturday evening we ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Good glory, that was a wonderful meal. After the meal we saw a movie (thank you mom for the amc gift cards). We sat in the front row in case Emery was too disruptive but she was great. We sat her in her own seat and she commandeered the giant Sprite. We don't normally let her drink soda so she was in her own little heaven. For most of the movie this situation suited us all just fine until Emery let out a very loud burp and wound up spilling a great deal of the Sprite all over herself! That's the beauty of being on vacation though--no one will know you and you get to leave the next day! We just laughed it off and enjoyed the rest of the movie!

Hope you all have had great weeks and get to go on a little vacay of your own soon!

*I haven't posted pictures yet but that's the plan for when Em's asleep (if Sesame Street wasn't on for an hour you wouldn't even be reading this yet!). Check out Facebook or Shutterfly in the near future! Much love to you!

surprise mini-vacation!

Nolan's been extra busy with work the past few weeks (in case you didn't pick up on that in earlier posts) so we decided to break away to St. Louis! We're going to hit up The Magic House at the children's museum. The website shows lots of fun hands-on exhibits that we're hoping Emery enjoys (and we do too!). Other than that, we have big plans to eat good food, swim, possibly get a little shopping in but mostly RELAX ALL TOGETHER!
We'll let you know how it goes! Have a great weekend!

there's a life lesson in here somewhere

today I finished another book. It's Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert and I already wrote a review for it over here (what? didn't know I had this website? surprise!). Anyway, this book has been consuming my extra time and thought process for the last week or so. Lately, I have been reading prefaces and acknowledgments more often than not. When I was in high school my favorite part of reading new books was learning about the new author first (maybe not the extensive note-taking part though). It seemed to me that you could understand, or at least appreciate a book more when you know where the author is coming from. Once I got to college and we no longer had reading classes I missed this. I think that's where the prefaces and acknowledgments passion stems from.
All this to say that as I was reading the end of Committed I read Elizabeth's note to her sister Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of the Dairy Queen series that I came to love only a month ago! I was so surprised! I knew the author of Dairy Queen's name was Catherine. I knew Elizabeth's last name was Gilbert. I knew she had a sister named Catherine because she references her several times in Committed. Never made the connection. I love finding family connections; it's a secret (or not so secret now) pleasure of mine. I just like to see how other family's live, how they're similar or different, even how all their names sound together. Weird, I know.
It just got me thinking, what can we learn when we take the time to read until the very last page?

love letter for a friday

Dear Husband,
Hi. Remember me? I'm the needy brunette you married three years ago. I miss you and wish you could come home right now. I want to see you. Really see you. You know, without that romantic glow of the computer screen lighting your face or that attractive 'work-is-consuming-my-life' frenzy in your eyes. Can you make that happen?

Remember Emery? She's our adorable 18 month old. I don't like talking on the phone so I haven't been able to tell you all the crazy things she's been doing the last couple days. For instance, today at lunch she was taking spoonfuls of applesauce and wiping them on her face for the sole purpose of wiping it away with a napkin. Then, after lunch she used a washcloth and wiped away every surface she could imagine including the carpet, the walls and my back (in that order). All along she was singing "keen up, keen up". Enchanting, I know. Yesterday we played 'Ring around the Rosies" approximately 100 times and I thought I was getting vertigo. She demanded that we watch Barney & friends simultaneously. She didn't want to take my word for it that we (just the two of us) could actually play that game without Barney's help but she wasn't having it.

She misses you too. I already told you about her finding your computer mouse. Then when she was 'helping' me with laundry she would yell, "Daddy!" every time she picked up a shirt of yours and proceeded to squeeze it tightly!

I should make one things clear though. I am so proud of you. You know I appreciate staying home with Em and I know you work so hard. I also know somewhere in my brain that you would rather be with us than work. Sometimes I forget it in the moment; I think I misplaced it under all the neurosis and doubt. You amaze me with all the technical things that are far beyond my comprehension and understanding. You understand though and that is why you are so good at what you do. I am proud to have a husband that works hard and is in demand for his skills. That's hot, babe!

So, without further ado and on behalf of myself and our sweet girl; I have one plea. Come home. We would be much obliged.

Love, your wife

'Poppin' in

Several months ago Nolan and I set about deep cleaning our house. Not a fun time for me because I have terrible allergies. Turns out, sweeping dust into the air sets of said allergies (which is why I avoid cleaning in general).
In the midst of all this merry-making I texted my friend and asked if she had Mary Poppins' number. If she couldn't come snap her fingers at least she'd have a peppy song to pass the time. Sadly, my friend had misplaced Mary's number and we were on our own. Later that evening; however, Mary Poppins appeared on our doorstep in the form of the 40th Anniversary 2-Disc set. No explanation why she wasn't around earlier though.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when Emery spent time in Wellington. She fell in love with Mary while watching along with Grandma. Mom said she watched it several times. She loved it so much, in fact, that shortly after Em & I were reunited she dragged me into Aunt Bethany's room and turned the video on. Now we're more thankful than ever that Mary appeared at our door that night. Who knew we'd need it?!
We've watched Mary, Burt and the gang dance around 3 times already this week. I've heard the "wooden leg named Smith" joke 3 times and I still smile. I've heard the same gentle lessons told through catchy, witty songs 3 times and still sing-along. I have to say, I love it. What a great movie! Emery doesn't always sit still through cartoon movies (except Wall-E and Ratatouille) but she's mesmerized by Mary Poppins! She's a girl after my own heart! I can't wait to share more classics with her!
On behalf of Emery, I encourage you all to watch Mary Poppins! (or "Poppin!" as Em calls it) You won't regret it!

something more fun

So that last post was not such a happy one. I know you can't always tell someone's mood while reading but let me just inform you that I probably should've just scratched that last one and only put on this one. Oh well.

Anyway, thought I'd cheer up the blog a bit by adding these pictures of Emery. During her diaper change she decided she would rather shed her warm, fuzzy footie pjs for a more simplistic outfit. Probably because it is easier to raid Mommy's cabinets with minimal coverage. enjoy!

p.s. please focus only on the sweet baby and not my unfinished walls. my kitchen will be painted one day. i just know it. just don't pass this on to my mother-in-law.

wow. It's already well over a week into 2010 and this is my first post. Those were not my intentions but things in this Kitterman household have been a bit crazy since New Year's. Last week we enjoyed several days of leisure as Emery spent time in Wellington with Grandma Neecee and Papa Rick. Nolan went to work as usual and I spent time sleeping, reading, and eating. Three of my top favorite things. As a couple we also saw 3 movies, stayed out past midnight on New Year's Eve (without worrying about a babysitter or waking up early in the morning!), and simply enjoyed each other's company. It was splendid.
This week has been a completely different household. Emery's back; which is great because we missed each other. She hasn't even had a hard time readjusting to Mommy's rules after a week of Grandma's spoiling. Except she won't sit in her chair to eat meals. She wants me to hold her and I'm not sure what to do about that power-struggle. Anyone got any ideas?
Also this week, Nolan was getting up at 6 am and not coming home until around 7 pm because of the conference at work. We definitely appreciate the overtime but it was hard not having him be around other than to eat and sleep.
To be honest, I was going to write more and I was hoping I could draw some spiritual insights from this hard week but really it just left me exhausted. Plus, Emery is screaming in the kitchen due to that aforementioned struggle.
Hope you all enjoy your weekend and have been able to usher in the new year well!