baby love

Emery turned 20 months yesterday. That means that in only four short months we're going to be under the same roof as a two year old. Probably is not going to be that much different than she is now because she's already stubborn, loves the word "no" (although to her it's 'nope'), and has crazy mood swings that our heads spin.
But today she is being extra cute. Possibly to remind me that even when she is an official two-year-old I will still love her.

• Nolan stayed home today because I woke up with another awesome sinus headache and Em was running a slight fever. While they looked settled into Sesame Street in the living room, I decided to go back to bed. Emery laid down with Daddy for a bit but then rolled off the couch and asked, "where, mommy?" Nolan told her I was laying down so she grabbed her bowl of cheerios (dry) promptly told her daddy she was coming to be with mommy. He asked, "why don't you stay in here with Daddy?" She looked at him, considering, "ummm, nope." Not rudely, just matter-of-factly.
• When she joined me in bed (after turning the TV on in our room) she made her self comfortable. After a few minutes she leaned over and kissed me on the head. I felt much better of course.
• She has an affinity for wearing obscure items on her head. She grabbed my big mesh bag and naturally threw it over her head and walked up and down the hallway. Then she gave out kisses to Nolan & I threw the bag. Yes, of course I took a picture:




She loves to "color." Give her a crayon, a pen, a pencil, a marker, a highlighter: she's your best friend. She grabbed her notebook and a highlighter and had some fun this morning. When the highlighter was making it on her clothes and face I asked her to hand it over. She didn't like that so she started to running away into the living room. When she heard me stand up to come after her she threw the pen behind her and ran to the couch for comfort. I was laughing so hard (as was Nolan) that we couldn't get mad at her.

• She has a water gun. I have no idea where it came from and I don't know how she learned to use it (not with water). She just knows you're supposed to point it at people she she ran between me & Nolan pointing the gun (upside down) saying, "psshh, psshh" and cracked up when we pretended to get wet.
• I love the way she picks up on words so easily now and tries hard to use the same words we do. Today for nap time she wanted to read In the Night Kitchen, a new favorite and said, "cock-a-doo-doo book mommy". The Cock-a-doodle-doo part is only one small part of the book but she obviously is paying attention to the details and grasping concepts.
• Every time she sees my camera she wants to watch the video we took of her last night. We taped her singing "The Wheels On the Bus." She loves watching the video and sings along like it's the first time she's hearing it.
  Okay. I know that was a lot; and it's only nap time. Who knows what's in store for the afternoon. The sun is out so I'm hopeful!
  

what a friend

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we did not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

We sang this great hymn yesterday morning and I've been thinking about these particular lyrics ever since. I love how true they are.

On a less serious note, a sweet woman from our church gave Emery a potty chair yesterday. We haven't really started potty training yet but it was sweet of her to spoil us like that. It's a great one that can be broken down to have the seat on the "big" toilet and the chair becomes a stepstool; I love versatility!

Emery just loves the box. She is thrilled with the potty and likes to sit on it (but not use it) but she's mostly enjoying the box right now. Today she's used it as a drum set and a hat. Earlier when I was typing up my 'review' blog I watched her walk down the hallway in search of me with the box on her head. Got to love that.

Just thought I'd share what's been on my mind and what our sweet girl has been up to! Hope you enjoy the first day of March!! Spring is coming--I just know it!

rememberings

The sunlight streaming into my room this morning reminded me that spring will eventually come. I'm so ready. Plus, I was looking at pictures earlier this week (I haven't ordered pictures since a little after Em's birthday) and I found a couple favorites that made me excited about sunnier days. enjoy and have a great weekend!

only a short time

Tonight as we were cuddling on the couch after dinner watching Ratatouille, I paused. We have no way of knowing how long our life as a threesome is going to last. I'm not pregnant and not planning on being so in the very near future but one day I will be. The three of us work so well together. Em fits perfectly in between us, snuggled up on her daddy's chest. Even if we weren't planning on having more children, Emery continues to grow. One of these days she's not going to want to sit on our laps.
I just wanted to take a moment to be grateful for our lives together right now. Every day is not easy but it's certainly a blessing. One more day of her sweet kisses, hilarious antics, and her arms reaching up, "mommy, up. up" One more day of his awesome kisses, his sweet smiles across the dinner table, and him saying, "i love you."
I am so grateful.

Valentine merry-making

Yesterday I visited Holly's site to see if we won the tu-tu--no such luck! Sad day! I was disappointed but she also posted a valentine's idea that I thought looked easy and fun. You should see her site here to see what the valentine's were supposed to look like and then check out our version:I didn't get a close up but I believe that even from this vantage point, you can see ours did not turn out the same way. First of all, I just saw the pictures and thought, "oh that looks simple, I can recreate that" without really reading the directions. It probably would've helped if I saw you should let one dry before trying to paint the second hand-print. Also, her girls are a little older than Emery. Our friend Nikki was visiting with us and we couldn't have accomplished what we did without her. Nikki & I each had a plate with paint and sat on either side of Em. Then we painted her palms (while she kept trying to grab the paintbrushes) and took turns placing her hands on the paper. After we made the valentines we let Emery have at and she thoroughly enjoyed the paint. She decided to make herself even prettier:We had a blast! Check out the other photos on Shutterfly!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

all in the timing

Yesterday I pouted.
You see, two years ago when we lived in our apartment and Emery was still a dream away, we had a snow day. It is one of my favorite memories of newlywed bliss. We slept in, made breakfast together and then Nolan trekked to the nearest movie store and gas station to bring back entertainment and beverages. It was a wonderful day.
Fast forward to yesterday. The evening before all anyone could talk about was the snow we were going to be getting. Everyone speculated snow days and I hoped they were all right and we could recreate those warm memories with the addition of Emmy. Everyone was partially right. It did in fact snow but not enough to keep Nolan home. Therefore, as any mature adult, I pouted. It wasn't pretty.
This morning I woke up with a horrendous sinus headache. I also woke to the realization that Nolan hadn't told me goodbye. Or at least, I didn't remember him telling me goodbye. The little bit of hope started to build and as I rose out of bed, I noticed his shoes by the door--he was home!! I was excited but also relieved because I did not know how I was going to make it through the day with this headache. Plus today was the reconvening of Lapsit at the library--I didn't want Emery to miss that.
Nolan heard me stirring so he met me in the kitchen to explain why he staying home. He had lovingly decided to help me out since he knew I wasn't going to be well today. Wanna know how he knew? He also lovingly recorded my sleep on his phone last night. Much like the pouting, it wasn't pretty. I apparently kept him up most of the night. (also, I deleted the evidence--too bad)
He was so great today; waiting on me, playing with Emery, and providing for us! He even took Em to Lapsit with all the other moms! He looked so handsome with a snowsuit-clad Em on one arm, the diaper bag and a "Real Moms"-printed bag full of library books in another and aviators on his face. What a modern dad! If I hadn't already made myself comfortable with a heat compress in my bed I might've just kissed him!
All in all, we each made it through the day and I can say now that I'm glad he didn't stay home yesterday. Perfect timing.

**As a sidenote, I'm trying to win Emery this adorable tu-tu from Holly at The Peas in Our Pod. You can check it out here. Wouldn't Em look fabulous!!

team kitterman

Right before dinner tonight I was reading a friend's blog. She commented on her appreciation for the teamwork between her and her husband as parents. It made me think of how Nolan & I interact with each other, particularly where Emery is concerned. We do pretty well together but of course there is conflict at times. As I was reading Elizabeth's post I was asking God to show me a specific way that I can be grateful for our little 'team.' The words 'Ask and you shall receive' were never more relevant than this evening.
**Backstory: last night we spent the night at my folks' where Emery is always spoiled. I'm happy about that but it's not always fun to get her back on schedule. Plus, she's teething so her schedule has been completely off today and she's easily thrown (emotionally speaking).**
Nolan made dinner (scrumptious mac & cheese w/ hot dogs) while Emery and I watched a video (I'm excited about these videos because it makes me feel like I'm at Tiny Tots all over again). Everything was fine; she was tired but cuddly and we were meltdown free.
Then came time to sit at the table and eat. While at grandma's she likes to sit on grandma's lap to eat her meals. That doesn't fly at home and normally she's okay with it. Tonight; not so much. She cried. and cried. and cried--the ugly cry with heaves, real tears, red face, and a lot of snot. Plus she kept reaching out for me and sobbing, "mommy, mommy." Kills me. Literal pain in my chest.
At first, we tried to talk over her. Yeah right. Then I tried to make excuses for her: her day's been off, she took too short of a nap, she's killing me, it'll just be this once, and then I jabbed a low blow and said it was easier for him because she wasn't calling his name. I know. Awful but he let it go (such a good man). He reassured me that we need to stand our ground and she'll be okay. I wasn't buying it and neither was Em. Then we tried reasoning with her.

19-month-old in full meltdown mode + two reasonable but annoyed parents = no meshing

I picked her up and held her but didn't let her eat. I just held her and told her I wasn't going anywhere but she needed to be a big girl and eat her dinner. So I placed her back in her booster. More sobs and now I was also feeling like a betrayer. I had to leave the room so I did.

Tag-team. Nolan took over. He didn't pick her up. He let her cry but talked soothingly to her and then tried to make her laugh. I could hear the early attempts failing miserably but he didn't stop. He's so good at standing his ground which is great because I'm almost always ready to give it up. Eventually her good nature won out and Daddy got her to laugh despite her best efforts to stay upset. It was funny to listen to the change between sobs, sniffles, half laughs that turn back into sniffles, and then full on laughter. I sat and hid in the office for a bit and when Nolan called me back in, all was well (except her sweet tear-streaked face that re-broke my heart). She ended up laughing with us and finishing her plate.

The best part was when she rubbed Nolan's arm (with ketchup hands) and leaned over to kiss his mouth (with her own ketchup-drenched lips while also placing her ketchup hand on his face)No harm done. Dinner finished. Laughter found. Kisses for everyone. Thanks, Nolan for taking one for the team!

*as a sidenote and plug for birthday presents (on Em's behalf, of course) those videos would be an amazing gift. Just saying.