Sweet Treat

Hey guys! Hope you had a great Halloween. To be honest, I've never been one to get super excited about Halloween. I don't do scary things. Ever. However, I have no problem with cute little kids dressing up--I love it in fact. Also, for some reason the thought never crossed my mind that if we take Emery trick-or-treating, Nolan and I get to eat chocolate! What's not to love about that?! The other good news was that we got a hand-me-down ladybug costume--what's not to love about that either?! Em wore the costume all day long and LOVED it. She was a treat to watch all day yesterday. Plus, the rain FINALLY let up so we could go outside. We went to our beloved Kickapoo Park and enjoyed a little sunshine.

We didn't know how she would react to going to stranger's houses to get candy but she was a pro. The first house (which handed out full-size goodies!) she was a bit nervous but after that she just held the bucket on her arm and went right up to the doors! I can't imagine what goes through "first-timers" heads. "So now it's okay to talk with strangers and they will give you cookies?!"

Here's a couple pictures for you of the evening but I encourage you to check out our Shutterfly (I've added a link on the right hand side of this page for your convenience) because I also added a video from the park. She is hilarious! Sorry that you also will have to listen to me breathing heavily in the camera..I have a cold.

How was your Halloween??

winterizing

Hey all! Thought I'd share some pictures of the day...

Nana K bought Em a winter hat, some bibs and gloves and Emery is enjoying them already. She actually gets angry with me when I take the gloves off her! Also, Em has turned 'Linus-y" today. She's never really taken to a pacifier or her thumb but today she's used a paci and has been seen dragging a blanket around with her...strange

The funniest part of this day is that Em gets so excited when I put her gloves on and she walks around the house while clapping or swinging her arms so she can see the mittens. She likes to rub her hands together and is positively giddy ---seriously right now she is walking around with her juice, wearing her mittens and hat completely content. Thanks for making her day, Nana!

so easy and efficient

For breakfast Emery discovered a new way to enjoy yogurt. Let the innovator show you herself:
First, you dip all of your fingers into the yogurt container...

Then lick your yogurt-covered fingers (all together or one at a time, your preference)...

Finally, you'll want to add cereal for crunch (I used Total this morning)...Enjoy!And when I ask for just one little picture with a smile and a "cheese!" she gives me this...as if to say, "I'll say cheese, Mom but I won't be happy about it."

As a sidenote, what you can't see in these pictures are the pieces of cereal stuck under her layer of chins...classy

i love him because...

...he's a man's man but he will watch musicals and 'chick' flicks with me; no complaints
...he knows the best way to calm me down
...he reminds me that parenting can be fun too

...he's easy to please

...he has a great sense of humor and laughs at my jokes

...he's a great cook

...he's handy

...he can be quite charming

...he gets along with my family and I love his
...he takes life day by day and doesn't worry

...he loves Jesus

...he provides for his family

...he married me!

...he adores his daughter
...for our anniversary yesterday he called work to say he'd be late so he could enjoy breakfast with his girls. When Emery & I left for Story Time at the library, he stayed to tidy up the kitchen, living room, 'office' and even made our bed (decorative pillows and all). A gift much better than flowers!

How can I not love this man?

Happy Birthday, Nolan. I love you!

nothing sweeter

I love our little girl. She's so fun! She found our secret hiding spot for the cookies and she'll go up to the cabinet (which has a safety lock on it) and say, "cooookiiee!"..if you could only hear you, you wouldn't judge me for giving in..almost every time. Thought I'd show you what happens when I give in though...

*and yes, for the record, she is a bit too big for the exersaucer but she likes to sit in it for snack time and watch The Electric Company. I don't just put her in there so I can sneak in the back room and update the blog..she requests it. believe me! Hope you are enjoying the sunshine!

p.s. Em's hair is starting to curl up in the back more definitely. I'm in love!

simple joys

Hey guys! Just wanted to share a few recent stories from Em's life. She cracks me up!

• First, you have to understand that Emery loves her belly button. It is endless entertainment and travels well. On Monday we met my (Amanda) family at Curtis Orchard in Champaign. We were eating at their cafe when Em decides she's done eating and is ready to move on to the entertainment portion of the day. She lifts up her shirt and squeals "Bewy bud" (which translates to belly button). Then she pokes said button and laughs hysterically! Then she repeated the process...a few times! It was so fun to watch. Unfortunately by the time we realized we could put it on camera she was ready to be done! Hopefully I can catch it again soon to share with you all. It's so cute!



• The second story happened this morning. I finished dressing her for the day and we headed to the kitchen for breakfast. I thought it was going to be a calm morning but as soon as Emery hit the kitchen she squealed, "Coookkkiiee!!" (she's got that word down pat). She proceeded to squeal Cookie several more times before I could figure out where she was seeing them. Turns out, her adoring father left them in plain sight on the kitchen counter when he was packed his lunch. The way she squealed was like she couldn't believe that her life was so good that she could actually have cookies--at breakfast! She was so excited and of course, I couldn't rain on that parade so we shared cookies for breakfast. (Just one for her and then I gave her cereal so don't judge me! haha)



• I do have a video for you! Emery is very much into the "in & out" concept. Any basket or bowl or container of items you have, she wants to dump out and then put the items back. One night while we fixed supper she sat contentedly on the kitchen floor and played with a basket of apples. I just love that it doesn't take much to entertain her. Please notice pieces of the apples missing--she took a bite out of about 5 before I shot this video. It's not a big action sequence or anything but I thought you all might enjoy watching her mannerisms as she concentrates. --okay I tried twice yesterday to upload the video to no avail so I did upload it to Shutterfly--check it out!

It's October!! Be Excited!

On Saturday we had our first (of hopefully many) pumpkin carving contest. It was a lot of fun since I'm pretty sure I haven't carved a pumpkin since I was 9. Nolan won the contest even!
Saturday also marked Em's 15 months so I added some pictures of that. Hope you all are enjoying October so far--I love it but I wish it would stop raining! Enjoy the pics! Let us know how you all are doing!

*the picture of Emery pointing and the group of pumpkins are compliments of the Bacus'. thanks for sharing, guys!