Tickle monster

Fuzzy photo, but Emma thinks it is hilarious to tickle toes! I love it! She's got such a fun personality. 

checkin in

Just a quick post today.

Emma and I went up to Utah earlier this month to go to my family reunion. We had a BLAST there, and pictures will come, but they are on Chris' laptop, which went to work with him this morning.

Now we're trying to get back into a good routine... one that doesn't involve 20 other people that are willing to entertain Emma for a few minutes at a time. I'm trying to get caught up on the cleaning that didn't happen while we were gone, or before we left either since I was sick for about a week or so.

Next week Emma has her 15 month check up, I can't believe she's already 15 months (technically she isn't yet, but in 2 days she will be!) old.

I'm trying to reorganize our house, and reevaluate my priorities. Blogging just seems to be one of the first things to go when I'm behind. Hopefully I'll catch up on life and be able to catch up on the blog!

Walking

I've been called out for not sharing this sooner. But we officially have a walker! Emma has been walking for more than a month now (whoops!) but she still is struggling with walking in shoes, so she mostly just gets to walk at home and at church.

I have videos of her walking, but I'm having a hard time getting them to work, so here are some action shots of walking! Videos will come shortly (hopefully)

Too cute

One day this week Chris came home from work and didn't feel well, so he decided to try laying down for a little while to see if it helped him feel better. 

Emma was super cute and concerned about what was wrong with daddy and why he wasn't on the floor playing with her. She got as close to his face as she could and was talking to him. 

Priceless. 

We love our little Emma girl!

Rash

The day after Emma got her 12 month shots she broke out in this horrible rash. It was all over her body, and especially bad on her face. It was so sad to see. I knew that a rash was possible after the shots that she had gotten, but supposedly the rash wasn't supposed to come for a week after. I called the nurses the next morning to see if there was something I should be doing for it and the nurse FREAKED out on the phone and insisted that it could NOT be a reaction to the vaccine and that I needed to bring Emma in. That got me worried, so we headed in. We couldn't see Dr B because she was out of town but we saw one of the other doctors that we had met before. He apologized that the nurse had insisted that we come in and said it seemed just like a reaction to the vaccine. He suggested an oatmeal bath to help ease the itchiness, and to use an oatmeal lotion (like Aveeno) to help soothe Emma's skin. After about a week or so her skin cleared up. 

Lesson learned: trust your instincts, not the freaky phone nurse.

Cute

This is just a random selection of photos that I've had and wanted to share. I love my little Emma girl, and how much she wants to do things with us!

Chris and Emma one day, watching some YouTube video, I'm sure.

I was in the kitchen working on dinner (or some meal) and Chris and Emma were hanging out. Emma insisted on sitting on the couch like daddy, and was very busy reading her Pigeon Finds a Hotdog book. She loves Pigeon.

I love seeing the positions that Emma sleeps in. She's getting so big!

Grandpa

Note: I started this post several weeks ago, but am just now deciding to publish it. I was hoping to come up with more to say, or better ways to express my thoughts. I've decided to just publish it now, and let it be. Grandpa, I love you!

I'm about a week late on this post, I just haven't been able to come up with the right words. A week ago I got the email from my mom letting us all know that Grandpa had just passed away. We knew it was coming. He'd been to the hospital a few times recently, had been having mini strokes, and was having other health problems as well. The doctors had just told my aunt and uncle that there wasn't anything else they could do for Grandpa and that he had about a week left. Grandpa asked to be taken home so he could die at home with his family rather than in a hospital. He did just that. 

Emma and I went up to Utah for the funeral and I am so glad we did. 25 of Grandpa's 28 grandchildren were there, and so were a decent amount of his great-grandkids. I got to see all of my siblings, two of their spouses, and one of my nephews. Many tears were shed, but there was also lots of laughter. We talked about our favorite memories of Grandpa, and made our own memories together. Extended family is the best!

Here is Grandpa when he was fairly young. I love this photo.

 And I don't know when this picture was taken, but this is the way I remember Grandpa looking!

I hadn't seen Grandpa since Christmas 2009, which is far too long. I know that when I saw him last we played several rounds of Hand and Foot, which I think is the only game I remember ever playing with him and Grandma.

One of the first thoughts of Grandpa that came to me after he passed away was his pocket protectors. He always wore button-up shirts that had a pocket, and always always always wore a pocket protector. In his pocket protector he always had a black plastic comb (I remember combing his hair as a little girl) and a plastic toothpick.

Grandpa was always interested in helping fix things. I remember one time when he came to visit us and he went up the street to our neighbor Gail's house to help her fix some things. I don't remember what he fixed, but she was grateful to have some help!

Grandpa was also often very generous. When Chris and I got engaged and Mom was coming up to Utah to help me go dress shopping, Grandpa stopped by Mom's place and dropped off a check to help cover my wedding dress. It turned out that the dress I wanted was on clearance because they only had one or two left and were trying to clear the racks to make room for more dresses. We still had leftover money from Grandpa, so Mom and I went and got some accessories. I love the pearl earrings and necklace that we picked out. I think of Grandpa each time I wear or see them. I am grateful to have that lasting memory of Grandpa. I wore the earrings to his funeral. My little piece of Grandpa that I can take with me everywhere.

I can't wait til the day I get to see you again, Grandpa! I love you!

Look at what I colored!

Look at what I colored with LDS Coloring Book!

Love, Emma

Sent from my iPad




We have an LDS coloring book app on our phones that Emma was introduced to several months ago when Chris's parents were here. Grandpa let her play it on his iPad during Sunday school so she learned how awesome it is.

Emma loves lions and most of the time will tell you what a lion says if you ask her. She was excited to color this picture of lions the other day, and I thought it was too cute not to share! She did this all by herself!

Catch Up?

Wow. It's almost been two months since I posted! I've written a few posts, have pictures ready to write some other posts, and just plain haven't gotten around to posting!

There are posts to come that will feature Emma and her birthday cake. Emma and her favorite birthday presents. Emma trying to figure out the whole walking thing (she's still working on, but it seems like every day she takes a few more steps than the day before). Emma discovering toilet paper. And flushing the toilet. Emma's love for blueberries.

About a month ago my grandpa passed away. I started writing a post about him like I did in Jan 2013 when both my grandmas passed away, but I just couldn't figure out what all to say about Grandpa. I feel bad that he doesn't have his own post yet, but that's one of the drafts that I just keep coming back to and editing. Emma and I took a quick weekend trip up to Utah for the funeral and enjoyed spending a bunch of time with all my siblings and some cousins. Our dinner at Brick Oven deserves its own post.

I haven't been feeling great this week, so when Emma has been napping I've been reading. I've finished two books, and have 1 hour left on an audiobook I started listening to a few weeks ago. It feels good to be getting ahead for book club.

We've taken a few trips to Sea World, including a family trip to Aquatica (water park) on July 3rd. Chris took the day off so we could go together and Emma was IN HEAVEN! Neither of us took our phones with us (didn't want them getting wet or stolen) so we have no pictures.

Lately I've been trying to not have my phone out when Emma is awake, so I haven't been taking as many pictures. It's kind of nice to just be in the moment rather than worrying about capturing a picture of the moment.

But. Because you read this you deserve some pictures.

Chris and Emma in our backyard waiting for the 4th of July parade to start!

Emma and I landed in SLC around the same time as one of my brothers and two of my sisters. Paul rented a van and we all piled in together. Emma was rocking her shades as we drove down to Provo for a quick trip to the BYU bookstore!

Emma loved her chocolate cake for her birthday!

When her grandma and grandpa came to visit after her birthday they got her a water table! She LOVES playing with it and gets really excited when I ask her if she wants to go play outside. 

Birthday girl!

Friday was Emma's birthday! Since we didn't know what time Chris would be getting home from his business trip we decided in advance that we'd celebrate her birthday a week late. It helps that his parents will be getting here next week, so we'll just wait for Grandma and Grandpa to be here. I'll have more pictures then--especially when we give her a cupcake (or two :D )

But... here are some pictures of the birthday girl, in her "I'm 1" onesie! It used to be much easier to capture pictures of Emma. Now she is so quick to get away, and always wants to take pictures herself.

Diaper changes are a good opportunity to take her picture. She loves holding (and squeezing) the nose sucker while I change her diaper.

After getting dressed she headed straight for the bookshelf! She loves to read!

Emma got a purple balloon for her birthday! She LOVES playing with it.

Here's another one, she was pretty happy during this diaper change

Her 1 year appointment was earlier this week, it's just taken me a while to get around to finishing this post!

Weight: 19 lbs

Height: 28.5 inches

Emma loves to eat! She loves strawberries, blueberries, banana, avocado, black beans, bread, CHEESE, cheerios, and occasionally pasta... but not so much if it is plain.

She can stand without holding anything, but hasn't taken any steps yet if she isn't holding on to someone or something. 

She says: mama, dada, baba (typically for a bottle), gaga (grandma), ah da (all done), hi, go, rar (especially if you ask what a lion says)

A few hours after her doctors appointment she broke out in a horrible rash all over her body. After 24 hours I called the nurse to see if there was anything in particular I could do to help it calm down. The nurse freaked out and said there was no way that the rash was because of the vaccines that she got, so she told us we better come in. We went straight in, and the doctor we saw said that her rash looked exactly like the rash that can come after the MMR vaccine, Emma just got the rash a few days earlier than normal. It's so sad to see her face/arms/legs/torso/bum covered, but she's doing better.

She started drinking cows milk this week as well. The first day or so she wasn't really sure about it, but I suspect it has to do with the temperature. She drank her formula at room temperature normally, so cold milk is a little different!

I have a letter that I wrote her for her birthday, but I haven't decided yet if I want to post her birthday letters on the blog or just keep them for her scrapbook. Maybe I'll post it later.