Happy Half Birthday Emerson!

June 26, 2009

Happy 18 month birthday little girl! I can hardly believe that our little Emerson Renae is 18 months old. What joy she has brought to our lives. Emerson has brought so much love, peace, joy, laughter, and amazement in such a short time on this earth. Emerson has brought healing to my heart in a way that I wondered was even possible.





I love to spend time with her just playing, carrying her, reading to her, laughing with her, snuggling with her, and just being together. Her little personality is shining through more and more every day. Emerson listens very intently to whatever is said to her and I am amazed at what she understands. She is very strong willed (surprise, surprise) and knows EXACTLY what she wants.



She loves her daddy, brother, grammy, grandma and grandpa, dog Duke, and Gizmo the kit (or Gizzy as she calls him), and tolerates Sam the Kitten. She loves to go to the pool and swim. She loves to swing, go down slides, and play Transformers and Hot Wheels with her brother. She loves to play with her baby dolls and have books read to her. She loves to sing her A, B, C's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and all songs on Kids Place Live on XM radio. She loves to dance and just be silly.

Her sign language skills and verbal skills are improving. She will sign eat, drink, wash hands, ball, please, thank you, Ryan (brother), grammy, help, finished. She will talk your ear off when you pick her up from day care. I know that she is filling me in on all the happenings of the day. I can't wait for the day when I will understand everything she is telling me.

She knows just what toy she wants to play with and will tell you if she can't get it out of the toy box. She is learning to pick up after herself and I am teaching her the Clean Up song. She loves shoes, dresses, and all things pretty. She knows who each pair of shoes in the family belong to and will instruct said person to put them on-NOW, please. She likes to pick out her own clothing from the two choices that I give her. She has even learned to appreciate all of the pretty head bands that I have had made to match her Gymboree outfits.

Mystery Diagnoses: Eczema

Emerson has had a strange rash on her legs for almost a month now. The West Texas heat has not done us any favors and seemed to make it worse. I tried everything that I knew how to get is to go away. I decided this morning that enough was enough, gave in and got an appointment with our pediatrician.

I am not one to go to the pediatrician's office for everything little thing that comes up, but I was at a loss. I still felt silly taking a time slot when there are so many kiddos out there that have major problems going on. Thankfully our pediatrician took a quick look at her legs and knew right away that it was a mild case of eczema. This was not the answer I was hoping for, but it was an answer none the less.

Tonight after an evening at the pool, Emerson had a nice, long bath with oatmeal, followed by her first application of Elocon. I was pleasantly surprised at how much softer her skinned felt afterward. I am looking forward to getting her skin under control and keeping it that way. The Elocon can only be used for a very short time and I will continue to research to find the best course of treatment for her without prescriptions.

Happy Father's Day

Brad and Ryan



Brad and Madeline

Brad and Emerson

Brad had to work this entire Father's Day weekend so we surprised him with a special breakfast when he came home Saturday morning. I made biscuits, sausage gravy, and scrambled eggs. This was my first attempt at milk gravy and Brad gave me two thumbs up. I watched my grandmother carefully when she made it for our mother's day brunch last month. Milk gravy is Brad's favorite breakfast food and I wanted to make something that would be really special since we love him so much and are so thankful for the sacrifices that he makes for us.

I can't believe that 5 years have passed since Brad started college. It was a big decision for our family and we were not exactly sure how we were going to pull it off. Both my parents and Brad's parents helped us out countless times along the way and we are eternally grateful for everything. Brad and I have recounted a conversation many times that my dad had with him when deciding about college. My dad asked Brad, "Do you want to eat hot dogs for 4 years or for the rest of your life?" My dad sure was a smart man! The first two years of school Brad attended class full time and worked nights full time at Home Depot stocking the store. He literally had days that he came home to shower and had 15 minutes to sleep before driving back to town for class.

Brad just hit is 1 year mark with Hendrick and I am so proud of him! He works the night shift to provide extra for his family and makes sacrifices to keep us all taken care of. He is an amazing nurse and I am so proud of him. I love to watch his face light up when he talks about caring for others.

Happy Father's Day honey!

Miriam's Very Early Birthday Party

June 14, 2009

With Amy, Mina, and Miriam moving to Costa Rica in just a couple of days, we had a very early birthday party for Miriam on her last weekend here. Brittney and Chad were very gracious and offered up their home for the day, pool and all. We served exquisite pesto, tomato, and fresh mozzarella sandwiches with shaved ham and chicken and strawberry poppy seed salad. We topped everything with vanilla and chocolate hot pink cupcakes with sprinkles.

Emerson knew right where the action was and promptly went to hang out with her great-grandma on the quilt. Thankfully Zoey loves to share all of her baby toys and Emerson loves to hog them all.

The kids spent almost 5 hours in the pool. Emerson decided that swimming is a lot of fun especially if you daddy is in the water. I tried to get her to sit in one of her floaties, but she wouldn't have anything to do with it. She wanted to be held and not by me. It was nice for me to get to watch her with Brad and Ryan.

It was a great day and one that we will always remember!


Emerson shares the baby cell phone with Great-Grandma


Aunt Jill and Zoey


Birthday Girl, Miriam Elizabeth


The Swimming Gang


Cameron & Zoey


Miriam & Riley


Cutter & Rachel


Bo & Ryan horsing around


Grandma & Grandpa being very silly


Cutest picture ever!


Cameron & Bo


Katie & Amy


My favorite picture of Ryan and Emerson


The best picture we could get with all four grandkids


Emerson being cute as can be

June 13th--Hanging Out at Grammy's House

Helping Grammy refill the water


Waiting patiently for Miriam to eat her lunch


Grammy shows off her first green beans of the season!

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Checking out the little red chair (that belonged to my dad when he was little, I think)


We all slept in Saturday morning and made our way over to Grammy's house to see everyone. Cameron went to visit one of her other grandparents, so we were down to 3 kids for the day. There was no set agenda for the day and we spent the morning and early afternoon just talking and watching the kids in action.

Emerson cooked lots of oatmeal in her play kitchen. I have to get pictures of her with her kitchen. She puts the pot under the sink and I turn the faucet. Then she sets everything on the little stove and stirs with a wooden play spoon. I am not sure why I always tell her that she is cooking oatmeal, but she plays along.

But, I digress. Mid-afternoon my mom and the big kids head out to the movies to see Up while Amy, Emerson, and I head out to shop. I can't remember the last time that we were together when there wasn't shopping to be had. We made our way over to the mall and as we were pulling into the parking lot we hear Emerson say, "Dillard's" and point at the store. We both looked at each other and could not believe what she had said! I definitely spend way too much time shopping. We spent about an hour and a half in Dillard's and left with only a webkins for Miriam's birthday party. We ventured around the mall and got new shoes for the girls before heading out.

It wouldn't be a Saturday if we didn't go to Target at least once. I am so thankful that Emerson is a good shopper. We took a break at Target and had a strawberry smoothie and popcorn (her favorites). We topped the evening with a trip to H-E-B for all of the groceries for Miriam's birthday party the next day. We managed to stay out way to late, but had so much fun just being silly sisters.

Grandkids Galore--June 12, 2009

Having Cameron here was a lot of fun and definitely made the house much more lively with two babies. We played and played and had too much fun. Emerson really loves Cameron, but at the same time struggles to understand why she isn't the star. She definitely has the home team advantage with Grammy and Grandma. She gets to see them all the time and they don't get to see Cameron very often.

Here are some really fun pictures from hanging out at my mom's house.



Cameron



Emerson & Her Daddy

Grammy & Becks


Great-Grandma & Cameron

The evening just kept getting more fun. Amy and Miriam and Becks made the trip up from College Station to spend the weekend. Ryan and Miriam were so excited to see each other and promptly took off to do "big kid" things. I really enjoyed spending time with my sister. It is going to be a big adjustment when she moves to Costa Rica and this weekend is kind of "the last weekend."


Emerson carries popcorn around


Emerson finds a pen on the table and MUST draw


Aunt Amy reads to Emerson


Ryan and Miriam watch cartoons and eat marshmallow popcorn

Welcome to Abilene, baby Cameron

We are so excited that Cameron is visiting this week. I got to see her first thing this morning when I went to my mom's house to bring Ryan clothes and a toothbrush for today. She was all smiles and totally enamored by Ryan. I am amazed at how good Ryan is with little ones. Emerson pointed at Cameron and smiled and smiled. It was hard to tear myself away and head to the office. We had a bad storm move in this afternoon and Phil let us all leave early. I grabbed Emerson and drove straight home. Of course, I drove right into the storm. We received a tremendous blessing of rain and thankfully no hail. I am so thankful for the rain we have had this last week. The 60+ mile an hour winds have not been so great, but oh well. I took the Jeep to mom's house since she has a carport and I have a gravel driveway. Emerson and I entertained little Cameron for the next hour. She was getting a little cranky and we were a welcome distraction. Cameron scooted ALL over the big room and Emerson thought it was hilarious. We had another fantastic meal at Grandma's house and my Aunt Jill was able to join us. Grandma grilled out chicken, made cole slaw and her wonderful baked beans. We topped it all off with Blue Bell strawberry ice cream.









Emerson worked hard to be on her best behavior, but it was SO hard to share all of her things with Cameron. It was so cute at dinner when Emerson started crying in her high chair. She kept pointing at Cameron. Sweet, innocent Cameron was just swinging away in the swing. Cameron was gracious enough to relinquish the swing and play in the floor. Emerson promptly crawled up in the swing and sat there. She had such a look of relief on her face that you just couldn't help but smile. She sat in the swing for the longest time. About 8:00 it was time for us to pack up and head to the house to get ready for bed. I almost wish we had more storms to that I could leave the office early. I have really enjoyed the extra time with my family today.

Kason's Birthday Party

Saturday, June 6th we were invited to Kason's 5th birthday party. I have no idea how that little boy can be 5. Where has the time gone? I know that his mom would agree with me. Kason is the sweetest little boy I know. He is always super happy and loves seeing Ryan and Emerson. Emerson reminds me a lot of Kason, especially when she climbs on the chair, the kitchen table, or the coffee table. When Kason was little you could blink and he would be sitting on the kitchen table with the biggest smile on his face. I remember once I was watching the boys and I had to get onto him for something. I had to look the other way because I couldn't stop smiling. He was looking back at me with the silliest, most innocent face. The birthday party was at Mendy's brother's amazing home just south of Abilene. I don't think I have been to a more beautiful home (an we only saw the outside).



The boys swam for over 3 hours and Emerson was in the pool most of that time too. The big kids jumped from every surface imaginable. Mendy and I were the only adults brave (crazy) enough to get in the water. The water was FREEZING when we got it, but we quickly adjusted.


Ryan & Emerson


Ryan with the Miami Vice pose


Birthday boy Kason James


Big Brother Kallan Jack


Emerson was a trooper especially considering that we left the house at 9:30 that morning for the garage sale at Brittney's house. I love this picture. Her eyes steal my heart every day.



Emerson loved being in the pool with Mendy and her mom Kay. Mendy is my best friend and she & I met back at Mac Direct (along with her husband Cody). Mendy also was so kind to keep Emerson for me so that I could go back to work last spring immediately after they moved back to Abilene from Oklahoma City.



Emerson really wants to be a big kid. She saw the grown ups with bottles of water and had to have one too. It was so nice that she could sign to everyone what she wanted. She took a break from the water and enjoyed watching the kids from a lawn chair.



I would love to say that I had the pleasure of watching Kason open all of his presents, but I have a 17 month old. I took a couple of quick pictures and returned to my side job of chasing Emerson through the backyard.