18 months + Christmas 2015 + Ringing in the New Year

Wow. Once again, so late on this post. Super busy and having way too much fun means we are a little delayed in writing. Sorry. 

Emma turned 18 months on Christmas Eve. She is 75th percentile on both weight and height. She gained 3 lbs and 2.5 inches in only 3 months. Needless to say, she is one healthy baby and growing like a weed. The doctor was very happy with her results, which makes this mama very happy. She is still a pretty picky eater and 95% she is the happiest baby on the face of the planet. The other 5% is.. well.. a lot of anger and ginger headed temper... but its only 5% so I'll take it. She is still very easy going and wants to be involved in everything. Separation anxiety is at all time high right now, especially with me. If I'm in the room you better believe she is in my arms or at least at an arm's reach. She is excelling at daycare. Starting Jan 18th, she will be moved to the Toddler 2 Room. Where did my baby go?!? Her communication skills are outstanding. We have conversations. Its amazing to see your little one know and understand so many things.   

As you can imagine, Christmas was magical. The birth of baby Jesus was celebrated and lots of presents were opened. Smiles were spread all over our faces and of course tons of food was had. Time with family is the absolute best... but with a 18 month old, it also very exhausting. 

Countdown to Christmas (in pictures)

Franklin Christmas Parade. 

We went to Memphis the weekend before Christmas to visit with my parents side of the family. With the awesome luck that Dustin and I have, we made it there on Friday after both of us worked all in 4.5 hours (it should only take 3 hours). So needless to say, the Memphis Christmas trip started off a little rough but definitely got better. Saturday we spent the day and night over at my Grandma's house having Christmas with all of my mom's side. Emma had a BLAST playing with her new toys, throwing away 'trash', being chased by her daddy, and cuddling with her life size panda bear from her Uncle Ren. The cutest thing you have ever seen. 

We celebrated with my family on Christmas Eve. Dinner and lots of presents. My parents go over the top to make the kiddos happy. Emma got so many cute outfits and a ton of toys! Of course, she wanted to play with all of them while all of us were still opening presents. She had a blast and my parents (again) outdid themselves. Christmas day was something I will never forget. Her squeal coming down the stairs when she saw all of her toys was a sound that will live with me forever. She didn't even want her bottle... she wanted to play with her Minnie mouse, her puzzles, and especially her fancy retro kitchen. It was the cutest sight to see. Santa really came through for my baby girl this year ;) Saturday was spent with Dustin's parents and we decided to do PJ themed. Emma ate everything in sight, as long as GiGi was feeding her, and there was a ton of playing with her cousin, Tristan. Again, the grandparents outdid themselves. We are all very blessed. 

NYE came quick, it seemed, and we hung in at the house. We put E to bed at her normal time. I made homemade pizza, watched the ball drop, got some kisses and toasted the new year with champagne and wine. Fun and delicious night. Moose was thrilled. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

Sooooo late on this! 

But... it was a good day full of family, games, and FOOD! Thanksgiving was spent at the Underwood's (my family) and we did Thanksgiving with the Murdock's the Saturday before. 

We have the BEST family. Lots of playing with the kiddos. Lots of eating. A nap thrown in the mix. It just puts a smile on my face thinking about it. 

My heart is so full.... and so was my belly! 

Saturday, November 21st at GiGi and PaPa's house! (A note - the best picture we could get and honestly (sad to say) I think this is the only picture we have ALL of us together. Great day and so much food! Oh, and Emma loves fly swatters... random. Tristan and Emma are the cutest little turkeys - they even kind of look like twins....)

Thursday, November 26th at Grammy and PawPaw's house! (A note - Emma tried green bean bake for the first time and LOVED it. Chowed down. Also, she slept for a 2.5 nap. Mom and Dad got some quality game time in with the kiddos) 

So much to be thankful for this year. It has a been a great year. Full of joy and love. 

XOXO

17 Months + Fall Pics

Emma is a bundle of energy. Constantly dancing. Girlfriend has some moves. Constantly playing with her legos, balls, fly swatters, minnie and mickey, tupperware, babies, blankets. You name it, she's playing with it. And constantly reading books, well looking at books. We have a little Dustin on our hands with how much this girl loves her books. "Dog wants to Play", "Piggie Paints" (thank you Dolly), and "Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs". The list goes on, but those are her favorites. We all know when it gets really quiet that can only mean one thing.. TROUBLE.. so I ran in the living room to find her flipping through pages of her books. Wow. Can we say perfect child? I'm a little biased. 

Sleeping is still great. We ask her aroudn 745-8p, "Are you ready for bed?" and she grabs her baby, unicorn and pillow, walks towards the stairs and says "bed" while pointing upstairs. Hey smart girl. We then go upstairs and read around 10-15 books and then we are ready for cuddles, snuggles and bed time. 

Eating is still a hit or miss. Her favorites are hands down Mac and Cheese and applesauce. Still trying to work on those veggies, but still no go most of the time. Can't win them all. As long as she is eating, I'm happy and she is happy. 

Can we say goofball?

In other news, while I'm off over Christmas and New Years (Yes, my work gives us 2 weeks off. Wahoo!) I think we might attempt this whole potty training thing. I will be researching and asking my mama friends on what is the best way to do this. Anybody have any suggestions out there? It might be a long weekend after Christmas BUT I'm staying positive! 

Every morning I send Dustin a car seat picture of Emma on our way to school. This was yesterday on her 17 month birthday. She looks so old here. My red-headed blue-eyed beauty. 

So a couple of weeks ago we did some family pictures with the amazing and fabulous Alli Golden. She took them on a Sunday morning at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin. I'm literally obsessed with every. single. shot. she took. She must have slipped Emma some happy pills because she is smiling or being a goof in every pictures. And to top it off, when we finished up Emma held Alli's hand while walking to the car. Precious. 

Shirt from Old Navy and Top Knot from Pieces to Peaces

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Dustin and I are thankful for so many things this year. Our little girl, our marriage, our family, our home, our health, and our God. Without Him none of us would be here and none of these things would matter. 

I'm grateful and thankful to and for Him.  

XOXO

Halloween 2015 cont....

Weekend Wrap-Up. 

So. Much. Fun.  

Love my little family and my sweets. 

2014 vs 2015. 
From Flintstones to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She has grown so much in just a year. Me and D on the other hand.. look about the same (and so does sweet Moose).

A collage of the day. It was fantastic! 

Sass faces, reading books, giggles (more like belly laughs), horsey riding, football watching (Davis and UT) and doggy kissing. 

And... last but not least... I call this "Emma in November". Lame, I know. But look how happy she is in these. This is just a little preview of the pictures Alli took that morning except mocs were boots and ponytail was a big bow! Of course. 

Lets be honest, it is the BEST time of year - except for Christmas, which is just around the corner and.... I have not bought 1 item yet. Oops. #FAIL. 

Amazon prime, anyone?

Loves. XOXO

16 Months and HALLOWEEN 2015

So life has been busy. I want time to slow down especially with this cutie patootie. I can't believe she is 16 months already. I was in Vegas for a work conference for basically an entire week and I was so ready to get home to my little family. Emma and Dada had a blast and apparently daycare drop offs were not so great. Shannon told Dustin that he has a "daddy's girl on his hands" and I have to agree. Emma loves her daddy and it is the sweetest bond I have ever witnessed. Makes me fall in love with him all over again. 

She is full of personality and saying so much lately. She says "uh oh" whenever something has dropped (probably the cutest thing I have ever heard), "daaa" (dog), "dooo" (Doc McStuffins, of course), "eeee" (three), "door" (door), "side" (outside), "dada" (dad), and "mommyyy" (mom). Also, she now loves to point at each of our features on our face and tries to say each of one of them - - "mose" (nose), "my me" (mouth) and my absolute favorite - she has found her hair and mine. She pets it every night and says "sawww" (soft - because we tell her that when she is petting Moose). 

She loves baths, which make us very happy because who doesn't love a clean baby and its a great distraction for when she is having a meltdown. She was having a bad night and we said "Hey Emma, lets go get in the bath" and she looked at us and said "baaaa" and pointed upstairs... yep, girl, let's go! After bath... we brush our teeth... as a family. :)

We go outside A LOT lately! Who doesn't LOVE this fall weather? 

Eating has been hit or miss lately. With teething I can understand, that has to hurt. I can't even imagine. She eats great at school, which is due to all the kids being around her, but when she comes home for dinner... it depends on her mood. 
Favorites - Mac and Cheese (obsessed), pizza, spaghetti, pasta (in general) graham crackers, chicken nuggets, marshmallows, carrots, peanut butter and jelly, bananas, mandarin oranges (obsessed), fruit/veggie pouches  
Not-so-Favorite - mostly veggies which makes me grateful for pouches, but specifically any green veggies and puffs (has never liked them).

GO VOLS!!

Sleeping - she is champ. Nothing more to say there. :)

ALL the sass!

Halloween is hereeeeeee which means... DRESS UP TIME! This mama gets really excited about Halloween. I dig it, thus I make the whole family dig it! I hope she learns to love it. Right now, she doesn't really get it but that's OK. This year we decided to be the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Me - Mickey, Dad - Goofy (of course) and Emma - Sweet/Cute little Minnie Mouse. 

We dressed up and headed to our Fall Festival at church. We were in charge of decorating our trunk for the trunk-o-treaters. We did Mickey theme of course. We were also asked to help in doing games for the preschoolers. I had some help with other volunteers and we had a GREAT turn out. Tons of kids were there decorating pumpkins, playing football, dancing to the "Boo"grass Band, and eating hot dogs, popcorn and of course CANDY! Emma on the other hand was in her own world or throwing and kicking inflatable balls. Basically playing fetch with herself and keeping herself occupied. Overall, a great night of fellowship and FUN! 

This weekend is looking like a blast. Tomorrow will be actual Halloween. We are going to Davis' football game and then we are planning on going to the Oates House in Westhaven for a little party including football, food, and costumes. VERY excited! Maybe hit up a pumpkin patch as well. Sunday is God's day with us going to church and the we are getting some fall family pictures made by the fabulous Alli Golden. Can't wait to see how they turn out! 

XOXO