Emma

I realized after all my posting that I am always so behind that I just post the everyday happenings and not Emma's "milestones" or developments...sadly, I am not a good mother in this area, I have not been good at keeping up with her baby book or recording dates of milestones. I do have some, but I have been so busy living in and enjoying the moment and then calling Daddy into the room or on the phone when he's not around to have him sharing in the joy

that I often don't even think about writing it down. Good news is, if we are blessed with other children, they won't think I love Emma more. Those of you who aren't firsts know what I mean...the first child always has a better baby book! ; ) No offense mom; at least you were able to keep up well once! : ) All that to say, Emma has reached some milestones and is growing up!! Some things you probably know from what I post or have in pictures, but I'll try to highlight some current things. She started walking somewhere around the 13 month mark (give or take a week or two) and is now working hard to RUN! She didn't have much trouble walking, and I expected much more falling. I guess she took her time with the cruising and standing and squatting, so her balance was well developed before she started really moving. It was almost like she decided to finally try one night, and the next day she was going. I know in reality it was probably a couple of days, but it seemed overnight. She eats just about any and every thing! She prefers whatever's on our plate, even if the same thing is on her plate, and she LOVES chex mix! If the pantry doesn't get completely closed, she makes her way in and rummages through bags until she finds chex mix and then signs for more. We have only worked on a few signs with her, and she has interpreted more as "want" from what we can tell...or she wants MORE of everything! She has now moved from bye-bye to a nice southern bye, and I do mean southern! What do you expect after hearing her parents, right? The rest of her vocab includes dog, woof-woof, ball, no, up, and night night (sort-of). Absolutely adores the outdoors...the rest of the posts speak for that one! We have been working on weaning, and she started reversing the process on me, but we seem to be making some progress again. I'm in no hurry though; I want her to be totally ready and secure though we would like to start trying for child number 2 in the near future. The nice thing is there is no regularity in it, so I don't feel like I have to be with her at a certain time. She is still very petite and very independent and strong-willed. She gives kisses and sometimes will "blow" kisses and gives hugs. She LOVES to help with laundry. Definitely takes longer as I wait on her to bring in one piece of clothing at a time and lift her up to let her throw it in the wash, but it is well worth her look of satisfaction and joy. She enjoys light switches and has even found the one inside the refrigerator. She has started some very minimal separation/stranger anxiety, and we're hoping it stays minimal. I'm sure I could keep going, but not every one adores Emma's every move as much as I! : ) Above all, our cup runneth over with love for our little one. Anyone a Hope Floats fan? That's my favorite part of that movie, well one of my favorite parts! I think it just means a lot more to me now that I'm a mom. Many a night, Ben and I talk about how unfathomable the love of our Lord...as we lay in bed playing with her stealing kisses before putting her down it just overwhelms us that our love for Emma pales in comparison to God's love for us!

Girls' Night

A couple of weeks ago, I had some of our high school girls over for a spend-the-night. It was great fun to hang out with them as they talked, ate, and played the Wii ad Guesstures! We are so blessed with a wonderful group of kids in our youth group, and Ben and I love the privilege of working with them. Ben's coaching the senior girls' basketball team too, and they start their tournament as the number 1 seed tomorrow! : ) Emma LOVES the girls and gets so excited every time they come over! We hit the town for the ball games every Saturday and Emma tries so badly to get on the court with them every chance she gets. I meet with a few of the seniors on Monday nights for Bible study too, which has been a great blessing as well! I am so thankful to share this part of life with them and excited and humbled to watch them mature in Christ. Ben, Emma and I are going to be sooooo sad to see them go off to school in the fall! I have been working with a couple of them since 6th grade, which is also when Ben first met them, so they hold a special place in our hearts! I am, however, excited about the relationships with the younger ones I'm beginning to build.

Creative Dating

Shocker, I know...posting more than once a month...twice in one week!! I finally found our extra memory card in one of Emma's many baskets of toys, so this is really part of the posting I had planned earlier in the week, and I am compulsive, so here I am again! : ) Anyway, 2 weeks ago, Ben bought a new truck in Lenoir, NC. He drove up one day to go look and "talk", came home, weighed our options (this is personal/business--he had been working out of his personal truck a lot when he needed a third truck) and decided to buy it. He thought it was a pretty area and thought we should make a day of it and drive on over to the Blueridge Parkway. What a wonderful idea! After making plans, a good friend offered to keep Emma so we could get away for the day alone...what a gift!! I hope she will soon let me repay her! It is so hard for me to leave her that long, but I knew it would be good time for me and Ben, so we took off the next morning and started driving. It was quite the adventure as we just left with a map and no real destination, but we made our way to the parkway, and the views were absolutely breathtaking! It was a little scary near the beginning as we entered the road where there is actually a gate that sometimes closes off traffic, and we soon hit a "bridge" that seemed to take us away from land and out above a valley. I hate bridges, and Ben's not a fan of heights; I had quite the panic attack, as did Ben. He was silent in his panic and much less fearful than I, as he drove on and allowed us to experience the beauty of God's creation. He had hopes of finding a restaurant with a view for lunch, which we eventually did though it was much later than lunch! I, of course, photographed The Canyon. We ate inside because it was pretty chilly, but we were just on the other side of the windows with an amazing view. We spent a lot of time riding and driving that day, but it was surely one of our best dates! I was so thankful for the thoughtfulness of and time with my wonderful husband!

Our Little Valentine

So...the mass blogging is coming to an end. I do have some pictures missing that I will blog about when I HOPEFULLY find our memory card with pictures from a day trip Ben and I took to the Blue Ridge Pkwy! Emma really gets into EVERYTHING!! She pulls the batteries out of the camera bag all of the time and wanders off with them. I am afraid that is what happened to the memory card. In fact, she got up a bit ago, and while trying to balance finishing this blogging and playing with her, she's made several more messes...pulled half the tissues out of the kleenex box, pulled apart a whole pad of sticky notes, and emptied part of the trash can. This picture is from Steak and Shake Valentine's Day. Emma and I were out running errands, and Ben called coming into town to ask us to meet him for lunch-a wonderful surprise! Emma had her first experience with a crayon out of the tub and loved it! A few days later, she found it in my purse and colored all over the drawer front of our new desk...I couldn't ask for a more exciting life!! Thank God for the two loves of my life!! Until next time...

Love is in the Air

If you remember my Valentine's Day entry last year, this year was very similar, and absolutely wonderful again!! The husbands from our Bible Study group once again planned a wonderful, romantic dinner for us. They did all the food, flowers, table setting, lighting, music...perfection! We enjoyed a game of Lovergories (personalized Scattegories) and "scrapbooking" a page for another couple after dinner. An amazing night of fellowship and celebrating our love for each other! Ben also gave me a morning at the spa while he keeps Emma...looking foward to cashing in that gift certificate soon!

Daddy's Little Girl

Precision Plumbing Company bought a desk so that it's secretary could have some space and organization. Much to Ben's dismay, I could not find one that met my "needs" that came already built. We tried to get it done during naptime, but construction outlasted Emma's sleep!! She was excited about all the building and was eager to help her Daddy and do just what he did. He was pretty patient too (at least with her!). She does love her Daddy and being with him!

Emma had fun with a sucker...the first time I actually let her have the majority of one and hold it herself. She enjoyed sticking her tongue out and showing off her blue tongue! She got baths with her friends Linnea and Jonathan a couple of weeks ago too. I didn't think to get pictures the night Linnea was in the tub with her, but here are some blackmail pictures with Jonathan! : ) They love grabbing and hitting each other, a definite favorite "pasttime".

Sheer Bliss

I mean, who wouldn't be blissful when spending a whole day outdoors?!?! Gotta love the south...we got one of those warm spells the first week of February, and Emma and Mommy soaked up every warm ray possible! We were out all morning, ate lunch on the deck and headed back out after Emma's nap (actually I was out during her nap too!). I love warm treats such as those and start opening windows and doors...which always intrigues Emma, and out we go! She actually lets you know she wants to be outside by banging on the door or by trying hard to pry open windows! We've had many a tantrum when someone goes out a door without taking her. She LOVES her sandbox and now tries to open it herself everytime we go out. She points to it from the yard when we're in her car riding too. Still loves Tanner too. I decided to clean some windows while we were out that afternoon, and she walked all the way to his pin alone and started talking to him and letting him lick her hands. I hope her love for the outdoors never diminishes; it is such a clear picture of God's magnificence and creativity!

Celebrations

The first week-end of February, we hosted a bridal shower for some friends and celebrated my sister's birthday. The shower was great fun as always, and we are so excited for them! Mary Matheson hit 31 this year, and our grandparents were able to come down after church that Sunday and join us for the traditional family Sunday lunch birthday celebration. They were probably more excited about the great-grandchildren. : ) So good to have them with us again though! Emma and Will got some good rides from the greats and grands too. It is so fun to watch the two of them together now. They both get so excited when they see the other coming! Emma's a little more fun now that she is walking and communicating, I guess! : )

The Greatest Show on Earth

As a child, my brother, sister, cousins, and I spent Thanksgiving night with my grandparents and decorated their Christmas tree...among other things, I remember always staying up late to watch the circus on tv during that stay. I never actually went to the circus (or not that I remember), so when one of my friends found out it was coming to Charlotte, and opening night tickets were 1/2 off, I jumped at the opportunity! We weren't sure how Emma was going to do, but we only paid $30 for all of us and had seats that were 10-15 rows off the floor...so it was worth a try. Emma actually LOVED it...she was clapping and squealing until she got tired. Ben and I took turns taking her to the top to walk around some. She was pretty content in my lap for the latter part but never gave into sleep! All of our friends' kids made it too; we were all so proud and thankful! The part geared for kids was a bit hokey, but the rest really was amazing! I don't know how those people do it! Great experience.

A few highlights

Mid-January brought a spur of the moment visit from my college roommate and good friend, Stephanie. Check her and DJ out in the Wii action! They got quite competitive and boisterous as the evening got later. It is always such a blessing to share time with my friends who aren't in town! I thought being home might free more time for that, but I am constantly battling the busyness life offers and can't imagine that this could be a phase with any more time to spare...probably less if anything! I'll take my few times a year and soak them up for all they're worth though!! Ben and I later went to the UNC vs. NC State game with our Tarheel alumni friends. Thankfully my parents were willing to re-enter the toddler world alone almost a whole Saturday, so we were able to enjoy a fun, relaxing day of being together and with amazing friends. I am hoping to get to Cameron Indoor in the near future to watch some real basketball with great atmosphere!! : ) A few days later, Emma got her second snow! It was mixed with rain and quite nasty, so I didn't actually take her out in it. It was beautiful, and one snow is always nice. And, finally, late January brought pigtails!! I LOVE them even though it makes Emma look older. They are just so cute!! She actually left them in until she got mad at us later in the evening. The bad thing about pigtails is the after effect on her hair. One Wednesday, I had fixed pigtails, and she took them out in the truck on the way over to church. I just gave the disclaimer as we left her wild hair self in the nursery.