1 boy+1 girl= A Happy Mom

100th Day of school!!

2012-02-01T21:06:00.000-06:00

Today was the 100th day of school. I guess technically it's only my 70 something day. Here are some pictures of the crazy but fun day!

This was in our door as the kids walked in.

What we learned that we didn't know 100 days ago.

Working in "I can eat 100..."

Counting our 100 chart necklace.

My fellow kindergarten teachers!

Counting our 100 day snack.

Eating our 100 day snack.

The kids wanted to take my picture. Fun Times.

And these 2 ladies are a BIG reason why I am doing what I love to do!

Sweet as Sugar

2012-01-24T19:42:00.000-06:00

The other night I tried to curl my hair using the headband technique. Let's just say it didn't work. But Emmy wanted hers done too. Isn't she just darling??

Oh I love that sweet girl!

1 week gone from 2012

2012-01-07T09:44:00.000-06:00

This new year is well on it's way. I did not make any resolutions per-say. Brett and I did give each other a challenge. We are suppose to read 5 new books before 2013. I started "The Help" but have not read any since we got back from Orlando. This challenge may be harder then first thought. Working and kids leaves little time for a book.

I'm also trying to do more things with the kids. I use to be a pretty active Mom. Taking them places and playing outside. But ever since going back to work it's been a tad harder. When I get home I just want to relax inside on the couch. So twice this week I made an effort to leave work before 5:00 and take the kids outside for a walk to see the horses and goats. And the weather was wonderful the days that we went. It's just so hard to leave work early. I always seem to have something I can do and end up there until 5:00 most days.

Christmas and Disney!!!!

2012-01-01T17:40:00.001-06:00

I am combining this post with Christmas and Disney because I have a feeling I will be busy this month! Lots to get done for work.

Christmas was nice. We planned to go to midnight mass but we both fell asleep, so instead we went to 11:00 mass before heading to Brett's moms house on Christmas day. But first we went to my grandma's on Christmas Eve. This is my favorite part of Christmas. And pretty much ALL of my dad's side of the family were in town for Christmas this year. After G-Ma's, my brother, mom, sister and their families came over for snacks and gift exchange.

That's all the pictures for Christmas. I have lots more for Disney so I did not want to over load ya!

Disney:
We left the day after Christmas and got to Orlando around 6:00. After checking in we caught the bus to Downtown Disney, where we ate at an Irish Pub and walked around.

On Tuesday we headed to Epcot. It was a little rainy but we still enjoyed ourselves. Emmy did great this day. She did great the whole time really and so did Trenten.

Playing a game with Trenten. Epcot has a lot of hands on things that Trenten just loves!

Waiting to see a Nemo show.

On Wednesday we went to Animal Kingdom. I usually love Animal Kingdom but it was SO crowded. Not as crowded as Magic Kingdom though(but that will come in a minute).

Dinner at Rainforest Cafe. I thought Emmy would love this place but she was pretty scared of the monkey's hanging around and the loud noises.

On the Safari ride.

On Thursday we went to Magic Kingdom. When we first got there it was not too bad. We saw the Princesses and Mickey without waiting a long time. But when we were there in line a worker told us that all 4 parks had reached max capacity yesterday by 11:00a.m.(we looked it up, it is 100,000 people) and they were suppose to reach it again. When we got out of seeing the characters it was SO crowded. I cannot even remember what we did first. Let's just say we did not do much. Trenten and I waited 2 hours for Splash Mountain. We tried to make Magic Kingdom about Emmy so we did a lot of kiddie rides. Her favorite was the Carousel. We left around 6:30 to eat dinner at the hotel. We were going to head back for the fireworks around 9:00 but decided against it and just hung out around the hotel.

Emmy liked Mickey but got a little scared around Minnie.

If you have never taken your kids to Disney I highly recommend it(but not in December). The look on Emmy's face when she saw the princesses was just pure magic. Oh it melted my heart.

They all loved her shoes that she got for Christmas(it has all the princesses on them).

Emmy talked about Cin-Ella's house for weeks before we went.

Her favorite ever!! She just listened to her to intensely. Before we left she kissed Emmy's cheek and Emmy talked about it all day.

Brett said while we were at Magic Kingdom that I got a little jaded. Ha! It was so crowded that I was super annoyed with everything. I still love Disney but will never go back in December. I am thinking September of 2014 will be our next trip!

2011 in Photos

2011-12-24T21:21:00.000-06:00

January

Started the long term sub this month. Emmy started her first time in Daycare. This picture was on a weekend venture to Chick-fil-a and Jo-Anne's!

February

Rion's 6th birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese

March

First trip to the beach for the year 2011

Trenten's 7th birthday party!

April

Festival on the Green at UWF

Sunsets at Plaza De Luna

Fishing Clinic at Palafox Pier

Easter 2011

Emmy's first trip to the zoo. Followed by a visit to see Chad, Alyssa and Sophia

May

Mother's Day

Jumping fun with the Playgroup

Splash Pad trip!

June

Rainy Day fun

T.T. Wentworth with the playgroup. I should also mention that we went to Roger Scott a lot this Summer.

July

Walk to see the Horses

4th of July in SeaSide

Walk to see the Horses

Bands on the Beach

August

Visiting The Naval Aviation Museum

Beach weekend

Beach Vacation to celebrate the end of the Summer

Sophia's 1st Birthday

September

Emmy's 2nd Birthday Party

Palafox Pier to take Emmy's pictures.

October

Trick or Treat Down Town

Horse Ranch in Panama City

Pumpkin Patch/Peanut Farm in Milton

Pensacola Interstate Fair

November

Art Festival

Tumble Bus at Emmy's school

Lots of College Football weekends!

Thanksgiving

December

Bellingrath in Mobile

Bass Pro Shop

Trenten's first confession

Trying to take pictures in the freezing cold.

Christmas and Disney will be added later!!

Bokah Failure

2011-12-24T13:34:00.002-06:00

I was trying to take some pictures with the Bokah in the back. You know it's all the rage right now in Holiday photos. ha! My attempt was pitiful!!!

This is all I got. Not much Bokah going on. Blame the photographer, the energetic toddler, and the lack of camera knowledge.

I had the couches in the Family Room pushed together. Emmy thought it was way more fun to jump back and forth on them.

Over the river and thru the woods to Grandmother's house we go! We are going to G-Ma's in a little while for Christmas Eve Dinner. Just waiting for Emmy to wake up. She has a runny nose and watery eyes. Poor thing had to catch a cold right before Disney!

Weekend trip to Mobile

2011-12-19T10:20:00.001-06:00

First I should mention that my vacation starts today! Woohoo!! Emmy is going to school for half the week. We had to pay for it, mine as well send her. Plus it'll give me and Trenten time to get some stuff done around the house.

We went to Mobile, AL Saturday. We stayed with Brett's uncle. We went to Bellingrath Gardens Saturday night, a cool little breakfast place in downtown Mobile on Sunday morning and then explored downtown Mobile a little. Then on our way home we stopped at Bass Pro Shop to see Santa.

Speaking of Santa, Emmy loves him!! She has seen him 4 times. The first time we couldn't even get her to sit in his lap but NOW she runs right up to him. She will walk around singing, "Santa's coming to town".

Bellingrath- We headed there after Brett got off work. We were in traffic for an hour JUST to get into the park. But once we got there we enjoyed ourselves. Emmy loved all the lights and so did Trenten.

Emmy loved Uncle Jimmy's dog. Cannot say the feeling was mutual.

Downtown Mobile- We ate at a place called A Spot of Tea.

Then we walked around downtown. We went into the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Such an old church with so much history. I would love to travel the world and visit Catholic churches. Hmm..maybe I should tell Brett that is what we will do when we retire!

Bass Pro Shop- Christmas would not be complete without an annual visit to Bass Pro. We usually go with Traci but we could not get our schedules to work together. You have to wait forever to see Santa so we always eat at the restaurant there.

It was a quick but fun trip. While we were dealing with the crowd at Bellingrath I told Brett that this is great practice for when we go to Disney in a week!!

2 Week Vacation!!

2011-12-16T13:41:00.001-06:00

So glad to be a teacher. Wear pajamas to work and get 2 weeks off! I do think I'll miss these little stinkers though!!!

'Tis the Season!

2011-12-08T17:28:00.001-06:00

Christmas is fast upon us and it will be here before we know it! I am still not in the full Christmas spirit. I am hoping once break comes it will actually feel like Christmas to me. We have been doing lots of Christmas things at work and the kids LOVE it all!
I made our door look like this.....

and then realized that they couldn't even see it so I had to show them one day and they all loved it.

That's really all I have for this post! ha!!

Thanksgiving of 2011

2011-11-25T18:54:00.001-06:00

It was short but sweet. Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday but lately it just seems different then it use to. Not sure why.

First stop was G-Ma's at good Old Matthews Junction(the road I grew up on)

Next stop..Nana's house(Brett's Mom)

I did not take very many pictures this year.

We went Black Friday shopping while Brett's mom kept the kids. We left around 11:30pm and got home at 5:30am. It was fun. We went to the mall. We were the first in line for Starbucks. Then we went to Old Navy but did not want to wait in the long line to check out so we were gonna go back, walked to Best Buy but that line was CRAZY! Brett waited in line at Belk because the first 250 people got giftcards. While he waited I went back to Old Navy and waited an hour to check out. When I went back to Brett we waited another hour at Belk. People were crazy!! We were in front of some loud mouth people which actually was good because they kept the line skippers away. We got our giftcards finally at 3am. I found some boots I wanted last weekend. They were $60 last weekend. Last night they were marked to $20 and after our giftcards I only paid 74 cents. A steal!! After Belk we went to a few other stores in the mall, then Target, Toys R Us where we got an awesome deal on Poke'mon stuff. Then we hit up Waffle House before heading home.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T08:45:00.001-06:00

Just stopping in to say Happy Thanksgiving. We have two places to go again this year which means 2 dinners! Yummy. And tonight Brett and I are attempting our first Black Friday. Can't wait. We're really just going for the adventure and Starbucks(Hope they are open).

We are watching the parade and Emmy loves it. She saw Tom Turkey and kept saying Turkey over and over. Then when it left she said "Where Turkey go?"

We've both been sick all week. But I will not let this crummy cold keep me from eating Turkey and celebrating my favorite Holiday.

On Monday at work we had a Kindergarten Feast. Here are a few photo's. The kids had a blast!! My camera died right when we were getting ready. I was quick on my feet and remembered that last week all the teachers got new iPad 2's!! Which has a camera on it!

I will be on again to post about how our day went and how our Black Friday adventure turns out!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arts Festival, Park, and Tumble Bus

2011-11-14T15:41:00.001-06:00

This is a mod podge post. Lots of things rolled into one. First up....

The Gulf Coast Arts Festival..just our favorite Festival! (Check out last years)

We went on Sunday instead of Saturday so Brett was able to come too. I think he had more fun than the kids. I kept telling him that the crafts were not for adults..haha!

Then there was...The Tumble Bus...

On Friday we were out of school for Veteran's Day. I took Emmy to school for about an hour because she does Tumble Bus on Friday and she LOVES it. She always talks about it. It is a bus that comes every Friday morning to her school. It's pretty much a gymnastics bus. We pay extra for it but it is so worth it because she really enjoys it. I was lucky enough Friday to get to watch her and take pictures. The couple that own it are super nice and even let Trenten join in on some fun. She was a little thrown off because Trenten and I were there. Her teacher said she is usually more focused. And she bragged about how good Emmy is. The whole time Emmy had her tongue sticking out. Silly girl!

Last...Perdido Kids Park

Ever since Trenten went to this park with his after-school group he has been begging me to take him back. He has been there so many times before but apparently its only fun when he is with a bunch of other kids. I told him Friday we would go..never happened. Then Saturday we were going to go...but that never happened..Had to watch FSU beat Miami, you know! And then there was Sunday..It happened, barely though. I went to work in my room on Sunday morning while they went to church. Then, Emmy needed a nap and then Trenten fell asleep. But around 4:30 we decided to head out there. It only gave us an hour of daylight but the kids still had fun...and so did Dad!

Misc. Monday

2011-11-14T14:21:00.001-06:00

1. Emmy was up all night coughing and throwing up from all of the coughing. Seems like croup to me. Fingers crossed it's not but she seems to only cough when she's sleeping. She's coughing now while she naps. I missed work today to keep her home. My first time missing. A little worried of what tomorrow will bring.

2. It was nice to have a day to play catch-up. I cleaned so much. I got very nostalgic today while I cleaned, took care of Emmy, and lit all of my Fall candles. It was not long ago when all I did was clean and play with Emmy. I was so eager to work and make a paycheck. I do love what I'm doing but it is nice to have a day to catch my breath and spend time with MY kids.

3. Emmy and Trenten have always gotten along so well. They love each other, they really do, but lately they have been having lots of sibling arguments. It was funny at first. Now, I'm a little tired of playing referee. He will aggravate her so much, you know the way brother's do. I should know all about that! :)... She will hit him and yell, "stop Bubba". But then turn around and give him a hug and kiss. Brett and I call her a Sour Patch Kid.."First she's sour then she's sweet." She really is more sweet than sour.

Emmy Thanksgiving..circa 2010

4. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Time sure flies when you stay busy. Speaking of Thanksgiving, what is up with the stores just ignoring it. Halloween comes and then people are worried and focused on Christmas. Really? Just last night there were about 3 different Christmas movies on T.V. I do love Christmas, don't get me wrong. Let's just not forget about Thanksgiving. I refuse to even think about Christmas decorations or shopping until Black Friday.

I guess that's all I have. A post about the Arts Festival should make an appearance soon. As well as some pictures from the park yesterday.

The Fair and Halloween Fun!

2011-11-05T18:53:00.001-05:00

Good-bye October..It's been swell! I think October could be my new favorite month. It's a little strange considering I've never given it a 2nd thought before Emmy was born. Her due date was October 3rd but I was glad she was born early in September. Now I wouldn't have minded so much if she were indeed an October baby. October is always so fun!!

We went to the Fair and had a great time. Growing up we never went to the Fair. My parents hated it. In middle school and high school I went with friends every year. After that I was never much a fan of the place. It always gave me the creeps(still does) and it costs a fortune(now I know why my parents never took us). But Trenten loves the fair and being the great parents we are(ha!) we decided to go again this year. Emmy also loved it! She could care less last year about the rides so I thought that she wouldn't care this year but she wanted to ride. We did not want to pay for more than one wrist band so we let her do the petting zoo and bought her tickets for the Carousel. It ended up costing $4 for her to ride the Carousel but after we were done it was totally worth it, when we got off she said, "that was fun!"....

Trenten had a blast and I even snuck on a few rides with him.

On Friday night we went down town again this year. The shops open up and give out candy. Brett was able to go with us this year. The kids had so much fun. Only a few people actually got what Emmy was but I think she looked cute! Both costumes this year were super cheap! Emmy had the yellow dress that my grandma made her when I was pregnant. I sewed Trenten's blue vest and just bought his hat and gloves from an etsy shop.

Ash from Pokemon and The Morton Salt Girl

Saturday after Trenten's soccer game we headed to Panama City to visit my brother, his family, and my mom, who just moved there a month ago. We met up at Rosemary Beach to do some more trick-or-treating. My sister and her family were there too. We had lots of fun.

We stayed the night and then went to a small Festival on a horse ranch. Emmy loves horses but is a little scared to be too close. We all went and walked around Pier Park for a little shopping before heading home.

We did not get home until 9pm on Sunday. So we were all a little tired when Monday morning rolled around. Which meant by Halloween night we were all tired but we walked to a few houses around our neighborhood and ordered pizza.

I'm excited for November! Thanksgiving has always been my favorite Holiday. I'm thinking seriously that I might tackle some black Friday sales this year...hmmm???

How we rock our Friday night

2011-11-05T17:26:00.002-05:00

Getting dressed up in cute November clothes and attempt an indoor photoshoot.....

failure

failure

Big Brother joins in...

makes his own backdrop...is a millionaire???

yes, that is one rockin Friday night!

stay tuned...Halloween post to follow!

Fall is here

2011-10-23T20:59:00.002-05:00

Fall and Florida do not really go together very well. I like to pretend that we actually get a Fall. Because I love Fall. I love yellow leaves, orange pumpkins, hot coffee, seasonal candles, Halloween, Thanksgiving..you know all that Fall stuff. Last week we went to the Pumpkin Patch. It was HOT as should be expected. If only I knew that just a few days later we would be busting out jackets. I wish we would have went this weekend. It was PERFECT Fall weather. We even went out Saturday night and got hot chocolate from Starbucks. Yummy! Today I took the kids to a great park and had a picnic. It was such a beautiful day. I am excited for this week. It's a short work week(well with my students) and next weekend we are going to Santa Rosa beach for some Halloween festivities!! Oh and we might have to squeeze in a trip to the Fair this week. Because it just wouldn't be Fall without a trip to the dirty, smelly Fair.

Here are some pictures from the Pumpkin Patch last weekend...

Brett is 6'4

Flash Back to last year....click here...look how much Emmy has grown!!

Sunday Funday

2011-10-09T20:41:00.002-05:00

We hung out at the house most of the day. Brett worked so it was just the kids and I. I did get to go to the mall while my mother-in-law watched the kids and then I met Brett for dinner and frozen yogurt. That was pretty nice. I want to upload a lot of pictures of Emmy but I'm on my work computer and I do not want to load pictures onto it and I am too lazy to go to our desktop so....you can just be happy with pictures Trenten took today with photobooth.

Also, we started potty training Emmy on Saturday. She is doing great!

Here is to another good week!

Busy

2011-10-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

I started a new job a few weeks ago. I am officially a real teacher. I am teaching kindergarten. I have been busy getting everything just right. Working late and on weekends. But it has been SO worth it. I love it. I'm pretty excited about this new venture. It is of course what I've been waiting half my life for.

So, this blog has not been forgotten. I hope to update soon with pictures and kid updates!

2 Years!!

2011-09-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

Today, Emmy, you are 2 years old! Boy how time flies.

You are a sweet little girl and LOVE to give random kisses. You are also very girly but you do not mind getting dirty playing outside. You are starting to talk more and will finally repeat words when I ask you to. You love to sing and can often be heard singing, "Twinkle, twinkle little star".
Your bubba is starting to annoy you. You love him but you like to bother him and you get mad at him a lot. It's pretty funny to watch the sibling disagreements. He called you "sassy" the other night and he is right! You are little miss sassy.

You love babies, dolls, barbies, dress up but you also love to play with Trenten's toys. You can finally comprehend TV and will watch it and laugh. You like school, you do not cry anymore at drop off and you play with friends. It's so much fun to watch you interact with other toddlers. At school you started tumble bus, which you love! You get to play and do flips once a week.

I love that you are growing up to be such a great daughter. I know there is lots more growing to go!

Last year on your 1st birthday...

This year on your 2nd.....(not so cooperative this year!)

Yes! We have hair!

C is for....

2011-09-16T18:36:00.001-05:00

Caterpillar!

I had to share..It's too cute not to, right?

Also, C is for...

Crab!

Emmy's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-09-10T19:20:00.001-05:00

We had Emmy's party today. Her theme was pink lemonade with pink and yellow colors. We had it at my cousin's house so the kids could be entertained by the pool. I think Emmy was tired towards the end of it when we were opening gifts but she hung in there. There were so many friends and family there to help Emmy celebrate. She had a great time. And even though we practiced singing and blowing out candles for 2 weeks now she was very bashful when that part came.

She woke up with a snotty nose so pardon any pictures where her face is less than clean.

Getting ready for her party!

Tasting a Marshmellow pop

Birthday Banner

A while back I entered a giveaway over at Nap Time MomTog. I won a $15 credit to an Etsy shop called, Sweet Moments Boutique. I told her what the theme was and she made this banner above. So cute!

Cupcakes from Publix. I made the toppers and stand.

Some candy I made with a silicone mold.

Lemon Cake pops which I slaved over! ha! It wasn't that hard actually and they tasted good!

Marshmellows

Lemonade table. We had rasberry lemonade, lemonade, sweet tea, coke and sprite. The coke and sprite did not even get opened.

Desert Table. Marshmellow pops, lemon licorice, fruit candy, chocolate candy, lemon bars, cupcakes, and cake pops.

I got these printables from TomKat Studio. Then sewed some crepe paper to put it together.

Close up of toppers.

Her favorite gift.

A hot mess

Worn out

Oh no she didn't

2011-08-31T13:32:00.000-05:00

Oh yes I did.....I did something I never thought I would do in a bajillion years. It was crazy, spontaneous, it was down right madness!!!!

I did this..........

Yes, I cut the poor girl's bangs...what was I thinking?? I never thought my daughter would have bangs! But I think her hair will naturally have bangs until she is older. again, what was I thinking? Well my reasoning was....
they are always in her eyes because when she wears a pony tail, or pig tails the front is too short and falls. And a bow is not an option for school because she would lose that thing. Her hair always is a mess when she gets home.

They look pretty choppy in that picture. ha! But we combed them to the side this morning and they looked better.

Now a real haircut is out of the question for a looooooooonnnnnnnnnngg time!!

What's the word??

2011-08-22T23:17:00.000-05:00

ohh...exhausted! ha! I started working last week. I will be teaching VPK(pre-K for all you non Floridians). Emmy and Trenten both started school today. Trenten is in 2nd and Emmy is in daycare. She did well today and Trenten seemed to love 2nd grade. (these pictures were the best we could get at 6:30am)

This past weekend we did one last hoorah before school started. We stayed at the beach and it was lots of fun!

Trying out Frank and Lola's inside the Margarittaville Hotel

Balcony view equals great lighting!

Then we went over to Big Lagoon to celebrate Sophia's 1st birthday!!

You should have seen us trying to get this picture! One time Brett lost his balance and knocked Trenten on the head with the paddle.

Does this not say Florida Gulf Coast?!

It was a great weekend full of sand, sun, sea, and FAMILY! What more could you ask for?

23 Months

2011-08-17T19:09:00.000-05:00

Birthday countdown has started! 1 month until Emmy is 2! I am super excited. I love a 2 year old. Tantrums and all. I really think they learn so much between 2-3.

Emmy is talking more and more everyday. She will sometimes repeat a word that I tell her. She can say crazy things like Radici(Trenten's toy), pokemon(Trenten's toy), SpongeBob(Trenten's fave show). She likes to be like her big brother.

She will tell me to get up all the time. She's doing it right now, ha!

She starts school on Monday. I'm excited for her, I hope she does better than last time she went to school.

She is a sweet little thing and I cannot wait to celebrate her birthday.

Lemoney goodness

2011-08-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

I have been on a hunt for party stuff. I ordered her invites from a new etsy shop called, Shelley's Paper Studio. She had the cutest pink lemonade invites that I found. I also ordered the matching Thank-you cards. All I need to do now is print them!

I also found some free printables on Pinterest! I love pinterest!

http://pinterest.com/kelim/em-s-party/

How about this cute Personalized shirt...

Found at Vintage Lucy

and these cute corker bows for pig tails! From Silly Beanz

I'm having lots of fun with this party stuff!!

Beach Fun and Pink Lemonade Mission

2011-08-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

Today offically started my Pink Lemonade mission... find everything and anything that can be incorporated into Emmy's 2nd birthday party..a Pink Lemonade Party. I am so excited and found some great things today at Jo-Ann's and Hobby Lobby and some awesome ideas online. Anyone have any ideas or see anything send them my way! I am also on the hunt for some cute but inexpensive invitations. I need to get that done soon!

I am going to put toothpicks on these and they will be the cupcake toppers. I just cut these out of scrapbook paper and then glued the yellow onto the pink.

Now, let's back track to this past weekend. We had a busy one! It was lots of fun though. Saturday night we headed out to Pensacola Beach for the Bushwacker Festival. We went to Georgia at the beginning of July for a wedding. We were seated with 2 other couples at the reception. One was also from Pensacola and the other couple was from Georgia. We met up with the Pensacola couple for poker night a few weeks back. The couple from Georgia happened to plan a vacation for Pensacola Beach this past weekend so all of us met up for dinner at Peg Leg's and some Bushwackers on the boardwalk. It was a lot of fun and both couples are really great. This is actually the first time we have had real "couple" friends so it's been pretty nice.

I know this is a bad picture but we walked on the beach and saw this wedding party release lanterns(think Tangled) into the sky. Very cool and such an awesome idea.

Sunday was Tanner's birthday party at the beach. Afterwards Brett, the kids, and I decided to get a room since Brett had Monday off. We stayed at The Holiday Inn Resort. It was so much fun! We had a blast.

I cannot believe there is only 2 weeks of Summer left!! It really flew by this year like never before.

2 more months

2011-07-17T13:58:00.001-05:00

until I have a 2 year old... after that the baby years and toddlerhood are way behind us and we are on the fast track to pre-schooler. I can tell you that between 2-3 there were so many changes in Trenten. I can only expect the same with Emmy. So, I am going to cherish the next 2 months.

Emmy is 22 months. She is a crazy little girl but so sweet and fun-loving. I would say her favorite thing is dogs. She likes to pretend to be a dog and calls every animal doggy. She loves it outside. She has always been such a rough and tough little girl. When she falls she gets right back up and doesn't shed a tear or frown.

As rough and tumble as she is she is also quite girly and loves purses, nail polish, princess', pretty shoes and dresses. She also is starting to let me do her hair and leaves it up for a little while. I have been having so much fun with that!

She is STILL NOT much of a talker. Her words these days are:
where (she always asks "where's ____")
pappy (pacifier)
doggy
puppy
ga-gide (outside)
gide (inside)
side (slide)
mommy
bubba
daddy
eye
hey
bye
uh-huh
ice
tohhhhtt (tator tot)
mine and my
Dora
Rella (cinderella)

She baby talks a lot. She loves to climb and run in races. She loves going for walks. She still eats anything but is way too busy most of the time to sit still and eat because a highchair these days is out of the question. She sleep from 7:30-8 at night. Still gets up once. She naps about 12-2 depending on our day. She loves water(pool or ocean) and lives for the beach.

She is such a funny little girl. I love her to pieces!!

Bands on the Beach

2011-07-13T12:28:00.000-05:00

Pensacola has so many things to do during the Summer that involve music. On Tuesdays they have Bands on the Beach. We had never been before because it starts pretty late. But we gave it a go last night. We spent most of our time by the water, because you cannot keep our kids away from the sand and water.

We had fun and even ate at Crabs after(yum!). The beach is such a great place to grow up. Brett and I were talking about how it has been such a big part in our lives. I could not imagine growing up anywhere else. I am glad that our kids enjoy the beach as much as I do. I think Brett is not as in love with the beach as I am.

Big "Doggies"

2011-07-12T17:53:00.000-05:00

Emmy and I decided to show Daddy and Bubba where we walk to when we go see the big "doggies". The kids got in the T-Willy wagon(my dad made it for Trenten when he was a baby) and we went for a walk.

We drove through mud

Saw the Horse

Emmy pulled the wagon

and pushed it

and we had a race

Emmy loves to race

Tonight we are heading to Bands on the Beach. Post to follow tomorrow!

Bad Blogger

2011-07-11T12:31:00.000-05:00

I have been a not so good blogger this Summer. We've been keeping busy with VBS, mini trips, playdates, pool time, beach fun, icecream trips basically all the fun stuff of Summer! Oh and lots of birthday parties..lots and lots. We had a birthday party every weekend during the month of June.

Rainy Day Fun

4th of July fun at Seaside, FL visiting my brother and his family

Museum Fun with our Play group

Birthday Party at the beach

Beachin' it!

Ice Cream Fun after VBS

Lots of pool fun at Roger Scott

Seaside, FL 4th of July celebration

Weekend trip to Peachtree City, GA without kids

Frozen yogurt at Seaside

Arcade fun in Orange Beach, AL

Jumpin' fun with our playgroup(and yes Emmy has doggy-ears!)

Party for John Parker!!

More pool fun

I have also been on a hunt for a job this Summer. Not looking to good as of right now, but fingers are crossed that something happens!

Hopefully I can start posting again like I once did. Hope you enjoyed this catch-up!

Walkin' with my Girl

2011-06-23T20:39:00.000-05:00

Emmy loves it outside. She will just say, "ga-gide, ga-gide" ALL-DAY-LONG! It's so hot here that we do not make it out until around 5 but it is still hot then. Our back yard has a entrance to a cul-de-sac. I've been taking Emmy out there because there are a few houses with horses and goats. She calls them all "doggy". So cute! I try to correct her but she says, "Hi, Doggy..Bye Doggy".

We have been known to go on hour long walks, without a stroller! It is actually pretty fun!

21 Months

2011-06-17T18:21:00.000-05:00

Emmy is 21 months. She sure is a crazy little girl these days.

She is starting to say more and more but is still not much of a talker. She loves to ask where people are, like, "where's Mama?", "where's Bubba?", "where's Dadda?", "where's Doggy?"
She just walks around the house asking those things all day. She also loves to yell "Maaaammmaaa" until she finds me.

She is still wearing 12-18 months clothes, size 4-5 shoe and size 4 diaper.

Some of her favorite things to do are go outside, color, push her stroller around, watch Curious Buddies and Dora, go swimming at the pool or beach, play with any type of ball outside. She is very good at throwing.

Emmy is very girly but can get just as dirty as a boy. She loves to paint her nails and wear pretty shoes but also loves to play in the dirt and go barefoot just as much. She is the perfect mix of girly girl and tom boy.

Emmy also loves to play with her friends and usually plays really nice with them. She can throw fits but listens pretty well. She still eats anything.

Emmy is getting so funny. She has become a biter and a licker. I stop her from doing it but it's still pretty funny. She doesn't call her tongue a tongue. She calls it her licker. She knows most of her body parts and loves to dance and sing songs.

She is growing up right before our eyes. All of her friends are turning 2 and I know soon it will be Emmy's turn.

Last day of 1st Grade

2011-06-03T09:53:00.000-05:00

My baby will be a 2nd grader soon.. When did he get so old?! Actually, when did I get so old?! He is ready for Summer.

First day of 1st grade:

Last day of First grade:

And little Miss Emmy changed a lot too.

My grandma gave me some purse handles so I made Emmy her very own purse.

I'm so sad today thinking about how much my babies are growing! I am so proud of Trenten and all he does. He is so smart. He can be a hand full at times but I love him just the way he is!

Long time no talk!

2011-06-01T08:40:00.000-05:00

Howdy Strangers! We have not been up to much. Just playing with friends a lot. Trenten is almost out of school and will be a BIG 2nd grader before I know it! He is very ready for Summer.

We had a pretty fun weekend. We went to 2 movies, yes 2! One night we even had date night and went and watched Hangover 2...HILARIOUS!!!!! And of course it only helps that Bradley Cooper is in it! Then Brett and I took Trenten and Tanner to see the 4th Pirates.. not so good. No Orlando??? Come on!

On Memorial day we grilled out with family.

Emmy and I have been playing outside a lot lately, even though it's 90 degrees by 9:00. But we have been having so much fun! We are ready for Summer around here!!!!!!!

Why you should never leave a toddler unsupervised!

2011-05-19T16:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was cooking dinner. When I cook, Emmy is in her highchair or I let her play in the cabinets. I wanted to make black bean soup, but needed to google a recipe. I google recipes A LOT! So, I was gone for about 5 seconds when in walks Emmy into the computer room covered in white powder with a plastic fork in her hand. I intially freak out but it looked like powder sugar, except we don't even have any.

I go into the kitchen and find this......

All I could do was laugh and take a picture, no use getting mad about things like that. She apparently dumped out Vanilla coffee creamer and tried eating it with a fork. She smelled SO sweet. Don't worry I cleaned it up and mopped the floor. But it was a memory worth remembering!

And some more photo's from today at the Splash Pad!

Teacher Gift

2011-05-17T20:48:00.000-05:00

Here's last years gift.

This year for Trenten's teacher I wanted to get her a custom clip board. Something I would want if I actually had a job! I looked on etsy thinking I would just order one but people wanted anywhere from $15-$20. So, I decided I could just make it myself.

I went to Jo-Anne's looking for my supplies. I found scrapbook paper for 25 cents, yes 25 cents. Then I got 2 ric-rac spools for $1 each. So far everything was going according to plan until..... I COULD NOT find a clip board.

I needed to go to Target so I figured I would look there. I looked all around Target in the school supply aisle. No clip board! I gave up and ordering one sound pretty good at that point...BUT than on the way out I walked by the $1 section and figured I would look there, I had nothing to lose and everything to gain(okay, I'm a little dramatic!). And there it was...it called out to me..with bright lights all around it..a CLIP BOARD!

I was hoping for a sturdy plastic or wooden one. This one was card board or chip board, but for a $1 it would work just fine!

So my materials:
clipboard-$1
purple ricrac-$1
green ricrac-$1
scarp book paper- .25
keep calm sign- free
mod podge- already had
TOTAL: $3.25

It's pretty simple. Mod Podge back of paper stick to board. The dotted paper is different, I already had that leftover from a baby shower banner. Then I just mod podged the ric-rac. For the back I did the same but the sign I printed was on regular paper so you can see the wrinkles and air bubbles. I think next time I should print it on card stock.

Great gift at a great price and I made it in no time!! This will be the first thing I make myself when I finally get a job!

I made the Keep Calm and Teach On sign. Go here and make one too! Fun stuff!

20 Months

2011-05-17T13:29:00.001-05:00

Emmy is 20 months today! She is growing like a weed. She seems to have grown taller since last month. But she is still 20 pounds. She wears 18 month clothes now, but needs 12 month shorts. Size 4 diapers and size 4 shoes. She naps from 11-1 or 12-2. Goes to bed around 8 and gets up at 7. She still gets up all.night.long!!!!!

Favorite Things:
Purses, buckets, bags
Baby dolls
Dogs(she LOVES dogs!)
Eating
Being outside
Her Brother's hats
Balls
Beach
Water

Words: Mama(finally), Dadda, Bubba, GaGide(outside), Doggy, Hi, Bye, mmmhmm, eye, woah, uhoh, dor-da(dora), ella(cinderella, however she calls all disney princess' ella)
She is putting two words together like: Bye Bye Dadda or Hi Dadda.
She has said these words but only once or twice: duck, strawberry, Sarah, Nana
Many times I know what she's trying to say even though it sounds nothing like what she's suppose to say. Signs(she has lost many words since she has been talking a little more): all done, please, thank-you, more

When she wants to know where someone is she will put her arms up and say the persons name. She likes to make you get up out of your chair and then she will run behind you and take your seat. It's pretty much her favorite game. She knows where all her body parts are.

She loves to look at the sky for airplanes and birds. These two words are the ones I know that she is saying even though they sound nothing like it and I cannot even begin to describe what they sound like.

Emmy still eats lots of things. Everything! Last night she ate a bloomin' onion and cleaned my caeser salad plate. I'm shocked by what she eats. I think she might not have taste buds. Except for milk, she will not drink milk, ever! She likes to sit at her big girl chair now but will still eat in her highchair.

She loves to have her nails painted but hates for me to do her hair! She likes to wear her brother's hats but does not like her own. She loves to wear sunglasses. She also likes jewelry and bows.

Emmy is just the sweetest little thing! I cannot believe in 4 months she will be 2! I am already getting ideas for her "pink lemonade" birthday party! ha! I have so much enjoyed being home with her again.

JumpNfun and the big 26

2011-05-16T12:17:00.000-05:00

Today Brett turns 26. We went out yesterday morning for Sunday brunch to celebrate with his Mom. This morning we had Starbucks muffin and coffee! Emmy and I put a candle in it and sang. Tonight we are going to eat dinner with Brett's dad.

Sunday is my birthday where I will turn 26. I told Brett that birthdays are not a big deal to me because I have felt OLD since I turned 18! Getting pregnant ages you like 10 years! But for my birthday I will be at a condo and a concert! It's the first time I will be leaving Emmy overnight. I'm a little sad. Hopefully Brett can handle the kids!

Emmy with her friend Collette

Today we met up with some folks from our playgroup and went to a jumping place. Emmy had so much fun and I was worn out! We left early because she was about to fall asleep.

Before we left. She actually let me put her hair up. It did not stay long though. She played too hard.

Yesterday, we went shopping. Brett never got me an anniversary gift. The thing this year is leather. I got him a leather bible case. He did not know what to get me, because frankly I do not own leather things. But I have been wanting some sandals. So, I got these at Aldo. I don't know if they're real leather but that's okay!

Giving Summer an Early start

2011-05-14T21:07:00.000-05:00

We have been to the beach 3 times this week! Yes, 3!! And if you count last Saturday then it is actually 4!! Oh the beach, such a great place.. until it's time to go home. Clean up is always the hardest part after a beach trip.

Today, we went with our cousins, Traci, Tanner, and Jaden. We had a great time. First, lunch at Flounders..delish! Then, the beach forever, and after we headed to Traci and Tanner's pool. Fun!

I cannot wait for Summer!

More Toddler Antics

2011-05-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

I love toddlers. It's really my favorite age! They are just so funny, they learn so much and I love watching them play. Emmy is one sweet little girl. She loves to help me clean. Yesterday while she was playing outside I decided to wash the car. Emmy helped without me even asking. She grabbed a rag and went to work. So cute!

Then yesterday, I was not feeling well so I tried watching Eat, Pray, Love. When I watch a movie when the kids are awake I pause it numerous times. So , the 2 hour movie took me 4 hours to complete. The kids were playing in the playroom when I hear Trenten say, "Emersen Elizabeth, paper only!". I walked in and she had written all over her legs.. Haha!

I told her to get in time out and that we only write on paper. She is very good about getting in timeout. She'll walk right to her spot and stand there until I tell her again what she did and that she can get out.

And another picture of my wonderful toddler!

We went to the beach with our playgroup today. One of our mom's is moving back to the Netherlands, so she had cupcakes and got the kids a gift. She is probably one of the nicest people that I have ever met.

Misc. Wednesday

2011-05-11T10:29:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am fully aware that I am ripping off Misc. Monday. So, what! I have random things to write about and it's not Monday!

1. Don't you just love toddlers?...

This one to be exact! She decided yesterday to skip a nap and she was a handful! She had to have been over tired because by the time bed time rolled around she refused to go to bed. We let her cry it out. She cried, and cried, and cried. I tried rocking.. we rocked, and rocked, and rocked. I tried laying in bed with her.. we laid, and laid and laid. I let her stay up later, eventually she went to sleep. But she was up all night in and out of our bed. Then, Trenten had a bad dream. So we were all in the bed together. I put Emmy back in her crib and she cried for a bit but finally went back to sleep. We were all up by 6. She is taking an early nap now. I will not ever let her refuse a nap again! It throws everything off.

2. Yesterday Trenten skipped school.

Don't call the authorities on me! We went out to the beach for a few hours. We got there early so it was so nice and quiet. We left in time to get home for Emmy's nap but that did not happen..(refer back to above).

3. Emmy loves being like her Brother

This is actually my DS that Brett bought me years ago. I never play it. Trenten does however. It is how we get him to eat. IF he eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner then he gets it after dinner and then the next day. But if he skips a meal or refuses to eat then he loses it until he tries again the next day to complete 3 meals. I know it sounds crazy but it's the only way we can get him to eat.
Emmy likes to play with it. She even thinks my GPS in the car is a game. She was like this on Monday so I had to get a picture of her. So cute!

4. A baby kitty

Have you seen that commercial where a bunch of cats are talking. It's so sweet. Brett and I both watched it and after I was like I want a kitty. Then we both quickly changed our minds, because guess what... kittens grow into cats. There are many reasons why we do not like cats. Allergies being the main one.

My Mom is a sucker for animals and orphan animals. She brought this little guy over to show Emmy and Trenten.

I believe it's only 2 weeks old and she has to feed it with an eye dropper. Emmy thought it was funny. She kept laughing at it. Trenten loved it too and named it Meow. haha!

Mother's Day.. I should say weekend!

2011-05-08T22:52:00.000-05:00

I had a great Mother's ~~Day~~ Weekend. We started Saturday night. Brett met me at the mall after work so we could do a kid swap. I got my haircut while they walked around the mall. I'm still wondering how that went. Brett with both kids at a crowded mall. But they seemed to be calm when I returned. We walked down to Old Navy where Brett and Trenten bought me a dress for Mother's Day, then we had dinner.

Then this morning we took Brett's mom to breakfast. Brett and Trenten went to church while Emmy and I came home. Emmy is a wild child at church so we rarely make it these days. My brother, sister-in-law, and Sophia came into town. They wanted to go to the movies and since they never get to do anything by themselves, since they live 3 hours from family, I was more than happy to watch Sophia.

We had a photo shoot during Emmy's nap. I took lots more but got lazy on the editing.

After Emmy woke up, we had another photoshoot.

Brett jokes with me about wanting a 3rd child(one day, not soon). Sophia started crying for a second and he said, "and you want another one". I came back in the room a few minutes later with a sleeping Sophia and said, "yes, yes I do want another one".

We had to meet them at dinner. So, we had 3 kids in the back seat and lots of baby stuff. I just thought to myself that people actually have 3 kids and have to do this everyday. I told Brett it was so fun and easy. He joked that I only did it for a few hours so of course it was easy.

We had a nice dinner with my mom, sister, her husband, and two sons, both my grandmother's, Brett and the kids(of course), my brother and his family, and one of our cousins. Eating with a big group of people plus babies and two crazy boys is always a little stressful. I said next year we are gonna do a shrimp boil at the house.

On Mother's Day I can't help but think that no one truely knows what it means to be a Mom until they experience it for themselves. I feel sad for women who cannot, have not or will not have kids. It's something that changes a woman inside and out. Being a mom is truely the BEST thing in the world. I cherish every moment as a Mom.

Google Quotes...go...

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep

It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it. ~From the television show The Golden Girls

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." -Lin Yutang

Saturday Fun

2011-05-07T14:17:00.000-05:00

I was planning on taking the kids downtown today to the splash pad. I started telling Trenten about another place with a splash pad. He decided that he wanted to check it out. And since I have been dying to go there we made the 45 minute trip there.

Trenten made a sand man.

As an added bonus Brett's work was on the way there. He works in Gulf Breeze, so we rarely get to visit him at work. When we got to his work Emmy acted like she did not know who he was. I guess it was out of context for her. She's use to him leaving early in the morning and getting hom late in the evening. On the way back home we stopped by again and she was more social.

My camera battery was dead so I took pictures with my phone. I'll remember next time to charge my battery. The place we went to is in Navarre, Florida. I love it out there. The park had a splash zone, a playground, and it was right by the water. Afterwards we stopped for lunch and icecream.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow. We are going to be busy eating. Brunch with Brett's mom and Dinner with my mom and siblings.

Let me also add that I am getting a haircut tonight! It's been over a year. I kind of neglect my hair a lot. It's either messy pulled up or curly or being burned by a flat iron. I don't know how women keep up with their hair.

Their Little Play House

2011-05-05T21:49:00.001-05:00

Trenten got this little house for Christmas when he was around 21 months. My Dad got it for him. It is still in great shape. Emmy loves it too. She hides from the dogs in there.

Trenten (Christmas '05-21 Months)

Emmy( May '11- 19 1/2 Months)

And some more cute ones of her in a chair that Trenten has had since he was 3...

Since we're on the subject of Trenten being little..when we were at the zoo recently I remembered that I had a photo of Trenten by the otter exhibit way back when he was 12 months. I told him to stand there for a picture..

When I got home I was shocked by how much water was missing.. but then I realized that he was just SO much taller.. haha!

Hand Bag Obsession

2011-05-04T13:13:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned that Emmy is obsessed with hand bags, purses, buckets, anything with a strap, really. We are still not sure where she got it from. I am usually toting a diaper bag or back pack over a purse these days.

Today we met up with our playgroup at the park and then some yummy lunch after. Have I mentioned how thankful I am that we joined this playgroup? Well, I am.. I am so glad we decided to take that leap and make new friends. Emmy loves to go play with her friends. She remembers and recognizes their names, which totally amazes me. I just have to get her to say them now. And I have loved having adult company. I say adult because we do have one Dad in our group. My husband is totally jealous. He says his dream job is to be a stay at home Dad. If only....(I'm sure he would be calling me every minute and Emmy would be covered in dirt wearing un-matched clothes).

Back to the point of this post.... HAND BAGS....

When we got in the car after lunch Emmy demanded to have her purse. It's usually my old, very old purses that she finds stashed in my closet or lost under our bed. I turned around and this is what I saw...

Let me also add that it was like 50 degrees here last night... YES, 50 degrees in MAY in FLORIDA!! I'm seriously a little peeved about that one.

Big Girl Things

2011-04-30T21:49:00.000-05:00

Everyday Emmy is growing up. She is more aware of things. She is obsessed with all things girly. She WILL NOT leave the house without a purse. She puts lip gloss inside of it too. She cannot figure out the whole putting it on thing. It usually ends up all over her nose.. haha, so stinkin' cute!
Today she did another big girl thing...

She swang on a big girl swing! She did not go high though, but she sat there for a while.

Also, today she climbed out of her crib.. I think.. all I heard was a loud noise and then her screaming...and she was on the floor. It's way too early for a big girl bed! So, I hope she does not make climbing out a habit!

We had a very laid back Saturday. We played outside a lot. Which was good because we were busy all week. However, after the whole crib incident Emmy would not nap. A toddler without a nap makes for a tired Mama!

Sunny Days make me happy

2011-04-28T21:04:00.001-05:00

We headed down town again to Sunsets at the Plaza. We debated not going because it was quite chilly this morning but it got so beautiful as the day went on. We went early before the music started so the kids could play in the fountains.

Trenten wanted me to tell the other parents to control their kids.. haha

Someone stole Brother's icecream!

It's a good thing we were early because there were some rowdy kids that showed up later! I think some parents do not control their kids at all. It really makes me angry. I had to pull out my "mean Mama" voice on those kids. Some boys almost knocked Emmy down several times. We went and changed after other kids came.

I just love this sweet face

I made her this dress today.

We sat around in a shady area for a bit before heading down to sit by the Steel Drum Band with a Mom from our playgroup. After about 2 hours of chasing Emmy around I was ready to go. She is a wild woman, I tell ya!

Beachin' it

2011-04-26T20:40:00.000-05:00

We left Monday morning to go visit my brother, his wife, and their daughter. They live in Santa Rosa Beach in a small beach town, called Sea Grove. He works as a Park Ranger at Grayton Beach. This is our 3rd time going there but the other 2 times were during winter. So, this time was the 1st time we actually got to go to the beach and pool. They live in a condo with a beach across the street and a pool in their complex.

The girls played a bit when we first arrived.

Then Emmy, Alyssa, Sophia, and I headed straight for the beach. We spent a little time there. The waves were VERY rough.

We went over to the pool for some swimming.

Emmy loved it! She was jumping off the side with no fear. I think I was more afraid then she was. She was really trying to swim on her own.

After the beach, we wanted to check out some of the other towns. There are about 5 little beach communities along 30A. We have been to Sea Side before so we headed the opposite direction to Rosemary Beach.

We window shopped. Everything there is so expensive.

We played in the field.

We walked to the beach.

We ate icecream.

We checked out the fountain.

After that we drove back and waited for my brother to get off work. We went to eat Pizza(yum) for dinner. We watched the Princess and the Frog, but none of us made it through it. We were all asleep by 9:30!

We woke up and ate a good breakfast with some pretty amazing coffee made by Chad and Alyssa.

The girls played.

We headed to the beach again and the pool before we left.

On the way home we stopped for some shopping and lunch in Destin. There was also a very nice playground and splash pad, but I left my camera in the car.

We only stayed one night. I plan on going for lots of visits this Summer with the kids!

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T20:39:00.001-05:00

It's been a pretty eventful Easter weekend. Trenten has a terrible cough. Yesterday afternoon we went to a get-together with our playgroup. It was a family event that our only stay-at-home Dad hosted. There was lots of good food. We were there about 15 minutes when Trenten coughed so bad he got sick. Thankfully, we only live about 5 minutes from them so Brett was able to take him home while Emmy and I stayed for a bit.

Then, this morning, after church, Emmy threw up. I think it was just from a bad egg.....one of these eggs to be exact...

Last night my Mom came over to dye eggs with us.

This morning, before church, the kids got Easter baskets. We do not do anything huge for Easter. One or two toys and some candy. I really try to get them things that they will need or use.

Today, we had family come over. We had LOTS of food and the kids had an egg hunt. Emmy really got into it. Trenten was not feeling well still. But he went out there for a bit.

Brett gave her a bath after she got sick. He did not brush her hair, so she took a nap with wet hair. It was so wavy when she got up.

Brett with his brothers

Brett, his brothers and their Dad

My sister with her baby and husband

Brett, brothers, his Mom

Emmy with her great Grandmothers

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Easter Memories

2011-04-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

I have a whole 30 minutes before people start coming over. I cooked a turkey, and some sides. We went to Easter Mass this morning. We(Emmy&I) have not been to mass in a while because she is just so wild. But she did better than expected today. When we got home, she threw up. I think it was from a boiled egg she ate this morning for breakfast. I guess it did not sit well in her tummy. I will have an Easter post up probably tomorrow but I wanted to share some photos from past Easters.

2004
this one is so old school I had to scan it. haha

Baby Trenten. He was 2 weeks old

2005

This was actually like the day after Easter. For some reason I do not have one of us.

2006

2007

It sleeted that year on Easter. But I bought a new dress and I was gonna wear it!

2008

2009

2010

2011

Family Zoo Fun

2011-04-22T19:24:00.001-05:00

We had plans to head to the beach today but changed them last night. We have really been wanting to take Emmy to the zoo. There is a small zoo in Gulf Breeze about 45 minutes away. I actually worked there in highschool for 2 years.

We have not been since Trenten was 12 months. It has changed a lot since then. Quite smaller. It went through some rough times. But I just knew Emmy would enjoy it. She was pretty timid around the goats. She liked them from a distance. Her favorite had to have been the Saimung Monkey's and the baby deer.

She found the monkey's and then ran to get Brett to show him. She was so cute!

She saw this and some how new to put her face in it.

On the train!

Feeding the baby deer

Checking out the giraffes with Uncle Brandon

She was VERY excited about the train ride. She got on and I have never seen her so excited about something. So, it's safe to say Emmy loved the zoo.

My 1st born on the other hand....

Not so much.
We were not in there for 5 minutes before he was tired and ready to get on the train. But when he got on the train he was not happy either. He was ready to go home the whole time we were there. I know he was still getting over being sick, but Trenten really does not like heat and he cannot stand walking. He said he was tired the whole 2 hours we were there. As soon as we got in the car, he was out.

Brett's brother met us there. He is on leave for Easter this weekend. He happened to be at the beach so he met us to eat and then we all went to the zoo. Emmy adores him!

They both slept on the way home

Hairy Situation

2011-04-21T16:41:00.000-05:00

We all know Emmy was born a bald beauty. She stayed a bald beauty for a while. I am so excited because her hair is finally getting so long! It will still be years before it ever gets cut. It has really grown in these last few months.

Just a week old

6 months

1 Year

January 2011

Tuesday after her bath.

It's even long enough to be messy

A quiet Observer

2011-04-20T13:21:00.000-05:00

It's been a pretty busy week, so far and it's only Wednesday. Yesterday Emmy was suppose to have her 18 month well visit, a whole month late. But she still has an ear infection, so we had to skip her shot and check-up. Instead, it was a sick visit, even though she has had NO signs of being sick. She is on her 3 round of antibiotics. If it does not clear up this time, then she will be refered to an ENT. I really hope it clears up! This has been her only ear infection in her whole entire 19 months of life and we cannot get rid of the thing!

To make matters worse, Trenten came home sick yesterday. I'm pretty sure he has the flu. He had to stay home today from school. I feel bad for him because Spring Break is next week and I know he's been looking forward to a break. I sure hope he is better by Easter Sunday.

Emmy had her evaluation today with Early Steps. My grandma watched Trenten for me. They evaluated Emmy in different areas:

Physical: Health, hearing, vision

Cognitive: Thinking, learning, problem-solving
Gross & Fine Motor Skills: Moving, walking, grasping, coordination
Communication: Babbling, languages, speech, conversation
Social/Emotional: Playing and interacting with others
Adaptive Development: Self-help skills, i.e. feeding, toileting, dressing

Everything was above average. They said her motor skills(gross&fine) were really advanced for her age. They were VERY impressed with her throwing and kicking skills. I joked that she is more athletic than my 7 year old boy. haha! The only part that was delayed was her communication. And it is just a mild delay. She did not qualify for services. She needed a score of 70 or below. Her score was 92. They said it was because she scores high on the receptive part, following commands and directions. It was her verbal part that was low. The speech therapist is going to send me some things that I can try at home with her. If there is not improvement before her 2nd birthday than she will be re-evaluated.

They were all impressed with her. They went on and on about how sweet, friendly, and quiet she was. She was running all around that room playing with toys and she LOVED the child psychologist. He was an older man, but she warmed up to him rather quickly. I was really proud of how well she did.

Here she is waiting before her appointment. She was trying to get a pappy from her bag. She was mad at me because I would not give it to her.

They asked me if her brother talks a lot. I told them that one of my friends joked that he talks so much Emmy cannot get a word in edge wise, and that's why she never talks. haha! It's true. I'm sure she will talk when she is ready, but its so hard when Trenten talked so early, said his first real word at 6 months, had over 100 words at 12 months and was speaking full sentence by 15 months, naming colors at 18 months. I try not to compare but he also did not walk until 15 months, and his motor skills were and probably still aren't as great as hers. The speech therapist said that it is very common for busy babies to talk later. And babies who are later on motor skills talk early. My kids really are opposite in a lot of ways!

She's Bananas... B-A-N-A-N-A-S

2011-04-19T18:55:00.002-05:00

Emmy acts like a silly little monkey most of the day, so it should come as no surprise that she downs about 3 banana's everyday!

Is there such a thing as potassium overload?! ha!

Emmy vs Easter Bunny...round 2

2011-04-17T14:48:00.001-05:00

Our church's youth group had an Easter Party for the little ones today. They had an Easter Bunny there. We tried for another picture.

She liked him from a distance and was waving and saying HI to him. When she got up close however she was not liking his.. AT ALL.

So I got one of just Trenten.

Here are a few more from today.

19 Months

2011-04-17T13:47:00.004-05:00

I almost let this post slip by me. Someone asked me how old Emmy was today and I realized she was 19 months.

Emmy can be a sweet heart but she also has her fair share of tantrums. She likes to head butt things when she is mad or doesn't get her way. She likes to play with babies and older kids. She has a hard time around friends her age. She seems to get shy and if they come too close she will push them away. I'm trying to work on that.

She likes to spend ALL her time outdoors. Its her favorite place to be, for sure. She LOVES animals and LOVES looking at animal books but in person she only likes them from a distance. She is very shy and timid around strangers.

Emmy can say Dada, Bubba, Dog-ga(dog), bye-bye, hi, woa, uh-oh, yum, Sarah, go,go,go.. she has really just learned some of those recently. She is starting to try and mimic our words, although her sounds all come out sounding like dada or gaga. She is a very smart little girl and has ways of communicating what she wants. She can also follow commands and directions very well. She is still using signs. She has dropped some but she still uses more, please, thank-you, and all done reguarly.

She loves to carry buckets, bags, and purses. She will carry them around the house and put things in them. She loves bath time, but not bubble baths. She goes to bed around 7:30 and gets up usually between 6:30-7:30. She gets up once at night around 3am to come into our bed. I usually move her back before morning. She takes a nap from 11:30-1:30, usually.

She wears size 12-18 month clothes but can fit in some 6-12 month dresses and shorts. She eats anything and everything ALL DAY LONG. She only wants to drink water though. No milk, at all. We have tried every way possible for her to drink milk. We tried pedisure, and toddler milk. She will take one sip and never touch it again. She is 19 pounds 3 ounces and 32 inches. I'll know exactly at her 18 month well visit this week IF her ear is cleared up.

She is so sweet and loves to give hugs. I can really see a little person forming. I'm so glad I am able to spend every day with her again even if she is a little category 3 Hurricane most of the day!

Date night and Fishin' Fun

2011-04-16T13:13:00.001-05:00

Last night we went out to dinner and to a movie. Brett's mom babysat. We went to Red Lobster and then to see Lincoln Lawyer. It was a good movie. Not sure Brett liked it too much. He has a short attention span and needs action every minute.

Before we left for date night

This morning Trenten and I got up early to head downtown where they were having a kids fishing clinic. It was LOTS of fun. There were a lot of people and I felt like I was waiting in line at Disney World. They had different stations set up where the kids were taught about tying knots, types of fish, fishing regulations, and they had a tank of crabs. The kids got to practice casting then were given free fishing poles, tackle box, shirt, bucket, food, snow cones, and drinks. It was a lot of fun and it was all free. Trenten said it was the best day ever. I'm so glad he enjoyed himself because he is not the fishing kind of guy. I took these photos with my point and shoot. I did not want to lug my camera around.

Tying a knot station

Learning about tackle and stuff

A volunteer helping Trenten cast.. This was his favorite part. They had hoops and plastic fish out for the kids to try and catch while they practiced casting.

Trenten's free pole!

Another volunteer. This man told me he was giving Trenten lessons in Fishing 101.

They had a fishing simulator out there. It was like a video game.

He worked so hard to catch that fish. He even got a burn from the fishing line.

We were out there for about 4 hours. And since we were downtown anyways we went to Oh Snap cupcakes! We brought some home to Daddy and Emmy too.

You never know with a Toddler

2011-04-13T15:19:00.002-05:00

This afternoon for lunch I got a great idea to eat outside.

I made our sandwich's and got some grapes, I laid out our blanket, and we ate.

Well, we tried to eat.

We weren't out there for 5 minutes before Emmy decided to choke on what I can only guess was a piece of turkey.

I'm thinking it was this piece right here.
*edit--my mother-in-law thanked me for putting a picture of Emmy throwing up, she was being "funny". I want you all to know that she is NOT throwing up here. This is the piece that went in BEFORE she threw up.

She then proceeded to throw-up. Lesson learned...nothing goes to plan when you have a toddler.
I had to take her clothes off and scarf down my food. So, our lovely picnic outside turned into...

Emmy eating grapes in nothing but bloomers, and socks..

Emmy playing in the water

And Emmy feeding the dogs food..

Anniversary

2011-04-12T08:02:00.000-05:00

Today is our 3rd Wedding anniversary. Although we have actually been together for 8 years. Let me take you back to how we became Mr. & Mrs. Kelley

You can read about it in this blog post I wrote almost a year ago.

I think we are going to celebrate on Friday because Brett is working a lot this week.

Just another day at the Beach

2011-04-10T15:39:00.000-05:00

Brett had to work today. Sunday is usually our be lazy around the house family day. But since I was home with the kids I decided to do something. I wanted to take them to the Zoo but Brett wants to go with us. So, instead we headed towards Pensacola Beach. It was very cloudy and foggy but that was okay because it wasn't too hot out there. The kids had fun. I really think that we will be at the beach a lot this Summer. Last year Emmy hated it but this year she LOVES it.

Easter Bunny Failure

2011-04-09T15:55:00.000-05:00

We met my sister and her boys at the mall to see the Easter Bunny. Last year, Emmy had no clue what was going on. Boy, how things change in a year! I knew Emmy was not going to like it but I at least thought I could get a quick picutre. Nope, nada, nothing! She would not even sit in Trenten's lap. She was not having it, at all! The bunny tried giving her candy and Emmy threw it in his face. So the only thing I could get was this of Trenten trying to give Emmy candy.

And this of them standing outside of the gate.

After the bunny we went to lunch at Panera and all was right with the world!

please excuse the nasty color in these pictures!

This morning before we left I decided to try and take pictures of them since they were both dressed so cute. They were not in a picture taking mood. So, better luck next time!

Sunsets at the Plaza

2011-04-08T08:27:00.000-05:00

There sure wasn't a sunset last night! It was way to cloudy. But we headed down to the Sunsets at the Plaza De Luna anyway. We met up with a few folks from playgroup. Brett came after work. They do this every Thursday during the Summer months. We've always wanted to go but just never made it. This is the same place where we went for the Splash Pad last Summer. I'm hoping the next time we go the weather will be a little nicer.

Emmy had fun anyway. She loved the water and dancing. Trenten was more interested in a dog named "poops".

Emmy was scared of Woody. Next week is Dora so maybe we'll go again since that is the only character she really knows.

He is the Questioner of all things

2011-04-06T11:07:00.000-05:00

I went to a meeting today to have Trenten staffed into the gifted program. Our county calls it the PATS program. Once a week he will be going to a gifted class where he can excel further than what his regular class can offer. I am so excited for him and I cannot wait to see how he likes it tomorrow!

I hope he does well and is challenged. The teacher in the class said that she will focus on questioning strategies and technology since these are the area's he's most interested in. To be placed in gifted he had to take LOTS of tests. It was a pretty long process. I knew he would do well. She said his math score was VERY high. Only less than 3% of the population scores that high. His verbal area was high as well.

Hopefully he will be able to continue PATS the remainder of his academic career. I really have high hopes for this kid. I always have.

He truely is my Einstein!

the runt

2011-04-05T12:38:00.001-05:00

Took Emmy to the doctor today. It was suppose to be a well check IF her ear was clear of infection. Well, the last couple of days she had congestion and a cough. I figured she would not be getting her shot again today. I was right, she had an ear infection again. This time in her right ear. She has been sleeping all day pretty much. Poor thing!

She weighed 18 pounds 8 ounces and measure 31 1/2 inches. They told me to try and increase her calorie intake. So, I bought pedisure since she refuses to drink milk. I know she is not going to drink this stuff either. She eats so much food that I am not too worried about her weight. She has always been tiny.

I'm hoping now that she is finished with daycare that she will be healthy soon! And we can finally get her 18 month well visit done.

On other news, I have not shared this on the blog yet but Friday Emmy has an appointment with a program called Early Steps. They are going to be checking her to see if she will qualify for language therapy(?), not sure what to call it. I am getting less worried about it though because she is starting to really "babytalk" a lot. She also tries to repeat us now even thought her words sound nothing like what we day. Everything she says sounds like DaDa. She can say Bye and Doggy pretty clearly though. But I think at 18 months she needs more words than that. I guess we will find out Friday.

My little living room Hurricane

2011-04-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

Today is my first day not working. It was very weird not going to work this morning. And throughout the day I couldn't help but think where and what the kids were doing. But I SO much enjoyed staying home with Emmy. I have never been happier to clean. I cleaned a lot today. Plus we even made it to the park to play with our playgroup. Emmy was very shy and wanted me to hold her the entire time. Hopefully, she will stop being so clingy soon since we will have lots of time together again!

My cleaning today went something like this....

I cleaned:

Emmy destroyed:

I cleaned:

Emmy destroyed:

I cleaned:

Emmy destroyed:

Even though I had to go and clean everything again, I could not have been happier about it!

7th Birthday Party

2011-04-03T21:37:00.001-05:00

Today we had Trenten's party at a local place in town called Fast Eddie's. This place really has been there forever. Since I was little. Maybe even before, who knows! We decided to have it here because I did not want to have to clean my house before AND after a party, so we looked around places in town and this place was the cheapest! The kids had a great time. I think Trenten was a little upset because only 1 kid from his class came but he had lots, and lots of family there. I told him the people that matter came.

They had a blast, and we were all tired afterwards. My Mom put it best when she said it was a very fast pace party but I guess that's why they call it Fast Eddie's. Ha! Here are some pictures.

Emmy saw Grammy holding Sophia and she was not happy. She demanded to be held too!

Waiting to ride the Go-karts

Having fun!!

Birthday Boy's sister!! This outfit is from last Summer(6-12 months) ha!

My new nephew, Ethen. He is 2 weeks old. I have been so busy that this is the first picture I have of him!

Emmy with Grandpa(Brett's dad). Of course she has food!

He wanted a Gator's cake. I hope no one at Publix thought I was a fan.

Pretty Sophia