Pictures!

I just realized I haven't posted any pics of Emma enjoying her float and our blow up pool.

Oops

I really am going to try to blog more regularly.  Promise.  I haven't really been particularly busy.  Emma is at this really fun age right now, and has even wanted to cuddle with me lots.  She's crawling around, pulling up and cruising everywhere.  She's gotten so fast at crawling that she can sneak up on me now.  We had our First Steps evaluation, and she qualified barely.  That's good, because it means she's not severely delayed, but she'll still have someone come to the house to work with her.  The evaluator said her separation anxiety is what put her over the edge on their scoring.  Never would have thought I'd be happy about her separation anxiety.  But it also means out therapist will try to address that when she comes, which will be great.  She's doing a lot better.  I can do the laundry or cook dinner while she plays by herself for several minutes now.  When the evaluator came to the house, Emma didn't cry at all and she even let her hold her briefly.  My sister has been staying with us some, and Emma has loved having her around.  Right now she's on vacation with my parents, and Emma looks in her room every morning to see if she's back yet.  Mikaela likes to play the Wii, which Emma thinks is hilarious.  Also, Emma doesn't mind strangers coming up to her anymore, so running errands with her is actually fun most of the time.  She loves riding around in the cart at the grocery and helping me use the calculator and list.  We're also having a lot of fun trying new foods.  Her appetite decreased for about a week, but now she suddenly wants to eat all day.  Literally all day.  If I'm eating, she wants some.  She actually tries to get food out of my mouth.  If I ask what she wants, she automatically puts her hand to her mouth for eat.  She learned that sign in about a week because she used it so often.  However, we are having more trouble with the sign for milk.  I make her chicken nuggets, meatballs, pasta, and of course her fruits and veggies.  Tonight she got a special dessert, which was a Tofutti mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich.  She loved it.  We made the mistake of letting her have some of our ice cream when we went to Chaney's last weekend, and her poor stomach didn't handle it well.  I'm hoping she'll grow out of her dairy issues by the time she's 2, but we'll see.  And somehow despite her monstrous appetite, she's barely gaining weight.  Nick thinks she's getting taller, and I know she's moving around a lot more so she's slimming down.  But I wish she'd start putting on some weight.  However, I haven't had to buy new clothes in a while since she's not outgrowing anything. 

We had a fun Father's Day, though we didn't do anything terribly exciting.  We spent the whole day just hanging out and eating out.  It was some nice quality time together.  We don't have any big plans for the 4th of July, but I'm looking forward to Nick's 3 day weekend.  Emma loves having him around on the weekends.  She loves her daddy.  Here are some pics from Father's Day and a few other random pictures as well.

Happy Father's Day

We have enjoyed a great Father's Day today.  Emma came down with pink eye Friday, so we had to make a dr's visit Saturday morning, but she's doing much better today.  She HATES her eye drops, but they seem to be helping.  Nick has gotten to eat at 3 of his favorite restaurants today ( = no cooking for me!) and we got to play in the pool some.  It is insanely hot outside; so hot that our pool water is actually too warm.  Emma was in a great mood (she's always so much happier on the weekends, when Nick is here...she's turned into such a daddy's girl lately), so we had lots of fun.  We're so blessed to have such a great husband / daddy, and we love hanging out with him!

Fab 5 Friday

I know I've been terrible about keeping up with this...sorry!

1.  Kristin Hannah books - I managed to read two of her books this week, and am trying to find another at the library.  I think I've read most of her books though.  I love when I find a new author I enjoy, but hate when I run out of books!

2.  Storytime at the Library - Emma and I have had lots of fun on Wednesdays and Fridays at the library.  She has gotten to interact with other babies and Mama gets out of the house!

3.  Jergen's Natural Glow lotion -

I'm not usually one for self tanner (it smells nasty, I usually end up looking orange, and I generally get it all over my clothes).  But I got a good deal on this at Walgreens last week, so I thought I'd try it out.  I also bought the facial lotion.  I think I'm a little tanner!

4.  Sonic - Sonic is not one of my favorite places to actually eat a meal, because I don't like their fries or tots.  However, I love their desserts.  Since we live so close to a Sonic, we probably go at least 2 or 3 times a week to get shakes or sundaes.  And this summer, their sundaes are only $.99 after 8pm, plus the shakes are B1G1 free anytime.  I love their hot fudge shakes!

5.  The Braves - I'm getting pretty accustomed to the Braves being terrible, so I have to mention when they don't (it won't last long).  I feel out of the loop since I can't watch them on tv anymore or listen on the radio.  And I'm not shelling out tons of money to watch or listen online.  Sorry Bravos...I'll have to be content to get your scores via text and read about you at ajc.com.  See you in August and October!!

Update

Sorry I've been such a slacker with blogging.  We've been busy around here.  Emma and I have been visiting the library two days a week for baby storytime.  She loves it and it's been so good for her.  When we first started going, she would cling to me and fuss if she wasn't with me the whole time.  Now she will play and wander away a little (but not too far).  She loves looking at the books and especially at the other babies.  She's fascinated with other people.  We've also started music class, which is once a week.  The rest of the week is spent running errands.  She loves grocery shopping with me (thought not if I take too long) and probably thinks she lives at Target.  Walgreens and CVS are fun because the carts are small, so she feels like a big girl.  Although to me, she IS a big girl.  We've only gotten to play in the pool (our small pool from Walmart) once, but she loved it....after a few minutes.  She chilled out in her float until she figured out how to kick her legs and move in the water.  I hope she loves to swim!  Our swing-set is up in the backyard, and she really likes swinging in her toddler swing too.  Pretty much anything outside she loves.  Our little crawler also pulled up for the first time yesterday.  It's hard to believe that she wouldn't even put weight on her legs only 4 or 5 months ago.  I have been trying to babyproof the house the best I can, though she still doesn't seem to have much interest in getting into things.  Other than the entertainment center...she loves it.  She is developing quite the personality, complete with her parents' stubbornness and temper.  Even the pediatrician commented on her temper.  It's a good thing she has her looks going for her!  We don't go anywhere without people coming up to us and telling us how pretty she is (yes I'm bragging, but what mother doesn't think her baby is the best looking?).  Usually it's nice, but I still have a hard time with the people who think they can touch her.  Like babies are community property.  Yes, please get germs and bacteria all over my baby...I can't wait to care for a sick, fussy baby who won't sleep!  Please give me your address so I can send you a thank you note!  Obviously I'm not talking about people we know...only total strangers.  Honestly, it's just creepy.  I know I'm a mother, because I worry about many things, one being my daughter being kidnapped.  That's where the separation anxiety comes in handy...I know she would scream bloody murder if anyone tried to take her!  I just hope that her very strong desire to be with me now will get me through the preteen and teenage years...I already dread that.

In other great news, we've made the transition from formula to milk!  We tried whole milk, which wasn't good.  She's drinking soy milk, but she seems to like it.  Hopefully the days of paying $22.50 for formula are over!  Figures...this week our formula is on sale at Kroger.  It never went on sale when I needed it!  But my stockpile of coupons is out, so it's good timing.  And I found coupons for Silk soy milk!  Emma has started being pickier about what she eats...I so hoped we would bypass that, because she's always been so great at eating anything and everything.  But I can't complain too much...she spits out foods like pasta and other tablefood and prefers her fruits and veggies.  I've been flash freezing as much fresh fruit and veggies as I can find on sale.  Food prep is much easier now.  Last night I made Tomato & Hamburger, a recipe I found for a toddler-friendly meal.  It consisted of pasta, ground turkey or beef, carrots, peas, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.  Emma tried it and ate leftovers for lunch today...even Nick ate it, which is saying a lot (usually I have to sneak veggies in his food).  I hope she will always love fruits and veggies.

Well, sorry about the long post, but I haven't updated in quite a while.  Most of my time online is spent printing coupons and store deals!  I'm trying to decrease our grocery bills, and am making progress on stockpiling our necessities.  Especially personal hygiene items, diapers and wipes, and BBQ sauce!  If anyone spots some mac & cheese or boxed stuffing mix on sale, let me know!