Potty News

This week I have been a little MIA because I was at training for work all week. I'm very happy to be home and spend some time with Emma and Josh. Emma was glued to me from the second she heard the garage door open tonight. I missed that baby so much! I know this sounds crazy, but I'm pretty certain that she grew while I was away even though there were technically only 2.5 days that I didn't see her.

On to the potty news...don't pretend like you're not on the edge of your seat right now!

1. When Josh got Emma up yesterday morning, her diaper was barely wet. This has never happened to this extent so he was worried that maybe she was dehydrated. He put right on the potty and she pee-peed right away! Yay! This shows that she is learning to train her bladder and hold it more. It's awesome that she's going immediately when she sits on the potty versus having to wait around for 5 or 10 minutes like we used to.

2. Tonight as I was making her bath, she sat on her potty. She looked at me and said 'poo poo.' As unexciting as that sounds to most of you out there, this was THE highlight of my day. She's really getting it now. I think she was a little scared at first and although she did not end up going, she did try. So I consider this a huge stride.

Isn't it funny how your priorities change once kids are in the picture? I never imagined I'd be writing about this subject but they are milestones! And that's the whole point of this blog - to document her growth, her successes, her knowledge and our love for her. Sorry if this was a little too much information for some of you, but next time you'll know that if the word "potty" appears in the subject, you should move along and wait for the next post. :)

Pumpkin Pickin'

We headed for the pumpkin patch this morning and had a great time.

We opted against the hayride because we have found that Emma doesn't react well to hay. I think she perceives it as dirty. I can't imagine where she gets this trait from. :) Instead we went on a train ride which Emma very much enjoyed.

She just took off with this little gourd...it was perfectly sized for her.

If this hadn't made us dizzy, she would've had us keep doing this all afternoon!

Today:

One year ago - same place, same cutout:

Then we went for lunch. It is evident every day that she is becoming a big girl. Today she didn't want to sit in a highchair, she wanted to sit in the big girl seat. Thankfully she willingly sat in the booster seat though. Doesn't she look so big sitting at the table like a little girl instead of a baby?!

She was so funny with this ear of corn. She kept eating it and saying "MMMmmm" after each bite.

Last night she had some peanut butter on a few Ritz crackers and she was soooo happy. Look at this peanut buttered face:

Last night she had to have her bear AND her piglet sit beside her while she drank her milk. She wanted them 'Right There' or as she says 'Ight The' while pointing to the exact spot she wants them to be in.

Little Things

It really is the little things in life that make me smile the most. I was thinking about this on my way to take Emma to school this morning. A song came on the radio and I glanced in my mirror and saw Emma swaying to the tempo and bouncing a little bit. Seeing her captivated and happy over something so simple made a big smile come over me. It got me thinking about all of the little things that she does that I love so much...

1. I love the way that she raises one eyebrow and is so expressive in her face.
2. I love the way that she squeals when she sees me or Josh coming her direction.
3. I love that she knows that when the garage door opens, it means Mommy is home...and she comes running toward the door screaming my name.
4. I love that she is such an adventurous eater.
5. I love that she finds it absolutely hilarious when Donald Duck falls over on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
6. I love that she makes friends so easily.
7. I love that she is so smart and surprises me daily with her knowledge.
8. I love how she will not speak the word "flower" because she will only use sign language for that particular word.
9. I love to see how much joy it brings her to give or receive a hug.
10. I love that she likes to put socks on her hands for no apparent reason.

I could go on forever about the little things that I love about my little girl. She is my happiness, my love and my life.

Bacheloretting

This weekend we took a girls trip for Gloria's bachelorette party. So much fun! It was so nice to see so many friends again.

The beautiful bachelorette, Gloria!

The matron of honor decided to sign us all up for a pole dancing class on Saturday afternoon. We were all very skeptical about this adventure but we ended up having fun with it. Thankfully nobody took it seriously and we were able to let loose, laugh and dance. With that said, let me tell you one more thing....it is much harder than it looks because every single one of us were sore the next day!

Here we all are before we went in. Gloria's sister made everybody matching shirts that say "G Crew" on them. Adorable!

And here we are inside.

Here are two priceless pictures from the class:

Of course I can't post without an Emma update. She's doing fantastic as always. Her new favorite thing this week is honeydew melon. This baby LOVES it! After tonight's dinner, you would also think her favorite thing is salmon because she ate so much of it tonight. This recent appetite she has will blow you over. How does one tiny person eat that much?

Here are a few pictures from tonight:

She is still enamored with the magnet alphabet and numbers

She was very thrown off when Josh opened the fridge door while she was playing. But she did not let it deter her...she never skipped a beat.

Such a cute girl

She kept giving me kisses

I love that even when she is pretending to drink out of a cup, she is prissy with it and holds her pinky finger out.

After all that playing, she just had to sit down for a rest

Even after all the salmon and melon, she somehow made room for a few bites of ice cream

I'm Back

I've been out of commission for almost a week with the flu...but I'm back! Josh quarantined me from Emma until Sunday. It was SO hard staying away from her but the last thing we wanted was for her to get the flu. Josh and I were originally supposed to go to the Braves game in Atlanta on Sunday but I obviously couldn't go. It was sad to realize how quickly he was able to replace me! But he had a good time and I was able to have Emma all to myself on Sunday and I had her today because her daycare was out for Columbus Day.

Because I was out for so long, I guess I felt the need to make up for it via pictures...so stay with me, because I have LOTS to show you...

What did Emma do while I was sick Wednesday through Saturday? Anything she wanted to! Daddy lets her do whatever she feels like! They had a great time. I made him take a few pictures of her...

How cute is this hair?

On Sunday, we took it easy.

I took her to the park

She loved the train. She made me come and sit inside each car with her. Luckily I can still fit!

This morning she had a banana for breakfast...doesn't everybody eat a banana with their sunglasses on?

Then of course there was plenty of playing and laughing

And dancing around with a purse and bracelets on

And guess who knows where her eyebrows are now?

Then this afternoon Josh left work a little early so we could head to the golf course. We went to the putting green and to no surprise, she had a blast for her first time out there.

I love this picture. It is so sweet how she is looking up at Josh as he shows her how it's done.

She's clearly a natural!

Look at that smirk

By the end of it, she realized it was much easier to just put the ball directly into the hole. Smart!

Tomorrow I finally have the approval from the doctor to go back to work. I hope I can make it through a whole day!

What is This For?

This was the sentence that started the lowpoint of my day yesterday. It started on Tuesday night. My ordinary cold took a turn for the worst when I had a fever spike. But I took Nyquil and Motrin and by morning I felt great. Well, I wasn't aware of this nugget of information, but did you know that fevers are usually fine in the morning and tend to spike in the afternoon? By 1:00 yesterday afternoon I felt terrible again. I finished the returns I was working on (such dedication) and left early to head to the doctor.

When the nurse took me back to ask the usual questions, I told her all of my symptoms. She pulled out a swab and handed me a tissue. I looked at the tissue and then asked, "What is this for?" She looked at me with a pitiful glance as if to say "Bless this girl's heart, she has no idea what is about to come." Instead her actual response was, "You're gonna need it after I'm done." Hmmmm really? Turns out she was giving me a flu test. For all those people out there like me who have never had one they take a swab and go up one nostril and then it comes out the other one!! Yes, you read that correctly. It HOOKS your nose. It burns, it's uncomfortable and it made my nose bleed. Way to kick a girl when she's down.

After my results came back and I talked with the doctor, it turns out that not only do I have the FLU but I have STREP to really top it off. Then she told me I can't go back to work until Tuesday. What?! Then I reasoned with her that I supposed that was okay because I brought my computer home from work and that meant I could just work from home. But she looked at me baffled and said, "No, you can't work AT ALL today or tomorrow. You must rest." Really?! I suppose the flu does not care that there's a deadline coming up.

So today, I have to stay in bed. I didn't see Emma at all last night for fear that I'd spread it to her. If she or Josh start to present any symptoms I already have the prescriptions to call in for them that my doctor wrote. Please pray that neither of them get it!!

Eli's Birthday Party

This weekend we had a great time at Eli's birthday party. He turned TWO! Our babies are growing up so fast! Here are some pictures:

Emma loved sliding with me

But she really enjoyed the freedom of sliding by herself

She was all over the place...running, climbing and playing on everything in sight

And back to the slide...

The birthday boy (in the red jacket). Happy Birthday, Eli! Hope you had a great 2nd birthday!

She was so busy the entire party running around that she didn't even spot the swings until the very end. It was a good way to end the night.

Also this weekend, I bought Emma some new shoes...how cute are these baby boots??

Of course no weekend (or day) is complete without stalking Nala. Emma loves to sit and watch Nala eat. She is very patient and sits and watches her.

But lately, she wants to help Nala along. So she tries to speed up the eating process by actually shoving the food into Nala's mouth. Surprisingly, Nala seems to appreciate this.