At Least I'm Not This Bad

This is for all the parents out there...this story will make us all feel a little better about our parenting skills.

Serious Face

Check out this video from the other night. She just started doing this face and now if we say, "Do your serious face" she does it. Adorable! For some reason I think those expressive eyes on an 11 month old are just priceless.

O Christmas Tree

We went a few weekends ago in search of our Christmas tree. I put all the lights on and then Josh helped me decorate while Emma supervised. The first year we were married he "helped" me put the lights on but we quickly realized that our versions of putting lights on the tree were very different. He just lays the strands of lights on the tree limbs whereas I wrap them around to make it look extra sparkly. I blame my mom for this obsession because she does the same thing and she is the one who taught me. We decided a long time ago that it's best for everybody involved if I just do the lights myself and then bring him in for the rest. It works out well because he is in charge of taking the lights off the tree. And he is obsessive about how he does that (wraps them perfectly into circles) so it's best if he does that on his own because I don't do it right! We all have our areas of expertise I suppose.

Here are some pictures from our search for the perfect tree:





This was the tree that passed that test!


Apparently the search wore Emma out, because she fell asleep almost as soon as we got in the car:


Here are a few post-decorations pictures:









This is Bob...he likes to get into the Christmas spirit too!

Honest Scrap Award

My friend Rhonda tagged me for the Honest Scrap Award. I have to share 10 honest things about myself. Here goes:

1. I feel like the luckiest person around when I realize just how fortunate I am to have a husband like Josh, a baby girl like Emma, and a family centered around God.

2. I am secretly happy that Emma is beginning to look more and more like me. When I was growing up, I can't tell you how often I heard the phrase, "You look just like your mom." I've always looked forward to a time when my little girl will hear the same thing.

3. I love my Lucky jeans. Somehow they are always the right length whether I am in flats or heels.

4. I dread cooking every day. It seems to take so much effort and then it is eaten in minutes and it's time to clean up. I'm getting better though.

5. I love the smell of Fraser Fur Christmas trees and laundry in the dryer. I think it's because they are both very clean scents.

6. Josh and I have been together for a decade now. I still remember the day when my dad said to me, "You'll really be crushed if this one doesn't work out, won't you?" My initial reaction was of course a resounding YES. I would be crushed for sure. It was as if it hadn't occurred to me before that it wouldn't work out. I think that was the moment I realized I would be with him forever because the alternative was too painful to even think about!

7. I have the need to be in a clutter free environment and I married a very cluttery man. I guess what they say is true - opposites DO attract.

8. I have always wanted to go to therapy. I don't know why and I can't explain it. I asked Josh if we could go to therapy and he said no because we have no problems. I responded by saying that perhaps we could make something up. He told me that because of conversations like that one, I probably SHOULD go.

9. When I was young, I watched the movie "Annie" so many times that I broke the tape.

10. Now I feel old because I just referred to a VHS tape...

Okay, that's ten things. I'm supposed to tag 7 people but several of the people I know in the blog world have already done this, so I will just put it out there for anybody who wants to do this on their blog. Have fun!

Here is a little Emma update for you. I made Emma some corn for lunch and I had the kernels in a little bowl. I would put a little handful on her tray for her to eat herself. After a few minutes she noticed the bowl and wanted it. I put it in front of her and she had this HUGE grin over her face. I think she felt like a big girl. She started to eat out of the bowl and then she did the cutest thing. She took the rest of the kernels that were still on her tray and put them all (one by one) into the bowl. Then she proceeded to eat out of the bowl. CUTE! I want to add one more "honest thing" to my list...

11. I have hopes that Emma will not only begin to look more and more like me but that she will also start to act more and more like me. I hope she helps me with the clutter instead of adding to it like her father! A girl can hope can't she?! Her putting those corn kernels all back into the bowl gives me a tiny shred of hope!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Emma's first birthday is a mere few weeks away and it makes me realize how fast time is going by. It seems like she was just born and now she's 11 months old! I know that I'll blink and all of a sudden she'll be grown up. So I decided to put a list together of a few of our favorite things right now. This way, after I blink, I can at least look back and remember when she was still my little baby.


1. Bath Time:
- Emma's favorite - Bath toys. These are some that I got from a little store here and they squirt water. I got the animal package since she loves animals so much.

- Mom's favorite - After bath baby smell. Who doesn't love that baby smell?

2. Food:
-Emma's favorite - Meat (Ham, Hamburger, Chicken) and beans (green beans and peas). Guess she'll be a meat lover like her daddy. We'll soon see if she likes venison since Josh got a deer a few weekends ago.

-Mom's favorite - This cool mat that Josh's mom gave us...it suctions cups to the table and you are germ and worry free! Here is a video of her using the mat. This was the first time she had meatballs. Rest assured that she ate every bite!


3. Mornings:
- Emma's favorite - Seeing that delicious bottle come her way.

- Mom's favorite - Seeing that beautiful first smile of the day when I open the door. It is indeed the best way to start off any day. Even if I'm tired or cranky, I just can't help but smile and be happy after I see that smile.


4. Music:
- Emma's favorite - She loves any kind of music and if she hears it, she will stop what she's doing and turn towards it. Still stopping her in her tracks most often are Mickey Mouse, Baby Beethoven, and the Wonder Pets song.

- Mom's favorite - The way that she "dances" when she hears a particularly good beat. She's got rhythm...must have gotten it from her daddy. I couldn't get her on video dancing for too long before she would notice I was videoing her. Once she realized, she kept stopping. So this is a short video, but it's still cute!




5. Toy:
- Emma's favorite - Bunny! She loves the bunny that Jaime gave her. All four of its paws are teethers so it helps tremendously when she's putting herself to sleep. As soon as I put her in the crib, she pulls her head up just enough to find Bunny, pulls it close, and then drifts off.

- Mom's favorite - Lullaby Bear! Where would I be without this thing? My mom gave it to me and as I mentioned a few months ago, it has helped with naps more than anything else. All I have to do is turn out the lights, turn on the Bear and poof...Emma puts her head down on my shoulder and rubs her eyes. I'm convinced this is a magical bear.

6. Game:
- Emma's favorite: Being thrown up in the air! She also loves a good game of peek-a-boo.

- Mom's favorite: Hearing that belly laugh that goes along with Emma being thrown in the air or uncovering herself when playing peek-a-boo...it just never gets old!

Victory is Mine

We're back to having nap troubles. The routine still works (lights out, lullaby bear on, Emma's head hits my shoulder). The problem occurs when I lay her down in the crib now. See the problem is that I know she's super tired and that she needs a nap...but she fights it! Why do babies fight it so hard? If only we all knew then what we know now...that we'd give anything for a nap in the middle of the day!

She will be almost asleep and then all of a sudden it's like she realizes she's about to fall asleep and thinks she might miss something. So she pops up and then stands up. It's all over when she stands up because there are too many things to distract her. The things that distract her can be anything from her pretty curtains to having fun bouncing up and down.

Usually I give it about 15 or 20 minutes and if she isn't asleep, I go back up there. Basically the whole thing starts over and not only does she end up not taking a nap, but I end up exhausted! Until today...

Today, I put her down and it happened again. BUT this time I just let her cry it out. It took 31 minutes, but she is now asleep. Although it makes me feel like a bad mother for letting her cry, it makes me feel even worse when she's cranky all afternoon because of how tired she is and I could have prevented it.

Santa Baby

I know I just posted Thanksgiving pictures yesterday, but I already have Emma's Santa picture and I just had to post it. It is technically December now!

Much to Josh's excitement, we went to Bass Pro Shop on Sunday and had Emma's picture taken with Santa. Who knew that Santa's Wonderland was right in the middle of Josh's Wonderland?! The picture was free and the line wasn't that bad, so I agreed to it. Emma was happy and made friends the whole time we were in line. There were three children behind us that just loved Emma. They pretty much entertained her the whole time that I was in line. They had the line running so fast that we had to hand Emma off to Santa quickly and then dart out of the picture. I think it scared her how quickly we dropped her off and ran so she was a little freaked out at first. She looked like she might cry but she composed herself. Of course she didn't have time to really get that Emma smile going, but this picture is still good.


After we took a picture with Santa we went out to eat. Emma loves when we put water in a straw and then feed it to her. She looks like a hamster when we do it, but for some reason it is way better than the water she has in her own sippy cup. Well on Sunday, Josh decided to see if she'd just drink regularly out of a straw...and she did! Now that's all she wants to do. Looks like the sippy cup stage might be short lived and we might go to a real cup with a straw shortly!