Meet Mary Lou...

AKA Purple Grandma

One of my very favorite people on earth is my grandmother. Always has been, always will be. That seems to be no different for my little girl and her cousins.

We all went for a visit this afternoon to "Grandma with the Monkeys" House. I loved watching her with the girls. It reminds me of when I was a little girl. I loved to go to her house to eat black olives, pickles and snickers. She ALWAYS had an ice cream treats in the freezer for us, and it was in her home that my love for turkey skin came to be. She always got down on the floor to play memory or do puzzles with us. I was 4 she was a grandma, but she still was down there with me.

Over 20 years later, times haven't changed. Only now it is my daughter she is kneeling with, getting toys for, making smile, and doing whatever her little heart desires. Purple Grandma loves her great grand babies, and boy do they love her.

Love Affair

( Blogger is really buggin right now. It WILL NOT post this picture the right way so for now you will have to look at it this way until I can fix it.)

Emmy girl is having a complete love affair with her cousins. She is utterly and completely enamored by them and everything they do. It's amazing to see. She will just stare and watch them for hours. She laughs every time they even move, and kicks and flails her legs and arms whenever they look her way.

I am so glad that they are here, but at the same time seeing the way the girls interact makes me so sad at the same time. They live so far away. Ughg. I really wish Emmy had her cousins close by to play with and grow up with. This goes for either side.

On a lighter note though we had lots of fun with the girls today. We went shopping, and had lunch at our favorite mexican joint, Fiesta Grill. After lunch we did our very favorite thing.. laying on the carpet in the sun doing nothing but talking and laughing. I absolutely love my sister and am so glad that she is here for the next week.

We also made a trip to the Doctors today. It seems as though Miss Emmy has two very bad ear infections. This must explain the sleepless nights we have had the last couple of days. Not only ear infections, but also conjunctivitis. Goopy eyes and hurting ears. Poor little bit. The doctor did mention how incredibly happy she is given the circumstances. I told her it was her cousins in town. I hope she feels better soon.

Yuck

1 Migraine ='s early bed. Good Night.

Machines and a Teeny Bikini

So this last week was organizing week. I started with the storage closets, and then ended with my sewing stuff. Felt good to fold all my fabric, make an inventory of what I have, and plan some upcoming projects. I really can't wait. The closets weren't enough, so I used this machine:

to clean my carpets.. how great do they look?

It just feels good to know that my daughter is rolling around on a clean surface... which is more then I can say for my dining room floor, and that is her favorite place. Oops, my bad.

Speaking of Emmy rolling around on the floor. We (as in Baker, Emmy and I) went to our old stomping grounds, the beach walk, to soak in the hot tub. It was Emmy's first time. Wow, she loved the over sized bath tub. She couldn't get enough. But what I couldn't get enough of, was my little girl in this little Bikini. Too die for.


BTW, my daughters butt is finally big enough to fit in a swimmer diaper. So no more of those uncomfortable plastic ones. Yeah!

Free Day

So I only have a few more days to reach my month long of daily blogging. I know this because my husband keeps reminding me.

But, today I am going to take a free day. Count this little excerpt, because you see, my husband is home. After two nights away. So tonight it will be less blog, more Baker. I love him.

PS. Two more nights of shut eye and the girls are here. I can hardly contain myself.

Dreamy

How dreamy is this craft room? I would kill for a space like this. Ok, not really kill, but you get what I mean. Martha NEVER lets me down. It's just so organized and clean and workable. I love it.


I have been in a crafty mood lately I don't know what it is, and the fact that I have no space in this apartment is getting to me. I find myself having to walk out to the garage (which is not attached) to get my things. Who has to do that? I guess I should be grateful I have a garage. A lot of the neighbors don't. I think mostly I would just like a space that isn't in my daughters closet. That way I can actually work on things at night or during nap time. When I really should be.

I never feel like I can really just sit and craft. I love to sew, scrapbook, cut, paste, create, you name it I like to do it. My biggest problem is I have a mess at the end of the day that I never want to clean up since I will be right back at it in the morning during Emmy's nap.. but it covers the dining room table and who wants to answer the door with a tornado of paper and fabric for everyone to see? Oh to be rich and afford a house big enough for me and my crafts.

until then I am going to sleep to dream of this dreamy craft room... one day.

Ahhhh!

Some may think this is trash, but I would just like to say that I am so happy America's Next Top Model is back. I don't know what it is about this show... I just love it. I've only watched a few minutes and already know it's going to be a great season. For starters they are going back to New York, and there are more crazy chicks on this season then any other season I have seen.

I still haven't had a chance to pick my favorite but I am pretty sure whoever I pick will be in the final two. Never have I picked one that hasn't gone that far. Maybe I should be a judge? Although that would mean that I have to hang out with Tyra... no thanks. Her acting is just too much for me.

So excuse me while I cuddle up on the couch, each chocolate malted crunch ice cream, and fantasize of having long legs like the rest of them.

Could it be?

Do we have a walker in the midst of us? I think we might. This little girl is obsessed with standing up, pulling herself up, and walking with help. I don't think it will be very long until she is on her own two feet.

It's just amazing how fast this is all going. She has easily been getting around on her own via army crawl for quite some time now. She finally mastered crawling on her knees this week, and this whole pulling up bit is just too much. She even started walking around the ottoman on her own. Whats next? College graduation and a walk down the isle (figuratively speaking since we know there is no isle at the temple, and she will be married in the temple).

She just wants to be standing up all the time.. in the tub, in her crib, and believe it or not this morning while she was nursing she was literally trying to stand up. It was hilarious. She was in downward dog position nursing. Unbelievable this girl.

* I'm not quite sure why Emmy looks like she has no neck here. I would say that is one of her best assets.

I watched Charlie the other day, and when I came out of the bathroom I found her standing like this. She just couldn't get enough of him apparently, and by the look of his face she just wants her to leave him alone. I love her.

Alert The Press

Thats right people.. we have got some big news. My sister and the girls are coming to visit! I can hardly wait. I have got 9 long days with them. This news comes at the perfect time, cause I really need a visit from my sister. It has been almost 5 months! Are you kidding me? We missed Thanksgiving, we missed Christmas, and New Years, Ground Hog Day, Chinese New Year, Valentines Day, and most recently Presidents Day. Who goes that many Holidays without seeing their very own sister? Flesh and Blood?

Obviously I have a lot planned. Lots of Shopping to do (Window for me, don't worry Baker), people to see, places to be. I have to make these nine days count right? I wonder if I can convince her to stay an extra week.. do you think she would go for a month? Regardless, I can't wait for her to get here.. she is going to bring to me something that I really need...

A breath of fresh air.

This Girl

Melts my heart.

Let Me See Your Sushi Roll

I have had quite the long day, and have a load of things to share, but due to some unbelievable tiredness I will only be permitted to share one tonight.

My brother Jason and I have been trying to get together for dinner for quite some time now. He has been wanting to take us down to Mission Viejo for an all you can eat sushi joint. We finally went. The sushi was decent.. good I would say.. but the price was what you couldn't beat. 22 dollars for all you can eat. Which includes all you cab eat appetizers and miso soup as well. Great deal right? Yeah I know.

We order our first round and plowed through. They couldn't bring them fast enough. Round two comes, and by the looks of it our eyes were bigger then our stomachs. There was definitely plenty to go around. A little too much... we just couldn't finish it.

Normally I would have no problem standing up and leaving left over food on my plate at a restaurant. The kicker here.. if you don't finish your plate, you are charged per roll for whatever is left! Are you kidding me? We ate as much as we could, but really you can only eat so much sushi. We had to get creative.

I dumped two pieces and mushed them up in my miso. Jason just kept eating (Props to him for getting through all 7 left over pieces of the baked lobster roll), and Baker and Vanjo literally were putting pieces in napkins and shoving them in their pockets and her purse. Seriously.. it was amazing. Now yes I feel bad for wasting food, but we were not about to pay for an extra four rolls. We just weren't going to.

It was seriously one of the funniest things. I was the lookout while Baker piled them in his napkin.. he didn't want to get caught with them so he dumped his in the bathroom. Classic. It was such a great dinner. I just have never felt so full in my life.

Thanks again to them for dinner. Now I have got to sleep this sushi off.. til tomorrow.

Barely Makin It

So I am barely making it to a post today, and if I didn't have a goal to post everyday for a month I probably wouldn't be tearing myself away from the project that I am currently knee deep in. You see, one of my dearest friends is getting married, and I and a few of the other bridesmaids are throwing her a shower tomorrow at my dads. So I am working on the decor. They happen to be these....



Cute little topiaries. They aren't the fastest things to make, but I am getting there. I've cut all my circles and only have 4 more to put all together. I'll be happy when they are done. Then I can move on to the other prep.. lots of vegetables to cut, and dip to make.

I love showers.

A Love Story For Valentines Day

1. Make Valentine for sweetheart


2. Deliver with a Kiss


3. Get denied


4. Make him beg


5. Make up and live happily ever after



We had a fabulous Valentines Day! Baker and I decided on no spending this year, and I loved it. He came home early from work, and his gift to me was a night off in the kitchen. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this means that Baker made dinner.. and it wasn't grilled cheese. It was fabulous!! We had BBQ ribs, the best mashed potatoes ever, and yummy asparagus. It really was amazing. He even set the table all romantical like.


It was so much fun to just stay in and hang out with the family. We went on a little walk with Emmy before dinner and actually got her down to bed before it was time to eat. It was so great to just lounge and hang out with Baker.. he really is my best friend. It's incredible how easy it is to just be with him, and how much we can just talk the night away. I love him.


My two Valentines


Me and Emmy girl. I wanted to prove to everyone that she does come from her dad as well. Look at her eyes. Big,and wide open you can see the color of bright blue eyes. Look at mine. You can't even tell I am awake.

* For my non spending gift to Baker I made a mixed CD. Throwback to the 90's. It too was pretty incredible.

Kids Say The Darndest Things

I was going through my magazines today pulling out articles and pictures that I wanted to keep so I could get rid of the bulky part. I love magazines, so you can imagine that I have been doing this on and off all day. I probably have two more days worth too.

I was going through "Real Simple Family", it was like a one time deal, and I found this page. I love it.


I think Sam from New York said it great. Give more marshmallows. I love kids.

On a personal note.. I found my biggest life saver. The Boon spoon. It's amazing.

You just fill it with food, squeeze each amount in the spoon, and no fuss eating. It's also too big for Emmy to grab at. I love this thing.

Daddy's Little Chickadee

It's almost scary how much Emmy loves to take a bath. Scary because as soon as she gets in she just dives in.. face first, mouth open. She flips, sits up and flips again. On her back on her stomach, she is just non stop. So non stop she is starting to get bruises all over her legs and elbows. She has swallowed probably close to gallons of water, its amazing how much she loves it.

Needless to say, she is never really happy when we take her out. She normally cops an attitude like this.


I love bath time too, but for a very different reason. I don't know what it is, but I LOVE little kids in jammies. There is just something about them. I especially love the two piecer long johns type. Like these sweet little ones we just got at the Old Navy (this means M is finally starting to grow a little. She actually needed bigger jammies).

But what do I love even more then a little girl in jammies? A little girl IN her jammies snuggling up with her dad. These two together just make my heart melt. I love them both so much.

You're Growing Up Too Fast

This is what I see when I walk into Emmy's room after she has woken up from a nap.

My little girl, pulling herself up on the rails of her crib to greet me with a big smile. When did this happen? When did my daughter start moving? Start sleeping without being swaddled. What happened to the days when she could fall asleep anywhere? I miss her sleeping on my chest. This has all just happened way too fast for me.

I feel like every time I blink she accomplishes something new. She has mastered the army crawl, she now can sit up from any position.. from her back or her stomach. She can pull herself up like second nature now. I just want to cry. I just have to reiterate.. it's AMAZING how fast they grow.

I finally got some proof of her two teefs! Aren't they the cutest little thing you have ever seen?

Her shirt looks a little WT.. sorry bout that. She seriously had just woken up from a nap.

*Update from previous post*

Be emailed some pictures of the Race to Baker. Lucky for me Baker forwarded them on... unfortunately for Ben, he decided to wait until tomorrow to post them. So for the first time in Blogger history, here are the pictures from the race.

We have Jesse in the all black, Ben with the green bandanna, John #217 and my hot hubby with #218. Look at how happy he is to be finished with the race in the second picture. I love it. Way to go guys!

I Will Never Run That Race Again

This was a big weekend at our house. Baker ran his first ever half marathon on Catalina Island. Indeed that alone would be a challenge, but the cherry on top was the fact that it was a trail run, and you climb 1600 feet of elevation in the first 4 miles! Are you kidding me? Who signs up for something like that? Apparently my husband.. and I am so proud of him for doing it.

I wish I had some pictures of the race to post but unfortunately I wasn't able to go, and we didn't have a cord for Ben and Laura's camera. So yes maybe they will have the first pictures posted, they will however, not have the first post about it. You see Ben is a VERY competitive person.. you should have seen the two of them when we played Taboo... and since I don't do things like bike or run, we compete via blog. He told me I couldn't have the pictures because he wanted them up first.. you win Ben, and hows that family tree?

Given the conditions of the race, none of the boys were happy with their times. They should really just be happy they made it to the finish line alive. By the way they have been walking today you sort of don't know what to think. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck it must be a duck right? Oh great, I married a duck.

I kid, I kid.. Baker I am so proud of you for being so ambitious with your first marathon and for all the dedication you put into it. You did amazing.. I wish I could have been there. The next one right? A great thing to do once in your lifetime according to Baker who's first words out of his mouth when I called to check in were " I will never run that race again."

Share'n the Love

I've dubbed February as Love Month. Original I know. Totally kidding.

I normally make sugar cookies, cut them out in heart shapes and decorate them for the neighbors. This year I was in no mood to bake so I took an easier yet better route. Why not share something that I love during Love Month for Valentines Day. Chocolate covered gummi bears. Amazing.

I made these little bags for my Visiting Teach-ee's, Baker's Home teach-ee's, neighbors and the Missionaries. For every bag I filled I ate two pieces. So good.

To all my neighbors that read this and are thinking "Wow she didn't bring them to my house" you are wrong. I came you just weren't there. Seriously.

Happy Happy Birthday!

Amanda Moons! Just wanted to give you a special shout out on your special day. I hope that you have an amazing day and mom and dad treat you to a nice dinner.. we're so jealous you guys are all hanging out! We love you lady and can't wait to see you soon.

Before I Forget..

..I want to write this down.


As stated in a previous post my daughter has some eating issues. She has done so well lately. We started putting her in front of the TV (Bad habit I know) so she can stay focused on something while we try to get the spoon in her mouth. She has been doing fabulous. Honestly.. like so good she doesn't need a bib fabulous.
Boy was I wrong today!! My funny moment goes like this:

While attempting to feed Em, she managed to realize I was using a spoon. I let her have it and grabbed another. When she realized that her spoon wasn't fueling the food, she grabbed the new one. Now spoonless, I try to bribe her with the jar of food. I figure she will see it in front of her, drop one of the spoons and go for the jar. Easily I could pull that away and swipe the spoon off the tray with my free hand. Man do I have a smart daughter. Instead of dropping the spoon on the tray, she takes it.. holds it in her mouth and reaches for the jar with her free hand. Are you kidding me? Where does she get this stuff?

So three spoons later, bath time is coming a little early today.

Rough Days Are Worth It.

Everything today pointed to "rough". Emmy had been up a lot of the night which isn't normal. She woke up with a cold, and nursing a child with a runny nose don't go well together. It's Wednesday which means it's my dinner night, and Little Bit was a bit clingy. It may have been rough, but at the end of the day I just can't believe how tremendously blessed I have been to be Emerson's Mom.

I am so lucky to be able to stay home and hang out with her all day. She brings more joy into my life then I would have ever thought was possible. She has definitely become one in her own. It just kills me that she is growing up and getting so big so fast. I never want the day to come that she doesn't want me to hold her.

She moves faster then any non crawling child I have ever seen. She has crazy strong arms from doing the Army Crawl, but very wobbly legs when she is standing up. I love it. She has two bottom teeth and very little hair, still. She can talk to herself for hours and laughs and smiles the night away. I have a love hate relationship with the fact that she can still wear some of her 0-3 month clothes. However, those cheeks, oh those cheeks, they make up for it.

Just thinking about her makes me want to wake her up and just cuddle and kiss her.

On second thought, I think I will let her sleep, but Emmy Lou know that I love you.

A Work in Progress...

.. but at least it is started! My Etsy Shop A Pocket Full Of Paisley is up and running.

I have a ton of stuff that I want to add and am working on, but wanted to get the ball rolling.

Enjoy!

Word is Out...

So I feel like I can finally talk about it! Congratulations to Brad and KoKo who are expecting baby #1! We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet the little Davis kid.

Now will they have a dancer or a sports lover?

My guess is a dancer!

The Simple Things

We celebrated Super Bowl Sunday in Yorba Linda with some friends that had just moved from the ward. We ate more food then you could ever imagine and topped it off with even more food. It was fabulous. Emmy missed her afternoon nap so was hammered when it was finally time to go. Needless to say she crashed as soon as the engine was turned on.

Sitting in the back seat (something I don't get to do often with Emmy) I couldn't help but just stare at her. She was just so peaceful and perfect looking. Emerson really has blessed my life like nothing I could ever explain or imagine. I love her so much.


My friend Diana has twin 3 year olds that are too die for. Her little girl Molly was loving being in front of the camera and had me take pictures of her with everyone. Her parents, her siblings, and "Most Importantly" she said with Emmy. This is my favorite shot of her and Emmy. Typical Emmy death grip.

Will you take a look at these two? Does it get any cuter?