Standing tall

Here is Emmaline's weekly picture. Doesn't she look so cute standing up? She hasn't mastered pulling herself up yet (kinda hard when she sleeps in the pack 'n play in our room and it is impossible to hold on to the netting!), but she is really good at holding herself up if you put her next to something. What a big girl!

Here's a cute pic. of Emmy clapping her hands.
She loves to patty cake!

Happy 4th Birthday, Emma!

Gabrielle's best friend at church, Emma, turns 4 at the end of the month. She had a princess party today and all of the girls that came dressed up like princesses. They had fun playing "Pin-the-Crown on the Princess" and "Pass the Crown". This was Ellie's 1st "friend" birthday party where Jacob didn't attend and she had a lot of fun.

The Princesses
Ellie is at the end on the far left and Emma is sitting in the middle

Ellie gave Emma a giant Disney princess coloring book and crayons

Doing the Hokey Pokey



The Chicken Dance

Singing karaoke to the ABC song
Elliot, Emma's little brother, was quite the ham and didn't want to give up the mic.

11-months old

Much to my dismay, Emmaline turned 11-months old on Monday. Each month seems to go faster and faster which makes me sad. She had physical therapy this week and did really well. We are going to start PT twice a month now since she is more active and is doing more things. She is a little delayed, but isn't too far behind, so we want to keep it that way.

Impromptu Play Day

My sister, Dee, came down to visit today at my parents' house and brought my nephew, Colton, with her. After we finished school, I took the kiddos over so that they could play with their cousin. They only live 30 minutes away, but with work, kids, and other things, we don't get to see them very often. We had lunch and then listened to the chaos as the kids played together.

Emmaline sat in the orange stool for the first time.

We tied her in with one of my brother's belts.

Watching the birds and squirrels

Gabrielle and Colton had fun shooting the bad guys

Then they took a "nap" in front of the fireplace


Jacob spent most of his time playing video games with Uncle Andy

Dee and Colton had to leave around 3, but the kids and I stayed and had dinner with my parents so that Nathan could sleep in peace and quiet at our house (he'd gone to bed later than normal today). Mom made a yummy stir-fry for the adults, and the kids munched on mini hotdogs and homemade macaroni and cheese. By the time we got home, it was bath time and then bed time, which thankfully, Nathan was able to get up and help with. It was a long, but really fun day.

Happy 4th Birthday, Sam and Owen!

This afternoon, we went to a birthday party for Sam and Owen, twins from our church home group. It was held at Stillwater United Methodist Church. They have this awesome indoor playground (think giant Chick-fil-A) and there is also an area for having lunch/snacks/etc. The best part is that is open to the public (M-F, 11-4) and is FREE. The kids had a great time playing and they really enjoyed the Wiggles cake and chocolate ice cream.

Jacob, Ellie, and their friend, Elliot

Jacob with red icing on his chin

Emmaline is ready to party

Ellie, in one of the many tubes

Emmaline and Jen

The Pirates Who Do Nothing

Today, Katie and I took the kids to see "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything". Jacob can't remember the title for some reason, so he always calls it the "The Pirates Who Do Nothing" Anyway, it was a cute movie and it had a great message for kids (and adults too!). I won't give that away though, in case you want to go see it.

Emmaline's New Trick

She's been working at it for awhile and within the past two weeks, Emmaline has gotten really good at finger-feeding herself. I caught it on video this morning and thought I would share it with everyone. What a big girl!

Pretty in Pink

Yummy Cookies

I haven't baked any cookies since before Christmas, so today, Mom came over and helped the kids and I whip up some yummy treats. This was a new recipe, but I was really pleased with the results. Who wouldn't love something that combines chocolate, peanut butter, and potato chips?

Here is the link to "Chip and Dip Cookies" if you are interested. They really are delicious!

This was taken earlier in the day. Emmaline was so tired that I couldn't even get her up to her crib before she fell asleep!

Jacob crushes the potato chips

Gabrielle mans the mixer

Flattening cookies with Mimi

Dipping the cookies in chocolate/peanut butter sauce and then peanuts

Enjoying the cookies of her labor

Yummy!

Handsome Boy

Awhile back, someone gave Jacob this suit (thanks, Connie!). Our church is pretty casual, so he hasn't gotten much use out of it yet. He decided he wanted to wear it to church today (so he could look like Daddy when he dresses up for court) and thought he looked pretty sharp. After getting dressed this morning, he came downstairs and said, "Sissy, I've got my costume on." Notice the white hanging out of the bottom of the suit coat. I couldn't get him to tuck his shirt in because he said that it hurt. We lso discovered that he can't wear his dress shoes anymore, so he has on his brown leather high tops. I've also included a pic. of Ellie because she wanted her picture taken too. These kids are growing up way too fast for my liking!

"Hey! Tell Jacob to get out of my picture!"

Pretty girl!

Shopping Spree

Okay, so it wasn't really a shopping spree, but the kids were excited to spend some of their Christmas money. Jacob really wanted a Diego tree house rescue center and after 3 stores, we were finally able to find one. Ellie loves anything Dora, so she decided on a Dora truck with horse trailer for the horses she had gotten at Christmas. They having been playing with these non-stop since Nathan put them together! Notice the big girl standing by the coffee table. Emmaline can't pull herself up yet, but she is getting really good at standing and holding on to whatever we put her next to.

I also got to spend a Target giftcard I had gotten last week. I'm on a moms' panel at Evenflo and have done several research things for them in the past. They usually last a couple of hours, I share my opinion, and then leave with a check for $75. Last week, I was asked to give my opinion on their new carseat fabrics. I looked at about 30 carseats, filled out a survey, and was given a $20 Target gift card. It took all of 18 minutes, so I was pretty pleased with myself.

Emmy's Weekly Update

Emmaline went to the opthamologist this week. Her tear ducts have been plugged since she was born, but since they have improved some (i.e., her eyes aren't crusted shut when she wakes up anymore), the doctor doesn't want to probe them yet. She only gets the yellow stuff in the corners of her eyes occasionally, so we're hoping that whatever is causing the small amount of blockage will resolve itself in the near future. On another note, Emmaline loves going to the eye doctor because he has a great fish tank in the waiting area. She loves to sit in the chairs that back up to the tank and watch the many fish swim about. Her favorite one was the puffer fish because he would follow her back and forth. Maybe one day we'll get a fish...or we could always try to win one at the fair in August!

What's up with this weather?!

The weather here has been unusually warm. So much so, that the kids were able to play outside today without coats. When it is 65 in January (over 30 degrees warmer than normal!), you take advantage of the opportunity to get out of the house. Jacob and Ellie played in the backyard for several hours today and we even took a family walk around the neighborhood before dinner. I've never been a big fan of winter, so it will be nice when this kind of weather comes to stay, but I wouldn't mind a few more good snows before winter is over.

Gabrielle loves to climb

Jacob was looking for ants in his favorite spot by the flower bed

Emmaline enjoyed her stroller ride sans coat and blanket

Our First Trip to Boonshoft (this year!)

For the past several years at Christmas, Nathan's parents, have gotten us a family membership to Boonshoft Children's Museum. We try to go at least once a month, but our routine was thrown off with the holidays, so today we tried to get back on track. Mom didn't have to work, so she decided to join us and we had a really good time. This was the first time that Emmaline was actually able to sit and play with things, so it was fun to see her reaction to all the new things. Jacob and Gabrielle had a great time running from area to area, as always. We were saddened to see that Tawny, the coyote, had passed away since our last visit. It was always fun to see her follow the kids back and forth through the windows of her home. Jacob is already asking when they'll get a new coyote to take her place. After we were done at the museum, we met Nathan at McDonald's for lunch, where the kids each used their own gift cards from Christmas (thanks Uncle Andy!) to pay for their own Happy Meals. We were going to have ice cream for dessert, but apparently there is some unwritten rule that McDonald's ice cream machines must always be broken whenever the urge for a sundae hits its customers. Oh well, maybe next time!

Emmaline helps Mimi do a puzzle

Jacob and Gabrielle in the water area

Mimi helps Emmy feel the different textures

Playing with puppets

Ellie reads Emmy a book

Jacob and Mimi compare their hands

Ellie in her hotrod

Emmaline loved riding on this eggplant. She couldn't rock back and forth very well, but loved moving from side to side on it!