ten months old - 12.27.12

emery annabelle is 10 months old! she has two teeth on the bottom and i think i see two more coming soon on the top. she feeds herself very well with her hands, even switching between hands and helping wayward food pieces back in her mouth. she can stand for several seconds at a time, but only when distracted because otherwise she gets so excited she wants to walk or dance and can't stand still. she pulls up and cruises along the chairs and couch.

she now has her own bedroom and she's adjusting well. soon she'll have a real crib (instead of a pack-n-play), but that requires assembly first. she LOVES our kitty who now lives with gramma and grandpa and she can even say "kkkk" or "kih-kih." she bravely reaches for the kitty if he chooses to come close to her, and she pulls his fur! the kitty feels less strongly about emery. 

emery was cheerful but less than cooperative for our photo session today. as soon as i sat her down, she crawled away, over and over. and she had her mouth open and tongue out for nearly every picture! but she sure is cute!

 my folks like to come over and take lots of pictures on our monthly photo day. are you surprised?

 emery LOVES to be dropped really fast from high up - here she's sitting on blake's head and he dropped down quickly. she's going to love roller coasters!

nine months old - 11.27.12

emery annabelle is nine months old! she is crawling fast and she can pull up to standing on the couch, the chair, the ottoman, mommy, daddy, and most things she gets her hands on. she got her first tooth on the bottom about a week ago - but don't think she'll show it to you! she can stand alone for about a second if she chooses to be still that long! she loooooves to be thrown in the air or dropped really fast - what a daredevil!

big girl - 11.20.12

today emery learned a new skill - pulling up to standing on the couch! she's been able to pull up to standing on lower things, but hasn't been able to stand up while holding on to the couch. today she did it! yay big girl!




she's also doing a great job picking up some signs we've been teaching her for months. she can sign "milk" and sometimes can mimic "more" and "all done" - although sometimes i think she mixes those two up. now we're starting to work on "please," "thank you," "book," and "ball."

bunny update - 11.18.12

emery has had a busy few weeks.

on october 29-30, she survived hurricane sandy and learned to crawl!

 november 1 was our last football game and our goodie bag had lots of fun surprises.

on halloween, emery was an ice cream cone. and she (as usual) thought her parents were nuts!

emery watched her first Charlie Brown special. she parked herself right in front of the show!

on november 6, emery campaigned for office.

last week, emery enjoyed lots of fun with daddy.

although she won't really let me look, i think one of emery's bottom teeth popped through this weekend.

on the move - 10.30.12

emery decided to spend our days hunkered down during hurricane Sandy practicing her new trick - crawling! she's got it now!

eight months old - 10.27.12

on saturday, october 27, emery turned 8 months old! she can sit up on her own with only the occasional topple over. she is very very close to crawling and can move forward with intention, even if it looks a little more like "the worm" than traditional crawling. i taught her how to turn light switches on and off - which she enjoys. her latest jabbering sounds sort of like the noise a walkie-talkie makes when it cuts in and out - kkkkuhhhh-kkkrrrrrr. emery's favorite game is peek-a-boo - hiding and popping out, saying: "BOO!" makes her laugh every time.

she still enjoys books and especially the ones with open/close flaps, which she loves to open/close (thank you, avia jo for the new books with flaps!). and she also likes the stack of DVDs on our tv shelf - stack, unstack, pick up, put down. she enjoys a lot of different foods - she's a pretty good sport about any food we give her and doesn't refuse (though isn't equally enthusiastic about every option).  i would say apples or peaches are her favorite. occasionally, we let her try small pieces of table food and she does well despite not having any teeth! she recently practiced standing against the ottoman (with help of course) and yesterday, she pushed up to an almost standing position while crawling on me (hands on my leg, on her feet, her legs straightened).

this month, emery enjoyed her first cheerleading competitions and wasn't bothered by the loud music and cheering. and she enjoyed her first airplane trip and weekend away from home. she did great and made a lot of new friends!

emery crawling (almost)!
 

 

 on the starting blocks!

 especially in the sunshine, emery's hair is still looking red!

TU homecoming - 10.20.12

blake, emery, and i went to homecoming at Taylor University over the weekend of October 19-22. we had a wonderful time visiting with my college friends. emery did great on her first plane rides. on both flights (to indy and home from indy), the person sitting across the aisle from us commented on how good-natured she was. whew! she napped for about 30 minutes on both flights and played quietly the rest of the time (minus a few happy squeals).

we arrived on friday afternoon and stayed the night with laura, sean, and their kiddos. sarah, seth, and their kiddos came over for a yummy dinner. saturday morning, we met up with sarah and family, kara and family, stephanie and family, and headed to Taylor. we met up with kristen on campus, and had lunch together then toured the campus. i braced myself for the possibility that campus would look very different, but i'm happy to report that it looked and felt very much the same with only a few extra new buildings. i just can't get over how much i love that place. it was wonderful to be back and to share it with blake and emery - blake was very impressed with the campus.

we returned to the hotel where everyone was staying in indy and met up with amy and family and joey and family to have a big (busy!) dinner with everyone and their kiddos. sunday, we joined laura and family at church, and sarah (and family) and stephanie (and family) joined us for lunch at laura's house. we watched some football and took some pictures and had a lovely afternoon. blake, emery, and i left monday morning to return home. the trip was moderately exhausting, but totally worth it. i am thrilled to have spent time with some of my very favorite people and that i was able to introduce them to our sweet emery, and also that i could share Taylor with my hunny and bunny.

on campus:
new TU sign

in the dining commons (the DC)

at the tailgate lunch

sarah, kara, tiffanie, kristen, and stephanie outside the DC

sarah, tiffanie, and emery outside English Hall

in the library galleria

kristen, tiffanie, and emery at the bell tower

in the student union

in English Hall:
room 211 - my room for three years

2nd floor English

sarah, kara, kristen, and stephanie

same phone, still there!

love love love this place!

 

new things on campus:
wind turbines next to olson hall (nicknamed Mary-Kate and Ashley)

new prayer chapel

new science center built on to the old nussbaum building

places on campus that look the same (and look wonderful!):
the bell tower

the Reade building

the library

the sammy statues

the union and the water tower

 the chapel

 the library and bell tower

ivanhoe's

 the ivy house (where we lived senior year)

it was chilly, but we think emery had a great time!

back at laura's house:
allison and lulu play together

 elliot, allison, emery, lulu, dana jean, and lowrie

 the girls

 dana jean loves emery!