smart emery

so up until recently i, probably not so kindly, refered to my sweet girl as "slow". she crawled slow, i couldn't get her to clap for forever, etc. so i would joke that she is slow. she has proved me wrong in the last few weeks and has mastered so many things she was only sort of understanding and has learned quite a few new things as well. i can't believe she's 1 in a few weeks. i love being her mom more than anything and i feel like we're having so much fun lately just playing and loving each other. we were having so much fun tonight that i got her all wound up and she went to bed 2 hours late. whoops! at least she got to go to brian todd's birthday, though!

the smarty pants' new tricks:

• mastered clapping
• mastered waving bye bye (most of the time)
• has mimicked the sign for "more"
• she "talks" - like we should know what she is saying, mimicking the intonation in our voices
• she "reads" books to herself outloud
• says mama and dada
• can walk holding on to just one of our hands
• tells us when she's ready for a nap or bed by finding and cuddling her blankey on the floor (she's been doing this for a while). the last few days she's actually crawled to her crib a couple of times when she was ready for bed, too.
• loves to unroll the toilet paper in the bathroom.
• figured out she can climb up on things to get to something out of reach.
• stack toys by size
• tries to put on any clothes that are on the floor - it's hilarious
• loves to have anyone chase her - especially mommy around the bed when i'm trying to change her diaper. she laughs HYSTERICALLY!!! it's so cute.
• only wants to read Fancy Nancy at bed time and gets mad if we read anything else
• points to various pictures of Jesus in the Ensign when you ask "where's Jesus?"
• does "how big is emery?" (see video)

so cute in dad's beanie

so big!

what mom?

how big is emery?

where's jesus?

Thanksgiving weekend

It was our year to be with Aaron's family for Thanksgiving and it was a blast! All 6 of Aaron's siblings and their families were in town and we ate and talked and played and just enjoyed spending time together. It was wonderful! I'm so thankful to have a family-in-law that I love so much! One of the highlights of the weekend for me was watching Emery play with her cousins. She LOVES other kids and just played all day with her older cousins and loved it!

the whole crew

aaron and his sibs

the domestic divas in front of the feast we created! (lindsey, mom and i)

all of the pies were delicious. see that beautiful one on the far left. yep, i made that. we'll call it beginner's luck!

emery wanted to hold railay. he wasn't sure what to think about it, but she loved it!

em playing in the sand thingy at the dinosaur museum at thanksgiving point

us at thanksgiving point

one of the cute family pics we took (thanks mom for taking them and amy for making em smile so cute!). if i show them all now what would you look forward to in our family news year's letter?

the cutest girl ever in the leaves

T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L

Turkey injected with brine, my dad’s stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, peach melba pie and my Aunt Ellen’s pumpkin pie bars

Huggable, kissable, squishable little “Squirrel”, my best little buddy
Aaron, a man so dedicated and faithful to his family and humble in so many ways

Nature and the joy it brings me, even if I don’t enjoy it as much as I’d like
Kisses – the romantic kind and the sloppy, wet, open-mouthed attempt from my little Em
Family, both the one I was born into and the one I inherited when I married Aaron
Understanding through the Spirit – of the scriptures, of trials and of life in general
Lord’s goodness to us this year and always

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I tag anyone reading this! What are you thankful for?

em is officially a climber. watch! (it looks like i'm holding her up, but i'm not! she's just hanging!)

cute face and a tiny dancer. she's so funny when she dances!

sick em

my poor girly was acting a little cranky yesterday and i attributed it to this 2 naps to 1 nap transition she's trying to pull... until she went to bed early and then woke up an hour later unconsolable with a temperature of about 102!! poor baby! she was just so sad and sick... it was so sad. except for one part - SHE CUDDLED ME!!! she never cuddles. i feel really bad saying it was wonderful (because she was only cuddly because she was sick), but she's feeling a little bit better now so i guess it's okay! here's how it went...

poor sick squirrely girl

mommy - sad for her girl but loves being cuddled

video - after having some baby tylenol, a blessing from daddy and ben (thanks again ben!) and cuddling with mom for a little bit. you'd never even know she had a temperature over 100!

then she crashed again for the night and was pretty much up and down all night, wouldn't sleep unless she was on top of me and was a flaming ball of heat all night! she's sleeping a lot and not eating as much as usual today, but i think she's going to be fine!

and just for fun... captain hook's biggest fear - the dread pirate emery!

and this is the funny girl the other morning. she didn't want mommy or daddy to bug her yet. she wanted blankey, froggy and to sit in the corner of her crib. so independent. :) does anyone else love that face as much as i do? argh!!!!!

okay i'm done now! :)

10 month birthday, halloween and funny sleeper

happy 10 month birthday, em! you learned all sorts of new tricks from grandma and grandpa (that mommy's been trying to get you to do for forever!) when they came last weekend. you give kisses, wave bye bye (only for grandma i think - we can't get her to do it again), play peakaboo with your blankey or your hands and dance!! its so cute! i'm also suspecting that you know that i'm "mamama" and daddy is "dadada". i can't believe you're growing up so fast.

here are some 10 month pictures (a week late) in nothing but leggings and big girl pig tails, some pictures of our little tinkerbell and some of emery's funniest sleeping moments.

emery attack (those are my legs...)

peakaboo tink

it's almost nap time...

bum in the air sleeping...

sleeping on her legs...

prima donna sleeper...

Congratulations, President Obama

I didn't vote for Barrack Obama, but I was less than surprised to see him win last night. I voted mostly happily (with some exceptions) for John McCain, but just a few thoughts on the election from a now-Obama supporter.

Despite the issues with which President-elect Obama and I disagree, I will support him as I have President Bush. I will have hope in his leadership, I will keep him in my prayers. I honestly hope he is everything that McCain supporters (me included) claimed he isn't for the last 2 years. I hope he continues to inspire people. Though many of his policies do not inspire me, the way he inspired so many Americans to get involved in our political process does.

I honestly got warm fuzzies last night listening to his acceptance speech. I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be a citizen of a country that has come so far. Being a student and lover of the study of early American slavery, politics, etc. it is beautiful to watch the transformation that has brought this country to where it stands now - a place in which all Americans can live the American dream. Maybe even closer to a country in which we really judge each other not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.

Congratulations, President Obama. Our democracy has spoken. You have my support.

messy eater