7 Months!

Another month has come and gone and our baby is another month older and getting cuter and cuter by the day! I have really enjoyed seeing her learn and grow each and every day!

At Seven months she:

Has yet another tooth (total of 3 now with another not far behind I'm sure!)

Can crawl!

Can pull herself up to a sitting position from her hands and knees or when laying down on her back for that matter (this makes diaper changing fun!)

Can pull herself up to stand at the side of the crib

Loves to say mama

Loves to feed herself little things like bits of bread, gerber puffs, yogurt melts, eggs, etc. (She's not much of a fan of baby food. She likes to do it herself.)

Cruises around in the walker like she's a pro (watch your toes!)

Has started to be a little bit of a pill to put down for naps or at night. But still sleeps great once she's down.

Still happy as ever (which doesn't help us to know when she might not be feeling 100%)

Absolutely LOVES adores her sisters and the attention that they give her.

Family Pictures 2010

Last month we had a friend of mine from growing up take our Family Pictures. I love how they turned out (aside from a few minor details like gum and one child liked to stick her tongue out between where her missing teeth are :))! With so many to choose from here are just few of our favorites!

Thanks again Wendi!

Six Months!

Yet another month has flown by! :( We had Emalee's 6 month doctor appointment the other day.

Here are the 6 month stats:

Height: 27.8 inches (97th percentile)

Weight: 17.2 lbs. (75th percentile)

Head: 17 inches (75th percentile)

At Six Months she....

has two teeth.

is starting to scoot backwards.

gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth.

sits up on her own.

can wear pigtails! :) (Although I'm sure I could have done this earlier.)

has had 2 double ear infections!!! (2 more by March and the doc says we would need to consider tubes.)

Loves to eat! She's getting better at baby food. And she absolutely loves those little puffs!

has more control in the walker. She can steer where she's going and moves pretty fast! So we are constantly watching our toes.

talks a lot more. Including talking to the pictures of her sisters that she sees around the house.

has figured out how to spit.

had to be moved into a bigger car seat since she's so long!

still all smiles! Even when she's sick!

She's just so Stinkin' Cute!

Halloween 2010

We had a pretty good Hallo"weekend" this year!

On Friday the girls both got to dress up for School and I had the opportunity to go help out for Hannah's party. The night before Emalee didn't sleep very well and when I picked her up from my friend Sara's house she was burning up with fever. I felt so bad for her. Upon taking her to the doctor she was diagnosed with her second set of double ear infections! :( But she was such a trooper for the rest of the day and was all smiles even at the ward trunk-or-treat.

Since I didn't sleep well the night before Josh made me promise that I would call him if there were any problems. So at 1 am when Abi came in to tell me that she didn't feel well and the sheets on her bed needed changed (a not so graphic description) I called Josh home from work.

On Saturday we all just lounged around in our pj's all day and after deciding that there wasn't anything wrong with Abi (she never had a fever or any other symptoms) we got ready that afternoon and went out to a friends ward trunk-or-treat and then around their neighborhood until it started raining.

On the actual day of Halloween we had a very relaxing and enjoyable day. We started off by going to church and then the usual Sunday nap (Love those!). After which we drove up to Salt Lake and walked around Temple Square for a bit and then around downtown for another little while and then came home.

It was a nice day/weekend; however I am glad that Halloween is over. I'm coming to realize that I don't like it too much.

Carving Pumpkins!

We carved pumpkins this past weekend and the girls LOVED it! They kept saying "This is the best/funnest day ever!" We had a lot of fun. Some friends loaned us some carving saws and some patterns and the girls chose which one they wanted to do and Daddy and Mommy helped to carve it out. They didn't so much like cleaning out the pumpkins though. :)

Top Left: Josh's (the other side is the Grim Reaper)

Bottom Left: Hannah's

Bottom Right: Abi's

Top Right: Emalee's (cat) & Shanna's

for the LUV

8 years ago we took a trip to Oklahoma to visit Josh's mom for Thanksgiving. While there we purchased a truck. But not just any truck. We became the proud (2nd) owners of a 1979 Chevy LUV truck. Baby blue in color and with less mileage than our 1999 Toyota Camry had.

Throughout the years it's been a good truck for us. It made the trip back from Oklahoma just fine and since then has been through many moves, back and forth anywhere from Layton to Lehi and then some. It even took the trip a couple of years ago to carry the gear to and from Youth Conference. It also served as a tent for us one night at a family campout as I was not about to sleep in a tent where we were at. The air conditioning didn't work and the inside was a little beat up but it got us (mainly Josh) from here to there. It survived a blown out tire on the freeway losing the tread on at least one more (separate instances) and has been backed into a Lexus without leaving a scratch on the Lexus but getting its rear bumper pushed up into the bed. It was our trademark vehicle. An easy way for people who knew us to recognize us out on the road; it also helped Josh get back in touch with a college roommate.

Josh has spent COUNTLESS hours working on this truck to keep it running. So when he called me from work a couple of weeks ago saying it wouldn't start I thought "well looks like he'll be spending more time working on it the truck" He has often commented that neighbors probably think he's ALWAYS working on the truck and that they probably wonder why we just don't get a new car. Well after towing it home and changing out a couple of parts it still wouldn't start. So we decided that now was as good of time as any to put forth the CASH to purchase a new car.

So for now it sits out in our parking spot until the day when (running or not) it pulls away for the last time and we say "goodbye little LUV. Thanks for all the memories."

Five Months!

Yet another month has passed and Emalee is now 5 months old! Craziness!

At 5 months she...

still smiles A LOT!

can almost get out of the bumbo (it seems) by straightening her legs.

can also get stuck in the bumbo due to her "thunder thighs"

rolls around the room to get what she wants (generally chasing the dog)

cruises around the house in the walker like a bumper car running into things since she hasn't mastered steering.

has her first tooth! (with the second close behind it)

giggles more often

is learning to sleep un-swaddled (just needs to master the control of her hands; they just get in the way)

is getting better at eating cereal (we tried rice cereal with fruit and she seems to like that better)

still puts everything in her mouth

has found her voice and started making little sounds like "da"

Loves her sisters!

First Day of Preschool 2010

Hannah FINALLY had her first day of preschool the other day. For the past 2 weeks she's been asking me when it starts and was very upset on a couple of occasions when I told her that it "didn't start tomorrow". So needless to say when the day finally came she (and I) were more than ready and it's hard to say which one of us was more excited. :)

Four Months

It's amazing how long it feels when your waiting for baby to come and then time just flies when they are here!

Four month stats:

Height: 26 inches (97 percentile)

Weight: 14.7 lbs (75 percentile)

Head: 16.2 inches (60 percentile)


At four months she.....

smiles at EVERYONE

likes to sit in the Bumbo

likes to play in the exersaucer

rolls over and holds her head up very well

still sleeps really well

giggles a little (but not a whole lot)

tried cereal but wasn't too big of a fan so we will wait and try again in a little bit

Is VERY ACTIVE (Seriously this child NEVER slows down!)

puts EVERYTHING she can reach into her mouth

slobbers everywhere

First Grade

It's that time of year again! School time! Abi started first grade this year and she was SUPER excited! It's so hard to believe that she's growing so fast! It doesn't seem too long ago that she was my little baby! But she's grown into such a beautiful, smart, and talented little girl. And I know she will do great in 1st grade!

After school I asked her how her day was and she said it was good but she didn't get what she wanted for lunch. She said she wanted a corn dog but instead she said (and I quote) "I got a hamburger WITH NO CHEESE!" When I asked her why she said "I thought I grabbed a corn dog but instead I grabbed a hamburger." I think the next day she was a little more attentive to what she was getting for lunch. :) Love that little girl!

with her friend Kelsey at the bus stop

Last day of Summer vacation

We wanted to do something special with the girls for the last day of summer vacation so we took a drive up Provo canyon to Bridal Veil Falls. We had never been there before and it's free!

The girls loved it. It was very pretty up there and the got to get in and wade in the water although it was FREEZING! We had a lot of fun and afterward we drove over to the BYU creamery for a little treat! A great end to summer vacation!

pay no attention to the fact that Abi looks like a little puppet doll in this picture. :)

Three Months

Emalee really is getting big! I know I say that so much but it's true! She looks bigger every day to me. :(

At three months.....

• She can roll over (even gone so far as to scoot her face across the couch once and push herself forward with her feet.)
• She eats EVERYTHING from her hands to her clothes even other people's clothes and limbs
• She drools like crazy! (though I haven't felt or seen any teeth yet.
• She loves to sit in the Bumbo and saucer
• She smiles a lot with a slight laugh here and there but no full on giggling yet
• She LOVES her sisters and likes to watch the dog run around
• Still sleeping really well during the night (7-8 hours straight)
• Sleeps better in the swing during the day.
• She's still really tall and probably weighs around 12 lbs
• Her hair is still dark but starting to go lighter with a little red tint in it when she's in the sun. And she still hasn't lost any of it.

Two months

It's WAY past the two month mark (coming up on 4 months next week)! But I need to document the stats.

Height: 24 inches (95 percentile)

Weight: 11.7 lbs (75 percentile)

Head: 19.3 (50 percentile)

At two months Emalee is smiling a lot and still has a full head of dark brown (almost black) hair. And sleeps 6 hours straight at night. We were also told at her 2 month appointment that she may have a dermatoid cyst on her eye brow so we will be heading up to see a pediatric dermatologist in September to find out what needs to be done and if it needs to be removed.

This time is going by so fast I can't believe it! She's getting so big!

The Big "6"

Abi turned 6 back in June (I know I'm a little late)! I can't believe how big she is getting! She will be going to 1st grade this fall! Where did my baby go?
On her birthday we got to go to the zoo and hang out with some friends. Daddy took off work and came with us too.

We let her open presents before hand. We got her a camera and wanted her to be able to take it with her to take some pictures. Good thing too she took a MILLION pictures.

(picture taken with her new camera)
Abi is such a sweet little girl. She loves to make other people laugh. She is extremely helpful around the house.
Things she likes to do....
Ride her bike
Play barbie's
Play dress-up
Dance
Play the Wii
Draw/Color

We Love you Abi! We are so blessed to have you as part of our family!

Something about the teeth

What is it about my kids and their teeth!? Their front teeth to be exact. Going back to the beginning of my blog you can read this story about the first time Abi hit her front teeth. After that everything was great for a few years. About 3 to be exact. Then a couple of months ago Hannah was going up the stairs to the slide on the playground equipment here at our house and tripped and smacked her front teeth on the steps. Luckily they stayed in tact and though they were a little lose they stayed in. Now they are still a little crooked and slightly grey but she gets to keep them for a while.


Abi on the other hand was not so lucky. Last Thursday we went with some friends to see a movie. After that we thought it might be fun if we took them to McDonalds. While playing there Abi was standing too close to one of the neighbor kids when she was doing a flip and she got kicked in the mouth.

I took her to the dentist later that day and he said they were already lose and they ended up pulling her teeth.
But the best part is that because she was so brave and didn't cry at all we took her out for ice cream that night!

One Month Old

Emalee is getting bigger everyday. She is losing that newborn look. And her hair is getting lighter everyday. :( We just love having her as a part of our family. She is such a happy content baby. And she just loves to give out smiles too!

Blessing Day

Earlier this month we had our families come down and Josh was able to give Emalee a name and blessing at church. She did so good. I fed her right before church and she was wide awake during the blessing but didn't make a sound. Then she went right to sleep shortly after that portion of sacrament meeting was over.

As the meeting proceeded with testimonies of other people in the ward Hannah walked up to me and said very quietly "Mommy I want to give a talk today." I was in shock for a minute after which I said "Where?" And she turned and pointed to the pulpit and said "Up there." I again was shocked; see we haven't been the greatest teachers in that area. Family Home Evening is something that is rather difficult to have with our current schedules though we should try harder. And we haven't had much discussion yet about testimony meeting (though we have talked about testimonies in general and what they are). So Josh took her up to the pulpit so she could bear her testimony. I thought for sure she was going to get scared and not want to do it once she was up there but she did great.

After the meeting we came back to our house and had a little brunch and got to visit with family.

Kindergarten Graduation

May also brought the end of the school year and Kindergarten graduation. I can't believe my little girl is so big! The past 6 years have just flown by! She looked so cute that day. I did pretty good too. I did get teary eyed but at least I wasn't crying too much. She had so much fun this past year and we both really loved her teacher. I hope that if she's still there when Hannah goes to kindergarten that she gets to be in Mrs. Taylor's class. Here's a couple of pictures of Abi on her special day.

Abi and Mrs. Taylor

Abi and her friend Matthew

Abi and her friends Paris and Kelsey

Ticket to Ride

Abi learned to ride a two wheeler back in May. At first Josh tried to teach her on the pavement and she just wasn't catching on. Then our friends little girl mentioned that her dad taught her to ride on the grass. So he took Abi down to the city park and tried it out on the grass. Within a few minutes she was riding all by herself. Once she was used to that he took her out on the pavement and she was off. Now nothing slows this girl down!

Baby Pictures

I've had a lot of questions about whether my other girls had dark hair like Emalee's. So to answer those questions I thought I would post the baby pictures of all of my girls so you can see for yourself. Sorry a couple of them are blurry.

Abigail

Hannah

Emalee

Lovin' my "Swagger Wagon"

I got the pride in my ride!

Emalee Jane

We welcomed Emalee Jane into this world at 7.02 am on Friday May 7. She was 7 lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long.

We are all doing very well and adjusting to all the changes that being a family of 5 brings. And Abi and Hannah are great helpers and just LOVE having a new baby sister.

She is such a good baby and we are really enjoying having her as a part of our family!