Emerson turns 2!

On November 1st Emerson turned 2 years old. We celebrated at our home with close friends and family with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party. We were so happy to have my grandparents fly (for the first time in their lives) from Chattanooga, Tn. to California to celebrate with us. It was such a great day and Emerson had a wonderful time at her party.

Granny and dad

Poppy Tom and Papaw

Painting

The Birthday Girl

I made Mickey Mouse cupcakes for the kids.

Emerson blowing out her candles

Yummmm

I think she enjoyed it!

going for a ride on her tricycle

Flower girl

Emerson was asked to be one of the two flower girls in Mike's sister's wedding at the beginning of October. As you can imagine, a 23 month old was quite hilarious as a flower girl. Thank goodness for her cousin Erin who was awesome at the job, otherwise the flowers would have ended at the top of the hill where Emerson DUMPED them!

Emerson picking Poppy Tom's grapes

Rehearsal Dinner

OHHH! Twinkle lights!

Rehearsal Dinner practice with her Easter basket.

It started off well. Emerson even watched Erin to see what to do...

There she goes...dumping the flowers and throwing the basket

Thanks Dada for picking up the flowers for me:)

Kreative Blogger Award

Kreative Blogger

Thank you Jennifer King "grand teton's" Jones http://jennifer-thejones.blogspot.com/ for awarding me the KreativeBlogger award!! I was very happy and honored you picked me as one of your seven.Now maybe I will be motivated to restart my blog:) I have know Jennifer since high school and we even went to college together where I was lucky enough to be her "big sister." Although I was a TERRIBLE big sister, Jennifer still loved me and today I still consider her one of the best people I have ever met. Those of you that know her know how wonderful her personality is. She makes you feel very comfortable and like you have known her your whole life. She is an amazing friend and someone you can always count on. Thanks again Jenn for picking me:)

So here is what I am supposed to do:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.

5. Nominate 7 Kreative Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know that

they have been nominated!

7 things about me that most people may not know????

1. I love that I get to stay home with my daughter Emerson. She is an amazing little girl and makes me laugh all the time. I also love the nights she wakes up and I get to put her in our bed. She is such a snuggler!

2. I am still having a very hard time living in California. I am so thankful for the friends I have made here and love the weather, but it just doesn't feel like "home." I still feel like I am on a vacation/visiting and do not think I will ever love living here.

3. I HATE getting dresses up! I never feel comfortable. Proms, parties, events, etc. always have been and always will be a nightmare to me!

4. I love to draw/paint but never do.

5. My dream job is to own a bridal shop

6. There is always a load of laundry in my dryer. I don't mind washing them, it's the folding them that gets me...especially socks!:)

7. I am a huge fan of traveling and would love to live over seas for a while.

Now the next 7 nominees are...........................

1. Amy Stone Hadfield http://amyhadfield.blogspot.com/

Amy and I have known each other since high school, went to college and played softball together. Amy is the person that lights up the room when she walks in. EVERYONE loves her...she has an infectious personality that draws you in and makes you smile and feel happy.

2. Christine Adcock http://lenchristineandwill.blogspot.com/

Christine and I met in college and were in Delta Sigma together. Christine always seems to be in a good mood and always cracked me up. SHe is someone I am very thankful I have stayed in touch with through the years.

3. Karen Brandstetter http://www.brandstetterfamily.blogspot.com/

Karen and I met in North Carolina when she and I and our husbands were on the same IMB softball team. We clicked right away and became very close friends. She has always been there for me and is my favorite person to shop with! She now lives in Kentucky and I miss her every day:(

4. Amy Amos http://savannahjanesstory.blogspot.com/

Amy and I started at Briarcliff Elementary the same year in North Carolina. Amy is the friend who is always there for you and always ready to listen. She has been my support through the past year and a half and I am very thankful for her. Her adorable daughter, Savannah, has the biggest personality you have ever seen on a 3 year old! Emerson and I miss them very much!!!

5. Amy Ayers Bough http://amycaseycolton.blogspot.com/

Amy and I knew of each other from the ball field, but really got to know each other at East Brainerd CofC. She and I have the same personality and were fast friends. We grew apart in college but I am thankful we now stay in touch now thru facebook and our blogs. She is expecting her second son any day now!

6. Meaghann Johnson http://familyofjohnson.blogspot.com/

Meaghann is one of my first friends in California. She was very quick to make me feel welcome and always made me feel like she was interested in getting to know me. She has 2 sons, Skylar (1 & 1/2)and Niko(1 month).Meaghann is super mom! I have never met anyone who seems so together after having their second child. I am so impressed with how she hasn't slowed down. What an inspiration!

7. Becky Clausson http://clausson.blogspot.com/

Becky is one of my best friends from North Carolina. She, her husband Scott, and their daughter Kaitlyn lived across the street from us. She was my movie and book buddy :) I always enjoyed my time with Becky and miss her very much. I am so sad our daughters aren't growing up together and hope some day to get back to NC!

We're still here

Hi Everyone! I'm sorry it has been 7 months since I have posted, but I am going to TRY to start blogging again. Things have been so busy for us and to be honest, I just have not felt like blogging, so please forgive me:) Ok, where to begin???

Mike finished his first project at Apple, the 17 inch Macbook Pro, and I am so proud of him! It's a beautiful computer and he worked extremely hard and long hours on it! YEA MIKE!!!! Check it out on Apple's website if you get a chance. He has started his second project and will be working long hours and traveling to China again. He still loves his job, but misses any extra time he can get with Emerson. 

We finally found a place to rent (for 1 & 1/2 times more than our mortgage was in NC...AAAGGGHHHH!!!) and are loving having our things out of storage and back in our possession. We are still trying to find places to put everything and some days I wonder if we will ever really finish unboxing? Emerson loves her room, the playroom and being outside in the back yard. She has adjusted very well and felt at home from day one.

Emerson is getting so big!!! She is 16 months old, weighs 25 lbs, is 32 & 1/2 inches tall and wears a size 6 shoe! Where did my baby go???? She has 12 teeth and 4 molars, hardly any hair (what she does have curls at the ends, which I love), and will repeat almost any word you ask her to say. Her favorite words are: mama, dada, star, dog, Elmo, Mi (which means both Mickey and blankie), banana, apple, and milk. She uses a fork when she eats, refuses to drink milk from a sippy cup even though she will drink water and juice from one and has been since 6 months old, LOVES taking baths, her swim lessons, and Kindermusik, and is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins. She still loves to be read to and loves her babies. Here are a few recent pictures of Emerson:

Playing Outside

Having a tea party with Dada

No, she's not trying to eat the baby, she's giving her a big kiss:)

Playing in the water outside (thanks to dada...it was too cold to be playing in water if you ask me:)

Cooking in her kitchen

we found her playing in her bath tub one day. 

She has Mike's expression here

Chillin in her shades

Happy Birthday Mike!

Happy birthday Mike! I hope #32 was a great one. We love you!

The Birthday boy and his girl

The Moshier family(minus Jon) at Maggiano's

Save some for us!

July

Emerson loves her Kindermusik  classes

Trying out her chair

Still loves her baths! She goes CRAZY in them...splashing and playing her bath instruments.

Poor baby chews on EVERYTHING! She now has 8 teeth!

Which pair of shoes goes best with this outfit?

We still don't know what color her eyes are going to be. I have green and Mike has brown. Right now Emerson had brown streaks around the pupil and green everywhere else.

Emerson is usually a happy baby and smiles all the time.

Emerson will be 9 months old on the 1st of August and she is just now attempting to hold her own bottle. I guess she just picks and chooses what she wants to be advanced on.

Emerson LOVES her books. Her favorite is How Big (an Elmo book) She kicks her feet and squeals everytime we bring it out.

Happy 4th of July. No fireworks for us...way past her bed time.

Time to eat!

Oh how a mother will torture her child. Emerson doesn't even come close to having enough hair for a bow, but I had to try:)

Mom came to CA to visit. We had a great, relaxing time. Emerson loved hanging out and playing with her Grammy. For a few days after she left, Emerson kept looking for her:( 

Happy 9 months tomorrow baby girl!

First Words

Emerson said her first word on July 1st...MAMA!!!!! WAHOO! I had been working on dada EVERYDAY, but she picked mama for her 1st word. Yeah me! She did start saying dada a week later and now she says it all the time, mama has gone to the back burner. She has also said "night" after I told her "night, night" and she said "moo" when I told her the cow says"moo." Emerson will also shake her head "yes" or "no" to answer questions. I have been trying to teach her sign language, but instead of using the sign for more she will either shake her head "yes" or "no"...she always shakes her head "yes" when I ask if she wants to eat!:) She has gotten such a funny personality and I love watching her develop it. Mom has been here this week visiting and one day while I was taking a shower, she watched Emerson for me. She told me that Emerson had her two favorite dolls sitting up and she handed her very favorite doll a block and then turned to the second one and shook her head "no!' like she wasn't going to give her one too. She makes me laugh!