Long time- no post!

So it's been a while since I posted, and I may have forgotten how to post pictures, links, etc...but we've been having too much fun with our 1 year old to slow down.  I do want to get back to writing down things, especially now that she is talking more, she is an entertainer.

For now, here is a peek at our Christmas card.  Thanks to Pampers Gifts to Grow Points, we got them for free this year, and for Julie Stone Photography for the pictures!

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Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Playday

Yesterday Mary Emma had her first playdate with Cooper and Sadie.  We had driven to Haleyville to see Great-Granny and Great-Grandad and stopped by for some fun with our friends.  ME has been around other children before, but this was the first time she could sit up and play.

When we got there, they were both asleep - so she helped Sadie wake up by sitting in her crib with her and playing with her dolls.  Sadie sleeps with all her babies, so there were plenty to play with.  She was so sweet when she woke up and said, "I've been waiting to see her."  Mary Emma was occupied with trying to touch and love on Sadie than the babies.

After Cooper woke up, all three went to the living room to play, where Mary Emma test drove Sadie's chair.  This may be the perfect first birthday present.  Sadie was sharing her Hello Kitty with ME.

Cooper and Sadie have shared so many of their baby things with Mary Emma, including their old carseat and lots of Sadie's clothes.  Now we have these fun new toys to play with.  Sadie was showing ME how to use the ball and toys.

Cooper didn't want his picture taken, but he was there in all the fun.  He asked if we could let Mary Emma swing outside.  She has never been in an outside swing, so we thought we would try it.  Sadie looked at me as we got to the slide and said, "This is going to be so fun!".  Mary Emma did have fun, so much that she almost went to sleep.

We had so much fun playing with Cooper and Sadie.  Mary Emma was so tired she was asleep before we ever hit the city limits and slept the entire ride home.  We can''t wait to do it again!

Six Months!

 

Dear Mary Emma,

Mommy has been so bad at updating this blog and completely missed your five month post.  On your five month birthday, Mommy and Daddy were in St. Thomas Island for Cousin Katie’s wedding. 

You stayed with your GranSandy and Papa.  This was your first overnight trip without Mommy and Daddy.  You did really well, and even started rolling over – Daddy was sad he missed it, but you just wanted to get really good at it before you showed us.

You also started sitting up on your own on your five month birthday.  A few weeks later, you had your second overnight stay with MiMi and PawPaw while Mommy and Daddy were in Memphis.  You played a lot and rode around in your new wagon.  You had a lot of fun!

Since then you have been doing really well at eating.  You are taking 6 tablespoons of oatmeal a day, 1/4 of a banana, some squash or sweet potatoes for lunch, and carrots or zucchini for dinner.  You still take a bottle several times during the day, but not as much since you are eating more.

You weigh 17.4 lbs and are 26.5 inches long.  The doctor said you are in the 75th percentile for height and weight, which means your going to be taller than mommy!  You are wearing mostly 9 month clothes, but won’t be in those too much longer before we move you to 12 month.

You love to sit outside, and this picture is after you got your six month shots

We’ve also taken you exersaucer outside.  You love to jump in you saucer and in the jumper.  It scares Vance and Mercedes when you jump too big!  You’ve also gotten so good at sitting up, you can ride in a grocery cart like a big girl.

 You saw your first snow when we were in Haleyville for Katie’s bridal shower, but your REAL snow was in Tuscaloosa at the end of January.  There was a lot of snow outside!

You are trying really hard to talk and practice making your letter sounds every day – Daddy is pretty sure you said Mama two nights ago.  You really try to say “B” and “M” and occasionally “D”.   You still love Gabbie and will stop whatever you are doing to watch her.  You get really excited to see yourself in the mirror, and we let you sit on the counter and watch yourself before you get a bath every night.  You love your rubber duckies, especially the little ones.  They are the perfect size to get in your mouth.

Lois is your favorite play buddy.  You’ve started getting a little teary eyed and want to fuss when we’re around new people, but after you warm up to them – you play and smile a lot.

We love you so much and are amazed every day how much you grow and change.  It is hard to believe you have been in our lives for half a year.  We love to watch you as you discover new things (like your tongue!) and make new sounds.  Every day is special with you and we can’t imagine our life without our precious Puddin’.

Love you,

Mommy

Four Months!

 

Dear Mary Emma,

You are four months old!  You weigh 14.13 ounces and are 24 inches long.  You are growing so fast and long, we can’t believe how big you are!  You are taking between 25 - 30 ounces of formula a day and for the most part, sleeping through the night. 

You are becoming more and more active every day.  This month you started laughing for the first time and now you are really giggling!  Your favorite things to laugh at are Daddy (of course!), Gabbie, and for some reason whenever we say “Aunt Laura”.

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving with Mommy, Daddy, GrandSandy, Papa, Uncle Matt and Aunt Laura, Great Granny and Great Grandad, Great Aunt Debbie and Great Uncle Robert, and cousins Katie and John.  You were very sweet the entire day and the weather was nice enough for us to take you out in your stroller.  You wore a pillowcase dress that Julie made for you – Emma Grace has a matching one.

 We’ve had so much fun getting you ready for the Christmas season and wearing all of your fun outfits that you got at the baby showers.  You are a really good sport playing dress-up! 

You’ve had lots of “firsts” this month.  You attended your first Holiday party for the Law School and got to meet a lot of Mommy’s coworkers.

You went to your first bridal tea in Haleyville for cousin Katie where you saw your first snow!  You were not so sure about the snow, so we just took a picture from the car of it.

You tried your first bite of “food”, rice cereal.  You were not a fan – spitting every last bit of it back up!  You’ve also tried a bite or two of mashed potatoes and you didn’t like those so much either.

You tried the Johnny Jumper for the first time and LOVED it!  We have to thank Cooper and Sadie for that one!

You are such a happy baby only fussing when you are really tired or don’t feel well.  We love you more and more every day.  It is such a wonderful experience to watch your little mind work as you figure out how to maneuver in this great big world.  You are such a blessing to me and your Daddy.  We can’t wait to see what you do “new” this month.

Hugs and Kisses!

Mommy

Three Months + one week

Dear Mary Emma,

I’ve waited until today to write your three month post, because today was a very special day.  Today mommy and daddy stood before our family, friends and church and had you baptized and promised to raise you knowing about God, and the unconditional love that He offers to each of us.  One day, you’ll go through a confirmation class where you will have the opportunity to confirm the promise that was spoken over you today – that as much as Mommy and Daddy loves you, God loves you even more and wants you to love Him with all your heart, living your life for Him.

But what made today even more special was that your Daddy was baptized too. He felt that in order to be a good example for you of a Christian father, he needed to be baptized before you were.  So moments before Brother Ken sprinkled water on your head, he baptized Daddy.

We were so proud of you! You wore a beautiful dress with a pearl bracelet and necklace that MiMi gave you.  You loved the music and were mesmerized by the choir.  When it came time for you to be baptized you didn’t even flinch.  You stared a Brother Ken like you knew exactly what he was saying to you.

We were also blessed to be surrounded by so many people who love you and came to see your baptism.  Aunt Kelsey and Todd brought Cooper and Sadie, who waved at you while you were getting sprinkled.

 Laura, Amy and August were there along with Tony, Aunt Jill and Uncle Wes.  Frances Ann even made it to see you.

Your MiMi, Paw Paw and Grandma came, along with Papa, GrandSandy, Matt and Laura.  Mommy didn’t communicate well to Great Granny and Great Grandad that it was the early service, but they got there in time to see you in your dress and go to lunch with us.

Sweet girl, we love you more than you can imagine and are so proud of you each day. Our prayer for you is that you grow up to know, that more than anything, you are loved and cared about.  Daddy and I want to be good examples for you, and even though we will make mistakes – we want to be able to show you how to love and forgive like God loves and forgives.

Love, hugs and kisses!

Mommy

Halloween!

For Mary Emma’s first Halloween we decided to go low key.  Since she is only 11 weeks old, there’s not a whole lot she could enjoy about the holiday and to be honest she was quite cranky that we were disturbing her Sunday afternoon nap time (she is definitely MY child!). 

Mary Emma was a black kitty in honor of our cat Cody (although we couldn’t get a picture of them since Cody’s been at the kitty hospital with an upper respiratory infection-yes, only my cat would have allergies!) .  It was the cutest, easiest outfit – just a black velour onesie  with a kitty knit cap and booties.

Here she is arriving at her first house to trick or treat – PaPa’s and GrandSandy’s.

Practicing her Meow!

She fell asleep while we were driving from my parents to MiMi and PawPaw’s house, but it was just a “cat nap” and didn’t last for long once we were out of the car.

Once we got home, she helped Elliott hand out candy until we had a complete melt down and went to bed early!  I look forward to next year where hopefully she can have a little fun with it.

Blessings!

Candice

Pumpkin Patch

For the past few weeks I kept seeing everyone’s cute pictures visiting pumpkin patches and thought what a great idea.  Last year we visited the Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch in Clanton with our Sunday School Class and decided to take Mary Emma this year. We might should have reconsidered since she’s only 10 weeks old and we left at her cranky time of the day.  She didn’t seem to be in to it much and let us know about it on the way home.  We did manage to get a few good pictures.

When we finally got there, we realized pulling into the Pumpkin Patch, we forgot the stroller and weren’t carrying the heavy carseat around the entire time, so we held her while she wore a pair of my sunglasses.

On the wagon going to pick our pumpkins…notice her cute shirt her Mimi made for her

Taking a bottle break

Trying to get a picture with the pumpkins…right before I got my first taste of dirt!

A picture with Daddy right before we left for home

    What I would have rather been doing all day!

Blessings!

Candice