She swims!

So last month we started swimming lessons with Emily.  Being that she never seemed that interested in bath time, I wasn't sure how she would take to the water quite honestly.  Well, she loved it!

It's a bit chaotic really and we just end up wandering around in circles with the babies playing with rubber ducks, try getting them to kick their feet and scoop their arms in the water.  I don't expect Emily to get much of that, but just getting her into the water and used it is a good thing.

This summer there will be ample opportunity to swim - in our subdivision pool, out at the cottage lake, and up north when we go out on my dad's boat.  I want to make sure she is comfortable in the water and such.  Jim and I have been taking turns taking her in the pool and it's been a lot of fun!

 Splashing and having fun!

 Awww :)

 Loves that duck

Just after getting dunked!

The Story of Mr. Bunz, Mr. Bunz II and Mr. Bunz III

So....

I told you all about Emily's bunny: here.

Quick recap:  We had a small pink bunny from Pottery Barn that she destroyed by sucking it's ears constantly.  I ran across a great knitting pattern of a bunny and knit one up.  She loved it!

Somehow, we coined the name "Mr. Bunz" and it just kind of stuck.  It's silly but cute.  Well, all was doing well until Mr. Bunz fell to the same demise as PB bunny:

Notice the yucky discolored ears....they were worse.  I've washed like 1,000 times!

So, I hurriedly cast on my needles "Mr. Bunz II":

Mr. Bunz II is currently napping with Emily - so here he is in action with Grandma and Grandpa!

And directly after he was finished, onward with "Mr. Bunz III":

So, now we have three pink bunnies.  Luckily she loves all three the same and doesn't notice there slight differences.  Mr. Bunz has been placed into retirement.  He will only be used in emergency situations!  Mr. Bunz II and III are in a constant rotation between Emily's crib and the washing machine.  And well, they are both already slightly stained.  I can't win!!  I mean, she literally sleeps with the ears in her mouth all.night.long.

What am I to do?  Up next - green bunnies since I'm out of the pink stuff now.....


Here are a few more pictures of my crazy little girl:

Loves Mr. Bunz III and her ball pit!

Two for toofers!

Love that smile

Happy girl wearing the outfit Auntie Ann got for her!

Lent is upon us!

And oh boy it's already been a challenge!  Not even a week into our lenten sacrifice I have already slipped up!

This season Jim and I agreed together to give up sugary snacks and treats.  Pretty much meaning no cakes, candy, ice cream, pop or added sugars of any kind.  So good sugars are allowed such as that in milk and fruit.

To most this may not be so bad - to me it equals pure horror (okay, maybe not that dramatic.)  I am a sugarholic hardcore. Day one was miserable eating sugar free "Morning O's" and drinking coffee with no sugar - blech!  And the week didn't progress much better.  By saturday I was aching for something sweet.

We ended up getting a sugar free angel food cake with sugar free cool whip and some berries.  Made a lovely sugar free strawberry shortcake of sorts.  It was good - and now I feel guilty!  However, it gets worse!

Sunday we had a nice afternoon at my dad's house.  My grandma came over as well and brought some gorgeous little mini cakes that we were to be having for dessert......uh oh.  We mentioned our lent agreement briefly, but both of us opted to have some cake anyways.  Even though I hate to even justify it, we really couldn't say no to my grandma!  And we wouldn't want any food to go to waste.

Soooooo.....here I am not even a week in and have already cheated.  Just makes me realize how much Jesus really did for us when here I am and can't even control my sugar habit!  I know I will be forgiven and I will keep my head up high for the rest of lent and keep trying.  I am almost certain to fail again, but that's life.  Just get back up on your horse and keep riding!

Here are a couple pictures from Ash Wednesday.  Jim went to a small service before work, and Emily and I went on our own in the afternoon to get our ashes.  The little bugger actually slept in that morning....or else we would of all went together!

Love this picture!!

God Bless!

My blog is not dead....

Thanks hubby for rubbing it in that I haven't updated!  Where the heck did February go??  Not that I'm gonna complain, I'm ready for Spring to get here asap!

So where did we leave off?  Valentine's?  So that was lovely of course.  Spent the evening with my hubby and some awesome Mediterranean food!  Good stuff.  That following weekend we started Emily with swim lessons.  She did really well!  Unfortunately Jim couldn't make it due to work training so I didn't get any pictures.  We have since had two sessions off due to swim meets at the high school.  We are supposed to resume this weekend - however this may not happen either (will explain more in a second).

The last weekend of February was great!  We decided to go on a little mini-vacay and head out of town.  We went a couple hours away to the Kalamazoo area.  On our way we stopped at a cute little children's play area.  Emily was still a tad young for most of it, but we still spent a good hour there and she had fun!

Packed and ready to go!

Ooh, trains!

Daddy showing me how they work

What's this crazy thing?!?

I don't know, but it's fun!

This ball pit is just as fun as mine at home!

Playing the keyboard

Lookin' at fishies

Makin' pizza

Ooh, a slide!

Fun!

It's cold outside, borrowing mommy's hat - a little too big!

Next we headed to an air museum nearby in Kalamazoo.  It was an interesting place.  We didn't take many photos as it was pretty dark inside.

Hangin out a the hotel, eating puffs

So on Sunday, little Miss Emily was getting pretty grumpy and was burning up!  We stripped her down to her diaper and before bed we took her temperature.  It was 102.8.  I put in a call to the pediatrician and they suggested we give her some Tylenol and bring her in first thing.  She slept rather well that night, got up once around midnight with a messy diaper and I gave her another dose of Tylenol.  Poor girl whined and whimpered throughout the night, but otherwise was doing okay.

Doc checked her over on Monday and said she had a mild ear infection.  No antibiotics needed at this point, just Tylenol/Motrin as needed.  Well, she was a bit fussy on Monday, but otherwise has been fine ever since.  This is why we may not make it to swim lessons this weekend.

She turned 10 months old Monday, so I still took her picture.  She was a little flush and wouldn't smile for me - she still looks adorable as can be:

Posts coming soon:

Lent is upon us!

The Story of Mr. Bunz and Mr. Bunz II (and soon to be a Mr. Bunz III)

Stay Tuned!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a nice weekend overall this past weekend.  Birthday party on Saturday, Grandparents visited on Sunday.  Emily had a few hiccups however.  Saturday - she did NOT want to take a nap while we were out at the party.  A mistake on our part was not bringing the pack n play so we had someplace to put her.  Just trying to lay her on the floor and sit with her was not working one bit.  Said pack n play is now currently living in my trunk so that it will be there whenever we may need it when we are out!

Sunday was great - until bedtime.  This child screamed for like 2 hours.  We ended up bringing her back down for about a half hour to calm down and relax.  As soon as we put her back up there she was screaming again.  Luckily she passed out after about 20 more minutes of that.  Jim and I were totally exhausted by that point and turned in around 9:30.  Night proceeded to go fine with Emily.  Jim on the other hand was having some issues with his allergies, and I just kept tossing and turning.  Occasionally Emily would let out a cry, but it never amounted to anything more thank goodness.  We are both pretty tired today - especially poor Jim.

So this morning to say the least, I was feeling pretty grumpy, stomach was kind of achey and just all around blah.  Me and Emily were playing around with her toys when someone rang the doorbell.  Oh great, who the heck can be coming to the door at 8:00 in the morning!  I was pretty tempted not to answer it, but considering the front window is wide open, whoever was at the door probably saw me as they were coming up.  Darn!

I open the door to a wonderful valentine's surprise!!!

A very cute cookie bouquet from "Cookies By Design".  They are so cute, I can't even eat them yet - I just want to look at them!  That really brightened my day.  I am such a lucky lady!


Here are some pictures of Emily in her cutey patooty Valentine outfits - Valentine PJ's:

Cute little ruffle butt!

 Peek a boo!

And her red valentine shirt:

And my favorite of all - my two favorite valentines hanging out on the couch:

9 months old!

Emily is now 9 months old!  I just can't even believe it.  I am beside myself with how fast time is moving by.  She is so close to being a one year old, it's ridiculous!  I've already started thinking and planning for her party - craziness!

We are just back from her 9 month checkup.  Here are the current stats:

Weight:  19 lbs (50th percentile)
Height:  29 1/2 in (95th percentile)

As far as new milestones go - she is pulling herself up to stand - ON EVERYTHING!  This is all this child does day in and day out practically.  She will crawl her way over to anything and try to pull up:

couch
chair
storage bin
piano bench
crib (ugh, my least favorite because it stops her from napping, she is too busy standing!)
baby gates (she likes to pull up and then cry because she can't get past)
her inflatable ball pit (which she then tumbles down because it can't support her)
and random toys in the middle of the floor (which she usually falls on them because they are pretty low to the ground and not good for support, haha)

Oh and how can I forget - mom and dad!  Anytime we are on the floor with her, she will crawl over and pull on my hair, my pants, my shirt - anything she can get her hands onto and try to pull up.  It's cute and all, but she's driving me nuts!

She is growing like a weed and just continuing to amaze us and bring joy to our lives!!