storytime

she kills me!
i sure hope she gets a new smile before kindergarten starts.
this one eye'd business is just silly.

we decided to try out story time at the library today.
we learned about germs and boo-boo's.
we read all sorts of books and colored a picture
and learned how to use band-aids for boo-boo's.

this is emi's first time ever really seeing a band-aid.
she didn't even try to put it on herself.
went straight to the paper, like a sticker.

---
emi has been helping with chores.
she loves to take the plates out of the dishwasher
and put the soap tablet in the dishwasher.
she carries laundry and shakes things out.
her newest help...holding the vacuum cord.

and dusting/cleaning this table.

i love having such a good helper.

toddler bed

after 3 nights of climbing out of her crib.
we decided even though we aren't ready
for her to be in a toddler bed, she is
we don't want her to hurt herself.

nap time was a little rough
but not bad, she stayed on her bed.
and bedtime...straight to sleep
no whining, for the first time in a week.

but since then, oh man!
i tried taking anything out that would entertain her

but she is just so excited to be in a big girl bed.

today after 2 hours of trying to get her to stay in her bed for a nap.
she decided to go sit in the corner "time out".
she knew she was being naughty.

today

today i put together her kitchen

it finally arrived.
took about 2 hours but it was totally worth it.
we put all her "baby" toys away
now she just has baby stuff, kitchen stuff
and books and puzzles to play with.

thank you momo and poppy for the kitchen

and gma and gpa for filling it with food...
pots and pans, plates and other stuff!

the finished product without the silly faced girl.
this is going to sound ridiculous
but i chose this kitchen because it has no stickers.
well and it's cute. but the real reason...
emi is a picker...scab picker, booger picker, etc.
if something is peeling she picks it.
so i went with a kitchen that has no stickers to pick off.

and this little stinker is having such a rough time
adjusting back to eastern standard time.
if she isn't up late, she is up super early
and she's been crying/whining...which she has never done.
the other night she whined for 45 minutes.
i went in to tell her she was ok and needed to be a big girl
and she said...no...in her crying/whining voice.
i tried really hard not to laugh.

i read all these books tonight before bed.
she no longer wants to sit in my lap
she wants to sit next to me.
and i think i read at least 20 books a day to her.
sometimes i just describe the pages
because i'm sick of the actual story.

just a few pictures from my phone

during the month of december 2010

enjoying some cotton candy ice cream

discovering her pockets, while collecting rocks.

double digger.

trying on tanner's snowboarding helmet.

smiling very big!

when did she turn 12?!
enjoying her toy from her happy meal.

reading with daddy.

wild thing

this is the smile i would love to get when i ask her to smile.

but this is what i actually get.
doing what i asked her not to do all day.
the girl is obsessed with lifting her dress.

laughing really hard at something.
even though she looks like a bear or some crazy animal.
she is one crazy girl!

a little snippet of our wild thing.

movie night

emi had her first movie night ever
it was the original toy story
she only sat through about 30 minutes of it.

maybe i need to try a princess movie?
and that popcorn, most of it spilled on the floor
when she started jumping on the bed.

waffles

hmmm? i'm not sharing my waffles with you!

she seriously has had messy face every morning.
she's been eating honey nut cheerios out of a baggie
to hold her over until we wake up to eat breakfast.
and the sugary stuff has been making her sticky.

tomorrow is our last full day here in california.
i'm am so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed
emi in her crib...all night long
and not coming into my bed at 3:45am
she has gone from her own bed, to a couch, to sleeping with us
to now kicking eddie out of the bed and hogging the bed all night with just me.

2010 recap

january:

emi learned how to use a sippy cup. eddie was busy with school, work and his internship. emi chewed on anything and everything she could get her teeth on. emi started pulling her headbands off.

february:


amber finished making her busy books. emi started wearing shoes. gma darm came to visit. emi started riding in her new big girl car seat. emi and amber visited utah.

march:


got a zoo membership. emi started walking. amber started getting busy making bows while eddie was gone all the time between school, work and internship. emi and amber celebrated their birthdays.

april:


emi's hair was all of a sudden long and curly. emi figured out how to unwind toilet paper. emi and amber took a road trip to visit uncle erik and claire. eddie worked the kentucky oaks. eddie celebrated his birthday.

may:


emi and amber visited utah and were sick the entire time. eddie and amber celebrated their 6 year anniversary. emi learned how to make an elephant noise. bathing suit season started. we went to the children's museum in cincinnati.

june:


we took a trip to nashville. emi learned how to use her step stool. emi started coloring. emi and amber took a road trip to virginia. went to a horse ranch for the first time. gma darm also came to visit erik in virginia.

july:


emi and amber went to visit uncle russell in DC. we flew to oregon to visit momo and poppy. went to the oregon coast. emi started talking more and more. we made a surprise visit to DC.

august:


emi started gymboree. emi had her first sucker and had no clue what to do with it. we almost melted from the humidity. we 'picked' peaches down at the farm. we went to the state fair.

september:


amber finally decided she would sell her bows and opened an etsy shop. eddie started his last semester of his master's program. emi rode on her first carousel ride. took a family trip to florida.

october:


emi finally likes the swing. went to utah for a visit. emi got the flu. went to the ward halloween party. went to as many parks as we could while the weather was still warm enough. momo and poppy came to visit.

november:


amber did her first craft show. as a family we went to the sesame street event downtown. emi had her first ear infection. amber spent most of the month packing. we celebrated thanksgiving at cracker barrel.

december:


emi had cereal for the first time. we decided we would stay in louisville for a few more months. we went to california for christmas to visit gma and gpa darm.