Awhile ago, I got her this princess magnet book and she LOVES it. She can now say all the names of the princesses (sort of). My favorite is the way she says Ariel. She just says it so cute and I can't help but laugh every time.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Dogs and Princesses
One of Emily's new favorite pastimes is looking at pictures of dogs on the computer. I was at a loss one day of how to entertain her so I came up with the idea to show her some doggies. Now every time she sees the computer, she wants to look at dogs. Ha!
Awhile ago, I got her this princess magnet book and she LOVES it. She can now say all the names of the princesses (sort of). My favorite is the way she says Ariel. She just says it so cute and I can't help but laugh every time.
Awhile ago, I got her this princess magnet book and she LOVES it. She can now say all the names of the princesses (sort of). My favorite is the way she says Ariel. She just says it so cute and I can't help but laugh every time.
Sharing my faith
One of my goals this year was to create a mormon.org profile to share my beliefs with others. I finally did it and it's published here: http://mormon.org/me/7BYB/.
Friday, January 20, 2012
18 months
Favorite Foods: scrambled eggs, hash browns, blueberries, clementines, grapes, pizza, crackers, cookies, milk, Cocoa Puffs, and yogurt.
Favorite Things to Do: Read books, go outside, go up and down stairs, play peek-a-boo, look at pictures of dogs on the computer, and play on our bed.
New Words (learned in the past month or 2): shoe, baby, chair, up, down, on, off, ball, pants, shirt, cup, grapes, shapes, sheep, bow, barrette, car, throw, kick, bonk, puppy, grass, snow, dino, Elmo, no, oops.
Height: 32.3 inches (65%)
Weight: 22.12 pounds (50%)
Head: 17.2 inches (3%)
She is still such a daddy's girl and will run and give him a hug and kiss whenever he gets home. She doesn't like to play with other kids for some reason and will swat them out of the way if they come close. She stayed in nursery by herself for the first time last week for about 45 minutes. She has dropped her morning nap over the past week or 2 and we are both still trying to get used to it. (When am I supposed to take a shower now?) She thinks she needs a cookie every time she goes to grandma's house. She loves to give a bottle and binkie to her baby doll.
She got a bunch of molars last week and I thought I was going to die she was so cranky for several days in a row. But fortunately for the both of us, she is back to being her normal cute self.
We love our little Emmy girl!
Oh thank you
My awesome friend Caron sent me this article. It was totally what I needed to hear. And I'm posting it here so I can read it again and again. And again.
To the Mother With Only One Child
Dear Mother of Only One Child,
Don’t say it. Before the words can even pass your lips, let me beg you: don’t say, “Wow, you have nine kids? I thought it was hard with just my one!”
My dear, it is hard. You’re not being a wuss or a whiner when you feel like your life is hard. I know, because I remember having “only one child.” You may not even believe how many times I stop and reflect on how much easier my life is, now that I have nine children.
All right, so there is a lot more laundry. Keeping up with each child’s needs, and making sure they all get enough attention, is a constant worry. And a stomach bug is pretty much the end of the world, when nine digestive tracts are afflicted.
But I remember having only one child, and it was hard—so very hard. Some of the difficulties were just practical: I didn’t know what I was doing, had to learn everything. People pushed me around because I was young and inexperienced. But even worse were the emotional struggles of learning to be a mother.
When I had only one child, I truly suffered during those long, long, long days in our little apartment, no one but the two of us, baby and me, dealing with each other all day long. I invented errands and dawdled and took the long way home, but still had hours and hours to fill before I would hear my husband’s key in the door.
I cared so much what other people thought about her—they had to notice how beautiful she was, they had to be impressed at my natural mothering skills. I obsessed over childhood development charts, tense with fear that my mothering was lacking—that I hadn’t stimulated her enough, or maybe had just passed on the wrong kind of genes. I cringe when I remember how I pushed her—a little baby!—to achieve milestones she wasn’t ready for.
I lived in terror for her physical safety (I once brought her to Urgent Care, where the doctor somewhat irritably diagnosed a case of moderate sniffles) fearing every imaginable disease and injury. In my sleep-deprived state, I would have sudden insane hallucinations that her head had fallen off, her knees had suddenly broken themselves in the night, and so on.
My husband didn’t know how to help me. I didn’t know how to ask for help. My husband had become a father, and I adored him for it. My husband got to leave the house every day, and sleep every night. He got to go to the bathroom alone. I hated him for it.
When I had only one child, I told myself over and over that motherhood was fulfilling and sanctifying and was filling my heart to the brim with peace and satisfaction. And so I felt horribly guilty for being so bored, so resentful, so exhausted. This is a joyful time, dammit! I should enjoy being suddenly transformed into the Doyenne of Anything that Smells Bad.
I loved my baby, I loved pushing her on the swing, watching squirrels at the park together, introducing her to apple sauce, and watching her lips move in joyful dreams of milk. But it was hard, hard, hard. All this work: is this who I am now? I remember!
So now? Yes, the practical parts are a thousand times easier: I’m a virtuoso. I worry, but then I move along. Nobody pushes me around, and I have helpers galore. Someone fetches clean diapers and gets rid of the dirty ones. When the baby wakes up in the middle of the night for the ten thousandth time, I sigh and roll my eyes, maybe even cry a little bit for sheer tiredness—but I know it will pass, it will pass.
It’s becoming easier, and it will be easier still. They are passing me by.
I’m broken in. There’s no collision of worlds. We’re so darn busy that it’s a sheer delight to take some time to wash some small child’s small limbs in a quiet bath, or to read The Story of Ferdinand one more time. Taking care of them is easy. It’s tiring, it’s frustrating, but when I stop and take a breath, I see that it’s almost like a charade of work. All these things, the dishes, the diapers, the spills—they must be taken care of, but they don’t matter. They aren’t who I am.
To become a mother, I had to learn how to care about someone more than I did about myself, and that was terrible. But who I am now is something more terrible: the protector who can’t always protect; the one with arms that are designed to hold, always having to let go.
Dear mother of only one child, don’t blame yourself for thinking that your life is hard. You’re suffering now because you’re turning into a new woman, a woman who is never allowed to be alone. For what? Only so that you can become strong enough to be a woman who will be left.
When I had only one child, she was so heavy. Now I can see that children are as light as air. They float past you, nudging against you like balloons as they ascend.
Dear mother, don’t worry about enjoying your life. Your life is hard; your life will be hard. That doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong—it means you’re doing it right.
Don’t say it. Before the words can even pass your lips, let me beg you: don’t say, “Wow, you have nine kids? I thought it was hard with just my one!”
My dear, it is hard. You’re not being a wuss or a whiner when you feel like your life is hard. I know, because I remember having “only one child.” You may not even believe how many times I stop and reflect on how much easier my life is, now that I have nine children.
All right, so there is a lot more laundry. Keeping up with each child’s needs, and making sure they all get enough attention, is a constant worry. And a stomach bug is pretty much the end of the world, when nine digestive tracts are afflicted.
But I remember having only one child, and it was hard—so very hard. Some of the difficulties were just practical: I didn’t know what I was doing, had to learn everything. People pushed me around because I was young and inexperienced. But even worse were the emotional struggles of learning to be a mother.
When I had only one child, I truly suffered during those long, long, long days in our little apartment, no one but the two of us, baby and me, dealing with each other all day long. I invented errands and dawdled and took the long way home, but still had hours and hours to fill before I would hear my husband’s key in the door.
I cared so much what other people thought about her—they had to notice how beautiful she was, they had to be impressed at my natural mothering skills. I obsessed over childhood development charts, tense with fear that my mothering was lacking—that I hadn’t stimulated her enough, or maybe had just passed on the wrong kind of genes. I cringe when I remember how I pushed her—a little baby!—to achieve milestones she wasn’t ready for.
I lived in terror for her physical safety (I once brought her to Urgent Care, where the doctor somewhat irritably diagnosed a case of moderate sniffles) fearing every imaginable disease and injury. In my sleep-deprived state, I would have sudden insane hallucinations that her head had fallen off, her knees had suddenly broken themselves in the night, and so on.
My husband didn’t know how to help me. I didn’t know how to ask for help. My husband had become a father, and I adored him for it. My husband got to leave the house every day, and sleep every night. He got to go to the bathroom alone. I hated him for it.
When I had only one child, I told myself over and over that motherhood was fulfilling and sanctifying and was filling my heart to the brim with peace and satisfaction. And so I felt horribly guilty for being so bored, so resentful, so exhausted. This is a joyful time, dammit! I should enjoy being suddenly transformed into the Doyenne of Anything that Smells Bad.
I loved my baby, I loved pushing her on the swing, watching squirrels at the park together, introducing her to apple sauce, and watching her lips move in joyful dreams of milk. But it was hard, hard, hard. All this work: is this who I am now? I remember!
So now? Yes, the practical parts are a thousand times easier: I’m a virtuoso. I worry, but then I move along. Nobody pushes me around, and I have helpers galore. Someone fetches clean diapers and gets rid of the dirty ones. When the baby wakes up in the middle of the night for the ten thousandth time, I sigh and roll my eyes, maybe even cry a little bit for sheer tiredness—but I know it will pass, it will pass.
It’s becoming easier, and it will be easier still. They are passing me by.
I’m broken in. There’s no collision of worlds. We’re so darn busy that it’s a sheer delight to take some time to wash some small child’s small limbs in a quiet bath, or to read The Story of Ferdinand one more time. Taking care of them is easy. It’s tiring, it’s frustrating, but when I stop and take a breath, I see that it’s almost like a charade of work. All these things, the dishes, the diapers, the spills—they must be taken care of, but they don’t matter. They aren’t who I am.
To become a mother, I had to learn how to care about someone more than I did about myself, and that was terrible. But who I am now is something more terrible: the protector who can’t always protect; the one with arms that are designed to hold, always having to let go.
Dear mother of only one child, don’t blame yourself for thinking that your life is hard. You’re suffering now because you’re turning into a new woman, a woman who is never allowed to be alone. For what? Only so that you can become strong enough to be a woman who will be left.
When I had only one child, she was so heavy. Now I can see that children are as light as air. They float past you, nudging against you like balloons as they ascend.
Dear mother, don’t worry about enjoying your life. Your life is hard; your life will be hard. That doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong—it means you’re doing it right.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Tragedy
I made Emmy a Noah's Ark quiet book for Christmas. I was so excited when I found this super cute kit because I had no idea how to make one from scratch and I really wanted her to have one. Even though it was a kit, I still had to cut all the pieces out, glue parts together, sew things on, etc. I put a lot of work into it, and Emmy loved it. But somehow it has already gotten lost. I am so bummed! I have scoured the house, cars, grandparents' houses, and the church...and no book. :(
So in case I never find it or make another one, here is what the pages looked like...and then I bound it together with rings so she could easily flip through the pages.
She especially loved the lion page where you snap on all the limbs. She would say, "pop, pop!" every time.
So in case I never find it or make another one, here is what the pages looked like...and then I bound it together with rings so she could easily flip through the pages.
She especially loved the lion page where you snap on all the limbs. She would say, "pop, pop!" every time.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Haircut
Monday, January 9, 2012
Ooops!
We were throwing around one of Em's stuffed animals and saying "oops" and she thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. She was cracking up.
Reading and Lessons
Emily had to have her baby sitting on her lap while she sat on Daddy's lap to read a story. It was so cute. This baby doll she got for Christmas looks exactly like our little cousin Azilyn. So we call the doll Baby Azilyn. :) (Ashley, I hope that's ok.)
For Christmas I got some lessons. They were a great gift. Lesson #1 was a beaded watch band making lesson. I have always wanted one of these and Matt didn't know what kind to get me so he set up a lesson at a local bead shop so I could make my own. Here is what I made...
I think it turned out really pretty. And I had a lot of fun at my lesson.
I also wanted makeup lessons. I didn't really know this actually existed but my mom looked into it and booked me an appointment at a local salon for a makeup lesson. It was great. I learned a lot of new tips and how to do a smokey eye that doesn't make you look like you have a black eye. I am still practicing, but here is one of my first attempts after the lesson.
I am liking it so far, but I still need to play around with it and get better.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Sleepyhead
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Modeling
Here is Emmy modeling her adorable new tutu that her Auntie Britni made her for Christmas. Of course she is stuffing her face with Cheerios at the same time. Ha! (Please ignore the ragamuffin hair. I need to get her a haircut. Badly.)
This is after she was dancing around in it. :)
Nursery
So it's finally time for Emmy to go to nursery. Hallelujah! However, I need some advice...what is the best way to get her accustomed to going to nursery? She doesn't really like to play with other kids and it seems like most of the other kids in nursery are a lot older than her and so the activities they do are older too.
For example, last week they did a craft for like 40 minutes. Emmy was bored of it after about 7 minutes. And they don't break out the toys until towards the end, and that's for only like 20 minutes. She likes the toy part.
I really want her to enjoy it and learn to play with other kids so any advice would be great!
For example, last week they did a craft for like 40 minutes. Emmy was bored of it after about 7 minutes. And they don't break out the toys until towards the end, and that's for only like 20 minutes. She likes the toy part.
I really want her to enjoy it and learn to play with other kids so any advice would be great!
Resolutions 2012
New Years came and went without much of a shebang. After much deliberation, we ended up playing games and having snacks at my parents' house this year with my brothers. It was one of the first years in a long time that I haven't hosted a big party with friends or gone on a trip. But we had fun...especially making fun of Nathan's custom-made Clue sheet and Scott trying to light poppers on fire. Anyway, here are the 2012 Resolutions...
1. Figure out a cooking/meal planning system that works for me. I am not a big fan of cooking unless it's for a party or special occasion. So I need to figure out something that works so I don't hate it so much and so we are eating more healthy again.
2. Get some things organized. Namely...my blog books printed for 2010 and 2011, my files and pics organized on the computer, my iTunes organized, my paper files labeled and put away, and finish my mormon.org profile.
3. Figure out how to be fun again. I feel like I used to be a fun, interesting, creative, involved, adventurous person that always had something going on. However, the things that I used to do and enjoy aren't exactly as possible anymore. But just because I can't go out with my friends all the time or host extravagant parties that people actually come to or travel as much anymore doesn't mean I can't still be fun. I just need to find a different kind of fun that works better with my current lifestyle and responsibilities.
4. Figure out some routine activities to do with Emily so we're both not so bored.
5. Eat more fruits and vegetables. I'm hoping Resolution #1 will help with this. Also, I would like to have a garden this summer which should also help. And once we have a house, I will have a place to store canned stuff.
FAMILY GOALS
1. Buy a house. Soon.
2. Figure out a temple attendance schedule that works for us and stick with it.
3. Read scriptures daily.
4. Exercise at least 3-4 times per week.
1. Figure out a cooking/meal planning system that works for me. I am not a big fan of cooking unless it's for a party or special occasion. So I need to figure out something that works so I don't hate it so much and so we are eating more healthy again.
2. Get some things organized. Namely...my blog books printed for 2010 and 2011, my files and pics organized on the computer, my iTunes organized, my paper files labeled and put away, and finish my mormon.org profile.
3. Figure out how to be fun again. I feel like I used to be a fun, interesting, creative, involved, adventurous person that always had something going on. However, the things that I used to do and enjoy aren't exactly as possible anymore. But just because I can't go out with my friends all the time or host extravagant parties that people actually come to or travel as much anymore doesn't mean I can't still be fun. I just need to find a different kind of fun that works better with my current lifestyle and responsibilities.
4. Figure out some routine activities to do with Emily so we're both not so bored.
5. Eat more fruits and vegetables. I'm hoping Resolution #1 will help with this. Also, I would like to have a garden this summer which should also help. And once we have a house, I will have a place to store canned stuff.
FAMILY GOALS
1. Buy a house. Soon.
2. Figure out a temple attendance schedule that works for us and stick with it.
3. Read scriptures daily.
4. Exercise at least 3-4 times per week.
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