Cousins

My cousin's kids came over to play the other day. So I guess that would make them Emmy's second cousins. Three kids under 3 years old by myself for 4 hours. But they were all really good, so it was fun and not exhausting. :) Emmy loved having other kids over. She especially loved playing with Tolson, who is 1 month older than Em. And Azilyn is always a crack-up. My favorite was when she would blame her brother for stuff. Ha ha!

This is what happens when you break out the snacks. They flock like ducks!

10 Months!

Em is 10 Months today! I seriously can't believe she is almost one. Weird. Anyway, at 10 months Emmy...

-loves to eat (especially whatever we are eating. Off our plate. With our fork.)
-likes all foods except baby meat
-LOVES to climb on things
-is a great sleeper and napper (6:30 p.m.-7:15 a.m with 2 naps that consist of 1.5-2 hours each)
-has 2 teeth
-likes to balance on one knee with the other foot flat on the ground (like a proposal stance)
-LOVES to give kisses to her stuffed animals, books, her cousin Rivers, her mom, and most especially to her dad
-can wave hi and bye  and give high fives
-has to look at her hairbows and kiss her bunny every morning before she will eat breakfast
-loves to look at stuff that is on the fridge with magnets
-loves to go outside and for stroller rides
-loves looking at books
-can say duck, juice, teeth, and da-da (but I'm still not convinced she knows what she's saying most of the time)
-loves to babble and point at things
-has stood on her own without holding onto anything for a few seconds a couple of times
-loves to take things out of containers
-is scared of the swings at the park

Anyway, she is just getting more and more fun and entertaining. I definitely like this stage way more than the newborn stage.

See what I mean about climbing?

Kentucky Derby

We had our annual Kentucky Derby party this week. Since my friend Anne moved to Arizona, and she is the one who introduced us all to the Derby, we had to wait a few days to watch it until her finals were over and she could come back to celebrate. It just wouldn't be a Derby Party without Anne!

Anyway, we made the traditional fare...hot browns, benedictine, and mint julep. We did not make Derby pie though because of my no sugar thing. It was all delicious! Here is Anne showing off her new mint julep cup!

She said the julep tasted much better in that cup! None of us picked any of the winners. We even said that Animal Kingdom would never win because his jockey was injured. We decided that next year we are going to have to do something extra special for the Derby because we were there visiting all those farms in 2009, so in 2012, those baby horses we saw will be 3 and eligible to race in the Derby. We possibly could have seen the 2012 winner in its first few days. Anyway, it was another great Derby party!

Mother's Day

This was my first Mother's Day as an actual mother, and I actually felt like the holiday was really for me. Matt made me a yummy breakfast and card, and told me that I could go get a massage. Emmy got me some pretty flowers and drew me a picture. It was a great morning. I felt so loved. Not to mention that Matt entertained Emmy the whole day on Saturday while I was doing my bike race.

Becoming a mom has completely changed my life. I know absolutely nothing about being a mom. I think I'm still trying to figure out who "Mom Christy" is exactly.

But I do know that I love my little Emmy baby. She makes me smile every single day, and I love watching her grow and learn and discover. I probably take at least 10 pictures of her every day, just because she looks so cute.

Some of my favorite things about being a mom are: seeing that cute smiling face every morning, watching her do funny things, seeing her learn new things and develop new skills, waving hi to her and her waving back, tickling her and making her laugh, watching her give kisses to her books and stuffed animals, watching her play with her toys and look at her books, hearing her jabber and babble, watching Matt be a daddy, and hearing other people tell me how cute she is.

Thank you Emmy and Matt for making me a mommy, even though I sometimes have identity crises about being a mom. And Happy Mother's Day to my own wonderful mom and mother-in-law!

Goldilocks Bike Race

On Saturday, I did the Goldilocks Bike Race. It is a women's cycling thing in Herriman. I did the 60-mile distance. It was totally different than any other race I've ever done. There was no start or finish line, no time clock, nobody along the course cheering, very little support along the route, and the roads were not blocked off so we had to ride with traffic and stop at lights and stuff. Weird. But it was totally cute. They had fun signs and a catered lunch and really cute shirts. And the volunteers wore Mama and Papa Bear shirts, which I thought was great. It was fun though.

Here I am at the start getting ready to go. It was really windy, but other than that, the day was perfect for a bike race.

My sister-in-law, Britni, did the 40-mile distance so we rode together for a lot of the first part. Although she would pass me on the downhill parts and then I would pass her on the uphill parts. (I get nervous going downhill, so I go really slow.) It was fun to ride with her.

Here's Em chillin' in her stroller seeing us off. It took me a little over 5 hours to do the 60 miles. I wasn't riding that entire time though. They had some rest stops along the route, where I took a couple of breaks during the ride.

The last 8 miles or so were pretty tough. But I made it, and here I am at the finish.

Em was being such a ham. She was waving to everyone. That was the longest distance I have ever ridden on my bike. My bike computer actually said I went 63 miles. I am surprisingly not very sore at all. But I did get a pretty nasty sunburn just below my short line. Anyway, it was fun!

Emmy's morning routine

Getting Emmy up in the morning is one of my favorite things. First we hear her hooting in her room, and when we go in to get her, she has thrown her doll and her bunny out of her crib and is pointing at them letting us know that she wants them.

Then she hugs and kisses her bunny and just smiles and laughs at us. Then we get her out of her bed and she points at her hairbows, which are hanging on the wall, and she has to go say good morning to the bows. Then she points at some of them and smiles.

Only after that will she eat her breakfast. She is so funny!

Sugar and spice

and everything nice. That's what little girls are made of. Emmy's grandma gave her this cute Easter dress. After Easter. So she just had to wear it the next Sunday.

Speaking of sugar, I am doing a "Sugar-Free for a Month" challenge during the month of May. I am allowing myself one exception: The Kentucky Derby Party where I can have a mint julep (it is the official drink of the Derby after all). Actually I am going to extend it a few days until June 4, which is the day of my 80-mile bike race. Anyone want to join me?