Christmas 2011-Part one

Our first stop along our Christmas excursion was at my Dad's house in Valparaiso. We had a great time relaxing! Emersen loved climbing up and down the stairs and playing with all kinds of toys. She really had fun with the play tent and toy car that Nana (Alice) pulled out for her.

We even got to celebrate our 'Christmas' a little bit early. Emersen got to play with her cousins Morgan, Liam, and Greysen and we all had a fun evening together.

She really got the hang of tearing off the wrapping paper

Here's Grandpa opening her Memory game cards for her

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Santa's Village

Linda and I took Emersen to Santa's Village at UTM before our break started. As you can tell, she wasn't too sure of all the people. It was all set up at the Ag. Pavilion, where the rodeo is held, so it is a huge space. It was filled with tons of lights, rides, a stage, and a petting zoo!

She loved running around the Winter Wonderland once she realized how pretty and fun it was!!

Here she is with Linda in the Winter Wonderland

And then she wanted to ride the Carousel.....again, and again, and again. I was so surprised that she liked it!

What a fun afternoon!! Merry Christmas!

20 months!!

Here are a few pictures to let you know what Emersen has been up to lately.....

Spending time with her cousins at Thanksgiving....guess John was tired of the girls by this point. For some reason, this is the only picture on my memory card of Thanksgiving. I am sure that Trevor has the rest someplace :)

Dressing for the chilly weather...please disregard the flip-flops that she is carrying

Wearing pigtails.....

Or just one 'bow' as she calls it.....

And having tea parties with some of her friends...you may recognize them as Gonzo and Kermit. :)

Happy Veteran's Day

Even though it is now December, I would like to share a post about this past Veteran's Day. My Dad and Alice got to come down and visit and my Dad was even part of my elementary school's Veteran's Day program! It was a special program. He did a great job and I am very proud of him!

Here is Grandpa on stage. Our music teacher developed this year's program to resemble a radio program.

Dad and I

At the park on Saturday with Grandpa and Nana; it was so cold and windy. We only stayed for a little bit but Emersen surprised us all by climbing up on the bouncer all by herself! :)

We rounded out the weekend by celebrating at the Opera House. Emersen sat in a booster seat vs. a high chair so as you can see, I was scrambling for more toys to keep her busy. We had a great visit!!

Words!!

Well, we have words!! Real, real words!! I posted Emersen's 18month blog entry, but for some reason it ended up before the Halloween post, so if you want her current 'stats' be sure to check that post out :)

I meant to include a list of her new words but I forgot so here they are in no special order:

dada, uh-oh, shoes, my shoes, your shoes, where go?, paci, my paci, spoon, down...

Now I am just drawing a blank; it's been a loooong day! Stay tuned for more words!! :)

Happy Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween 2011! Emersen helped carve our pumpkin on Sunday afternoon...

She loved sticking her hand inside the 'goo' once she saw us do it :)

She knew right where to put the top

And of course we had to play with the seeds for awhile; taking them out of the bowl, putting them back in, and repeating the process :)

After Emersen's reaction to her costume over Fall Break, I was a little hesitant to put her in her outfit on Halloween, but we were watching Mickey Mouse and all the characters were in costumes so I just kept that show on and got her ready soooooo fast!!

Here she is!

We took her to UTM to trick-or-treat and she had a blast! She loved carrying her bucket and would just take the candy and drop it inside. She really didn't want to leave.

Ah, yes and even Trevor got into the Halloween spirit! :)

18 months (well, more like 19 months)

It is so strange to say the Emersen is 18 months...that is one and 1/2!!!! I know I say this all the time, but time is flying by way too fast! (And I am so very late posting this entry since she is now 19 months)

Emersen has really changed a lot during the past few months. She is such a little 'person' complete with her own attitude on things like food, games, and rules.

We had a really good well-check appt., not including the two shots she had to get but at least we are done with our immunizations until she starts school (wow, that is just too much to think about right now).

Here are some of her most recent likes and "stats"~

*she weighs 25.9 lbs and is 34.3 in. tall

*she still wears some 24 month clothes, but we are really getting into the 2T size....and just about size 6 shoes

* 'college'; she loves going to school and playing with her friends. Luckily when Trevor takes her in the AM it is breakfast time and some days she even cries when it is time to leave and head home

*her blankie...oh boy, does she love that

*shoes!!! even my shoes (as you can tell from the picture above..and gosh, she looks so tall for some reason!)

*books

*puzzles

*coloring/writing/drawing/painting

*climbing and even more climbing

*jumping and even more jumping

*taking off her own clothes and shoes...that is the reason for the backwards jacket in the playground pictures :)

It has been an interesting ride into toddler-ville with this little one! She seems to always keep us laughing as well as 'on guard' as she is so quick!! :)