Cooler Weather

After months of waiting, the cooler weather has finally arrived.  We have been watching the weather daily for the magic number - 80s.  It is our belief that we haven't had a day below 90 since April.  We love the cooler weather and spending lots more time outside without melting!!!  Although the afternoons warm up to be pleasant, the mornings can be a bit chilly.  This is not too worrisome because we just bundle up!

11 Months

11 months have come and gone in a blink of an eye with all the fun Emily has brought with her.  She is the joy of our home and lives.  We have loved getting to know our Little Tink and watching her grow.  Here are some milestones we celebrated over the past month:

• Emily is our "Love & Snuggle Bug."  She loves to nestle her face into your shoulder, give slobbering kisses, and pat your back.  We love her constant expressions of love.
• Whenever Emily catches Mommy or Daddy laying on the floor she thinks it is time to wrestle.  She loves climbing on and over us.  The best part of the wrestle is the kisses she gives to your face and legs.
• Emily loves to be tickled & has the cutest belly laugh.
• It is magical to see that Emily understands a surprise is coming when we count, "1, 2, 3."  She tenses her muscles and looks around excitedly.
• Emily's hair grows over night!  It is now long enough for piggy tails - 2 piggy tails!!
• Just like her mommy, Emily loves monkeys.  She loves to snuggle and wrestle her monkey.  It is also fun to see her jabber with it for long periods of time.
• Emily is a singer!!  She blows raspberries musical songs.  It is especially fun to hear her "sing" during hymns sung at church.
• Emily was a terrific traveler this past month as me and her journeyed to Salt Lake together.  She was awesome in the car.  We didn't even stop on the way home.
• Our "Lil' Scooter" continues to twist and pivot on her bottom to get around.  She is working on crawling and almost there.  Once she gets it, our investigator will be trouble!!
• Emily loves to play with her dad and have him give her a bath.  She squeals with delight when he gets home from work.
• It is amazing to see Emily recognizes the spirit of prayer.  She often becomes silent and still during family prayers.
• Emily loves fruit, except bananas.  Once she has had a taste of fruit for a meal or snack, nothing else will do.  Yummy!
• With at least 2 trips a week, Emily loves to go to the library!!  We read books together, usually the same ones over and over again.  She is my little bookworm!
• We are excited to celebrate Emily's 1st year this coming month! 

Unpacking

When preparing for our trip back to Salt Lake Emily was making it a little challenging (see packing-or-unpacking???).  So today, Emily used her unpacking skills to be a superb helper!  She unpacked her whole bag all by herself.  Emily then directed me to pick it up, fold it, and put it away.  What a helper!!

Zoo Adventure

Today my mom took Emily and I to the zoo.  This was Emily's first trip to the zoo, and since I haven't been for many years I felt it was my first time too.  The zoo has undergone some major renovations, making it look completely different.  We loved seeing the monkeys, elephants, tigers, and polar bear.  It was our lucky day to see both the tiger and polar bear swim - so neat!  Emily was even treated with a carousel ride from Nana.  Hooray!

Jamie's Photo Shoot

My sister Jamie was so sweet to take some pictures of Emily during our trip home in Utah.  She is a fantastic photographer!!  The pictures all turned out great, but these are my favorites!

Kisses

Emily learned a new trick while we were in Salt Lake - giving kisses!!  They are the sweetest kisses to be given with an open mouth and sparkling eyes.  This picture caught Emily giving her Grandma Yates a kiss.  Another sweet thing  Emily does is pat my back to give me a hug.  She is quite the snuggler and I love every minute of it!

Cousins

Emily & Cousin Ellie (10 days apart)

Emily & Cousin AJ

One of the best things about going home was allowing Emily to play with cousins!!!  She loves watching kids, and always seems to squeal with delight when they are playing near her.  I was excited for the opportunities she would have to play with cousins, as that is what I always looked forward to when I visited my grandparents.  We are already excited to see and play with more cousins at the Yates Family Reunion in San Diego.

BYU

One day Emily and I went on an adventure to BYU.  We walked through the Museum of Art, around campus, and the Wilkinson Center.  We even had lunch at the same spot I ate lunch with my siblings when I attended BYU.  After lunch, Emily tried on a few BYU hats and took some pictures.  I showed her Daddy the BYU Princess hat to which he said it was cute!!  Emily belongs to a split home with mom a BYU grad and dad a U of U grad.  We have decided that she gets to pick where - any guesses??  I am thinking maybe Dixie State.  She is sure a cute cougar though!  Emily even found the best place to take a nap - the Harold B. Lee library.  It was fun to reminisce on old stomping grounds with my sweet Emily.

Visiting Julie

Emily and I went to see Julie at the Center for Change.  We had a fun visit.  Emily loved singing and reading with Julie.  They were cute together - my two Tinks.  Julie loved her cute, inquisitive personality.  After our visit, Julie asked me to speak to the patients and families for a "Family Week" class.  It was a neat experience to reflect and share some of the things I have learned - and still learning - along the road of recovery.  Emily was the highlight of the show, grabbing lots of attention.  I was glad to have such a sweet distraction!

Packing or Unpacking???

Today Emily and I were packing for our adventure to Salt Lake.  It seemed whatever I packed seemed to suddenly become unpacked.  Emily will sure be a great help when we arrive, but until then I think I will work alone.

Monkeys

As a little girl, I LOVED monkeys.  I had a collection of 3 puppet monkeys, but now have 3.  I gave one to Emily and she loves it!!  Each morning and after her nap, Emily automatically looks down on the carpet for her monkey that is "resting" in her spot.  As I pick it up, Emily hugs her and squeals with delight.  It is so cute to see her engage with the monkey.

Phones

Emily loves to play with phones.  She is cute to pretend to talk on the phone and push ALL the buttons.  Thankfully she hasn't called anyone. . . yet!

Wakeful Walks

Each morning Emily and I enjoy a walk together.  Emily always seems to beg for a ride in the stroller around the same time each morning.  I love this time in the cool, quiet morning together.  We love watching for geckos and puppies.  Some of my favorite glimpses of the ride are things Emily does:

• Babbling loudly to arose everyone on the quiet street
• Playing peek-a-boo through the stroller window
• Grabbing and eating her toes
• Lounging with her feet in the air
• Giggles of delight in seeing animals move

Emily's Hairstyle

Emily was born with a lot of dark brown hair.  She lost a little of it around 2 to 3 months.  Since then Emily has been growing lots of hair back - strawberry blond.  She has a distinct curl poof on top that can be stubborn to stay down.  I love it!!  Lately we have done piggy tails a few days.  Her hair is so dang cute when we take it out for bath time.  I can't help but smile.

Saturday Outing

On Saturdays with Nelson home we try to plan an adventure somewhere.  The past two weeks our intention was to go to Snow Canyon, but rain and nap time conflicted with our plans.  So instead we headed to a farmers market and the library.  Emily and I go the library at least twice a week, but it is a new experience with Daddy coming too!  Emily loves to unstock and restock the shelves.  She  tries to be the miniature librarian.  Emily is sure cute!!