Halloween 2013

Halloween was a "spooktacular" day!  Nelson dressed up for work & kept his costume on while we went trick-or-treating.  I stole Emily's cat ears that she didn't wear (see the pictures below).  So together we were Waldo, pumpkin, & kitty cat.  We went trick-or-treating in a nearby neighborhood where many of our ward members live.  Emily loved the walk in the warm sunshine and seeing friends around.  She wasn't quite aware of the treats, but that will come soon enough.

 

Carving Pumpkins

Our pumpkins have decorated our family room since our visit to the pumpkin patch.  For FHE, we gutted & carved them.  I couldn't help but think of many memories of carving a pumpkin with my siblings and my dad.  My dad was usually in charge as my mom had already carved multiple pumpkins with her kindergartners.  I can still see my dad's hands cleaning the pumpkin out and separating the seeds for a sweet treat.  I am excited to share and make pumpkin carving memories with my family.

13 Months

As my Great-Grandpa Owens would say, Emily has begun her "2 year of life."  Like every month, there have been fun and anticipated milestones to celebrate.

• Emily has sit scoot crawled since about 9-10 months, but this month she took off with the traditional all 4's crawl.  After her sweet cousin Ellie came to visit, she seemed to figure it out.  I guess she just needed a little person to show her the trick than "old" mom!
• Emily has enjoyed lots of visitors this month: Uncle Jeff, Aunt Amber, Will, Ellie, Grandpa & Nana, Aunt Sissa, and even "GG" (Double G - Great-Grandma White).
• Music is Emily's language!  She hums, babbles, drums her lips, claps, and sings "EIEIO."  Emily loves to sing with you.  She will clap her hands to "If You're Happy & You Know It" and "I'm Bringing Home my Baby Bumble Bee."  Most of the time she is a performer.
• Emily also loves to dance.  If her mouth isn't singing, her feet are dancing on the floor!
• It seems over night, Emily's hair grows!  She has her daddy's fast growing hair gene.
• Emily loves to play with her friends Avery & Brinley.  They come to play and she will go to their house while I tutor.
• Independence seems to be Emily's middle name.  She loves to do things HERSELF from eating, sleeping, and playing.
• Emily loves to empty things out and is now found the joy of putting things back.
• Emily loves to play with her kitchen, car, and little people.
• Our books are well-worn because of our daily reader.  Good thing we had extra packaging tape to keep them together still.

Nana Stops in for a Visit

Nana, Great Grandma White ("GG"), and Aunt Charolette came for a visit twice this past week on their way to and from Arizona to visit my Aunt Vera.  It was so much fun to spend a little time with them and let Nana see Emily's new tricks.  Emily was a little shy at first, but began to warm up just as it was time for them to leave.  We love having visitors!!

My Little Maid

Although Emily doesn't like for you to wash her hands or face, she loves to play with wipes.  She will throw the wipe in the air and laugh as it dances to the ground.  Other times Emily wads the wipe up and then puts it on the table or floor to only then pick it up again.  She is a great Little Maid.

Empty & Full

One of Emily's new favorite games is "Empty & Full."  She will empty a container by shaking it, and then fill it back up.  Before now, she loved to just unpack everything.  Emily has now figured out the fun and learning in seeing how to put it all back together.  I love watching her eyes wonder while working out the "problem."  She is a great problem solver!

Sleep Training

Last week we began some sleep training with Emily so that she would learn to go to sleep herself and sleep through the night.  I was so nervous to let her cry, but knew that this was going to be the best way to help her learn.  After getting some advice from my sister Jennie, I committed myself to keep outside of her room even if she cried for some time. 

On the first night, Emily cried a good 25-30 minutes.  She was definitely letting us know she didn't like the new plan.  All of the sudden, Emily became really quiet.  Throughout the 25 minutes I just sat outside her door listening, wanting so much to hold her.  Yet, I knew it would be more helpful to her if I stayed outside.  I couldn't help but think that this experience may be similar to how Heavenly Father feels sometimes when we pray or plead for help without getting an answer.  I believe He is always right "outside," ready to help.  However, Heavenly Father doesn't necessarily answer directly because He knows how important this particular lesson is for us to grow upon. 

You know what, Emily has grown in the past week.  After our bedtime routine, I kiss her good night, give her a binkie, and say "I love you!" before walking away.  Most often she doesn't cry.  I am so proud of Emily.  Even though I am not there to rock her to sleep, I hope my love surrounds her through the night.  Sweet dreams Emily.

One morning I found Emily's little hand on the railing, appearing to "hold on"

Silly Playing

Emily is a spark of spontaneity and wit that shines in our home.  These are a few moments over the past few weeks of silly playful moments.

 

 

I gave Emily a carrot while I was cooking dinner.  She would suck on it like a binky while crawling around.  I couldn't capture that moment with the camera, but I did get her to smile at me.

 

Emily loves to pretend to talk on the phone.  In addition to play phones, Emily imagines many things to be phones including, her hand and a comb.  She is cute to say "Hi" and then babble before saying "Bye" and putting the phone down.

 

Emily loves to play with books!  Whenever it is quiet I know she is reading her books or into something like . . .

hiding under the table and emptying her diaper bag.  Under the table is her new favorite hiding place.

Fall Walks

We have anticipated cooler weather for months!  Until recently we had not had a day with a high temperature less than 90 degrees since March.  We were so looking forward to cooler weather to play outside in and signs of fall -my favorite season.  In Arizona there were some trees that lost their leaves, but that usually happened in December or January.  As such I have been watching closely for signs off fall here in St. George.  It seems this week there are some distinct signs of fall: changing leaves, dew, and seeing condensation clouds when you breathe outside in the morning.  Emily and I love to go for walks in this cooler weather, but with that we need to wear some warmer clothes.  When Emily is all bundled up, Nelson calls it the "Emily burrito."  I have yet to find some gloves, so Emily sports some socks on her hands to keep them warm.  My family would think I was teaching her my tricks.  I used to wear socks on my hands to bed with medicine on them to treat my eczema.  She is sure cute with her socks and ears on her hat.  I cannot help but giggle.

 

My New Ride

Aunt Sissa, Aunt Jamie, and Aunt Heidi gave Emily this fun little car for her birthday.  She loves to play "catch" with the balls and drive around.  Emily's legs are not quite long enough, so I will push her around the kitchen and family room.  She is so cute to follow my lead and say, "Varoom, Varoom!"

Sneaking a Treat

Today while in line at the grocery store, Emily grabbed a treat from the stand without me knowing.  She is infamous for reaching out her little hands in the store and library to "help" add to our bag or basket.  I thought she was pretty cute with the M&Ms in her mouth.  We didn't buy the M&Ms, but we did get some Teddy Grahams.  Yum!

Sleeping with Monkey

When I was a little girl, I would sleep with my monkey, Charlie.  The tradition of my monkey is rooted in my Grandpa White.  He had a monkey, Charlie Sr., that I loved.  I asked Santa for one when I was about 6-7 years old.  Santa worked hard to find one just like my Grandpa's, and he did!!  I loved Charlie, especially that it was like Grandpa's.  He was my protector and comforter throughout the night.  Charlie now shows signs of being well loved.  Funny thing, Emily has grown to love my old monkey, Katie, who we know call "Key" as Emily has named her so.  She loves to give her hugs and kisses.  One day she was pulling my hair while rocking her to sleep.  I thought to give her "Key" so that she would have something else to pull ;).  One "Key" was in her arms, she feel fast asleep.

Stairs

Guess who found the stairs!?!  Emily has really taken off with crawling over the past week.  She loves exploring and getting into EVERYTHING!  Today, she found the stairs.  As I went over to find her there, I clapped and said, "Yeah!"  Nelson and I have tried to teach her to clap many times, and today it clicked.  She clapped in response.  Wow!  Two milestones today!  I love watching Emily explore and learn.