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.