I LOOKED.....

Out the window

And what did I see? Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree!

Spring has brought me such a nice SURPRISE! 

Blossoms popping right before my eyes

I can take an armful

 And make a treat. A popcorn ball that would smell so sweet

It wasn't really so

But it seemed to me

 Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree!

{As sung about 50 times a day by the cutest 2  year we know!}

ONE!!!!!

I did it. I survived Emery's first birthday. I shed a few tears throughout the day and it has taken me awhile to feel like I can sit and write about it without starting up again. Sigh. Who knew I would fall head over heels in love with this baby this year?!?

Let me preface these birthday pictures by saying that Emery starting getting two teeth a couple weeks ago and she is the most unhappy teething baby ever. Seriously. She has been miserable the last couple weeks no matter what we try. So... unfortunately her first birthday wasn't as super stellar as we were hoping it to be. Boo to new teeth.

We celebrated with our little family. Ems had an adorable birthday outfit, including a sparkly pink "1" crown. This is how she felt about the crown:

I don't know what it is with her and bows/hats lately but she HATES them and cries whenever we try to put them on her. Doesn't she know I have thousands of girl accessories waiting to be used by her?

Before opening gifts:
She loved tearing the paper off her presents. She could have done it all day long!
Birthday outfit and the one and only smiling picture from the day:
With her gifts. Man, it is hard to find gifts to give a 4th child and 3rd girl. She got A LOT of clothes from us, tons of new books and a couple little toys (including a new Sophie the giraffe since we lost ours). From Grandma Frost she got books and from G&G Baldwin she got some fun dishes/toys for the new play kitchen (which technically was supposed to be for both the little girls' birthdays)
Cake!
She was super unsure about what to do with the gigantic slice we gave her but eventually dug in and loved it and then proceeded to throw it all over the floor.
I made a fun pink ombre cake. This is the inside. I put different colors of pink frosting between each layer.

I cannot put into words how grateful I am every single day that we decided to have another baby. Emery has been the joy of our family this last year and has renewed my love of motherhood. Emery has probably been our easiest baby (which is saying a lot because all 4 of our babies have been easy) and she is super smiley and easy going. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father knew what I needed more than I did!

11 Months!

She is 11 months old! I seriously can't stand it. Yes, I say it every month but it is MY blog and I can say I'm heartbroken over this baby growing up as many times as I want to. I have had a few breakdowns in the past few weeks over her almost being one. I can't stand it. I want her to stay little forever.

Ems has been a big stinker with having her picture taken lately. She was having none of it so these aren't the pictures I was envisioning in her cute outfit I had picked out. But that is so her personality right now. Still hating the bow:
Please stop putting this thing on my head mom!!!
I relented and got some au natural shots of her, which are really sweet too! I will for sure have to have a "helper" when I take her 1 year pictures!


This month Emery has:

- added a few words to her vocabulary: ball, night-night, dog

- started to stand on her own without holding on (she doesn't even realize she's doing it)

- started getting into EVERYTHING. We've never had a baby who likes to open cupboards and drawers and pull everything out like she does. We need to do some major baby proofing

- started drinking milk. I gave her a sippy cup with milk in it last week to see how she would like it. She drank the entire thing and then cried when it was all gone. She gets so excited when she sees me get the milk out of the fridge.

- pooped in the bathtub twice. GROSS! Again, she is the first of our kids to ever do this (we are lucky in that department). We have resorted to getting her in and out of the tub as quickly as possible.

- remained the champion peek-a-boo baby. I keep forgetting to write this about her but she love PAB. Every time we lay her in bed she pulls her blanket up and down while we say boo. It cracks her up and she will play for as long as we are willing. Adorable.

- loved pulling clothes off the hangers in the closet. We are excited to get her into her own room in the next couple weeks and out of our closet!

- not gotten any teeth. She is right on track with our other kids to getting first teeth right after turning one. We can see two bottom teeth that are getting ready to poke through.

- almost cut out all nursing. We are down to once a day (at night) and I'm fairly certain we will be able to cut it out pretty easily. Totally bittersweet for me. Part of me is really ready to be done, part of me is heartbroken.

- started loving books. I can sit her with a pile of books and she will look at them for a long time. She especially loves touchy-feely books and has a bunch coming for her birthday!

- started loving to blow on things. It is so funny but she loves whistles and harmonicas and anything that will make noise when she blows on it. It cracks us up because she blows on everything to see what kind of noise it will make.

- gotten more attached to Allen and me. She hates to be put down and will cry at our feet until one of us picks her up.

She remains the star of the show in our family and is beloved by all!!

Santa Baby (10 Months!)

I got a few good pictures of my SUPER wiggly baby this month! I can't believe that we're just a few weeks away from her first birthday. I'm trying VERY hard to be ok with her growing up but in reality I want to cry anytime I think about it. Ems has had another big month. She is very mobile and can crawl like a champ. She is also pulling up and taking a few very tentative steps holding onto the furniture. Based on her current mobility she might be our earliest walker yet.

Another big milestone this month is that she will eat almost anything we give her. She is doing great with table food which has simplified my life. Her favorite foods as of right now: PB&J, Pasta of all kind but she prefers marinara sauce, quesadillas, grapes, oranges, peas, corn, green beans, meats of all kind, yogurt. She still loves her salty snacks - pretzels, rice cakes, goldfish & veggie straws are her favorite and she really doesn't care for sweets (other than ice cream, which she loves).

She has the funniest laugh and it cracks people up whenever they hear it. She has uncanny timing and will begin her deep, throaty belly laugh at the most inopportune times (almost always in the middle of the sacrament on Sundays). It's so cute and unique to her.


She is still nursing twice a day and I've been hoping she would start getting less interested but I think the opposite is true. I'm starting my hard-core diet the second she is one so I need to have weaned by then. It could be a rough few weeks!

She is still very, very attached to me (and I still love it) and she can be heard calling mama all over the house until she finds me. It's adorable.

She is increasingly difficult to photograph. To get one good picture of her, I have about 20 shots that look something like this:

Of course our love for her has only increased over these last 10 months. The kids still fight over her every single day and even beg to wake her up in the morning. Emery is a joy to us all!

9 Months!

Miss cutie patootie is 9 months old! I seriously can't stand how big she is getting!Ems is OFFICIALLY mobile and has been crawling for a couple of weeks. She thinks it is so funny to get herself caught in tricky spots or when I can't find her and have to go searching. I don't think she yet realizes how mobile she is because she doesn't come looking for me when I leave the room. She will sit until I come back for her.

She is still sleeping through the night but will occasionally wake up for a binky or to get a blanket over her. Emery also started clapping this month. This also makes her feel like she is pretty big stuff. She won't clap on command yet but she does it when she gets really excited.

We think she has a milk allergy or at least a lactose intolerance. She does NOT do well when she has milk products. She loves yogurt but it causes her to have 6-8 stinky diapers a day. Once we have cut it out she is doing much better. We'll try again in a couple months to see how she does.

She is definitely getting harder to photograph. It is hard to get her to stay still long enough to take pictures!

Is saying Mama and Dada. She still prefers me over anyone and I still love it.

She is nursing 3 times a day (morning, noon, night) and still gets distracted SO easily. I know I could wean her right now and she'd barely notice but I am definitely not ready! I have to send everyone out of the room while she nurses because once she's distracted, it's all over!

Has become a bow-puller-outer. Ack! I've never had a baby fight hair accessories like she does. It doesn't stop me from putting a bow or hat on her every day, even if it is out in a few minutes!

Emery loves music and she will do her own little dance whenever it is on or someone is playing the piano. It is so cute to watch her wiggle around to the beat!

Points to her nose on demand! So funny! Allen was telling her where her nose was the other day and a few days later I said something about her nose and she pointed right to it. Adorable!

Emery is loved and adored by everyone more than I ever thought possible! I can't imagine our family without her and wonder how I existed without her in my life every single day!

8 Months!

{Doesn't this picture just scream "here I am world!"}

Emery has had a BIG month! It seems like she has made leaps and bounds in her development really quickly lately. This month she is:

- saying Mama. It appears that she recognizes me as Mama and she will call for me if I am out of her sight. It is adorable and she is the first of my kids to say mama before dada.

- almost crawling. She is so so close! She goes from sitting to on hands/knees to scooting forward and back to sitting. She hasn't quite figured out how to coordinate her hands and knees yet but I know she'll figure it out really soon.

{Almost ready to take off!}

- eating solids 3x per day and nursing 4 times per day. She loves baby food, yogurt, crackers, rice cakes, pasta and meat. So far she does not like cheese or bread. She is at the very distracted age for nursing and I have resorted to taking her to a quiet, dark room to keep her as focused as possible

- starting to fuss when getting her diaper changed. She tries to squirm away so we have started changing her on the floor.

- loving bathtime. She loves to splash and will make a huge mess and then look to make sure we are watching her. Adorable.

- sleeping through the night 100% of the time. She takes two solid naps and one shorter cat nap in the late afternoon (perfect for fixing dinner)

- playing with paper whenever she can and loves to play with our keys. She loves to bang things together and thinks she is hilarious when she makes noise to get our attention.

- has earned the nickname "boing boing" from Addison and laughs hysterically whenever anyone calls her it. It is so so so funny to watch.

-shaking her head yes and no. We have no idea if she knows what it means.

- loves to blow raspberries and "talk" to us. She has the CUTEST laugh of all time and smiles and laughs for everyone.

super easy to photograph. I swear she is camera ready any time of the day and will bust out a huge grin on demand. Even my pro photographer friend who took our pics last month was amazed at her darling, smiley personality.

- remains the most good natured, easy, pleasant, happy baby ever. What's not to love?!

7 Months!

7 Months. Officially passed the halfway point to 1. Sigh. Words cannot describe how I feel about this baby. My heart is so full when I think about her and it feels like it could practically burst I love her so much. How did I think my life was complete without her?! This month she is up to:

Eating more solids than ever. 2x a day cereal and fruit or veggies. She likes it all. She also loves graham crackers, cheerios, Cheetos puffs (discovered on accident at a BBQ), bread and pizza crust. She's still not sure what to do when she gets a chunk of something in her mouth that doesn't dissolve so she usually spits it out. Still nursing about every 3 hours but she is so curious that it takes us awhile. She also is not tolerating very much rocking/snuggling which makes me so sad. She is too busy seeing everything around her.

Sitting proficiently and leaning and reaching for things. No sign of crawling yet (yay) and she hates to be on her stomach so that may be awhile. She will push herself forward with her feet and we've tried to prop her up on her hands/knees but she is clueless.

Great sleeper - basically sleeping through the night all the time now. Takes two solid naps every day (that we are home). Hardly sleeps on the go anymore so that is tricky sometimes.

Smiley, smiley, smiley. She is my best laugher yet. She giggles at EVERYTHING and it is so cute. She has a really deep laugh and voice and it is so funny. She is saying Ba-ba-ba and is always so surprised when she catches herself talking.

Has graduated from the Bumbo to a booster seat at the table. She loves it so much. I love that I can put things on the tray and she will play while I make dinner, etc. She still loves to crinkle ANYTHING and tries to eat paper if we give it to her.

Pretty sure she might be the most beloved baby ever. The big kids still fight over her every. single. day. She is spoiled rotten with love from all of us! We could not be more grateful that she is part of our family!

6 Months

Well, here we are. Half way through Miss Emery's first year. The last 6 months have just flown by and sadly, I'm not expecting time to slow down. I am in serious denial that her babyhood is just zipping by. I had a serious breakdown last week as I was boxing up more baby clothes that she has outgrown. Part of me wishes I had the capability to have just one more baby but I know I could not handle another pregnancy. And Allen is completely DONE (funny how our roles have completely reversed since having Emery). I also realize you can't just keep having babies just to have a baby around but it sure is tempting! Now it is time to get busy raising the kiddos we have been blessed with! We are sure appreciating her babyness and drinking in every moment and milestone! - Ems is still HUGE. She weighed in at 20 lbs. 10 oz. and 28 inches at her last appointment. She is off the chart for both height and weight. She only weighs about 6 lbs. less than Addison!

- Emery is doing great sitting up on her own. She loves it and will sit and play with her toys or anything on the floor for a long time.

- Totally rolling over on her own but she's still unsure how to get from her tummy back to her back. She has done it before but usually gets frustrated being on her tummy so she cries.

- Starting to push up on her hands and tries to pull herself forward. I am so NOT ready for her to be mobile yet!

- Loves to look at herself in the mirror and cracks herself up all the time.

- Loves to play with anything crinkly. Wrappers, paper, etc. She is also SUPER grabby and we have to be really careful with anything within reaching distance because it will get pulled or knocked over. We have broken a few glasses by accidentally putting them too close to her.

- Doing better with solids. She still doesn't LOVE to eat them but we can tell she is getting more hungry and needs the solids. She does this funny low growl when she gets fed and tries to spit out the food. She really loves drinking water from a sippy cup.

- Still a good sleeper, waking up 1 time per night half the time and sleeping straight through the other half. She does this funny thing where she curls up into a ball, rolls to her left side and pulls her blanket over her head when she is ready for bed/nap.

- Loves to laugh. She loves having her belly kissed and will laugh her head off.

- Has a few favorite toys: crinkly board books, Sophie the giraffe, plastic keys, rubber spatulas and measuring cups

She is just such a happy, happy baby and very chill. She is such a little ray of sunshine in our home and I cannot get enough of watching my big kids interact with her.

5 Months

Another month has gone by and I just wish time would SLOW DOWN! Emery is such a happy and delightful baby and I can't stand how fast her babyhood is flying by. This month Ems did a lot of the same things as last month but is now doing them better.

She is:

- sitting up on her own for quite awhile. We sometimes have to help her get her arms in the right place to balance but she is getting so good

- rolling from her back to her stomach. She can do it but she hates being on her tummy so she doesn't do it often

- getting on a MUCH more predictable nap schedule. She usually takes a morning, afternoon and early evening nap and is in bed by 8 p.m. most nights. She also loves to sleep with her blanket over her face. It freaks me out but anytime I pull it off of her face she immediately reaches for it and pulls it back on.

- waking up 1-2 times per night to eat. Better napping has meant less predictable sleep at night but it is a good tradeoff for me

- talking up a storm. I don't think we've ever had this verbal of a baby. She loves to make noise with her mouth and I can actually tell what she needs by the kinds of noises she makes. For example, I can always tell when she is poopy because she does a funny screech that she reserves just for that. So fun!

- putting everything in her mouth. She loooooooves her feet and is always trying to get them to her mouth. She also loves to suck on her clothes and will always pull them into her mouth.

- playing with toys. She loves her interlocking rings, Sophie the giraffe and her playyard

- laughing up a storm. She loves to have her belly kissed and will laugh forever afterwards.

- trying solids. So far, no luck, but she is warming up to the idea. She has tried rice cereal and pears so far and acts like we are trying to kill her with every bite.

- still very attached to me. She still cries if I walk out of her line of sight and often cries when strangers pick her up or talk to her.

- still spitting up a ton. It's so gross. It seems to be tapering off a bit but it is still bad. She is also the diaper blow-out queen.

- happy, happy, happy baby. She is the squishiest, most snuggly, loveable baby ever. I just love her to pieces and think she is our best decision ever! {I can say that because I was SOOOO on the fence about her even when pregnant and I still can't believe I considered my life complete without her. I knew I WANTED 3 kids but didn't know I NEEDED 4.}