I haven't posted in two months?! Yikes! I have a lot of catch up to do, but only because a lot has been happening! My favorite time of year has come and gone but I am consoled by the excitement of entering a new year.
Let's see..I have to fight my horrible memory and remember back to two months ago. Here we go!
November brought us an exciting surprise and blessing for our family, Nathan was hired at Expedia. I can't express to you how huge of a deal this was for our family. He now has a normal M-F, 9-5 position which means we get to spend nights and weekends together! We can actually go to church EVERY weekend at the same time. He has spoiled us, cooking us breakfast every weekend...I really hope that is a trend that sticks around. ;) It has been such a huge answered prayer. PTL!
He also had the honor of officiating one of his best friend's weddings. I was shocked when he told me that they had asked him, I honestly thought he was pulling my leg. But we made the drive down to San Marcos and he officiated the wedding in a little outside chapel on a hill. It was beautiful, but FREEZING cold outside! Nathan did an awesome job! Congratulations to Tyler and Ele, we love you guys and are so happy for your little family. :)
I always jump the gun on getting our Christmas tree because I LOVE Christmas time and wish it lasted all year. So right before Thanksgiving we picked ours out so I could decorate it the week I was off from school. Emerson loved running around the garden center and she had the final say in which tree we brought home. ;)
My good friend Leah took our Christmas pictures the day before we left to go to Lufkin for Thanksgiving. She always does such an awesome job, and this year was no exception. Anyone who can grab a shot of "Miss always on the go" is a miracle worker in my book...and oh boy--she got a good one!
On Thanksgiving morning we drove to Lufkin. We made really good time and arrived just as everyone was about to have lunch. We had a great time getting to visit with all of my family and catch up. They can't believe how big she has gotten. She thoroughly enjoyed getting to see my family's horse. Katie taught her how to "Nay Nay" like Ginger.
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| This is when she stole an entire muffin off the table and proceeded to eat the entire thing. Lol |
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| Showing Poppy around. |
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| I love the fall colors! |
On Friday, after having Thanksgiving lunch at my Nana and Papa's house we drove to College Station to have Thanksgiving with Nathan's family. His brother Mitchell is going to school there and couldn't get off work to go home for Thanksgiving so they took Thanksgiving to him! His mom and dad worked a miracle by preparing an entire Thanksgiving feast in his tiny college apartment kitchen. It was fun getting to see his new place and hearing how school is going for him. Emerson had fun and made herself at home. She liked when we would take her out on the balcony so she could people and dog watch. On Saturday before we left to go home we went to eat at Grub burger! I always feel a little homesick when we leave College Station, but we have great memories from there--and who knows, maybe one day we'll end up back there.
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| We took Emmy by our old stomping grounds... |
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| Grubbin on some Grub Burger. YUM! |
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| She was very enthused about us making her do this. Lol |
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| At one of our favorite places...the warehouse! Where you can buy all things AGGIE! |
November ended with a lot of family time--yay! :) And then we were off and running into the BUSY month of December. Like I said earlier, it is my FAVORITE time of the year and I think that being coupled with Christmas parties, shopping, preparing, packing, driving, events, get togethers...etc. make it go by in the blink of an eye! Not to mention, on top of all of that, my school is moving into our brand new building over the break so towards the end of the semester we were packing up our building. It has been super busy!
We had a special church service that took place at the UNT coliseum. It was very neat to have it there but there was no childcare so Emerson had to come in with us. She has become very very...very vocal so we didn't make it through the whole service. Since we were already in Denton we decided to eat breakfast at our favorite restaurant before heading home.
I brought her up to school one evening for our Polar Express night. We all got to wear our pajamas! She got to see her friend, Liam. They played and played, and Emerson pulled her stroller up to his so she could give him a hug and a kiss! We might have trouble on our hands. Lol
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| Shortly after this, she pulled his hair--mixed signals much? Not her best moment |
On the last day of school we got to go see our new building for the first time! It was a quick in and out but I at least got to see my room. It is a beautiful building and I'm so excited for the kiddos to see it on the 5th. They will not know what to do with all of the room! ..I don't really know what to do with it yet either!
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| Last day in our old classroom. |
That night we took Emerson to see Santa! I was very unsure of how the visit was going to go but we dressed her up in her adorable Christmas dress and took her to the mall. As we were waiting in line (which thank goodness was not very long) she started walking towards him while a little boy was sitting on his lap. I turned her around but thought to myself that she might walk up to him when it was her turn--no such luck. Nathan carried her up and set her on his lap and she started screaming! So we both had to be in the picture. I had to be the wall that separated Emmy from the big, scary, bearded man. Lol oh well, maybe next year!
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| Pretty girl! |
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| Passed out on the way to the mall. |
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| She's just so darn cute! |
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| Perfectly chipper at dinner afterwards :) |
The day after school released for winter break was my mom's and Nathan's birthdays.
He started off his birthday by going golfing with his best friend. I went to breakfast with my family to celebrate my mom and then we went and did some last minute Christmas shopping. When we got home, Katie came to watch Emerson while we went to dinner with Nathan's mom. We also got to shop for Emerson while we were out. (so fun!) We ate dinner at a little hole in the wall italian restaurant in Old Town Carrollton. Yum! Afterwards, we headed back to his parent's house to have cupcakes and to open his birthday gifts.
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| We had to fuel up before fighting the last Saturday before Christmas crowds...yikes! |
On Sunday evening we threw my mom and Nathan a little family birthday party. Katie made chili and we baked a cake and had a really fun time celebrating two of our favorite people! Emerson was very excited about the cake!
On the 23rd I came down with a bug of some sort that completely zapped me of all my energy! I'm so grateful that Norma was able to come get Emerson and watch her for the day while I slept. That night I made myself get up and go to my parent's house for our Sears Christmas, although I was pretty much a bump on a log. Emerson had fun getting into her gifts! After we opened presents and visited for a while we headed back home and packed our things so that we could leave for Lufkin Christmas Eve morning.
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| My awesome view for the day. I watched bits and pieces of "The Santa Claus" three times that day. Lol |
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| Mom and Dad's pretty tree |
Christmas Eve morning we drove to Lufkin. Emerson was great on the drive! She played with her baby doll, read her books, and had her sippy cup to keep her company. I still wasn't feeling very well so I napped on and off. We were a little late for lunch but we made it!
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| She picks up everything she can find and then hands it to me. |
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| Playing ball with the big boys! |
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| Stealing someone's fries... |
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| Mawmaw bought this for Emmy...but she was a little (a lot) scared of it. Lol |
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| The best picture we got that day. We all went to bed at 8:30! Tired fam. |
Christmas Day we woke up and saw some of our extended family and then headed to my Nana and Papa's new house to have Christmas with them. This was the first year in their new home which was strange but I'm happy that they are finally all settled in--there are new traditions to be had! I still had very little energy so I volunteered to help Emerson go down for her nap (she has a hard time sleeping in new places) so I could close my eyes for a little bit too. As we were rocking in my Nana's recliner I was humming "Silent Night" to her and occasionally as her eyes began to get heavy she would "sing" with me to keep herself awake. It was the sweetest moment.
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| Opening presents with Dada |
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| Yummy yummy banana pudding! |
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| Precious baby girl! |
We had to leave that afternoon to come home because Nathan had to work on Friday. I started feeling a little better on the way home but was definitely ready to sleep in my own bed! Emerson was a little over tired and fussy during the car ride home. I held her hand from the front seat and she calmed down, but when I let go she started fussing again--it was just one of those moments that melts my mommy heart.
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| "That flash is too bright Aunt CooCoo!" |
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| Happy to be home! |
Santa made special arrangements to come to our house after we returned from Lufkin. I wasn't sure how she would react so I asked Nathan to record her when it was time to let her go see what he had brought. We followed her out of our room and she immediately said, "Ohhhhh" and walked up to her baby stroller. She bent down to look at the princess babies that were strapped in and then she took off! She started pushing her stroller around and we had to show her that he had brought a few other goodies as well. She really likes her Minnie Mouse vacuum and enjoys pushing it around while I use the real one, it's pretty cute.
After she saw her gifts from Santa we opened up our other presents. It was the best morning. We drank hot cocoa and listened to Bing Crosby. After we finished the gifts, Nathan made us breakfast on our brand new skillet (Thanks Mawmaw!) and I played with Emerson.
She went down for her nap and I took a little one too and then we got ready and went to Nathan's parent's to have Christmas with them. We opened gifts, Emerson got her very own TV remote! Gigi knows just what she needed! After we opened presents we had to go on a scavenger hunt to find our stockings. Norma gets pretty creative, I think that tradition is so fun! I'm very proud to say I was the first to find mine. :) Nathan and his brother Mitchell and Bill went outside (in the frigid weather) and played basketball while Norma got Christmas dinner ready and I chased Emerson around. We watched Home Alone and then it was time to eat. Dinner and dessert were delicious. We always leave with full tummies!
This past week I have spent hanging out with Emerson, deep cleaning our house, and getting my new classroom ready.
Thankfully, my mom and Nathan's mom have been able to watch Emerson while I go up to school to work. On Tuesday two of my best friends joined me and we put my class together from the ground up. It's amazing how much you can get done when three teachers work together all while jamming out...and taking a break to enjoy some Chick-fil-a. I am SO grateful for their help. I have great friends!
Tuesday night we went over to my friend Jackie's house for a little gift exchange. Jackie is my teaching partner at Camey, we share our classes. She has a son, Liam, who is 5 months older than Emerson. (The little boy in the pictures from Polar Express Night) We have already destined them to be together! Anyways, we enjoyed a night of girl talk while the kiddos played and the husbands talked about whatever it is they talk about. At the end of the night we did a gift exchange. Emerson got an Eric Carle book and a math puzzle. I think Jackie picked the math puzzle out specifically for me, hoping that it will help Emerson counteract my math inadequacies. Lol Nathan won a Star Wars calendar--just what he has always wanted! And I got ad libs which I'm actually going to take up to school for my kiddos to use--after I make sure they're appropriate.
Wednesday Nathan got off work a little early since it was New Year's Eve. He watched Emerson while I got ready for our anniversary date/New Year celebration. We decided to go to Downtown Grapevine to try out a restaurant that Norma had told us about. We couldn't decide if we wanted to see a movie or wanted to make it home in time to see the ball drop. We decided on the latter and when we got home we realized that it was only 9:30. (It's pitiful, but I was already tired. Lol) Nathan built a fire in the fireplace and I got to pick the movie for us to watch. I decided on the Family Stone because I hadn't seen it during the Christmas season and it's one of my favorites! Good stinkin movie. Nathan I don't think was very excited about it but he laughed more than I did. We saw the ball drop and then I passed out, and not for the reason I'm sure most young people pass out for on NYE. Lol I am beginning to feel like a Grandma...
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| Last family picture for 2014...Emerson was thrilled, can you tell? |
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| I love my boy! Happy 8 years! |
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| My other love |
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| He was allowed to cuddle on the couch with me because he was scared of all the fireworks going off. |
New Year's Day we got to see our friends Martha Kate and Zac who live in Alaska. Here's to praying they can move back next year! We miss them so much. Their baby girl is due in February and we can't wait for them to be parents. I am so excited for her and Emmy to be friends! It's been a tradition the past three years that we see them while they are home for Christmas and I love getting to catch up with them. It's crazy how much all of our lives have changed since we met in college. We are so grateful for their friendship. :)
Today Emerson is 15 months old.
The past few weeks have brought a lot of change in our little girl! Here are some of the highlights:
-She says "night night," "Gigi," "Mimi," "bite," "hi," (with excitement!) and "touch down" (my personal fave)
-She sits and reads her books, and will sit through an entire book when we read to her. Her favorite book is called "Puppy Love" and at the end she hugs the dogs on the page. :)
-She pretends to talk on her remote like it's a phone, sometimes it sounds like very important business that she is handling!
-She can sometimes be stubborn, and we are learning to navigate the waters of her willful personality.
-She pushes her babies around in their stroller and feeds them their bottles.
-She has gotten very good at throwing things...
-Her hair is getting long! She has a little bit of a mullet but I can't cut it yet.
-We say, "1,2" and she says "DEEEEE"
-She can make horse, dog, bird, and cat noises.
-She loves to play outside which has been hard lately with it being so cold!
-She enjoys climbing on things...especially things she isn't supposed to climb on. The temptation is real for her.
-She LOVES to eat anything and everything. She puts it away!
-She's been having night terrors. She whimpers and whines and it makes me so sad. I hope they are just a phase she outgrows!
-She enjoys playing with car keys and likes to "lock" the front door with the keys.
She has become her own little person and it fascinates me when I can see her mind thinking through things. We are learning new things right along side her because every day she challenges us with something new. Thanks for making every day exciting, Emerson! Happy 15 months to our bubbly lovebug!
Here are some of my favorite pictures of her over the past couple of months:
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| Teaching her how to be gentle. :) |
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| Fun times with GiGi! |
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| "You lookin at me?!" |
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| Brrrrrr |
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| Bundle of cuteness! |
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| Playing with Mama's hair :) |
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| Christmas Party |
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| Maybe she got too many bath toys for Christmas... |
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| The best picture I could get of these two hooligans together. Lol |
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| These temps call for a new hat! |
Phew..that was a long one! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We are blessed beyond measure and can't wait to see what 2015 will bring for our family.
