Summer Fun

As always it has been way too long since I have made time to post. The summer is going very well at the Ashley house. We have spent quite a bit of time at the lake, making a visit to Silver Dollar City on one of the trips. Emme enjoyed the trip and rode several rides; they were met with pretty stoic stares and even a few tears, but she was willing to try them.

Emaline really enjoys playing in water, be it her baby pool or the lake she is generally entertained and happy. We have spent time in the back yard playing in the pool, even having our cousins Holly and Melody and their four children over to play for an afternoon. Emaline was more interested in watching the older kids run around than actually engaging with them, but it is good for her to spend time with family regardless.

We have also made several trips to the Dickerson Park Zoo. We took our Ashley cousins along a couple of weeks ago and hope they enjoyed it too. Emaline really loves her cousin Autumn and frequently wanted to be held by her. I really enjoy visiting with Ricky and Autumn talking about books, movies, etc. and hope to spend some more time with them this summer (maybe they can help keep me hip).

Jimmy and I took a little trip last weekend for our anniversary. We got to visit a beautiful property on the Current River and enjoy some great time outdoors. Thanks again to Genesis and Chris for taking care of Emaline so much lately!

It seems we have plans every weekend for the next month, which is the norm in the summer. We are looking forward to seeing our nephew Jacob later this month and spending some time with him at the lake.

The pictures I included have been taken in the last few weeks. Obviously a couple are at the lake and in her pool. The one with the vacuum made me laugh because it has a back story. I said to Emaline one afternoon, "This place is a mess, you need to clean up." She promptly picked up her vacuum and gave me that big grin! The last one is of us on the hopping frog ride at SDC.

Well, Emme is waking from her nap so I'll sign off. Hope everyone else is having a great summer, enjoy the pics!

Quick Update

Since it has been so long I thought I would share some Emme fun facts. She is now 14 months old, approx. 23 1/2 lbs., and VERY busy. Emaline loves nothing more than being outside playing with her "car" that sings or just walking around picking up rocks, sticks, etc. She understands most of the things we ask of her now which is a lot of fun. Can't wait for her to talk back a bit more. I included a picture of Emaline from Easter morning (not a great one as she was a bit cranky all day) and a picture from our recent day trip to Columbia. Jimmy participated in the "Professor for a Day" at Mizzou as he has done in previous years. Emme and I tagged along to do a little shopping, eat at Shakespeare's Pizza, and have a first campus visit for the future tiger. She was very impressed with the campus and is keeping it on her short list:)

Nothing major going on around here, just enjoying having Daddy around to play and help with chores:) Emaline is still participating in a planned activity away from home on the three weekdays that I watch her, however, storytime is on hiatus until June. I am also considering dropping open gymnastics for the summer in favor of baby yoga or swimming. Since the school age kids will be descending on the gymnasium soon it will be less appealing to Emaline and me.

Hope everyone is doing well and we'll talk to you all soon!

Attitude

Emaline has begun the tragic slide from babyhood into toddlerville. While I really enjoy most of my time with her I do not take kindly to the fledgling attitude she is working on. She is generally a very happy, sweet girl so that is probably why I am appalled by her new bad behaviors. We have started using time out for really bad behaviors (such as hitting, growling at mommy when mad, and having fits for attention).
On the other hand she is growing and learning too. She really enjoys the classes and activities we do, but is becoming more bored at home. So I am looking for music CD's, games, and books that she can engage in more fully. When the weather is nice we have spent a lot of time outdoors lately. I have gotten a little gardening done while she plays on the patio. She is still scared of grass so that keeps her a little more confined where I don't have to worry as much about where she is and what she is up to (since she stays on the patio).
I have included some recent pictures so everyone can see how big she is getting. The one in the basket was taken by Jimmy today. When he was home for lunch Emme got out a basket that was in the laundry room and proceeded to climb right in, too funny!
Hope everyone is doing well, Happy Spring!

Emaline turns One

Well the big day came and went and I have finally stopped sulking about it. It still seems unreal that my baby is one year old. It is amazing to watch her turn into a little person, but I still miss the little baby who let me cuddle her all day. Needless to say she isn't slowing down, so I better get on board!

We had a fantastic party with our families here to help us celebrate. I have included pictures of the party, but the best ones are at the bottom. When most everyone had gone home Emme decided to let her hair down and get a little wild, it was so funny!

Emaline had her one year check up with Dr. Mai and is still tracking in the 75th percentile for her age. She weighs 22 pounds now and is almost 30 inches tall. Her growth has slowed down (as it should), and she is so active now that she is starting to slim down a bit. Her health is still very good with no major issues, but we did have to adjust her diet and give her a supplement as she is iron deficient.

Emme has finally gotten over her cold/ear infection that carried on for a month. However, the teeth will not give her a break. She currently has ten teeth with the eleventh cutting through right now.

I am doing my best to come up with activities to keep her active mind and body happy. We have become Friends of the Zoo so that we can visit the animals on a regular basis. I take Emaline to open gymnastics on Friday mornings for her to interact with other kids and get some energy out. Finally, I am adding a Tuesday morning Storytime at the Library Center that is just for one-year-olds. Hopefully we will make some new friends there too. When it is nice outside we like to go to the Nature Center or to Rutledge-Wilson farm.

We are in the heart of tax season right now and I have lost my good humor (as I always do about this time). Jim is weathering the long hours and extra stress pretty well, but is looking for the light at the end of the tunnel too. One thing that has helped us tremendously this year is that my sister Sarah makes time to spend with me and Emaline every weekend, my Mom takes care of Emaline every Thursday night, and everyone else offers up help at every turn. We couldn't do it without you all!

Hope everyone else is well and looking forward to more sunny days!

Emme Update

I have been berated for not posting, so here is a quick update. Emaline has 10 teeth now (most of which cut in the last three weeks). She has been a very good sport about the teething with only minimal sleep issues and fussiness.

She has now been off bottles for a week, making it well before the one-year-old deadline but it was no small effort. For those of you that were around for this transition I apologize, as neither of us was at our personal best. Through some give and take I think that we are well on our way to using "big girl" cups effectively and we have finally returned to the appropriate intake of milk per day.

Jimmy and I tried to get some video of the baby walking, but haven't had much luck (we'll keep trying). She is able to walk by herself between the two of us for a distance of 5-6 feet, but is not quite ready to go it alone otherwise. We are preparing for the big one year event and looking forward to sharing the celebration with our families. It has been a whirlwind year and I can't believe it is already over!

I included a few recent pictures of her around the house helping me in the kitchen and making the bed. Also, a few from open gymnastics day. Talk to you all soon!