1 Year Old and Big News!!!

If you didn't take a close look at the 1st picture - look again! Yes - that's right - Emma is going to be a Big Sister!!! And she is more excited than she looks in the pic! She was not happy about having to take photos during Animal Craker time!

Our due date is September 4th, but we'll schedule another c-section the last week of August. And if you're thinking - "Oh, do it on My Birthday!" - WRONG - we have about 10 family birthdays in a span of two weeks and we're going to try our best not to have #2 on anyone's birthday. So quit asking Grandma Debi and Grandpa Knute!!!

So far the pregnancy has been going well - I'm less sick than with Emma and otherwise just tired. I'm almost 13 weeks along so I'm hoping the sickness will soon be gone and I can get back to eating normal foods without feeling sick! We heard the heartbeat a few weeks ago and and got to see #2 on an ultrasound - but it just looks like a little ball at this point!

Enough about that - now onto the real news! We had another birthday party for Emma while Grandma Denise and Grandpa Knute were down. Emma had a ball and THANK YOU to everyone who sent gifts and cards and money! I'll eventually get around to getting some thank you emails and calls! Here's some pictures of this party!

All my gifts!

My Cupcake!


I Really like Cake!

I made birthday cupcakes this time (Thanks for the help Grandma). We also made a little heart cake out of the leftover batter.

We've had so much going on lately - which is why I've been slacking on the posting. Another reason is because I've been exhausted! But I'll try to be better about posting!

Emma got sick last Sunday and on Monday at what was suposed to be our 12 month check-up - Dr Joe said she had RSV and a very severe ear infection. So she didn't get her shots - but she did get weighed - she's only 16lbs and 14 oz. Dr Joe's comment is that she's going to be in a rear facing carseat until her senior prom! Hear head has grown and she's gotten taller so we're just going to keep an eye on her weight. She also is borderline anemic - so we're going back in 6 weeks to hopefully get our shots and to test for anemia again and to check our weight. Hopefully it's just because we were sick! So after staying home Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - she finally started her new school on Thursday. She did great - made friends with the other 4 kids in her class and is now eating better and using a sippy cup consistently. It's amazing what kids learn by being around other kids. We really like this school and are excited to see what Emma learns in the next few months at school!

That's all for now - Hope everyone is doing well!

Emma & Cousin Lauren

We caught Emma & Cousin Lauren playing in the kitchen - make sure you catch the high five at the end!

1 Year Old - ALMOST...

We've taken 2 sudden trips in the last few weeks - one to Iowa to be with my family after the sudden death of my Aunt Candy. We flew out on a Saturday and unfortunatley had to fly back home on Tuesday. Our trip was a sad one - but it was great to be with all our family and in ways it just might have made us closer together. We've been thinking a lot about our 2nd cousin, Lauren, because her 1st birthday is coming up right after Emma's and we know that she'll be missing her grandma that day especailly. Our trip was going fine until Tuesday at about 5 PM on the flight back to Louisville. We were headed to our stop in Minneapolis when about mid-flight Emma got sick ALL OVER me, her, the seat, the floor...EVERYWHERE. Sorry for those of you with weak stomaches - but it gets worse - skip down if this was enough for you! Of course we have NOTHING to clean up and Northwest Airlines was NOT helpful. The flight attendant acted bothered and only handed Zach like 2 paper napkins and never even came back to check on us once! So we cleaned her up with a blanket from our bag and got her naked in the seat and put a t-shirt on her. It was awful - she was crying - then we finally laneded. I went right to the bathroom with her and gave her a semi-bath in the sink and then put her spare outfit on her. When I went to meet Zach we headed to see our next gate - only to find out our flight had been CANCELED due to the Ice storm that was hitting Louisville. So we got a hotel - but NO luggage. After checking in - we went out to eat. By the time we got back to the hotel Emma had successfully pooped on her spare outfit! So I luckily had one more tshirt in her diaper bag. She wore that throughout the Sleepless night and when we finally got an hour of sleep - we woke up and I wondered why she and I were both wet - Yep - You guessed it - she had wet through everything! AHHHHH! Luckily Zach and I had successfully washed the other 2 outfits in the tub the night before and they were dry enough to wear. We ended up getting on a plane and did make it home...only to find a ton of Ice and Snow. We were so thankful to have power when we got home so it all ended well.

The next weekend Grandma Debi came for a visit for Emma's birthday. We had a good time but we were all a little sick with colds so we were all crabby. We had to cancel our birthday party on Saturday - but had our cake at our Superbowl party that Sunday!

Then on Monday - Emma and I drove back to St Louis to attend the funeral for my Uncle Jay. He had been sick for several years and we had gotten an email from Aunt Ruth saying that he had been steadily going down hill that week. We got to see Ruth and Jamie and Julie - wh0 Emma had never met before. She had a lot of fun running around with Erin and Nichole and Aunt Carrie and Aunt Al - and she even got to swim at the hotel in the Freezing cold pool with Aunt Carrie. It was a long trip home (5 hr drive) with Emma crying for part of it - but we made it and when we got there she was all smiles to see Daddy.

We decided no more traveling for a few weeks so Grandma Denise and Grandpa Knute are coming here this weekend for Emma's 1st Birthday! We can't wait!!!

Here's some more photos of Grandma Debi's trip down here - we had our 1st birthday cake and Loved it! Enjoy!!!

Our Birthday hat before Cake!

Daddy's so silly!

I love my new chair!


What is this?




Oh - it's mushy - but I still like to use my fork...


Yummy Cake!

11 Months Old!

11 Months Old!!!

Like my LL Cool pant leg! :)

It's official - 1 month away from our 1st Birthday!!! Emma is getting to be such a big girl. We've been saying for months now that she's so close to walking - and I think this picture shows how close. Yes - that's Emma standing on her own. She can walk a few steps on her own without crashing - but it always ends the same way! Nothing much else going on here - Emma was sick today and slept in till 8:30 - and then immediately fell asleep again on Daddy - then took 2 really long naps after that, which is really unusual since we struggle for her to take one hour long nap a day usually. She seemed to perk up this evening though so we must be okay!

Like my Outfit Grandma Debi! It's been great for this cold weather we've been having!

Emma napping with Daddy this morning - what a cutie!

We can't wait to 2 of our grandmas for our birthday next month!!!

More Christmas

Look at All These Presents!!!


It might take me a few months to finish posting Christmas pictures because we took so many! Enjoy.

Daddy & Emma Playing

Mommy & Emma

4 Generations

Grandma Debi & Emma

Aunt Grace & Emma

The only update here is that when we got home from Christmas Emma was having a tough time with sleeping and kept screaming for hours when we'd go to put her to bed or down for a nap. Well - problem solved - I just have a high maintenance kid! On Sunday night I put a down blanket under her sheet in her crib - ever since then - not a peep out of her and we're sleeping through the night again! I'm in for trouble if the baby needs a feather bed already!

Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Yes - it's been that long sice I've posted, but now I've got plenty of pictures to share - 152 to be exact! We drove back to Warrensburg, MO on Friday for the annual "Not so Silent Night" party with Zach's friends. Emma was the star of the party and was a champ - even slept in the middle of the party on a dog bed...seemed like the best place for her! (The dog bed was new and I laid a blanket on it so don't freek out or anything!) In a non-baby proof house it's hard to find a place for a 10 month old to sleep, but this worked out perfect! We spent an extra night there to catch up with our friends the Wards and headed to KC on Sunday. We had time with Zach's mom, dad and even stopped for a massage and a trip to see Hil and the kids while in KC. Then on Christmas morning we headed to Iowa to see my family for a few days! On Sunday after Christmas we decided to drive the 12 hour drive straight through - it was a LONG dive but we made it! It was nice to have Monday to get things back to order before heading back to work.

Here's a few photos from our trip!

Grandpa Randy & Emma

It's so much fun at the Ward's house!

Uncle Randy & Emma

Fun with our Family!

We had a great time with the family over Thanksgiving. We ate a lot, played some games, went to the races and even got a new kitchen floor - THANK YOU RANDY!!!!

Here's some pictures of the great time we had. Charles and Emma are good buddies and Emma loved having her cousin down to play with her. We can't wait to see everyone at Christmas.

Santa was at Churchill - This is the 2nd time she's met Santa and you can see she still hasn't figured out that he's the guy that brings toys!

Emma & Charles Playing

Randy, Charles and Emma at the track

Charles sliding into home at Louisville Slugger Field

Charles Zach and Emma at Churchill Downs

Zach Val and Emma at the races - boy I'm glad we had a snowsuit!!!

Emma also wanted to tell her new boyfriend Collin to get better soon so she can come play. Collin is back at the hospital getting a nice tan under those warm lights to help him with his jaundice. He's eating well and starting to gain some weight back. Little guy is Too cute! We can't wait to have our 1st play date! Hurry home Collin!!!