Happy Birthday Emma Catherine!

Today is Emma Catherine's 3rd birthday. It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital wondering why it was taking so long for Emma Catherine to join us in the world. I finally had her at 6:06 p.m. and our family of 2 became a family of 3. In honor of her birthday, I am writing 36 things that I love about her since she has been alive for 36 months. These are in no particular order. I've just been jotting them down as I've thought of them over the past week or so.




1. I love when she says, "I love you, Mommy."
2. I love when she gives me unexpected hugs and kisses.
3. I love when she makes Bailey laugh.
4. I love that she loves to eat.
5. I love when she asks for someone to "kickle" her (tickle).
6. I love when she sings songs at the top of her lungs.
7. I love that she is independent and wanting to do things on her own.
8. I love that she loves preschool.
9. I love that she doesn't mind wearing hair bows everyday.
10. I love that she is a good sleeper at night.
11. I love when we read books together.
12. I love when she reads books to herself.
13. I love that she loves the Disney princesses (because I do too!).
14. I love that she reminds me all the time to be "very fearful" (very careful).
15. I love that she lets me pick out her clothes.
16. I love when she excitedly tells me a story and uses her hands.
17. I love that she uses the pronoun "her" when talking about other girls, such as "hers wasn't at school because her was sick."
18. I love when she helps me cook.
19. I love that she decided on her own that she didn't need pull-ups at night or during her naps.
20. I love when she brushes my hair.
21. I love when she wants to "wake up" Bailey after her nap (going into her room by herself).
22. I love when she says, "thank you, Mommy" without prompting from me.
23. I love that she is always curious.
24. I love that she reminds us to say the blessing.
25. I love that she still uses both hands equally when she's working or drawing.
26. I love that she almost never has potty accidents.
27. I love when she makes funny faces.
28. I love when she puts on lipstick (chap stick) and says, "don't I look beautiful?"
29. I love that she will always be my firstborn.
30. I love that she and Bailey already have a special sister's language.
31. I love to hear her talk on the phone.
32. I love playing dress up with her.
33. I love that she looks a little like me.
34. I love that she is starting to become a little more brave (like riding her bike).
35. I love has become a helper to me.
36. I love her more than my words can express!



Happy Birthday, my sweet Emma Catherine!

The Birthday Party

On Saturday we had a joint birthday party for the girls. We had it at Playworld Down Under and we had such a great time. It is a large indoor playground that has a lot of space for the kids to run around. We had a great turnout and we are so thankful for our great friends and also our family. My mom and sweet friend, Kaylee, flew in to help with the party and my sister drove up from Auburn. We couldn't have asked for a better day. I have had a hard time deciding which pictures to post because we took a whopping 365 pictures, but here a few great ones.

The cake

climbing (and then all the blocks toppled over)

pizza in one hand and cake in the other

This is what our house looked like after the party (we decided to open presents when we got back to our house)

The Dog

Most of you might know that we have a dog. She is a black and tan miniature dachsaund named Allie. She will be 5 years old April 1st. We love her a lot and she has been a good dog, but she does do a few annoying things. First of all, she is a barker. If anything is unusual, she barks. If anyone comes to the house, she barks. If she wants to eat, she barks. She also can be very needy and whiny, especially when Ryan comes home from work. On the other hand, she is very potty trained and never has accidents in the house. She also lets the girls pull on her and play with her and she is gentle. She isn't hyper at all, which is another a plus.

Here is the problem: in the last week, she has eaten 2 of Emma Catherine's dolls. Not just any dolls, 2 that she just got for Christmas. The first one was her Cinderella Barbie doll.

The 2nd was her miniature Belle doll. She ate most of Belle's hair.
The funny thing is that both times, it happended while the girls and I were at the house, but we were upstairs. I am guessing that Allie is jealous and trying to show me that she is mad that she is not with us. Whatever the reason, I am still mad, but I hoping this will not happen again.

11 months

Today, (can you believe I'm actually posting on the exact day this time) Bailey is 11 months old. She is so precious and fun. Her newest discovery this month is FOOD. She will eat anything and any amount that we are willing to give her. She has always been a good eater and liked all baby foods but now that she is eating table food, she can't seem to get enough. She has eaten and liked: peaches, pears, carrots, green beans, rice, tomatoes, chicken, cheese, spaghetti, chicken casseroles, ground turkey, sweet potatoes, meat sticks, meatloaf, applesauce, and of course french fries. When we put her in her high chair, she wants food and she will keep eating food until we get her out of the high chair. If the food stops, then she gets mad and shows her temper. Here is a picture of her eating spaghetti. She looks mad because she is. Her plate is empty and she wants more food.

Also this month Bailey is starting to use her legs a little more. She is "cruising" down the couch and starting to push her walking toys (with a little help). I have also noticed in the last few days that she is starting to let go of things and balance on her own. She hasn't taken any steps and after a few seconds she plops to her bottom, but it is a start.

One other new thing is that she is starting to ween herself off of her morning nap. She dozes in the morning if we are doing errands, or if we are at home, she only sleeps about 45 minutes. She has always taken a good afternoon nap, so it hasn't really effected that nap. She still sleeps about 3 hours in the afternoon (give or take). I am actually looking forward to her not having a morning nap because then I won't always have to be in a rush to get home in the morning.

Our Little "Hallerina"

On Saturday I bought Emma Catherine this outfit at the Gymboree sale. It was only 6.99 and I thought she would love it in her new dress up box. She has wanted to wear it almost everyday since I brought it home. She calls it her "hallerina" outfit, and she wants to wear it with her "hallerina" shoes. You can see we also brought her mini trampoline up from the basement. It has been great for her to get some energy out since we can't go outside.

10 Months

Once again, Bailey turned 10 months a few weeks ago, but I am just getting around to posting about it. Wow, Bailey is into everything these days and she sure can make a mess. I don't mind it though because this is such a fun age. I'm sure you read about her burn incident, and we are so glad that it healing so well. Her hand still has a little redness, but that is it. She moves it and uses it just like normal. What an answer to prayer! Another new development is that she has stopped spitting up...finally. She can finally go out of the house without a bib. Bailey has also been teething recently. She woke up in the night on Christmas Eve and she had cut 2 teeth and then cut the other 2, 3 days later. I felt so bad for her because I know she was in pain. Maybe she'll have a little relief for awhile. Something that is new for me is that Bailey is starting to become attached to me. She will go to other people but if she is is looking directly at me when I leave, she will cry. Emma Catherine was never really like that. It sometimes feels good to know that she wants to be with me, but other times it is difficult. Right now it hasn't really become a big deal and hopefully it will stay that way. I guess I'll see in the next few months.

A Very Merry Christmas!

We had such a great Christmas this year! Watching Emma Catherine get so excited was so much fun. We started the weekend before Christmas celebrating with Ryan's family in Prattville. I wish I had pictures but a very sad thing happened...Ryan accidentally dropped our SLR camera and now it does not work. That was kind of a rough start to Christmas, but now we're just going to start saving and looking for new deals. (Once we got to Florida we used my sister's camera the whole time.) The cousins all had fun playing together throughout the weekend. We went back to Chattanooga on Sunday night, and then we left for Palmetto on Monday afternoon. We figured the girls would travel better through the afternoon and night. On Christmas Eve morning we all packed up and went to my grandpa's house. We went to church that night and took our annual family picture.We woke up early on Christmas morning and Emma Catherine was so excited to see what Santa brought...a kitchen and princess bike.

We then opened presents and she wanted to open and help everyone to open their presents. Bailey, of course, liked the paper and toys that made noise.

Ryan was shocked by his "big" present this year. My mom and I got him a Wii and my grandpa got him Guitar Hero. This was totally unexpected for him and he was completely caught off guard. He has loved playing with it, and I am trying to learn but I am not very good.

We are so thankful to have such wonderful and generous families. They made Christmas so great for us and for the girls. I have so many cute pictures, I could post a ton, but here is one last picture of Emma Catherine with her bitty baby, in their matching PJ's.
Tomorrow we are heading back to Chattanooga and I have mixed feelings. We have been here two weeks, so it will be nice to not have to live out of a suitcase anymore, but we will GREATLY miss being surrounded by family.