the orange...

This was our project a few weeks ago. It was fun and spontaneous! We had talked about it, and decided that we should go for it. The yellow bedspread I had, along with the pink flowery sheets, didn't quite go, so I got to get new bed stuff too! What a deal! We are really happy with it, it's probably my favorite room. I thought orange would be hard to pull off, but I think it is better than the blue, and I would definitely do it again!

Will someone please push me?

This is on Sat, the other two are from Tue. I am exercising some humility (ok, maybe just swallowing my pride) and letting you hear me laugh like a big dork.

You will be good friends with this little girl if you give her a push.

Car time

We gave her a ride this weekend, and she is crazy about this car. She has learned that she can scoot around by herself, although she isn't quite tall enough for it to be very productive. But she enjoys herself a lot! This is just a little dancing time.

I can't turn it the right way, which I know is annoying. Sorry!

Drive time

This one is really long. I will let you "fast forward" as you wish. :)

The toddler

This is probably one of the most boring videos ever created, but, she is really a toddler now! So just to give you an idea of how she is doing!

Hey goat!

We spent several minutes with this guy. He would stick his nose out, and she would pet it, or tap it, or try to stick her finger up it's nose, and he would pull away, and she would giggle. He was just the right height for her, so they both had fun.










This is an odd angle. His ear is in the way of his face.












There are two little lambs in there.














She didn't want to hold my hand, I had to just hold on the best I could. She chased this one a lot.












She's loving it.

Cow time

The butterfly garden had these huge wind chimes. It's hard to get the perception, but the big one was several feet high. They were really neat.











There is a milking barn, with calves and one cow. Emma thought the straw was kind of neat, so she was giving me some to check out.












She wanted to be friends with this guy.














This cow looked very pregnant. It looked like a posh life though. It would have been better if she had stood up, to get the size difference. They're huge! It's weird to think that our kids are going to be city kids, when we were farm kids, so they are going to experience cows, and goats, and those things in a much different way. It is nice that we can at least show her some of these things though.






The new hat. The bill is big, so it works better to flip it up. I can't decide if it looks ridiculous or too cute. Either way it works well, and she doesn't rip it off right away.

Here we are...

This is the wonderful stage where taking things out, and putting them in, is very fun. Laundry is a great example. We just put some smaller things in a little basket below the dryer, and she does really well at putting them in. She thinks it's a lot of fun.

It would be more fun to say we were "horsing" around, "cowing" around doesn't have the same ring to it.
This was Sat at Deanna Rose. It was a beautiful day, so we spent about an hour or so there.

There is a part that is filled with big trees, and brush, and just kind of overgrown, on purpose. It is a butterfly garden, with a lot of bird feeders. It was so nice and quiet, and shady.

Nothing "ba-aad" about our morning.

Today Emma and I went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead. It is a little petting zoo/park run by the city, which means it is free to get in. She had a fun time walking around, and several times she pushed my hands away, she didn't want any help. They have a fish pond, and if I had let her, she would have walked right in and swam away. Her favorite part though, was the goats. There are several in fenced areas that you can pet through the fence, and also some little ones, and a few grown ones that must be especially tame, that are in an area that you can walk into. So we went in, and she loves goats. You would have thought she had been there before, or she has spent a lot of time with goats. They came up to her and pushed their noses against her, or nuzzled her hand looking for food, and she just died laughing. She giggled and giggled. Then when they started dispersing, she began to chase them. When she caught them, she would either wait for them to come after her, then collapse in giggles, or give them a big hug. There was one laying down, and she probably would have just laid down with her if I would have allowed. It was a lot of fun to watch. I tried to get some goat hugging pictures, but it was challenging and I was unsuccessful. We will have to go a lot this summer though. It's a great way to see other people and explore.

and the tree came tumbling down

On Saturday some tree men came and worked on our yard. The pine tree that was home to my bird feeder had to go. I am kind of bummed. I think we may try to put it up in the willow tree next door.

They had a lot of equipment, and a few guys were working. It went really fast. We felt bad because it was really cold, it actually snowed a little later. Brr!













These two did most of the chopping. The guy with the chainsaw just got all the branches, and the other guy grabbed them and pulled them out. I would be a little more nervous sticking my arm in around a chainsaw, but he didn't seem to worried about it.














So now the backyard is a lot more open. We thought we wouldn't like it because we won't have as much privacy, but it is actually better. It is a lot more sunny, and the yard is drier, and we can move around more. Yesterday Emma and I went outside, and she just explored and I hung out. It was nice that it wasn't so swampy.
















And then they took all the stuff into the front, and put in into this, whatever it is. A chopper, a saw duster, a demolisher? It did all of the above. It was kind of fun to watch them feed it. They were an interesting crew. A couple of old guys and some young ones, who look like the guys who could have been out partying the night before, and at 2:00 said, "man, I gotta go to bed, I have to cut down a tree tomorrow." They did do a nice job of getting all the little branches and cleaning up the street. They didn't go some other stuff we were hoping they would. We have a tree by the house that is horrible, and some junk growing by the side of the house. But we are happy with the backyard, and it was entertaining to watch. Hopefully they weren't too weirded out by people taking pictures of them!

dead man float

I saw a headline a few days ago that struck me. It was something along the lines of a widow getting her spouses sperm frozen so "they" could have a baby. He was in Iraq and was killed, and she went through the court system to have his sperm retrieved before he was embalmed. The story mentioned that there was initially a conflict between the widow and the man's mother, but it has been resolved. There was a quote from the mother, saying that she knew he or they wanted to have a baby, so it was ok now.

It struck me because it seems like the line of respect for human life is continuing to get blurrier. What does it mean to make a baby? Or to have a baby? The last time I knew, one didn't have a baby after death, at least the conception doesn't take place after death. It is ever harder to have opinions that oppose the mainstream idea that whatever goes, and if someone wants something, they are certainly entitled to it. Doesn't this baby have the right to at least have the chance to have a dad in his life? How hard would it be to tell your child at some point in it's life that her father died when she was young, that she will never have the opportunity to meet him, to hear his voice and see his face, to understand who he is and what that means to her. Isn't that an intrinsic desire? Don't adopted children often times yearn to meet their birth parents, to know their roots and to talk face to face? So imagine telling that child that her father didn't die when she was young, he died before she was conceived! How is she going to feel about that? I don't know that intentionally denying a child a father is respecting the process of life. I am not saying where the line is, but a dead man "having a baby" may cross it.

loving...

Tea time! I have been wanting to try loose tea for a long time, but never ventured out and did. I got a fun package in the mail, complete with everything I would need to have loose tea! I got vanilla mint and apricot. It has been really fun to try, and it's fun to make. I had to get the hang of it though. A couple of times I put in too much tea, and the water wasn't able to circulate through the silver thing that holds it, so it didn't work. But now I am doing better. It's really yummy. The birthday packager rocks. :)

Two nights ago my fabulous husband walked in after work with beautiful flowers! How wonderful is that? They are gorgeous lilies that smell wonderful, they are so fragrant that I can smell them upstairs! It is such a fun treat to get flowers for no real reason. It was definitely a good evening.

Our true blue kitchen

Last Saturday, we painted the kitchen. It was intended to be a stony, grayish blue. Now, the pictures aren't exactly accurate, I don't think it is this hideous in person, but it is a little brighter than we thought it would be. Nevertheless, it is much better than white, and we like it ok for now. Emma, on the other hand, was shocked. She couldn't believe our color choice, and had to take a moment and gain her bearings.












Kari had the pleasure of witnessing this great change. Her choice of attire was unfortunate, however, as she blended into the wall quite well and we nearly ran her over on several occasions. To combat this, she took to flapping her arms dramatically whenever we came near. ;)
















Kari said she is going to look for some nice country border with a goose wearing a straw hat. If anyone has any wicker, and perhaps some dried flowers to add to the mix, be sure to let us know.

Eating body parts, and such

Tasty toes...




Chilaxin with Aunt Kari

The dancer...

She loves music...ignore the parents helping with the music ;)

emma "brrr"ing

We continue with the fun videos. It is really easy to do with our little camera

Emma is officially walking!

Here you go. Our little one is becoming a big one. She decided that this was the weekend. She is fearless, and a little wobbly. She did much better than this towards the end of the day. That will follow.

What a happy day

Today was really good. I woke up to my husband saying good-bye, and happy birthday. I had honestly forgotten that it was my birthday, so it was so nice to start off that way. Emma slept in, so that means that of course I slept in.

I got calls from several people, it was great to hear from people. Jess gave me a really great card, it was really special. I made a cake for myself, and for dinner we had chicken, fries and I had steamed asparagus, which I love, and Jess had other veggies.

My mother is going to get a quote book somewhere, I need to get on this. She says the funniest things, and doesn't realize they are hilarious. For instance, as we talked today, she said, "let's see, you're 26 now. 26 was when I started to feel old." Granted, she didn't intend for it to be anything but informative, but it sounded really funny when she said it, and we had a good laugh. I'll have to get her blessing and share some of her "bright sides". Let's just say, she has the most positive outlook sometimes!

Emma is really going to walk here. Today I was sitting on the floor and she was holding an ice cream bucket (which she loves! I was going to throw it away, so I put it by the trash can, and she walked by and picked it up) in one hand, and using her other to balance. I had me knees up, and she was going around me, and then she just let go and walked to the chair! It was incredible, the best she has done. They weren't wobbly or rushed, they were very steady and even. Tonight, she was crawling, and somehow stood up, and without support, reached down and got the bucket, then took several more steps to her basket of toys. I don't know if she even realizes she is doing it. I knew that she was going to walk, for pete's sake it shouldn't be such a surprise, but I am just in awe as I see her do new things. Always learning and going, a little sponge, for sure.

So, this past year has been really good. Kind of blurry at times, but good. There have been a lot of changes. Obviously, being a mom, and also staying home and moving. I think I have changed quite a bit, my perspectives have changed. I am still adjusting to the different life of stay at home motherhood. Goals are different here, no deadlines, no angry customers, no overtime. It is fulfilling, in a different way. I look forward to this downhill slide to 30, at which point my life will be over and I will fall into a deep state of depression.


Ok, maybe not ;)

Itsy bitsy baby

I haven't really taken any pictures in the last few days, and nothing terribly exciting has happened. I did go to the mall and spend my birthday gift card, which was fun, but nothing much else has happened. So, I was browsing through pictures, and am reminded how much I enjoy looking at past times. This first picture was when she was just 13 days old. I remember that I was tired, but so happy. I'm pretty sure I was wearing sweat pants, as I did for a few weeks and felt kind of gross. It felt so good to put jeans on again.
This was the same day. I was talking the other day how foreign the idea of swaddling a baby is to me now, but that is what you do for weeks. I need bigger receiving blankets this time. Jess was able to do it so much better, so when I was going it alone in the middle of the night I would break down because I just couldn't do it! She would kick her feet just as I was folding the top, so her feet were now sticking out, and it would all loosen and I would have to start over. Ahh...good times. This was when crazy Anne had more than one blanket on her, which I am sure would have been enough. I put her in a sleep sack once, and when Jesse was changing her diaper, he said, "pants too?". Yes, I believe she had a onesie, a sleep sack, pants, and socks on! Once again, it may have been a little excessive. I don't recall if she was swaddled or not. If only they had a little temperature gauge, that would make it so much easier!
The day before, so 12 days old. I guess we were more up and around than I remember. A proud daddy with his beautiful girl. This shot was for his new job's newsletter. Seeing the apartment in the background makes me cringe a little, it was so tight in there towards the end. We literally had things stacked on top of things, that is where they belonged! The bathtub (Emma's) was kept on top of her dresser. Pretty much every available inch of wall space was used for furniture. Little babies need so much stuff!

This was in early June. The Bumbo chair is awesome, so if you know anyone having a baby, it is a great gift. Most people would never buy one for themselves, unless they know someone who has one. She hung out in hers a lot. We thought she was so big! We think she is really big now, and of course in a year we'll be saying, "we thought she was so big!". She grows quickly, that is for sure. She now gives you a sort of hug when you ask, and she loves kisses. She doesn't use her mouth (if you're lucky), she just leans in and lets you kiss her, then giggles profusely, then comes at you again. If only we could understand why these things are so funny!