Happy Day

Ahhhh my lovies.  What happy faces!  We had a nice afternoon with Papa.  He had to work in the morning, but surgeries got cancelled for the rest of the day so he was able to come and work from home.  AWESOME for us!  We loved our extra time together.  It's ironic, but when Zack is busy I can handle it.  He's busy, I am busy keeping our lives running.  But when he comes home I get a chance to see him and visit and miss him even more.  They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.  I don't know about all of that, but I do know that when we're busy it's a fact of life.  It's not any fault of either of ours, it's just the way it is.  You deal with the long hard hours.  But when you have time to enjoy and relish in each other's company it makes you miss that joy you share together so much more.  Absence? Presence?  Either one cannot possibly make my heart grow fonder, as I already love that man so very much.  But I do know that once you have that husband home, it's hard to let go when the time comes to return to the grind.   

Ball Dropper

We had another wonderful visit this past weekend, this time with both grandmas! Unfortunately, I realized far too late that I didn't get ANY photos (other than the one, single, solitary photo of MawMaw and Emma reading a book) during our time together.  I was so relaxed and so enjoying myself that taking pictures wasn't on my mind.  Sigh... It would have been divine to have photos taken with both grandmas at the same time.  I really let the ball drop on that one!

Emma had another fun time with the tissue box.  I was cooking and didn't hear anything from Emma (always a bad sign- I like a noisy baby because you know what she's up to!).  Then I listened more closely and heard, "Pfft... pfft... pfftpfftpfft".  There's nothing like the gentle sound of a happy baby pulling all of the tissues out of the box. Oh, Emma.  How I love you! At least she was willing to share her tissues.

In the Dog House

Ahhhhh- now THAT'S happiness!

 

Literally!  Emma has been a silly girl and has decided she likes to make a daily climb into the dog house.  She'll crawl in, shut the door, look around, and then climb out.  It's kind of cute. Her new trick now that she's walking well is to carry around her little lamb basket/bag.  I put a few toys in there for her and she carries it around with her throughout the house.  Smart mama- I picked non-painful toys so even when they're scattered across and you happen to step on one it doesn't hurt... much.

 

I've had growing neuroses this past week.  I never went more than a few weeks without going to see Dr. Stroud in Fort Wayne, and it's been almost 5 weeks.  I feel great, my tummy is growing, there's no reason for anything to be wrong.  But boy oh BOY I CANNOT WAIT until my next appointment (not for a week and a half yet) to hear little one's heartbeat again.  We're 10 weeks 4 days already... and little baby is the size of a prune.  It sure is going fast!  I'm treasuring every second with Emma as the minutes are flying by before we'll be a three instead of a two.

Monkeying Around

Playing with toys after story time at the bookstore

Slide to the left... wheeeee!!

Uncle CJ gave Emma her first "video game" to play on his computer. 

Toddler Dots... pretty cool!

 

We have been busy ladies this week!  Emma and I have gone to storytime twice, went to the park on the other days, and have had lots of visits with neighbors.  We had a wonderful visit this weekend with CJ, Xander, and MawMaw.  Saturday we went to Monkey Joe's.  It was a pretty cool place, although Emma is too young for it.  Probably once she is 3 it would be more fun.  She loved the big slide that I took her down.  We had a good time!  Our visit didn't last nearly long enough, but was wonderful every minute.

 

Unfortunately, I have been fighting a cold all week and Emma is working on some new teeth, poor girl... we were a sad sack of potatoes this weekend for our company!

Happy 30th Birthday, Papa!

Zack's 30th birthday morning started off well.  His first case didn't begin until later this morning, so we were able to sleep in.  Emma Kate slept in until 7am- whooooo hooo!!!  We ate a great breakfast together- scrambled eggs, fried ham, sliced cheese, blueberry pancakes.   He got his birthday present this morning.  Thank you, again, to everyone who helped make it work!  I put all of the beer bottles on the counter in the shape of "30" and attached tags individually to all of them saying whose favorite it is (or, when applicable, what the substitute was for).  Ya'll have some great tastes in beer.  Zack said he was excited to try everything but I was disappointed not to be able to make everything on the list.

Friends and Family Favorite Beer

• Steve: Coors Light (substituted Leine's Summer Shandy)
• Paula:  Margarita
• Joe: Stroh's (substituted Bitburger, I know that's another favorite)
• Cathy: Michelob Ultra (substituted Margarita)
• Clint: Pliny the Elder or Zombie Dust (both hard to get, substituted Wake Up Dead Nitro)
• Myra: Pliny the Elder, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (this is what he got)
• Rickie:  Pliny the Elder, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (this is what he got)
• Abby: Curious Traveler Shandy
• CJ: Fat Tire, Miller Amber Bach, Mad Anthony Brews (substituted Lagunitas Maximus IPA)
• Jerry: Leine Summer Shandy
• Michelle: Mike's Black Cherry Lemonade
• Adam: Rogue Dead Guy
• Mike: Leine Summer Shandy
• Kim: Michelob Ultra (substituted Margarita)
• Jessica: Sam Adams Porch Rocker
• Shawn: Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale
• Hunter: West 6th IPA
• Terrah: West 6th IPA
• Martha: Leine Summer Shandy
• Jerad: Smithwick's
• Chance: Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
• Me: Blue Moon (aroma only- I don't like beer, but love Blue Moon's orangey smell)

Hokum

 

Story time with Papa

Emma's first time getting to sample the mixing beater

Papa's Happy Birthday cake!

Clapping hands after singing our song and blowing out the candle

 

Tonight we celebrated Papa's 30th birthday.  It is actually tomorrow, but he works all day and then is on call tomorrow night as well.  We're hoping to share lunch with him tomorrow but there's a good chance we won't see him for dinner, so we celebrated tonight.  Emma and I made a chocolate cake with whipped frosting all from scratch.  Yummy! Emma got to lick the mixing beater.  This is usually Papa's job, but he was willing to share his treat with our sweet girl.  She loved it!

 

Emma has been reading and walking so much lately.  She prefers to occupy her time reading her books now instead of playing with toys.  She may play for a little while, but then she goes back to looking at books.  It's adorable watching her walk everywhere as well.  What a big girl!

 

Today we went for a walk and playtime at a new park.  They have an amazing playground, especially for older children.  Emma will love it in another year or so.  Afterwards we met our friends Leah and her daughter Mia for storytime at the local bookstore.  It was fun! Our day simply flew by.

 

Tomorrow morning Papa gets his gift that we've been working on.  Thank you to everyone for your help!  Photos will be posted once he gets it tomorrow morning (I'm mean and making him wait until his actual birthday for his present).  Although... in all honesty, I did ask him if he wanted it tonight and he said he'd wait.  What a good guy.  If you ask me if I want a present I say, "YES!!!"  I have a lack of restraint...

 

Also- I forgot to mention that when the Witte's were here Gabby and I tried some hokum to figure out if the baby is a boy or a girl.  I think the baby is a girl.  Zack won't guess.  Mom thinks a boy. We will see!  Our tests were all inconclusive and all involved swinging my wedding ring over my tummy and hand.  Nothing worked.  Sigh... Any guesses, anyone?  Elise said it only works if you have an Indian doing the test.  India Indian?  Or Native American Indian?  She wasn't sure.  Who knew hokum was such a complicated business?

Peeps Commercial

I saw this commercial tonight and laughed out loud.  What a mean thing to do!  That's going to be me in a few years.  **Scoot scoot scoot... SHOCK!** "OW!  MAMA!!!!!!!"  With two being 21 months apart I'm sure that tricks like that will be happening a lot in our house someday. 

Hormonal Hallmark Card

Emma was fascinated with Aria this trip and kept wanting to pat her head.  She was very gentle, which made me happy.  She'd just smile and keep patting her.  Hopefully they'll be good girlfriends someday!

 

We were blessed this weekend with a quick visit from the Wittes!  They were on their way home from a nice vacation in Myrtle Beach and were able to swing by for a night on their way back.  It was SO nice to see everyone again!  Miss Aria has grown so much in the month that we've been apart.  The aunts are, as always, gorgeous.  And Mamaw and Papaw are sweeter than ever.  When we're away it's like we're oceans apart.  But the minute we're all together again it's like we're all living in town together again.  What a nice, fun, joyful visit!

 

I keep trying to get video of it, but I get distracted by her cuteness and mess it up.  Emma is walking all over the place now.  It's adorable! If she's up or can pull herself up on something she's off and walking for long distances without help.  She'll still crawl if she's not within distance of something to pull up on, but I'm sure that will change in a day or two as well.  Whew...  these pregnancy hormones are making me mushy.  I cried tonight just thinking of how much I love her, how proud I am of her, and my heart bursts that there's another on the way to love that much as well.  How do mamas do it?  Don't you just walk around on a cloud puff all day?  Geez... now I sound like a Hallmark card.

 



A Walk in the Park

 

It was a beautiful day here in Lexington.  Warm, of course, but the humidity was lower than it has been and this evening there was a slight breeze.  Emma and I took our walk to the park this morning and then met Papa at the Arboretum for an after work walk this evening.  Fabulous!