Father's Day

I know this post is a bit late, but I've had good intentions to write it.  We were on vacation on Father's Day and since we've been back, life has been a whirlwind of swimming lessons, new babies, and transitioning to stay-at-home mom life.  But now, here we are.  Happy Father's Day to two of the greatest men in Emily's life!

I don't even know where to start with Lucas.  He has been the most amazing daddy any child could ask for.  From day one he has loved that little girl with all that he is and he demonstrates that love every day.  He is always so willing to do anything I need him to do to help with her and never ever complains.  Emily loves her daddy SO much and gets incredibly excited every day when he gets home from work.  He has fallen into fatherhood so naturally that you'd think he's been a daddy for a long time.  I am so incredibly blessed to have Lucas for a husband and the father of my children.  He is such a wonderful friend, partner, encourager, provider, and daddy.  I love you, Lucas, and Emmy does, too!

First time to hold Emily

Checking each other out

Emmy and Daddy at Easter

This year on Father's Day, we were lucky enough to get to spend it on the beach with both Daddy and Papa!  Emmy has also been blessed with the most amazing Papa.  It has been so fun to watch my daddy become a grandfather.  That little girl has absolutely wrapped her Papa around her finger and I am quite sure he is a lost cause.  I am so thankful that Emily has been blessed with such a wonderful grandfather! 

Ready to head to the sand

With Daddy and Papa at the beach

Way too early for pictures!

We love you Daddy and Papa!

Destin

Just four days after returning home from Ohio, we packed up Papa and Mimi's Highlander and were off like a herd of turtles to gorgeous Destin, Florida.  With little bit being almost ten months old- and extremely active- at the time, we didn't think we'd make it to Florida in one day.  Instead of leaving early in the morning, we left mid-day and spent the night in Lafayette, LA.  She did great armed with a Backyardigans-filled iPad, lots of snacks, and an entertaining Mimi.  After a night in Louisiana, we were up early the next morning and hit the road for our final destination.

We'd never been to the beach for longer than a couple of days, but we were looking for a longer getaway than that.  Not being sure if a whole week would be too long, we went with five nights.  (In retrospect, a week would not be too long!)  When booking the condo, my only real requirement was that it was right on the beach.  It is too difficult with a baby to have to pack up and walk a long way with all the beach necessities.  I found an excellent condo in Miramar Beach, just barely east of Destin.  It was absolutely perfect.  Far enough outside of Destin to not be too congested and a first floor unit where we could walk out of our patio doors to the pool and the stairs that lead to the sand.  We will definitely stay there again and would recommend it to anyone!

One really great thing about our condo was that it came with beach service- beach umbrellas and lounge chairs.  We'd get down to the sand early each morning to stake our claim on chairs and enjoy the gorgeous view and perfect breezes.  Emily had so much fun!  The first day she wasn't sure about the sand, but by day two, she was loving it.  She especially loved eating it!  The weather was amazing and we spent most of our time on the beach.  We had two meals a day at the condo and ate out for the third.  Destin has some really fun restaurants.  Our favorites were The Back Porch, Hard Rock Cafe, and Cheeseburger in Paradise.

After a fun five days, we reluctantly packed back up and headed home.  We decided to try to do it all in one day and we made it home around 8:30 pm.  Emily was such a trooper!  Our next trip will definitely be a one day voyage.  We can't wait to go back to Destin!  Hopefully next year!

I LOVE the beach!

The view from our porch

Heaven on Earth

Emmy and Mommy in matching dresses at Fudpucker's

Emmy with Papa.  I love this picture.

Playing with the stroller Papa bought for her at Cracker Barrel

The girls!

Mimi and Emmy

Look at those eyelashes!  This girl was a busy bee in the sand.

Soaking up the sun with Daddy

Sleepy Girl

Yummy carrots at the Hard Rock Cafe

Papa and Mimi at The Back Porch

Our family of three

Loving the Mardi Gras beads from Mimi and Papa's night out

Yeah, I'm cute.

Such a refined lady in her wide brimmed hat

Papa and Mimi at Baytowne Wharf

Yup.  This is the best one we got.

My favorite people

O-hi-o!

At the beginning of June, we hopped a plane to visit Grandma and Grandpa Takala in Ohio.  I worried for weeks about how Emily would do on the trip.  Fortunately, she did really well, even after a long wait to get through security and a delayed flight.  Our girl truly is just a wonderful baby.  Her temperament is so sweet and although she is VERY strong willed, she can also be very easy-going.    Lucky for us, she decided to behave on both flights.  The trip there started out a bit rough with about 15 minutes of fussing during take-off, but she fell asleep pretty quickly.  She slept for about 45 minutes and after that, she played with Daddy and watched The Backyardigans on my iPad, which has been a saving grace for us on SO many occasions. 

We had a great time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa.  Usually we are only there at Christmas, so it was really nice to visit without the added stress of the holidays.  We spent lots of time on the screened-in porch, playing outside on the blanket and in the swing, eating yummy food, and laughing at our sweet girl.  G&G bought the swing as a special gift for Emily and she couldn't have been happier.  We had so much fun and we are sad not to live closer.  Hopefully before too long they will be living much closer to us.

We love you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Happy girl swinging

This is FUN!

Playing under the trees

Loving life with Grandma and Grandpa

So happy!

Daddy or Doggy?

Beautiful baby

Fun with grandma

Mommy kisses

Portrait with Great-Grandparents

Our little family

Ten Months

Our baby girl is ten months old!  She has officially been alive longer on the outside than she was on the inside!  These ten months have flown by.  I guess that's what happens when your life is just full of joy day in and day out.  Of course, we've had our moments, and our hours, too, to be honest, but life has truly been amazing since this little girl has been alive.  We didn't get a good picture with Papagator this month because Miss Emily is just too on the go.  I did well just to get this picture and it was only after bribing her with the July 4th sunglasses I got her at the Target Dollar Spot. :)  Regardless, she was happy, and that smile was what I wanted to see most!  Things have just been trucking along through month ten.  Here are a few of the highlights:

• The End of Nursing: This month marked the official end of nursing.  My plan all along had been to nurse her as long as she wanted to nurse up to a year or so.  She lost interest for the most part last month, but this month she even stopped her morning nursing.  I also decided to quit pumping because it is just too difficult to pump and chase her around at the same time.  We made it through ten months of breast milk and I am thrilled with that!  She takes about four bottles each day.
• Eating:  Our little girl is eating all kinds of things now.  I wish I had written everything down that she has eaten, but that would be a pretty long list.  Her favorite food seems to be blueberries.  The only things we've given her that she repeatedly spits out are rice and refried beans.  I think it's a texture thing.  She eats three meals a day in addition to her bottles.  She also learned how to drink through a straw this month.
• New carseat:  This month, we moved Emmy from her carrier car seat to a big girl car seat!  This car seat will stay with her until she is at least three years old.  She is still facing backwards, but seems to be much happier now.  She was becoming difficult when we were in the car, which had never been the case before.
• Waving:  Emily learned to wave on command this month.  She has gotten pretty good at it, but still mostly only does it if she wants to.  I'm pretty sure we have a strong-willed child on our hands.  Fortunately, she's a SWEET strong-willed child!  Let's hope she stays that way!
• First plane ride:  Emily took her first plane ride this month to visit her grandparents in Ohio.  She did pretty well.  Only a few minutes of crying at the start of the first ride and no crying at all on the way back!
• First Summer vacation:  We also took our first real family vacation this month.  We made the 12 hour car ride to Destin, Florida with Mimi and Papa.  She did great in the car thanks to her backyard friends, The Backyardigans and lots of entertainment from Mimi.  We had a great time!
• More Mobility:  Still no standing or walking, but this girl is a speed crawler!  She can get wherever she wants to go in no time.  She spends a LOT of time on her feet and is cruising all over the place.
• Another tooth:  Tooth number eight came in this month.  Our girl has pretty much all of her first year teeth in, so we may be good for awhile.  We shall see!
• Swimming:  She started "swimming" this month and has had a great time!  Her favorite thing to do is play on the steps with her toys.  Next month, we take swimming lessons!
• Home with mommy:  The most exciting thing that happened this month is mommy quitting her job to stay home with Emily!  It has already been a wonderful experience!

We didn't get good measurements this month due to the fact that we were on vacation on her ten month birthday.  However, she is around 20 lbs and 31 inches.  She wears 9 month clothing, size 2 or 3 shoes, and size 3 diapers.

Although she doesn't use this carseat anymore, we had to have her picture in it for comparison's sake.

And of course, the faces of the photoshoot.  The majority of this shoot consisted of her crawling away from me.  She almost fell off the couch four times.  Good thing mommy caught her!  Silly girl.

Little girl,
We love you more today than we did the day before.  Which is nearly impossible, because we loved you so much yesterday!  You are our sunshine and nothing is better than your smiling face.  Love you forever.

This girl just smiles all the time!

Getting ready for her first time in the pool

First plane ride.  Bose noise-cancelling headphones to watch The Backyardigans.

Hanging out in the kiddie pool

First few moments of the real pool.  I think she likes it!

With Daddy in Ohio

Chillin with her cousin Julie

Super lifeguard baby

You know what I think about this place?  It smells like FISH!

Drinking from her big girl cup

 Emily waving.  Please ignore mommy's voice!

Mrs. Leslie

Last Tuesday was my final day as a working mother.  It was bittersweet.  Sweet in that of course I am thrilled to be able to spend my days with Emily, but bitter to be leaving my wonderful job, my sweet friends, and most of all, Emily's wonderful babysitter, Mrs. Leslie.

Emily and Mrs. Leslie

We were beyond blessed to have Mrs. Leslie taking care of Emily for the last five months.  As soon as I began looking for sitters and found out about Leslie, I knew I wanted her to watch Emily.  I went to high school with Leslie's daughter Heather and spent many Friday nights at their house.  She raised seven children of her own, and I knew she was more than capable to take care of our precious little one.  It was so hard to make the decision to continue working and leave Emily with a sitter, but Leslie made it as smooth and easy of a transition as possible.  I never worried about Emily for one second when I was at work.  As an added bonus, Mrs. Leslie's husband Bill, her daughter Heather, and daughter-in-law Katie also helped out with the kids.  Speaking of kids, all of the little ones there were absolutely precious.  Emily was the youngest, and they all loved her and took care of her.  I loved going to pick her up or drop her off and seeing the other kids playing with her.  Emily absolutely loves Mrs. Leslie and I believe the feeling is quite mutual.

We love you, Mrs. Leslie (and Mr. Bill, Mrs. Heather, and Mrs. Katie) and we already miss you!  We can't wait to come back and visit!

And I feel fine...

It's the end of my career as I know it!  For awhile, anyway.  Today was my last day as a working mom.  The past few months have been the hardest of my life.  I cannot begin to describe the amount of respect that I have for working moms.  I know being a stay-at-home mom is also a job and there are many difficult things about it, but trying to work all day and then come home and do the mom/wife thing is just in another category altogether.  And it is a category that I'm glad I don't fall into anymore!

My last eight years working have been really good.  I've enjoyed the jobs that I have had, the children I have taught, and the people I have worked with.  I have learned so much throughout this time and I wouldn't trade these experiences for the world.  Now, though, it's time for something new.  I certainly cried today as I said goodbye to so many people and things, but I am really excited about the future.  I know I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity that many people do not have.  Right now I am just praying that God will give me wisdom, strength, and patience to be who I need to be in this place that he has me in right now.  I am so thankful to be Emily's mommy and I'm glad to get to be with her every day from now on.

Let the adventure begin!

My awesome work friends.  I will miss these girls!