Walls

We finally got the keys to our new home!! We are so excited, but somehow the excitement was quickly replaced with stress when we realized that we owned a HUGE house...much larger than our 1100 square foot condo we had been living in for the past 3 years. The maintenance and cleaning for our condo was a breeze, now transitioning to our 2300 sq foot home the anxiety and stress to maintain this beautiful home has come into play. Todd and I have always been a good team...we can tag team anything and get it done QUICK! Something we have mastered especially once Emily was born. I know that everything will get done, I have a great partner in crime!:)

As we were picking paint colors for the walls of our new home, I really had a fun time envisioning all the events that will take place among these walls.

Butterfly Flutterby (light lavender) :: for Emily Jean's room...we worked so hard on her nursery and achieved the perfect pink nursery to bring our little girl home too. But as she has grown, and developed a spunky little personality, she has definitely turned into a purple and blue kinda gal. I've always loved dressing her and purples and blues, because of her big blue eyes:) So naturally we picked the perfect shade of purple to paint on the walls of the room that she would call her own:) As I was brushing the purple onto her walls I was thinking of all the fun she will have in that room....the slumber parties, late night phone chats with girlfriends, lying in bed anxiously awaiting her first day of school, getting ready for her first date:) I hope she loves her purple room, I can't wait to watch her grow in it...

Stable Hay :: for our kitchen I wanted a warm/country feel, our farmstyle dining room table was the inspiration for this yellow kitchen. Todd and I have always wanted our house to be the 'hang out' for family and friends. We would love for Emily (and our next child) to enjoy inviting their friends for dinner. I thought of all the entertaining I will do in that yellow kitchen...Baby showers for good friends, Birthday parties for my sweeties and girl nights with some of my best girl friends. I can not wait for people to come and ENJOY themselves in our yellow country kitchen:)

Pensive Sky (Gray Blue) :: for 'the kids' bathroom upstairs I wanted a Beach themed bathroom for them, the double sinks make me envision two teenagers rushing to get out the door to make it in time for school, make-up, hair products and clothes strung all around the floor ( maybe because that is what my bathroom looked like most of the time I was a teen ).

Classic Taupe :: A calm, coffee color for our Master Bathroom. Our large soaking tub overlooks the large meadow behind our home, at night you can see the sunset from our back windows and hear the birds chirping. My own little piece of heaven, my getaway...I know many nights I will long to sneak away so I can spend a few quiet moments to myself in our room.

We are so excited to start the next phase of our lives in this house, we loved our condo and loved the people and friends we met in the Olympia area. We have so much to look forward too and are thankful for ALL of our blessings!!!

Emily Jean is ONE YEAR OLD!

My Precious Baby Girl...you are no longer a baby anymore...

You really are turning into a 'little girl'. Walking, talking, getting more teeth, longer hair! You are our little explorer! Every day is a new adventure for you, how fun it is to to watch you grow and learn new things every day.

We love you very much, and have been so busy with your Birthday Party and moving that I have not had time to update your blog for your Birthday!!!
I thank God every day for giving me a daughter, and for giving me you! I just wish you would stop growing so fast....:)

9 Months Old!

Loving on Daddy

You love your books!

Eating Blueberries

What a Big Girl!

Our little Emily Jean is now a big 9 month old! Every day Todd and I comment on how we slowly see our baby changing into a toddler. I know she is still a few months away from that, but she is very tall, and her hair and 6 teeth make her appear to be much older!

So what are you doing now Emily??

Here are your 9 month stats: 19 lbs. 12 oz & 28 3/4 inches long

Eating: You quickly dropped the baby food and zoomed straight for the solids. Your Dr. has approved all the foods we have given you. :) You enjoy Crackers, cheerios, bananas, green beans, carrots, pears, ham, chicken, cheese and toast. We will begin giving you little bits of what we eat and see how you like some of that!! You still take about 4-5 bottles a day plus your solid meals.

Play Time: You spend most of your days crawling everywhere and pulling yourself up onto EVERYTHING! You have recently conquered climbing the stairs ( with Mommy following right behind), playing with your kittys, and reading books! You can't get enough of your books and turn the pages for Mommy and Daddy now. Some of your favorite toys are your pull horse, Leap Frog Table & your Baby Einstein Videos. But nothing can beat playtime with Daddy where you use him as a jungle gym and climb on him over and over again!

Talking: You repeat 'mama' 'dada' 'baba' & 'nana' . You also enjoy sticking your tongue out and making silly noises while spitting everywhere, it is messy but pretty cute! You also respond to any and everything by saying a quiet 'ha'. It is pretty cute and you always talk to mommy from your car seat while we run our errands.

Sleeping: You are a wonderful sleeper. Your bedtime is anywhere between 8 & 8:30 and you usually sleep until 9 the next morning, which is pure bliss for mommy and daddy. You enjoy your bath time routine with Daddy, and fall asleep all by yourself in your crib. We love you for that!

Emily will be getting her 9 month pictures done next week, we are very excited for that!! We are also looking forward to Easter, and several upcoming Birthday Parties and Baby Showers!!!

6 Month Pictures

A New Year, a new outlook

Out of my way Mom!

Emily & her Pony

Looking outside

Good Morning!

Em J & Daddy

Classic Santa Picture

Emily loved all the Christmas Bells, here she is in her Christmas Dress

Ready to go Christmas Shopping!

Christmas Tree Hunting

My 26th Birthday

Happy 2010! We had some dinner guests over last night and I was asked how 2009 treated our family - it was OUR year!! How could it get any better? Just when I think things could not get better, God proves me wrong and shows me otherwise.
We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope with our 'blog plug' in our Christmas letter that I have some new blog readers! While my blogs are few and far between...mostly on a day when Emily takes a longer nap than usual, I do enjoy updated and being able to share with everyone about our life.

We had a wonderful Christmas, exhausting, but wonderful:) Our sweet Emily is now at a stage when she really does best in her own environment. Her own bed, rocking chair and toys. We felt a bit guilty taking her away from her comfort zone for Christmas Eve-the day after Christmas. She was also getting a new tooth (her 5th!) so was not in the best of spirits. But she sure did bring smiles to everyone she came across and did enjoy all of her new presents!! Christmas is VERY different with a baby, in a good way:) We enjoyed helping her open all of her gifts, and then taking all of the new toys out of the boxes, batteries installed and the living room was transformed into a Christmas Playland!:) Todd surprised both Em and I with a beautiful snow globe for Emily. Engraved with her name and a special Bible Verse, inside the snow globe is an angel holding a sign that says "Faith" - how sweet for Emily's first Christmas, especially from just her Daddy:) I was very proud of him for picking out something so sentimental:)

We got to take Emily to visit her Great Grandpa Hamllik in Washougal, WA, along with her Great Uncle and Aunt Hamllik. We enjoyed a nice day visiting as everyone watched Emily crawl all around:) New Years was very low key for us this year, we really enjoy spending the evening in reflecting on the past year, staying warm, eating good food and watching some movies.

Emily will be 8 months old on the 13th of this month. Here are some of the new things she is doing:

*CRAWLING! Emily began crawling right after Thanksgiving, she has recently began to pick up speed and zooms around our entire condo, we have baby proofed, put away cords and wires, put the kitty food away and put up a baby gate at the top of our stairs.

*Sitting by herself, Emily was a supported sitter for awhile, and is now able to pull herself up to sit by herself with no help, she can also pull herself from sitting, to her knees, and SURPRISE to her FEET! She is now standing on her own (while holding onto something for support). Unfortunately this has called for some tiny bumps and scrapes as she is falling a lot more:) She is a trooper though, and most times she falls we clap and make it seem happy and not sad:)

*Feeding herself, Emily loves her cereal puffs and eats the best when she is feeding herself. She can keep herself very busy with a tray full of Cheerios. She is also enjoy many different foods, her favorite is bananas, so we do mix banana oatmeal with most of her food to get her to eat more:) She kicks her legs and gets very excited when she tries a new food that she enjoys, just recently she had Apple, Strawberry Banana puree and she loved it:)

*Vocalizing, Emily has a very soft voice, but when she wants Todd and I to do something she can get very loud!! She mostly repeats...nananana and it gets louder and louder as she gets more and more upset. She also just started making the bbbb sound and puckers her lips together while making it...sort of sounds like an elephant. Todd has been calling her his 'Little Elephant'

*Upgraded Car Seat, Emily has outgrown her infant seat, and was very uncomfortable in it. So we did some research and found a wonderful new seat for her. She still is rear facing but it is a much bigger seat for her. With TONS of cushion...looks like a recliner in the back seat of our car now:)

Todd and I both are so excited for 2010, we can not wait to see what is in store for us! We are dedicated to our daughters safety and happiness...and the happiness of one another. That is all we need!! Here's to a wonderful New Year, full of God's faithfulness and daily blessings.