Fun with Nana

Grandpa H (we haven't decided on a name for him yet, Grandpa, or something that fits more with Nana?!) and Nana came in from Michigan today.  I coerced them into driving out here for Labor Day weekend (it wasn't that hard - they haven't seen Emma since Christmas).  So they stopped by my mom's house on their way in to town today.  Emma and Nana practiced throwing the fish their food.  This is Emma's favorite activity here and I swear the fish are going to explode if they eat much more.  Tomorrow we are going to take Em to the state fair with Gpa and Nana - that will be an adventure!  For those of you who live out of state, the MN state fair is a HUGE deal and a HUGE affair and it is going to be PACKED tomorrow.  Elliott will just love it:)  But Emma WILL love it, seeing all of the animals especially.

She has been doing very well at Carol's.  She cries just a bit when I leave, but it usually done by the time i am at the end of their drive.  She waves goodbye to the kids and today she wanted to give Carol a kiss goodbye, so that is pretty darn sweet.  She eats pretty well, and naps the best of all!!!!  Good girl:)  Carol thinks she is sweet and fun, and not as fiesty as she can be at home:)

Ok, love to all.....

Big Girl Shoes

Em was so excited to try Grandpa L's shoes on!  She even took little scooting steps so that she could walk properly in them.  

Em-ska

Big girl sitting in her little girl chair....

Dad's Here!

El pulling up in the big truck...  I kept Emma up late so she could see him.  The first thing she did was take him all around the house, the yard, and then over to the fish pond!

sorry!

so sorry I have been taking longer breaks inbetween posts.  i have been having full days with workshop, el got here saturday night, so we've been unpacking things, went to the state fair with mom, and then of course there is always an "emmrhoid":)

I've been trying to upload pictures since last night and it isn't working, so I will try again tonight!

emma had her first day at Carol's yesterday - she didn't want to leave when I came to pick her up!  That was the best thing that couldhave happened, because it means she is happy and comfortable there.  She only fussed for a minute when I left, and let Carol hold her.  I guess she played great all day, took her bottle but didn't fall asleep so had lunch (skoppy joes, corn, and strawberries!), then Carol put her in the crib and she cried for about two minutes, and when Carol went in to checkon her she was asleep! When I got there to pick her up she immediately wanted to take me outside to show me the playhouse that is outside that she can wash her hands in and move the windows open and close.  When we left the older girls wanted to give her a hug goodbye!

So, day two today, and El is goign to pick her up!

Love to all.....

Fun in the Sun

Emma had a heyday outside with the watering hose!  She spent a good 1/2 hour just filling up a huge watering pail, watering the rocks, drinking out of the hose.  Look at that huge smile!

We are doing well here, and Elliott, John, and Denny were able to get most of the moving truck loaded today, so that is good.  I met the faculty hat I will be working with in the Performing Arts Dept. at Kennedy and I am think I am really going to enjoy being there!

Emma has learned to put keys in the keyhole of the front door, and  has really loved feeding the fish in Grandma Loerch's pond at least once a day.

Love to all...

Missin' Dada

We made it to mn safe and sound.  As a matter of fact, Emma slept on the plane !!!!!  Hallelujah!!!!!

We spent our weekend exploring outside,

chasing the cats, and doing a bit of shopping.  Em did wake up at 5am on saturday morning, that was a real treat, but it got her on mn time, so that was good.  

She has enjoyed playing in her suitcase,  

and you can see her goofy face sitting next to the squirrel, and then putting on her 'wellies" all by herself.

we've also done a number of webcams with "dada" - and she tries to kiss and hug him, and pet cooper, and grab her teddy bear "tim"!!!!  we miss him...

love to all

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

"We're leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when we'llbe back again....." :(

Emma and I fly out to Minnesota on Friday, and move back in with the 'rents (Grandma and Grandpa Loerch)!!!! It will be a change for ALL of us, but we sure are grateful that they are willing and able to let us stay with them while we see if we can give the house a few months to seel, before we think about renting it out.

We sure are going to miss dad, emma has become especially attached lately, and really doesn't wnat aything to do with me (but that is a wonderful to watch - the two of them together).

You can see her here in the pics, riding Cooper (we think for halloween mayb e we'll get him a saddle and her a cowgirl outfit!) - eating peanut butter - wearing dad's back-pack, spinnig on her sit-n-spin - and playing with Cooper on the floor.

Everyday she is learnig more and more... She is recognizing feet, balloons, dogs, cats, girls and boys in her books, she puled the ground coffee out of the cupboard the other day and then reached for the coffee pot, she ate 1/2 pint of blueberries at the farmer's market, and carried around a costco BOX of wipes with one hand! She has also said "da da" in a real sweet voice, but will only really talk when promted and it is repeated over and over again, but you can see the wheels in her mind spinning as she thinks about it.

This is the last post for a few days, as we are in the midst of packing hell, and will ot be unpacked until this weekend. Wish us luck - love to all...

Friends

We've had a busy few days here! My friend Sarah, who I went to Grad school with and now lives in Connecticut, came to visit us for the day on Friday. It was so wonderful to see her. It has been almost 5 years, bu tit was like no time had passed at all. When she was leaving Emma gave her about 5 hugs and kisses!

Saturday night we had John, Allison and their two young-uns, Fawn and Andre and their little one, and Jason all over to watch the UFC fights and eat! Em was Elliott's little helper when it came to shucking the corn.

Emma was all over MAson (with only a little initial encouragement from the parents).... kisses AND hugs.

Today we had an open house, so we packed up the whole family and headed out to the Off-Leash dog park. It was great fun, but we are ALL exhausted... love to all...

Chair Obsession

Emma was obsessed with her eating chair while we were in Minnesota. The moment she was finished eating she insisted that we unhook her chair from the table so that she could play in it and put her baby in it (her baby "Emma" from her Great-Grandma Patterson goes EVERYWHERE with her!). She also enjoyed carrying the chair around, up and down the stairs that she figured she could go up and down on her own.

Wow! She is just getting to be so much fun. She is a sweet little dickens, mostly happy, easy going, but does have the "alligator roll" down well.... you know, how kids can arch their back, throw their arms in the air and toss their head back, and then just dead weight - so you can do NOTHING with them!

She is SLOWLY beginning to TALK! That is the most exciting thing for me, to see her little mind working and watching my mouth move as she listens and decided if she can get her mouth to make the same movements and sounds. Today she really started to say "Emma", and we've heard attempts at bye-bye, grandma, moo, woof-woof.... that's all I can think of for now. I can't wait to hear her voice, because I think her "uh oh" is so dang cute!

Well, that's it for now, I gotta watch the end of "So You Think You Can Dance"

Love to all

Quick Stop in MN

Emma and I had a quick weekend trip to Minnesota so that I could attend orientation for my new job. Well, you can see that our BIG girl - everyone says "so, is she 2?" - loves her new Wellies from Grandma Loerch. You can also see her reaching for the airplanes - one of the airport runways leads planes near the house and they were passing by about every 5 minutes. I don't know how Emma got anything done with stopping to reach for the airplanes every 5 minutes.

And do you like her "what up" pose?

love to all