California Bound

Tonight Mom-Mom and Poppy had a going-away dinner for Uncle Steve before he moves to sunny California at the end of the week. The rest of us may be sad and even a little jealous, but Emily was happy to have one more chance to play with him before he left!










We'll miss you, Steve!

Splish Splash

She starts out calm and then goes crazy!

Emily and Arnold

Arnold is a sleeping, snoring pig that Rich and DeAnn gave to Emmy for Christmas. She gets a kick out of his wiggling ears and loves cuddling with him...

A Valentine Rose

Last year, Daddy decided to buy Emmy a rose for Valentine's Day every year, and of course Mommy has to take a picture to remember each one!



What a little girl she's become!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a difference a year makes!

Getting Comfy

Of the three seats Emily chose this morning, I think it's pretty obvious which one she liked best.




I'm still not sure what compelled her to try sitting in the drum in the first place. I guess it's just another one of those strange things!

Springtime in February

I didn't want to spend an unseasonably warm day like today inside, so I decided to take Emily to the playground for the first time. (I know, the poor deprived child is almost 15 months old and had never been to a playground before!) She had so much fun, although not in the way you might think. She spent the first 20 minutes playing in the sand and stones...




...then moved on to the mulch and mud.



Eventually, though, she was ready to test out all the playground fun. We started with the swing, then went climbing to find the slides.



Oh, wait, some more stones!




Finally she spotted the shiny spiral slide. We slid down it together, and then I let her go on the baby slide by herself. She liked it, but I could tell our little adventurer was ready for more...




...so off to the big slide we went!





Now we really can't wait for the real spring to come!

Strange Doings

Emily has started doing some strange things. The other day, I came into the family room from the kitchen and noticed she had piled all of her dolls and stuffed animals into her baby stroller. I was so impressed and wanted to take a picture, but she knocked them down as soon as I tried. Then, Saturday night, I caught her with all of her little animals in her baby doll basket:


This morning, she lined all her animals up along the coffee table. I know she got this idea from Daddy; while he's cooking his dinner, they play a game (read: something to keep her occupied) where she brings him one animal at a time, and he lines them up on the edge of the counter. I guess she thought she needed to play alone since Daddy was at work today:




She has an interesting way of playing with the cats, too. Here she is with Callie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yte1cCtzklk

Check out the look on Callie's face about four seconds into the video. I think it's pretty clear that Callie finds her more than a little strange!

Crazy Glasses

Happy Birthday, Auntie D! And...

Yes, what you're thinking is true: Rich and DeAnn are engaged!

We all felt that DeAnn was a part of our family from the very beginning, but soon it will be official! Rich and DeAnn, we are so happy and excited for you. We love you both!

Working Out, Toddler Style