Walking on Sunshine

Emily started walking last week. On a random Tuesday she must have decided that she had had enough of cruising and crawling. And she has never looked back. When I picked Em's up from daycare that random Tuesday they told me that she had taken about 8 steps. Which is more than she had ever done before. She did the same thing a couple of times at home that night. Wednesday morning came and I was a little concerned that maybe she had forgotten how in her sleep. Boy how wrong was I!?! Now her favorite thing to do is walk laps around the island in our new kitchen. She even believes that she can almost run. Which often results in a lot of falling. She loves chasing too. It is so fun to chase each other around the kitchen and listen to her giggle. Emily is a ball of sunshine these days. You can see on her face how happy she is that she is now upright and moving more quickly.

Settling In

The move is over! I am so happy to write those words. It has been an extremely stressful, crazy whirlwind summer of showings, appraisals, and closings. Now we are working on settling in. We have a good majority of things unpacked but still have a long way to go. I continue to dig through the mountains of boxes in our garage to find things. But it is all worth it, I love our new house! I can't wait to watch Emily grow up in this house. Speaking of Em--she has done great with the move. Besides being a little more clingy to mom she is her same little self. She has adjusted to her new Tupperware cupboard and continues to investigate things. I am secretly hoping one of the first things she learns to do in the new house is walk. I hope to post some pictures was the mess of boxes is a little more manageable.

Every day is a new day

Lately I have been noticing how Emily absorbs everything around her. Every day it seems like she has learned a new word or skill. She loves to say hi and bye to everything. She knows where her nose is and likes to poke mommy and daddy's eyes when you ask where her eye is. Lately she stacks cups in order of size. When she is finished she gets a big smile on her face and claps. On our drive yesterday I noticed that she started "dancing" in her car seat to the music I had on. Now when I ask her to dance she swings her body back and forth. Its pretty cute. It is very apparent that she is constantly learning and taking in everything around her.

Hanging in the playhouse, talking on my phone!

Moving on Up and Walking?

As most of you heard we were lucky enough to sell our condo very shortly after putting it on the market. After accepting the offer we started scrambling to look at house. With the help of our excellent Realtors we found a newly constructed house in a neighborhood in Verona that we have always wanted to be in. It is very close the elementary school and has a lot of kids in it. If everything continues to move smoothly we will be moving at the end of August. Kevin and I will be sad to see the condo go as so many wonderful things have happened to us there. But we are very excited about our new house.

In Emily news she has started standing all on her own and has even taken a step or two here and there. She has not quite figured out the walking thing but it definitely won't be long. More than likely by the time we move she will be walking all over the place.

First Birthday Fun!

On Saturday July 9th Miss Emily Ruth turned 1 year old! We spent most of Saturday as a family of 3, running errands and hanging out. It was great. On Sunday we celebrated the 1st year of Emily's life with family. It was extremely hot but we all managed to get by thanks to air conditioning and sprinklers.

Emily did really well at her party. She sat on my lap while we opened presents. Every time something new would be opened she would drop whatever she had in her hand to grab the "newer" present. She wasn't really into unwrapping but then again it was about nap time. After a short nap we had cake. Em wasn't a fan of everyone singing to her. She had her very own little cake that I thought she would eat up. However I had to cut it up for her and even then she only ate the cake part. She was not a big fan of the frosting. If she is anything like her mother that will change very soon. All and all we had a great time celebrating. I can't believe that my baby is cruising into toddlerhood.

Enjoying lunch in my decorated chair!

Cake is ok I guess

Yeah I am 1!

Happy 4th of July

We had a very enjoyable, busy holiday weekend. Em was a trooper and had a lot of fun with family. She loved just about everything except fireworks, drums in the parade, and motorcycles. But for her first 4th of July she did great!

Happy 4th!

Watching the parade with Grandma Krause

Not a huge fan of the all the noises in the parade

Swimming with Auntie Beth

tuckered out after a VERY long weekend

A Year Ago

A year ago at this time I was 5 days overdue with a baby that I would have sworn was a boy. A year ago I was scared that I wouldn't be able to handle this mom thing. A year ago I didn't know they type of love I could feel for someone. A year ago I didn't understand that we were about to jump onto a rollercoaster that never stops. A year ago I didn't realize that I was born to be a mother to Emily. A year ago my life had yet to change in ways I can not describe. A year ago I didn't realize I would have to wait a week and a half to meet my very independent, stubborn, beautiful, amazing daughter. It was all worth it...