Happy Memorial Day!

Today we headed out to Schnepf Farms first thing this morning to get some peaches. This was just a quick trip, since we are hoping to head out next weekend with Jessica, Sophia, and Jessica's mom while she is in town. For Memorial Day, the Farm was having a special where if you said you saw them on Facebook, you got your first 5 pounds of peaches free! Since they are just a little less then 10 minutes from us, we couldn't pass it up!






Emma seemed to be more interested in playing in the dirt then posing for pictures with the peaches! (Since it was Memorial Day, I thought Emma should be patriotic!)

A Big First!

Emma took her first steps tonight! It was only about 4 little ones, and she only did it the one time, but still exciting!!

Busy Random Days

We have found ourselves being very busy with lots of little things these past couple of days. Before I get to those, I wanted to give a quick update on what Emma has been doing. The last week and a half, she has become a little chatter box. I don't really know what or when her first word was, but I feel confident that she says: Dadda, Mamma, book, ball, "woof"(for dog), and flower when she sees these things. This weekend she also started trying to walk a little more. She is a pro at walking around things, but is finally walking more and more holding our hands. She will even walk holding only one hand, but is a little unsteady. We have also started to going to one nap a day. Today was the first day that we didn't have to go anywhere, and let me just say it was a long morning!


Monday was our last Library Story time for the summer. Here is a picture of her waiting for class to start.


At the end of story time, the babies have free time with toys and bubbles. I wasn't too sure how parents would feel about me taking pictures, so I only took this one since there wasn't many kids around, plus it had her teacher in it. (Emma was very excited about the bubbles!)


We also decided to get some fish for Emma. Her Uncle Josh has a huge fish tank in his house, and every time we go over there, she is so excited to see the fish. I thought it would be fun for her to have A fish, and my plan was to get a beta fish in a TINY bowl, and have it sit on top of the T.V. I guess I should know by now, that we can't do anything small. (look at our furniture!) So a simple $10 trip to the pet store, turned into us coming home with a 10 gallon aquarium! Emma loves it though, and that is all that matters!


Pointing to the fish. She even kisses the tank.


Excited about her new fish!


And we headed out to see Anna's kindergarten graduation program. It was a very cute program with songs and dancing. Emma even joined in on the dancing from her seat. Seeing all those kids, I couldn't help but think that in 4 short years that was going to be Emma.


Anna with a couple of her friends before the show.


Anna is in the bottom right. She is looking at the camera and has her hands over her eyes like binoculars.

100 Degrees = Trip to the Zoo?!

Today was the first day that we officially hit 100 degrees....and Emma and I spent it at the zoo! Before you think I am crazy, we had plenty of water, lots of sunscreen, and evening Emma's bathing suit. By the end of the day, we were hot and tired, but while we were there, it really wasn't all that bad.
We met our friends, Stephanie and Sam (who we met at Emma's Library Story Time Class) and had a great time. The girls were so sweet together, and it was the first time that Emma seemed really excited about the animals. She would point to all of them and make her excited sound. And when we saw flowers, she would point to those and do her best to say "flower". I have to say, she can say it pretty well!
The first stop we made was the Zebras. They just introduced two new baby Zebras that we heard about on the news last night. You can see them in this picture laying down.




Checking out the Zebras


Emma, Sam, and Stephanie




We also spent some time in the Children's Area. It was the first time that I had seen it since it has been re-done. There is one section that is made into a Little People play land. It has a barn, tractor, slide, and of course Little People characters. It was really cute and the girls had a good time exploring all the things it had. It was also Emma's first experience with sand. She loved it, but got it everywhere!














Notice the girls piling the sand on the ledge? I think they would have done it all day if we would have let them!


Had to get pictures inside the oyster


Two Cute Little Pearls!


This isn't the best picture, but I had to include it for the story that goes with it. After the girls were all sandy from the play land, we thought it would be the perfect time to take them to the splash pad. We could get them clean, plus cool them down all at the same time. Emma loves her baths, and loves to put her hand in front of the house when we are watering the grass/plants, so I thought she would love the splash pad. I got her changed into her bathing suit, set her down in the water, and she lost it! I don't know if it was because she was tired, hungry, or if it was because there were a lot of kids, but she wanted nothing to do with it. So I held her, and towards the end, she would stick her hand out to touch the water. While Emma and I were still playing with the water, Sam decided she was done and ready for lunch. All we could hear was this sweet little voice yelling "Emma" from the girls' strollers. It was the cutest thing, and Stephanie and I were impressed that Sam was saying Emma's name!

Thanks Stephanie and Sam for a great day! Can't wait to get the girls together again!

Getting Ready for Summer

On Friday, I was able to sign Emma up for some summer classes being offered through the City of Chandler. Our first class starts in June where for two weeks we will be taking a swim class, and then July - August we will have two different weekly gym classes. One will have a circle time and then play with bubbles, balls, etc. And the other will be similar, but with more of a focus on large motor skills with the balance beam, tunnels, etc. We only have a couple more weeks of her library class, but then we will move onto a monthly program at the library being put on by Arizona Families. I am looking forward to seeing how she does with her classes, and these combined with play dates, dinner dates, and trips to the aquarium and the mall, we should have a busy and fun summer!
On Saturday we headed over to The Brown House to celebrate Anna's birthday. They got a bounce house for the party, and Robert has already said that we are getting one for future events! As always, it was fun to get together, see the kids, and be able to catch up!



Bobbing for apples.


The Jump House


Playing with Aunt Sandy


Too Cute!


The girls loved playing with Emma. This was the first time they got to see her.

1 Year Update and Pics

Before we get to pics - a quick update! Emma had her one year doctor's appointment yesterday, and everything went really well. She is right on track and no concerns. She is 21 pounds (55%) and 30 1/2 inches tall (90%).
The new things we have seen this month include standing by herself, blowing kisses, some hand motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider, talking on the phone, and reading books herself. We also got rid of all bottles and sippy cups. (She uses the cups with a straw). And of course the experience of Urgent Care with a split eyebrow and the fun of glue.
It has been an amazing first year. Robert and I tell her all the time how lucky we are to have such a beautiful, smart, and silly baby girl.
On to toddler-hood!!!

First Birthday!

Yesterday we celebrated Emma's First Birthday with her birthday party at our house. We did a pinwheel theme, and had pinwheels all over the house and outside. It was a great day and we appreciate everyone making the LONG drive out to help us celebrate!
There are a lot of pictures, and for the most part, I will just let the pictures tell the story!










Had to have grilled cheese and PB&J for the kids!


On the present table I had her monthly picture frame and first year scrapbook that Jessica made for her so everyone could see how much she has changed over the past year.


The Birthday Girl!


Lunch time!


Enjoying lunch with Grandma




The Yants (First attempt at a family picture....I should have known not to take a child away from toys for a picture!)


That's better!


Aidan Yant


Jamie and Jenni


The boys - Regan, Aidan, and Robert




Someone is ready for presents!


Playing with cousins, Aiden and Anna


Time for presents. She lost interest in opening gifts pretty quickly, but had fun looking at all the cards, pulling out paper, and playing with all her new toys


















Shelly made this adorable piggy bank for her




Time to play with all the new things before cake!














She had no problem with the cake at all. She loved the sweet icing!












Grandpa and Grandma got her this cute school bus that also has a slide




Blowing bubbles




The boys playing ping pong in the garage


New Rocking Horse


Emma resting after a long fun day with Great Grandma while Grandma and Shelly helped mommy clean things up.