Play pens, Auburn shirts, and DDR

This was the first trip we took that we also brought a play pen along. Amanda's house is obviously not particularly baby proof, so the play pen turned out to be the best place for Emma to play. Unfortunately she didn't sleep well in it. Maybe next trip.

Ah, Dance Dance Revolution. This game has been through it all. In fact it's been around since, hmm, I can't remember exactly when we first got the game. I know it was before Robert and I were married. Anyway, we've entertained many a family friend with this game. It was only fitting for Joseph's new girlfriend, Emily, to have her turn.

AND...

Even though I don't have pictures, we played a rousing round of Mille Bornes later that evening. Don't know what Mille Bornes is, you say? Only the COOLEST card game ever. Some of my favorite memories are playing this game with dad. We lost our original deck and I bought him a new one for Father's Day. It's a blast...and I won...of course. ;)

Speaking of Joseph's new girlfriend.....

She's an Alabama fan (unfortunately) and Joseph managed to get her to try on this shirt so we could take a picture for blackmail later. haha. She's a good sport. You have to be in this family.

My artsy side comes out to play

While we were in Starkville last weekend my mom, sister, brother's girlfriend, and I all went to do one of my most favorite things. We painted pottery!

I have this plate holder hanging on the wall in our kitchen that's just BEGGING for a decorative plate. And I didn't just want some plain ole' plate hanging in our kitchen so this worked out great. I found a good verse about sustainance....since it IS going to be hanging in the kitchen.

This is actually not the finished product. We had to leave it to be fired in the kiln. The colors will be much brighter when I get it back. I'll post a picture of it once it finds its home on my wall.

Every good potter must sign her work.

I had a great time hanging out with the girls! I can't wait to do it again!

Lucky Seven

I don't really believe in luck, but Emma is seven months old today and we're both still alive! I remember thinking 7 months was SOOO far away. This is, in fact, NOT the case. All you new momma's out there, don't be fooled.

Look at this darling, precious, seven month old.


Right now Emma is....

• Rolling from her back to her stomach and back again on the floor to get around.
• Pushing and Pulling up to try and stand.
• Waking up at least once a night, but usually twice.
• Spending the last half of the night cuddled in the bed with mom and dad.
• Drinking water from a sippy cup by herself.
• Playing with her own cell phone and remote control. She loves mommy's and daddy's toys better than her own.
• Smiling at the sound of your daddy's, grandparents', aunts', etc voices over the phone.
• Squealing to sing along with mom.
• Using toys as tools to reach other things.
• Thinking her favorite songs are I'm a Little Teapot, Straighten Up and Fly Right, L-O-V-E, and silly bathtime songs that mom made up.
• Trying to get a third tooth.
• Responding to her name.
• Trying to use a spoon herself.
• Hating green beans (still) and loving peas. We'll be starting meat soon!

There's so much more, but I won't bore you to death. I love you baby girl!

for the land of the freeeeeeee....

Can't you just hear me belting it out?

Happy INDEPENDENCE DAY!

all together now,

.....and the....HOME.....OF THA.......BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE!

We got some dawgs up in here

WOO WOO! We met the family last weekend in Starkville where my sister Amanda goes to college. She's a Mississippi State Bulldog and while we don't hold it against her, we do give her an awfully hard time (being that we're all Auburn peeps.) In fact I packed for Robert while he was at work Friday and he made sure to ask before we left if I had packed him Auburn things to wear. Because he OBVIOUSLY was not setting foot on another SEC school campus without showing his true colors. Chris, his roomate from Auburn, who lives close by met us there also. He shares Robert's sentiments as you can see from their unplanned coordinating outfits.

The touch head pose.
Alternate #1 ;)

The boys.....and Emma.

The whole gang at THE BEST PIZZA place in the whole world. (Not even exaggerating.)

Emma loves her Granpa and Nana.

I have a few more posts coming this week from last weekend. I had too much fun taking pictures. Needless to say I have LOTS of material. (Are you sweating yet, mom?)

From the tummy to the toes....

Robert has been home now for FOUR WEEKS. It really is rare to have him home this long. The way his job is structured this is a good and a bad thing. More time, but less money. So it's definitely a trade off. You will not hear me complaining though. If I've learned one thing it's that God provides exactly what we need exactly when we need it. No more, no less and not sooner, or later. So having this time with Robert is awesome. We just take things in stride around here. I try really hard to be understanding and just do what I have to do. Just the joys of being a family in the oil industry.


Anyway, since he's been here we have gotten so much done. I tend to keep a list of on going projects that I want or need help with. Normally we just do what we can when he's here and then they get put on hold till he gets back again. My list from before he went overseas is completely finished. Two weeks ago in fact, I turned to Robert and said, "I guess I should start a new list, huh?" To which he replied, "WHY?" hahaha. So I didn't make a list. (Not yet anyway.) We've just been enjoying the daily stuff together.


Last weekend we spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I think it might be one of my favorite things to do with Robert. We have such a good time preparing meals together. It's always a good time to talk, laugh, and inevitably tease each other.

One of the reasons we spent so much time in the kitchen was to make several weeks worth of baby food for Emma. Since its summer and there are so many good fresh veggies and fruits out we have a lot of material to work with. Plus we borrowed an amazing food processor from Robert's parents. It weighs about 25 pounds and can process about 2 quarts of food at a time. It was AWESOME! Here's Robert fixing a batch of sweet potatoes (or maybe carrots, I'm not sure).

We ended up with around 100 ounces of baby food. After we steamed or boiled the veggies, we blended them with some water and then filled ice cube trays. Then we covered them with plastic wrap and placed in the freezer for later. I was really proud to get that much food ready for her. Here's a sample of the first few trays.

Each cube is about an ounce of food. This, I think, is green beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

Here's the freezer after all was said and done.

In addition to the green beans, carrots, and potatoes, we did asparagus, squash, apples, and peaches. She should be good to go for a while.

Emma just chilled out in the sling while we did all this cooking and eventually she couldn't take it anymore.

Sound asleep.

While we were in the cooking and baking mode. We fixed some things for us too. We did baked apples and sweet potato casserole with some leftovers from Emma's stuff. Then we made these.

Before

After

I call them Peanut Butter Polka Chip Cookies. They were yummy! And gone within two days. HA!

Needless to say, spending all this time with Robert has made Emma a daddy's girl. He's her obvious pick to be rocked to sleep and she loves when he growls and tickles her feet, tummy, and neck. I'm gonna be in trouble when he goes back off shore. Until then, we're gonna soak it all up.

Feed your Stash

This giveaway is from last Friday and I wanted to get it in before tomorrow's drawing. I'll have another one up probably on Saturday. Hey if you're not entering for yourself, enter for me! ;)
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