weekend

Happy weekend from Emerson!!

the park

A few weeks ago we met Ashley & Ella at the park. The girls play so well together & are very sweet to each other.

sweet kisses

look at the babies poor knees

21 months

21 months!!! It does not seem like this precious girl has been in our lives for almost 2 years. She gets more active every time I turn around!

Emerson had strep the first week she was 21 months old. I think we caught it early enough that it never got bad but it was not fun. She broke out in rash all over her body, only had a low grade fever a couple times and drooled (& spit) a lot for a couple days. On the plus side, she LOVED her antibiotic and is obviously not allergic to penicillin like her mom. She would run to the refrigerator every morning to get her medicine & usually reminded us after dinner.

She is talking and, of course, is repeating what we say. She LOVES to be outside and would stay out all day if it weren't so dang hot already. Singing is a new skill and she prefers to sing along to Muse. Who? A rock band that Daddy & Mommy like. Lady Gaga is just about a thing of the past in our house. Emerson now shakes her head no when I ask if she wants to hear Gaga. Olivia is still the cartoon of choice but she had also discovered Curious George & I am welcoming something new. ;-) She is getting braver by the day. She has started climbing more and has also started jumping from the ottoman to the couch. We are so in love with our little "dare devil."

This baby LOVES raisins.

playing in her fort with Me Me & Grandpa

She likes puzzles.

more finger painting fun

This little miss knows that cuddling with her dad keeps her from going to bed.

Dancing queen

fun with neighborhood friends

We always have so much fun playing with our friends in the cove.

Emerson & Makayla

sweet Ella

This girl knows when to reapply.

playing outside

Playing outside after being trapped inside because of all the rain.

Roxy keeping guard.

Emerson's first masterpiece

Not long ago we had a very wet week so we let Emer experiment with the finger paints the Easter bunny brought.

I think her favorite part was playing with the paint.

painting herself

so messy

We tried to play in the rain but it had stopped by the time she was finished painting. Instead, we played in the puddles.

Emer also played with the neighbors cat.

Hula baby

A couple pics of Emer trying on her hula outfit. Now we just need a luau.

A Little Aloha

I know I have really been slacking on the blog but I am going to TRY to catch up. Let's start with Hawaii.....
We flew out Wednesday afternoon and our plane was about an hour late leaving Memphis & since our layover in LA was supposed to only be a hour we missed our flight. Our flight was the last flight to Hawaii for the night, SO, we got to spend our anniversary at the Ritz Carlton in LA. It wasn't bad because it was late by the time we got to the Ritz and we got up early to catch the first flight out. We had noticed that AC Wharton was on our flight from Memphis & while in LA we saw him walking in the airport. Of course, we stopped to say hello & we were very impressed by how nice he was. I was also surprised that he was traveling alone (the old mayor of Memphis, who does not even deserve to be named, would have NEVER traveled without at least an entourage of 15 or so.) Also, while going through inspection we saw the guy who plays Troy on the TV show Community. We love that show!!! We weren't close enough to talk to him. I did get a pic with my phone but it isn't a great pic. We also got to fly first class to Hawaii and I only want to fly first class from now on!!! HA! Yeah, that will happen. Also on our flight was Xzibit. For those of you who have no clue who I am talking about, he is a hip hop artist that hosted a show on MTV called "Pimp my ride". Quentin & I used to love watching this show. They would take a horribly beat up car & "pimp" it out w/fish tanks, espresso machines, stereos, TVs & video game systems. He seemed nice & even played with Emerson, while she flirted with him. I also got a pic of him but from a distance so it wasn't great either.

Once we FINALLY got to Hawaii we were ready to relax. It was nice knowing our way around. Last year we couldn't get in the car without getting lost but didn't get lost once this year. WOO HOO! We hung out around the resort the first night and did a little swimming. Emerson really enjoyed the sand. She likes the water too but DOES NOT like water in her face! She actually ripped my necklace off in the water when we got hit by a wave. Luckily, I caught it before it went into the water (it was my first mother's day gift). We ate at our favorite restaurant Shore Bird and crashed early. The next morning we headed to the Dole Plantation & North Shore. I am still craving some fresh pineapple & plum seasoning! The plantation was neat. The only pineapples they grow on Oahu are the ones for the island. The pineapples you see in stores are grown on another island. We also ate at our favorite shrimp shack, Giovanni's. I am not a big shrimp fan but their shrimp is DELICIOUS & so fresh!! We took the long way back to the hotel so we could see the scenery. I think I took 100+ pics of the ocean, beaches, mountains, etc. We ate at Shore Birds again that night because we had to stay close so we could make it back to our hotel room for the fireworks. Emerson was out before the fireworks were finished. I guess she was exhausted because the fireworks were very loud. We explored the island & shopped on Saturday. Since we did the luau thing last year we decided not to do one this year but I wanted some Kalua pig so we found an authentic Hawaiian restaurant, Ono Hawaiian Foods (as seen on "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations".) The food was FABULOUS!! When we ordered I wasn't sure what to expect since I had no idea what I was ordering but I was pleasantly surprised. Actually, just talking about it has made me want some. DARN IT! Sunday we woke up early & headed back to the beach. The hotel had a pool with slides and Emerson made us take her down the slides about 144 times. She had so much fun in the pool. After a few hours we went back to the room, showered, packed everything up & headed out. Our flight did not leave until Sunday night so we kept the rental car and explored some more. We went to Blow Hole & stopped by Pearl Harbor. We got to Pearl Harbor right before they closed and it was pretty empty. It was nice getting to walk around and look at everything without the crowds. After that we went back to the airport. Emerson is now a pro at flying. Actually, she slept most of the time. We were glad to be going home but hated to leave. Maybe we will just have to go back next year, AGAIN.

Create a picture slideshow

20 months

20 months already?!?!?! Emerson will be 2 before I know it. She is saying all kinds of words and even starting to say the words that she signs. She loves to dance, play outside & is a big helper around the house. She helps with laundry & sometimes with dinner. She even pushes around her ball popper when I vacuum. Now if she would just pick up her toys when I ask. YEAH RIGHT! Emer LOVES to color. We haven't broken out the finger paints that the Easter bunny brought her yet but maybe we will this rainy weekend.

exploring with Roxy, her partner in crime

reading before bed

chillaxin

helping Daddy in the yard

Daddy made Emer a fort & she played in it for a couple hours.

fuzzy pic but she is so cute when she is excited

watching some Rebel baseball from the suite

Easter 2010

carrot cake cupcake

carrot cake cupcakes w/icing

our bunny

dyeing eggs

look what the Easter bunny dropped off

playing in beanie babies

LOTS of egg hunting....

reading her bible