Moments

We are expecting baby jackson in November and couldn’t be more thrilled. The last two and half months have been quite the survival period as I struggled with morning sickness. This week I washed dishes and made dinner for the first time in months. Andrew has been doing the majority of the household running over here, and keeping Emily and I alive for which I am extremely grateful. We just wouldn’t have made it without him.

This is the second ultrasound I had around 10 weeks. This past week we had another ultrasound (because this baby was moving so much they couldn’t hear a consistent heartbeat) and is now very much a baby with arms, hands, legs, and feet. In just a few more weeks we’ll find out the gender!!!

When we came home from my parent’s house a few months ago we brought my old fisherprice dollhouse dolls and accessories for Emily to enjoy. They have become a staple toy and she plays with them daily, taking the baby on walks, helping the dog play on the slide, and pushing the car around with various passengers.

We had been going consistently to lap sit at the library last semester, but between me starting a new job and being extremely ill, we’ve only recently started going again. Emily loves shaking the maracas during music time and watching the other children. Usually there are very few english speakers in attendance, but with toddlers that just doesn’t seem to matter.

Emily has always been and continues to be a fan of the slide. She recently picked up a love of swinging too so we get a little more variety on the playground.

Puddle jumping would have to go at the top of the list of Emily’s favorite activities. I’ve learned that it very rapidly turns into puddle swimming, so bath time must be the next activity.

Andrew and Emily have been going on Sunday afternoon walks together while I take a nap. They wear vivint hats together and have a marvelous time.

Emily loves talking about our glasses (by wiggling the letter g by her eye). When we were at target a few weeks ago we found a pair for a dollar that she enjoys wearing.

On April 18 we attended a really amazing family history event at our church. We learned a little bit about many different countries, doing a craft and eating some food at each booth. We were also able to pick up some good resources for our own researching. Emily’s hat is from Germany.

After spending weeks lying on the couch, my back really started needing some attention. Emily was kind enough to join me in my yoga routine and Andrew sneakily snapped a picture. Notice how it is very difficult to see any carpet – survival mode at its finest.

Our weather has been super weird going between 30-40’s to 70-80’s. We were wearing our winter coats all week. This is from one of the momentary heat waves where we actually could go outside without our coats on.

I think one of my favorite things about summer is seeing Emily’s dirty feet and coming inside exhausted. After a long, hot day outdoors we cleaned her feet off and got a snack (saltine crackers and a cheese stick- my current specialty) and read books. Her crossed legs are just so adorable.

Emily is starting to try and put her shirts on, usually during laundry days. Sometimes she is more successful than others. This shirt didn’t get too far past the hat stage, but she wore it this way for a surprisingly long amount of time.

Andrew and I very unusually checked on Emily one night and found her sleeping like this. Andrew snapped a picture with the flash and we ran out as quickly as possible because she started stirring.

Andrew and Emily are selfie pros. Andrew just needs to request a smile from Emily and she gives an enthusiastic grin.

Occasionally I’m asked to make an appearance in their pictures.

An amazing friend sent a care package in the mail with little things for Emily to do with my while I laid down. She fell in love with this tea set (she signs “water” while we are playing with it). I pulled it out on a particularly rough afternoon and we played together for about 20 minutes. I then laid down on the couch and fell asleep for the first and only time while Emily was awake. She ran around for an hour playing with her tea set and singing “let it go” over and over.

Also in the care package were pompoms. Emily and I had played with them, but Andrew found the most entertaining use for them by sticking them in her curls.

While I’ve been sick there has been a cooking ban in our home to reduce as many smells as possible. While we haven’t eaten out that much, it has been a more regular part of our schedule (we basically never ate out before I got sick). One night we headed out to find a mexican restaurant that I thought sounded good, but it shared the parking lot with cracker barrel which seemed better once we had arrived. Emily loved it. Here she is in the middle of eating a very large french fry when we asked her to smile.

Emily trying her very first strawberry popsicle that a friend gave her. Despite what the picture says, she really enjoyed it.

Andrew is going to teach a few classes this summer to gifted middle school and high school students. He is developing the class himself and was experimenting with potato batteries after dinner while teaching Emily the basics of electricity.

After a big rainstorm a few weeks ago we took Emily out on a long walk after church to find the remaining puddles. She looked for all of the “big” puddles (which she signs very emphatically) and jumped and stomped her way through every one.

We went to the park with a friend last week and stumbled upon the tiniest turtle. It was so cute, but it did take some effort to keep the little girls from accidentally (and sometimes not accidentally) from stepping on it. We also watched a mouse gather long blades of grass for its nest and explored a little nature center.

Emily fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep all the way inside. Instead of pushing my luck and putting her in bed, I just held her during her nap – a very rare treat. She was still asleep when Andrew got home and he caught the moment. Notice the strategically placed bucket – they are all over our home and well used. I think I’m about ready to throw them away now that I’m not throwing up daily.

We returned to the nature center as a family the following Saturday for a big event. We saw the falcon, played in a birdseed sandbox, saw soap carving, learned about bees and wasps, admired woodworking, and helped Emily make a bracelet that represents the water system.