Emma's new hiding spot.

There is a corner in our family room that is between the speaker and the couch. It's a small corner but it holds some of Michael's down stairs toys and teddy bears. The other day I laid Emma down on her juggle gym for tummy time while I went to put Michael down for a nap. When I came back I couldn't find her. I knew she couldn't have gotten far but I was shocked to see her hiding in the corner with the toys. She was perfectly content and happy to stay there. The look on her face, like I had caught her, cracked me up. She is so beautiful! She is also turning out to be every bit mischievous as her big brother. :-)

Emma Eating Corn!

This past Sunday we were having dinner at my in-laws house and since they like to spoil me rotten, they had my favorite on the table...Corn on the Cob! We learned when Michael was just a little guy how much he loved corn and it looks like another one of my kids has taken on my love of corn! It was so adorable! She could hardly let go. At first she needed her Grandma Weeden's help to hold it up to her mouth but once she got the hang of it she held that corn all by herself and kept chewing away. :-) That's my girl! :-)

Visit with Cousin Ryan!

While we were in California earlier this year Michael made a new best friend with his cousin Ryan. They are about 2 years apart in age but they play great together! They chased each other around the living room for a good 15 minutes without stopping, they played in my mom's backyard in the pool together, taking turns running and jumping in and going down the slide. Adam, not to be left out lifted both kids up and would spin round and round while both kids laughed and screamed their heads off! So fun! Ryan was even nice enough to let Michael ride his bike for a couple minutes. Before we left my mom's house I had taken Michael outside to the car and Ryan came running out saying that he wanted to say goodbye to Michael. When they caught sight of each other they ran straight at each other and had a big hug and waved "bye bye". I wish we lived closer but I'm so glad they had so much fun!

Riding Ryan's bike

Playing in the pool
Getting ready to spin

The running splash!

Getting ready to jump back out and do it again!

Uncle Brandon

Brandon got home from his mission last November and it didn't take long for him to become best buds with Michael. After Emma was born Brandon clearly fell in love with her (who wouldn't!?!) and he has been just wonderful with them both. He is heading out of State to college soon and we will miss him terribly and look forward to visits! We are very proud of him and wish him luck on his new adventure! Love ya bro!

Splash Pad Fun: Part 2

The other day Michael and I were telling Adam how much fun the splash pad is! Adam decided he wanted to come and spend a family afternoon at the splash pad after work one day. Michael was so excited to show his daddy how everything worked and all the fun stuff! Adam and I didn't plan on getting wet but we both ended up getting involved in a little water fight fun between the three of us while Emma looked on and laughed at us. So we both got soaked to the bone right before we all went grocery shopping. We were quite the sight! haha!

Michael swimming!

Michael made another accomplishment during swim lessons on Monday. The teacher puts these pool rings on the steps under water and has the kids dive to pick them up off the steps. Well on Monday his teacher put the ring all the way at the bottom of the pool and Michael dove down, grabbed the ring, and pushed his feet back up! I couldn't believe how great he did! He swallowed a little water but did great. He normally does great with his "airplane", where he lays on his back and floats for 10 seconds by himself. He is a pro at it really, but whenever he figures out he is being filmed he won't do it right. So anyways, check out the video! We were so excited! Also at the end of each lesson he gets time to float on a noodle. He loves it! He just grabs onto the noodle and floats all on his own. He thinks its great and of course can't stop talking about it all the way home. :-)

Emma Standing!

If anyone has been around Emma for any period of time they know that she is not a fan of laying down. She wants to be sitting up, or standing up. She has incredibly strong legs and can get herself pretty much whereever she wants to go during tummy time. I can never keep her in the same place. Today I was standing her up next to her jungle gym so she could play with the leafs like she enjoys and she grabbed onto a bar on either side of herself and was holding herself there all on her own! It was incredible! We were so proud of her and blown away! She was obviously very proud of herself as well. Michael also clapped cause I'm sure at some point or another he is the one who taught her to do it. He seems to teach her everything these days. :-) They are two peas in a pod!

Backyard Buddies!

For the past few weeks Adam has been getting our backyard prepared to plant grass. His goal is to have it done before Michael's birthday party, and so far he is right on track! He has been working so hard digging ditches, putting in sprinkler lines, getting electricians out to run lines to the backyard, and putting everything back together again to put the grass on top. We have had help from Adam's dad and brother, which we are very grateful for! However, I think Adam would agree that his biggest helper is little Michael. Michael so looks forward to his daddy coming home so they can head out to the backyard, just the two of them, with Michael's little yellow shovel and help daddy dig. He follows his daddy around and tries to do everything exactly the way his daddy does. It's so adorable to watch!!! I had to capture a few photos.

Splash Pad Fun!

Every Tuesday we have a play group that meets at the community splash pad. This past Tuesday had been really windy so Michael and Emma were the only two there. We didn't let that stop us from having fun! Emma rolled around on her blanket with some toys and watched her brother. Michael ran around through the water and then went exploring! He took his shovel and a large stick he found and he would go to one side of the splash pad, dig up the biggest rock he could find and run it back over to me. Each time we did a big show "Oh wow! That's the best rock I've ever seen! You're incredible!!! You must have worked so hard on that! Great job!" So he kept going back and would run back over to me with the biggest smile on his face to show me the next rock he had found. It was a fun morning! We all had trouble leaving. But lucky for us....we can do it again next week! :-)

Checking out the lay of the land

Getting wet

Searching for rocks

Smiling watching her brother

Running to me with the next rock he has found Smiling as he sets the newest rock down into his pile.

The rock stash and the stick used for digging

Visiting Papa

Awhile ago my grandpa was put into the hospital for an infection. He has since been moved to a rehab center to help him gain strength in his legs and arms so he can get around better. He is a great facility that Adam and I tease and say we would love to live there! It's truly like a resort! But of course Papa is sad and wants to be home with his family. We try to visit him as often as we can. Taking his only great grandbabies in for a visit lights up his world! Of course our two little ones tend to please the entire crowd of people as they gather for meals. Michael is a huge ham and just runs around making indian noises and Emma smiles at everyone as if they were her best friend.

Emma's Crib!

Emma has been sleeping in her crib for about a month now, but recently my mom finished her bedding. My mom and I picked out all the material we wanted to use for her bedding and bumper. I cut the squares and my mom quilted everything together. It turned out just beautiful! Tonight was her first night in the crib with her new bedding and she seems to really love it. Great job mom! Thank you!I know it was a true labor of love. :-)

We will soon have more photo's of Michael since his birthday is just weeks away! :-)

Emma is growing so fast!

Emma is already over 4 months old! I can't believe how fast time is flying! Michael and Emma are opposites, and yet they both love each other so much. Emma is very laid back and smiles constantly! We rarely ever hear her cry. She rolls all over the place and scoots backwards and army crawls forwards. She is constantly moving! I put her on her little quilted blanket in the front room while I change Michael's diaper and before I know it, she's off the blanket and halfway across the room trying to get to where we are. I look down at her and there she is smiling up at me with that knowing smile. :-) She is also a typical girl. She is already talking constantly. She will just go on and on and giggle and smile. It's the most adorable thing to sit and listen to all of her coo's and wonder what in the world she could be talking about. She is precious and we are enjoying every second of her! She will smile at anyone, but the person that gets her to laugh most often, simply by being in the same room, is her big brother Michael. He just has to look in her direction and she busts up laughing. I love the bond the two of them share. He wants to show her everything and teach her everything. He always makes sure that we don't leave without her. Too cute! How blessed we are to have such a beautiful loving family. I am so grateful that my kids have each other so close in age. They will be able to hold on to that for the rest of their lives and lean on each other. Sure there will be a period of time when they hate each other, but that will pass. :-)