self portraits

guard dog

guard dog?...she must just be on a break.

table food

emma taylor has loved eating cheerios and puffs for quite awhile now. however, i haven't had too much luck with other finger/table foods. i have tried giving her fruit (which is slippery and fun to play with) or vegetables with no luck. i could spoon feed her some of that stuff, but i had hoped she would eat it on her own. this week we had some success. emma taylor will eat sandwiches! first she ate chicken salad (without the onions and celery) and then a cream cheese with pea and spinach mash (i know it sounds gross but she ate it up!). she of course made a mess but at least now she is tolerating her bib which slightly protects her clothes. i am glad to finally be eating with her at lunch instead of feeding her and then eating by myself when she goes down for a nap. plus she is just too cute stuffing those little sandwiches in her mouth.

the great cloth diaper change

this weekend emma taylor and i participate in the great cloth diaper change. in locations around the world people gathered together to change their babies cloth diapers all at the same time in an attempt to break the guinness world record. in our location there were 61 people. it seems silly, but it was fun to get together with some other cloth diapering folk, and i got some free stuff including a wet bag! here is e.t. and me before the change!

puppy time

who knew abby would be so great with babies? she still gets super excited when company comes and will jump all over the adults, but its like she knows she has to be gently with kids and babies. that doesn't mean she will abstain from licking them, but she never jumps or gets too rough. every morning we have a little puppy time. as of late, emma taylor is infatuated with abby's collar and tags. i think they will be great friends as she grows up!

toothbrush

emma taylor is a bit ahead in terms of teeth. she already has eight, and the pediatrician said that she thinks that she is already getting her molars in now too. those definitely aren't supposed to come in until after one year. so we got her a training/teething toothbrush, and she loves it.

9 months

emma taylor is 9 months! she scoots around on her bottom to get what she wants. she is getting curious and getting into what she can reach (anything on the coffee table, the book shelf, and computer cords). i feel that we will need to better "baby proof" our house soon. she is clapping like a champ. she waves bye-bye and plays peek-a-boo. she likes to figure things out (for example, i will hook her toys together with rings or put things inside of something else and she will detach them or take them out). she dropped her third nap right after she turned 8 months and sleeps well for the 2 she still takes. she is a great eater and loves cheerios, puffs, and crackers, but as far as other finger foods (i.e. fruits and vegies) we have been unsuccessful. she does have 8 teeth though so she should be able to eat lots of table food when she decides to get over the textures. all together she is a super happy baby, and we are blessed.

9 month stats:

weight: 21 lbs 4 oz (86%)

height: 30 in (98%)

head: 18 in (90%)

{the only non-blurry "growing" picture with flamingo...she is too.wiggly}

{preoccupied with the grass of course}

{look mom, pine straw!}

{wassup}

{playing peek-a-boo...or at least trying}

{daddy time}

{don't hate. i know you wish you had these chunky legs}

reading material

emma taylor and i went to story time at the library last week. we sang songs, listened to books, and played with musical shakers and bubbles. she is starting to be interested in books so we grabbed a few at the library to take home. her favorite so far has definitely been Moo, Baa, La La La. i also snuck in my recent read...the hunger games...which i finished in, wait for it, three days. it might be a record.

being playful

emma taylor has become particularly playful in the last month. she likes to hide behind furniture. play peek-a-boo (the best she can) by covering her face (or almost covering her face) with her hands or clothes or blanket. she backs herself into corners, tries to put her toys in your mouth, and laughs A LOT. this is such a fun stage with her!

picnic in the park

last year we were able to attend bark to the park, but our priorities have changed a bit since then. i thought it would be fun to go picnic at the park and to let emma taylor watch all the dogs coming and going from the festival. she could probably care less even though she does LOVE dogs. we had fun anyways being outside together and enjoying the great weather.

best.rolls.ever.

{find the recipe here}

emma taylor is a finalist!

please got vote for emma taylor in the Chockababy Spring Photo Contest. on face book you need to first "like" Chockababy and then "like" her picture.

you can get a second vote in by comment on Chockababy's blog. vote for #8!

knockout roses

i love, LOVE our roses. i love that they came with the house we bought 4 years ago. i love that they are super low maintanence and that i can't kill them. i love that just in time for easter they explode with blooms. their name is appropriate: knockout roses.

window picture frame

remember these windows? we originally had four. i found a couple of friends to take three of them, and i kept the fourth to redo for our room redo. i had wanted to check off "artwork to hang above bed", but after finishing it we decided it was too small to hang on that wall. however, it looked good on our side wall so that's where it went. i painted the frames with FREE paint that i got from Ace Hardware (they were giving away free quarts a few weekends ago)! I originally had six 8x10 photos in the window panels, but that was a little too much us. i think three photos worked out perfectly.

it was hard to get a straight on view of the window due to the glare from the windows directly across from this wall so a side view will have to do.

here is a view of where it is hung in the room. just the right size!

easter basket

easter best

emma taylor dressed up  in her easter best to celebrate today. so glad we have friends who got us a "fancy" dress for her.

easter family pictures

we were glad to host a family get together for the lentz family at our house this weekend! we grilled out, had an easter egg hunt, and enjoyed the craziness of 5 kids and 10 adults stuffed into our little house. luckily the weather was amazing and much of our time was spent outside! we also took the opportunity to take some family photos.

{rachel, hannah, & caleb...we missed you joey!}

{jason, carrie, titus, & alexis}

{us}

{us again}

all five cousins

question: how many bad not good pictures can you get of five kids in one minute?

answer: a lot!

then and now

these two have sure changed a ton since they first met! just look at the difference!

then...

...and now!