costume

my friend vanessa has a sewing blog and once in awhile she will get to review products. i was super excited when she told me that she was getting to review some costumes from party city and that we could pick one out for free! that's where emma taylor got her peacock costume that she will be wearing this halloween. go check it out here.

pumpkin carving

this weekend we had some friends over to carve pumpkins! of course we have no evidence of that because i am really bad at making sure i take pictures. all we have is pictures of emma taylor and our pumpkin. everyone else's was cute too. i promise.

also check out our 2010 and 2011 pumpkin carving.

dolls

emma taylor shows a lot of interest in the few stuffed animals and dolls that she has. she likes to hug and kiss them. it's really adorable and funny. we also got out her old bouncy seat and its proven to be just as fun as the first time. she sits in it. her dolls sit in it. i am excited to see her grow in imaginary play.

boo at the zoo

friday night we went with my sisters, their kids, and my parents to boo at the zoo! my sisters have gone the past two years but this was my first. although e.t. i think was a bit young she was very entertained by all the people dressed up in costumes. it might have actually worked out better that she is too young because glen and i got all her candy! here are a couple of pics. we still haven't replaced our fancy camera so bear with me and my not awesome quality pics.

 

 

she didn't want to wear the peacock hat so it doubled as her trick or treat basket.

hannah and emma taylor

15 month stats

 

height: 32.5 inches (95%)

weight: 25 lb 10 oz (85%)

head circumfrence: 19 in (96%)

 

we went to the dr. today for e.t.'s 15 month check up. it was quite the appointment. we saw a new doctor because ours moved out of state. the appt. was schedule right when her nap was supposed to start, and e.t. is catching on to the whole go to the doctor = get a few shots thing. she also had a small ear infection so woohoo for not having to go in for another sick visit, and boo because she has an ear infection.

 

on another note, the dr. is not concerned that emma taylor is still not walking independently. the fact that she is walking well with assistance is enough for right now. he was however concerned with how she was walking. we will have an appointment with an orthopedic dr. in a few weeks to determine if she just needs some physical therapy or if there is a bigger problem. she walks with her feet turned completely out and that might point to a problem with the alignment of her leg bones. hopefully it can be treated with physical therapy.

 

sorry no pictures today. emma taylor was pretty worn out from all her shots!



wordless wednesday

apple pie

this apple pie was amazing...if i were you i would try it. you can even use pre-made pie crust to make it easier, and if i were you i would throw in a couple tablespoons of rum. it won't dissappoint!

 

bucket hat

this entertained for a good 15 minutes straight!

 

trial and error

the title should be trial and error and then try again. for a couple weeks emma taylor had been having such a hard time going down for her morning nap, afternoon nap, and at bedtime. i concluded that she didn't need that much sleep anymore and therefore didn't need 2 naps. this led me to take away the first nap and try to put her down at 1 pm. this was 1 hour earlier than she had been going down. why in the world was i trying to keep her up until 1 pm? i had thought that cutting out morning nap meant only having a true afternoon nap which meant 1:00. i did this for a week. she was still unhappy at her afternoon nap and still had a hard time going to bed. i concluded that she was overtired once she finally got to nap and being overtired makes EVERYTHING harder. so after a week of having a failing schedule i decided to go against what i thought was the "right" schedule and just let her sleep in the middle of the day before she got too tired. of course now she sleeps right through lunch time so she gets a snack before nap and then eats a late lunch. what did i learn? don't try todo the "right" thing. do what works for you and your child. if it doesn't work the first time change your plan and try again.

first day of the failing nap schedule...she fell asleep while eating lunch...

 



zoo with the cousins

we are LOVING our zoo membership. we especially love that we have guest passes. h came with her boys to the zoo with us one morning on their way to augusta. here's a couple of pics h got for us.

15 months

emma taylor is 15 months! we are working on adjusting her schedule to one nap. she is working on saying more. she mimics words we say once in awhile but mostly still jabbers on in her own little language that no one else understands. she walks well while holding your hand but still doesn't have the confidence to walk more than 3 steps by herself. she is a good eater but when she knows that something better is coming along she won't eat another pea, green bean, you fill in the blank. she still loves books. she loves wearing necklaces and scarves and bags. she hates when anyone says goodbye and kisses everything.

 

loves reading in daddy's lap...

 

 

wants to get up on the couch, chair, or bed every chance she gets...

 

wants to go everywhere...with you in tow of course...

 

loves shoes and other accessories...

riding

i think we may have a future roller coaster rider. she can actually get going pretty fast down our little sidewalk especially when we taught her to pull her feet up.

 

uh oh

i came home from church on wednesday night and glen tells me how his night went with emma taylor. it went something like this...

"she had the biggest poop ever. no really the biggest i have ever seen. it was everywhere. it was on the floor, on the table, on my shirt and my sock."

all i can say is i have the best husband ever and how it got on everything i am not sure. thanks honey for taking care of e.t. especially during these times. i am glad i wasn't here to experience the biggest poop ever but no worries-- somehow i can still smell it as i sit here 2 hours later in our living room...

women's fall retreat

so i went on our church's women's fall retreat this past weekend. this was the longest i have ever had to leave emma taylor. getting ready to leave friday afternoon i really had to fight back tears. i thought to myself who is this person. generally, i am not very emotional and what did i have to be worried about. emma taylor is such an easy baby. she would be fine. she doesn't have any attachment issues and somehow the tables have been turned and i am the one having the issues. motherhood really does change you. and thank goodness it does because you do have a little person to take care of.

i am so glad that i went. i proved to myself that i could handle. she could handle it. and nobody would be any worse off. i have not had much uninterupted hang out time with friends since i had e.t. and i know seasons of life change but every once in awhile i really think that you need to be renewed.

the speaker tara barthel was very entertaining, down to earth, and in one word real. i finally had sometime to really slow down and think. i realized some of my fears (which was the topic) and was able to really understand how to fight them. i got to talk openly and honestly with friends and it was refreshing. besides the conference part we were at the beach in october and it felt awesome. i am so thankful for great weather, great friends, and time away.

i'm gonna miss this face

 

i am very fortunate to be able to go on a women's retreat with my church this weekend especially considering that glen is studying for a big engineering test that he is taking at the end of october. luckily, glen's mom is going to come for the day Saturday so glen can study a bit. i am excited to go and equally nervous about leaving emma taylor. this will be the longest time i have been away from her, and only the second time away overnight. does it ever get easier to leave your baby? i know she will do great...so let's hope that i will do great also.

fall + tiny toms

mums, cool breezes, open windows, pumpkins, and apples. i LOVE fall. we have been enjoying this cooler weather and being outside without sweating. cooler weather also means that emma taylor is going to start to have to wear shoes. i haven't really made her wear them much because she hasn't been walking, but now we are going to have to get used to them. she slips around in the soft sole shoes so we went and got some new ones. a baby in tiny toms might be the cutest thing ever!

pumpkin hat

my sister's mother-in-law tina is a great knitter. she made emma taylor this hat when she was born and recently sent us this pumpkin hat! it is precious. maybe i need to learn to knit?

 

showing off her new hat...

 

 

she loves to take off the hat and then try to put it back on herself (which she isn't quite successful at). you can see the cute detail of the hat below.

 

 

nana

thanks for coming to visit us, nana! we will see you again this weekend!