Three new posts

I am caught up from Halloween to decorating the Christmas tree!

Christmas is in the air

As tradition has always been in my family we go get our Christmas Tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. So off we trekked. We found a nice place to go last year, but this year we were better prepared. Both girls with snow pants and all bundled up and the jogging stroller for the uneven terrain. I some how let Joel talk me into a blue spruce (I prefer a Douglas Fir) and it has been nothing short of a nightmare. The darn thing is so prickly it was tough to decorate. Then we went to Michigan to visit my grandparent's and left our neighbors the wrong key to the house, so it stopped drinking water. So with it full decorated...the next morning, before work Joel pulled it out of the stand far enough such that I could take the sawz-all and cut a notch out of it. The tree looks nice, but never again.

We have of course gone overboard as we always do at Christmas. Joel and I have been getting things here and there (me a new iPod, him a GPS, etc), so we will not be exchanging gifts on Christmas (and yes Joel if you read this, I mean it this year...I did not get you anything). After one toy shopping spree I told Emerson she had to pick out a few toys that we could give to boys and girls who aren't as lucky as we are. She did pretty good at picking things she doesn't play with anymore. I donated the toys along with car seats, strollers, etc we have grown out of to Child and Family Services of Buffalo. While it broke my heart to hear some of the stories, I was very happy to see that we filled their empty storage room to help their foster families.

We are looking forward to time at home over the next few weeks and a little break in Joel and my travel schedule. Last week we literally passed in the air...I don't know what we would do without my parent's here. Joel's travel picks up again at the beginning of next year, so I hope to keep mine to a minimum. I used to feel productive when I traveled...go to a plant, get your hands dirty, actually help someone. My last few trips have literally been for 2-4 hour meetings. Doesn't matter if the meeting is in Ohio or Colorado, still have to go. I knew a management role would be different, but I do miss some of the operator interaction. Anyway how cares about work. I have a job and I am darn happy about it, considering what people are dealing with every day.

With vacation coming up I hope to get my Christmas posts up before Emerson's third birthday:)

Brynn Turns One

We celebrated Brynn's birthday with a bang. The theme was the Peanuts. She loves her blanket at night so Linus seemed a good fit. Seems I am always a year ahead of the next popular kids theme...for Emerson we did Curious George and I couldn't find anything, this year it is every where, but no peanuts. As you can see the cake is custom (can't beat a local bakery) and the only other related thing I could find was a peanuts shirt for her. As you can see by the end of the day she was popped...she just gave up on the floor. Emerson had a good time playing with her friend Cameron. No matter how long it has been since they last saw each other they always play great.
Brynn was walking by her birthday, now if she would only start talking. I said the same thing about Emerson and once she started really be verbal around 18 months she hasn't stopped talking since.

A couple weeks after Brynn's birthday our babysitter asked as out to dinner where her and her boyfriend told us they were engaged. They also asked that Emerson be a flower girl in the wedding. I am bit hesitant, but the wedding isn't until next October so we have time to practice. We are happy for both of them and look forward to their big day. (As a disclaimer, our babysitter isn't the high school girl down the street, she is college graduate and her fiance is an engineer; We just got very lucky to find her!)

Halloween

Since I am so far behind, I'll do a few posts to catch up mostly with pictures.
I did my best on halloween, even taking the day off to celebrate at day care and be ready for tricker or treating. Emerson did our block with our friend's down the street. As you can see they did a great job waiting for her and including her. It was very nice.

I'm trying

It is no secret, for as much as I love fall, I don't like Halloween. With kids I have made the commitment that I will try. So here goes...we have already carved one pumpkin with Emerson last night, we will do another one on Thursday. We are taking Friday off, so we can participate in the parade and parties at day care. I bought a Halloween shirt. A costume is way over the edge, the shirt I can handle.
I am planning to take Emerson trick or treating with our friend's down the street.
I even had a special mom and Emerson night out a month ago to pick out a costume. Emerson is going to be a butterfly and she is incredibly cute in it. Brynn is going to be a monkey and will stay at home passing out candy with Joel and Grams and Bubba.

A couple weekends ago we had our family pictures taken and they came out great. The guy who took them is a friend of a friend and he did a great job. He came to our house and the park down the street from us to take pictures, so he really made every effort to make it easy for us.

Other than that, Emerson is doing great with potty training. Brynn is starting to walk. She has taken up to about 5 steps on her own. We are getting ready for her first birthday party next weekend. Wow does time fly. Seems like we were bringing her home from the hospital not to long ago.
We had a jumbo play set installed in the backyard and the girls have enjoyed the 3 days they have been able to play on it when it isn't raining or snowing.
OK time to get ready for bed.

These are a few of my favorite pics from our photo shoot

See a pattern

The pattern is lately I only get to sit down and do this once a month. Last week I was out of town in Colorado. This week I will be at Michigan Tech at the career fair. The MTU trip I was looking forward to until I found out last minute I had to go out of town last week...argh.

Here is the update...
- Emerson is potty trained!
Last Thursday I had enough (she could basically change her own diaper). So I told day care we were going for it...they are very supportive. And the first day she only had one accident. So we have been going for a solid week and this weekend, no accidents. The trick...we got a Fisher Price Active Gear Potty on the Go and she loves it. I saw a woman at the zoo with one and I had to ask her what it was. The weekend our friend's who's dad works at Fisher Price, picked us on up and that has done it. Seriously check it out...it folds up and fits into a bag, that doesn't look like it has anything to do with a potty. We take it to restaurants, on walks, everywhere.

- Brynn is walking with assistance. She can walk behind her little hippo and can move from couch to table, etc.

- We are in full swing college football Saturday. We stop what we are doing for Penn State games.

- We went apple picking with our friend's Adam and Jill and their daughter Madelyn on Saturday. That is always fun.

Time to finish laundry and finish packing.

Taking a break

We are currently on vacation. Today we had a great day at Marineland in Canada. Emerson loved the dolphins, so all of the build up we had with commercials for months was worth it.

We are doing the staycation this year. The thought of packing up two kids and leaving our house seemed like an outrageous task when neither of them would remember where we went. So we are staying put and doing things we always say we are going to do here and never have time to.

Tomorrow is the zoo. We are zoo members so we do that often, but they just opened a new rain forest exhibit today, so there is a special occasion. Friday is the Strong Museum of Play (an interactive children's museum about an hour away).

A few other updates....last weekend Joel and I went to one of his Penn State friend's weddings. It is always nice to see that whole group and we had a great time. It was also our first night away (more than 30 mins away) from the girls and we all survived. Of course they were spoiled rotten, but I suppose that is what the grandparent's are for.

We went to the Buffalo Wing Fest 2 weekends ago. There is no doubt that Emerson was born in the Buffalo city limits, she loves wings. Buffalo has a lot of festivals in the summer and this is the first time we have been to the wing fest and I have to say I was impressed on how well it was organized.

We had two pine trees cut down two weeks ago. They were on the driveway side of the house and bottom line they were ruining our cars with sap. Nothing could be done, but to cut them down. Those who are worried about the impact on our carbon footprint...we had already planted a cherry tree this spring and we intend to plant one more (non-sapping) tree in between the two we cut down.

Joel and I were finally both home all week last week, and this week of course since we are on vacation. Joel is suppose to be gone again next week, but Hurricane Ike may put a damper on those plans, since it and he are both heading to Houston.

We are looking forward to some college football on Saturday and hopefully some apple picking. We will also be starting our fall classes in a few weeks. Music Together for both of the girls and swim lessons for Emerson. Just when you think things might slow down...ha what fun would that be.

Well I better get to bed...Brynn has been having some issues sleeping through the night lately. I'm thinking it might be teeth (fever, running nose, very cranky) so I need to rest up before the zoo;)

Almost a month....

since my last post. We have been too busy.
Here is the list in no particular order:
- Joel had a surprise 30th b-day party for me at my parent's. I was surprised, it was very nice.
- In the last 3 weeks Joel and I have been home one night at the same time (not including weekends). Either him traveling or me, sometimes both in the same week. I am off to Texas again tomorrow (found that out on Friday).
- We celebrated our 5th anniversary on Friday (our anniversary is next Saturday, but you do what you can when you have time.) My parent's took the girls over night...this was our first night away from them, it was different, but good.
- We are looking forward to a three day weekend and then the following week we are taking our summer vacation. Yeah!
- We have been enjoying the many festivals in Buffalo over the summer. We will be making our first trip to the wing fest next weekend.
- Emerson and Brynn are interacting a lot more. If we could just get Emerson to call her Brynn instead of baby we would be good. Could be worse right?

Alright off to finish packing.
Pictures are from the Lewiston Art Festival. The fish were done by local high school students. They were very cool.

Busy...

Too long in between posts, but the summer gets so busy, so quick. I guess that's what happens when you only get a few months outside with warm weather.

A few updates:
Emerson
- We are back on track with the potty. She is starting to tell us before she goes and she is trying to go when all the other kids at school go. She definitely understands the concept. So we are going for big girl underwear this weekend...again.
- We are in the why phase...everything is why.
- There is a commercial for a Marine Land (like Sea World) on TV and she remembers that we said we would take her there. So every day she says she wants to go there. We are taking vacation in September and yes we are going there.
- She is being eco frinedly by filling up her Dora power wheel with grass. She puts grass in gas cap. Grass, gas all the same to her.
- She can recite her whole name, Emerson Grace Harbert Bacak (no hyphon, just two middle names)


Brynn
- There is no stopping her moving. Crawling every where! She is already pulling herself up on everything. 8 months, really? What happened to just laying around.
- She is getting a few more teeth, we are up to 4 and I think a few more are coming.
- We have mastered cherrios and are starting solid foods. So far so good.

I recently aquired a double jogging stroller from some friends who were moving and it is wonderful. Makes our weekend morning walks that much more enjoyable. I think Emerson likes sitting next to Brynn better than behind her. When we go up and down hills, she says "she has to hold on to her baby" and holds the top of her head.

My grandparent's (my mom's parent's) and her brother, made the trip to Buffalo last week for a few days. It was great for them to see Emerson and Brynn in action.

We were very lucky to meet Sawyer and visit with Liz and Zac during their stay in Buffalo. Brynn and Sawyer got along just great. Sawyer is a very sweet little man and is the spitting image of his dad.

Off to bed. We have had some problems lately with Emerson going to sleep in her bed. So that means going to be a little earlier and laying with her. While it can be challenging when I want to get something done, I don't mind the cuddling with her. Most of the time she can sit still for 10 seconds, so these are times I really enjoy.

Check out my Slide Show!

Things I know...

1) We love that my parent's (Bubba and Grams) are here for good.

2) Emerson loves the water (pool, hose, puddle, doesn't matter, she wants in it)

3) Brynn is getting tooth #3 (she has been a trooper)

4) Emerson does not like fireworks (well maybe she would have, but when they started going off at the house next to my parent's it scared her half to death)

5) It was a beautiful weekend and I forgot how much I loved having access to a pool (thank you mom and dad)

6) I love climbing trees, it reminds me of being a kid (there was no low hanging fruit when we went cherry picking, so when there are no ladders and your husband is a afraid of heights, what is one to do...?)

7) No one around here will admit to liking country music, but nothing reminds me of the dorms, the house, and good times then singing along to some of these songs.

8) Brynn is doing a one legged crawl (very cute)

9) I am lucky

Hope everyone had a great LONG weekend.

Help!

Well potty training didn't go well.
After her shower we put on the Dora panties and with in 30 mins she had pooped and peed in two pair of pants been showered 3 times and we determined she wasn't ready. Luckily we never even made it out of the bathroom. I thought maybe after the poop she would get the concept, but the pee on the floor indicated she didn't.

So I am seeking advice...
How do you know they are ready? I don't want to force her, but I do want to give her a gentle push.

Any ideas on how to drive home the idea that you need to tell us before you have to g so we can put you on the potty.

And seriously any other tips (or tricks) anyone has. I'll listen to it all.
Thanks!

Father's Day

Of course I am a little late on this, but what else is knew these days.
We had a nice father's day and my dad was actually here too for a change.

Both their (Joel and my dad) present was tickets to the baseball game. We have a AAA team, the Buffalo Bison's and they are always fun to go to.
You may say what the heck...you get a ring, he gets baseball tickets...his last father's day present was a tattoo of the design on our wedding bands with the girls names on it. Any of you who know about tattoos, it wasn't a cheap one. (I know, I know.. most people don't believe he has 5 tattoos until they see them either.)

I thought I would give a few kid updates since I seem to ramble on about random happenings most of the time...
Emerson:
We are going to attempt official potty training this weekend. She has been going on the potty in the morning and she will try at school. So we are going to give the Dora underwear a go and see how she does. The goal is by Monday there are no more diapers. So really this is all we are doing this weekend.

We are in a bit of the terrible twos. She doesn't listen or at least only listens when she wants to. I must say the same thing 50 times a day. Luckily she does respond to timeouts and to treats and stories being taken away.

Every day I am blown away by how smart she is. This is a blessing and a curse as I attribute her intelligence to her also being a stinker.

Brynn:
She is of course eating well, as you can tell from the pictures. She just mastered picking up puffs and putting them in her mouth. We were out to dinner on Saturday and to keep her occupied, I gave her some puffs, figuring they would end up on the floor, but putting them there would be amusing. Next thing we know she is grabbing them and putting them in her mouth. Didn't take her long to figure that one out.

She can sit up on her own for an extended period of time. I think she often prefers to sit up because she can see what is going on.

She is rocking on her knees, so we expect crawling any day now.

She will wave when she sees someone come in the room. Not sure if this is a by-product of being happy and excited, but it is a wave none the less.

It is Friday, Joel is home and I can almost taste again (how do you get a nasty cold when it is 90 degrees out)
Everyone have a good weekend.

Retirement

No I'm not the one retiring, I wish.

Both my Mom and Dad are retiring today!
My Mom is retiring from the Royal Oak school district after 20 years of service.
My Dad is retiring from Display Mfg, a business he has worked at his whole life (started by his Dad and then bought by my Dad and his brother).
Yeah for them, I'm so proud. (Is this how they felt when I got a job?)

They are coming to NY tomorrow to get the rest of their stuff in order, heading home to pack up the final stuff next Thursday and the moving van comes on the 20th.

Emerson and Brynn will be very excited to see Bubba and Grams a lot more.
Emerson has a few fake cell phones and every night before her bath, she comes up stairs and grabs one and pretends she is talking to Bubba and Grams. Sometimes it sounds so real I have to make sure she didn't grab my cell phone. I'm sure she will be very happy to see them instead of talking on the phone.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's!

The more to come

OK I said more to come and it only took me two weeks to get to it.

First things first...my mother's day present. I did not post this in my mother's day post because some time my mom reads the blog and they were coming the next weekend so I wanted to show her my gift in person. Below is what my wonderful husband surprised me with.

Emerson is aquamarine and Brynn is citron. (He kept asking why I didn't post this...he is proud.)

My parent's are moving here in two weeks, they moved up the date and we couldn't happier.

Emerson had a croup attack last Sunday night. Basically woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't breathe. That was a lot of fun. But a call to the doctor and steaming up the bathroom got us through that. Scared the crap out of us. I was ready to tell Joel just take her to the ER.

Music class is winding down and softball is winding up. Joel has been great and has volunteered to watch the girls so I can play (we play on a co-ed team). Although over the last three years I have only played parts of seasons because I have been pregnant of coming back from maternity leave.

Already looking forward to the weekend and what I hope is a relatively cool weekend.

Love this picture, but it does highlight Brynn's large ears..Emerson had them too, luckily her hair covers them now;)

3 day weekends

For a change this 3 day weekend did not mean do a bigger project.

This really was a relaxing weekend.

Friday Joel and I went out for dinner alone. We love our baby sitter. We also love that she picked up both the girls from day care on Wednesday and took them home so Joel and I could play softball. Normally she would bring them to the game, but it was 40 degrees and rainy, yuck (but we won).

Saturday

Walk to Starbucks

On our way back from Starbucks we went to our Farmers Market

Played outside (and did some yard work)

Ate dinner outside

We had one issue with Emerson and running down the driveway and not stopping when you tell her too. So after dinner we practiced for awhile...of course I thought of this after we had changed her diaper for bed.

Sunday

Walk to Starbucks

Went to a new park (Emerson loved the slides and tunnel)

Brynn had fun too.Catch up on house work while the girls nap.

Make beer can chicken, which Emerson proceeded to devour.

I finally got the iPod back working on our computer and then we had a dance party on our deck...sorry no pictures of that it was getting dark;) Emerson likes to dance like a dinosaur, Brynn fell asleep on Joel's shoulder.

All was well until bed time. Brynn is getting her first tooth and she is not happy. So she ended up in our bed about 11:00. Then about 1:00AM we heard a helicopter go over our house, really loud and it wasn't 5 mintutes later Emerson was crying (scared me too). So I slept in her bed with her and Joel slept with Brynn. They both are all over, so it isn't really sleeping with them it is more like protecting your face.

Monday

We did not get in the car once (that was really nice)

Walk to Starbucks (See a theme, coffee first then play)
Went to see duckies

Early nap

Walk to parade

More to come something weird is going on with this post...

Mother's Day

Since my last post we have all managed to stay healthy. No 'come pick your kid up from day care' calls which is always a nice break.


We had a very nice weekend. Saturday we took our walk to Starbucks then we stop by the waterfall and park to see the duckies. Emerson looks forward to this all week and we are happy to oblige. Plus the park is a 5 minute walk from our house, so it is quite convenient. We played outside and did a little bit of yard work because it was a beautiful day.


Sunday we went to Panera for breakfast. Always a good place for a quick breakfast and a place were Emerson is always good. We ran a few errands and did some more work outside (Joel had to fix all the gutter downspouts. We never quite know what the guy who lived here before did with some stuff...he nicely piped the gutters in to the ground, but we can't figure out where they drain and no it isn't the sewer drain we already tested that, so now they just drain on the ground away from the house. ) Then we all got cleaned up and went to dinner at our favorite local restaurant, Glen Park Tavern. This is the place that we have gotten to know everyone over the years...my favorite story is...we were there on a Saturday with Emerson a year or so ago and Emerson proceeded to get sick. I mean throw up all over me and the booth. They immediately swooped in with little fan fare, cleaned us up, sent us out the door and the owner was at our house 15 minutes later with our dinner and beers (pint glasses covered with saran wrap) in hand. We had just ordered when this happened. Now that is something that will keep us coming back forever.

I hope all the other mom's out there had a great mother's day as well.

Tomorrow is Brynn's 6 month appointment. This time I have vowed that I will remember to bring Tylenol, so when we drop her off at day care she doesn't scream all day. She does good with the shots, but Emerson never cried during any part of it, so I have been forgetting the Tylenol. Brynn is fine while they are giving her the shots, but her legs really bother her afterwords.

PS GO WINGS

Jinxed

I jinxed myself with my last blog. Yesterday I picked the girls up from day care and someone had been sent home from the infant room with hand, foot, and mouth disease. Sounds worse than it is. They get little blisters on their hands, feet and mouth, and sometimes a fever. Nothing you can do about it, but let it run its course. I also can't complain because when Emerson was in the infant room...she was the one who brought it in. Plus I know the parent who's kid it is probably feels horrible, they don't need to be thinking other parent's are mad too.

So far we are good, but I dread the call from day care telling me that one of them is sick. Joel comes home this afternoon, so if something does happen it won't be as bad with another set of hands.

Happy May!

The calm...

I never know lately if it is the calm before the storm, but things seem rather uneventful this week.

We had a great weekend with my parent's. Only two more months and they will be here permanently. I think it will take a bit of adjustment on both of our parts...they are leaving a house they have lived in for 21 years and a city they have lived in their whole lives. They are moving 30 minutes away from me...I haven't lived any closer than 4 hours away (in a different state) in 12 years. So it is going to be changes all around. But to see them with the girl's on a regular basis will be worth it all.

Joel is out of town again. The last three weeks we have been trading off traveling, so hopefully we can stay put for the next week or so after this. Emerson was really good this morning which always makes things that much easier. She was so cute, I wished I had a camera...this morning Brynn was laying on our bed on her stomach and Emerson went over to look at her and just kept saying 'I love you baby, I love you baby' and Brynn was smiling away and laughing...it was so darn cute.

Hopefully Emerson's goodness will carry over to tonight when I attempt to take both of them to music class by myself. If not, we will all be going to bed when we get home;)

Happy belated birthday to Michelle! You have two very sweet little presents;)

Also does anyone have any recommendations on a video monitor? We had one, but it died...it was a very nice gift from some friends, but it has been slowly dying. I am looking for one with night vision and some pretty good resolution. Brynn's bedroom is downstairs, so I like to be able to see what she is doing from upstairs. If anyone knows of one with two camera positions that would be great too.

Does it ever slow down?

I realize now that until these two peanuts grow up and move out it will never slow down...
Lets recount the last week:
Monday - Rather uneventful

Tuesday - Long day of meetings other than that all is well. Joel met with a landscaper to have some work done around our deck. Yes I have convinced him that it is at least worth getting a few prices to see how much it is to do some stuff instead of doing the weekend warrior routine. We have done everything ourselves at this house, including rebuilding and expanding the deck last year. With two kids and two full time jobs I want to spend family time on the weekend, which is not defined as hoping they stay content long enough that we can dig up grass, install rocks, plant, etc...

Wednesday - Joel leaves for Alabama and I have to take Emerson to the pediatric ophthamologist after lunch. (She kept complaining about her eye hurting, so better safe than sorry.) So after 3 hours there (over 2 hours of it waiting, 30 mins leaving after she had some drops and maybe 20 mins with the doctor) she is fine. I was starting to get sick, so called the babysitter on my way home from the doctor to come help me get dinner ready and get the girls in bed. (That nearly saved my life that day. I love our babysitter.)

Thursday - I plan to go into work late because I have a meeting with the west coast at 4:00 and don't want to be rushing to get out at 5:00. That worked out quite well. I pick the girls up from day care and notice Emerson has a pretty bad cough (deep cough). I keep checking her temp through out the night and she seems fine, but tired.

Friday - Emerson is still coughing in the morning, but no temp and seems her normal self. I go to work, Joel gets home around 11:00. We plan on going some where to eat dinner outside it is so nice out. I go out to lunch with a supplier (lunch takes for ever) about 2:00 day care calls, Emerson has a fever of 103. I call Joel tell him to go pick her and Brynn up and I am calling the doctor. Get them in for an appointment at 3:00. I wanted to take Brynn too because she has been coughing for awhile, but we think it is just allergies. But with her having RSV when she was 2 months, we have to be extra careful with anything related to her breathing. Both girls get seen right away and the doctor sends Emerson for a chest x-ray immediately as he is concerned that she might have pneumonia. Oh dear lord...I am trying to stay calm, telling her that they are going to take pictures of her insides. We get to the imaging place (didn't have to go to the hospital) Joel takes her in for the x-ray and all I can hear is screaming....they strap her down to a board and Joel has to leave the room. But within minutes they come out and tell us it is negative. Doctor says it is just a viral thing and she'll be fine. Big sigh of relief. On the other hand he wants to see Brynn again because he is worried about her having bad allergies, asthma, etc.
Friday night we take it easy and put together some of Emerson's new bedroom furniture. She thinks it is great and loves her new chair in her room.

Saturday - We plan on no errands and just spending time together. We get up and take our weekend walk to Starbucks. Stop by Glen Falls (waterfall and park) so Emerson can see the water and the ducky's. It is gorgeous. Come home and hang out outside for awhile. Some where midway through the day Brynn starts getting a bit crabby and Joel starts getting frustrated. We take Emerson to the park after dinner and then we are all ready for bed.

Sunday - The crazy day of running errands. My mom had bought Brynn a shorts and t-shirts from Target, but they were 6 month and she is a porker, so I knew that wasn't going to fit. So today I exchanged the stuff for 9 month. Came home tried it on her...not even close. I need to return it again for 12 month stuff. It isn't like she is off the growth charts or something. Is Target making their clothes small these days? The day is over and after 8 loads of laundry, I am going to bed.

Another manic Monday...maybe, but at least I get to sit down!
Music class starts again on Tuesday....if anyone has Music Together classes in their area, I highly recommend it. It is a national program with private instructors with lots of training.
Bummer is I have to go out of town this week. Only for two days (one night) Wednesday and Thursday, so not too bad. Plus my parent's will be here on Thursday to pick the girls up and get dinner ready so Joel only has one night by himself.
And repeat.....

Chimney Get Fixed....

This is Emerson's new favorite saying instead of "chimney ut oh" or "chimney fall down." Yes the chimney has been fixed. We have our very small and cute 3 foot chimney, just high enough to vent our new gas insert. We turned that thing on Saturday and it kicks out the heat. I am just happy to have it done. Next we need to set up a time to have our gutters fixed and I think we are all set....oh we need to fill the 2 foot deep whole in the yard from where the cap landed. Nothing a little dirt won't fix.

I spent Saturday cleaning out our attic with bleach, then pulling back insulation and putting in rafter vents. While doing this I purged anything that could hold mold and put everything else in Tupperware containers. Yes it was a lot of fun. After one day the attic is dry, doesn't smell and makes me feel a whole lot better. Joel watched the girls all day and said he didn't know which was more difficult (usually I am the one watching the girls and he is doing the project).

For those who know Liz and Zac Owens they had a little boy (Sawyer Westbrook) on 3/28. Everyone is doing good. I am trying to get Liz to start a blog, so hopefully this will help.

Good luck to Michelle and Kara this week. Can't wait to see pictures of your new little ones!

Happy Spring
(I can't wait to go home from work and play outside with Emerson.)

Birthday Pics & things I forget

Emerson in the morning when she first saw the Dora Jeep

Emerson and Cameron
Cake

She is holding the balloons through the tunnel...big Nemo doesn't fit.

It was cold, but sunny so we went outside, somehow the car only works outside.

Emer's red Jeep, Dad's red Jeep.

As my short term memory grows shorter, I forgot that Emerson also had her first haircut on her birthday. Just a little trim to get her used to the idea of a haircut. She did good, resisted a little at first, but no screaming (which means it was a success).

Also as a side note, if you know anyone looking for a house in Royal Oak (MI) please let me know. My parent's house is for sale and would be perfect for a young couple or family. Features include a totally open first floor kitchen, dinning room, living room; across the street from school and park, lot and a half (not common in Royal Oak), inground pool (does not take up the whole yard, there is still a lot of grass)...

Happy Birthday Emerson / Happy Easter

Emerson turned 2 on Friday. I am still having a hard time getting that through my head a bit. For her birthday Joel and I had the day off and only Brynn went to day care, so it is all Emerson time. We went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time in the morning. It took her awhile to warm up, but she did good. She doesn't like any of the large stuffed creatures (including Santa and the Easter Bunny). Based on Friday's experience we are holding off on Disney World for another year. Anyway we did that, then went to pick out balloons for her party on Saturday. Picked up lunch and then went up to my parent's new house. We were just about to leave when Emerson decided to take a header into one of their chairs. So when I do get photos posted you will notice the nice line down her face. Emerson is the type of kid that I know in the future when we have anything planned she is going to do something like that. Right now I am thinking we plan a trip to Disney, she breaks an arm or a leg the day before we go.
Saturday we had a little party for her. That morning she got her Dora Jeep, well needless to say that was the only gift she needed. Luckily I told everyone invited that under no circumstance would gifts be accepted. That went over well except for our neighbors...their daughters (5 and 7) could not understand why they couldn't get Emerson a gift. They got her cards and that was very cute. She did great with her party and with all of the kids (7 kids from 4 weeks to 7 years) there was no fighting or crying.
Sunday we just relaxed. It sort of stunk this year with Easter so close to Emerson's b-day. I put more work into the b-day than Easter, so there is always next year. It was really nice today, we did not have to run any errands or anything...I want more Sunday's like that.
I have to go out of town Tuesday - Thursday for the first time since Brynn has been born...yuck. I am traveling with one of the guys who works for me, so at least I won't be alone, but I know the minute I get to the airport I will be a mess. My parent's are here until Wednesday so they can help Joel out and he'll only have one night alone. Joel was out of town last week and I made it through Brynn getting an ear infection, so I think he can handle it.
I'll post pictures of Emerson's b-day later this week when I get them off the camera.

Here we go again

Another Sunday and to follow is another Monday...
We had a busy, fun, and some what annoying weekend, is that possible all at the same time you may ask?
Friday we stayed at home for dinner, watched the hockey game and had a relatively low key evening. Earlier that day I took of work early to go to day care because it was Emerson's teacher's last day. It was very sad, I'm glad she is too young to know the difference. Plus this was the teacher that was teaching the class Spanish (she is getting her masters degree in secondary education and Spanish, hence the reason she had to quit). So we asked her if she had time if she would come over and continue the Spanish lessons with Emerson. She gave us her phone number so hopefully she'll have some time.
Saturday morning we went to the Buffalo Zoo for breakfast with the Easter Bunny. We went with our friend's the Rogan's who have a son (Cameron) who is 3 months older than Emerson, so they play great together and look forward to seeing each other. Emerson was petrified of the Easter Bunny (there will be no pictures of that, I'm not in to forcing her to do that). Cameron wasn't a big fan either so that worked out good...the Easter Bunny just kept his distance from our table. After the breakfast we walked around the zoo and saw the animals, I love the zoo it is fun for us and fun for the kids.
Then we headed down to another chimney and fireplace contractor to take a look at their gas inserts. Exactly the same as the other guy. So the contractor we had been working with all along is essentially trying to screw us. He is charging us for time already spent...he came to our house and took some measurements and wrote up a proposal...some how that cost $1200, isn't that the cost of doing business? He is unwavering in his cost even though Joel has called him out on everything. If we go with him we will have to pay money out of our pocket above what the insurance company has given us and that isn't going to happen. So I guess right now we are going with his competitor who will work within the money from the insurance company.
I went and ordered Emerson's birthday cake from a local desert shop and picked up a few other treats;) Then we went out for dinner, both girls were very good, came home and I was ready for bed.
Sunday we went to the grocery store, as we do every week. Then we took a load of stuff out to my parent's new house. They have stuff that they order delivered to our house, so the Suburban was full! Home again to get ready for the week (laundry, clean-up, etc.). Had dinner, then some friend's came over to see Brynn. So again I am ready to go back to work to sit down. Joel is out of town this week, so it may be a bit hectic. I may have to call in the babysitter one night to help me out. (We have the best baby sitter in the world and she is always willing to come over and give me a hand.)

Brynn at Day Care

Ready to go see the Easter Bunny. Emerson has some new shoes on...they have holes in them they are more like sandals, but she would not take them off...at least she was wearing socks.

Too Cute

The fam

Brynn and the Easter Bunny (she didn't mind;)

Emerson and Cameron