Been a while...

Well I cannot believe June is almost over. I honestly couldn't tell you where the month went. I feel like I blink and the day is gone. I can say one thing for sure, keeping busy with Emma and everything else going on sure does make this 2nd pregnancy fly by. I can't believe I'm already at 22 weeks. Halloween will be here before we know it. Am I ready for October 31? No...

Well this month we finally moved to a house, and we absolutely love it. We moved last weekend, so we're still settling in, but there is so much room for Emma to run around. She loves it as much as we do. We have a great size yard that I'm looking forward to landscaping and setting up with Emma's pool, slide, etc...I'm also excited about hanging a swing in the front yard. It may not seem like much, but these are the little things that aren't possible when living in a townhouse. We are also 2 blocks away from the neighborhood park. Too bad the heat in Houston has been sweltering. The park will be reserved for early morning and early evening fun.

Here are some ways we have been trying to keep cool this summer...

Little nudie in the pool.

Paying a little visit to the fishies at the pet store. She loved it.

One of my all time favorite past times... shopping at Target :)

Riding the carousel at Memorial City Mall. She wasn't too sure of it at first, but then she couldn't get enough. We rode it 3 times.



Again, mom? Again????


My mom's cousin and his wife from Australia meeting Emma for the first time. This was their first trip to the States. The last time I saw them was in '99 when I visited the whole family in Sydney.

So Evan saw this cushion being removed to get to the crumbs, and guess what he did soon after! It took all his might, but he got that cushion off the chair!

Troublemakers.

...and this chair was just right...


Snuggling with my cousin.


I love this picture of Emma and her grandpa.


Taking some silly pics on our 3rd anniversary. I cannot believe it's already been 3 years!






Our happy little family of 3... on our next anniversary, a family of 4!

Emma LOVING the rice and peas at our anniversary dinner at India's. Yum!



I would also like to wish my cousin, Anna, a very happy and blessed birthday. Her husband, Tim, threw her a wonderful surprise birthday party earlier this month. A fun time was had by all...

And now it begins...

As a mom you try to postpone any bad habits for as long as possible. No junk food (there's plenty of time for that later), not too many sweets (being related to me I would like to control sugar intake for as long as possible, seeing as how I am a sugar addict), and especially, not too much TV. I was worried about TV at first, and I still am, to a point. I don't sit Emma in front of the TV for hours on end or anything like that, but she really does enjoy her morning PBS cartoons (Syd the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, Sesame Street). She's only 13 months old, but when I turn on any of those shows, she gets excited. I decided to bring her chair downstairs from her bedroom. It's a green chair with her name monogrammed on it that my mom got for her for Christmas. I never thought she'd actually want to use it at this age, but she started sitting in it in her room, and she LOVES sitting in it when she is watching her shows... I mean look at this picture. Does she not look like she is older than 13 months???




There are alot of things that make me realize that she is no longer a baby. She hasn't been for a long while. But she seems to be growing up a such a fast pace, it's a little too fast for me. I couldn't tell you how many times people have told me "the time flies by, enjoy every minute, they'll be in school before you know it". Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. I remember when she was a month old, all I wanted was for her to keep her newborn look just a little while longer. I knew it would change so quickly, and forever. Now she is walking. And I miss her little booty moving side to side as she crawled. Soon she will be talking. And I'm so going to miss her random babbling, which to her, I know, is not so random.

I guess that's why I take so many pictures and video, I try to document as much as I can. I have over 25,000 pictures stored on my computer if that's any indication of how important they are to me. Life gets busy, we get older, and time starts to pass us by. One day we stop and wonder "how did I get here?". I'm very sentimental when it comes to memories, good ones and bad, happy ones and sad. Memories of important people in my life, those who used to be in my life, those who still are, those who I keep in my heart. Now I have a little person in my life and I am scared to death of time just flying by. I am so thankful every single day that I can stay home with Emma, that Conor works so hard to provide for his family and give me a priceless opportunity to spend so much time with Emma before she starts school. Sometimes I just sit and watch her play. Nothing special, just her playing, and talking to herself. But it's the world to me, every little thing she does, such as putting the TV remote or my eye shadow in the dog's water bowl, is the world to me. If I had the time and patience I would record or document it all, but that's just too unrealistic, so I will have to rely on my memories for some of the most precious moments.

Speaking of precious moments, enjoy this video of Emma and her daddy. She adores her daddy, adores him. Just yesterday Conor came home from work and she looked at him and yelled "Da Da!!!!". I couldn't believe it. Conor was on cloud 9. Now if we could just say "Ma Ma"...

I also finally did her one year chair pics... here's a sneak peek of one of my favorite shots:

A fun-filled Memorial Day weekend

This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend. We spent Friday evening and part of Saturday with our friends, Lance and Christina and their son, Ashton, at their lakehouse on Lake Livingston. I have always considered myself a "beach girl"... I love the waves, the salt air, the sand between my toes. But there was something equally peaceful at the lake. There was a calm and vastness to the lake that created a very tranquil atmosphere while we were on the boat. We had a great time swimming, boating, relaxing and just catching up. Emma was born to be on, in and around water. She loves it when we go swimming and took to the lake like a... well... like fish to water (sorry). She would actually start falling asleep as the rocking motion of the boat in the lake lulled her to a wonderful calmness. It is definitely a goal in my life to live near the water. And to buy a boat.

I call this one "cheeks".

Emma's first time on a boat. She loved it. And we love that she loved it.

Christina and Ashton. Christina's an Aggie if you can't tell :) In fact, Ashton's initials are ATM. Coincidence? I think not!

Relaxing in dad's lap.

Some downtime playing with buddy Ashton.

I love this look. She is tired and hot and is probably wondering why I'm pestering her with the camera.

Christina driving the boat for the first time!

Saturday afternoon we headed down to the bay and hung out with Conor's family. It was the official grand re-opening of TCYC since all of the damage from Hurricane Ike. We had a great time and are looking forward to spending more weekends at the bayhouse this summer.

A very serious side of Emma.

Daddy and Emma at the bay.

Emma and her Papacito walking towards the dock.

Past commodores being honored at the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club.

Conor's grandfather, Douglas E. Johnston, the oldest living commodore at age 94.

I love this shot. 3 generations in one picture.

Colors.

This is what a long weekend does to a toddler.

We are officially a walker!

I don't consider myself too much of a worrier, but I was beginning to wonder when Emma was going to start walking on a regular basis. When Emma wasn't walking by her 1st birthday, I started to get a little concerned. I just didn't think she took much of an initiative or had any interest in it. After all, she had mastered the art of super speed crawling... why mess with a good thing? Then she started taking a few steps here and there, falling alot, and then just crawling after most falls. I never pushed it, I knew she'd walk when she was ready. Then last week, all of the sudden, it was like a light went off in her head. Over a matter of a couple of days, she started walking. Like.. really walking. I could not believe how quickly it happened. I was told that new experiences lead to insecurities, and boy, is that true. Being super clingy to mom is an understatement. But all of that is improving, as are her walking skills. Even though these are not her first steps, here are a couple of videos of the little munchkin zooming around. Enjoy!

In the first video, she doesn't start walking until about halfway through, but I love the paper stuck to her foot.

Some more walking...

This video is now one of my favorites. She does this all of the time, copies whatever you're doing. In the evenings she will play with daddy after he gets home from work, and anytime he gets on the floor, she does so too. So cute, I can't stand it.

A few quick iPhone snapshots

I have a really nice digital camera and pocket point and shoot camera, but I find that some of my best pictures come from my iPhone. I guess because my phone is always around and quick to use. I have been meaning to make an iPhone album of all the pictures from Emma's first year. When Emma was first born, Conor was traveling for work and I would send him a picture from my phone every morning as a good morning. I know how much he missed Emma, I don't know how he did it, I could have never left Emma for 4 days a week. Enjoy these pictures of random moments from our days...

This is her tired look after a long day out...

I love the look of concentration... and the open mouth. She loves this huge Lite Brite at the Children's Museum, it was not fun leaving.

One of my favorite pictures... I caught Emma squealing and shaking her legs and rolling around for no reason. Just because. I think we should all do that once in a while. (With or without someone around is up to you...)

This is the "I'm tired, I'm hot and I'm sweaty... why are we on this train????" look.

At Hyatt Lost Pines earlier this month, ready for the pool!

Helping mommy make dinner.

This is what we call a "busybody".

This is now one of her favorite things to do. It's not very energy efficient keeping the door open, but she loves it.

Splish splash...

Yesterday we decided to set up Emma's baby pool on the patio and she took to it like fish to water. This is a very good thing since her father and I would live at the beach if we could. I love the first video... she took everything out of the pool, one by one, and then proceeded to put everything back in, one by one. Ever wonder what is going through the mind of a 1 year old? I sure do, all of the time.

Having some fun with daddy...

A whole year gone by...

How is is that a whole month has gone by since my last blog entry? I'm telling you, I really do have the best intentions. Well, since my last entry, we celebrated Emma's first birthday! We had a small gathering of family and friends at my cousin's house. It was a good time had by all. I still cannot believe that my baby is no longer a baby, she's a toddler. She's been walking short distances for a couple of weeks now, but she's not taking too much of an initiative. I'm not worried, I know she will be little miss Speedy Gonzalez when she's ready. Her 9th tooth has come out and I've realized that I really need to be brushing her teeth more regularly. She kept her lips pursed and shut tight the first time I tried to brush her teeth. It was pretty funny. Here are a few pics from her birthday celebration:

Emma and Grandma

About to blow out the candles!

Family picture... someones's attention was elsewhere.

Emma and her aunt Helenita

Family picture with cousin Evan... who had his attention elsewhere as well.

Emma being silly with Bebe.

What I've learned in the last year as a mother...


1. Patience, patience, and more patience.
2. Watching Sesame Street with Emma brings me so much joy... and so many memories.
3. I really am truly blessed.
4. I never knew I could laugh so much.
5. It IS possible not to gag with a poopy diaper.
6. Everyday that I think I cannot be more amazed, I am.
7. It is impossible for me to imagine life before April 22, 2009.
8. I would give more than my life, if I could, for this child.
9. I never knew I had this much love to give.
10. My mom was right.


What Emma has learned in her first year...

1. To dance.
2. To clap.
3. To crawl.
4. To walk.
5. Plane rides aren't so bad when you have your own seat.
6. Mommy and daddy will always be there for her.
7. The best place when you're not feeling well is daddy's shoulder.
8. Whining does not work with daddy.
9. Whining will most likely work with mommy.
10. She will get endless hugs and kisses whether she likes it or not.

For Mother's Day, Conor surprised me with the best present I could have ever imagined:



We had a lovely Sunday brunch on the patio at the Tasting Room while listening to jazz, then we went to my parents' house for a bit before returning home for an afternoon siesta. (I also had a pedicure on Saturday and did some shopping with my mom on Friday, so I guess you could say I enjoyed my Mother's Day weekend.)

It's "The Look". (at least one of them anyway...)

Getting some love from momma.

I love this picture of Emma and her daddy. I love her little smile.

Kisses from Grandma.

Three generations on Mother's Day.