Tis the Season!

I am behind on my posts...sorry! December has been a very busy month so far, but we are still finding the time to enjoy the season. What a difference a year has made, Emalee is so into everything this Christmas - the lights, the baking, the wrapping...she loves it all!

We made a trip to Reno at the beginning of the month to see my little brother Jarrod graduate from UNR. The whole family stayed in a vacation home together, so it was nice to be able and spend our time with each other instead of being couped up in a hotel room.

Emalee got to help my mom "Nana" bake cookies this year. Her favorite part was playing in the flour and sprinkles, and I think she may have eaten more dough then we think :) We took her to look at Christmas lights and out of nowhere said "Pretty, pretty!" Her vocabulary seems to be growing daily :)

We went up to the snow the other day, and Emalee smiled and laughed the WHOLE time, she did NOT want to leave. She caught on real quick to the idea of throwing the snow...thanks to Daddy. She loves to mimic right now, if you do it you can almost bet she is going to do it too. I love seeing her grow each and every day.

My grandparents, Emalee's Great Grandparents, came out at the beginning of the month and we had our gift exchange. That made me even more anxious for Christmas morning!

Halloween

We had a very fun Halloween this year! On Friday we took Emalee to a Halloween Party at our friends house. There were quite a few kids there. They played games, went trick-or-treating, and had played their hearts out. Emalee spent most of time "grazing" (eating all the other kids food off their plates) while they played, but she had a blast!




On Halloween we made our rounds to all the grandparents and great grandparents houses, and then headed out to go trick-or-treating!! We spent about 2 hours in a small subdivision of homes, and got a lot of candy. Emalee was a trooper, she walked her little feet for as long as she could, but in the end ended up in her stroller while my niece and nephew (Meghan & Devin) literally ran from house to house. What a difference a year made, I can't wait for next year when she is even older and will enjoy going trick-or-treating even more!

Pumpkin Carving

Emalee wasn't too sure about helping Daddy clean out the pumpkin...but she did take a little sample tasting to make sure it wasn't something she'd like to be eating :) Tommy spent a lot of time carving our pumpkin this year, and I think he did a fabulous job!

Pumpkin Patch

Last year Emalee was still too little to really enjoy going to a pumpkin patch, but I was pretty sure she was old enough this year. After driving all over Las Vegas trying to find one, we finally found one. It was not only a pumpkin patch but also had rides for the little ones, a petting zoo, and a huge blow-up slide. Emalee walked around like she owned the place :) She got to play with, and pet, goats for the first time, she and Daddy went down the big slide twice, and she rode on the swings. We all enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to do it again next year!

Playing in the hay

In the petting zoo!

Slidin' with Daddy :)

Riding the swings!

Emalee's 1st Hair Cut!

She wasn't too sure what was going on...


But surprisingly she sat really still!

All done!

Washington Trip

We took an impromptu trip to Washington at the end of September. It was supposed to be a solo trip for Tommy, but Emalee and I joined him a week into his trip. It was nice getting to spend time with Diana, Kevin, and the 4 boys...and it was so green and beautiful up there!! Tommy was hoping to get a lead on a job, and he put in lots of applications. We know that everything happens for a reason, and when the time/job is right it will all work out!

Ryan & Emalee playing soccer

Ryan & Emalee

Logan & Emalee attempting to share toys :)

Daddy & Emalee playing at a soccer game.

What a BUSY Month!

It's hard to believe that August has already come and gone. This month has been very active. We had our final family vacation for the summer, we had quite a few birthday's, and we also had a very sudden loss in the family. It feels like there was something going on at all times.

As most of you already read, we traveled to California at the beginning of the month to see my Grandma in the rehabilitation hospital and also visited San Diego. It was a great trip, and even though Grandma isn't 100% yet I am very hopeful... she is a very determined, strong woman, who is making progress every day. In fact she is the proud new owner of an electric wheelchair so she has some of her freedom back! :)

While on our vacation we received a phone call that my great aunt had passed away. It was very sudden, and unexpected. She was the closest person I had left to my paternal Grandma who passed away 18 years ago. My Auntie Sheryl LOVED to talk, we spent numerous hours talking about anything and everything. She had answers for everything, you may not always like her answers, but she HAD them. :) She would tell me stories about my Grandma, things that I never knew because I was so young when she passed. I miss her every day, and I still can't believe that she's gone. I find peace knowing that she isn't hurting anymore, and that she and my Grandma are back together again.

On to a lighter note, I also had a birthday this month. My husband out-did himself and really surprised me this year. We had birthday dinner with my parents a few days early since my brother was home from Reno. Then Tommy cooked me an awesome homemade dinner and cake on my actual birthday. Chicken w/Artichoke & Mushroom Wine Sauce and for dessert...Better Then Sex Cake, which is my all time favorite cake. On Friday we headed to Vegas to go to dinner and movie, but Tommy had also planned a little surprise. He took me shopping!!! I know sounds a little strange that I'm so excited about this, but Tommy and I have been married for 3 years and we had NEVER been clothes shopping together because I like to try things on (sometimes more then once) and he just grabs and goes!! We had a great time and I was pretty shocked by his fashion sense. ;)

Here we are at the end of the month. I was hoping to be going back into the classroom this year, but due to state budget cuts I am unemployed. It's a blessing in disguise...I get to be home with Emalee for a little while longer :) This month has reaffirmed my belief that everything happens for a reason, even though we may not see the reason in black & white. I am ready for September, and hopefully some cooler weather!! :)