Play Place at Chick-fil-a

Chick-fil-a's play places have things for toddlers, too. On our way to TX, we stopped at one for lunch in Edmond, OK. It is one place we always stop....and will continue now that Emma can get out and play. Here are a couple blurry pictures from my phone.

AHHH!!! Emma was good at screaming like the big kids.

Emma's friend, Sherie. They had fun playing together.

Since we've been home

My camera apparently died a weekago, and I still haven't charged it. So, I have taken a few pictures on my iPad from the last week.

One for me, one for Pepper.

Chillin last Sunday in her football leggings!

New toys?! No, just storage containers, but don't tell Emma that.

Chillin in bed.

Uh-oh for Mom.

Feeding Pepper again.

The typical state of my kitchen now.

Guess what Emma found in the kitchen? Pyrex lids.

Pepper afraid of the storm.

Headed out in the rain in my K-State jacket.

One year appointment...and a video

Emma had her one year appointment this morning. It was scheduled at exactly nap time. She did OK in the waiting room, watching the other kids and saying 'hi' to everyone kept her busy. Then when we went back, over 30 minutes after our appt time, she got a little upset...but did ok until the doctor came in (much later) and started poking and prodding, and finally it came to a crescendo when the nurse came in to giver her 4 shots. Poor girl was tired, hungry, cold from being naked, and all she wanted to do was crawl up on Mommy and nurse and go to sleep...which she almost did  at one point during our waiting. We finally left an hour and a half after our appointment was scheduled. She is now asleep upstairs. Here are her stats:
Weight: 16lbs, 12oz...1%
Height:  27 1/4 inches...3%
Head circumference: 17 1/2 inches...25%

He said he normally doesn't recommend giving babies fatty comfort food like gravy, mashed potatoes, or butter, but since Emma is so small, she can and probably should have some of that. :) I wasn't kidding when I said we need to fatten her up for the doctor...she at really good this morning, too. He also recommended giving her pedialite once a day.

For her bowels: Emma has a hard time pooping and he said to give her Miralax with food.

Also...why does everyone else in our little family need to gain weight except for me? How is that fair?

And here is a video I took not long after we got home. Emma is rediscovering some of her old toys...in new ways. :)

Just walking around

I finally got a video of Emma walking...you need to watch the whole thing, she walks more towards the end.

Good to be home.

We got home Saturday night, around 8. We had a very good trip. We stopped a few times, each about an hour each time, so Emma could play, and we all could stretch our legs. She did really well...until we reached San Angelo. She woke up when drove across the railroad tracks, and had her first and only meltdown of the day. It is so nice to be home and see everyone, although we definitely miss Steven. It's just not home without him. 

Having fun

Our last few day here are filled with eating, packing, and getting in some good family time. Yesterday we had a sister date with Grace and Tory, and played with Aunt Suzanne during the afternoon. Here is Emma playing in our room and with Grandma Connie. Also, Emma is doing really good walking...I will try to get a video up soon. 

Getting around

I am trying to get a video of Emma walking, but she never does it when I have my ipad out. Today she took about 12 steps...she is getting much braver, and she walked to Daddy on Skype. :) While I was packing, I turned around and found this:

She had a ball under there, and apparently she wanted it. Then she found another binky, so she went back to get it. What a silly girl. I better watch out when we get back to Texas.

Saying our goodbyes.

This weekend we started our goodbyes. First was Aunt Faith, then Uncle Alex. We were having trouble with my camera being blurry, then Emma being fussy. So I did get some good pictures, but the are either fuzzy or Emma is blinking. Here is what we got.

Going to work with Grandma

Some mornings Emma is still asleep when Grandma Connie leaves for work. But when she is awake, she loves to see her Grandma, who is obviously more exciting than boring old Mom. Monday morning, Emma didn't want Grandma to leave, she wanted to go with her! She would't even come to me, and waved bye-bye as they walked toward the door. So Grandma took her to the car. I think she was cold, since it had rained and she only had a diaper on...thankfully Mom came to the rescue to bring her back into the warm house.

First Football Game

Friday night was Topeka West's first home football game, and Emma first football game. First of all, TW is now 2-0, which is amazing. Also, the band did great. It was fun to watch them. Emma enjoyed being at the game for the first hour. She was mesmerized by everything going on...until she got tired and cold. Yes, cold. As the sun went down it got a little chilly...perfect football weather, unless your mom didn't dress you warm enough. Anyway, we barely lasted long enough to watch the band, but I am glad we got to see the half-time show.

Happy Birthday Aunt Faith!

Today is Aunt Faith's 22nd birthday. We had a very unorganized celebration this weekend....made complete with Emma's leftover birthday cake. But we were all together, which is a rarity for Faith's birthday. And Emma took 3 or 4 steps, so it was memorable. Here are some of the more memorable moments from her "party."

Destroying some chocolate cake.

"Whoa. Look at all those candles. I only had one."

"So, this is what you do."

"I need to inspect these things."

"Mmmm...whipped cream."

Painting.

A few random things...

Emma has been such a fun girl lately. Here are a few random pictures from my iPad.

Chillin with Aunt Grace

Walrus

Cute even naked.

Making dolly and kitty kiss.

I know it's grainy, but too cute not to post.

Going crazy at BWW.

Emma pulls clothes out of her drawers on a daily basis. 

Best friends

This morning Emma decided that she would rather feed Pepper than eat...and yesterday she figured out how to open her puffs. So, I guess I won't need to feed Pepper today.

Update

Well, it seems our excitement over our new assignment was premature. While looking up information on the base, we learned that as of last month, all assignments to Lajes Field, Portugal, are now 12 month, unaccompanied tours. This means that Emma and I don't get to come. This was not indicated anywhere on the information we had about the orders, we just stumbled upon the information on the internet. They are basically cutting base personnel in half, and expect all families to be gone from the base by June 2014.
So what do we do now? Wait. Steven has called the base back home, and we are waiting to see if we can get the orders changed. There is no possibility that we could still go there with him (unless we move ourselves, but we would have no access to medical care), but we are hoping that he can get new orders all together. It is kind of a long shot, but we are praying to the One who is in control. We will update when we have more information.

Laundry

Yesterday Emma helped me with the laundry. She was very good at unfolding things, and throwing herself in my pile of laundry as if it were leaves. She also played night night in the laundry. :) oh, and did I mention she also brushed my hair....and took two steps all by herself without holding on to anything?! It was a big day.

Playing night night after throwing herself into the pile of laundry.

Busy Summer

Emma and I are going back to Texas on September 21st...a week from Saturday. We have gotten to be here for so much: Everyone's birthday in my family, Alex's graduation, Mother's and Father's Day, the 4th of July, my family moving, Grace got a new job, a family reunion, our church's 50th anniversary celebration, a funeral of a wonderful woman, and Emma's first birthday. Here is a look back at some of our adventures from our summer in Kansas.

Mother's Day 

My parents' new house

Uncle Alex graduated from Grad school and got a job in KC

Went to Springfield, MO

Emma went swimming for the first time

4th of July

Sister Dates

Family reunion in MO

Fun times with old friends

Emma turned 1!

Play date.