What's New With Emily?

I really really can't believe Emily is already a year old.  She is completely starting to turn into a toddler right before my eyes.  Em has 4 teeth now.  It took her a really long time to get one, but the other 3 have come pretty quickly.  She also has another that should be coming in soon.  She loves to talk.  She says: Dance, An-doo (Andrew), Daddy, Dad, Mama (sometimes....), I did it!, No, Eat, and some others that I can't think of now.  It's interesting to have a talker since Andrew wasn't.  She will sometimes attack Andrew when he isn't looking, and it's pretty funny.  Andrew loves it.

  She learned to walk last week, and has gotten pretty good at it!  She is really enjoying her new mobility.  Here are her stats:
Height: 30" (77%)
Weight:  22 lbs 12 oz (80%)
 Emily is sweet, loves to cuddle, is super duper silly, loves to eat, carries things in her mouth, colors with crayons, and sings and dances to herself.  The other day we caught her trying to sing her ABCs.  (Andrew loves letters right now, and so we talk about and sing them all the time)  We were amazed at how much of it we understood. She stays in tune pretty well, especially for someone so little.  She'll repeat back notes to you.  It's pretty adorable.  We really love having this little sweetheart in our lives.  She is a joy to know and love.  Love you, little darling.

What's New With Andrew?

I still can't believe Andrew is 3!  He is growing up so fast, and I just love my little sweetheart.  He had his 3rd birthday checkup yesterday.  I'm so sad that we'll have to get a new pediatrician.  I really like Dr. Wheeler, and Andrew and Emily like him too.  Here are his stats:

Height:  39 3/4" (90%)
Weight:  35.4  (85%)

  He is really big for his age.  He is such a sweetheart.  He didn't like getting his shots, but was so sweet to Emily after she got hers, telling her, "It's okayy Elowee.  Shots all done!"  He didn't want Dr. Wheeler to use the stethescope.  We explained to him that he had to make sure his heart was okay.  Andrew said, "Thump thump.  Thump thump.  See?  It's okay."  It was hilarious.  He also hates when anyone tries to look in his ears.  He kept saying, "No thanks!  No thanks!" which would have been polite except for the fact that he kept pushing the doctor away.  :)
  We're proud of our little guy.  He has trouble sitting still for any (literally, any) period of time, but he really loves to read, paint, and wrestle with Daddy and Emily.  She sometimes likes it. :)  He loves dandelions, singing with us, and running.
  He's a great big brother, and a sweet little son.  I really like my little 3 year old!  :)

Campy

I got to spend the day on Thursday at camp with the Young Women.  I had a complete blast, and was so very proud of them all.  They had such positive attitudes, were so kind to each other and those around them, and really proved to everyone how fun and sweet and valiant they really are.  I have really loved working with these girls, and have a lot to learn from them!  I love you guys!

Birthday Bash

Playing with balloons in her room.  She decided to start the party early by wetting through her pjs.  She really knows how to have a good time.  :)

Adorable birthday girl!

Emily's little cake with the big cake in the background.

Andrew came in when I was taking pictures and said, "Oh, wow !  Cool!"  Then he started trying to eat the sprinkles.

Emily liked ripping the paper.  She liked the presents, too but they  were quickly stolen by the big brother.

New phone from Grandma and Grandpa Barnard.  Thanks!

This is entitled, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to."

She looks a little punchy here, but was the only one I got.

She dug right in!

She was pretty impressed!

The inside of the cake.

One Year

One year ago today, we met Emily.  She was the tiniest, sweetest, nicest little baby girl.  We have loved this year so much.  Emily is such a character, always trying to make us laugh, always playing and talking to us.  She is still a complete sweetheart who gives kisses and loves to snuggle.  She has such a bright, cheery personality.

 Happy Birthday, sweet girl. We love you so much!

Father's Day

 This was Michael's present this year.  It took me awhile to come up with all the words, especially since I was missing some letters.  :)  He liked it a lot.  I printed them off and stuck them on our bedroom door, along with some pictures of the kids, and the kids and Michael.

I'm thankful for such a great husband, who is a great father.  I'm grateful for my own father, who I love so very much and gave me a good example of a loving husband and father.  I'm also grateful for my father-in-law, who taught my husband how to be so wonderful by his great example.

For the Grandmas

Andrew has been asking to wear one of Mike's ties lately.  It's really cute.  I think right here he's pretending to fix stuff.

Occasionally Andrew will crawl into the crib with Emily.  Here he is trying to pick her up and give her a hug.

We were working on using a fork.

Emily thought this metheod was easier.  Sweet Mama Jama, that girl has a big mouth.

A glimpse into our every day life.

I love that little guy.

Andrew pretending to be Curious George, pretending to be a doctor.

"What?  Didn't you want me to dump this box onto the floor?"  She decided she needed a little snack while my back was turned.

Sweet little smiler.

Popcorn Popping

Emily loves that song.  Watch for the ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zekt3r_PFPY&feature=youtu.be

Andrew is Donald Duck

Andrew Talking Like Donald Duck

Andrew loves to pretend to be Donald Duck.  Click on that link up there to watch it on youtube if you're interested. :)

Third Birthday's a Charm

Andrew turned three today!  We love our little guy so much, and loved focusing on him all day.  He's such a sweetie, definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer, and is full of fun and energy.  We are so happy to have him as part of our lives.

I thought his cake turned out pretty cute!  He was super excited about it when I was making it, and desperately wanted to eat it.

Mickey Mouse cake. :)

Here I am with my masterpiece.

He liked blowing out the candles so much, we let him blow them out a couple more times.  :)

Andrew had his friends Soren and Sydney over.  Thanks for coming to the party, guys!

Emily in pigtails.  Her dress was too long to crawl in, but our clever little baby started to crawl with both feet flat on the ground.  Smart little baby.

Happy Birthday, big guy!  We are so proud of you!