I'm Walkin'

Yes, indeed! Emerson really loves her new walking/riding toy that she got for Christmas from her Auntie Katie, Uncle Tim and cousins Claire and Rebekah. Emerson is just amazing to us....she is growing and developing so fast, we wonder where the time is going.

PS The cats make a wide berth when Emerson and her lion are strolling around!

Babes with Babes

I borrowed the title, but that's what we are. As Kimberly said, a lot has changed since 2001, when we met at UTHSCSA. Kimberly, Amy and I hit it off that first day or so (probably because we were smokers at the time) and have been friends ever since. We met up the other day at El Chaparral for a little Christmas celebration and lunch before the holiday.


These little ones have been the biggest change. Michal Riley, Alex and Emerson all exchanged gifts and were all so excited to hurry and get home so they could play with their new toys.


Here's Emerson getting ready to get started on her margarita :) Thankfully, she was nice enough to share with me!

PS Thanks Kimberly for sending the photos, since I can't seem to remember to bring my camera!

Santa Claus is coming to town

A few days before Christmas, we went to see Santa. Emerson sat on his lap and did well, no crying or reaching for her Dad. She just went with the flow, more curious than anything. Obviously, she doesn't know who or what Santa is all about, so she just hung out and watched the other kids' meltdown.

It was very windy outside....look at our windblown hair! Even so, it was a nice day.

It's Officially Official

On Saturday, Nov. 24, Emerson's baptism was finalized and is now official.
When Emerson was a few days old (2.5 to be exact), she was transferred to NICU from the newborn nursery with respiratory issues. As you can imagine, I was distraught and scared. I knew that she was where she needed to be, but I felt so helpless. I also knew that there wasn't much I could do for her, but I knew that I could have her baptised. So at about 4 days of age, Emerson was baptized with water from the tap and without fanfare or fuss.


When she was baptized in the hospital, she was wearing a little shirt, hospital blanket and heart monitor. This time we went in style. Here she is in her sweet christening outfit before we left for church.

Auntie Katie, Uncle Tim (Tio Blanco), cousin Claire and cousin Rebekah with Emerson at church before the ceremony started.

Emerson being anointed as part of her baptism. Since she had already had the water over her head, we did not do that part during this ceremony.

All of us after the ceremony. As you can see, Emerson has had enough. She was in desperate need of lunch and a nap, and I was surprised that she wore her bonnet the whole time. We are thankful to our family and friends who were there with us this day as Emerson starts her path to knowing and loving God.

And THANK YOU Miss Angela for the beautiful James Avery cross and necklace. It will be cherished always.

It's Official

She's a Texan. Here she is with the James Avery charm bracelet that her dad got her for her birthday. Is there a girl left in Texas that doesn't have at least one piece of James Avery jewelry?

Birthday Girl

On Saturday, Nov. 17, we celebrated Emerson's 1st Birthday with a big party. We realize it was more for us than her, but we had to do it. Her father kept calling it "The November Extravaganza". At one point we counted 31 people in the house, all having fun with the balloons, other kids, toys and food. The menu was pretty simple: grilled bratwurst with fixings, chips, coleslaw, fruit salad, Chick-Fil-A nugget tray (a great hit with the kids) and lemonade. And sweet, crisp, cold beer for the adults....it was delicious.

The theme for the party was a "Post Halloween Costume Party". I know that Halloween was in October, but it seemed logical to me. The kids would have fun, would get to wear their Halloween costumes again (Emerson got to sport the Princess Leia costume again) and ALL the stuff (plates, napkins, party favors, candy, decorations, etc.) was ON SALE!!!! Plus, I found the sweetest invitations.

We had cupcakes for Emerson's birthday instead of a big cake. Each was hand decorated and beautiful if I do say so myself (cause I decorated them!) Here is Emerson blowing out her 1 year candle with the help of her Dad.

If you look closely, you can see a tiny tiny bit of frosting on her lips and hand. She had no desire to eat the cake or frosting and only came as close as putting her finger briefly in her mouth.

Here is Alex in his cool Biker outfit, complete with "MOM" tattoo shirt. We also had Little Red Riding Hood, Tinkerbell, a Stormtrooper, Dora the Explorer, a pirate and a princess.

Everyone hanging out in the backyard, eating cake!

The kids had a great time running around in the backyard. Thanks Aspen, for helping round up the little kids and organizing the races.

BUT, playing in a box in the backyard is the best fun of all!

Thank you everyone for making Emerson's 1st birthday so much fun. We can't wait for next year

Dream Dinners

This last weekend, I was invited to a Dream Dinners party for my friend Amy. If you are not familiar (and I wasn't either) with Dream Dinners, it's a "meal prep" place where you assemble meals that you cook later at home. They do the shopping, the chopping and clean-up-to quote them. It was a lot of fun and a great way to visit with my girlfriends. You put on an apron, assemble your meals, drink some coffee, hang out, gossip. My idea of a good way to spend a few hours. We assembled "Raspberry Glazed Chicken", which was awesome. What I liked about the whole concept was that the meal is already planned and ready to be cooked. I am busy (the whole work and a baby thing) and meal planning and prep is something I don't have the luxury to spend as much time on as I used to. Sunday night dinner causes me a certain degree of anxiety...what to have, do I have everything I need, what time do I need to start cooking, do I need to defrost something, etc., and on and on and on. So this is the perfect solution for Sunday dinner. I signed up for the minimum amount of food that you need to buy as well as for the fact that Amy gets credit. I ordered a bunch of different meals. I'll let you know how they taste!

Who's a procrastinator?

Not me, really. I would blog, but am having a few problems.

1. My inherited laptop is having a hard time downloading photo's
2. My "cough" has gone on and on and on......it's sucking me dry
3. Above cough has also taken ALL of my energy...not just some...ALL

I'll update you with Emerson. Emerson turned 1 on Nov. 16. I NEVER thought I would be the mother of a one year old. I am feeling every sleepless night, but still don't know where the time went. Emerson is so much fun. She is crawling, muy rapido, everywhere. She is busy getting into cupboards, under tables, chasing the cats, pounding on windows. She has also been pulling up and practicing standing. It won't be long before she's walking....she can take as long as she wants....it's hard keeping up with her right now.
She is still a champion sleeper...12-13 hours a night. She is a horrible daytime sleeper...one hour max. She has never been a great daytime napper, but this bothers her grandmother more than anything else (she wears Grandma out and I think Grandma needs the sleep more than Emerson). She has also been a champion eater until this last week or so, when she decided that she isn't that interested in eating anything that isn't Yo Baby yogurt, oatmeal, puffs or fruit. I have to sneak the meat and veggies in, but she's getting wise to my tactics. I'll have to think of something new. Any suggestions?
We have introduced Emerson to whole milk without any problems. I was determined that she would drink breast milk for one year, and I am happy to say I met that goal. I am especially proud that I did it by pumping alone. Yes, that's right...I pumped for almost a year. Long story, but the whole breast feeding thing didn't work our for us, so I pumped and was able to freeze about 1500 ounces. My breasts still haven't recovered...I'm not sure if they ever will.
So.....anyone need a heavily used breast pump?
Emerson waves "bye bye" to everyone, even if they aren't leaving and is giving "high 5's". She doesn't quite have the hang of clapping her own hands, but likes to grab your hands and make them clap for you. She finds this hilarious and laughs out loud at her own handiwork.
She STILL only has her 2 bottom teeth. I know there are others just waiting to come through, just not here yet. At least she got some teeth...I was beginning to think she was going to need baby dentures because she didn't get teeth until she was 10 months old.

This post is getting to be long, so I'll wrap it up:
1 year stats
Wt: 17.10 5-10th percentile
Ht: 28 5-10th percentile
Head circ: 50th percentile
She is still a petite one, but proportionate, so it's fine.

She's still in her helmet and has made 75% improvement. This is better than anticipated, so we are THRILLED! We'll keep her in the helmet as long as it fits, there is room and opportunity for improvement and she'll wear it. She's used to it, so it's not a problem. Plus, it gives her some added "protection" at school from the rough and tumble toddlers she's with.

Emerson is such sweet girl. She has brought us such joy and happiness....we often wonder how it is possible to have such love for someone. God has smiled on us. We are blessed with a beautiful daughter and we couldn't ask for more.