Walking

Emerson has been walking all over the place! Here's a short video of her showing off:
And here are just some more random cute pictures! She's not quite as perky in these shots...she has a little cold right now. Her hair is getting longer (you can see a little curl in the back). She's talking a lot more and repeating lots of words. She's actually playing with her toys now, instead of just throwing them! The other day, she thought two of her toys might enjoy a nice quick swim in the toilet...luckily, they floated :-) She's lots of fun right now and we are enjoying every minute with her!

Photo Shoot

Emmie and I had a girls' weekend at home while Nick went to Chicago. We decided to have a photo shoot yesterday while we were waiting for it to stop snowing so we could venture out (which of course it didn't, so we just went out anyway). She was quite a ham!

She was walking around sucking on the lid of a sippy cup

Doesn't she look like her dad in this picture?

Baby, it's COLD outside!

It's been a long Michigan winter already! When I dropped Emerson off at her sitter's this morning, my car thermometer said -22!!! Temperature, not wind chill...brrrr! It's not so fun to be cooped up all winter, but Emmie finds lots to do to pass the time indoors. She loves to stand on the couch and look out the window to see what the neighbors are up to, look for dogs, or watch Dad shovel the driveway. She decided to help me with the dishes the other day...it was a good way to warm up :-)

13 Months Old

Emerson is 13 months old! She is such a good-natured, happy little girl...we are so thankful for her laid-back personality! Here are some recent videos: in the first, she's showing us how to "roll it" (she learned it from Great-Grandma Glo) and in the second, she's laughing at Jayce's crazy noises. (And just so you know, we DO change her clothes! She just apparently wears this outfit quite frequently!)

Here's what Emmie has been up to:

• She loves to eat EVERYTHING except fruit
• She weighs about 24 lbs and has 9 teeth
• She is walking, but still prefers to crawl or walk on her knees
• She says "mama, daddy, hi, fish, bye-bye" and tries to repeat many words we say!
• A sheep says "baa" but everything else says "woof"
• She throws her toys and books rather than playing with them
• She loves dancing, being read to, people watching, waving, playing peekaboo, and blowing kisses

Happy New Year!

So, we mentioned that since Emerson got her tubes last week, she's been MUCH more talkative...here's proof:

Great Grandma Glo, Grandma Lisa & Grandpa Mike came to visit on Wednesday. Then the Lixeys came over that evening for our annual New Year's Eve game night. We played the 80's edition of Trivial Pursuit. I thought Tracy & I would dominate...we didn't :-( New Year's day was spent at the cottage watching football and playing Wii. It was so wonderful to have so much family time this week! Here are some more pictures from this week:


Emmie was admiring Grandma Lisa's bracelet, so Grandma gave her one of her own :-)

Merry Christmas!

We drove to my parents' house on Tuesday night (in a snowstorm, of course) and had crazy weather the entire week: freezing rain, dense fog, 60 degree temps, and 40 mph winds! We are so grateful for safe travels! Emerson had a wonderful time playing with Grandma, Grandpa, and her aunts, uncles, and cousins while we were there. She wasn't all that excited about the gifts, but she loved ripping off wrapping paper, opening boxes, and throwing tissue paper all over the living room! She was a little copycat this week...she said "tractor", "baa-paa" (grandpa), "bye bye", and "rock rock". We had lots of fun!

Dad and Grandpa got her ready for church on Christmas Eve

Hanging out with Kenzie & Maddie on Christmas morning

Ski jumping with Uncle Steve

SANTA???

A mouthful of cottage cheese, not teeth

Grandma made "ebelskeiver" (Danish pancake puffs) for breakfast on Christmas morning

The Ross cousins



Aunt Pam found her "tickle buttons"

We had a brief visit with the Heussners while we were there . Here are Alex, Emma, and Emerson...

...and Kelly and I

One last hug for Grandma and Grandpa before they leave for Florida

Big smiles for Aunt Lori

All Is Well!

Emerson got her tubes put in this morning. She was happy as can be the whole time, even though she had to get up an hour earlier than normal, couldn't eat/drink anything, and had to wait quite awhile when we got there (my sister and I took turns entertaining her). But once they finally took her in for the surgery, she was only away from us for about 10-15 minutes. The doctor told us he removed tons of fluid /mucus (sorry for being graphic here) and even long strands of waxy stuff. She recovered very quickly and fell asleep briefly on the way home. Then she was ready to eat, played for awhile, and is now napping. Thank you all for your prayers!