Coast Guard Festival

Uncle Alex and Mimi came to visit us a couple weeks ago (sorry, I'm a little behind with the blog!) We all went to Grand Haven for the evening for the Coast Guard Festival. We had a delicious dinner at Snug Harbor, then walked around the carnival, where Emmie had her first carousel ride. She loved it! As soon as it stopped, she said "again?" She and Nick also took a ride on the huge "Fun Slide" too. She loved it as well though you can't quite tell by the picture!














Nick, Mimi, and Alex had a fierce carnival game competition and Emerson got to keep the beautiful prizes! She looks pretty dazed in this picture...way past bedtime!

We took a break from eating our elephant ear to snap this picture on the walk back to our car. It was a beautiful night on Lake Michigan!

Wedding Weekend

Grandma Lisa and Aunt Nina came to stay with us before our friends Nicole and Pernell's wedding...Emerson had lots of fun entertaining them, playing with them, and we even squeezed in a shopping trip! That weekend, Aunt Lesley, Uncle Jeff, and Noah came to stay with us for the wedding. Emerson had so much fun playing with Noah and all the gifts that Grandma Lisa brought back from China...see underwear pictures below :-) While we all went to the wedding, Emmie and Noah stayed at our house and played with Aunt Pam, Mackenzie, and Madison.

On Sunday, we all met up again for a post-wedding brunch. We got to see Aunt Lyn, Uncle Doug, Rachael, Grandma Lisa, Aunt Nina, Uncle Rich, Aunt Sarah, and Dave. Emerson and Noah had a wonderful time playing in the sandbox and on the swings, but I think Emerson really enjoyed sampling off of everyone's plates!

Fun Summer Pictures

We've been having a very fun summer together and it's only half over! Here are some fun pictures of Emerson's recent activities:

Emerson loves spending time with her cousins (and wearing her new yellow rain boots!)
She LOVES sidewalk chalk and bubbles!

We've spent a few warm afternoons across the street at our neighbors pool. She loves to "spash"

18 Month Professional Pics--Part 2

Though Emerson is already 19 months old, we just got these pictures and also recently had her 18 month check up. So here are her 18 month stats:
Weight: 28.8 lbs (91%)
Height: 34" (95%--she's grown about 2.5 inches in 3 months!)
Head: 19.5"

• She is talking like crazy, putting two word phrases together, repeating things she hears, and says "hello, hi, bye-bye" to everyone she sees!
• She loves to swim, swing, go for bike rides and walks, and just loves being outdoors.
• She makes terrific animal noises, has memorized some phrases from her favorite books, loves to dance, and requests "music" as soon as we get in the car.
• She wants to look at pictures ("pick-shooks") on the computer of her family and friends all the time! She also tells us who she would like to call or skype and pretends to talk on the phone all the time, but rarely talks when there is really someone on the other end!

She is so much fun but growing up so quickly! We absolutely adore her and are cherishing every minute. Hope you enjoy the pictures of our little cutie!

18 Month Professional Pics--Part 1

We had Emerson's 18 month pictures taken in June, along with a few family photos, by an old high school friend of mine, Jenny D'Arcy Hoke (http://www.jennyhokephotography.com/). We are soooooo happy with how they turned out! Jenny lives/works in Indiana but came to our hometown for a weekend this summer to do some photo shoots. She is so talented and patient with little ones who don't necessarily love having their pictures taken! Here are some of our favorite shots...stay tuned for "Part 2".

4th of July

We went to Hancock for the 4th of July this year. We had a great trip, better weather than we expected, and spent lots of time with our family! We went out to lunch for Great-Grandma Lowney's birthday, went to a parade, a family reunion, a cookout, and spent lots of time playing with Nana, great-grandmas, cousin Noah, and aunts and uncles. Emerson loved every minute of it!

Great Grandma Glo has an awesome keyboard! Check out our little musician!

On the way home, we stopped in Mackinaw City to let Emmie run around for awhile. She loved seeing the bridge and throwing rocks in the water!