Lately...Forgive me it's long!

We didn't have much of a chance to get away this summer for a family vacation so we decided last minute to take the kids for the weekend to New Orleans. They had never been to the zoo or aquarium and it was the perfect time for a get away. We went to the zoo first and unfortunately it poured rain. We sat under this hut for what seemed like hours watching the zebras. It was pretty cool how unaffected they were by the rain when I wanted to cry. It finally stopped and we finished the zoo with much cooler weather because of the rain. The kids absolutely loved it!!! Emma was so excited to see the elephants, alligators, and giraffes. Other than that she was busy thinking about the gift shop we promised her at the end. :) Here are a few pics from the zoo. It's rather hard to get a 1 year old to stay still long enough. Especially this crazy monkey we got. ;)

Actually a good one!

Only when we ask her to smile does she make this face. The elephants she LOVED!!!

Waiting for the monkeys to swing down.

Almost got a good one.

Watching the monkeys swing.

Only Emma would say "Look daddy they match my dress."

Porter was finally over the whole zoo thing.

We stayed at the Hilton which is the perfect location. We did have to take cabs to places but Emma LOVED doing that. She kept asking "can we ride with the other people?" We went to eat at Margaritaville and Emma danced all night long with some little girl she met. As shy as Emma can be, she never meets a stranger when it comes to kids her age. I think that's a good thing though. We went to the aquarium on Saturday, which was a lot of fun too. It was a little difficult with the double stroller but other than that we had a blast!!



Dancing makes Emma light up!! It's amazing!

At the aquarium...

Trying to crack a smile until the flash got him.



Emma was so excited to see Emma the Otter.



Last week, Emma started pre-k3. I was a complete mess of course and Emma couldn't figure out why I was sad. She did very very well. It helps that Scott's Aunt Dottie works there and Emma loves her. Also, her cousin Holly goes to school there and they get to hang out in the morning while parents are dropping off the kids. That morning she woke up excited and ready to go to school.

Emma was so excited!!

When I tell Emma I want to take a picture of her, this is her immediate pose always.

She was so proud of her book bag!

I think Scott was more sad then I was but he never showed it.

Scott and I both took her to school. We tried to keep her excited the whole while hiding our sadness. Our little girl is growing up so fast on us. We pulled up to a sea of uniforms and Emma got a little nervous because she starts mumbling "I want mommy" over and over. We got out and went to her class and Emma got very nervous! Take a look:





We went back outside to wait for Holly to pull up. Finally she came. Thank goodness.

She walked with us to Emma's classroom and then things starting getting better. She was letting us take pictures of her and all. Mrs. Kim asked Emma to be her special helper for the day so she got to pass out puzzles. Thank goodness Emma knows both of her teachers from Scott's mom taking Emma up to Nativity all the time. It makes things so much easier. :) She had a wonderful first day and she has had a smiley face in her folder everyday!! She loves loves school. YAY!!! A funny story about Emma's first week. Mrs. Jackie was going over Spanish and they were learning uno for one. Mrs. Jackie held up the #1 and said "Now class who can say this in Spanish." Emma raised her hand proudly and said "this in Spanish". :) The whole class then chorally without hesitation said "this in Spanish!" HOW FUNNY!!!

Emma being the class helper.

Finally, she felt comfortable.

Some of Emma's class.



For my sweet Porter

To my sweet, handsome lil' man...

Your 1st birthday has come and gone and I can't hardly believe it. We have had a year full of ups and downs for sure. When I first looked in your eyes I would like to say you had this huge smile on your face but unfortunately you cried. :) I think deep down you must have known I wouldn't be able to see you for the rest of the night. That was one of the hardest things I had to hear in my life. The doctor came in and told us that you were a tad bit early and your little lungs just weren't quite ready. Then came more terrible news...I wouldn't be able to see or hold you until the morning. Your dad was so awesome during that time. I will admit, I did not keep my composure like a good mother should. Your dad went down to see you as soon as the doctors would let him and he videotaped and took plenty of pictures of you so he could bring them to me. When it seemed like eternity, I finally got the OK to be wheeled down to you. You were the most beautiful little boy I had ever seen. You were holding my finger and you knew mommy was there because your vitals suddenly started getting better. I didn't get much sleep for the next few days and I called the NICU nurses every chance I got to make sure everything was looking up. Your daddy and I had to sneak away from Emma a few times a day so we could come see you and hold you. And thanks to your nana, namaw, Aunt Kristy and a bunch of others, we were able to do that. It was a very long 10 days, but you finally came home as healthy as can be.

You were the best baby ever!!! Just look at those sweet cheeks. This was your PLEASE STOP TAKING MY PICTURE MOMMY face. You loved to be held by whomever. You would simply snuggle up to them, especially Emma. You NEVER cried. You loved to go visit your nana & pop, namaw & tapaw!!! Plenty of spoiling that's for sure!!

We have had the best year getting to know you and love you more every day. Some of the things that I love about you:

1. You love to rub your ears or anyone's ears and hum while you go to sleep.

2. You squeal with excitement when you swing.

3. Your whole face lights up when you see your sister.

4. You help us get Emma up in the morning because trust me NO ONE wants that job.

5. You love getting your hands into everything including (and I'm not proud) trashcans, toilets, cabinets, and girl's hair!

6. I asked Emma what her favorite thing about you. Her reply, "when I go boo and he starts to laugh. Oh and when he plays peek-a-boo with me in the tunnel nana got us."

7. The way you shake your head no-no at me. :) And the way you try to make the same noise that I make with my mouth.

8. The way you chew (not suck) on your fingers.

9. The way you want to play with Emma no matter what she does to you. :)

10. The way you run to me and your family with your hands in the air in such excitement!

These are just a few of the things I can think of. We have a ton of great memories and we are going to make TONS more buddy! We especially look forward to the t-ball, soccer, and football days ahead!! God is good!

I love you so so much!
Mommy

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

It was mine and Scott's 5 year anniversary last weekend. Unfortunately, we were all infected with the RotoVirus. It was not the way I had planned on spending that day, but as parents you got to do what you got to do. It has been such an amazing 5 years. There are so many things that make me love him as much as I do. Here are just a few of them:

1. He is the BEST dad in the world. He loves Emma and Porter with every fiber in his body!

2. He makes EVERYTHING fun!

3. He is there at the end of everyday to be a dad.

4. He is PASSIONATE!!

5. He is my best friend!! (I know it sounds cheesy!)

6. He cooks and shows Emma a few tricks around the grill.

I love you Scott!!

Now for a little update on the kiddios. Emma is doing great! This medicine she is taking seems to really work for her arthritis. She never complains and she is getting ready for her 1st of hopefully many Dance Recitals. I CAN'T WAIT!! She loves to dance and loves her dance teacher. Emma will be starting pre-k 3 in the fall at Nativity and I can't believe it. She is such a big girl now and I think I'm gonna flip out the 1st day of school. She is supposed to stay little. :( She is so funny. She stayed the night with my mom last night. My mom told me the funniest thing. She asked her if she wanted a snack mid-morning and my mom showed her a small pack of Ritz. Emma said "yes I do want a snack". A few seconds later she said "no nana. I want to eat something healthy." My mom said "sure, I have bananas or apples." Emma replied, "no I need a cookie. That's healthy." :) She got to play with Riley and Reed while she was at Nana's house which she can't get enough of her cousins! She loves them soooo much.

Porter is doing great as well. He is getting so big and hit so many milestones since I wrote my last blog. He is saying dada, mama, baba, bye-bye. He even waves his little hand. He is crawling everywhere and walking around holding tables. He is the sweetest thing ever. He just smiles at everbody. He did develop acid reflux from the virus he had last week so now we are trying medicine (Zantac) to help him keep bottles down. He loves going to spend the night with Nana too. His favorite thing to do is swing. :) He makes this awesome sound when swinging and laughs the whole time.