The Chones

We loved having Eric and Lauren and baby Wes come visit us in Atlanta this past week! Lauren requested a family photo shoot, so we went to Stone Mountain to see if we could find any pretty places to take photos. I think we succeeded! Their good looks managed to shine through my lack of photography skills, and I think we got some cute shots:

Two

My sweet Ems turned two years old last week! To celebrate, we had a birthday dinner at our apartment with the Woods, Sheltons, and Partridges. The Menu: chips, salsa, guacamole, honey-lime chicken enchiladas, cilantro-lime rice, crockpot refried beans, and old-fashioned chocolate cake with ice cream.

Emery was so excited to turn two. She talked for days and days about being two, opening presents, blowing and candles and having her friends sing "Happy Birthday." Ems and I had fun doing some birthday decorations together throughout the week, and she and daddy went on a date together to get balloons on Saturday while I went to a RS activity.

Ryker and Braelynn are so cute! I sure love these friends:

I sure love my little Emery Jane! She brings so much joy to my days! It's easy to complain about so many things when it comes to raising babies---eating habits, sleeping habits (or lack of), crazy tantrums and separation anxiety---but the older Emery grows, the more I just love her and know that I shouldn't focus on all the supposed "problems" I think are going on.

When I look back on these days, I hope I remember the happy things...like how excited I am when she wakes up in the morning, how I love to hear the first words she says to me in the morning---because it feels like she's talking for the first time all over again, singing silly songs in the car, dancing around the house, reading books together, praying together, and the girly way she swings her hips when she runs with her tiny little legs and bouncing curls. There are so many sweet moments to savor!

At two years old, Emery:
*Loves dolls, doll carriers, doll strollers, bottles, etc.
*Loves play food, pots and pans
*Loves water play and helping mom cook
*Calls me "Steph" instead of "mom" 50% of the time (see video), calls her daddy "Pete" most of the time.
*Loves singing, play dough, painting, and drawing
*Weighs 22.5 lbs (5th percentile) and is 33 inches long (50th percentile)
*Is excited to get a baby brother in just under 3 months!
*Copies her daddy's silly words and songs and makes up her own

Here are links to a few movies I took during the dinner party---they're probably not too exciting unless you're a big Emery fan and want a feel for how her bday dinner was (basically, grandmas and grandpas who live far away!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cqXN2i_Qcw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHrZTVFE--E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSKNBBz5kpY

Tim and Anni's Wedding/Utah Trip

Pete worked hard last month to make up some clinical hours so we could go to Utah for a quick weekend trip to see these two get married in the Brigham City Temple!

Tim (Pete's little brother) and AnnaLina Hoyt. 

We stayed in a house in North Ogden with all of Pete's family, and it was so great to see everyone! Tim and Anni's sealing was beautiful. Pete's dad was able to perform the sealing and it was so special. During the sealing, I felt so happy for Tim and Anni and so grateful for the sealing power that binds families for eternity. As I was surrounded by lots of Hoyt family members in the sealing room, I felt so grateful to have married into such a kind and loving family!

Meanwhile, Emery was experiencing high emotions of her own---downstairs in the waiting room where I had left her with Aunt Hailey and her cousins. I could hear her screaming from the second floor of the temple and when I returned to her, it made me so sad to see how sad she was! Blame it on pregnancy hormones, my emotions already being close to the surface, or the fact that I'm just an emotional person...but I proceeded to have my own little meltdown as I held Emery on my lap in the waiting room. I love that this little girl loves me and wants to be with me all the time, but sometimes it's hard! People keep telling me that this will pass, but some days it feels like her separation anxiety is going to last into the teenage years (someday I'll look back and laugh at that sentence, right?). Anyway, I was extremely embarrassed to be crying uncontrollably in the midst of tons of people on this happy occasion. I eventually got my emotions under control, but let's just say my face wasn't pretty. To make matters worse, I stood up to go change Emery's diaper and found myself soaked through to the skin with urine. Guess I was a little late.

      

Anyway, the rest of the day went well. We went to the wedding luncheon at Texas Roadhouse, and got to go back to the house and nap before the reception started. Also, thanks to Hilary and Ashley, I managed to exchange all my pottied-on attire for fresh clothing. The reception was beautiful; my favorite part was a guitar song that Tim wrote and played/sang for Anni in front of everyone---he is one in-love guy! And, I must note, THE FOOD. Oh man, those chocolate covered strawberries were deeee-vine...not to mention the chicken cordon bleu bites and adorable, assorted flavors of mini cheesecakes.

My family, including my Jensen grandparents came down to Utah for the weekend to see us (or, let's be honest, to see Emery), so it was an action-packed couple of days hanging with lots of family. I just wish we could have had more time to spend with them and the few friends I got to see briefly at the reception!

Here's Ems being cute on the plane ride there:

And at the Children's Museum in Ogden, which we went to with my mom, Mallory, Nate, and Hannah Z:

 

I didn't even bring my camera on this trip, and it's kind of sad that ALL the photos on this post are cell phone pictures that I stole from my mom and Pete (but at least it's something)! The Children's Museum was so cute and fun!

We had dinner at a restaurant called Maddox in Perry, UT with my dad's Aunt Lisa's family. It was so good to see them, especially my cousin Lucinda. It's been a long time since we've gotten together.

It was a whirlwind trip, but so so worth it. I even enjoyed the travel time, because it was so nice for the three of us to just be together. I'm excited for the rest of March---Emery's 2nd Birthday, Easter, and also the fact that this cute family is coming to Atlanta to visit us:

Eric (Pete's brother), Lauren and lil Dub (Wesley) 

February Update

Pete is still really enjoying his acute rehab rotation and thinks he would enjoy working in this setting someday, if he had the opportunity. His current rotation ends March 15th, and he's been working hard on getting a big school project done. I'm thrilled that he's being proactive and getting this done now (before baby #2 comes)! Between clinical, his calling in Young Men's, and the project, he's had a busy month! One of my favorite times of the day is dinner, when Pete gets home from work and we get to be together as a family for a little while before Emery's bedtime and nightly studying starts. Another exciting thing for Pete included the fact that he managed to wake up early and exercise on quite a few days this month. This is pretty awesome considering how much of a morning person he ISN'T. :)

Pete and Emery's new thing is laundry basket rides. And fake, cheesy, smiles, apparently.

February was Emery's last month as a 1 year old! She loves to help me set the table for dinner recently. She surprised me one day by climbing on top of a dining room chair, placing napkins at each place setting, and putting the silverware on top of the napkin, without any guidance. Another exciting event for Ems this month was a fun little V-day party with her friends! We basically just turned one of our weekly play groups this month into a cookie decorating activity. Emery was in heaven, squeezing copious amounts of frosting onto sugar cookies and putting sprinkles and M&Ms on top. She's my little artist---loves coloring, play dough, painting, and chalk. I think we have our best conversations when we're doing artsy things together...those are the times she says funny things to me, like "Hey, crazy mama!", "I'm being silly!", "is there a brother in your tummy? It's growing up in your tummy!", "I miss my daddy. He's nice. And cute."

I didn't get any photos at our V-day party, but here's a photo of one of our many cookie-making adventures. Isn't that apron darling? It's even reversible! My mom made it for Ems and it's the perfect gift, considering she loves helping me in the kitchen

A not so fun part of our month was being sick for weeks. However, Emery napped everyday those two weeks (albeit in random locations like my bed or the couch). Her nap schedule has been SO off ever since January (like she naps sporadically or usually  not at all) and now she's starting to fight bedtime just as badly. It's kind of a major source of stress for me these days. Any ideas, all you moms out there?

She loves her little perfect-sized picnic table which we bought from the Scouts in our ward.

February flew by for me! It seemed even the occasional quiet days of staying home all day went by so fast. I had a fun Bring-Your-Own-Craft night with some friends. I also went to a fun, girls Bunco night, and did a RS activity where we made little valentines cookies-in-a-jar gifts for our Visiting Teachees. The little boy growing inside me preoccupies much of my thoughts these days. My mom sent me my first baby boy item...a cute blanket! It's gotten me excited about boy colors and boy stuff. I'm not making much progress in the name department, but may have come up with two that I'm excited about. Also contributing to my baby boy excitement is that I started babysitting a 3 month old little boy, once a week, and that has been fun. Overall, Emery is a good helper, and I think it will help in a small way to ease the transition of her little brother coming (although, if she doesn't start napping, I think she and I both will have a hard time surviving those days).

Assembly line set-up for our cookies-in-a-jar

refreshments I made: fruit tray plus some fun heart-shaped rice krispy treats on a stick. Wishing I put something fun in the bottom of those vases now that I see this photo. Thanks to Marie for taking pictures!

My almost-2 year old!

Since taking on a little babysitting, I got to pull out my baby swing and bumbo from storage.  The first time Emery saw the bumbo, she sat right down and exclaimed over and over again, "Another potty seat!"