Snow Snow Snow

The last couple of days it has been snowing like crazy. Emily hadn't been out in the snow, well really ever. Last year she was too little and the first snow we had this year wasn't as pretty and it was super frigid. So the other day we got all bundled up like A Christmas Story and went outside.

Here we are all bundled up:

Checking out the snow:

And when we fell over Emily was pretty much done with the snow.

We were pretty much outside the same amount of time it took to get bundled up. Oh well, I'm sure there will be much more snow to come!

Christmas in a Nutshell

Yet again Christmas was a whirlwind. Here there everywhere and tons of presents for Emily. The sad part was that she still was not interested in opening presents. She is just a couple months shy of getting it. Her reaction to all of these gifts:

was get me out of here Daddy:

But, she throughly enjoyed playing with all of her new toys once they were opened. So thank you to everyone it was a great couple of days and Emily will totally get it next year!(And her Mommy & Daddy got some pretty cool things too!)

12 Hours with Emily

Today was a marathon day. 12 straight hours...no breaks...no naps....not more than 30 seconds away from Emily at any given time today.....and I survived :) Just kidding. Its not bad, but when you rely on naptime for a little time to yourself it turns into a really really long day. Thankfully we had a few adventures today!

First, Emily woke up and was unusually hyper(that should have been my first clue). She ran around back and forth zipping around etc. My favorite part was when she ran across the kitchen and slid and fell down, cried but still managed to hold on to a fistful of teddy grahams with a death grip.

Fast forward a few hours and we decided to take a trip with my Mom to Meijer. Its a foreign store to my parents and it was for a new Christmas tree so obviously I had to load the box for her too. First the reason we went is because my parents tree that they have had for awhile(pre the pre-lit tree phase) had lights going out & my father was sick of figuring it out. I don't blame him. Our tree is pre-lit all the way!!! We went to Meijer(while my Dad was sleeping so it was a surprise to him when he woke up) to find the same tree Ed & I had purchased a few weeks earlier.

We go over to their tree display and check out the slim pickings(it is like 5 days before xmas after all). We checked out spruces and pines and clear lights and colored lights, slim, normal, lifelike etc. Then, I saw it. The box I was looking for. It is pretty much the same tree we got a few weeks earlier just a 1/2 foot shorter. Done deal. It is now 50% off plus I had Meijer Santa Bucks(for the record when we bought our tree it was about 30% off or something so I wasn't too upset). So we ended up with a 7 foot, pre-lit, white lights, lakeside spruce lifelike tree.

After that fulfilling trip it was about lunchtime so we headed over to Doggie Diner. They of course had their usual hot dog special so Emily & I split it. She at her hot dog with a fork with a dabble of ketchup on each piece. My kid loves sauces of all sorts just like her Mommy.

Then we dropped Mom off & went home for naptime....or so I thought. I tried for a hour. a whole hour. She did lay down a few times and get quiet but then was up and raring to go a few minutes later. I gave up around 3pm and decided to ride it out until 6:30-7pm.

So for the next couple hours she raced around even though I tried to get her to cuddle with me & watch a xmas movie. Nope, it was like she had eaten a bowl of sugar behind my back. We ate dinner and then it was time to try out our new Wii games!

I got 2 games, Just Dance & Jenny McCarthy's new fitness game to try out for FREE from House Party. It was super exciting to get that Fed Ex package on Saturday. We tried out Just Dance first and it was actually really fun! I had never heard of it but it has awesome song choices, is fun to try and do the dance moves, and is a good workout at the same time. Emily loved the music and had some serious moves going on.

On to Jenny McCarthy, I didn't get to far into this one so I'll report back later for any Wii Fitness fanatics out there but Emily's favorite part about this one is that there is a web cam so you see yourself the whole time! Emily thought it was really cool that she could see herself dancing on tv.

Then it was time for one more glass of milk, brush our teeth, and then try for bed. I prayed silently as I walked her up the stairs, layed her down, and she quietly went to sleep.

The End of our 12 Hour Day Adventures--If you have made it this far congrats! That was a really really long rambling story!

Stupid Cribs & Pacifiers

Its only Wednesday. It has been the longest 3 days ever and its only gonna get worse. I made the decision about 2 months ago to start getting rid of :

Because those of you who personally know my child know that she pretty much was attached to it. Well, first I got rid of it during the day(i.e. if she wasn't napping/bedtime) it was no where to be found. This literally took less than a few hours for her to even care or notice. It was soooo easy. Oh what a sucker I am to think the rest of it would be easy.

Now, some of you might say I should have yanked it at a year, some might say why not just let her keep it to sleep with until 2. Well when she was 1 I valued sleep and knew she would never give it up. And why not let her keep it until 2? Because I really don't want to be that Mom with a 5 year old and a binky. And I am afraid the longer I wait the longer its gonna take me to get rid of it.

So this week I decided we would start tackling naptime and bedtime. I was unsure if I was going to do it at the same time or separately. Let's just say Emily made that decision really easy for me. She is quite the climber and up until now had only gotten out of her crib once, when she was SUPER mad and I think her anger catapulted her out of the crib.

So Monday naptime rolls around, after a couple of false alarms of her telling me she wanted a nap she finally meant it, took 10 minutes for her to settle down and then it was quiet. I felt so accomplished. I felt like I could do this! Then bedtime came around. Everytime I put her down she would hop over the side of the crib. So I made the decision at that time to tackle naptime first since the idea of switching to a toddler bed might be in the near future.

Day 3 of naptime....it is not getting easier.....isn't it supposed to get better as the days go on? Nope! Emily decided today that she just really was not interested in going down for a nap. She just kept trying to crawl out of her crib. Well 2pm rolled around and I seriously just thought she was not going to nap today because of her stubborness. About 2:05 she wised up and quietly layed down with no fuss and went to sleep. Lesson learned: when you think Emily is ready for a nap add at least 30 minutes possibly a hour before you even think about bringing her upstairs.

The joys of parenting, no manual on this one(at least not for my kid). So for those of you who frown upon pacifiers don't worry I am working on it so my kid isn't that 5 year old with the binky!

Santa Maybe?

Ummmm no.  So on Friday night we headed over to Drauden Middle School to check out my sister's band playing some Holiday music and to check out Santa Clause....again....maybe.......

So we headed over to check out Santa. This one was a kid dressed up so you would think slightly less scary than some old man right? Umm no.  Here is Emily checking out Santa from afar

And then here she is pleading with her Mommy not to make her go any closer to him.

So in the end, I was done torturing my child for this year with Santa and did not make her go any closer. But she did get a candy cane from an elf. On the other hand, this was Cousin Sean's first time with Santa so I pretty much forced Kevin into making him get a picture. I gave him awesome advice(Kevin was in the picture and they backed into it). He screamed of course, it was classic. Unfortunately I do not have a pic of that, it was on Kevin's camera.

BUT! Here is Sean eating his candy cane which was pretty gross :)

But he enjoyed it!!!!

18 Months Old!

YEA!!! Emily made it in one piece to 18 months old. Her actually anniversary was on December 4th but we visited the doctor today for her checkup. Here are the stats:

26 lb 10 oz (80%)
34 inches tall(97%) -->Daddy is super excited because this means we can finally flip her around!
She is right there in all of her skills and Doctor says she's great. We only had to get 2 shots today thankfully since Daddy was not at the appointment(shots are his thing not Mommy's) and we don't have to go back until 2 YEARS!!! I seriously hope we don't have to step foot back in the office until then. 

Oh Santa.....Maybe next year....

Oh Santa. I had high hopes for Emily with Santa Clause. She did ok with him last year but this year was another story. I think the picture speaks for itself.

This was attempt #1(yes I did do multiple attempts because I am that Mom). Sad thing is that before this picture just a few minutes earlier Emily had been singing & dancing with Santa & Mrs. Clause. Explain that one!

Well after the library we headed over to Walmart. I just wanted to see if it was the environment, or literally the idea of a guy in a big red suit with a white beard. As we approached the Walmart Santa Emily just started freaking out. That idea was out. I decided that I wasn't going to give up. I brought Emily back the next day at 10am. She had her snack, she definitely was no where near taking a nap so I figured she was at her best!

We hovered around the area where Santa was & kept going up and down and around waving and saying Hi to Santa for about 10 minutes. I started walking toward Santa with Emily's hands around me like a death grip, five feet away her poor legs were trembling. So, I tricked her by turning around and backing into the Santa and obviously I was in this picture too(I guess you are never to old for Santa). As you can see, we still are completely terrified of Santa. Her face is priceless.

Being the *nice* Mom that I am I of course let Emily partake in a Candy Cane after she endured the trauma of Santa. She took a few licks, calmed down and we were off to bigger and better things!

I think the most important lesson is that I did not have to spend one penny to figure out that Emily was not a fan of Santa yet. Thank god for free pictures with Santa!!!!

Olive Garden Muppet Man

Ok, Christen you will think this is absolutely funnier than anyone else, just file it under White Hen Stories.

So Ed, myself & Emily ventured out to Olive Garden last night. I was very apprehensive since it is a nicer restaurant and Emily is at that age where she is awesome or not so awesome.....As far as Emily goes, she was pretty good, no meltdowns, fairly quiet, and just ate off of our plates instead of the $6 kids menu(I wasn't sure if she would eat it and it seemed quite extravagent for her). On to the muppet man!

If you have been to the Olive Garden on Weber before you might of had this man as your waiter. I remembered having him before but Ed didn't(big surprise). As he approached our table I did one of those are you serious we have this guy, out of everyone. I wish I had pictures but that would of been really really tacky & rude :) Imagine a muppet(mushed up face, looks like had way too much botox), with black spiky hair, and talks like Frank from Father of the Bride(the planner). A picture would make this so much better.

Basically Ed could not understand the man and it took all of my patience and energy to make sure I listened intently. The only slip up was when he brought Ed the wrong soup(Ed ate if of course) but I think that's pretty darn good considering what could of happened. He also gave Emily a breadstick plate and a dinner plate. I thought that was cute but he obviously didn't foresee that she easily could have thrown them both across the room(which did not happen).

The End.

***UPDATE****  I found the receipt from the other night and his name is Aldo.

Ducks go Quack Quack

Ducky Ducky Ducky. One of Emily's go to words is Duck. She has a book she likes me to read to her that has ducks in it so it is a word she has picked up on. In addition, to my surprise she has somewhat correctly identified the wildlife in our backyard(or well close enough). Today there were just geese back there, but ducks frequent the yard too.

So everyday at some point Emily is checking out the ducks/geese in the backyard and learning that they go Quack Quack at the same time!

Playdate!

Well it had been a few weeks so it was time to hang out with Danielle & Chase again. Danielle decided it would be fun to bake Christmas cookies and I thought Emily + cookie = happy Emily so why not! Emily & Chase had much more fun playing with each other this time because Chase is starting to crawl and move around so Emily can "play" with him now instead of just staring at him. She of course had to pet him and at one point was "sweeping" him with her broom. I guess she could have done much worse things!

Here are the 2 of them hanging out, Emily is trying to feed Chase his bottle(er steal his bottle)

And here are the results of our afternoon...

And this was supposed to be a picture of Emily eating a cookie but she couldn't stand still she was so excited to eat one:

I am sure there will be many more Christmas treats in Emily's future!!!

My new Trick

Hey folks Emily here.

I have stolen Mommy's computer so I can tell you about my new awesome trick......

I now love to climb in my chair all day long, up down, up down, it is so much fun and drives my Mommy nuts. I am still working on getting the straps put together.

But I am very proud of myself! Talk to you later! Emily

Peas Peas the magical vegetable!

So my daughter is weird, she LOVES peas. I think of all the vegetables that one is her favorite and she enjoys eating them which is weird since tons of people warned me my kid wouldn't want to willingly eat them.....Well she is defying the odds, but why peas? She enjoys most other vegetables but her eyes light up at the sight of peas. Here she is having them for a snack(yes snack) not even a forced meal time but rather she is eating them for fun!!!!

And yes, she is eating them off of a pink plate on the couch, they are peas after all so I figure why not let her eat them her way!!! I am hoping her obsession with green vegetables is permanent and not just a tease!

The coolest bathroom ever-next to "The Nerk"

So the Rog family was out running some errands today and stopped by Kohl's. It wouldn't be normal if we didn't stop to check out the bathroom and am I glad we did! Kohl's has the coolest "Family" bathroom ever. It was seriously not allowed for me to ever enter a family bathroom before Emily but now I have the awesome privelige of using them which helps a lot when its just me & her out shopping. I wish I had pictures but I don't so use your imagination.

First, I could actually wheel the big stroller in there and had room to turn it around easily, there is of course the sink, the adult sized toilet, a changing table, a little seat built into the wall with a seat belt to put your kid in....and the best part! A kid sized real toilet complete with their own low to the ground toilet paper dispenser. So look out Kohl's when Emily starts potty training you will be our store of choice!!!

Mr. Fishy

Emily had decided that she was ready for another pet besides Hershey and just happen to come across Mr. Fishy at a birthday party she went too. At her friend Robert's 2nd birthday party these cute little fish in bowls were the party favors!

Emily really likes Mr. Fishy and likes to try to pet him.....

So Mr. Fishy usually lives far up on the counter and comes down for visiting hours with Emily!!!

Growing up

So I have noticed over the last few weeks that Emily is OBSESSED with eating at her little table instead of in her booster chair. This is super exciting except for the fact that the dog gets fed even more than when she was in her booster chair. But, this is super good news for Grandma & Grandpa Gato who just invested in a table for their grandchildren so my sister & I don't have to fight(or worry about bringing) a chair for the little ones to eat in.

I think they did a pretty good job of having snacktime & dinner at their awesome new table!

Halloween!!! (long overdue)

So this year Emily started to understand Halloween. She actually went around the neighborhood and trick or treated!!! She didn't catch on to saying trick or treat so next year she will be a pro!!! Emily's costume was Pebbles this year(her Aunt Annette's idea) and I think my homemade costume turned out just fine. The best part about it was that since it was made out of her regular clothes she WORE IT!!!(instead of pulling at it and trying to get a real costume off of her like last year's pumpkin).

My little Pebbles:

Her partner in crime is of course Bam Bam.....but he transformed into a Pirate at the last minute!

And then towards the end of the night Emily found Allie's hat to her Butterfly costume and couldn't resist trying it on

We had tons of Spooky treats from our Halloween cookbooks, spider webs, abracadra hats, taffy apple cookies, and tons of other sugary treats that Emily throughly enjoyed and then crashed later that night.

Snack Time!

So who am I kidding, one of Emily's favorite times of day is SNACK TIME! This kid gets her appetite from her dad. Some days it feels like its snack time ALL day long. Those days are super frustrating but oh well. She's got a little pudge but at least I know she's eating.

Today it was cheese its but no matter what it is Emily always enjoys snack time.

Pumpkins Pumpkins Pumpkins!

So we finally have made it to the pumpkin farm!!! It looked like it was just going to keep getting colder so I figured we better go sooner than later. Emily was a little uncooperative with the photos but there are still some cute ones! The place we went had tons of stuff. Emily had an awesome time but I kept thinking about how next year she is actually going to really enjoy it. We started out with a few pictures in the front displays:

 

         And then proceeded on to the tons of animals they had. There were goats, cows, pigs, rabbits, baby chicks, roosters, turkey, sheep, etc. I was kind of thinking Emily was going to have another freak out with the goats like at the zoo but she did alright.

       Her first hayride!!!!!

And our first "train ride".......

And the bouncy house(they even had separate ones for big kids and little kids)

And finally the pumpkins! A lot of them were taller than her!

   Overall a very successful trip, the animals were interesting, the train & hayrides were fun, lots of pumpkins.....but the best part.........APPLE CIDER DONUTS!!! Yum!

Giveaway! Yoplait Less Sugar, More Fun Prize Pack!

Courtesy of MyBlogSpark.com--

Are you searching for a snack for the kids that tastes good and is good for them? Yoplait Kids yogurt is the perfect solution with 25% less sugar than the leading kids’ yogurt. With its thick and creamy texture that will hug your little one’s spoon, you won’t have to worry about a sticky mess to clean up afterwards. It also contains no artificial sweeteners or flavors, so you can feel good about serving it to your kids.


In addition, Yoplait Kids is a good source of vitamin D and, according to two new studies that provide the first national assessment of the crucial nutrient in young Americans, millions of U.S. children have disturbingly low vitamin D levels, possibly increasing their risk for a variety of health concerns, including bone problems. About 7.6 million children, adolescents, and young adults have vitamin D levels so low they could be considered deficient. It can be challenging for growing kids to get enough vitamin D because this nutrient is only found naturally in very few foods; however Yoplait Kids makes it a little easier to incorporate a delicious source of vitamin D and calcium in your child’s diet.

MyBlogSpark.com and Yoplait have sent me a prize pack including an insulated tote, spoons, and a coupon to try out their yogurt. Emily & I went and got the free yogurt and she loves it! It is thick enough that she can get it to stay on the spoon and it comes in funky colors and flavors but is still healthy!

If you would like a chance to win a prize pack please leave a comment below or email me for a chance to win! I will notify the winner by email!

Zoo Adventures!

So yea, we went to the zoo ages ago but I finally got the pictures on the computer! Thankfully our wonderful Aunt Annette, Uncle, Kevin, & Cousin Sean have a Zoo membership so they let us tag along. The kids are getting more excited to go to the zoo every time!

Here are our little fishes!

And of course our signature just chilling in the wagon!

We'll throw in an actual picture of an animal too, but getting the kids to look at them for an extended period of time is still difficult!!

I'm sure we'll have plenty more Zoo adventures! Next year hopefully we can use the wagon to hold our lunch and drinks instead of kids!

Halloween Treats for nearly nothing!

Ok, both McDonald's and now Wendy's have some great deals for kids treats out there.

McDonald's

The book costs only a $1 & you get 12 coupons! 4 free apple dippers, 4 free small cones, and 4 free apple jiuce or milk jugs. AWESOME DEAL! The only thing is they are not valid until October 31st but otherwise I think your kids will thank you.

Now on to Wendy's!

Same idea, it costs $1 and you get 10 free junior frosty coupons which are not valid until Nov 1st but don't expire until February!

Grocery Store Adventures

So I had been putting off a trip to the grocery store for a week now just because its not my favorite thing to do with Emily. Its not that she is bad in store, she is actually very well behaved because she enjoys looking at the people and waving at them....It is the unloading of the car that I loathe. I never know how its going to work out, did I just get one bag, a million bags, seriously there has to be a better way(I know online grocery shopping).

Today there was extra annoyances because the stroller and 2 bowling balls were still in my trunk so I had to pack the groceries in the backseat(or so I thought I was). Emily and I were waiting patiently in our cart(because you cannot put Emily in the car until AFTER you return the cart otherwise you will get arrested-another fun addition to my life) while this woman parked next to us slowly put her child in the carseat, got in the car, handed him sanitizing stuff, checked her hair, checked her makeup(its 9am people), did other stuff that I have no idea why while I'm standing in the parking lot waiting like a fool. She knew I was there. Ignorant people, usually people with kids are even more in tune with that, but not this lady! Urg.

We survived, I ended up packing in the front seat(yes, that is HOW LONG SHE TOOK) and we made it home. I dragged the stuff in the garage, then took Em in, and then thankfully put her down for a nap so I could drag everything in the house.

Halloween is right around the corner!

Now just for laughs, here is a picture of Rosie in her pumpkin costume!

So I know my sister has been talking about Halloween since June. I am realizing it is right around the corner. Last year Ed didn't think Emily would appreciate a trip to a pumpkin farm so we didn't :( but I still got her a pumpkin and had her experience it! As of right now Emily is going to be Pebbles with her cousin Sean as Bam Bam(totally appropriate for both of them).

This was my cute baby last year!!! We went with the classic pumpkin costume because that is what I was for my first Halloween. We have a picture of her in my actual costume from many many years ago too but she posed better in the modern one!

IKEA Meatball Meal only $1 this weekend!

Speaking of IKEA! Just saw that this weekend Sept 18-20 you can get a Sweedish meatball meal(10 meatballs, mashed potatoes) and from experience they are absolutely delicious and that is an awesome deal if you happen to be by an IKEA!

Also, Mcdonald's has Halloween coupon booklets for kids. I believe they only cost $1 and have 12 coupons for free items like apple dippers and small cones. Great treats for little children who behave well!

Any questions about any deals let me know!

**if you are into facebook there are always extra coupons/deals/free stuff if you become fans of certain places!

It's been awhile!!!

Why did I stop blogging after I started? Well, life got a tad busy for awhile. Emily's eye teeth kind of took over the world and she wasn't feeling well for a few weeks. I promise in the next couple of weeks I'll be posting her past and current pictures as well as keep anyone updated on any awesome deals out there!

Some of our recent ones have been our trip to IKEA for free breakfast for Emily. It was our first adventure to the actual food court upstairs and it did not disapoint. It was weird, I won't lie. But now that I have done it once I feel like a pro! We did breakfast which seems like a better deal, but it definitely would be more exciting/exotic to do lunch.

More to come later! I promise but we have to get ready for swim lessons now!

Fun times!

Well today we did something out of the norm, Emily & I went to lunch with Danielle & Chase. Emily always enjoys people watching like her mother so it was a nice time. The best part.....it was 99 cent kids meal day & I had no clue! Awesome surprise!

Another cool thing was that Ed let me out of the house a half hour before Emily went to bed so I could go to the library for a seminar. It was like pulling teeth but I knew that Emily would go right to bed because she hadn't napped much today. Thankfully that sealed the deal. It was weird to be in the car without her.....

Also, Miss Emily got a brand new baby stroller from her Grandma Gato the other day and absolutely loves it. She still tries to sit in it herself but also puts her babies in there and pushes them around. So cute! Pictures to follow shortly!

The girl who would not nap!

So today was completely frustrating. Emily is becoming more irradict with her naps again. I have had her on a schedule for the months I've been home which has been great......but now she thinks she is such a big girl and does not require naptime anymore. It is not everyday but just enough days to throw off our schedule. Today was one of those days. She got up at 7 and would not go down for a nap until 1:30. Seriously.

But once she finally went to sleep I was able to get a couple dozen muffins made so Edward doesn't go hungry!

Off to Grandma & Grandpa's later for more fun, hopefully she is much happier when she wakes up, her eye teeth are COMING!

It's a HOT one!

Emily was a crabby patty today but I still let her go out into the world. Her first adventure was to blockbuster on a walk. The 100 degree heat was not fun but the cool air at Blockbuster inbetween definitely helped.

Then Miss Emily went to Aunt Annette's & Uncle Kevin's for dinner. She had quite a good time. She really enjoyed the homemade Blueberry scones and Sean's really cool self feeding treat bowl. Although she helped herself to more than one at a time like you are supposed too. Imagine Emily, on a mini couch, grabbing handfuls of puffs and shoving them in her mouth. Hilarious!

Catie's 6th Bday!

Well on Saturday we headed out to Rochelle for Catie's 6th Birthday! It was supposed to be just me and Emily because Ed had to work but he ruined our fun at the last minute. He actually got out of work early for once. I didn't bring my camera so I don't have any cute shots(let's just say Emily didn't let Catie have all the fun w/ her ice cream cake). If anyone sends me some I'll post them.

Emily had a blast playing with the other kids. Her favorite party guest was Alfie(the dog). She kept going by his cage trying to pet him and kept saying "Doggie". Emily was so tired afterwards and slept the whole way home.

Welcome to Emily's World!

Because I have some free time on my hands I have decided to officially start a blog. It will not be very exciting but someone might think its interesting. It will be about Emily's Adventures. What she is doing that day, her milestones, etc. I will probably throw in some of my coupon knowledge as well just for kicks.