Sickies

Emmeline and I have been sick the past few days. I felt so bad when she caught a little cold. However, she still sleeps like an angel (as depicted here by my artsy husband!). I figure if she is still sleeping then it can't be that bad. As my friend Adair, says, it is a boost for her immune system!



















It also hasn't affected her moods too much. I had her all bundled up in a hoodie after I bathed her to keep her warm and snuggly. She has drool and snot covering her face and she is still grinning at her mommy.

Aunts and Uncles

Cute Aunt Hannah. Everyone says that Emmeline looks just like Hannah when she was a baby. I've seen baby pictures and it is true. If only Emmie turns out as cute as her Aunt! My mom crocheted the cute yellow blanket.

















Emmeline absolutely loves her Uncle Lukie. It is the cutest thing!




















Parker is pulling the classic "Marsden smile" while Emmie's head is smothered in his armpit. The positions that babies can sleep in amaze me.

Mitch and Samantha

Last night Rachael and I threw a bridal shower for my little brother's fiancee, Samantha. These are a few of their engagement pictures. They are a cute couple. It was fun for me to get to know Sam a little more at the shower. I interviewed Mitch beforehand and quizzed Sam on a few things to see how much they knew about each other. It was cute to see them respond with most the same answers. Even though the first sight of each other, dating time, and their engagement has all happened since Emmeline was born, they know quite a bit about each other. It must have been a match made in Heaven (either that or one made at BYU!!! jk I love the Y! Neither of them have ventured down to Provo and I don't think it is in their plans) I am so excited for Mitch and Sam to be married in a couple weeks. We love you Sam!
















Mitch and Sam have the best meeting story I have ever heard. Sam was assigned to call a list of returned missionaries when she went to Institute one night. It was a service project to make sure that these RMs were attending Institute. I was actually at my parent's house the night they first talked. Mitch hung up the phone after talking to someone for 45 min. I said, "Hizz (family nickname), who was that?" He replied, "I don't know." What? How can you talk to someone for 45 min. and not know them?!!!" He explained the situation and then said, "But hey, I got a date out of it!" Yep, there is my brave brother. He set himself up on a blind date with a girl who was checking up on his Institute attendance. He claimed she had a cute voice. Wow. He really is brave! But he is very lucky because she just happened to be the one. So I guess the moral of the story is....he or she could be just around the corner---or the next person who calls you!

The Bumbo

Our friends, the Heders, showed us this cool little chair called "The Bumbo." I laughed and laughed when I saw their 4 month old daughter sitting up in it. I couldn't wait to buy one for Emmie. I love her bib that Rach gave her...."Got Milk?" Yes, she has plenty of it. Her 4 month 15 lb weigh says it all!













She loves the feeling of sitting up. It was funny at first when her neck wasn't quite strong enough to support her head. We could only leave her in the chair for about 30 sec. because her head was too wobbly. Now her head is just fine, but her legs are getting too strong and she almost kicks and pushes herself out of it. I originally got the chair thinking that I could work around the house while she sat and watched me. But it turns out that I have to watch her more carefully when she is in it! Oh well, it makes for some funny pictures.





















She is so stinking cute! Her hair is getting long and sometimes just sticks straight up (or more often shoots out in every direction). I love this Dr. Seuss onsie. It finally fits her. It was the first thing I bought when I found out I was pregnant with a girl. (I'm a little book crazy and I don't want to rub off on my kids at all). Pretty fun to see her in it now. It makes me realize how fast time has gone by.

Daddy Time

Emmie might not like her "tummy time", but she LOVES her daddy time.


















Look at those beautiful blue eyes.




















She is getting ready for our trip to St. George in a couple of weeks. We are going to take a vacation there with John, Rachael and Charley. We hope to do a mild hike. Last year, my brother-in-law John took his 5 month old daughter, Charley, on an extremely insane hike called "Angels Landing." He carried her in a front pack just like this one. We can't keep up with those guys. We hope they tone it down this year!

Valentines Day

Jon knows I love wildflowers so he brought me home a bouquet of blue iris for Valentines Day. This year he had two Valentines!




















My little brother Scottie brought a dozen red roses to our house. When Emmeline found out they were for Scot's girlfriend and not for her, she pulled this face.

Will You Be Mine?

To my daddy: On Valentines Day I wanted to tell you something special. My bib says it all. Love, Emmeline
















Your two girls love you and couldn't ask for a better husband and daddy.
Happy Valentines Day Jon!

Emmeline's laugh!

I love her little giggle. It is so dang cute. She doesn't do it very often yet, so we were lucky to get this on camera.

My Big Girl

Emmie is 4 months today. What a big girl. I love my chunky baby. I am excited to find out how much she weighs at the doctor's this Friday. this cute owl outfit is from Jon's Aunt Dosie.




















All grown up. Now she just needs to learn how to read so she can enjoy a good book while sitting in the rocking chair!

















Emmeline has been having some good daddy time the past couple days as I have been sick with the stomach bug. Thanks Dad!


















I discovered today that Emmie likes stuffed animals. I had never pulled them out until today. She just snuggled with them and cooed for several minutes. So cute.



















This is Emmeline Shae in her bassinet one of her first days home from the hospital






















Four months later and she fills the entire length of the bed. She now kicks the bottom of the bassinet when she wakes up. I think its time for me to upgrade her bed. I'm still in denial that she is growing.


















She is definitely a binky baby, but a cute one!

Saturday Night Outing

We went to dinner with my family on Saturday night and then bowling. However, bowling never happened. They were about to start Thunder Alley (glow in the dark bowling from 10:00pm-midnight). I'm actually glad we didn't end up bowling because it solved my argument with Jon about how we were going to keep our hands clean to hold Em, while bowling (hand sanitizer solves everything, right? Jon O said his hands would be cracked and dried after applying it every time he sat down from his turn). Hard question huh? Emmie was sure being cute for these pictures!













Shelby, Scot, Emmie and Natalie (Scot's girlfriend)


















Emmie wasn't cold one bit. She liked being bundled up with daddy. I am glad Jon's peacoat is big enough to fit two!
















So instead of bowling, I talked Jon into stopping by Barnes and Noble Bookstore. Okay, so we didn't just stop by. When I enter the children's book area, I sit down on the floor and start reading books I have pulled from the shelves! Jon was so sweet to walk around with Emmie and wait while I chose which Mother Goose book I wanted to buy. I am not always into Mary Engelbreit's books, but I love the way she illustrates these 100 nursery rhymes. Emmeline is already interested in looking at the bright colors (okay, so we read a few rhymes from this book more for me right now than for her. She prefers this other book that lights up and sings the nursery rhymes to you. It is starting to drive me crazy so I needed some variety!)
















This is the illustration for "Old King Cole". I am a big fan of nursery rhymes but I think kids get bored if they can't see good pictures.

Emmeline Found Her Voice!

I couldn't resist posting all three of these videos. It was too hard to choose just one. She is constantly voicing her opinion about everything as of 2 days ago. It was so funny how literally in one day she discovered the fun sounds she can make with her little vocal chords. Sometimes I wonder how little they really are! It is so fun. She makes the most concentrated looks while speaking! I had no idea how much fun it would be to hear her sqawk like this. I feel like I'm not talking to myself all day. When Jon and I ask her questions, she now has answers (We wish we could understand sqawkanese).

Emmie at 6 am

You will not believe how happy Emmie is when the rest of world is hitting "snooze" on their alarm clocks. Em is really good about sleeping through the night now. However, sometimes she decides that her mornings begin at 5 or 6 am. She must know that mommy needs some extra encouragement to get out of bed. This smile was a great way to start off my day. Thanks Em!














I think you will love this video of Em jabbering away. She has so much energy in the mornings. This morning I was cleaning up breakfast and she was watching me from her little chair. She started fussing. I knew what she was saying "pick me up mom......" Over and over and over she tried to say that she didn't want to sit there. Lately I have been trying to leave her alone for a bit when she is fed, changed and well. She just keeps fussing! It has been a nice excuse to ignore housework. It is tricky trying to balance her in this little front pack we have while emptying the garbages (I did that today and it was a big pain that lasted way longer than it should have). So anyway, there she was begging to be held while I worked away at the dishes. Finally I went and sat by her and told her that she was okay and that I would come get her in a little bit. She looked up at me with big tear stained eyes and gave me a little smile that said "You are going to pick me up right???" It was the sweetest look of longing. All she needed to be happy was to be with mommy. I couldn't turn her down. So what if the dishes get piled up higher in the sink? I am starting to realize that the question they asked me at the hospital before they sent me home with Emmie has some real merit. Do you know how to feed her and love her? If so, your baby will survive.