Emme's New Trick + Some Exciting News

A few weeks ago Chris came home from work and Emme & I showed him an exciting new trick we'd been practicing for two days. I think Chris was a little confused at first, but then he got the idea.

At the end of the video right before I snap the camera off he comes up to give me a big kiss and congratulate me. So sweet!

We are so, so excited for this new little addition! Emme still gets confused and tries to lift up my shirts and look for a baby in my stomach. I'm guessing she'll figure it out in a few weeks here.

{Love this expression}

We went to the doctor this week and got to see the little bean up close. It was moving around and waving its arms and legs like crazy. What a relief to see!

I'm with a new doctor this time around because my insurance has changed, and the first thing my doctor said when she walked in the room was, "How about we work toward the goal of a better labor than last time!?" I about kissed her on the mouth. We're going to be great friends, I can already tell.

So when is this little one due? Drumroll, please. As long as my doctor is on call that day, my induction is tentatively being planned for January 21, 2012! That'll bring our family tally to:

Annalisa - October 21
Emmeline - November 21
Chris - December 21
Little Bean - January 21

For now we're looking forward to only a few more weeks of morning sickness, and then a happy, healthy pregnancy!

T-ville Dayz

On Saturday we went to the annual Taylorsville Dayz celebration, where we met up with a bunch of friends and family to watch the fireworks. We always joke that Taylorsville blows their entire city budget on fireworks, and this year was no exception. The fireworks were fantastic! And we can walk to them from Chris's parents house, which makes them super convenient.

We tried taking Emme to fireworks last year but ended up sneaking out early when she started to howl. I think they were a little too scary for her last year, and frankly too late at night. This year she did much better! She got a little nervous when the fireworks first started, but Chris and I snuggled her right up in between us on the blanket and she relaxed right away. By the end she was clapping and yelling "yay!"

{"Cheese!"}

{Mom and Emme}

{Dada}

We can't wait for next year!

Sharing

We've been working on sharing lately. It seems to be a tough concept sometimes for the oldest child, who has the world to herself. And for some reason, Emme has an even harder time sharing with her friend Sawyer. These two crack me up! They have such a love-hate relationship, and it's hilarious to watch. It must mean they're going to get married someday, because they already act like an old married couple. :)

So we like to visit Sawyer lots, because it's good practice for both of them. The other day Sawer came to visit us, and we practiced sharing Emme's most prized posession with him -- her "neigh." At first Emme wasn't so keen on the idea, as you can see, but eventually she warmed up and they had a good time.

Thanks for the visit, Sawyer Man! We love you, buddy!

The Rage

Last week I decided I was going to be a good mom. Emme was itching to get outside in the sunshine, so we decided to go to Raging Waters (aka Seven Peaks Salt Lake) for the morning. (I bought a season pass there for me on a daily deal site for $40 bucks, and Emme is free. It ended up being a better alternative than our city pool, whose indoor pool is closed for remodeling and outdoor pool doesn't open until noon!)

So anyway. For $40 bucks I figured we could go there once a week to play in the splash zone and ride the waves in the pool. Plus with our season pass we get in an hour and a half earlier than regular day pass purchasers. Score!

We got there at 9:30 AM and were the first ones in the parking lot and the second ones through the door. It was fantastic! We went straight to the splash zone and played around there for a while. It took Emme a few minutes to warm up to the idea, and the splash zone water (only 6" deep) is unheated so that was a bit of a shocker. (But everything else is heated.)

Needless to say, this girl had a blast. I even snuck her in some fruit snacks and a water bottle for a little treat break. As soon as she'd downed those fruit snacks, she was back in the water.



Her favorite part, of course, was the "wee" in the splash zone. She was too afraid (and frankly too little) to go by herself so she would grab my hand and lead me up the stairs, and then I would slide down the twisty slide with her. We did that over and over and over...

After a while we decided to head over to the wave pool and check it out. Emme was a little hesitant at first, but pretty soon she was trying to shake off my hand and head straight out into the deep end by herself. (Note to mom: bring a life jacket next time!) We had a blast jumping over the waves and surfing on our tummies. And my quads were even sore the next day, to boot.

It started to get crowded around 11:00 AM when all the regulars started coming through the gates. We were pretty exhausted and headed out by 11:20, without any protest from Emme. Clearly she was pooped!

{Have I mentioned how much this girl loves her some sunglasses?}

On our way home we got some Wendy's french fries and then we napped good and hard the rest of the afternoon. Bliss! We can't wait to go again this week with Kelli & Cambree!

Brandi Carlile Concert

On Saturday night I went to the Brandi Carlile concert with Amy and Michelle. It was a momentous occasion, because last time we saw Brandi Carlile, Amy couldn't come with us since she was under 21. Luckily, this concert was outdoors at Library Square, with no age restrictions. Yay!

We weren't quite as close to the stage as last time, but it was still amazing. The weather was perfect -- 75 degrees and overcast. Bliss!


The Secret Sisters opened the show, and they were pretty decent. Their voices and harmonies were amazing, but their original songs were just so-so. I'd totally buy an album of theirs if it was full of Alison Krauss covers.

When the Secret Sisters were singing, everyone was sitting down on their blankets and chilling. But the second Brandi came out, everyone stood up and rushed up to the stage, and stayed that way for the duration of her concert. It must have surprised her because she kept saying she couldn't believe we were all standing up! And the first song she came out with was a mellow one (unlike last concert), so I can only assume she thought we were all going to chill on the lawn while she played. Not so!

Last time when we saw Brandi, it was all acoustic. But this time she had a drummer with her, and I must say I loved it! I took a few video clips but they're too big to upload, so when I get them edited down I'll add them.

There was another guy who sang after Brandi but we left because we felt like our show experience was complete. :) Can't wait to see her again someday!


On our way to our car, Amy got The Twins (Brandi's basist and guitarist) to wave to her from inside their bus. Wohoo! Such a fun concert. Thanks for coming with me, girls!

Happy Father's Day

I had planned on letting Chris sleep in and making him breakfast in bed this morning, but I woke up to the sound of Chris & Emme playing out in the family room. Crap. Apparently she woke up a little earlier than usual and and I didn't hear it. So he got her out of her crib and took her out to the family room to drink her milk, all while letting me sleep. What a guy! Seriously.

So we ended up with breakfast at the counter instead this morning. Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and OJ - all Chris's favorite. And Emme seemed to be enjoying herself, too. :)

Emme had a card she'd "signed" for Chris. She absconded with the envelope while he read the card.


Then we gave Chris his father's day present - a new pair of flip flops (because his old ones are on their deathbed). Emme was so excited when we were picking them out ("shoes! dada shoes!") that I was convinced she was going to spill the beans to Chris when we got home. Luckily she's easily distractable and she promptly forgot about them until she saw them again this morning.


Happy Father's day, Chris! You are an amazing "dada" and husband. We love you so much! Muah!

Neigh

We get a lot of passed down toys on the Spencer side of the family since Emme is the youngest grandchild, which we absolutely love! This week it was a rocking horse, which we brought home and put in the family room. Emme has been obsessed with animals and their noises lately, and the horse is no exception. She can't say most of the animals names, but she can say their noises so she calls them by that.

For the first few days after we brought the rocking horse home, when she would wake up and we would bring her out into the family room, she would get so excited and wiggly and start exclaiming, "neigh! neigh! neigh!" The moment we set her down, she would run straight to it. (I even have a photo of her buck naked after a bath, when she beelined straight for the horse and hopped on. But I'll spare you the full moon.)

Thank you, family, for the fun toys! We love them!

Dancing

Anyone else seeing any resemblance?

Love this girl. She makes me laugh every day.