Climbing!

Well I thought Emma's climbing adventures would stick to chairs and couches. Nope. We came home from Robinson Lake to find that her determination has now convinced her to climb out of her crib, onto every single one of her toys, and onto our computer desk! The last one just happened a few minutes ago while I was taking care of laundry. She has also decided that my iPod is hers and is very mad that she can't have it. She also got used to constant attention last week and can't figure out why I can't sit and play with her every minute! It must be so hard for her to come back from vacation too! Daddy's at work, Mommy's doing laundry, and Emma has to find stuff to do. Hopefully it won't mean another climbing adventure! Will the counters be next??? Oh my!

Alpena Was Awesome!

We seriously had the best week ever in Alpena! We have been going for 32 years now. The weather was perfect, and the water was like bath water! We swam 3 times every single day! Turns out, Emma's a serious water bug. She loved splashing and playing in the sand. The spot on Lake Huron where we were is so shallow. There are tons of sand bars, so Emma could walk really far out (safely tucked in her floatie of course!) before she couldn't touch anymore. By the end of the week she would just take off and leave us in her dust! I'm having serious Trelawny Resort withdrawals this week, but I know it's just because we have such a good time with family and friends.

Emma had her 15 month check-up today (we were a tad late due to vacation). She's doing great! She's growing like a weed and handled the appointment well. She was fussy because I had to cut her nap short to get to the doctor on time. I was worried about her one vaccination because of her crankiness. Amazingly, she did fine! She wanted to sit up, so I had to hold her arms. She watched the nurse the whole time and just stared as the shot went in. Not a peep! Not a whine. Not a jerk of the arms. Nothing. It was crazy! I think she'll sit up from now on for all her shots!

I'm sure I have talked about Emma's determination. Her persistence. Well..... I'm thinking that it's a bit more challenging to handle with a 15 month old! The past two days have been interesting around here to say the least. She is determined to do everything herself and often wants what you have. Things that she has ignored for a while are back into play. The remote, cell phones, regular phones, my Nook, dog dishes, glasses of water, laundry baskets. Everything is fair game! And now she can climb! I spent a good portion of today trying to keep her off our bed because when she got up there she would throw off the folded clothes and empty the laundry basket! I'd put her down, she'd run for the dog with her drumstick! (These have been safely put away!) She is a girl on the move, and I am struggling to keep up! Mike and I often have the discussion about how much Emma actually understands and what her motive happens to be when she does some things. Personally I think, her receptive vocabulary is VERY good. I just don't always think her intent is a naughty one. So.... we take it one day at a time and try to figure out how to discipline a toddler who can't always communicate what she wants. A common parental problem from what I hear! LOL!

We are continuing our busy summer with our yearly trip to Robinson Lake with Mike's family next week. It'll probably be the last year, so we'll make it a great one! A wedding finishes up July, and then I get to go dress shopping with Emma's birth mom the first weekend in August! I was asked to be her Matron of Honor, so I get to go help pick out bridesmaid dresses! I can't wait to see her dress too! Then a wedding, Danish Festival, a wedding, and then back to school! This summer is flying by, but boy are we having fun!

Summer Adventures!

I seriously love summer. I get to stay up late and have some quiet "mommy time." I can sleep in (if Emma lets me). I have even been able to read a little bit! Pinterest is giving me all sorts of fun stuff to do with Emma. My shopping list grows each time I log on--paint, shaving cream, sidewalk chalk, window markers, etc... We have used her kiddie pool on a daily basis lately. In fact, she jumped in, clothes and all, just after getting out of bed at 9am! We played outside until about noon, then went in for lunch and a nap. Every day is an adventure with her for sure!

Our summer continues to be busy, and I'm trying to find a nice balance to it all. (My recent FB post shows my struggles with saying "No" lately.) It's tough, and Mike is working a ton of overtime. We're trying to make it work, and I'm trying to figure out what things are most important. I'm struggling with that quite a bit. In my head I know Mike is doing it for us; he's thinking of the family and trying to help my stress level regarding money and such. In my heart, I see all that he's missing. It's a tough road, but we're trying our best.

On the bright note, we made it through our road trip to Pennsylvania, and we had a great time! We saw the Flight 93 Memorial and visited the Pittsburgh Zoo. Emma was a gem in the car even though it was about 10-11 hours both ways. The DVD player was a smart purchase! It's currently packed away for our next long trip, which is coming up soon!

Her latest accomplishments:

**She can climb up on our bed by putting her foot on the side rail. Boy was that a surprise when I went in our room the other day!

**She can climb the ladder on her small play structure, and she can get herself into a sitting position to go down the slide.

**She's learning how to go down the stairs on our deck backwards. Honestly, stairs scare the crap out of me!

**She has found a love of watermelon and blueberries!

**She has figured out that her finger can go up her nose.

**She has figured out that her finger can go up MY nose!

**She can now say bunny, duck, help me (more like hpme), banana, hungry (ungy), potty, and lots more! Mostly she just repeats them, though a few are said on a regular basis.

The day is never dull with Miss Emma around, and I am so thankful for that!

So Much to Say.....So Little time!

Has it really been over two  months since my last blog posting? I say this as Emma is trying to stand on my Stampin' Up case, so she can see out the window. Oh wait...now she's trying to stand on the 2 inch window sill! Our little peanut is such a busy girl! It doesn't help that she seems to lack fear--completely! I'll try to keep this update as short as possible:

• Emma is now 14 months old. She's growing like a weed, which shows when she eats like a farmer! She's running around like crazy and starting to climb onto everything too. She can say quite a few words, though "puppy" is a favorite. She seems to understand so much, which is fun and scary at the same time! I love to see her explore and learn, but it also means she's growing up quickly. 
• She has such personality! Emma is definitely our little ham. She will do such goofy things just to get a laugh from us or herself! She is also very determined. According to our daycare provider, she "has quite a grip!" I think this will suit her well if she decides to play sports, piano, etc... :) However, it's difficult to get things away from her when she doesn't want to let go! This usually ends in her sinking to the floor and "growling." It's funny, but we try not to let her see us laugh. 
• Our summer is pretty much full already, but we're looking forward to time with family and friends. Emma is going to daycare one day every week, so I'm hoping I can use my time productively! I also hope to do lots of fun things during the week--the library, the beach, museums, zoo, etc... I have big plans, but I like the idea of sitting in our backyard with Emma's kiddie pool too!
• I got my e-mail confirmation that I'm still going to be teaching 1st grade in the fall, so that was a relief! I want to spend a lot of time looking at curriculum this summer, as the new core curriculum standards are quite impressive. 
• I want to start looking into adopting again, but I'm not sure I can get Mike on board. He wants to adopt an older child, but we haven't really talked about what that might look like. I really want to adopt an infant again, so we'll see what happens. I feel strongly about giving Emma a sibling, but it might just not be in the cards. 
• It's hard to believe, but Mike and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary in the fall! Friends of ours are going on a cruise for theirs and want us to go, but I don't think we can. I would love to start planning a weekend getaway for us that won't cost too much but will let us spend some time with just the two of us. Things have been stressful at times lately, and I realized that we don't go on dates or anything anymore. We definitely need to get out! So....if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them! It's in October, so the colors should be pretty. 

Anyway, Emma is ready for her nap, so my few minutes to blogging must end. Happy Saturday everyone!

We Made It! Emma's a Year Old!

Well, we made it a full year with our lovely Emma. We waited so long to have her in our arms; each year seemed to take a decade. The funny thing is that this year flew by so fast! I know I've said it before, but I'm still amazed at how fast time can truly fly. Emma had a wonderful birthday. I took a personal day to hang out with her, Grammy, and Aunt Amy. Her birth mom and birth sister came the night of her birthday because her birth mom couldn't come the day of the party. It was nice. We had dinner and opened a couple presents.

Party day was pretty great too! Aunt Amy and I did massive cleaning and got everything ready to go. Emma slept until about 8:30, which was great! She played while we did last minute prep. Grammy got here around 12:00, right before Emma's lunch, bath, and nap. People started showing up about 3:00. Guests included: Great-Grandma Jakubas, Grandpa and Grandma Sibley, Aunt Amy, Grammy, Aunt Katie, Uncle Rohn, Liam, her birth sister, birth uncle, birth grandparents, and The Ramos Clan! We had yummy sloppy joes for lunch/dinner, opened gifts, ate cake, and then played outside for a while! It got chilly, so we went inside. Emma was very sad. She loves playing outside! Eventually she got pajamas on and had a bottle before going down for the night. It was a very full and exciting day! She got so many nice toys and clothes. She is a very loved little girl!

We are putting together a memory box for her to open on her 18th birthday. I hope we can get lots of notes to her to put inside. I know all of our family and friends couldn't join us for her party, so I'm hoping to carry some note cards in the diaper bag for a while. If you're interested in putting a note in her box, let me know! I'm hoping it gives her a picture of how loves she is and how much she means to everyone!

It's been fun, but I'm exhausted! It's almost midnight and finally time for bed. Tomorrow is lunch with the family before Amy heads back to Chicago. Then the week begins again! Her one year check-up is Monday, so that will be interesting! Only another week before we leave for Tennessee! Life is never dull, and I cherish every moment. I've waited a lifetime for these moments, and I am so lucky to have Emma and Mike to share this life!