warm and springy weather

John has pulled out the barbecue a few times now that it is a bit warmer (notice that they are both wearing shorts? oh my, it is warming up!!!).
Emma is enjoying getting outside a bit each day. We walk down to the pond to feed ducks, over to the grassy area to get some sun, and sometimes just down the sidewalk.

her new "silly smile"

look! there's a baby looking back at me!

playing with the camera from Elizabeth Smillie on Vimeo.

Our little Emma Grace absolutely loves cameras. Still cameras, video cameras - they all fascinate her.
Yesterday afternoon Emma really wanted to play with the camera all by herself. Can you tell that she was a tad bit, um, frustrated (we need to start working on how she communicates that ...) that I wouldn't let her ?

She got excited about halfway through because I flipped the viewing screen over so that she could see herself. She had so much fun with that! The only difficulty with her seeing the viewing screen is that I can't see what's appearing on the movie, so the next one is a bit shaky:

Also, did you see the mark on her upper lip? She got her first fat lip on Saturday. It bled and she cried and her mommy felt so bad. But a little holding by mommy and thumb sucking by Emma seemed to make it all better.

this morning

Emma took some time to play with a soup pot, paint sticks and the TV remote as we were getting ready for church this morning.

playing outside

Yesterday we woke up to snow on the ground again, but it melted pretty quickly.

It was still a bit chilly later, but Emma and I headed outside after her morning nap to enjoy some sun.

We played with bubbles (!) and Emma is just starting to have fun with them. She is just starting to figure out that bubbles can pop (oh my!) and that she can have fun popping them.
It's so cute to watch her learn about the world .....

the view out our window

John was doing some tune-ups on the car this afternoon and took Emma outside with him.

Even though she is a very proficient - and FAST - walker by now, she sat on the blanket for quite a while because the grass was uneven and she'd fall down when she tried to walk on it. Who knew that a blanket could be a play-pen? :)

Sunday afternoon

"Daddy's shoes are so much bigger than mine - and so much fun to play with!"

first day of spring

afternoon in the sun, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

Yesterday Emma and I sat on a blanket in the grass for about an hour and soaked up some sun. It was so wonderful to know that Spring is finally here!

yesterday

Yesterday we tried to feed the ducks that live around our apartment complex's pond, but they had already been fed earlier and weren't hungry. So we walked over to the playground instead.

Emma actually seemed to enjoy the slide. We thought she might be a bit skittish of the height or sliding around in circles, but she had fun!

2010-03 9 & 10 going to Grandad and Mimi's

a sub in the tub - oh what fun!

learning to sign

We have been trying to teach Emma a few signs to help with communicating (she wants so badly to be able to talk!). Emma learned the sign for "more" pretty easily and it has been nice to have her sign instead of of grunting/whining for more food or water. She kind of stalled after "more" though, and just didn't seem to understand the other signs.
The other day I brought home a baby signing video from the library and Emma was entranced to see babies on the TV, and those babies were signing! She mastered the sign for "eat" as she was watching it - now she uses it every few minutes! I think that Emma must be using it for every time she wants something in her mouth, though (such as for when she's thirsty), not just for when she is hungry.
Now, if she can learn a few more, such as the signs for "drink", "all done" and "thank you" .... :)




If you listen closely in the second video, Emma has different "words" for "kitty" and "dog". Her word for "dog" sounds a lot like the one she has for "Dad"!

a funny thing happened

as we were signing - coloring on - Auntie Anna's birthday card.

It's a good thing that babies are washable!!! And I think we will use crayons next time.

Emma turned ONE (!) on Friday and we celebrated by having the Smillies over for the evening on Saturday. Everyone except David, Brian and Evan were able to come (we missed you!).
Leah came early to help with last minute things (I really appreciated it - HUGE thank you) and Emma enjoyed visiting with her, until John got home, that is. Once daddy was home Emma was stuck to him like glue. :)
The evening was rather laid back and relaxed with dinner, cake and presents. And lots of giggles from an excited little girl. :)

the cake - John took care of ordering it, and I could not have been happier with how it turned out :) thanks for taking care of it Darling

"Can I really eat it?"

It was a yummy cake!
Emma had a great time with everyone. Thank you all for driving over to celebrate her first year with us. :)

(clicking on the slide show will enlarge the pictures)