Hot!

I don't have any pictures to post but I just wanted to post to let everyone know what we have been up to. Well, I am just getting closer and closer to having this baby. We are now 33 of the 40 weeks into the pregnancy. Emma Kate arrived at 37 weeks and so we are hoping that is the case with this one. It is only 114 degrees today and so our main objective is to stay cool. Emma Kate and I have a group of Mom's and tots that all live in our neighborhood and we get together about 2-3 times a week and swim and have lunch. It makes the days pass very quickly.

Emma Kate is into everything. She is just so fast that it makes it difficult to keep up with her. She is talking up a storm and is constantly asking what something is so she can repeat me. She is in love with babies. She has two babies that she takes care of and then anytime we see a real baby she wants to hug and hold the baby. We will soon see if this is a positive thing or not (she is still learning "gentle"!) She is also getting 4 teeth right now (making 5-8). I think that 2 of them are some molars because they are pretty far back. She is handling it ok. With her first four teeth she ran really high fevers (103) and was miserable. These are taking a while to come in but she is not reacting quite as badly to them.

I have been sewing a lot and trying to get some clothes done for both kids before the baby gets here ( I know soon my time will be filled with much more than sewing). I have been making a fall bishop and Christmas bishop for Emma Kate and coordinating Johnnys for the new baby boy. The next task I want to focus on is their Halloween costumes. I am hoping to put them in some sort of coordinating costumes but I haven't come up with a great idea yet. If you have one please let me know!

Matt is doing well and working a lot. He is getting excited about our little boy arriving and evening up the girl/boy ratio around here. He has been so supportive during this pregnancy (as it has been a much tougher road than the last), God has blessed me tremendously with his love and understanding. That is about it for now. I will try to get some pictures/videos up soon.

Pictures

Here are some pictures from the last few days

Emma Kate is ALL GIRL! (Note: 2 bows, 2 bracelets, pink sash)

We went swimming over at Bret and LeAnn's. We have such a good time when we get together and love cooling off in the pool. (Ela is becoming a very confident and strong swimmer!)

Emma Kate loves her daddy's lunch bag and thinks she should get to go to work with him. If only she could squeeze the rest of herself in there!

Spaghetti and green beans! Yummy! (Needless to say she went straight to the bathtub)

Partners in Crime

This weekend we did some work in the garage even though it was sooooo hot! While we were in the garage Emma Kate was being a little mischievous. At one point we looked over and she had opened up the bin where we keep Ashton's dog food and was reaching in and then giving it to Ashton. He was gladly accepting her kind gesture (even though he could have stuck his head in and eaten all he wanted, he knows he is not allowed). Emma Kate is definitely at the age where she is learning a lot of rules everyday. Sorry no pictures this time.

Big shoes to fill!

Today Emma Kate was doing some cute toddler activities. She had this little pail and she was carrying it around as a purse. Recently she has been putting everything with a handle (purse, Pail, bag, etc.) over her wrist and carrying it like a purse. She is definitely a girl! She also decided to put Matt's shoes on this morning. I couldn't help but take a few pictures as she is just trying to be so BIG! She has also been showing a lot of interest in babies recently (I hope this means she will be welcoming to the new little one) and so we have been getting all the baby things out and letting her be the little mommy. This afternoon she kept putting her hat on the baby and then hugging it and then sitting down next to (on top of ) Ashton. I hope these are signs of good things to come!

July 4th

We had a busy and fun July 4th. We went to Bret, LeAnn, and Ela's for brunch. LeAnn made a wonderful brunch and then we swam until the girls were EXHAUSTED! (I'm sorry that I didn't get any pictures of Emma Kate and Ela swimming because they had such a good time.) After that we went home and rested until it was time to go to our friends Clint and Aimee's for dinner. They had some fabulous hamburgers and hotdogs and we enjoyed the friends and fellowship so much! Emma Kate especially loved it when our friend Tayton would throw the little poppers on the ground .

Emma Kate thought sitting in her doll stroller would be fun. Good thing she only weighs 17 pds!

Surprise trip to the Southeast

So Emma Kate and I were home for about 2 weeks when I found out that my grandmother was really sick. A few days after that she passed away and so Matt, Emma Kate and I went back to AL/KY for the funeral. It was a beautiful service and God was glorified through it all. I enjoyed getting to see some of my extended family that I haven't seen in YEARS!!!! Matt, Emma Kate and I also got to spend a few days with his family in Birmingham. It was a bittersweet trip in saying goodbye to my grandmother and hello again to all the family that I haven't seen in so long! Here are some pictures from the trip.

Mom with her twin sister Brenda and Brother Buck

Nelson and Sarah were able to come back from Russia and make it to the funeral

I want to thank Uncle Elton and Aunt Sue for coming to the funeral. It was wonderful to see them and to feel their support.

Once we got to Birmingham Emma Kate spent most of her time in her diaper because she loved playing in the pool that Gran-Gran and Daddy Steve have

Nelson sporting his Russian attire

I know, I know...it's been a while

I am so sorry to everyone. We were out of town for a few weeks but there is still no excuses. I am going to just throw a bunch of pictures up here. We had such a good time in Birmingham and Louisiana and enjoyed getting to see so many of our friends. Since we have been back it has been getting hotter. We have been swimming with some friends a little bit and trying to cool off in the sprinklers. Thanks to everyone for such a wonderful visit back home.

Before we left we got a new grill and Emma Kate read Daddy the instructions in Spanish!

Here we are in the Atlanta airport. Emma Kate is a great traveler and this was her 5th trip to the southeast since she was born. Now that she is walking we like the parts of the airport where she can walk and not get trampled. I got food poisoning the night before we flew and so I was especially grateful that we found this open space for her to get some energy out and watch the planes.

Abbey's baby shower was great and it was so much fun to see everyone. Jan especially loved the fun pens that we used to write Abbey some encouraging notes.Emma Kate enjoying the greenness at churchEmma Kate enjoys her time at Gran-Gran's and Daddy Steve's. She loves the wagon and the garden but more importantly she loves the attention and love they shower upon her. We both enjoyed our time with them.We were able to drive down to Montgomery with Abbey and Baxter to see Pappa and Helen. We had a good visit and wish we could have stayed longer. Gigi is in heaven with both of her grand kids! We wish we could have spent more time with Gigi, Nelson and Sarah. We know that they are having a blast in Russia and look forward to seeing them when we can. Our road trip to Shreveport (no, the did not ride like this the whole way, but they were troopers for 8 hours in the car!)

Abbey and Warren are so lucky to have a great neighborhood with some fabulous parks within walking distance. Emma Kate really flourished on the playgrounds and I am blessed as a Mother to see my baby turning into a little girl. During this trip I have seen some definite changes in her personality and I am so proud of how God is guiding Matt and I to shape her into such a caring little girl.You can't go to LA and not have crawfish!
Emma Kate is giving her loving goodbyes to Baxter. It will probably be awhile before we see Baxter and we are so thankful to Abbey and Warren for letting us spend so much quality time with them!

After we got back from our trip we went to park and enjoyed some time with Matt who we had not seen in over two weeks! Emma Kate was especially excited to see her Daddy and then her dawg (Ashton)!
It is starting to get hot and so cooling off is a must! Yeah sprinklers!