Swim Class

Emily and I took our first swim class together today. I signed her up for 5 weeks of the shrimp class. We go for 30 minutes once a week. I didn't know what to expect today, but hoped that she wouldn't spend the whole time crying and clinging to me. She did really well! She is the only girl in her class and there were 2 boys in there who did scream and cling to their moms the whole time . . . so if she had decided to cry we would have been in good company : ) She did cry some here and there, but we got thru all the little things our teacher had us try, and most of the time she laughed and had fun. At the end he allowed those that wanted to try to go down a small kiddie slide into the pool where the instructor caught them and let them go under water for a split second and Emily was one of them!!! We go back next Wednesday morning. Here she is in her outfit before we left the house this morning:

I don't know if it was the trauma from the swim class or what, but for the rest of the day she wouldn't let me out of her sight. She cried when it was time for her nap and cried when she went to bed tonight. She is the easiest sleeper in the world but wanted to just lay her head on my shoulder today. I always wonder what is going thru their little minds when they do something out of the ordinary like that. She is my sweetie pie . . .

Puzzle

My friend Cathy gave me this puzzle for Emily before she was even born. I pulled it out a couple of months ago and Emily loves playing with it. She has gotten really good at pulling out the pieces and putting them back in the correct places. She picks up the whole puzzle and carries it to whatever room I'm in to put it together. Emily says thanks Cathy!

Baby Doll

I finally found some baby doll clothes to fit my Baby Tender Love Doll. This was my favorite baby doll as a child but I didn't have any clothes for her. So I searched on ebay and found a person that still makes the baby doll clothes from a 1972 Simplicity pattern for Baby Tender Love dolls . . . how crazy is that! I bought this dress for $5.00. I only wish I could find some way to fix her poor hair!!!!

My parents gave me this doll when my sister was born. I noticed on the back of her neck it has a trademark for 1972 which was the year I was born . . . very cool.

Words and Signs

Oh my goodness!!! I have to share this (proud mom showing off her child's accomplishments). There is a book that our friend LeAnn gave us called First Signs that teaches sign language. I read this book to Emily at LEAST once a day and all of a sudden today she started using the proper sign and saying the words for many words in the book . . . before today all she signed was more. She even said "ow" for hurt before we turned the page all the way!! It was so amazing : ) So I grabbed the video camera and got most of the way thru the book the 2nd time.

So shout out to LeAnn for the sign language book! Turn up the volume so you can hear. On the "Help and Hurt" page you'll notice that she says "ow" for hurt before I ask her what Help is. Here is the breakdown of the words that she signs and says:

signs and says Dad
skips mom (of course. she still hasn't said my name)
signs please
signs and says thank you
signs and says eat
signs and says all done
signs and says more (this was her only sign until today!)
says banana
tries to say apple
says cookie
says milk
says "ow" for hurt. (you can hear her say the word right when I turn to that page)
signs and says go
and then at ball she is ready to move on to another book

She normally says ball and book and says meow for cat and "Buuu" for dog since all dogs are Bud.

Bud's Birthday

Our dog Bud is 12 years old today! We got him when he was just a puppy. Joe and I grew up with dogs in our homes so right after our 1 year anniversary we bought him from a pet store (I don't plan on buying dogs from pet stores anymore since there are so many that need good homes at animal shelters). I remember him throwing up in my hands on the way home from the pet store . . . aaaahhhh what fond memories . . . we discovered very early on that Bud gets car sick.

Bud is definitely becoming high maintenance now that he is older. We've always just taken him once a year to get his physical and shots but over the last couple of years he's required extra care. Right now he's on an antibiotic, some pills for allergies, we have to put a solution in his ear once a day, I'm supposed to be brushing his teeth once a day but that doesn't happen very often, and we have to give him a bath twice a week with a special shampoo for his skin!!!!!

We love him though and Emily loves him too. She still calls all dogs "BUUUUUUUUU" for Bud when she sees one. She follows him all over the house.

Thanks Bud for being such a great dog!!

Bud loves to go out in the front yard and check things out:

Here is Bud as a puppy:Here's Bud when his hair is long. We took this picture when we first moved here:

16 Months Old!!

Emily is 16 Months Old Today!!!!!

Emily last year at 4 months old:

She ate yogurt for lunch today and REALLY enjoyed it:

Playing outside

Emily has been running a fever this week so she hasn't felt much like playing until today. So I got a few pictures of her and Bud on their daily walk around our front yard. But before I show those pictures I wanted to show the soccer game we went to last Saturday to see Sarah Anne and Dagan play. It was fun:

Emily and Amelia had fun playing with the soccer balls:
Here's Emily walking around this morning. We try to go outside every day and she enjoys gathering her sticks and leaves:
Here's Bud watching the cars go by:
I got a shot of Emily playing peek a boo. This has been her first smile all week so I know she is finally feeling better: