Late twenties.

I love birthdays. I really do. My husband can vouch for this. I literally start asking him what he wants for his birthday when we're still 8 months out. I plan for birthdays. I started thinking about ideas for Emery when she was 5 months old. And I've always enjoyed celebrating my own birthday, too...until this year. I don't know what it is about 26, but I feel ooolllldddd. A few days ago I woke up, got out of bed, and immediately felt sore in e v e r y joint. My very first thought as I wobbled to the bathroom? "Oh, this is just great. Brittle bones. Here comes the arthritis." 

But not matter how much I dread settling into my late 20's...or how much I fear saying "thirty" something (shiver), my family has a great way of making it better. It started out the night before. Husband took me on a date. Dinner & a movie...with a little window shopping in between. He knows me well.

***his beer, thank you.

We saw "The Help." Free movie (that would have cost us $21!!!!) thanks to a coupon hook-up from a nice friend. I really enjoyed it. Matt says he did, too. He's really really nice and probably wouldn't tell me if he didn't - because it was my birthday - but I believe him :) 

That same evening, at the strike of midnight, my mother was the first to wish me a Happy Birthday. In bed by 7pm every night if she had it her way, I was so surprised to get a message from her. Totally completed my night. Thanks, ma :)

Onto birthday morning! This is what I woke up to!

THE sweetest words filled that card. Took me a minute to compose myself after that one. .:thankful:.

(We don't have wood planks lying around our house. We're in the midst of a project. I promise I'm not ghetto)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMA!!

The rest of the day consisted of shopping for Emery's 1st birthday (boy does she love Toys R Us), a little family time, and dinner with the best in-laws a girl could ask for. After all the things I've been blessed with, maybe me & arthritis can hang. 

;)

11 Months.

This is hard to wrap my mind around. Just last night, Matt and I reminisced about the first couple of days in the hospital. The wallpaper on his phone still shows one of Emery's very first pictures. I've asked if he'd like to update it, but I think he secretly likes to pretend she's still that small. And now, I'm in the middle of planning her 1st birthday. People tell you how fast it goes. I probably hear it once a day. But boy, are they so right.

This little girl is such a joy. She will sit and have conversations with me, though we're not quite sure what she's saying. And she still hasn't said any distinct words yet. Da-da is universal for everything. She is very animated, very vocal, and very direct in how she feels. She's moved away from wanting to snuggle as much as she used to. She's getting too old for it, you know. But she still makes time for Murray.

We've finally mastered the sippy cup. She enjoys drinking water out of it between bites of peanut butter sandwiches. (who wouldn't?) While she's still taking her formula (drinking four 8 oz bottles a day!) it's nice to have that sippy to snack on (and is a great distraction in the car.)

Emery has had a very difficult time adjusting to shoes. Which basically means...Emery does not wear shoes. But as of the beginning of August, she has started to walk! As of the past 3 days, she's wanting to walk more than crawl - unless she had to move from one side of the house to the other. Then she realizes crawling saves much more time. Her little wobbly legs might be my favorite thing in the world. Shoes will be a necessity very soon.

She has new tricks, too. Lately, she's been making dozens of sounds and noises with her mouth. Some of them Matt even has a hard time mimicking. Her coolest new trick (in my opinion) is the ability to flip her tongue over. She walks around the house like this..

Thankful for another month of new things with this little girl. She makes this life so much sweeter, and I am beyond blessed to be her momma.

**Off topic, I've made a new blog. Lots of things stirring in my head...but want to start adding more about our family, life around us, and projects I'm working on in between**  :)