Christmas 2015

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas morning at home, opening presents to each other and from Blake's family. 

Emery got a wooden, fairy princess train set.

In the afternoon, we went to Tiffanie's folks' house to open presents with Gramma, Grandpa, her brother and sister-in-law, Bryan and Sherry, who were visiting from Texas. 

Christmas at home - 12.25.15 from Tiffanie Johnson on Vimeo.

Christmas at Gramma and Grandpa's -- 12.25.15 from Tiffanie Johnson on Vimeo.

Halloween - 10.31.2015

we took strawberry shortcake to two Trunk or Treat parties tonight. One at our church and one at a church on the way there (because it started earlier!)

three and a half years old - 08.27.2015

emery annabelle is three and a half years old!

like a good 3 1/2 year old, she's becoming more and more opinionated and wants things a certain way (her way!) she comes up with scenarios about activities we can do, people we can visit, places we can go. "when grandma comes over, she can sit here!" i keep telling her: "emery, you are not in charge." and she says: "yes, i am," almost in a surprised way. well, i guess we need to be more clear about that! she usually obeys (perhaps after some debate on her part) - and more than anything, she ultimately doesn't want to get in trouble or make us mad. she's still timid in groups of people and if there are too many bigger kids at the playground, she'll wait until they've all had their turn(s) before taking hers.

she spent the school year learning letters and letter sounds at Mrs. Diana's, and she's starting to hear/recognize initial sounds in words and identify what letters words start with. today she said: la-la-Leon. Leon starts with L. she can read a few words (emery, ball, all, no, up, why) and verbally spell several more (mickey, mouse, bath, bed, fox, box). she can write the letters in her name, though she isn't always willing to try R and Y.

we got her a set of books that are stories about each letter of the alphabet. My "a" Book (My "b" book, etc.) is the story of  a girl named "Little a" and her box, and the things she will put in her box, which are all things that start with "a." the books are silly and cute, and she loves them.

emery likes to sing while she plays. it's fun to hear her renditions of songs. she likes He is Exalted by Twila Paris, though she thinks it's Sandi Patty. (score that as a double win in the 80s christian music category!) she also likes Days of Elijah, I'm in the Lord's Army, the B-I-B-L-E, Overwhelmed, This Little Light of Mine. (all thanks to the sunday school music Mrs. Diana plays in her home).

she likes to help and she's becoming a bit more self-sufficient. she recently became strong enough to open the refrigerator by herself. she can get a cup and/or put it away, and it's very helpful to us.

this summer, she's begun to exhibit a few more fears: bugs, unidentified noises, scary characters in movies. she's convinced there are alligators in our closet and won't go in to any room until the light is on. her imagination is growing.

she says when she grows up she wants to be a doctor (thanks to Doc McStuffins).

emery is a sweet girl. she's growing up and surprising us every day with the things she learns and understands. we're so very grateful for this sweet girl.

trip to seattle and eugene - 06.2015

We recently took a trip with my parents to Seattle and Eugene/Springfield, Oregon to visit friends and family. My parents left before we did, and we joined them a few days later. My mom was able to attend her 50th college reunion at Seattle Pacific University.

We left home late in the day on Friday evening and arrived in Seattle after midnight eastern time. Emery did a great job on the long flight despite the late hour. I explained to her about the Fasten Seat Belt sign on the plane, and she became our seat belt monitor. We were instructed when to buckle and unbuckle.

On Saturday, Blake, Emery, and I met up with my friend, Birgitta, and her family. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at a park playing with Rhys and Faith (ages 4 and 2).

My folks took us on a tour of Seattle Pacific University.

And to Highland Overlook to see the Seattle skyline.

On Sunday, we joined my parents and their friends for church. In the afternoon, Blake, Emery, and I went downtown Seattle to Pike Place Market and the Seattle Center at the Space Needle. At the Seattle Center, we discovered a children's museum play area that Emery enjoyed.

On Monday, we flew to Eugene, Oregon to visit my dad's family. Throughout the week, we spent time with his brother and sister-in-law, Dan and Renee, his sister and nephew, Beth and DanLee, his aunt Tillie, cousins, Judy, Paula, and Mack, and Paula and Mack's grandson, Elijah. We also saw my second cousin, Sonya and her husband Peter, and my cousin's step-daughter and her daughters.

Blake is a fan of USA Track and Field and also likes to visit Division I college campuses, so we had to stop by the University of Oregon campus and the Hayward Field track. Eugene is called Track Town USA.

While we were at the track, we saw Olympic Gold Medalist in the Decathlon, Ashton Eaton! I pretended to take Blake and Emery's picture so I could get Ashton in the shot.

Aunt Beth gave Emery lots of lovely gifts including this University of Oregon cheer uniform.

On Thursday, Blake, Emery, and I drove out to the Oregon coast so Emery could go to the beach for the first time. The beach in Oregon is not like most beaches. The weather was chilly (60 degrees) and the water was COOOLD. But the sun was shining and the sand was warm. Emery collected seashells, waded in the water, and built a sand castle (a pile of sand and seashells).

We had a great trip with great mild weather, and we enjoyed visiting with friends and family. 

Three Years Old - 02.27.2015

Emery Annabelle is three years old!

Emery is blossoming in to a very bright, lovely BIG girl. she loves to share, play together, and be creative. we can often hear her coming up with stories and scenarios for her toys as they go on adventures in their dollhouse, in the kitchen, on the stairs, and on the table. she loves to make pretend meals and always asks what she can make for us. she also loves to sing songs and if you stop singing a song, she asks: what are the rest of the words? say the rest of the words.

like a good three year old, emery loves to ask "why?" and asks lots of other questions. most of which are actually rather logical, some are silly.

after much hard work (and some time off from trying), emery has been potty trained for about a month. i really thought this day would never come. but she does a great job now. and my cloth diaper laundry routine has lightened significantly -- i'm not even sure what to do with all that free time now.

at Mrs. Diana's house, emery and her preschool buddy are working on learning their letters including the sounds of the letter and a special song for each letter - this week they're working on M. they're also working on numbers and they're up to 10. they've learned several bible verses along with bible stories too.

emery can sign the letters of her name, as well as A, B, F, and L. she can write an E, an M, and a Y. she can almost write her name. good thing we didn't name her something with more letters! :)

emery does really well with puzzles. once we've put one together a couple of times, she can do them all by herself. blake has taught her how to see what parts are missing: look, we need to find the cow's legs; here's the horse's tail - where does this one go? blake's so great at teaching -- well, we already knew that. yesterday, he taught emery the names of coins when she wanted to put money in her piggy bank.

generally emery has two silly counter comments to things you say to her. she either adds "not" to what you said or replaces what you said with a rhyming word. tonight was a good example of both. i sang to her: You are my joy! she countered, you are my NOT joy! so i said: you are my sad! you are my mad! and she said: you are my glad! you are my plaid! you are my dad!

emery's peach fuzz is finally long enough for full-head pigtails and a full-head ponytail (barely!). those have been a long time coming!

our little girl is adorably particular, and she likes things a certain way. we love her organizational skills and her love of order. we look forward to seeing all the new things she'll learn this year.

3rd Birthday Party - 02.21.2015

Today we had Emery's third birthday party. It's snowing and some of our friends couldn't make the trip, but we still had lots of fun with grandma, grandpa, aunt cindy, and mallory.

As requested, we made Emery chocolate cake with pink icing (sprinkles). They were a hit!

Granny Reece got Emery a fun princess tiara that she has not taken off all day!