Playing Catch Up

Lately we have been crazy busy with life. I have actually been really good about using my DSLR however I need to dump my card onto the computer so I can share those pictures. For now, I'm going to share what we've been up to via the ever trusty iPhone. 

I made this collage for my Dad for Father's Day and got SO many comments about how similar EC and I look!

 And this collage was for the hubs. Just a few of my favorite pictures of he and Emma Claire.

We were running really late for church on Father's Day so there was zero time for posed pictures. So i tried to get a few of Emma Claire and daddy as they walked towards the nursery.

And after church. At least I got one of them to look at me and smile. 

We went to lunch with friends after church and these two kept us laughing. 

Monday was a monogrammed bow type of day. Also, you can see my hydrangeas below the window are really blooming right now.  

 

Since someone is protesting her naps lately we just decided to work it out on Monday. It was my first walk/run of the summer.

 

And this is my new favorite picture of her. Does this face not completely sum up the toddler years? She is SO sassy! I love it! 

Tuesday night the Mr. and I went out on a DATE. Our first "real" date since having Emma Claire, actually. We were pretty excited!

We went to Pei Wei and had a great time. 

She is SO into the tiniest details of things, and has a pretty good attention span. I love it. 

I think this picture perfectly sums up how EC views her roll in the family. Totally in charge. ;-) And to be fair she started out in the wagon and the dogs were walking. Ha! I think they are living the life these days!

Yesterday Emma Claire and I had a girls day with our friends Bekah and Gracie. We went to a local zoo and had a blast. Miss Gracie is almost one and just loves Emma Claire. And I can assure you the feeling is mutual. Oh, and they were dressed in matching outfits. It was too cute. More zoo pictures to come once I upload and organize all of our pictures from the past few weeks!

I snapped this picture this morning. We had a play date with friends and EC wanted to "hooooode babeeee auuuu-beeey" {hold baby Aubrey} the entire time. It was precious.

Also, I have to say thank y'all for your kind comments and advice about our current sleep situation. I love having support during rough parenting times. Thankfully she is napping {LAYING DOWN} right now! Praise the Lord! It's still not smooth sailing but I'm just not giving in. She is not ready to give up nap time and I can't extend her awake period any longer without interfering with bed time. She's up most days from about 8 until 2pm. Today it was 3pm. So that's a good six hours awake. 

All of that to say I'm just going to keep on keepin' on with naps! It could be a million and one things causing her not to sleep right now. Toddlers are mysterious creatures. 

 

This Too Shall Pass?

This week has been quite a doozy for us. Specifically in the sleep department. Back story: the past few weeks EC has been getting up at night several times so I instigated some sleep training at bedtime. It only took a few nights but she is now sleeping all night long. HOWEVER nap time has been horrendous the past four days. I am not sure if the night time sleep training is to blame or if it's a sleep regression but it is throwing us for a loop, that's for sure. She has started protesting going into her room at nap time, screaming before, and sometimes won't nurse. Today I thought we turned a corner. She went into her room with me just like normal, cuddled her bear and dog, and nursed on both sides until she was drowsy. However, as soon as I laid her down the screaming started. I tried some different techniques today {none of which worked} and ended up just letting her cry at the one hour-ish mark. She did end up falling asleep...sitting up. Which means she will wake up in a little bit madder than ever. I know this is just a phase but it is wearing me out.  

The first day we had this nap time problem she fell asleep standing up, head leaning against the crib, and was still clutching her bear and dog. Bless her heart. 

 

Sunday she fell asleep laying down finally, but it only lasted 20 minutes. And before this her head was on the crib. 

How sad does she look? This was after two hours of trying to get her to nap and about twenty minutes of sleeping against the crib. You can even see the red mark on her forehead from the crib. 

 And as I type this today she is asleep sitting up. Just lay down, Emma Claire!

 So I know this is just a phase and will pass eventually but I'm ready to have our peaceful nap time back! Last week she was napping between 2-4 hours! Momma needs a happy baby! 

Anyone dealt with something like this? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?!

Caption THIS!

I have a ton of other things I SHOULD be blogging about right now, but I just have to share a picture I snapped of Emma Claire this evening during bath time. This picture totally sums up her sassy personality. She is just too much.

So, if you had to write a caption for this picture what would it be?

A Day in the Life: Saturday Edition

 This morning we got up and got ready then we hit up a local farmers market. We didn't get much, just some peaches and carrots {for our neighbor's pet bunny, of course!}

The weather was practically perfect. Mid 70's and sunny, with a slight breeze. 

Once when we got home someone decided she didn't want to nap. We have been working on re-sleep training at night due to TONS of night waking. Thankfully, nap time has been going great. Until today. I guess she wore herself out fussing and crying because she fell asleep finally. STANDING UP. With her head resting on the crib. And was still holding to her stuffed dog and bear. It was hilarious. However, it lasted about three minutes and then she woke even madder than before. So we ended up just skipping nap time all together. 

It's a good thing she's cute. 

And apparently no nap time also equals EC tornado. The house was a WRECK. Again, thankfully she's cute.

 

Since nap time was a no go we ran a few errands. I had to return some things to Home Goods which is conveniently located right next to the free zoo PetSmart. So we had to stop in and see the fish, hamsters, mice, reptiles, cats, dogs, and every other animal in the store. 

 

Because the weather was just gorgeous we dined al fresco tonight. Ham and Cheese grilled sandwich, grapes, applesauce, and pickles. Dinner of champions. 

After dinner EC was standing by the railing of our deck saying "GEEEEE GEEEE!" which is EC speak for "geese". We have a flock of canidian geese that frequent our pond so this is totally normal thing. However she kept saying it and then I realized the geese were IN our back yard! They usually don't come up towards us. 

After geese watching we shared a popsicle and made some silly faces. 

 Once the little missy was in bed I did a little pre-father's day baking for my favorite guy. He requested blackberry cobbler so of course I made it.

I also did some breakfast prepping. I made hash browns and bacon. Yum. However, I now smell like I work in a diner.  But that's the point. Now I can avoid smelling like that in the  morning before church!

 Hope y'all have a great weekend and enjoy celebrating all of the wonderful men in your lives!

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy

Wednesday was the first day that really felt like summer in our neck of the woods. It was sunny, hot and humid. We spent most of the day inside making sweet tea, chicken salad, and cobbler. Emma Claire is the best sous chef these days. She absolutely loves to help me bake and cook. And most days, I let her. Our island is big enough she can sit right in the middle, wearing her cute little Vera apron, and "help" to her little hearts content.

 She's showing me the "CHEE CHEE" {chicken} on her spoon.

She transitioned from chef to artist pretty quickly.  We wear many hats in this household.

A fantastic summertime lunch. 

What says summer more than a smocked whale outfit and beautiful hydrangeas?

 

Wednesday evening the hubs, along with a bunch of neighborhood kiddos, headed to our backyard to soak in the humidity and do a little fishin'. You know Emma Claire was all about that.

It was so humid out you could practically cut the air with a knife. So we ditched the clothes. I would have ditched my clothes too if I could ;-)

The cutest little fisherman I ever did see. 

He actually caught one. Everyone was surprised. 

 My neighbor and I decided to take a walk with Emma Claire and Dixie. Soon after we started Emma Claire got to walk Dixie. Although I'm not sure who was walking who!

 I have a feeling this summer is going to be so much fun! Emma Claire and I head to Texas in two weeks and we can't wait!