Emerson's Funny Hat

"Sigh...I wish my arms were long enough to reach over my head so I could pull this stupid thing off."

"Maybe if I pull to the side"

"Success."

The other night when I was changing E into his jammies, I pulled the shirt over his head and remembered back to my childhood when I thought it was so funny to have "shirt hair." I just wanted to see if Emerson could figure out how to pull if off his head. He did--after a lot of straining and crawling around.

Slighty Better Attempt at Walking

Here is a video we got of him that's slightly better, but of course it doesn't do his cool first steps the justice they deserve. E's such a silly boy. At nine months, he's starting to walk, but he won't clap his hands or wave. He's just got a mind of his own. :)

Emerson Took His First Steps!

We tried to capture a video of him walking, but this is the best he would do for us.

When we were still in Utah, Emerson began demonstrating his amazing balance, standing for 10 seconds or so on his own. Ever since we've been home in Columbus, he's started pulling himself up to the coffee table, couch, chairs, Mom, Dad, etc. He had been stumbling between Ben and me for 3 days or so and was getting close to walking and we weren't sure if we could count controlled falling as "walking". But on Tuesday, Emerson had pulled himself up to the couch and I said "Emerson, come here!" And he got so excited that he let go of the couch and took 3 steps toward me and then sat on his little bottom. Hooray for Emerson! I'm excited and unexcited because my life has changed forever. No longer can I enjoy the days of setting him on a blanket with a toy, knowing that he'll be there when I return in a few seconds. My little guy is getting so big!

Christmas in Utah Part 2

Melinda sledding

Josh and the sleds and snow machine

Melinda and Emerson

Mom and Emerson opening presents at the Christensens' house Christmas morning

Here is part 2 of Christmas in Utah. It has all the Christensen side of things...so don't worry, I didn't forget you!

Christmas in Utah Part 1

Emerson and his girlfriend, Sadie (woo woo!)

Emerson on Grandpa J's shoulders getting a horsey ride. He LOVED this. He flapped his arms with every gallop and let out periodic squeals of delight.

Uncle Brad with Emerson. He loves being upside down. (Emerson, that is.)

Emerson and Grandma J. Doesn't he look thrilled? Don't take it personally Mom, you know that he'd had a long day and still had a long flight ahead of him.

The Johnson kids

Christmas in Utah was great. We were able to spend almost 2 weeks with our families! We were glad our traveling went so smoothly, especially with all the horror stories we'd been hearing. Our time in Utah was filled with Cafe Rio, late (fun) nights, movies, bowling, lots of restaurants, games, sledding, almost no sickness and eating and baking lots of treats. It was the perfect Christmas vacation. We packed home some gifts for the fam, thinking that surely we'd be able to fit the gifts we were going to receive in the space easily. But since everyone was so darn generous we had quite a hard time fitting everything and had to borrow a suitcase! It was so fun to be home and the time passed too quickly. Emerson jumped right into Utah time but has unfortunately had a bit of a rough transition back to Columbus time. It was seriously such a great trip and I wanted to stay longer, but there comes a time when it's good to get back to a regular schedule, especially when you have a little guy who thrives on food and sleep in a timely fashion. So THANK YOU families! We love you so so much and can't wait to see you again.

E's Rocking Horse

Our dashing little cowboy on his trusty steed

"Howdy Little Lady"

The first ride

Emerson got a rocking horse for Christmas. I wish I could take credit for it. Emerson's Great Grandma McMullin (the one who passed away only a few months ago) sent it with us when we moved to Columbus in August. It was a pretty large and heavy box, and she didn't want us to have to worry about it in December when we came home for Christmas. Of course back then we didn't know she wouldn't be around in December. :( We really appreciate her thoughtfulness though, and we think of her every time we see E's little horse.

Christmas in Ohio

Ben was a good boy this year and got his long-awaited miter saw. Santa must've gone day-after Thanksgiving shopping...maybe he knew there were fun projects to be done.

Emerson opening his Tonka trucks. He would not let these go! We tried to give him other presents to open, but he kept crawling over to these and trying to pry them out of the box.

Daddy with Emerson, shaking his wrapping paper

Still shaking his wrapping paper

E climbing on his present (also a favorite activity). And for all you Murrayites, please notice my Murray Basketball t-shirt. I try not to be embarrassed, and you shouldn't either. I know you all have the same one. Go Spartans! :)

Ben will probably hate this picture....but this is him holding his handy-dandy back rubber. My poor little hands get so tired! This is one of those gifts that benefits me too.

Mommy and Emerson

Since we didn't want to take all of our stuff to Utah to have Christmas, we decided to have it in good ole Columbus before we flew home. I'm glad Santa was able to accommodate us. Just as I suspected, E was much more excited about the wrapping paper than the actual presents. For this exact reason, we decided to give him practical things like diapers and clothes--things he won't always appreciate getting when he's a bit older. But don't worry, we sprinkled in a few fun things too. We had a great first Christmas in Columbus with Little E. There's just something special about sharing it with your own child (even if they have no idea what's going on) and it's hard to describe. But it was a lot of fun, and we're looking forward to many more!

Homemade Gift for Tom From Ben

The new crown molding in the entryway

The beautifully painted baseboards

New laundry room door

New master bathroom door

New upstairs bathroom door

New crown molding in the entryway (and yes, spackled and repainted as well.)

Another view of the new crown molding in the entryway

7-Up Junkie

BIG bottle

Emerson hasn't been very good at taking a bottle ever since we've moved to Columbus and never go anywhere...ever. It's just a no-brainer to nurse him when I'm home all day. So in my efforts to eventually wean him, I thought we'd try a bottle with something a little sweeter than formula. Success. Ok ok, I'm just joking. We didn't give him any 7-up, but the bottle did serve as a good motivator for him army crawling across the room. The stupid bottle was a difficult shape for him to grasp, so he kept accidentally pushing it out of his reach and had to crawl after it. And did he get any help from mom or dad? Nope. He's got to learn sometime.
*Side note: I would like to add that Tiger is back in Emerson's good graces. They've been on the outs for awhile manifested by Emerson pooping on him (through a blowout). But Tiger is laundered and ready for friendship and has knocked Blue Bunny out of the standings for favorite stuffed animal for now. He's glad to be back after months of being ignored and taken for granted.

Happy Birthday Grandma and Grandpa J!

Well Grandpa J, here you go. It's your little buddy and he's wearing his University of Utah gear. And sorry he has dandelion hair. (What kind of a mother am I?) What more could you ask for on your birthday? (On the 5th anyway....sorry it took me awhile to post this.)

I have the best parents in the world. Their birthdays were both on the 5th of December. They were born the same day, same year, in the same hospital. Now is that fate or what? All of us kids thought we had to marry someone with the same birthday as us when we grew up. Thankfully, I realized I didn't have to when I was about 18 or so and the options really opened up. ;) But anyway, my parents are the most generous, thoughtful people I know. They've always supported me in everything I've done and I always know I can go to them for help. I can call them anytime, night or day, whether I have a medical question, or are worried about something, or just need to talk. I just don't know what I would do without them! They have accepted Ben as one of their own and are always so welcoming and inclusive. It's been more fun than I could ever imagine to watch them as grandparents. I love watching both of them and Emerson light up when they see each other. I'm so grateful to have parents that love me and I'm growing to appreciate them more and more since I've become a parent. Thanks Mom and Dad, for spending hours on the phone just talking, and being thoughtful, and making sure all of us know you love us. We love you! (This is my big-girl version of the little notes I used to leave on your pillow when I was little.)

Decorating for Christmas

Emerson staring at the Christmas tree

He rolled under the tree, grabbed a branch, and immediately started shaking it.

Examining his bell

Sigh...precious

"What are these cool colorful things?"

"I should taste them..."

"Pretty. Maybe I should shake them. I do LOVE to shake things."

"Yeah, shaking is definitely the way to go."

We have been so excited to experience Christmas with Emerson for the first time. I couldn't wait to see him stare at the lights, shake the Christmas tree, reach for the ornaments, and I still can't wait to see him tear the wrapping paper and shake it. (I'm not hoping for more than that, cause I know he doesn't care a bit about the actual present inside.) Let's just say that he hasn't disappointed mommy and daddy so far with his reactions.

Date Night

This picture demonstrates the fact that Ben and I did, in fact, go on a date...with each other. We left Emerson with a babysitter (thanks M&C!) and went to the Ohio State hockey game. Ben won some tickets earlier in the week, and we don't get out much, so we figured why not? I forgot how much fun being alone with my husband is! I'm pretty sure we even carried on a full conversation without interruption. Don't get me wrong, we love our little man and wouldn't trade the world for him, but it was so nice to be together alone. If you haven't been out in awhile, I would highly recommend it.

Craftiness Galore

Yes I made these. No, I did not come up with the idea. Yes, they're double-sided so that my house isn't completely decoration free once Christmas is over. No, I couldn't decide where to place the ribbon and which paper to use, so I enlisted a lot of help in the decision-making department. And yes, Joni, you can just steal the pictures since we totally copied each other! ;)

Happy Thanksgiving

E with friend turkey

Yup, it looks about done

Our table

The food

Emerson and cousin Taylee (and Candice's arm)

This Thanksgiving was our first away from home. We thought it would be extremely lonely, but fortunately my brother Scott and sister-in-law Ashley drove out from Pennsylvania to spend the whole weekend with us! We took them to see a few things around Columbus, but spent most of the time watching season 2 of 24. (We're all addicted!) Ashley and I also got to go day after Thanksgiving shopping with all the crazies. It was a blast with them here. We were really sad to see them go.

AND lucky for us, our good friends the Richards had plans that fell through so they were able to join us as well. It was a really fun day, complete with overeating and a good game of cornhole. I'm so glad I had my wedding china to use! (See Ben? I told you we'd need it someday...) Cooking the turkey wasn't as scary as I thought. It turned out just fine, but it was pretty gross giving it a bath in the sink with all that salmonellaey stuff floating around. Ben and Scott thought that preparing the turkey was a lot like anatomy lab except that the organs aren't all nicely bagged to pull out like the turkey giblets. And on that note...Happy Thanksgiving!

Just Because

E enjoying his time in the laundry basket

His square little body fits just right in the square little basket

Daddy and Emerson spending quality time together doing their favorite thing: shaking keys.