Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Emerson looks drunk...but he just doesn't feel well.

There was a beautiful rainbow after the scary wind and rainstorm last week. There was a tornado watch apparently, and we were all ready to huddle in our downstairs bathroom. (We don't have a basement.) But I've often thought...why the downstairs bathroom? Why not the pantry under the stairs? There's food there. And then the thought of being trapped by five gallon buckets, metal shelves, and shards of china enters my mind. Then I'm immediately seized with claustrophobia. I guess I'll settle for the bathroom and take my chances dashing to the emergency kit in the garage--that is, if the tornado doesn't confiscate the emergency kit. Stupid funnel clouds. But, I digress. The rainbow was pretty. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of our Valentine's adventure because I forgot my camera. Ben planned a romantic date and surprised me by taking me ice skating--something I've always wanted to do since I was like 13. I thought it would be so romantic. It was so much fun! He wasn't expecting me to have any skillz, but he was unaware that at McMillan Elementary, we got to take ice skating lessons for 6 weeks during 5th and 6th grade. Woot woot. So was I lacking in skillz? I think not. Ben was particularly cute in his ice skates and even dared to do some turns with me. He didn't even fall! I was so proud.

After ice skating we opted for dinner at Chipotle because it is oh so good and wasn't very busy. I enjoyed my huge burrito a lot, but with my plugged nose (from my cold) it was less of a taste explosion than I wanted. :(

After dinner the REAL romance started. No no, not that...(ha ha). We took a trip to Lowe's to spend our gift money. You see, lately we've been making little improvements to our home and completely separately decided to give each other money to spend on something practical. Boring and unromantic maybe...but we're happy with it since we're not rolling in the dough right now. :) So Ben bought some faux tile with his mullah (we installed some last week and really liked it in our upstairs bathroom), and I bought handles for all our kitchen cupboards and drawers. Yay.

After that we tried to go to Confessions of a Shopaholic, but it was sold out, so we opted for a Redbox film instead. I picked out License to Wed and I thought it was kinda dumb. (Robin Williams isn't my favorite. He makes me uncomfortable. He's big into awkward situations, being crude, and yelling at people. Although I liked him in Hook and Jumanji.) I thought I might like this film because it has Jim from The Office on it. Alas, I did not. It was still nice of Ben to let me choose a chick flick for V-Day though. Thanks for the romantic date Ben, and thanks Emerson for being tired for the babysitters! (And thanks Richards for trading babysitting with us!)

Jerry Seinfeld

We were just getting ready to go out the door when Ben looked at Emerson and pointed out that in his ensemble, he looked just like Jerry Seinfeld. He totally does. All he needs is different hair. I could not stop laughing. :)

Ten Months Old!

Yesterday Emerson turned 10 months old! I can't believe it! These last few months have absolutely flown by.
At 10 months Emerson:
*Loves to look at books with Mom and Dad or by himself
*Walks when he feels like it
*Makes a break for the pantry whenever he makes it into the kitchen
*Loves to crawl away naked when I'm changing his diaper
*Sucks his thumb when he's going to sleep
*Thinks he's big when he uses his sippy cup
*Hugs his Pooh bear
*Likes to play with cords, shoelaces, and elastics
*Likes having his teeth brushed because he gets to swallow the fruit-flavored baby gel
*Gets excited when Dad comes home from school

We love you, Little E!

Big Helper

Emerson was being a "big helper" with the laundry the other day. Ben thought it would be funny to put him in the dryer. Don't worry though, we didn't close the door and turn it on. :) He thought it was a fun little place to peer out of. It probably reminded him of the caterpillar tunnel.

Grove City Church of the Nazarene

Peeking through the holes of the tunnel

Crawling out of the caterpillar tunnel

Playing with Taylee on the big ball

I know it's a mouthful, but it was a lot of fun. A bunch of ladies in our ward took their kids to this church that has a McDonald's playplace-type area. But it was even cooler because they had a play area for babies. Emerson had a blast! Sometimes he's kind of a solemn little kid and doesn't have a lot of expression on his face when he's having fun, but I could actually tell this time! There wasn't much that he could shake, but he had a fun time playing peek-a-boo through the holes of the little caterpillar tunnel. He also liked pushing around the giant ball. I felt bad that we had to leave because he was having so much fun playing.

(Notice that Emerson is wearing his "Uncle Tim shirt")

Air Force Museum

Mom and Emerson by the big airplane wheel

My disheveled child craning his neck to see the big planes

A few weeks ago we were bored and tired of being stuck inside due to the cold weather. After my ward basketball game (which we won!) we decided to drive to Dayton and go to the air force museum there. We were amazed at the size of the museum! There was so much to see, and we didn't get to all of it in the 2 1/2 hours we were there. We would love to go back again, and we'd love to take anyone who comes to visit.

Thoughts on Peaches

I know Mom, I need to post more pictures of E...

But in the meantime....

What is it about the smell of canned peaches that takes me back to the school cafeteria and reminds me of sweaty, mildewy winter boots and throw up?

That goes for baby food peaches too...I get a wave of nausea every time I pop the top of the jar before settling myself down and reminding myself that I'm in the safety of my own home and there is no rotten winter attire to be seen. I just thank my lucky stars that student teaching is over with. Phew.

Sense of Humor

Babies have the funniest sense of humor. You never know what's going to set them off into a fit of giggles. I love when Emerson laughs because I can see his little spaced-out teeth. I love them--even though they're sharp.

Fun with the Broom

Fun with friend broom

Yesterday I was cleaning the house and E was absolutely enthralled with the broom. So we had some fun with it. He wouldn't let it out of his sight, so when I walked around the side of the couch I saw his little head peeking around trying to locate his beloved broom. Of course I made him crawl after the broom among other things. Yeah, being a stay-at-home mom totally rocks.

E crawling after the broom (And no, we weren't having an earthquake, I just don't have very steady hands.)

E getting frustrated with the broom because it wasn't cooperating! (Again, sorry for the shaky filming...he smacked me in the head with the broom.)

Cuddly Boy

Emerson being cuddly*

It's been a long while since Emerson was cuddly with anyone. The other night when Ben and I were watching an episode of 24, he was being fussy (Emerson, not Ben) so I picked him up and held him on my lap with a blanket around the two of us. He sucked his thumb for a minute and then all of a sudden dropped both hands to his lap and he was asleep. It was so precious that I didn't want to move him or get him into his jammies. So we just snuggled for awhile and then had to wake him up to get him ready for bed. What a little sweetie.

*Pay no attention to the creepy looking woman holding the sleeping baby. She looks like she's about to do something evil. Or her eyes look kind of weepy. But I promise I wasn't crying... I mean she wasn't crying.

Sometimes Babies Are Like Puppies

That's right. Sometimes babies are like little dogs. Below I've drawn some frightening similarities. I was struck with these the other morning and keep laughing about it as I see my baby do other silly things, like scratch the wall.

He's decided that crawling around with Pooh bear in his mouth is a good idea. Really having anything in his mouth is a good idea to him. He likes putting his mouth on things too...not necessarily to bite, but just to see what it feels like. Quite a bit like a puppy.

Dogs wag their tails when they're happy or enjoying something, and Emerson rolls his ankles. He'll sit for a long time in his high chair playing with his puffs or sippy cup and his ankles will be just rolling away. That's how we know he's content.

I find myself calling these "treats." I can't help but think of little doggy treats when Emerson crawls to me and I put one in his little mouth avoiding his sharp little teeth. They also kind of resemble Kibbles 'n' Bits.

Dogs and Emersons need their little claws clipped. I need one of those little file things on the infomercials so I don't injure the nail bed. :)

Another thing (which I do not have a picture for) that contributes to this post is the fact that my friend Candice calls little baby toys "chew toys". And we both laugh about it every time. And it's true. They ARE chew toys.

But puppy or not, I love my little guy.

Standing

This is what I've been finding when Emerson's naptime is over. (The standing, not the crying.) It makes me laugh to see that little body clutching to the side of the crib. His expression is one of pure joy when I lift him out of his bed. He actually loves going down for his naps. His whole body starts to relax when I'm lowering him down, then he rolls over and sticks his thumb in his mouth and sighs. He's usually happy when he wakes up, too, although you certainly wouldn't guess that from this picture. It was a particulary bad day and he wasn't feeling well. :)

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!