Nature (from the Porch)

This bee was stuck on our porch today. He was pretty good in size...

I thought I would do some close ups for practice before I worked at capturing him to get him back outside.

When he fell from my piece of paper onto the stoop outside the door I could hear that "thump."

Hopefully he's alive because after dinner when we went back out to the porch, he was gone!

Bye, bee!


Next, we have the eager face of getting outside to the porch as fast as we can navigate the large, bumpy frame of the sliding glass doors....

And we got to see some ducks (they are in the sun.) Can't see them too well in the photo...

The ducks were walking towards the next unit as there is a [crazy bird] lady next door that makes sure there are multiple feeders along with a heated bird bath (all year long) available for the birds' use.

Unfortunately, this means there are woodpeckers (that peck your house), chipmunks (that destroy the gardens), and squirrels (that are seriously just a flat out nuisance).

Not to mention giant blackbirds/crows that practically knock the feeder from the stand because they are greedy, nasty things and the birdseed ends up destroying the grass.

(Really? Don't have anything better to do with your time, [crazy bird] lady!?!?) :)

Sorry.

The [crazy bird] lady next door bothers me a little :).




Let's get back to some cuteness...!


I am feeling a little better now that I got a little of that out of my system. :)

Do you all have these trees at all? The red one...

I love them 'cause they smell so good.

(Unfortunately, the [crazy bird] lady lives just past this tree.)

I will just focus on spring.....
*deep breath*
*deep sigh*
;)

Have a good weekend!

Tents and Popsicles

We bought a tent for cheap at Ikea...($10) back when we got Emalyn's little chair. It is an igloo....super cute. Not to mention Emmy loves it. And THAT is what matters people!


However, after she caught a glimpse of my popsicle, she bolted towards me without hesitation.

And indicated what she would like to have...."pease?"

As this next photo shows, we are working on patience and w a i t i n g.

I love my little baby bird....

And she love my popsicle!


So, since I am still trying to gain practice on my camera, Quincy, who also loves my popsicles, was nearby and stood very still for me.

He really is a cute dog....cuter than a lot of the pugs I see! But of course I am biased. :)


And this next one? Well, can't you tell we just have so much fun (being exhausted) after Emmy goes to bed.

Playing House

Once she figured out what to do with the box, it has become quite a fun "toy." Now dubbed her "house," Emmy asks for the flaps to be closed and pops out to surprise us.

She then wanted to see what I was doing with the camera...and when I asked her to say cheese, I got the final shot.

Maternity Wear

Cam and I went to Old Navy yesterday to check out the kids clothes and see if just maybe there was a shirt or something I could wear. (We did that stuff-what-you-can-in-a-bag-and-get-20%-off. It works out to some pretty good deals usually!)

I ended up with this for $12:

Cute right?

Non-maternity (!), so I am hoping that I can pull it off after the kid is born. I figure, if it is fitting me now, there must be a lot of room....hopefully it won't look like a tent postpartum!

So, see that pink flower right under the bust in the middle of the dress? Yeah, that actually lands smack dab on the middle of my preggo belly. The perfect compliment to a large stomach I must say, lol.

And, as is normal suit for me, I put the dress on pretty much the second I got home because I am really just seeking ANYTHING that fits right now....and I decide to ask Cam what he thinks of the dress.

"You look really comfortable." That's what he said. And then he smiled.

And you know what...it is really comfortable. That's more than enough for me! :)



On a totally separate note, the Alzheimer's Gala is this weekend. Cam and I get to dress up and get out for an evening!

This year I am/was the decor Chair-this is my 4th year of involvement. Here is the link to our invite. And a link to the Alzheimer's Association (Gala Page), if you want to know more. (My Grandma died from dementia about 10 or so years ago, hence my connection.)

I am going to try to take way more photos this year than I usually do so I can post them and show you what it looked like. Here's some photos from last year...
(Sorry for the size of the photos...but you should be able to get the idea.)

Our theme was MOVE Towards a Brighter Tomorrow. Since actual "movement" was so critical, we (I was not the decor Chair last year and cannot take the credit) figured out a way to make a huge mobile for the center of the atrium that sat on one of the auction tables. All the centerpieces were mobiles as well.

Here's a bunch of the Gala Committee. That's me in the red!

Be back later!

Having fun on the Porch

First she had to sit with Daddy, under her quilt.

Then with momma under the warm Guatemalan blanket.

And finally on her own chair with her own blanket....miss independent!

7 months, 28 weeks

Am I tired.

Seriously, I thought being preg-o with Emalyn was tiring, but pregnant with a toddler, it just really hit me this week. I swear, by Thursday I am ready for the weekend to catch up!

I suppose working FT doesn't help my energy level....I might just have to do something about that!

Just kidding! We've got bills to pay!

Hope you had a fun Easter!

Easter Recap

After church/brunch we tried getting some photos. PopPop made an Emmy sandwich with Mimi. Emmy thought it was great.

This is probably the best one we could get....there are just too many smiles to get organized!

What's so funny in this next photo is Emmy put her arm around me, one her own, and wanted it that way. She didn't move it until we said we were done with photos.

And then she decided that she wanted more "no-nies" (Mac & Cheese). Probably because she didn't eat any at the restaurant becuase she was preoccupied with the bunny. Silly girl :)

Hope you all had a nice Easter!

Mimi and PopPop/Papa

My mom and dad were to arrive last Sunday3/28.

Here's Daddy and Emmy after church before Mimi and PopPop would arrive. This kid LIVES to be outside. She loves it and right now I wouldn't have it any other way!

Emmy took about 5 minutes after her nap to hug Mimi and warm up to them both. I was definitely surprised as I thought it would be at least 30 minutes.

She loves her Mimi. "MY Mimi," as she would correct me, I'm sure.

Apparently after some evening walks with Mimi and PopPop along with Quincy (of course), it was discovered that she likes to run down a hill next to our house.

She'd wait for the "Ready, Set....GO!" and fly down the hill.

I have no idea how she didn't trip or fall more than just a handful of times. Her legs barely kept up with the rest of her.

Love this next shot.

So we basically went outside every night after dinner. Well, Mimi, Emmy and Quincy did.

She wanted to climb the tree...so daddy helped her. But no good shots came out of that :(

Daddy and PopPop went to "be-be-boo" (Caribou Coffee) while we played outside. I love their Passion Fruit Green Tea Smoothie. Always have and always will.

And for some reason right now in my pregnancy, I could have one every night after dinner. SO GOOD.

Turns out she loves it too.

LOTS.


On PopPop/Papa's name: it is still up for discussion. She says PopPop to me sometimes, but when my mom was with her, she was teaching her "Papa" so Emalyn was saying that. Whatever, at least we know who he is when she references! That's all I care about! :)
More to come....