Our Weekend

This weekend was JAM PACKED for this little Collins family!  Saturday we had a great time at cute Cohen’s birthday party.  I took lots of pictures for Ashely, but I used her camera (since we have the same one) so she would have them, so you’ll have to check those out on her blog whenever she puts them up :)  Then I was off to a shower for a sweet girl, Lindsey, in our small group at church, and from there to my Grandmother’s birthday party at my parents’ house.  Sunday we went to church, and afterwards I cooked a roast for lunch and Lindsey, Lincoln, and Layna came over.  Emery and Layna are already best friends :)

Ooh…She has a bow just like me!!

Pretty sure they are already talking about how crazy their mamas are :) haha

The weather here was AMAZING this weekend, so we took advantage and took Emery and Lucy on a walk today.  Made me very very eager for Spring and Summer (or maybe its just Spring Break and the fact that I have the summer off haha)

Get Over Yourself April Lynn!!

Yes that is what I need to hear.  I am in a MAJOR funk, and I just cannot seem to pull myself out of it!  I always get a little gloomy during the winter because I love being outside and I love warm weather, but this year is the worst.  I just wrote a really ugly/rude post about how hard it is to be a working mom, that I chose to delete instead of make myself out to look like an extremely big brat :)  Instead I will post some pictures of my little cutie pie and count my blessings…

Thought I would post some pictures to prove that my child does not actually always have a bow…just 99% of the time :)

Big girl bathtime

So Emery has always LOVED bath time. She laughs, plays, and splashes the whole entire time, and recently she was splashing so much that literally every drop of water would splash out of her little bathtub, so I decided it was time to move her to the big bath tub. Unfortunately for her she now has to take quicker baths because she gets cold since I can't get as much of her body in the water as I could in her little tub. Most of the bath she sits up, but when its time to watch her hair we lay her back. My little girl is growing up so stinkin fast!!

Procrastination

Procrastination has lead me to put off blogging Christmas until now...almost a month later. I just knew I wanted to upload a lot of pictures, and I knew that blogger is obnoxious :) But...here goes nothing...

Emery's first Christmas was everything I hoped it would be. It was fun, memorable, special, and filled with lots of new traditions. Emery obviously had no clue what was going on, but she was VERY into unwrapping gifts, and pulling tissue paper out of bags....so fun! On Christmas Eve we celebrated Christmas with my Mom's side of the family, then rushed off to Christmas Eve service at our church. This is the first year since Brad and I have been married they have had a service at our church, and it was AWESOME!! (Have I ever mentioned that I love love love our church??)

Then I cooked a Christmas dinner, and Brad's family came over so we could do Christmas with them. I was really proud of myself for cooking a holiday dinner. It is something I have wanted to do since Brad and I were first married, and I finally got the chance this year!!

Christmas Eve with Brad has always been my favorite time of Christmas, and this year was no different except instead of just Brad and I it was Emery, Brad, and I. We let Emery open one gift from us...her Christmas pajamas. And then she put those on, and we read the Christmas story out of our family Bible by candle light and ladies (and gentlemen if there are any of you besides Ben haha) that makes my heart very very happy :)

Emery got an extra Christmas gift for her first Christmas...a white Christmas!! So exciting!

Then on Christmas morning Emery got to see what Santa brought her, and open up her gifts from us. After our own Christmas morning, we headed over to my Mom and Dad's to do Christmas with them.

Once we left there we came home to hurry and get ready, then were off again to Brad's parents to do Christmas with his side of the family (no pics...ugh...sometimes I totally forget to take pictures), and from there we went straight down to the lake to do Christmas with my Dad's side.

CRAZY is the best way to describe our Christmas, crazy but super super fun :)

When Momma's away...

Snow days are my favorite part about being a teacher!! We had a "snow" day, and I do use that title loosely because there was no snow to be seen ha! Brad and I both had a snow day Tuesday, but Brad had off Wednesday too, so he got to stay home with Emery while I went to work...needless to say I was not happy about that! As I was loading pictures to the computer I found these. When I asked Brad about them, he said oh yea those are from "the huge mess". Yea...you think? haha

These pictures also highlight my favorite Christmas gift this year...our new high chair...LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! And I have told you before girlfriend is a big eater, but I promise she's normally not this messy :)

Emery's Half Birthday...

I know I should be thankful for a beautiful healthy little girl, but I can't help but to feel a little big sad that my sweet baby is already half of a year old! It was so wonderful to get to spend two whole weeks off with her for Christmas break. She is growing and doing new things daily. Here are some things she is up to at 6 months old!

-She still loves to eat. She will eat anything you give her...sorta like her momma :) You really enjoy your new high chair too.

-She can sit up on her own for extended periods of time. She will just sit on a blanket and play with us and with her toys for up to an hour.

-She hates being on her stomach, and therefore I don't think she is going to crawl. Dr. Kunkle doesn't either. Neither Brad nor I crawled...we just went straight to walking around 8/9 months. I am so not ready for Emery to be walking!!

-She had her first really bad sickness...double ear infection, pink eye, and really bad cold.

-She sleeps with her snuggle bear for naps and at bed time.

-She has started to be a little clingy to mommy in the evening...which you know Momma don't mind :)

These pictures were taken when Brad and I went in to get her from her morning nap on her half birthday (oh, and no I don't not make my child sleep in a bow I just put it on for the pics, at BRAD'S request I will have you know...Those bows and I have won him over)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner...

congrats to...Amy Wolford who won a cute little tutu for her adorable Riley :) I put all of your names in a cup, and had Brad draw on out...we are super official!!

And yes, I know I'm very behind in blogging, but I have been too busy loving on my sweet Emery to blog. I do want to share our Christmas card with you though, and I hope all of you had a GREAT Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

Count Your Blessings Christmas 5x7 folded card

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