the kiddos and i are back from our florida adventure…more to come when i have time to write, but we had a wonderful time and i think we can now “get through” the last bit of winter. :-)
…and – Miss Em FINALLY got some teeth – 3 in one week popped through!!!
Emma Grace Walti is 10 months old this week!
…And she does NOT like to pose for pictures! This is the best I could do at 6:30am – notice her red tired eyes! But she is playing on her favorite toy – the little Elmo couch (she LOOOVVES to climb and “relax” on it) and with her lovey (we think) – a frog-headed blanket named Lily Mae (which is really the name – also the name of her girl cousin – how cute!).
Emma is a WALKER! She started taking steps a week before her 10 month birthday and is now about 1/2 walking and 1/2 crawling – she takes about 5-6 steps at a time and then falls down, gets back up, and does it again – GREAT JOB, EMMA! It is interesting, as big brother Jack started walking exactly at 10 months, but he just took off and never looked back; it is seeming to take her a little longer to master.
The girl could also eat ALL DAY LONG. She is insatiable and is loving her avocado, pasta, cheese, peas, oranges and many other things. She is really enjoying feeding herself and would rather do that than be fed “like a baby.” Emma gets VERY UPSET when she is not invited to the eating party and will literally scream until you give her a taste / snack! (I feel her pain...)
She is babbling a lot and says (and growls - see below!) “Mama” (all day long), “Dada” (not as much as Scott would like), “Dado” (Gma’s dog Shadow"), and makes a “B” sound for Jack (AKA Brother or Bubby), and a “P” for “Pop” – now we just need a “Kaa” for Katie and the consonants will be on their way! But she also likes to make it known when she doesn’t like something or wants something and can be SO LOUD with grunting/growling/screaming! Emma loves to give kisses when asked (AKA open mouth), likes to play the pass-back-and-forth game, dress up with her scarves, and is generally just a happy, EASY little gal who just plays around the house all day and goes with the flow – we are so lucky!
Loving on Bubby – she gets so happy to see him in the morning and they are really interacting – it is adorable!!
Her sleeping habits have gotten SO MUCH BETTER!!! Emma generally goes to bed between 6:45-7:00pm, sometimes without a bottle, and sleeps until about 5am, when she likes to join Mommy/Daddy in bed for a little snuggle and a bottle, then usually back to sleep for an hour. Katie has been working really hard on getting her to do just 2 naps a day and we are getting there! The past few days have been great 1.5-2 hour naps from at 8:30 and then again around 1:30.
We are off to celebrate February birthdays (Nana, Jack, and myself) in Florida – can’t wait to get these kids some SUNSHINE and OPEN SPACE!!!
Late on this post, but I think Jack had a great birthday celebration!
We picked Scott up at the airport on the Saturday before and both kids were SUPER excited to see their Daddy! Got home and Emma actually took her first 3 steps to him – Great Timing and more on that later…
Sunday morning we went to Toy Story 3 on Ice for his Bday Surprise…I think he was a little overwhelmed, but he liked it! It also wasn’t at the perfect time at 11:30 and was long – needless to say he was dog-tired afterwards. But it was really cute and Barbie and Ken were hilarious! It was a nice way to do something different to start off his big 3rd year.
Then we headed up to Pop and Grandma’s house to watch the Superbowl and celebrate. The kids had a blast as they always do up there and Jack was super excited about a big chocolate Portillos cake – YUM!
The next morning, Scott and I took off of work and took them both to breakfast at our favorite place down the street, Nookies. Jack was super-excited about the candle in the pancakes, and Daddy was a big trooper considering he was really sick/jet-lagged from his trip…
All in All, we had a great time toasting our little man. He has grown up so much in this past year and is now a very polite, inquisitive guy who is a great big brother and our little helper.
Happy Birthday, Jack!
**And thanks to Scott for making my birthday this past weekend great – dinner, great wine, and a MOVIE (i miss that!) with some time to myself yesterday – it was great! 32 years young!
And Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone we love out there – I haven’t gotten a VDay shot yet, but we are celebrating with a Valentine’s “Breakfast for Dinner” tonight. YUM!
and this will be us!
i seriously could not be more excited.
i really need this warm little getaway and some color on my face.
and the kids really need some toes in the sand, wide-open spaces, and FRESH WARM AIR!
coffee on the lanai in 75 degree weather, swimming, trips to the beach, good dinners, fun with Kitten, Pappaw, and Nana, putt-putt, board games and snuggling to movies at night, sleeping in, sleepy after-swim naps…
thank you so much to my dad and ellen – buying this house was such a gift to our family and we love, love, love our time there. HooRay!
why do we live in chicago?
Our little guy turns 3 years old today!
There are so many things that I love about my fun, energetic, smart, little buddy boy. Jack has the most sensitive, inquisitive little soul – he is very easy to parent and has turned into my little “friend.” These past two weeks while Daddy has been gone, he has been a great support and helper! Jack loves “hard work” and asks the best questions – we love to play the “Question Game” and he always comes up with a stumper. HIs beautiful long lashes, curly blond hair, and quick-to-hug personality make me so proud to be his Momma and get me every time…I have a hard time (usually) being upset with him because he is such a little lover. He is very kind to his sister and I can see the true love in his eyes when he plays with her and sings to her when she is upset. We know that he is not quick to wake up (we pretty much don’t speak until 8:30 when Super-Why is over), will try to talk you out of brushing his teeth every night, and will always negotiate for more special treats. Such a cool little kid.
Simply put – HE IS THE BEST.
We try my hardest to tell him how much we love him every day, but I don’t think any parent ever thinks it is enough.
I am writing this post in advance, but we are planning on Toy Story 3 on Ice on Sunday for his birthday surprise (complete with his own binoculars, which he will probably like best of all), going up to Pop and Gma’s to watch the SuperBowl, a special birthday breakfast, and then a small, relaxed gathering with a few little friends at “Cafe Twist” – a pretzel shop where the kids will get to twist, paint, and decorate their own pretzels. Of course, a Super-Why {his current fave} theme will be present.
We Love You Jack Kenneth Walti – Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, and your “Emmers”
**OH, and Jack is pretty excited to turn 3, because I told him that when he turns 3, he can occasionally chew bubble gum. :-)
Brother / Sister Fun
(and yes, I swear my children are not naked/pantless ALL the time)
...and our growling fashionista
For some reason that seems more strange to me than saying “The Blizzard of ‘78” that my parents reference. Do we really live in the year 2011? Shouldn’t we have flying cars by now? :-) Will Jack say “I lived through the blizzard of 2011 someday?
Anyway…it was magical and amazing. Up at my in-laws we had drifts of close to 6ft in parts and THANK GOODNESS for my father and brother-in-law who spent close to 4 hours shoveling and snow-blowing us out!
we all know how Jack feels about shoveling – he loved it, but got tired pretty quickly due to the weight and the cold. I wish we could have played outside longer and gone sledding, but we couldn’t even get out!
we were lucky to get up north in time – it literally started snowing hard and blowing up to 50mph gusts about 10 min after we arrived. it was a fun day of snuggling in, having ice cream for breakfast, hot chocolate after shoveling, and playing zoo at Pop’s house.
i wont even get into what i ran into when i got back in the city at 7pm last night except for to comment that my true “Momma Strength” kicked in as I was football carrying my 35 lb screaming son, my asleep 20 lb daughter in her 10 lb car seat, my laptop, and the diaper bag for 2 blocks along a 6 inch shoveled sidewalk (our garage alley was impassable and snowed in). i am not ashamed to say that #1- i lost my cool, #2-i have never wanted my husband or dad (or any man, for that matter) more, and #3-i was sitting in a hot bath with a beer at 9pm for an hour crying my eyes out. the city is just beyond disarray – i have no idea how/when they will get all of this snow out since it is supposed to be sub-freezing temps for the next couple of weeks.
but – we got through it and now it is only TWO MORE DAYS until Scott is home. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!
We are bracing for a heavy snowstorm up here (with blizzard predictions of 18-25” by Wednesday afternoon!), but I wanted to share some cute pics of this past weekend. Grammy and Gpa Dale were in town, and we had a lot of fun!
Just playing at home, a nice walk/bike-ride, a breakfast out (where Emmy ate her weight in avocado), and a really fun afternoon at the Kohl Children’s Museum to see the new Curious George exhibit!
Scott took my camera to London/India, but here are a few from my phone.
I am probably taking the kids up north to my father-in-laws to brace for this storm, as I really do not want to be snowed in with 2 small children by myself…if the power went out, we would be not in good shape! So grateful that they are close by and want to take care of us. :-) I am so nervous that Scott will not be able to get home on Saturday – FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!
I’m sure I will have updates of some massive snowmen, Jack shoveling, and some pretty views later in the week – WISH US LUCK!!!!
BRRRRRR!!!!!!
