Playdate

The weather has been absolutely amazing here for the past week or so (we were way overdue after all that rain) so Em and I have been taking full advantage of it! This past Friday we got some friends together and headed to Baker Park for a little fun in the sun. I’m not sure if Emma is overwhelmed or intimidated by other kids, but it seems like whenever we’re in a social setting, it takes her forever to be her fun self. It really wasn’t until Paxton got there that she eased up and stopped being so serious. And who could blame her? He sure is a cutie!

ADD? I think not.

I love that Emma is old enough for us to really start learning some things about her personality. I have a feeling that so many of the little things I notice about her now will be really telling in the years to come. Specifically, Em has demonstrated lately no lack of attention span. She is currently sitting on the couch with a handful of Crayons and a small metal tin, putting the Crayons in the tin, then taking them back out. She’s been doing this for the past 30 minutes. She did the same thing yesterday. And a few days ago, we spent an hour in the front yard raking and bagging leaves, and by WE I mean Emma and I. She literally helped me the whole time, picking up leaf after leaf, acorn after acorn, and putting them in the bag. I love my little helper! Those are just a few examples from many. But like I said, it’s going to be neat to see how her focus and persistence develops as she gets older.

Finally!

Emma is 1 1/2 yrs old and in all that time, I can only think of three pictures that were taken of just the three of us. And if you ask me, only one of them is worth counting at all. Until now! I finally talked Jacob into swapping family pic shoots with another photographer (thanks Ashley Carson Photography!). On Tuesday we went out to Wildwood geared up for some fun. Emma had been pretty cooped up all day and it was a beautiful outside. When we got there, all she wanted to do was play. Needless to say, Em wanted nothing to do with us trying to hold her down for a picture. She spent the first half of the shoot fighting us with tears in her eyes. Until she saw the swans. Emma LOVED them. They were the only thing that made her smile, meaning we only got a few happy pictures of her. But that was enough for me! Here are some of my faves:

The Pumpkin Pond

Ok, so our trip to the pumpkin patch wasn’t quite the disaster that I’ve made it out to be. I guess I have been a little dramatic. But in my defense, it really was a mud pit. Not only did we have to drive over a flooded bridge (the Sub did great) but most of the pumpkins were actually floating. FLOATING! I’d say 80% of the whole place (we’re talking many acres here) was under water. Emma, of course, was dead set on tromping through every puddle she saw. By the end of it, she had lost a shoe and fallen several times, covering herself in mud. We had to strip her down before putting her in the car. BUT, she had a blast, and while it wasn’t the idyllic first trip to the pumpkin patch I had in mind, it was definitely memorable.

PS – the picture to the right was before any of the mud mishaps.

Facelift

Emma is 18 months old today. In honor of that milestone (and simply because the blog was in dire need of a facelift) I made a few changes around here. So take a gander at the pic of Em’s first, albeit disastrous, trip to the pumpkin patch which will be explained in depth soon!