A Bird's Eye View

Sunday Style Section

I love this little cotton dress I found at Daff-a-deals.  I also love that she'll be able to wear it (hopefully) through the summer.

Franklin ALWAYS has his most stylish outfit on...haha!  He did love being outside a lot this week.

I just love this picture...she just looks so sweet!  I think the feet are what really get me..don't you just want to kiss those toes? (Maybe it's just a mom thing...haha!)  This top should also make it through the summer and hopefully the fall too (it should...I'm pretty sure it's a 24mo top!).  It's just so hard to find shirts to fit over her big ol' belly!

I love this little dress and I love that she'll be able to wear it lots of different ways...I'm planning to put some jeans or leggings under it so that she can still wear it this fall.

Look at those adorable thighs!  They're so sqeezeable!

Emmie's GG got her this dress and I think it's just precious...I love the little hood.

I've been madly in love with these tights since we got them...sadly this was the last time she'll wear them...she just absolutely can't fit in them anymore!  I'm planning to put brown leggings under this dress in the fall so she can get a lot of wear out of it. (By the way, this dress is also a 24mo dress...I'm not at all sure where I got such a big baby from!)

This was after we changed out of the other tights...I think it's just as cute with all the pink!

#1.  I love this little outfit and I'm so glad it has lasted us so long...I got it for her back in the fall.

#2.  I love that she's swiffering the floor...and yes I did put a dusting cloth on the bottom so she really IS cleaning...no missed opportunities for free child labor here!  Haha!  She has this obsession with the broom and the swiffer...whenever the laundry room door is open she gets them out and cleans up!

She wore her Noah's Ark dress to church today...it's just so adorable!

I love her little lace church socks.  At first she was quite confused about what was on her socks but then she got used to it! 

Tuesday

Today we ran some errands in the morning and then came home and ate lunch and Emmie took a nice nap.  After she woke up we took Franklin on a walk and it was soooo nice outside!  When we had been out in the morning it was overcast and kind of breezy but this afternoon the sun came out and it was 80 degrees!  There was also a nice warm breeze...it was fabulous!  So we called up Kerri and Ivy and we all headed to the Blythwood park to play.  The girls had sooo much fun...we were actually there about an hour and a half!  There were some kids playing baseball and the girls went over to the fence and were standing together looking through the fence...they were so cute and I was so sad that I had put my camera in the car earlier!

Going head first down the slide...the child has no fear!

HUG!

Don't you just want to squeeze those thighs?

Halfway There!

"Hey Gran!  I made this sign and I'm pretty excited about it."

"Isn't it exciting?  You're halfway through chemo!"

"Franklin!  Hey Franklin!  Come here...you have to come celebrate with me!"

"Gran, can you believe it?  Franklin was so excited that he came and sat by me!"

Today Emmie's Gran had chemo treatment #6...which means she's halfway through!!!!  We're all so thankful for how well she's done and for all the wonderful doctors and nurses that have been taking care of her...especially Cassie her fabulous chemo nurse!  (If you want to keep up with Gran's progress you can check out her Caring Bridge.)



Mondays are generally our lay around in PJs day...but since Emmie wet through her diaper this morning it was just a lay around day! First though, Emmie had to dust off her rocking chair.  She went and got this little baby top and dusted her rocking chair over and over...hilarious!

We definitely enjoyed another day of beautiful weather.  We went on a walk this morning and then again this afternoon.  It's days like this that I really, really miss having Rebekah down the street.  Last year when the weather started getting warm we would walk Emmie and Addison (and Franklin) around, and around, and around the block and talk about all the things we were experiencing as new moms.   Anyway, after our walk we played outside for a little bit and then came inside for dinner. 

Franklin also enjoyed all the time we spent outdoors.  He loves to sit in the yard and put fear into the hearts of squirrels everywhere!

Paul called and said he wasn't going to get home until close to 8 so I decided Emmie and I needed some kind of outing.  Emmie had had a bit of a hard day...I'm pretty sure she's cutting at least one tooth (she's been chewing on EVERYTHING) and then if there was something around to smash her fingers in she managed to smash her fingers in it...all afternoon...poor baby.  So anyway, the other day I was cleaning out my wallet and came across a coupon for a free yogurt from Yogen Fruz that we'd gotten when we went to see Santa.  I decided this would be the perfect Girl's Night outing for Emmie and me!  Yogen Fruz is one of those healthy frozen yogurt places and is right down the street at Sandhills.  So Emmie and I went and shared a yogurt.  She was really funny.  The yogurt is a little sour tasting until you get used to it and so she made a face with the first few bites and then decided it was yummy!  She was so cute though...she sat in the booth beside me and we ate our yogurt and chatted...it was the perfect Mother Daughter outing and I look forward to many more Mother Daughter outings in the years to come.

Sunday Style Section

I thought Id gotten a good picture of this outfit but apparently not...it's a cute little capri set...I love the fringe on the bottoms of the capris. As you can tell, Emmie is definitely about due for some sandals!

This is the top.  I love the flower!

Somehow I managed to snap the picture right when she turned towards me!  I love this little Gap outfit...once again....note that she needs sandals!  Capris just don't look quite right when you have to wear socks and big shoes!  (Plus, if we're outside very long her feet are pretty sweaty afterwards...she takes after her Uncle Ben in that respect!)

This was her Sunday dress this week...her smocked Carolina dress! 

This is one of the new outfits I got her from Daff-a-deals yesterday.  The pants and shirt are actually different brands but they went together really well!  (By the way, the shirt is a 24 month shirt...but it actually fit over her tummy!)

Zoo Trip Part 2 and the rest of the day

This morning we got up and were at the zoo by 9:30.  Paul was not super happy about having to go so early but when we left at 11 and the line to get in was overflowing into the parking lot he was VERY glad we were leaving and not coming in!  Apparently today was the day to go to the zoo.  We saw Hailey and her kids (Hailey's husband, Adam, works with Paul at the Columbia office) and we saw a girl who lived on my hall freshman year of college and her husband and kids.  AND we saw one of my friends that I've known since 4th grade.  I hadn't seen Alice since her wedding (which was about 4 or 5 years ago).  She and her husband and been living in Alabama and recently moved to Charlotte and they had come down to Columbia for the day.  It was so neat to run into them!  We had sooo much fun at the zoo and Emmie enjoyed showing her Daddy all the animals.

Emmie and Daddy looking at the birds.

Looking at some of the little monkeys.

This is the FIRST TIME since I've been taking Emmie to the zoo that we've gotten a good look at the gorilla.  Thursday we saw him as he was walking over the hill but today he sat down and posed for everyone...kind of funny!

Paul was so excited to get to see Emmie do her squatting pose when she was looking at the animals.

Emmie was looking at the lions.  I LOVE this picture of her!  (Don't you just want to kiss those big cheeks?)

One of the baby giraffes.  When we were feeding the giraffe this one came over and we got to feed it.  The giraffes are one of my favorite animals at the zoo.  One of the babies (not sure if it was this one or the other one) was running around when we first walked by the exhibit and it was quite entertaining!

Feeding the baby.

One of the big giraffes.

Looking at the fish.

After we left the zoo we swung by Groucho's and Paul and I grabbed some yummy sandwiches!  We got home, ate lunch, and then Emmie went down for a nice 2 hour nap which meant I also got a nice 2 hour nap!  After she woke up she had some play time with Daddy while I went to the consignment shop and got her some summery play clothes (and a few things for next winter...found a cute smocked Christmas dress for 75% off..yay!).  When I got home Emmie and I took Franklin for a walk and then worked on getting dinner ready.  Paul grilled us some yummy pork chops (with help from Emmie and Franklin).

I have to put a plug in for Emmie's highchair now.  It's a Fisher Price Space Saver and it straps on to a regular chair and can be used as a highchair or a booster seat.

Soooo...tonight I pulled Emmie's chair right up to the table and put her food on one of her plates and she got to eat like a big person!  She loved it so much!

After dinner we played for a bit, gave her a bath, and then off she went to bed!  We had such a great day.  It seems like it's so rare that Paul and I both have a Saturday off and we really enjoyed our family time!

Zoo Trip Part 1

Yesterday Emmie and I went to the zoo with my friend's Christina and Jolanta from work and Christina's little boy Jackson, who's 21mo., and Jolanta's nephew Jacob, who's 3.  We had a great time and Christina and I provided comic relief to all the zoo patrons as we chased around our 2 kids while pulling a wagon behind us...we were quite entertaining.  About the time we got one child marching in line the other one would take off in the opposite direction.  But, a fun time was had by all!  This was the first time we'd been to the zoo since Emmie started walking and she had so much fun walking around and looking at all the animals.  My favorite part was that whenever she went to look at an animal she would squat down...it was pretty funny!  I let Emmie ride the carousel because the other kids were riding and she is NOT a fan...poor baby...about 30 seconds after it started she grabbed on to my neck for dear life and laid her head on my shoulder...she stayed like that for about 5 minutes after we got off...guess we won't be doing that again for awhile!
When Paul was looking at the pictures last night he got a little sad that he hadn't been able to see her at the zoo so we're going again tomorrow! 

The blue macaws have always been one of Emmie's favorite animals at the zoo.  As soon as she saw them she hightailed it over to their cage.

Looking at the kangaroos and wallabies...up close and personal!

One of the few times we actually had the kids marching in line!

She enjoyed looking at the fish.

LOVE this picture!

Jackson was OBSESSED with teh llama!  He stayed right beside it the whole time we were looking at the barnyard animals.

Watching Jolanta and Jacob feed the goats.

Jackson...still watching the llama.

Jackson and Emmie with their cheerios!

Jacob pulling the little kids.