So it's time for an update!

We had a very nice spring break this past week! Brian started his new second job working with Andy Ree, a PI lawyer who goes to our church, and he loved it! I didn't mind so much either, because he didn't have to go in until 10, so he could help me with Emma a little bit and spend some time with us before leaving. It was a very nice pace to keep, and we had a great time.

Emma is doing great. She is working on her 5th and 6th teeth at the moment, so she soon won't look like a vampire! The other day, we were at a mall and were sitting on a bench. There was a little boy sitting on the other side, and he was playing Peekaboo with Emma by bobbing up and down. So Emma started to copy him, and now anytime we say Peekaboo, she will go to the coffee table and do squats and grin every time she pops up. So now my child can play peekaboo! I cannot believe how much she understands already! When she is done eating, I ask "All done? Do you want to come see mommy?" and hold my hands out. If she is in fact done, she will get really excited and sit straight forward waiting for me to pick her up. When it's nap time, I ask her if she wants to nap and hand her her bear friend. If she's tired, she will rub her eyes on bear friend and lean toward the crib. It's so cute! And she even crawls to me or my mom if she needs a diaper change! I have just been really happy to see all of these things start to happen. She even has a noise for me that is sort of a "Nananana" that she does when she wants me and I am not right next to her. My little girl is getting old (relatively speaking, anyway)! Also, yesterday she was entertained completely by little bits of smoked turkey. Before yesterday, she would look at finger food with disdain because to put it in her mouth was CLEARLY my job, but this held her attention for a long while. She only stopped because we stopped giving it to her, but she was quite good at it. And lastly, my dad gave her some chocolate ice cream the other day, and though she was miss cranky, she immediately perked up and when my dad went to throw the carton away, she crawled after him. It was hilarious! And so it begins...

Brian is doing great, and loving his new job, like I said. It will be a really good thing for both him and Andy as their personalities are so different. This is a wonderful way to get his foot in the door to law! He has two more weeks left of classes and then exam time arrives, but after that we never have a semester as bad as this one has been. He has typically been gone 4 to 5 nights a week, but from now on he won't have to be down there anymore than 4, and that will be rare! So maybe things will be a little less crazy now!

I am doing just fine as well. I planted a tree this past week that I am HOPING won't die because of our freezing cold temperatures. I am also working on planting some flowers in the front yard, and just generally hoping to make the house look nicer from the outside. I have had the help of my neighbor that I watch in the afternoons. She has been a great help and joy to me because at only 8 years old, she loves to help with house work and yard work. I have been very impressed by her work ethic, and really admire her parents for caring so much where most parents don't. I have also started a mother's bible study, and put a bunch of stuff on ebay. Hopefully it will sell! So there you go. That's been the past several weeks in a nutshell.

Since there have been so few real pictures lately, here are several to keep you happy. To explain, Emma LOVES to tear up magazines, and doesn't always eat them anymore, so I am all about it if it keeps her distracted. The blue paper is from the DMV, and all things from the DMV should be drooled on or thrown away, so she's learning! The other pictures are of Emma stealing three peppermints and sucking on them through the wrapper. We were at mom and dad's the other day, and she found one she wasn't supposed to. There was no getting it away from her! So she found my stash this time around, and thought that three would be better than one. Her breath smelled like mint! I'm a great mom for letting her have all that sugar...