Storytime with Emrie

So I know every mom thinks that their child is the smartest child in the universe but I am here to tell you that mine really is...no lie. She is also miss personality and often life of the party. She LOVES her books and will "read" all the time. Here is a video of her reading to me.



One of my favorite things is when Kyle comes home he will sit on the couch with both kids and ask Emrie about her day and she will proceed to tell him everything about it. We don't know what she is saying of course but she is really passionate about whatever it is. I love it so much that I kind of don't want her to really learn to talk...and I know that at some point I may not like what she has to say. Enjoy...

2 under 2

We welcomed William "Wills" Kyle Wardlaw into our family on May 8th at 12:26 am. He weighed 7lbs 7ozs and was 21 inches long. Already trying to please his mother he decided to arrive on Mother's Day...not only that he decided to be the first baby in the hospital to arrive on Mother's Day awarding his mom a nice gift basket from the hospital. Thanks baby boy!







Things have been pretty interesting to say the least since arriving home with Wills in tow. The first week Wills was this interesting little baby that came to visit and the second week Emrie finally realized that this baby was here to stay. If she could talk she would have told me to take him back. :) All in all she has been a sweet big sister and gives her Bubba (what she calls him and how she says brother) lots of kisses. A few hits too but we are working on that. We were lucky to have my mom and Kyle's mom come stay to help out for a week each and both Emrie and I got spoiled. Emrie REALLY missed both of them when they left (as did I).

We are all figuring out how to live life with the addition of this new little one. Wills has, like his sister was, been really gassy and has reflux so the combination of those two has made life a little challenging. It is nice to see Emrie and be reminded that this too shall pass. When he is comfortable he is a pretty sweet and content little boy...unless he is in his car seat. He hates it and just screams the whole time, Emrie has even started covering her ears and banging her hands on her head when he does it. To be honest it is actually pretty funny and Kyle and I can't help but laugh at her. You are also a little immune to the crying when it comes to the second child.

We are excited to see how little Wills grows and changes and begins to learn new things. Also to find out if his hair will stay dark or turn blond like his sisters, will he have brown eyes like Kyle and I or blue like Emrie's. All of this is the fun part of being a parent and I hope to share as much as I can.

Here are a few pictures of life at home.

Cousin Time

The last weekend of March we headed to San Antonio to celebrate our niece and nephews 3rd and 5th birthday. We had so much fun and Emrie loved spending time with her cousins.



Clara loved pushing Emrie around in the wagon and Emrie loved riding.



Mimi pushing Emrie on the swing.



Riding scooters with cousin Gage.



The highlight for Emrie was the bounce house. One thing is for for sure our little girl is rough and tumble. She thought it was hilarious to get thrown about.




And this picture...well it's just funny.



Once we got back from San Antonio we got the pleasure of seeing the Wardlaw side of the family as well.



Here is Emrie enjoying a beverage with her cousin Hannah.



Emrie and Tyler...though 6 months apart they are about the same size.



Just hanging on the couch.



Uncle Kyle with Tyler and Hannah.

It was a great weekend and we are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Shake It!

So Emrie loves to dance sometimes to music but often to the music in her head. Here's a video of her on a night we kept her up past her bedtime (she tends to get really hyper when she is tired).



Here she is dancing to some Mumford and Sons in her diaper before bath time.




Girl has got some hip action.

Guess who is walking!

Merry Christmas

I will just say that Christmas is much more enjoyable with a 1 year old than a 4 day old. This was Emrie on Christmas when she was just an itty bitty thing.



it is incredible the difference a year makes.



We went home to Colleyville for Christmas this year and did Christmas with my family on December 19th. We had the whole Livingston clan there. Lauren, Cody and Delilah (their cute yorkie that Emrie loved! Can't say that Lilah felt the same). Taryn, Brad, Gage and Clara and of course my parents and us. Here is Emrie with her cousins on "Christmas" morning.



One gift that she really loved was her tent that she got from the Sharpe family. If she ever went missing we knew we could find her just sitting all by herself in it. The tent folds up which is great for storage but I had it folded up leaning against the wall with the opening facing out...can you see where I am going with this? Well I guess Emrie thought she could still crawl into it and went head first into the wall. Poor girl had no idea what hit her and all I could do was laugh.





Emrie also got to meet Santa twice and I can't say she was thrilled about either encounter. We took her to the Southlake Town Center on her birthday and she met Santa...no tears just a who are you and why are you holding me look. This was the first encounter.



Then we went to Grapevine Mills with her cousins Tyler and Hannah and got about the same expression. Secretly I was kind of hoping she would cry because I think those pictures are hilarious...alas I did not get my wish (boy I sound like a terrible mom).



We then spent Christmas Day with Kyle's family and Emrie had fun opening presents with her cousins Hannah and Tyler. Here is Tyler with his gifts.



And Hannah all dressed up.



Emrie made out with lots of great things like clothes, toys, a bracelet with her name on it, and lots of books...girl loves her some books.



Here is uncle Dan reading to Emrie and Tyler.



It was a great trip home and after a birthday party and Christmas Emrie made out with a ton of loot. We are so thankful for our friends and family and that most importantly we got to celebrate the Christ in Christmas!

How old is Emrie?

ONE!!! (Emrie's Pops...my dad...taught her this trick and I think this picture is pretty perfect)


So I figured I would cover Emrie's birthday before Christmas since that came first and I am bound and determined to keep them as separate as possible. If she has to grow up with a birthday 4 days before Christmas it is the least that I can do.

So we decided to have Emrie's party in Colleyville since we were going to be home celebrating Christmas with my family the weekend before Christmas and would have all our family in town the same day. All in all it went well and I found out that there is nothing more exhausting than a child's birthday party. Totally worth it though.

So I decided to have the party cupcake themed and designed this invitation for her (message me if you want me to do one for you) :).



We had a cupcake station where you can decorate your own cupcake.



Snacks...



A coloring station for the kiddos...



A guess how much candy is in the jar station and beautiful cupcake cookies that Emrie's Mimi K (Kyle's mom) slaved over for party favors...



I also got crafty and made her a birthday banner along with pictures of her from every month of her first year. Turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself.





Next up was the birthday cupcake and since she is her mother's daughter she was a huge fan and not shy at all about just digging in.







Next we were on to presents.



Emrie loves her some books!



Emrie was also one lucky girl to have all of her cousins at the party. Here she is with Gage, Clara and Hannah (Tyler was napping).



Plus one of my best friends from college came and brought her daughter...which was definitely a treat for me. Here we are with Lisa and Layla.



We all had a great time and we will just say that I am glad birthday's only come once a year. Here's to next year!