Duke Gardens

Em and I hung out at Duke Gardens today...she loved crawling on the grass and looking at ducks in the pond.  

Newest Trick

Lovely Weekend

Yes, I know the week is half over, but I did have a lovely weekend visiting my friends in Ohio.  My good bud Jen lives in Cincinnati with her hubby & cutie pie daughter Sophie.  I can't decide if Soph is more of a spitting image of her mom or her dad.  Jen and I visited the new IKEA store in their area, and it was a first IKEA experience for me.  Gotta say, I think I'm hooked!  Lots of really neat storage ideas and simple furnishings.  Loads of neat kid stuff.  Gotta go back, but I think the closest IKEA to us is on the way to DC.  It was great just having time to lunch with Jen, sit and catch up, and not worry about where our kids were (both were home with their Daddies!).  We both really appreciate the gift our hubbies gave us...time to spend with our girlfriend, child-free.  While in Cinci, Jen & Sophie took me to the local nature center.  What a cool place!  We looked at gigantic frogs in a pond, geese, ducks, birds, squirrels & old cabins.  Very nice walking trails with an abundance of spring flowers making their appearance.  It was a nice way to spend the morning.  Chadman shared some Mac tips with me, and I'm quite grateful for the new knowledge...Chad is the master of all things Mac!  

Thanks, Jen, Chad & Sophie for a great weekend, and thanks to Keith for helping it happen as well!

Catching Up

So, I guess Em decided walking wasn't quite her cup of tea yet.  She still loves to push her cart around, and will gladly cruise the length of the couch in order to grab the TV remote.  But, if you try to get her to stand or waddle over to you...the legs instantly become Jello-like (or arched behind her) and she throws herself to the floor.  She has mastered the fine art of stair climbing, so we got a groovy little babygate for the bottom of the stairs, much to her dismay.  She's becoming quite the protester, and is indulging us with a tantrum here and there.  I wouldn't say we've seen the full-blown tantrum-fest yet, just a little throwing oneself onto the floor and hollerin' a bit...you know, just to see what reaction you get...like that cookie you want.  She is jabbering up a storm now, and pointing at things (while jabbering very seriously), and seems a little frustrated with us when we don't comprehend.  Right now, there's a lot of head nodding and mmm-hmmm's going on, while Keith and I look at each other and try to decipher this new language.  We didn't learn "toddler" in our high school foreign language class, so we're left to guess.  

I've got to say, I am so impressed with the software that came with our Mac.  It's the iLife series, which includes iMovie and iDVD.  It made editing Emmy's 1st Year video a snap, once I learned the in's & out's, and then creating the actual DVD was really fun.  Probably the easiest software I've used to create video.  Lovin' the Mac!  Finally finished the video this weekend, and it will be shipping out to all the grandparental units this week.  Only took me 4 months to finish...but in my defense, I had a major setback when our last computer was stolen and about 2 weeks worth of work went down the drain.  

We are Spring cleaning around here, and will be going through the attic to declutter soon.  Our church has an annual yard sale, and that's where a lot of this stuff is heading.  Too much junk, not enough space.  I cleared out a box of Christmas decorations last week...nothing with sentimental value, but we had so much stuff that we never bring out, so time to pass it along to someone who might use it.  

Keith did a lot of yard work the past 2 weeks.  He ordered some mulch and recovered all our beds.  The drought killed off a bush or two, and one of our bleeding hearts, so we'll need to replant in May.  Everything looks so nice and fresh, and Keith did a great job!  We're supposed to have a freeze tonight, so we're really glad we didn't go buy any plants last weekend.  

Two weeks ago, we went to a 2nd birthday party of Emmy's daycare buddy, Joshua.  He loves Em, and yells her name each day when she arrives.  They had a great time at the party, and Josh pushed her all around the house on a little fire engine.  I got some pics and some video...will share a couple shots.

We're So Proud!

When I picked up Emmy from daycare today, she was super-excited to see me.  She had been sitting on Jeffrey's lap in the rocking chair, and as soon as I walked in, she started bouncing and put her arms in the air.  Jeffrey said "you don't need to be picked up, you can just walk over to Mom".  So, she stood Em on the floor and that's exactly what she did!  Jeffrey said she'd been taking some steps all day, and it was so exciting to see the babe walkin' like a lil' mini-Frankenstein towards me!  I raced home so she could walk for Keith too...it was a fun night!  She just laughs so hard when she stands independently...and then gets ahead of herself when she takes some steps and tries to RUN...then falls on her face.  I haven't got any good pics or video yet...uncooperative toddler.  It'll be up soon!