nine months

i'm about three weeks late on this so i'm thankful that i've jotted down some notes to jog my memory.  you're actually almost ten months old now but we'll pretend you're not yet.  please?  nine whole months.  em, you've now been out in the world as long as you were in my belly.  it's a little unbelievable.  here's an update on life with an emmie bear.

this little heart skirt is one of my favorite items of clothing you own

one week into april you had 3 tiny teeth.  they were mostly nubbins, precious little crooked nubbins.  i think this is one of those 'oh crap you're growing up' things for me.  teeth?  itty bitties don't have teeth.  sigh.

you love to raise your hands high above your head.  i think you're grandparents taught you the game 'so big' and you are a big fan.  one of my favorite things about littles is that their little arms hardly reach above their heads.  baby proportions - perfection.

you can reach over your crib now.  you kind of jump on your bed when i come to pick you up in the morning or after naps, all smiley.  you also teeth up a storm unfortunately and your face gets covered in paint.  i figure it can't be that good for you but i also figure you can't be the only baby doing it - so you're prob ok.

over spring break you started having fake laugh battles with your poppa.  you have no idea how much this verifies that you belong in our family.  baby giggles make the world go 'round i'm pretty sure.  i tried to video you all playing because i'd like to bottle it up forever but you hate to perform, nearly impossible to film.  i try not to miss a single second of it.

just recently you started 'playing' more, initiating & participating when we play with you.  when benny nuzzles and kisses, he makes you giggle, then you'll lean away for a second and then come back for more.  oh my gosh melt my heart that you can actually play with us.  nothing but fun from here on out.

you love to mimic and imitate.  you imitate noises mostly and hand motions, facial expressions etc.  you even raise your eyebrows back and forth with us. 

no donuts were harmed in the making of this picture

you've tried a little bit of plain rice, crackers & the food in the pouches.  we love introducing you to new food.  there is literally nothing that she has turned down.  love that you're not picky.  it is going to be really fun to learn how to feed you.  i'm hoping that it helps our family to eat better & try new things as you do.

this month you had your first family vacation.  it was a beach trip and you were awesome & precious.  it wasn't the world's most relaxing or exciting beach trip but it was certainly sweet.  i would trade the long car ride but never seeing you in a ruffly bathing suit.  you are just too adorable.

baby bean,

you bring so much joy to me and your poppa.  something i especially love about you is your ability to make people smile.  even strangers notice how sweet you are & they smile ear to ear.  even when you have your stoic face on, the cheeks still do the trick.  you can say momma and da.  that warms our hearts.  we're yours.  you're sweet & a little sassy.  your personality is growing and growing as well as your tiny little body - you're soooo tall.  i like to squeeze your pudgy little twinkle toes and sing to you before you go to bed.  we're so blessed to have you as our daughter & we pray daily that God will help us love you well & teach us how to show you Jesus.

sweetest bean i've ever seen

week of firsts

It seems like little em has had quite a few 'firsts' the first week of may and I was worried if I didn't go ahead and jot them down I may never remember the newness of this exciting week. (Assuming you find baby milestones exciting haha!)

On derby day little emmie collins stood all by herself. she did the halfway stand leaning over granna stephanie's legs and then took the full upright stance with no hands. Her arms were straight ip in the air and i think she may have been on her tip toes a little. out whole family was staring at her so our gasps and squeals scared her a little. she quickly sat back down but for a few moments...yes ma'am she certainly had her legs under her. She's getting really strong, more balanced and less timid as she moves from crutch to crutch. I don't think it will be much longer before standing alone is no big thing and walking will be on the horizon I'm sure.

She started eating lots of table food. The dr said she was good to go so we're going for it. LOTS of fruit, veggies, toast, etc. we love to watch her try new things and especially love seeing her learn how to use her pudgy little fingers & coordinating those little movements with her mouth. Things we never think about for ourselves are nearly a phenomenon when a baby does it.

Em started on formula for the first time. I think if we're blessed with more babies I'll be more open to using formula even if it is just for me to pump & build up supply in the future. I wasn't 'anti' formula necessarily but if I didn't have milk stored I would make an extra time I pump at night, I never had a break where it wasn't out of complete necessity and I think that made nursing a little less enjoyable for me. Em has taken right to a bottle and formula. Grandma carol feed emmie her first formula bottle and all my momma nerves proved to be ridiculous and unneeded. She was a pro from the start.

When I change emmie's diaper she sometimes is unruly, to put it mildly. I started making her kick her little legs while she's on her back and I tell her 'hi ya!' When she kicks. This week she said 'hi ya!' herself. Ahhhhh so awesome! Little karate kid. My bean.

This week we started brushing her baby teeth. We should have started before we did but since it wasn't in our bedtime routine before I've struggled to add it in, I gotta get better to protect those pearly whites!

the games we play

being a 'mostly' stay-at-home-mama has afforded em and i all kinds of bonding time / fun having time / game playing time.  now that you are is getting bigger / older / wiser you are into all kinds of things little lady.  i thought i might as well jot them down before we forget!

you love things that aren't toys the most [i hear cardboard boxes are all the rage].  you love empty water bottles, crinkly diaper wipe cases, remote controls & cell phones a lot.  i also think there is some kind of magnet force field between your and the electrical sockets on the wall.  p.t.l. momma finally bought those little safety plugs so i say "no touch please" about 400 times less in a day.  [she doesn't know what that means fyi].

you have your own "cabinet" which is actually the bottom of our pantry.  there are all kinds of kid-friendly non-toys for you to get your hands on, and you do.  quit judging my pantry.  you just crawl your little self on in there and momma can actually wash a bowl or something before you need more attention.  it's pretty awesome!  you really enjoy pulling every.thing. out of the cabinet.  every. thing.  ;)

you like to stand at the front door.  the screen door is glass, so i don't know what you call that but you like it.  you can see outside, sometimes you sit and play with dirt on our floors [yikes] and sometimes you stand, press your face to the glass, blow bubbles and slam your tiny baby palms on the door as if to say "HELLO WORLD!! it's me, emmie!"

we go on walks just about every pretty day here in ky.  we've had really crazy weather, one day 80 degrees the next day 40 degrees so we have to take advantage when we can.  we get all around the neighborhood and when we can we lay out a blanket in the yard so you can get some outdoor exercise too!  the big tree in the front yard shades you pretty well from the bright sun on pretty days so we can stay out there for a while.

on those pretty days we've also had our air conditioner kick on and that is a whole new 'something amazing' that you enjoy.  you love to find the air registers on our floor and put your hands and feet on the cold air blowing out.  i have to stop you eventually because your tiny little self turns into an ice cube.  a few times you tried to lick the registers too.  it was gross.  auntie cory said "get that girl a popsicle"  - i say summer prophesy!

my current faves include you interacting with your poppa.  when he gives you tickle kisses you laugh so loud!  and you just recently started leaning into him when he stops so that he'll do it again.  precious.  you also have fake laugh battles with your dad.  you love mimicking noises, grunts, squeals, words but most of all we love to see you fake laugh.  you two exchanging ridiculous giggles is just about the most hilarious thing I've ever seen.  the only sad part is that rarely will share this side of you with other people.  it kills me because i know the world would LOVE to see awesome baby antics too but, sigh, so be it.  we're you're audience.

sweet girl, we wouldn't rather play with anyone else.  you're pure awesomeness!

our first family vacay [with a bean] :: part 1

we were incredibly blessed to go on our very first vacation as a family of three.  it was a little frightening to embark on the 10 hour car trip with an 8 month old & we didn't have a clue what would happen with a baby on a beach but after a few google searches and a decision to drive through the night, we made it successfully.

we put em in the car a few minutes after her bedtime because we were at a party celebrating the engagement of two of our favorite people.  she fell asleep quickly and we assumed smooth sailing.  sadly, every time we stopped, for gas, to switch drivers or when we pulled over to sleep for a few hours she screamed her face off.  like super duper angry.  that part was hard.  we hated that she wasn't getting good, solid sleep and we were a little too tired to want to deal with it.  when morning finally rolled around it was back to a fun car trip.  we had about 3 more hours of driving left to do and did it in about 5, stopping when em was awake to let her get out, eat and play.  I really liked our family road trip stops. 

ben and baby saying "SB2K13 here we come!" after getting some early morning nom nom's at country fresh cracker barrel.

emmiekins at sonic.  she loved getting out of the car and thankfully, the weather was great to sit outside.  strangers everywhere love to come and see you.  you make people smile with your sweet little demeaner.

we fiiiiinally made it.  two tired parents and one sweaty baby.  we had to strip her down and get that babe cooled off accompanied by celebratory screeching!

do you spy a fluffy baby mullet?

WE MADE IT!

we immediately lathered that baby in sunscreen, changed clothes and headed to see the sea.  we borrowed an umbrella stroller so that we wouldn't have to drag along our big hoss of a stroller from home.  I love our regular one but it's just not practical when you're packing your whole house in the trunk.

"I need the sand in my toes"

will she like it?  how will she respond to sand...and sun...and water with waves?  being hot?  being cold?  welp, we found out!  the beach is a hit!  she loved it.  look at that face!

she waved at the waives pretty much any time ben would take her out to the water.  it was pretty precious!

one of our high quality family shots. babhahhaha.  i'll be back with more awesome pictures of our bean in a bathing suit.  you're going to love it.  little boo, you were so sweet on our family vacation, we so enjoyed getting to see you experience these new things.  spending time just the three of us was incredibly precious to me.  wouldn't trade it for the world.

dream realized: rlf is REAL

in high school my two best friends and i dreamed of starting a business together. that business may have included plans of a shop full of fried chicken, braids and giant bling but a business & a dream nonetheless. about a year and a half ago we jumped in with both feet into business-partnership-land. we ironed out our ideas, talked finances, goals, what we hoped to do (maybe the bling got nixed). we decided to move forward with a twinge of uncertainty and boatloads of excitement laced with three heads-full of inspiration. our lively endeavor came to a screeching halt when i found myself pregnant {surprise!}. em was due right around the time we hoped to "launch" our venture and we (errr I) was pretty overwhelmed and stressed about taking on what our initial plan entailed while preparing for a baby & working full-time, so we regrouped [sorry guys!].  we stopped "collecting" our treasures until we could figure out what we wanted to do.

::unbelievably dirty, sweaty, tired & THRILLED::

fast forward to january of this year...we decided it was go time.  we weren't going to be able to run with the original plan (which i may share someday if it ever happens) but we still wanted to do something.  with five babies in our midst and another on the way, we had to scale back a bit but we knew that this something was possible, even if it was a mini-something.  a few months passed, we were put on a waitlist and ta-da!  we are now the proud renters of a little corner of wonderful in the most precious little thrift store you ever did see.  we're starting small with just a lil bookcase but hope to someday move to a full booth, complete with furniture & goodies that we'd love to own ourselves. right now, small to mid-sized treasures are our jam.

organizing, cleaning, pricing, tagging...you know, workin' it. 

here is our little booth.  we'd love for you come by and visit if you're in the area!  we're going to try and keep it stocked with all kinds of pretty.  come on, you know you want to.

we really do love nearly everything we have stocked.  it took all we had to not keep each treasure for ourselves.  if you need some incentive here are two of my favorite items that we have.  they're both tiny & awesome.  this little dog and the mushroom salt & pepper shakers.  ahhh darling!

consider yourself cordially invited:

RLF [that's us!] @ Feather Your Nest

1496 Leestown Road Lexington, KY 40511

i'm so tempted to post 10 year old pictures of the 3 of us.  i'll see what i can do.

eight months

i'm a tad bit late but baby emmie is eight months old!  she's flying soooo quickly through babyhood.  a lot of times i'm guilty of wishing my way to the next stage but sweet little ems is in such a fun place right now.  i love love love where we're at and it will be a little bittersweet to move on from this place someday.  here are a few of the happenings with you little princess.

you had two new teeth by the time you turned eight months (you actually have one more now).  you had one night of fussing & i don't know if that could be attributed to teething or not.  i know that we had it pretty easy with that one.  all three teeth are in the bottom center.  the two little middle ones are precious, crooked nibblers.  i love them.  you may have nibbled on your momma a few times as well.  that i do not love.

you twirl the hair on the back of your head with one hand while you suck your thumb on the other to fall asleep in your crib.  i feel like that is probably pretty typical for babies but i find it completely adorbs.  speaking of hair...

you're rocking a pretty awesome, fluffy baby mullet at the moment.  the back of your hair has gotten longer & thicker daily and while the top is "growing" it ain't no match for the back.  benny says you're kentucky born and bred so it's only right that you have a that kentucky waterfall.  business in the front, party in the back.  i'm fine with it.  you're hair is getting lighter.  it's not like you're a blondie or anything but you don't have dark brown hair like your parents...yet.

you're still sleeping great.  always sleeping all night, naps a little bit predictable but definitely not as finite as i'd like.  putting you to bed is one of my favorite times.  you melt into a little thumbsucking ball and let me rock you, pray, sing and plop you in the bed.  we're down to very little whining most nights.  i like that.

ok, sometimes you don't sleep...
now that we have blackout curtains, this is better

you are crawling like a pro.  you are everywhere, all the time.  you are pulling up on everything, and sometimes you even take a few steps while holding on to something.  you usually like to crawl around where ever we are, never venturing too far but if we'll move with you, you really love exploring.

you are babbling like crazy, favorite word currently is Mama, Dada, lalala, high pitch squealing and airplane sounds.  in the books it says that mama and dada are indiscriminately right now but i swear you think mama is me.  i love to hear you use your words.

you learned to wave watching me in the mirror, the day you learned you waved at everyone for a LONG time. For a while you would crawl and in between each step you'd stop and wave, like a one-woman baby pageant.

right now you eat stage 2 foods and love puffs now, you eat anything, & love it all.  i need to read up on introducing bigger kid foods to you.  we still haven't seen you turn down anything.

gee mom this is delicious

am i allowed to post this?  how could i not!

as you can see, you love to read.  you are super into flipping through your hard books, throwing them, sitting on them and letting momma read to you.  you love music, to dance, to 'sing' and to bounce. when I'm done bouncing you keep on going.  you also love spending time with your poppa and watching documentaries.  that's real.  look at you all!  ahhh melt my heart.

you smile all. the. time. It's pretty awesome.  You giggle some now but you still hold them back a bit.  your little grin is big and awesome.

napkin hat, smiling baby

you rode in a grocery cart for the first time this month, it was a target cart. probably the best cart you could start in.  you've done great with all your rides since.

krogering

you climbed up a step! i didn't get to see you because your Granna and uncle nick were watching you but I can't believe you're so big!

you wear 9 mo, 12 mo and 18 mo clothes.  but 12 mo most often.

carrying around treats in her mouth like a puppy.  favorite new pastime.

you got to meet your bestie, baby ellie this month.  you're in love.  so are we.

i'll be back soon with a love note for my sweet bean, until then look at this awesome, climbing princess!

That one time...

That one time when I had to walk (all alone) through Walmart at 10pm, to three different registers/attendants collecting 300 postage stamps dressed like a zombie. The sweet cashier asked if I was getting married. Too much.

because i'm sure everyone is DYING to know...

i'm sure you were just sitting around thinking, "i wonder what movies & books emmie collins is enjoying these days..."  well, since you're interested i guess i'll share what we've stumbled upon as of late.  since you are likely one of my four friends, or my mom, i've probably already shown you this but last week my momma and i went to a baby sale.  you know one of those consignment sales at a church jam-packed with every kind of kid paraphernalia ever invented and 28,492,394 mom's gold diggin'?  we bought a bunch of goodies but one of my favorite steals was a pack of 10 old library books in a bag, taped shut like fort knox.  i could tell from the spines that even if the books were awful that i'd love them on a shelf in em's room.

but much to my delight, a few of the books are absolute gems!  i have decided that all babies need this book.  it's awesome

here's a little preview [this is just like amazon.com]:

"a face is so you can make faces.  a face is something to have on the front of your head"

this one made me think of emmie, because her eyebrows are awesome.  i love the quirky illustrations and the words all make me giggle.

another one of the books is 'a kiss for little bear,'  i won't give away the ending but i really want to.  instead i'll just show you the front page.  he gives that picture to his grandma.  ha!

ben and i were blessed to go out on a date not too long ago while our town was blanketed in a blizzard.  the obvious choice of where to spend your snowy date night is a bookstore yes?  in the children's section we found this.  and i am obsessed!  i don't know why i love kid books so much that have weird undertones for kids but i'm just drawn to them.  i mean this book may encourage my daughter to be a thief but i seriously laughed at every page.  if it wasn't $16 i would have bought one for emmie and all her friends.  it won an award.  i'm dying!  read this the next time you're at b&n.

we've continued to read em's jesus storybook bible which will FOREVER be my favorite thing to read to ecb and her favorite book i believe is a sesame street book about bubbles at bathtime.  emmie doesn't even really love baths but she really loves the bubble book.  "bubbles bubbles on my nose, bubbles bubbles on my toes."  what's not to love?

now, i didn't take emmie to the dollar movies but if i had i think she would have loved wreck it ralph.  it was one of those kid movies that as a 27 year old you still think is amazing.  you laugh, you cry, it's really good stuff.  i'm looking forward to getting it froms redbox for benny to see.  he'll totally cry.  there's a little girl in it.  this = waterworks.

also, ecb watched part of aladin while rolling around on the floor yesterday.  she smiled when they sang "a whole new world".  presh.  annnnd, i'm done.  aladin reviews are one step too far.  also, it's 1 am and i just got done enjoying a night full of family, young life club, hangout afterward, late night work and now blogging.  i'm spent and 6:30am will be here shortly.  goodnight world.

oh, and i put this on facebook but it's too funny not to share here.  also, who's on fb these days?  about twenty minutes after i was done eating dinner i found a french fry in my scarf.  that was a low point for me.  what. a. mess.  spring break you can't come soon enough!