First Spring Zoo Trip

Before our Spring snow storm the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  One dear friends, Matt and Marianne, came into town with their three kiddos and we all headed out to the zoo.  We met them while we were in the hospital with Lilly.  Their daughter, Makenna, has had half of her brain removed as a result of a rare disease.  I am so thankful for them and so glad that our precious Lilly brought us together with such wonderful people.  Thankfully we got the zoo early because it turned out to be an insane day.  By the time we left around lunchtime there were literally hundreds of people waiting to park.  We all had a blast and enjoyed the warm weather.

Liberty and Jacqueline

Liberty's friend Jacqueline also joined us.  She was our neighbor before we sold our house.

Liberty and Ellie Kate

Our friend, Ryan, and her children were also able to join us.  This is a friendship we also have as a result of our sweet girl, Lilly.  Liberty loves Ellie Kate.  She is four and has rare genetic disease.  She is non-verbal and cannot walk, but Liberty absolutely adores her =).  How sweet are they!?

Emory enjoys any activity which allows her to cruise around in her stroller.  I realize that there comes an age when you just hope and pray that your child will stay in the stroller without screaming; however, until then I imagine it must feel like royalty just being carted around and shown the world in such a leisurly manner =).

These are the "big" kids

Conner, Micah, Liberty, and Jacqueline

By the time the kids headed to the playground, Emory was out!  Too much excitement for her.  We had so much fun and enjoyed some wonderful time with our friends!

Girls Day Out

Scott had to work on Saturday, so Liberty and I decided we would have a girls day out. We started with Liberty getting a badly needed haircut. She looks oh so cute now. I wish I could grow her hair out long, but the longer it gets the worse it looks. After her haircut we headed to Red Robin for lunch. This is always a great treat for all of us. Liberty loves it because she get a balloon. I have yet to figure out what is so exciting about a balloon and why an almost 6-year-old would still be interested in them. Nonetheless, a balloon still provides loads of enjoyment for Liberty. Emory also had a good time. I have been axiously awaiting the age when I can give her a french fry in a restaurant to occupy her while the rest of us eat. While this may have been premature, I decided to go a ahead and give her the opportunity to lick her first french fry (and what better fry to lick for the first time than a Red Robin steak fry!) She didn't eat a single bite, but instead immediatedly proceeded to smash it up and smear it all over the table. It was awesome and still achieved the desired result which was giving me the opportunity to eat my burger in peace without simultaneously haveing to shake and object in front of her or keep her from pulling every single item within reach off the table! Anyone who dines with small children knows how important this is. By the time she got her french fry, I had already had to retrieve her weeble twice, from underneath someone else's table, after she had thrown it across the aisle.

She is licking her lips like she is going to eat it. I guess smashing it unrecognizable and creating potato art seemed more appealing.

After lunch, we headed to Sweet and Sassy to pamper Liberty's tiny toes. She has been wanting to do this forever. I hesitated to spend the money on such frivolity, but she LOVED it. Her feet looked so fancy and she was so proud. Emory also enjoyed it and came out looking all sparkly from sitting in glitter while watching Liberty.

So fun! I love have my tiny little girlfriends!

P is for Penguin

Memory Work:
I show love to everyone, especially my family.

Bible Verses:
Romans 12:10
Philippians 2:3-4

I am already a week behind on blogging, but I had to share our penguin craft because it turned out super duper cute.

1.  Start with a lunch-sized paper sack.  Fill the bag with old newspaper (I filled mine with plastic Wal-Mart bags).  Fold the corners of the sack together and staple closed.

2.  Paint the bag black.  Or, if you prefer not to make a huge mess, you can start with a black sack.

3.  Using white construction paper, cut out eyes and an oval stomach.  Using orange construction paper, cut out the beak and feet.  Using black construction paper cut out face, tail and wings.

4.  Glue the stomach on first.  Then glue the face on over the staples.  Glue feet, beak, and wings on last.

This was super fun and your little ones and can join in too!

We also watched March of the Penguins.  It is really good and even though it is a documentary, Liberty really enjoyed it.  We also watched Surfs Up for fun :).

The day Jesus came to get Lilly...

Last night on our way home from bible study, Liberty asked me to tell her the story about when Jesus came to get Lilly.  Her questions about Lilly pop up at the most random times, but I cherish every opportunity to share with her about her sister's life and about our Savior.  This story, however, is particularly difficult to recount--that day being the absolute most difficult day of my life.  Scott and I have always encouraged her questions and we have always tried to be very straightforward and honest with her, sharing more and more as she is emotionally ready to process it.  So, after a deep breath, I told her the story.  I told her how I was sitting beside Lilly when she stopped breathing.  I told her about how the nurses and the doctors rushed in.  I told her about how I picked Lilly up and held her in my arms rocking and praying for her.  I told her about how I was still rocking her when Jesus came and took her out of my arms.  Liberty loves the idea of Jesus coming to get Lilly--it makes her happy, not sad.  Usually our conversations about Lilly end with us discussing what Heaven must be like.  Liberty said "When I get to Heaven the first thing I'm going to do is run to Jesus.  Then, I'm going to run to God.  Then, I'm going to find Lilly!"  How sweet is that!?  Instead of talking about what Heaven would be like though, the conversation turned to who we would like to meet when we get to Heaven.  This basically resulted in listing every person we could think of from the Bible.  When we got to Paul, Liberty launched into the story of Paul's life.  It was absolutely priceless.

It is such a joy to share with her all of our joys and trials and what God is showing us.  It is so encouraging to watch how she processes things and how her little heart is so trusting and can barely grasp the concept of evil.  I am cherishing this innocent time in her life because I know it won't last forever. I am also so very thankful that the Lord entrusted three precious little girls to us.  I am honored to be their mother and thankful that God uses them to reveal Himself to me.

Thank you Lord for Liberty.  Thank you for using her to heal my heart and to draw me nearer to You.
Thank you Lord for Lilly.  Thank you for using her to show me what is really important and to draw me nearer to You.
Thank you Lord for Emory.  Thank you for using her to stretch my faith and draw me nearer to You.

Valentine's Day

We spent our Valentine's Day together as a family.  We started the morning off watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Liberty loves these movies and despite the fact that we have to edit a few scenes, we love watching them with her.  Scott and I also gave our little Valentine a gift.  It was a Tinkerbell bag filled with goodies (movies and candy).

I also got her this single pink rose.  She is always eyeing the flowers when we go into Wal-Mart.  Like every girl I know, she loves to get flowers :).

Then we treated ourselves to a special lunch.  We went to the Kabuki Grill in Edmond.  Liberty has never been to a hibachi grill before and thought it was really neat.  We all enjoyed it.

YUM!!!

Bowling

Last Friday we went bowling with some of our friends.  It was so nice to see people we haven't seen in awhile and for me to get in some good adult conversation.  Liberty loves to bowl.  Its one of her favorite things even though we really don't do it very often.  We all had a blast.

The bowling ball is still a little heavy for her.  I feel like she is going to snap her wrist every time she throws it. 

Even Emory had fun.

7 months old

My big girl is 7 months old!  She is growing so so fast.  Why is it when I am pregnant that 9 months seems like an eternity and once my children are born 9 months seems like a day!  She is still so very precious.  She makes me smile with her big, puffy cheeks and the sweetest little mouth I have ever seen.  She looks more and more like Lilly everyday.  I guess thats a good thing.  We didn't get to see what Lilly would look like when she grew up, but now I can just look at Emory and imagine :).

Her newest and most exciting developmental milestone is standing.  I can now hold her in my lap and she will stand on my legs for a few minutes at a time.  I know alot of babies are able to do this much sooner, but my chunky monkey is just now able to hold herself up.  It's alot of fun.  I know we are just around the corner from crawling and walking.  Oh, where does the time go...

She is also eating solid food like a champ.  She is up to about 2oz/day.  I have been making all of her baby food, which has been super fun.  I feel very satisfied with myself and it is so fulfilling to be able to do that for her.  I wonder why it never occured to me in the past?  So far she has eaten:  apples, pears, avacados (yes, its a fruit), peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, and squash (butternut).  She is also still nursing every 3-4 hours.

Sleeping continues to be somewhat of a challenge.  She still catnaps during the day.  She usually naps between 20-30 minutes at a time 3-4 times a day.  She is really ready for bed around 7 p.m., but she is still using this as her last nap of the day.  She will not stay asleep if I put her in bed.  So, we are usually getting to bed between 8:30-9:30.  She is still waking up at 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.  After her 6 a.m. feeding she will usually sleep until 9 or so.  I guess that is a bonus if she is still going to get up during the night.  Sleeping really isn't an issue since our schedules are really flexible.  However, I would like it at some point if she and Liberty would sleep in their own room.  This would work out a lot better if I didn't have to get up in the middle of the night.  Oh yeah, and if Liberty didn't still sleep in our room as well :).

Scott and I were talking the other day about the unique characteristics of our girls.  Liberty was a snuggler, Lilly was...well there were lots of unique this about her, and Emory is our laugher.  She will laugh at just about anything.  It's so easy to make her smile.  Liberty continues to be her favorite comedian.  In the video below Liberty is saying the word "shoe blossom" (whatever that means) and Emory is just cracking up.  The quality isn't the greatest because it was dark, but it is really funny!

She is getting better and better at picking things up with her little fingers.  She's not quite good enough for finger foods yet, but she will be soon.  In this pic she is amusing herself with a tiny zipper on my jacket.  She played with it for at least 20 minutes.

I had to put away most of her 3-6 months clothes.  Some of her onesies still fit, but all of her pants are too short.

She loves being in her stroller.  I can wait until the weather is better and we can get outside more.  Nonetheless, she is pretty excited to sit in her stoller no matter where we are.

Her swing continues to be a hit.  Now she will try to sit up straight while she is swinging. I had to tighten the straps to make sure she doesn't accidentally launch herself out.  Seriously, how long can she continue to love this swing?  Hopefully until she is crawling.  It makes my life easier!

Emory Ayn, you are such a joy.  We are so in love with you!