Big Sky, Montana

Well, we just returned from an amazing trip to Big Sky, Montana. Ellis worked very hard to write a paper for the IEEE conference. Emrey and I just got to tag along. There were many highlights to the week, including AMAZING skiing, show-shoeing, sledding, and hot tubbing! But, the highlight of the week, by far, was Emrey walking! It happened friday night, when we were all hanging out by the fire...she just started going...and never looked back, she rounded the corner of a chair and disappeared! Since then, she has just gotten better and definitely does not want to go back to crawling! She looks as if she's had a bit too much to drink when she walks,swaying from one side to the other, trying to get her balance. She is adorable and doing such an amazing job, I am sooo proud of her!

Preparing to snowshoe, probably overdressed a bit!

Marshmallow sliding

Sledding with our friend Blake

Every time we walked by this bear, Emrey yelled, "Bear...Rooarhh"!

Close to Walking

Little Miss Emrey is on the verge of Walking... We're able to walk around with her holding on to one finger. She is getting more confident on her feet every day. Occasionally she will be standing holding onto a piece of furniture or a walker toy and get momentarily distracted and go hands free. Just this past weekend we got reports of her taking two steps from one piece of furniture to the next... but both of us were out of the room (of course!)

Here we are in the park around the corner from our house. She's working hard here focusing on each step!

And of course... she is still obsessed with Elmo! (She's constantly saying "Elmo! Elmo! Elmo!")


We will be waiting and watching for those first steps soon...

At One year old,

Emrey loves to...
1. Repeat sounds and words we say
2. Bang on your chest when you pick her up
3. Feed herself
4. Speed read, slapping her left hand on the page
5. Tell Bailey to "stay"! with arm motion and all
6. Go around the house chanting "Anna" (her cousin) or Elmo, Elmo, Elmo....
7. Play hide and seek, crawling around our ottoman
8. Walk with assistance from her walking toys
9. "Help" with the dishes (by pulling the silverware out as we put them in)
10. Make animal sounds (especially doggy ones)
11. Climb up and down stairs, steps, ladders, slides and through tunnels
12. Sing the "Elmo song", Nana,Nana...
13. Look for birdies out the window, or outside
14. Pull things out of bags and boxes...you name it.

Emrey is Learning to....
1. Walk on her own
2. Recognize words, letters and objects
3. Repeat songs and the signs that go along with them (eg the "itsy-bitsy spider" and "teddy bear, teddy bear")
4. Let mom leave her at the Y, with friends, and at church :)


Emrey does not like...
1. Getting any sort of change, clothing, diaper etc.
2. Sitting still for any amount of time....
3. Getting strapped into her car seat
4. Being told NO
5. Wearing barrettes in her hair




So...needless to say, we're pretty busy these days! But, it's a lot of fun, and she keeps us on our toes! Props to all you out there doing this with more than one! I can't imagine.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Well, after being home for a week, I figured it's time to update the blog, and to share about our Christmas and new Years! We hope that you all had a happy New Year and a Merry Christmas. We traveled New Hampshire, via Boston, where my parents are now living. We saw some old friends in Boston and spent some time on the slopes, after we got dumped on with snow! Emrey was spoiled with yet another Birthday celebration with family. She, also loved being with her cousins, Josh (3) and Anna (14 months). She learned several new words, including "Nanna, Pappo, and Anna". She also clarified her apparent understanding of "NO", adding a head shake to make sure we can understand when she says "no"! And, similar to Oklahoma, she loved to play on the stairs, climbing up and down with Anna, squealing with joy when they reached the top! Below are some pictures of cutting down our Christmas tree, which was very special and Emrey's party. I will update soon on some of Emrey's new developmental milestones etc.

Cutting the Christmas Tree down!

Sisters

We did lots of sledding!

Birthday Celebration #2, Ellis looks more excited than Emrey...

Emrey was a trooper, she was very tired, but held it together for her birthday

Nanna's Crazy!

Going up and down the stair with Anna

Before the snow hit, Christmas Day

Hanging out making cookies at Aunt Sarah's place

Nanna and Aunt Sarah took the girls and Josh to Funspot a local kids place, while Ellis and I got to go skiing, thanks for all the babysitting!

Happy Birthday Emrey! (a little early)

We decided to celebrate Emrey's birthday a little early since we figure most people are going to be busy on the 23rd! We had five of Emrey's little friends over for a very crazy play date/birthday party! Despite my request for no gifts...our very generous friends showered Emrey with lots of presents. She loved seeing what was inside all the wrapping and tissue paper. I think her favorite toy by far, was a play table that she can stand at and do all sorts of things. It responds by playing music, singing songs and flashing lights (glad it has an on/off switch). She also had fun pushing it around like a push toy. She had her own little mini-cake and thoroughly enjoyed making a huge mess, eating mostly frosting and not much of the cake. We've been reminiscing about this time last year and how excited we were to finally get to meet Emrey! Although we've had our challenges in trying to figure out how to be parents this past year, Ellis and I are constantly reminded of what an honor and a privilege it is to care for this little girl. She is such a sweetheart and we have been so blessed by her in our life. We thank God each day for her little life!

One of her favorite toys, the play table.



She was initially a little nervous, due to 20 people singing to her...and a big cake being pushed in her face, but as soon as she got a taste of the frosting she got over all that.

Playing at the piano she received from Papa King!

Thanks Papa King, I love it!

Thanksgiving

It's been a while since I've updated our blog. Mainly because we've been on the go and I've been finding myself pretty busy. Emrey is almost a year old, hard to believe! Last year at this time, we were just waiting, and I was doing a lot of complaining. This year is so different. Emrey is on the move and it's all I can do to keep up with her. She is very close to walking, but prefers crawling, since she can do that on her own. That seems to be the story these days...Emrey loves to do everything herself! She has become Ms. Independent!

We were able to travel up to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving and got to be present for the birth of our 5th nephew, Luke Hollo! It worked out perfect, as Ellis and I were able to stay with our nephews while my brother and sister in law headed off to the hospital. Emrey had a blast with them, and they are all so sweet with her. Emrey encountered her first set of stairs and that seemed to be all she wanted to do when we were inside! We even got to go hiking to some bluffs outside Enid on our last day. Emrey was a trooper during the ride up and back, but it was long.... Here are a few shots from thanksgiving.

stairs....

hanging out with the boys...

Emrey is no longer the youngest grandchild, Welcome Luke!

Chaos in the hospital room!