I thought I might squeeze in one more post on the blog before my Christmas Break from school is officially over. We really did have an amazing vacation at home. John was able to take almost a full week off from work. We may not have gone anywhere "special" but lots of friends came to San Antonio and we were able to catch up. Emery and James Martin (Robert and Amita's son) rang in the New Year sharing toys and drinking bottles of milk. Emery adores James and pays special attention to him at daycare, hope she can extend that to her new brother.For the first time during this pregnancy I was able to get ready for the new baby. I'm 30 weeks along and feeling pretty good. We built a crib, made some cute crib sheets (western/cowboy if you're into themes), ordered a comfy rocking chair for late night feedings, and pulled out all the baby supplies from storage. It was A LOT of work cleaning out 2 closets, 1 room and garage trying to make room for another person in this house. In the middle of the process I looked around and felt like they could film an episode from "Hoarders!" Eventually everything found a home, even if that might be called Goodwill. Emery had a great time "helping" me. I would put things in a pile and then she would un-organize it for me with gusto and a big grin. Luckily the Spanish TV station still fascinates her and I was able to finish up. Once the chair arrives and I hang a few things I will post a few nursery pictures. Right now the room looks a little half baked.
Emery went for her 18 month check up and for once she is well. What a teeny, tiny little doll. Her weight is only 20 pounds and she is still in size 12m clothing. She is definitely at the bottom of the safe zone in the growth chart but all else appears well. She is practicing new words (yesterday was "owl") but after she has mastered a word it disappears from her vocabulary. Apparently there will be a vocabulary explosion in the next few months. I'm not too concerned since she is very good at communicating despite a lack of speech. I am increasingly taken by the hand and shown what she wants. Emery has a very sweet and loving disposition but is also assertive, fearless and a leader in her class. Pretty funny since she is sooooo small compared to her peers. Aunt Christina, Aunt Kim and Mee Mee will be happy to know she is already showing signs of Martha Stewart like organization skills. It makes Mommy smile!
I was most excited to get outside with Emery and play. I was terribly sick and tired the first half of my pregnancy. About the time I felt better the dreaded time change made it too dark to play after work. We finally made it outside and started cleaning the leaves out of beds. Emery got her own set of gardening tools and is borrowing Dad's gloves (you can see in the pictures below). We cleaned out the vegetable plot in preparation for the Spring. The baby will be born around planting time. I didn't think I would be in the mood for a lot of digging at that point, better to do it now. Emery comes from a long line of home gardeners and farmers, Spring will be her first season to appreciate how fun it is. I honestly can hardly wait. For now she was fascinated with crushing pyracantha berries, shoveling potting soil and watching the pillbugs crawl on her jeans.
For Christmas we got a new and improved camera. I also decided to start 2011 with a new online picture gallery through picasa. It was much easier for me to organize and post the pictures, and of course the picture quality is amazing compared to our old camera.
