weekend boating

We were out on the boat two weekends in a row and I think most of the kinks are getting worked out. 

Which is good, since I'm pretty sure we will be on the boat all summer. 

Here's what I've learned so far about toddlers and boats:

1. Pack lots of juice and water

2. Plenty of snacks: crackers and those fruit blend baby food tubes are the best

3. The coppertone foaming sunscreen and Aveeno block for the face and in the hair

4. A really, really good life jacket. We have tried two types and only like this one although she still refuses to get in the water with it on (work in progress)...  the life vests that are supposed to fit, with the extra pad behind the head are too small and result in a complete screaming and kicking meltdown. 

5. A few extra outfits for staying dry

Emmy giving Hannah kisses

Napping station. This boat was built for babies (of all ages)...

sternside view

Rich always lets Emmy play with his phone. I hear she's only dialed up 5 friends and downloaded 2 apps and killed 1 battery. He still lets her have it. 

Hannah is the most relaxed baby I have ever seen.
Her mom, my stepsister, is amazing and you can see that her little girl is so happy!

Emmy loves to touch Hannah, we just have to watch her in case she loves her too hard. 

Emmy was teething and we thought it was just a front bottom tooth. When we got home, she started whaling and we discovered canines had surfaced!

Joe is excellent at water skiing.
I tried but I barely stood up. It's fun though so I'm going to keep trying.

Rich opening his father's day gift!
We got him a signed book with all the best fishing spots on Alabama lakes and rivers. Now he just needs a fishing partner because he is outnumbered by his girls!

keeping up with the hensons...

I was talking to a friend the other day about how I finally feel "ready" to have another baby. (No, I'm not pregnant!) She thought I was crazy because she's reaching the end of her pregnancy and is ready for it to be over. When I look back to being pregnant, I don't remember the bad parts, I don't remember childbirth being painful or the way complete lack of sleep made me go a little crazy.

I mean, I remember it, but it seems like I must have made a big deal out of nothing because I could SO do that. Except, I do know it was hard and besides, we can't afford another kid in daycare and we are so happy how things are for now. 

Emmy's first ride in the car-cart! She drove this sucker around like a mad woman (or was that me?)...

This is all to say, I am reminded at how quickly we forget things.

I can't remember when Emmy started clapping her hands or when she first said "mama". I go through pictures in my phone and the chronology surprises me. I'm going to have to get better about tracking milestones and even little things on this blog. 

So, what's up with Emmy and the Henson's right now?

ake up! (wake up!) while slapping us until we get out of bed
ahbeeahbeeahbee or emmyemmyemmy sometimes she gets it right, but she always says it over and over again like that!
dobby (doggy) I am about to let her rename him Dobby!
momma, mommeee, daddeee. 
hi or hieeee (she likes to acknowledge people when they come into a room)
cup
no (but she prefers to shake her head)
up, up (to be picked up)
okay (pretty much entirely random)
what (she only says this when we say her name to get her attention)

Emmy can feed herself with a fork or spoon, brush her teeth (or suck all of the toothpaste off a toothbrush), walk around the house without help, and even work my iphone! Seriously, she pushes the home button to light it up, works her little fingers until it's unlocked and then scrolls through the apps. She has an app called "peekaboo barn" that I let her play but now that she knows how to update a facebook status, she can't be trusted!

She also loves giving kisses. This is her kissy face and she does it more for her Aunt Ash than anyone else. It was so fun having her around to help with Emmy and just to see the two of them playing together. Emmy is very lucky to have a big family that loves her so much.

Speaking of the Hensons... we have been busy. After getting another solid round of pneumonia and bronchitis (all 3 of us) we are happy to be healthy and able to enjoy the beautiful weather.

We spent memorial day weekend at the lake, at my mom's pool, the park and we even made a stop at Avondale brewery. 

Emmy and Aunt Yelli by the lake - 

Joe feels pretty comfortable at his Nanny & Papa Bill's house - 

Emmy and Aunt Ash playing outside the brewery -

Emmy + Sandy at my mom's pool

Emmy and her cousin, Hannah - (They are going to be best friends!)

This week back at work was long and rough. The mortgage industry isn't forgiving but most things that are rewarding are not easy. I look at these pictures and remember what the work is about. I keep going back to the office so I can enjoy the time I have with my family and especially my little Emmy. 

My day is long tomorrow but it will be family time soon enough!

weekend water baby

Shopping at Costco on Sunday. She lives a cush life.

To say that we had a really great weekend would be an understatement. On Friday morning I decided that I didn't want to make any plans for the weekend so we could be bums all day. But then work was coming to a close, the weather was gorgeous and sure enough : we wanted to do something fun together.

On Friday night, we went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Cajun Steamer with another couple and Emmy was well-behaved and sweet. It is so nice that she is pretty much over that clingy phase. She let everyone hold her and she watched us talking intently while sneaking fries off Joe's plate. 

I woke up pretty excited on Saturday morning. My mom and step-dad bought a brand new pontoon boat and invited us to go out on the lake with them. Our only instructions: show up at 9:30 dressed in layers. DONE. Mom packed lunches and lots of snacks and drinks for everyone. She had Emmy's sunscreen ready and all we had to do was load up in there car and drive about 45 minutes to the lake. 

I was a little apprehensive about how Emmy would handle the boat. She had never been on one before and with the water in her ears and poor balance, I was afraid she would get sick. 

I was so wrong to be worried. She LOVED it. 

From the minute we got on the boat she was into everything, pulling up so she could see the water and smiling non-stop. 

When we started to go fast, I held her waist tight at the very front of the boat and she started to squeal! She held on to the bars and rocked her body up and down as if she wanted to go faster, Rich sped up the boat and she threw her hands up in the air! Laughing and squealing, she looked over to me and smiled the biggest, happiest smile I've ever seen. 

With that smile, my heart was full. I tried to freeze that moment in my mind so I could keep it forever and pull it out whenever I need it. This kid is amazing y'all. 

She just knew that we all needed to see that joy, that pure happy thrill of something brand new and exciting and innocent.  

And we learned that her future trips will involve wearing her life-jacket ALL DAY. She has no fear. None.

Rich even let her drive the boat. This was cool until she remembered she could crawl all over the place and dig out snacks and jam to the music. So many new fun things.

Saturday was great, it was perfect and I am so thankful for those memories and I am excited about the memories we will be making! I did learn a few things the hard way... 

1) Go early. She started to have a meltdown at 2. We were headed back anyway but seeing her turn into unsatisfiable toddler jell-o was not fun. I'd rather lose a little sleep to avoid that episode.

2) Apply sunscreen on nakey baby before you leave the house. Once the excitement set in, she wasn't content to hold stil.

3) Pack a baby bottle full of ice cold water. Emmy is pretty good at the sippy cup but she can CHUG a bottle and she needed more water than she was getting in the cup. 

Honestly, those were the only things we would change for the next trip which will probably be at least once a month over the summer!