My Baby Sister

Tonight, my little sister graduates from high school.  HIGH SCHOOL.  I simply cannot believe it!  18 years ago she came in to our lives whether we liked it or not!  (I was NOT happy about this because she was replacing me as the baby of our family, a spot I very much loved!) 

 Although she was one of the cutest little kids I know, I wanted nothing to do with her.  She took my spot and we were not friends.  We were sisters but nothing more.  I simply didn't like her.

 But as we got older, she grew on me.  We began playing together.  And sometimes having fun.  She learned very quickly and was by far one of the smartest little kids I knew.  She always had something witty to say.  I distinctly remember her about the age of the picture below and we were out to dinner.  The waitress came to take our order and my mom was getting ready to order Katie's food.  But Katie jumped in and ordered her own food.  It was pretty cute:)

 Katie began to be interested in things much different than Ang and I.  She was in dance class as a little girl.  She played soccer.  Then gymnastics.  Then volleyball.  Then cheerleading.  Ang and I were into volleyball, softball, and basketball.  And we did do cheerleading for a little while.  But we weren't nearly as talented as Katie.

 One of my favorite memories of Katie would have to be the day I sucked her hair up in a sweeper.  Yes.  I did.  She was laying on the floor, and I was trying to vacuum.  So I was teasing her by acting like I was going to sweep her up.  She hated it.  It made me giggle.  Until I actually did sweep her up.  Yep.  A huge chunk of hair got sucked up in to the sweeper.  She cried.  I got in BIG trouble.  I think it was a turning point for us:)

 I never imagined Katie and I sharing the same interests but as we grew older, we started to like the same things.  Now, she knows me better than I know myself sometimes.

 She has grown in to a phenomenal person and a talented cheerleader.  She has worked very hard at her tumbling, overcoming broken bones and her biggest fears.  I'm proud to say that she cheered in grade school, all 4 years of high school, and will be cheering next year at Ball State.  The first of us 3 to do any sport at the collegiate level.  Again, *SO* proud of her.

 Us 3 have come a long way over the years.  We still fight like sisters, but we know deep down that no matter what happens in life, who comes and goes, we will always have each other.  We are sisters by chance, friends by choice:)  Katie's famous in our family for always saying "I love you" before leaving the house or going to bed.  And making sure we all say it back to her!  And making sure we give 'real hugs':)  And her OCD-ness:)

 This girl also loves to dance.  I love Katie's sense of humor and her willingness to always act silly.  She knows how to keep things light and not serious.  Actually, she can't be serious.  It is funny to see her try to be serious.

 Katie is one of the smartest people I know.  She has learned how to be an excellent student while in high school.  Her grades have not always reflected how smart she actually is.  She has proven herself over the last few years and shown that she can do well in school.  Even making the honor roll the last few semesters:)  I am so proud of her!

 So basically, what I'm saying is that Katie is an awesome person.  And I'm proud to call her my sister.  But even more proud to call her my friend.  Love you, Katie Bug, and can't wait to see you graduate tonight!!!  You should be proud of yourself and your accomplishments.  MUAH!

These Boots are Made for Walking!

Elise is on the move!! She has been pulling her self up on everything and walking along furniture, baby gates and everything you can think of.  She is now pulling herself up on her walker and moving!! Love how happy she gets when she is walking:)

7 months

Time is just flying!! We are over the half way mark and 5 months away from my sweet baby girl turning 1!! I start to tear up thinking about it so let's just focus on the now!  Elise is growing and learning as any healthy little girl should.  She is definitely becoming a handful because she is getting into everything.  I guess I should first tell you her milestones!

Elise has been sitting up all on her own for a little over a month now!  It is so nice that she can do this!! It seemed like as soon as she figured out how to sit up, she was on to the next milestone!  

Elise began army crawling right around 6 months and then started crawling on all fours about 2 and a half weeks later.  She is now quick and knows how to get her self from one place to the next!  She is already figuring out those spots we don't want her to go (considering we live in a 770 sq ft apartment there isn't much room to go)!  She definitely hears the word 'no no' a lot!:) haha

Elise also learned how to pull herself up in her crib.  We looked on the monitor one day and there she was standing up!  We lowered the crib down and now she stands up all the time.  She stands up until the minute she is ready to close those eyes!  I must say I love walking into her room after naps and in the morning seeing her sweet little smile peeking over the crib!!  She is now pulling herself up on anything and everything.  Her toys, the couch, our hands, you name it, she is standing up and balancing herself really well.

Elise is LOVING her solid foods.  We only have her on baby food for now, and then she loves to eat puffs, too.  Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, pears, peaches, prunes, peas, green beans, and bananas. The only food she really doesn't care for is carrots.  I love introducing her to new foods!! She surprises me with how much she likes them right away!!  She also loves her puffs.  She is getting the hang of picking them up and getting them up and into her mouth.  They are a great distraction when we are out and about and she is getting antsy!! She is also getting the hang of a sippy cup.

We are so excited for summer time and all there is to do!!  We plan to make a trip to the zoo, splash parks, the lake, the pool, take lots of walk, play at the park, maybe a baseball game... anything to get us out and about!  She will also be starting swim classes in a week or so.  Ryan and I both love the water and hopefully she will too!

  Below is a video of the first day she was officially crawling on all fours.  She is less shaky now and much better at it!

I'll be updating this summer more when I'm not in school all the time!

Can't wait! xoxoxoxo

Spring Fever

With Spring approaching, and the amazing weather we had yesterday, we couldn't resist getting out of the house and going on a walk. We spent many days when Elise was first born walking and it was so nice to get out of the house. It also pulls Ryan and I away from work, school, and all other distractions and we get a chance to talk to each other. I love it:).

I love the neighborhood we live in. There are lots of areas to walk and we love walking down Main St. We also love walking to Circle K and getting a polar pop:)

Elise was excited to sit in the stroller like a big girl and see everything. I must say it wore her out:) and she dozed off while we were walking. I can't wait to have many more days like this when spring and summer arrive for good!!!

5 months and some change

Okay, So I am way behind on blogging here ..better late than never?  I have been super-overwhelmed-busy with school, and life.  But I'm finally trying to play a little catch up!  Elise is no longer in her bouncer ... she LOVES her high chair!!  She likes to be sitting up and able to see everything!!!

Elise is hitting milestones left and right.  She is officially sitting up all on her own!  We still put some pillows behind her JUST in case she falls backwards ... which backfires because then she realizes they are there and just lays back on them like she is just relaxing.  

Elise is 5 months old (and a few days)!!!  I can hardly believe that she is so old now!!  Some days I think it seems like she has been with us for what seems like forever, and other days, it seems like she was just born!  Every day is just a wonderful blessing with her and I love watching her grow and learn.  She looks older every day and is truly adorable!! Yes, I might be biased because I am her mother, but if you hang out with her for a day, you would feel the same way:)  

How does this not make you just smile uncontrollably!?!? :)  She is so happy and just such a joy to have around!!!

She is rolling over both ways, although she is still picky about the times she likes to roll from tummy to back.  She would rather sit there and whine:)  She is most likely teething because she has been chewing more than normal, but I can never tell!  She loves jumping in her jumper-thing!!  She is so fascinated with the lion and is trying so hard to figure out how to make it spin around.  She sees Ryan and I spin it (by pushing down the blue hippo) but she just can't make it spin!  It is so cute:)  She is full of smiles and laughter all the time!  She loves when you count to 5 or say the ABC's!! And she loves when you try to get her feet!!  And she actually knows her name!  When you say "Elise" , she looks right up at you.  She is starting to grab for EVERYTHING so we have to be extra careful what is in her range.  When we were at lunch a few weeks ago, she grabbed my drink and knocked it all over her, me and the floor.  This was after we brought her stroller into a teeny tiny restaurant and EVERYONE looked at me when I walked through the door.  

Elise is also growing out of her 6 month clothes and is already in some 9 month clothes!! She has such a long torso that her onesies are getting snug quickly!!!  In the Gerber brand, she is already in 12 months!  She is getting too big too fast!!

Well that is our update!!! Hopefully I'll update more often:)  I always say that and then life takes over!!!  Hope you have a great day!!!

Baby E love,

The Eme's

Back to School

Back to school...back to school... to prove to dad that I'm not a fool!  I love Adam Sandler:)  So it is here.  It is finally here.  I started back to school two weeks ago after having Elise to finish my degree in math education.  I started my education blocks and am taking one of my remaining math classes.  I have 4 semesters left until I finish up and I couldn't be more excited to be moving on to this part of my degree.  For the past 2 years, I have been taking mostly all math classes so I'm so excited to dive into the education part!  I only have classes on two times a week.  However, I will have a full course load..13 credit hours!  I haven't had 13 credit hours since my first degree!  And now I have a baby to take care of and a wife to be!  Ah!


I am excited I only have to leave Elise two days a week and so thankful for the opportunity to stay home with her the other 3 days.  It is challenging to find time to do my homework, and keep up with laundry, dishes, and cleaning, and work out, and enjoy my time with my husband and daughter.  But it all gets done at some point:)  Ryan is such a huge help, especially after working a 40hour work week.  He has really stepped up to help take care of everything too!  I am also so so so thankful Elise will be going to a sitter whom I have known for quite a few years and trust.  She has so much have fun with Miss Lindsey and her two boys!  And Miss Lindsey has the special touch to get her to take good naps:)


I can remember back in mid-August when summer classes were done that I thought this day would never come.  I could barely wrap my mind around the fact that the pregnancy would end, let alone get to the point where my baby ((girl)) would be almost 4 months old and I would be heading back to school!  Time has certainly flown by!  But doesn't it always!?!?!  I've enjoyed my time off with Elise and I'm so thankful I've had all this time to spend with her.  I didn't always get the dishes done right away, the place was not always clean, and the laundry might have piled up, but I can say with no regrets that I took the time to snuggle my baby girl, read her books, play with her, laugh with her, and just enjoy every.second. 

Elise's 1st Christmas

Ok, I know I have totally dropped the ball on keeping up on my posts but better late than never?  We got very busy with Christmas and then my return to school that I have hardly had time to do my homework.  Anyways, so our Christmas was spent in Fort Wayne with family.  We were sooo busy and moving from place to place just about every day.  We were able to see a whole bunch of family, some who we hadn't seen in a while, but to say the least, we and Elise were exhausted by the end of it.

We had a lot of fun opening presents with Elise.  Santa was awfully good to Elise:)  She got a ton of clothes in 12 and 18 months for next year, some learning toys, books, and so much more.  She was even sweet enough to leave Santa cookies and milk and a little note ;)

Our little family after a very busy Christmas Eve.

I can't figure out how to rotate this picture but this is what Elise left for Santa on Christmas Eve. 

And her certainly enjoyed them:)

 Christmas morning before everyone else was awake:)

Elise and her cousins in their matching pj's:)

We had a great first Christmas with Elise.  She was a trooper through it all and only had one melt down. But honestly, we wanted to cry with her because we were tired, too!  Now if we could only get her to go back to sleep through the night, then all would be well:)