Whoa Baby!

Long time no posting . . .

2010-05-26T21:12:00.003-05:00

It seems I'm forever apologizing for not posting frequently enough. However, I wanted to catch everyone up with some photos of my blonde beauty. Since I've been taking photos here and there and everywhere (www.dehartfotography.com), Emily has been able to tag along and I've got some really great captures of her. I just love catching her bein' all gorgeous and what-not. She's such a good photographer's assistant! And I couldn't ask for a cuter model. Enjoy!

Easter is a comin'

2010-03-29T00:16:00.003-05:00

I'm up too late. Again. I can't really help it. My back started hurting again today and I popped a steroid around 1030 a.m. and it's probably NOT why I'm still up but that's what I'm going to blame it on.

For those of you who don't know . . . I'm a big fan of playlists in iTunes. It's the modern version of a mixed tape and I was big on those back in the day as well. So tonight, I've been putting together a playlist for Easter. Something to listen to throughout the week that will keep my mind fixed on what this week leading up to Good Friday is about. Love and mercy and compassion and forgiveness. Every year it seems to hit me like a sucker punch to the chest and this year is no different.

Just to give you something to ruminate on . . . here are some of my favorite lines from several of the songs on the playlist. Each has an emotional pull to it but most of all, I think they've all got something brilliant to say about what we're set to celebrate next weekend.

As LC.tv will say loud and repeatedly next weekend: He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

(intoxicating by david crowder band)
If I'm out of my mind, it's you, you
'Cause I'm crazy in love with you, you
Inebriated by you, you
'Cause I'm head over heels for you, you

(beautiful the blood by fee)
Never knew death could be so sweet
Never knew surrender could feel so free
Never seen such meekness and majesty
That the blood of Jesus was bled for me
Now I'll sing freedom for all of my days
It's only by the power of the cross I'm raised
The king of glory rescued me . . .

(freedom is here by hillsong united)
The future comes alive
You speak your word and I
I'm running into your hope
'Cause I have seen your light
You bring Your word to life
I'm comin' after your love
I'm not shaken, I'm not letting go

(the power of the cross by chris tomlin/israel houghton)
Son of God, one of us
Bore the shame of all, yet blameless
Innocent, Heaven sent
Bore the sin of all, yet guiltless
And He saw us here, through bloodstained tears
And He said, it was worth it all . . .

(our god by chris tomlin)
Into the darkness You shine
Out of the ashes we rise
There's no one like You
None like You
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God you are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God
Our God

(mighty to save by hillsong united)
Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save
Forever, Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

(so great by michael w. smith/israel houghton/christy nockels)
Young and old
Rich and poor
Meek and strong
Everyone
Come and rest
You are safe
In the arms
Of Jesus

(how he loves us by kim walker)
So Heaven meets Earth in a sloppy, wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about
The way. . .
He loves us, oh how He loves us . . .

(til i see you by hillsong united)
The greatest love that anyone could ever know
It overcame the cross and grave to find my soul
Til I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home
I'll trust in You

(there is power in the blood by . . . danged near everyone)
Would you be free from your burden of sin
There's power in the blood, power in the blood
Would you o'er evil a victory win
There's wonderful power in the blood
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the blood, of the Lamb

(sunday's on the way by carman)
On Friday night, they crucified the Lord on Calvary
But He said, don't dread, in three days, I'm gonna live again
You'll see
When problems try to bury you and make it hard to pray
It may seem like Friday night
But Sunday's on the way . . .

(the champion by carman)
Proclaim the news in every tongue
Through endless ages and beyond
Let it be voiced from mountains, loud and strong
Captivity has been set free
Salvation bought for you and me
'Cause Satan is defeated
And Jesus is The Champion!

Record shop buddies

2010-03-28T20:49:00.003-05:00

This weekend we had some amazing family time. We spent Saturday working in the yard and after nap time, we went to Norman and traipsed around Main St. and Campus Corner. Scott is the biggest music buff I know. He finds the oddest sounding indie bands before anyone else and has even made me a believer in some of those bands. I snapped a few pictures while they were browsing and I love both of them.

Scott is actually considering starting a music review blog that will give him a way to put his love of music and his insight together in one place. I'm really excited for him. And I think he's getting excited about the idea too. :)

Emily becomes a model . . .

2010-03-27T16:35:00.002-05:00

This is just a sneak peek of the photos you can see of Emily over at www.vision365project.blogspot.com. Head on over!

Color Party!

2010-03-21T18:11:00.004-05:00

So while I've been working on editing photos from Friday night's wedding, Emily decided to join me and work on a project of her own. Then she got her daddy involved and before long, we were all in the kitchen just workin' up a creative storm! :)

I Refuse . . .

2010-03-18T15:57:00.000-05:00

I refuse to see a doctor this week. I don't care if I break my leg. I'll wait until Sunday, the beginning of a new week, to see a doctor.

After our overnight stay at Integris on Monday, we thought we were done (with the exception of Scott's stress test). Well, it turns out they had him in today for one procedure, want him back tomorrow for ANOTHER procedure and to top it all off, he had to cart Emmy to the doc today too.

Poor girl has a bladder infection that we are now praying doesn't spread to her kidneys or anywhere else. She's gonna come home, get on some antibiotics and cranberry juice and cuddle with her momma until she's sleepy. And that's just how it's gonna be!

Talk about an eventful spring break for me! Next year I'm going on an actual spring break vacation. :)

One with no doctors!!

A Re-Cap

2010-03-16T10:12:00.002-05:00

It has been a whirlwind couple of days in the DeHart family . . .

On Sunday, Scott walked calmly into the living room and informed me that he was having chest pains and thought he needed to go to the hospital. Now on any given day, that kind of statement is scary. Coming from Scott with his family history of heart disease, it completely freaked me out. We immediately loaded Emily up and took her to my sister's house and then went on to the hospital.

After blood work, a chest x-ray and an EKG, the doctors in the emergency room declared that nothing looked abnormal but they wanted to keep him overnight for observation. Sooo . . . we moved down to a swanky observation room (and by swanky I mean that they actually had a recliner for me to rest in as opposed to the hard chairs in the ER) and we settled in for the night.

I am so grateful to a whole host of people for checking in on us, taking care of things and keeping me calm (Scott was on morphine so he was totally calm lol).

To my sister and brother in law: you guys are amazing. Thank you for agreeing with no hesitation to keep Emily when I called. It's so reassuring to know that you're there when we need you.

To my mom and dad: what would we do without you? From helping me figure out where to take Scott when my brain was fuddled, to keeping Emily overnight so we knew she was well taken care of, thank you for always being there to back us up.

To Aaron: bless you. Thank you for letting me call all freaked out, ask you random medical questions and most of all, for keeping me calm and giving me a personal nurse line to refer to. It helps more than you know.

To Gwen, Donna, Beth, Kari, and Janet: you guys rock. Thank you for being my first call whenever we need immediate prayer. I know that you guys pray, pass along the requests and then continue to pray throughout and that means the world to me. You're wonderful women and I'm so comforted knowing that you're there.

To Kevin, Susie, Jennifer and Kelly: ahh, my sweet friends. You kept me entertained well into the evening and during the day Monday and I can't thank you enough for trying your darn'dest to keep my mind off of things.

To the rest of our family that provided support and continually checked in: ((hugs)). Scott and I were constantly surrounded either by phone calls, email, etc. and it's always nice to know that your family is there and thinking of you.

Scott is home now and will be for a week or so until he has a stress test and gets those results. So he's got time to rest, time to think about the changes we're going to be making around the DeHart house and . . . oh yeah, watch the NCAA tournament (lucky timing for him).

Stay tuned for updates and more information on the changes we're going to be making to get healthier and be happier . . . it's going to be an interesting ride.

Congrats to Scott

2010-03-09T19:26:00.004-06:00

Congratulations to my amazing, awesome, studly, wonderful, hot husband. He came home tonight (after taking Emily for ice cream because he's such a good daddy) and walks down the hall, nonchalant as you please, and says, "oh, I got a raise today."

Yep, that's my cool-as-a-cucumber husband.

Congratulations, Scott!

We love you,
your smitten wife and your gorgeous daughter

Sciatica

2010-03-08T19:10:00.004-06:00

Sounds like the name of a sci-fi movie, no? Somehow, I have pinched a nerve in my back and now, my three best friends are hydrocodone, prednisone and my lovely thermacare patch. :) And I have such a wonderful husband, he's taking care of me AND the baby girl all while telling me how great I'm going to do on my midterm tomorrow (great timing, huh?) and helping Emily find clothes for baby nekkid-bums. Emily came home and told me that I needed a kiss so I could feel better. She's just so sweet.

Pray for me, if ya think of it . . . I need to do well on the test tomorrow and while I've studied the things we were told to study . . . I'm not at all certain of my brain power.

The threesome hits the aquarium

2010-03-07T09:12:00.008-06:00

On Friday, we took the kiddos to the Oklahoma Aquarium. Since Jackson's mobile now, it was good to have three adults . One for each kiddo. :) They all had a great time.

A five point photo

2010-03-01T16:43:00.003-06:00

My mom sent this photo today and it made me smile. I haven't posted in a very long time but I wanted to point out ten things this photo made me think of:

1. Why is my child the only one with no pants on and wearing only one sock?

2. I am so lucky to have a mom who will blast the same song a gazillion times a day just because the girls want to hear it.

3. I am also immensely lucky to have a mom who, despite battles of potty training, whining, crying, shouting and fighting, still wants to spend time pouring into my daughter's life as well as the life of my niece and nephew because she loves them so much.

4. I'm grateful that dance parties are so popular at mom's house because it may be the sneakiest way to get kids to exercise EVER!

5. Did I PUT two socks on her this morning? Sheesh, I can't even remember!

Baby Nekkid Bum

2010-02-09T17:26:00.004-06:00

Because of the great blizzard on Christmas Eve, we weren't able to visit Scott's parents out in Piedmont. So we headed out there in early January to make up that time with them. Emily had a wonderful time opening her presents, Scott and Gary had fun watching football and when the night was coming to a close, Emily decided she needed a bath. This is not at all unusual. So we stripped her and let her take a bubble bath in Grandma Susan's tub.

The funniest part of the night was when, after the bath, Emily decided to run free . . . she went and found a blankie and a box and hopped right on in! :) I know these pictures are going to influence which home she puts me in when I'm old and feeble, but seriously, how cute?!

Oh! and after this night, she kept referring to her baby (who never has clothes on . . . ever) as Baby Nekkid Bums. So I told Em that she's MY Baby Nekkid Bums. (((snuggle)))

Park it!

2010-02-09T17:25:00.004-06:00

On one of our less windy/cold days (relatively) I decided perhaps I could take Emily and Hailee to the park.

Yeah . . . we lasted about 45 seconds before we decided that perhaps we'd just go on over to Aunt Courtni's to play because y'all . . . it was COLD!

Dance Par-tay!

2010-02-09T17:19:00.004-06:00

We had a smokin' hot birthday party for Uncle N8 . . . What better way to celebrate another year older for him than to have a dance party? It was so fitting. Here are the highlights:

Y'all . . . Hailee does not play. She knows how to get down. Believe that . . .

Poor Jackson . . . sometimes I think he watches the rest of us and thinks "seriously, I'm related to THEM?"

Oh yes, I believe that's Hailee on air guitar backing up Emily on her rockin' solo. What a flippin' sweet li'l duet!

Sometimes we get bored

2010-02-09T17:11:00.006-06:00

So . . . sometimes life at home gets a little boring. But we don't sweat it . . . we are imaginative, inventive . . . and usually prone to getting nekkid (EMILY ONLY) when boredom invades. Here are some of the things Emily has done lately. What an inventive child. lol!

Yep . . . still catching you up . . .

2010-02-09T17:07:00.005-06:00

We finally got a fluke kind of warm, sunny day and I was even off a little early so I decided to completely ruin Emily's dinner by taking her out for gelato before dinner. . . that's right, gelato . . . because that's how we roll. lol!

The nice folks at Il Dolce in Moore let her take her dear sweet time picking out her flavors.

She finally decided on some bubblegum and banana gelato. . .

And obviously, she LOVED it!

Silly Sour Face

2010-02-09T17:02:00.005-06:00

In late January, we were still working on our Halloween candy. To be honest, Emily's much more interested in her Gummy Flintstones Vitamin than candy (can I get a "hallelujah"). But she wanted to try a sour "Airhead" and I wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea. . . however, I DID think it'd make for some interesting pictures.

Mommy was right. :)

Our first taste of some sour candy . . .

And here's the silly sour face! lol

"Heyyyy . . . I kinda like this!"

Someone's in the kitchen with Emmy . . .

2010-02-09T16:59:00.003-06:00

As promised, I'm spending a few posts catching you up on all that's been going on with us.

During the great snowstorm of 2010 (okay, so that's what they keep calling all of them), Scott got sick and Emily wanted to help me make some muffins so daddy could have a treat when he was feeling better. This is what happens when you turn your back on a toddler in the kitchen.

But seriously, how CUTE!?!

Long time, no see

2010-02-09T16:51:00.008-06:00

It has been about forever since I posted pictures of anything here. So many things have happened in the last month. . . I'm going to use the next few posts to fill you in . . .

On January 28, we got another snowstorm. What's a girl to do? Stay home, keep the kiddo and . . . send her out in the snow to play!

Thank goodness for Uncle Nathan. Emily wasn't quite sure what to think but thanks to Uncle N8, she got her first sled ride in.

You can tell from her expression she was really not sure she wanted much more to do with the snow. Thanks to Papa for escorting her through the winter wonderland. :)

More Christmas projects

2009-12-31T20:08:00.004-06:00

As promised, these are some more of the presents I made for people this year for Christmas. I love these photo projects.

Randomness around our house

2009-12-22T21:04:00.008-06:00

So I just went around and did some photo snappin' around the house. These are random things that caught my eye:

Emily's coat hangin' on our new hooks in the dining room. Something about this just makes me smile. I love seeing her little clothes laying around. She's getting so big and so are the clothes. ((sigh))

This is the UpperCase Living decal we have in our entry hall. I spent waaay too long trying to pick out the right one but I think this fits us.

Emmers' bows hanging in our bathroom. Lordy, she's got a bunch!

This is what happens when your best friend starts a bath scrub company. lol. And that's not even all the men I have in my shower area.

This is the cabinet in my bathroom. All the necessities are there INCLUDING books. :)

This is Emily's clock from "Santa." She has a serious thing for clocks so I refinished one for her room. I hope she loves it!

This year we got SO many great Christmas cards from Oklahoma, Kansas, and as far away as Costa Rica! Thanks for all the wonderful well wishes!

Merry Christmas!!

Homemade gifts are so much better

2009-12-19T21:04:00.010-06:00

So, over the next few days I'll be posting pictures of some of the handmade things I'm giving out as gifts to family and friends. Obviously AFTER they receive those gifts. LOL. Here are some of the things included in Gwen's gift pack today.

A lovely Twilight calendar to keep Gwen entertained the whole year through.

And here's Jake . . . parked next to, you guessed it, a Cougar. ((drool))

Using Gwen's favorite verse as inspiration, a canvas print. Purple and silver sparkles.

I love the scrollwork!And ragged edges for that worn look.

A purple and black pop tab bracelet. You know, for a bracelet made out of aluminum tabs, they're surprisingly comfy.

And here's the coup de grace. . . A lippy fang pillow that came without stuffing and just had to be filled and stitched up. Thanks to Krantzwerk over at Etsy for the pillow. Love it!

Our Christmas Angel

2009-12-19T20:48:00.003-06:00

K, so this afternoon, Emily and I made Christmas ornaments and watched Tinkerbell. THEN, she found some of her fairy wings (Oh yes, I said SOME. . . there are more) and had to wear them for the rest of the afternoon. I snapped a pic and thought, THAT is the cutest Christmas angel I've ever seen!!!

New Bedding, New Bedtime Routines

2009-12-19T00:04:00.003-06:00

Scott and I bought new bedding as our gift to each other for Christmas. We LOVE it. But we're not the only ones. Emily now insists on taking her naps in our bed (which I admit I love because she sleeps longer in there) and she wants to go to bed in our bed at night.

When we put the bedding on our bed, she climbed right up and kept saying "ooh, cozy!" LOL! So now when I put her in there to sit, she immediately crawls to a pillow and says "I need to sleep, momma!" So cute.

We've also started a new routine of having to tuck the covers in all around Emmy and doing a little sing-song "tuck tuck tuck" (and I have to watch my enunciation very carefully, especially when it's been a bad day). Then she just cuddles right in and will go to sleep.

Though, some nights, it'd be nice to just get in bed and go to sleep on my own! hehe

Finally, the Christmas spirit has returned to Moore, OK

2009-12-04T23:55:00.008-06:00

In my defense, that post title was way funnier if you've ever heard The Rock do a WWE announcement. . .

Tonight, I finally felt like I was getting into the holiday spirit. After a long, hard week of studying and school work, I came home from some shopping, picked up Scott and then we were all three headed off to dinner and the Christmas light extravaganza in Midwest City. It was actually a blast. Emily sat on my lap and we pointed out all the amazing choreographed lights and bears playing ball and . . . Santa riding a dinosaur? hmmm. Well that bit of oddity aside, we listened to Christmas music and Scott and I even sang to Emily (and her ears did NOT bleed).

Since we were most definitely in the mood when we got home (not THAT mood, come on people, its a CHRISTmas post! Clean it up!), we put the munchkin to bed in her new Santa jams and got to work putting up the Christmas tree. I think this is the first year since we lived in Manhattan that Scott actually helped me set up the tree and was around to haul in boxes of decorations! It was AWESOME.

Once we were done, we just sat back, enjoyed the fire and played some PS3 by the light of the newly decorated Christmas tree. I took some pictures of some of my favorite parts of the tree. Enjoy!

This one is, of course, my first Christmas ornament. :) I love it. And it still hangs from one of the old wire ornament hangers. It's usually the first ornament I hang on the tree. It always makes me wish we had one of Scott's old ornaments. I'm big on sentimenality so I love heirlooms like that.

I got this ornament last year and finally got a picture in it this year. I just love the little buttons and it's even sweeter when you see Em's smiling face in the middle.

Another of my favorite elements on the tree. Scott calls it my "Janie Dyer thingies" because it does look like something my mom would have on her tree. Still, I think it jazzes things up a little.

This is one of this year's additions to the tree (obviously) and could the little girl in the picture be any cuter? We decided not to even change the photo that came with the frame because we liked her so much. (kidding!)

For about . . . forever, I have wanted my own mantle to hang stockings from (especially since we have Em's stocking to fill now!) and look how lovely it is!

I'd say at this point, my Christmas shopping is about. . . half-ish done. Granted, not all the gifts are under the tree. Some are still being delivered via Fed Ex and USPS, some have to be picked up because they were delivered to the stores for me. Others are handmade and still have to be finished! Yikes!!

And that completes our tour of the DeHart Christmas tree 'n stuff. xoxo. Y'all come back now, ya hear? But call first in case a different mood strikes.

Happy Birthday to Emmy!

2009-11-26T08:18:00.006-06:00

It's a little hard to believe that we have a two year old now. Four years ago this month, Scott and I were still recovering from a miscarriage. Three years ago this month, my beautiful sister had talked me into seeing a new doctor who had helped several of her friends with fertility issues. And two years ago today, we met our little girl.

Last weekend we had Em's second birthday party and I wanted to share some pictures of Emily then and now and wish her a very happy birthday! We've already had calls from her Gran and Pa this morning. They sang "happy birthday" to her on the phone and let me tell you, it was a treat! :) We love our family!!

Christmas comes early . . .

2009-11-18T22:41:00.006-06:00

I mean seriously . . . How much more gorgeous could you get? Saturday Emily was in such a great mood and lookin' so festive that I simply couldn't NOT get her pictures made. It was a spur of the moment thing and I'm so glad they were made.

Isn't she just the sweetest little thing you've ever seen?

And the Halloween fun goes on . . .

2009-10-31T16:22:00.002-05:00

Today we had to stop by Wal-Mart to grab some things and they had a photo scene all set up. Of course Emily went and snagged a free photo lab picture of her. Isn't she cute!?

Trick or Treat!!!

2009-10-30T20:49:00.007-05:00

Alrighty, Emily's first time as a big girl trick or treater was at the Sooner Mall tonight. She wasn't totally thrilled by the concept but overall, I think she made an ADORABLE little giraffe. And tomorrow we'll do it all over again.

Punkin Day!

2009-10-10T19:55:00.009-05:00

Emily had an amazing time this morning. She and I headed out around 8 to meet Auntie Gwen and the girls for a girlie day. Our first stop was a lovely pumpkin patch in Noble, OK. Emily had such a good time running around the "punkins." She helped me pick out several and we have a Cinderella pumpkin, an apple gourd, a ginormous pumpkin and a couple of painted pumpkins on the porch now to show for our efforts.

And here's Emily's amazing paint n glitter punkin! Isn't it cute?

Cross posting from Shabby Sneakers

2009-10-07T10:29:00.001-05:00

I just had to share this on the family's website as well. I have loved working on things for Shabby Sneakers but the most exciting part of this whole ride is when I get asked to share some of my stuff for charity purposes. Check out this post from Shabby Sneakers.

Shabby Sneakers flat out loooooves charity work.

This morning I got a lovely email from an Etsy user who wanted to know if Shabby Sneakers would be interested in donating some Twilight merchandise for a fundraiser she's helping with to benefit the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Bedford, TX.

Well . . . y'all know how I feel about charity so, of course, I said "yes!"

Check out the information on the premiere at: http://www.a2newmoon.org/

As soon as I have the items put together that I'm donating, I'll post pics here. If you live near Bedford, be sure to purchase a ticket and go see the flick early! If I could watch it in Bedford at 8 and still get back here for my midnight balcony seats with the Smart Girls' Club, I'd totally go too!

Emily, right now

2009-10-06T14:17:00.002-05:00

Okay so there are just a few things I want to remember about Em at 22 1/2 months old.

• She calls my and Scott's glasses "circles" and always wants a pair for herself no matter how many times I tell her her eyes are just perfect and beautiful.

• She loves to "help" with laundry. She pulls all the clean clothes out of the dryer and will walk around the house distributing them into little piles with no clear rhyme or reason.

• She puts all her clothes on via her feet. Except for panties which she feels the need to wear like a hat. Go figure.

• She has seriously been learning by observation. The kid even takes a book to the bathroom with her when she goes to potty. Lol!

• When scott or I get home for the day, she will jump up as we walk through the door, yell "mommie" or "daddy" and run right for us.

• She calls green beans "bean beans."

• She calls ketchup "keppis."

• She can out talk everyone (except aunt kari) on the phone. But we can at least understand aunt kari.

• She hates going to bed but loves to rock with mommie.

• She's very into equality right now. And ownership. If she has something (like her toothbrush) she wants to be sure everyone else has one too. And that everyone knows which belongs to whom.

• Speaking of toothbrushes, she always brushes with hers and then brushes with mine.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Leslie DeHart

www.shabbysneakers.com
http://twitter.com/EmmysMom
http://www.zazzle.com/shabbysneakers
www.cafepress.com/shabbysneakers

Pressure!

2009-09-29T09:58:00.003-05:00

Okay, I cannot keep from hearing Queen and David Bowie in the back of my head singing "Under Pressure."

Last night, Scott and I went to dinner since my amazing mother and father were keeping Emily. We sat and talked about this, that, everything else . . . and eventually Scott said "what kind of Christmas dress are we getting for Emily?"

Whaaaat?

Dude?! Let's get past Halloween costumes first!

And speaking of Halloween costumes, I am seriously needing help with that this year. What in the world do you pick for an almost two year old?

Princess? cliche
Fairy? basically a princess with wings, right?
Ballerina? not in Oklahoma. . . it could be 20 degrees on Halloween
Cheerleader? ummmmm . . . eh
Dora the Explorer? okay, that's not even all that cute.
Cowgirl? that's so not us.

See the conundrum? Alright folks, bring on the suggestions

Gorgeous girl

2009-08-26T18:27:00.000-05:00

I have to tell y'all... My niece is getting to be SO grown up! I met Hailee, Jackson, Emily, Mom and Dad for dinner Monday night and Hailee was helping keep the younger ones entertained and in line. :)

Here's my favorite shot of the night:

Feelin' a little sentimental

2009-08-24T08:59:00.004-05:00

Okay, so today I'm feeling a little sentimental. School starts this week so I'm going to be gone longer three nights a week and Scott will be pickin' up our little punkin'. I actually kinda love those drives home from Marmie's where we rock out to Enchanted songs or This Little Light of Mine.

I was flipping through pictures and I just had to share one of my favorites with everyone. It's of my two very favorite people. . .

Now me being me, I'm already trying to figure out what Miss Ladybug is gonna be this year but for now, it makes me smile just to see this one and to remember my little girl in her crawling stage. She's getting taller these days. Some of that baby fat around her knees is starting to go away and she runs full tilt everywhere! (except in the morning when mommy needs her to go just a teeny bit faster). Anyhow. . . enjoy the old photo. I know I do.

Jesus and the Joys of Motherhood

2009-08-19T10:12:00.002-05:00

So this morning, I learned two valuable lessons. . .

1. When your 1 year old says "mommy, I poopy diapee" you should pay attention. I didn't. Because, let's face it, one of her favorite words right now is poop. She tells me all the time "I go poop" when she didn't.

Today she did. UGH.

So while we're cleaning up a mess that came out of the diapee and dripped on the floor, I learned my second lesson.

2. 1 year olds are sponges and will repeat everything you say. During clean up this morning, I just kept saying "Oh, God" both because I was appalled and because I needed some divine strength to get me through the morning. Well, little miss priss is standing next to me, cleaned up, sans diaper, just grinning like a loon and saying "ah, God . .. ah, God." So then of course I have to tell her not to say that. And then I say it AGAIN. It was a fun little circle we went in.

Let's review the lessons okay?
1. it's time to start trusting Emily's poop announcements
2. only talk to God when you're actually talking to God

Have a great day!

Something you cannot afford to miss

2009-08-14T10:38:00.001-05:00

I found a blog today that I absolutely have to share. It is written by the wife of one of the pastors at LifeChurch.tv and is absolutely AMAZING! I have already cried twice this morning at the way she describes life, marriage and motherhood.

If you're looking for some inspiration, go check out www.cindybeall.com.

You'll thank me for it later.

Dylan got a bath

2009-08-13T16:27:00.003-05:00

One of the highlights of my day is the photos my mom sends throughout the day of the different things that Emily and the kiddos do every day.

Today, Emmy's best friend, Dylan, the teddy bear she made at Build A Bear on her first birthday, got a bath. Now, being with my mother and all, she gave him the Build A Bear approved bath and as you can see, she then moved on to the styling portion of the process.

I mean seriously, how cute is THAT?

God is good, all the time!

2009-07-30T10:41:00.002-05:00

Okay, so we bought a car . . . :) I love this car. It makes me feel like a grown up but not an old fart and it is a super safe car for Emily so everyone wins.

I waited the month between getting the car and getting the tag and we kept waiting and waiting for the title paperwork to come in. When it didn't, I started calling to find out what the deal was. Apparently it just takes longer to get titles cleared on used vehicles which was why it was taking a bit more time. However, in the meantime, the dealership realized that the car had been traded in with an expired tag so they went ahead and brought the tag up to date and got us a metal tag. Problem #1 solved. Oh, and then on top of that, we won't have to worry about the taxes or title for another month because they weren't able to do that in a timely manner either. Blessing #2.

Today I got another call that, at first, scared me. The guy from the dealership was talking about our financing, etc and of course (because I'm an idiot) my first thought was "I'm gonna have to give the car back." Nope. . . He just called to tell me that because of the delay, we do have to re-sign all the paperwork but because of that, the financial paperwork would be dated today instead of June 25th and our first payment won't be due until SEPTEMBER! Blessing #3. . . no car payment for an ADDITIONAL month.

I mean, how rad is that? How amazing is God?

Winning the Whining War

2009-07-16T11:02:00.003-05:00

So lately, Emily has become quite the whiner at Marmie's Playhouse. I believe her whining may be about to drive my mother to drink so I thought I'd go online today and see what kind of tips I could find from other mom's and parenting sites about breaking your child of whining (without beating the ever-lovin' tar out of them) . . . What I found was very scarce. Here are some of the ideas I found and my responses to them:

When you notice her whining, call her attention to it. (Done. . . I already look at her and say "seriously? Whining AGAIN? . . . okay, perhaps that's not what they mean. I will work on this one. I'm sure the problem she's having at 19 months is just that she's not conceptualizing that she's speaking in a whiney voice. Read heavy sarcasm here)

Reinforce non-whining. (Good idea . . . but what if the only time she's NOT whining is when she's listening to songs from Enchanted? Because, I gotta tell you folks, if I hear "That's How You Know" a few more times, I'm gonna go shoot a furry woodland creature)

Notice when she whines and choose your response. Changing the pattern of whining begins when you change how you respond to it. (Again, I feel that this puts WAY too much responsibility on me as a parent. (kidding!!!) Wouldn't it be better just to hand her an illustrated pamphlet on why we don't whine? It could have pictures of mommy and daddy holding their heads with a caption that says "you don't want mommy and daddy's heads to explode DO YOU?" Too much?? lol)

"If my children whine, I make it clear that I did not understand what they have said (even if I have). They (soon) realize that they must speak in an acceptable way, i.e. moderate tone, (proper) enunciation. ... When they speak in an appropriate way, they are acknowledged and addressed. When they whine, they are misunderstood and unanswered." (Aaah, yes . . . at one, my daughter will clearly understand the bargain this mother describes. I'm not sayin it won't work but I think that if I start in with Emily on her tone and enunciation, she's just gonna start whining for me to stop. . . heck, I might even start whining about having that conversation.)

Look, I'm not saying that her whining is okay. It annoys the heck out of me and I want to keep my mother as her care giver so we're going to have to find a strategy, I just don't think any of the above (maybe a combo of several would be better) are going to single handedly win the battle.

I'll keep working on it.

4th of July

2009-07-15T15:06:00.002-05:00

I know that this post is a bit late but I meant to get this photo up sooner and didn't. This is a shot of our fireworks on the 4th. Emily wasn't as scared of them as I thought she'd be. Clearly she was fine as long as she was with Marmie.

Too much?

2009-07-14T09:04:00.003-05:00

Okay, so last night Emily and I were playing in her room (translation, she was dragging out all of her toys and blankies and I was re-folding them and trying to keep her from tripping over things) and I found a green chenille blanket that I'd crocheted for her when I was pregnant. It was clearly not the greatest job because it had a hole in it so I thought to myself "why not take it apart and use the yarn to make her a new blanket for her birthday?" I asked Scott what he thought about my making her a blanket every year for her birthday. I thought that as she got older, it might be fun for her to pick out the yarn, etc. I know that equals a LOT of blankets but we could even turn it into something fun to add to her hope chest (does that term make me terribly old fashioned?) and some could just stay at home when she moves out when she's about 45.

Idunno. . . I know it's a lot of blankets if you think about a whole lifespan but . . . it seems like something special that I could do for her and something she could really enjoy. I'm just looking for ways to create traditions I suppose.

Emmy Went Potty. . .

2009-07-13T12:43:00.002-05:00

Just typing that title line felt . . . oogey. I mean what exactly IS the protocol for announcing that your child pottied in the grown up toilet for the first time? There has to be some etiquette addressing this milestone in a parents' life! Do you send out announcements that read "soon I can stop buying Pampers"?

As soon as my mother called to tell me that Emily had used the potty for the first time, I immediately grabbed my phone as I so often do to upload a tweet about the momentous occasion but then I thought . . . "ugh, the last thing I want to be accused of is announcing my daughter's bowel movements like some hyped up mom who divulges every secret of their child's life." I can't afford the therapy she'd need when she was older and (as she will likely do because I'm so enjoyable) looks up my Twitter page in the archives of what used to be cool and finds all the dirt about her childhood.

Instead, I quickly scampered over to gmail to type up an email to some friends and family and let them know about the event. But even that wasn't enough. Just yesterday, a friend of mine and I joked that if Emily was potty trained before her youngest, she was sending her little munchkin to my house. LOL! OF COURSE I called her just to rub this in. I stopped a fellow mommy in the hallway at work and she was VERY aware of just how cool a thing this using the potty for the first time was. She even high-fived me. :)

So is it okay to announce these things to friends and family? To post them on the web for any and all to peruse? Or should they just be kept to one's self? I know, I know, this blog has never been shy about sharin the nitty gritty, ever since my pregnancy, which is why I felt like I could post this (which is only read by friends and family and most of whom have already been emailed anyhow) here.

What are your thoughts?

Emily's Swim Time

2009-07-05T21:07:00.003-05:00

Emily had SUCH a good time swimming on Friday. I was so proud of my fearless girl but to be honest, I also wanted to just hug her to me. This is such a strange season in my life as a mommy because I just want to cuddle her and she's always on to the next thing.

Emily's new car

2009-06-26T10:15:00.002-05:00

Okay, we call it Emily's new car because in all honesty, Scott and I are always loathe to spend a lot of money on ourselves. However. . . last night we finally broke down and got a great deal on a 2003 Honda Accord. We have named her Cordelia (get it? Honda AcCordelia?) :)

Here she is:

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-29T11:35:00.006-05:00

I think that this past Memorial Day weekend was one of the best I've ever had. Three whole days to rest and relax and just enjoy spending time with Scott and Emily.

Saturday: Mom, Dad and Emily enjoy some breakfast, head to Norman to play at Reaves Park, go to Marmie's for naps and then played in the moonbounce and sprinkler. Cousin Hailee spent the night and we made home made pizzas, watched The Wild, painted our fingers and toes and got some good sleep.

Sunday: The whole family goes to LifeChurch.tv South Oklahoma City AFTER a quick stop for donut holes at Daylight Donuts. Afterwards, Emily gets to go play at Grandma and Grandpa DeHart's house, swinging and sliding and even seeing Auntie Dee and Cousin Kylin. Mom and Dad watch The Lion King downtown and have a quiet, leisurely lunch with no high chairs involved!!! Later that night, we headed to our house, played on the swings and ran around the back yard before going to bed.

Monday: We got up, Emily helped mommy make orange cinnamon rolls and everybody watched some Franklin on Noggin. Then . . . the dreaded morning nap. But once that was over, we headed to Marmie and Papa's house and hit the jackpot! A moonbounce, slip n slide, water sprinkler, kiddie pool, Elmo splash mat, swings and a cookout! The whole family was there and even Gran, Pa and Nana drove up for the cookout.

Here are some of the best pictures of the day.

Marmie's Playhouse

2009-05-04T08:49:00.002-05:00

My mother was in her element this morning. I drove up to drop Emily off at her house because today is the first day of "Marmie's Playhouse." There was a sign outside that said "Grand Opening of Marmie's Playhouse" and it was hand colored by my mother. lol. I walked in and she had Sunday School songs playing, library books out on the table, high chairs at the kitchen island and Mickey Mouse pancakes on the griddle. There were even miniature fruit kabobs on fancy toothpicks. It was adorable! My niece, Hailee, was so excited because they were going to put on "paintin' bibs" (lol!) after breakfast and go paint on the back porch. :)

I'm so glad Em is staying with my mom now instead of a different daycare provider. It was like sending Emily off to summer camp today. I can't wait to hear all about her first day.

For Daddy

2009-04-30T16:03:00.002-05:00

I got a call today from Scott who was trying to show off this picture to his buddies at work. I thought I'd already posted it but I suppose not. Here you go, dad!

Hailee's Third Birthday

2009-04-27T10:39:00.009-05:00

I cannot believe my niece is already THREE! She had a Little Mermaid party on Saturday at her house and I wanted to put up some of my favorite pictures from the day. . .

Emily relaxy-taxi with her Papa in the Moon Bounce.

Most times, Emmers needed a little help doing anything but flopping in the Moon Bounce. Uncle Nathan was a great jumping buddy!

Eventually, she got the hang of it!

Even Papa got in on the Moon Bounce action and played for. . . quite awhile actually, with Hailee and Emily.

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures of the day. Hailee and her momma sharing a little quality time on the Moon Bounce.

This was hug time after Hailee opened her gift from Emmy. Crayola Wonders coloring books and magic markers!

Emily the cookie monster. "Hand me more chocolate and nobody gets hurt."

This was Hailee's BIG present from her mom and dad. I can just hear Emily's thoughts from this picture. "Where's MY princess car, huh?" lol

Shabby Sneakers

2009-04-18T13:17:00.004-05:00

So there's all kinds of cute shirt ideas I'd love to get for Emily but for the most part, I either can't find the shirts or I can't afford the ones I want.

So . . . I opened my own shop on CafePress.com.

Welcome to Shabby Sneakers.

So far I've got a really cute birthday shirt that was actually inspired by my wanting to make a shirt for Hailee's upcoming birthday and then an Oklahoma Girls Rock shirt because. . . well, why not.

Here's what they look like:

Just showing off for Momma

2009-04-12T21:03:00.002-05:00

Since Mom had something to say about my lack of blogging Easter. . . here you go:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:57:00.005-05:00

Okay, I just got an email from my mother wondering why I haven't blogged about Easter yet. . . as if it was July and I was remiss or something. We had a whole weekend of fun so I should probably start at the beginning.

First, heading to Marmie and Papa's on Saturday, we finally got Emily's raspberries on film:

Then of course there was the egg hunt . . . I'm pretty sure she had no clue what was going on. lol

And the coup de grace: We finally got Hobos and Tramps on video:

Our little artist

2009-03-30T15:44:00.002-05:00

So Emily is completely enamored with pen and paper now. In fact, tonight after I pick her up, we're going to Wal-Mart to get Crayola Color Wonder markers for her. I am supportive of her artistic talent but I still don't want to get her crayons that will mark on my carpet and couches, etc. lol

Oh! In other news, one of Emily's favorite things to do now is to sit on my lap and watch YouTube. How cute is that? She sits on my lap and we watch music videos from Moose A. Moose and Zee on Noggin . . . (waiting for everyone without small children to finish googling). Our favorite (well Mom's favorite) is "Everywhere I Go." How can you not like a song with lyrics like this:

Skies are the blue-iest
Cows are the moo-iest
Gum is the chew-iest
Ghosts are the boo-iest
Goo is the goo-iest
You can be your you-iest
Everywhere I go!

Now if they only had a Moose A. Moose Color Wonders coloring book!

Tatum has arrived!

2009-03-27T10:23:00.002-05:00

Emily has a new little cousin to play with! Our family has just been busting out with babies since last fall. First Jackson arrived in October, then Kylin and Macie in November and now Tatum is here!

Hugs and kisses to the whole Gleason family. We love you!

Walking Part II

2009-03-25T20:02:00.005-05:00

Because once is just never enough!

Y'all, I am still FREAKING out!

And to top off our night of hilarity, I have GOT to get some video of our Enchanted Dance Party. It's hysterical. Me, Emily, Nathan, Scott, Emily, Hailee and Court all shaking our groove things to "How Does She Knoooooooow."

Gotta love that.

Emily is officially a walker!

2009-03-25T19:39:00.002-05:00

Not sure if I'm okay with this. When I realized she was really walking (which totally freaks me out) I looked at Scott and said "I want another baby." He didn't think it was funny. lol!

Mommy's Spring Break

2009-03-25T12:05:00.008-05:00

So last week was Spring Break for me. It doesn't have quite the same appeal that it had before I had a real job and couldn't just stay at home lounging around the house (which, incidentally I hadn't been able to do since mid way through high school as the Dyer girls had to get jobs and earn our keep, lol).

On top of that, last week Emily had a virus and was such a sick little girl. No symptoms beyond a raging fever and her discomfort and lack of appetite but she just was not herself. I'd already planned to be off work on 3/20 to prep for the Twilight Slumber Party (recap and pictures soon to be available at http://www.hcjc.blogspot.com/). Since Emmy had been sick, I just kept her with me. By Friday she was feeling so much better so we planned an outing to Unpluggits in Edmond, OK and took the kiddos. It was a blast. They have an indoor play area and a spot for crafts and painting, etc. I took along the camera and couldn't help but post some of the great photos I got that day.

Don't Dyer girls (and their men) make THE cutest babies??

This was Emmy getting ready that morning. Nothing makes her happier in the morning than a ba-ba, some bites and Noggin on the TV.

Jackson hanging out at Unpluggits. He's particularly good at goofy faces for Aunt's camera!

Hailers playing on the little tikes slide. She's such a goof. But she has such a cute smile!

I have a feeling mommy and daddy may need to be on the lookout for a treehouse soon!

Such a wonderful display of brotherly/sisterly love.

Momma and Emily painting a masterpiece.

Trying not to feel guilty

2009-03-23T10:52:00.002-05:00

I always heard that feeling guilty comes with the territory once you're a mommy. I suppose so. Lately it's really been hitting me because I feel like I'm missing out on so many things. Even when I'm not in class, I'm having to spend time studying and I'm not playing with Emmy. It's been a topic of conversation between Scott and I several times and each time, he tells me that it's not for forever and always, just for a season (to which I usually respond that this season is lasting too stinkin' long). I'm so grateful to have family that are there to help me and who support my going back to school but even so, I can't help but feel terrible sometimes when I'm gone from my daughter so much.

I will say that this has helped me learn a very valuable lesson. I am very much like my mother in that I don't say "no" often. I am very hesitant to disappoint anyone so I try to do whatever anyone asks of me. However, I've been learning to say "no" when I need to. I suppose this is what Gwen would call my positive re-frame of the situation. . . maybe.

My sick little darlin' - an update

2009-03-18T16:22:00.001-05:00

So, last week we discovered that Emily was cutting three . . . THREE molars all at the same time. With that came a little fever that was enough to irritate her but not enough to be concerned about.

Monday, daycare called and said I needed to come get her because she was running a fever (still nothing out of the ordinary for teething) and was miserable. I picked her up and boy was she ever miserable. She had cried most of the day and had gotten herself all worked up.

Yesterday, she stayed with my mom for most of the day and then went home early with me. She was still not feeling well but was happy enough to see her Marmie and get to play.

Last night it hit . . . about 1:45 a.m., Emily woke us up. She was in her crib, facedown, just wailing. Scott picked her up, told me she was on fire and brought her to our room. We took her temp and she was baking at 104.6. It scared the pee out of me. A few calls to our after hours service, a hit of Tylenol and about an hour of rocking with momma later, and she was at least a little better.

This morning we went to the doctor's office and found out that she likely has a virus. It was incredible. No other symptoms but one little virus can turn my happy little girl into a sad, miserable cuddlebug. Luckily, she had plenty of Marmie time today to keep her happy and comforted. Tomorrow she gets Daddy and Friday it's back to Momma. It's not exactly the spring break we had planned but I have a feeling we're going to be just fine.

My beautiful girl . . . SO stinkin' CUTE!!!

2009-03-17T11:54:00.001-05:00

This is a picture of Emily from this morning. She's staying with Marmie this morning because she's running a fever. She's got THREE molars cutting in all at the same time and it's made her miserable and feverish. Poor thing. Anyhow, I just wanted to show you how gorgeous she is even when she's not feeling well. Beauty in the hard times. Ahhh, you could almost write a book about it. lol

--
Leslie DeHart

Yes, I'm a Mom,
Yes, I read Twilight,
Yes, I love Edward (and Jasper)
Don't tell my husband.

My funny girl

2009-03-03T19:02:00.002-06:00

I have to say that lately, my kid cracks me up like nobody else can. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. When you put a bow in her hair or buckle her in her carseat, she claps for you and says "good job." It's just funny because she will literally drop everything in her hands and clap so you know she thinks you're doing a good job. In contrast, she will also wait for you to tell her good job at any given moment depending on what she's doing. There's really no telling when she'll look at you with those raised eyebrows that mean "okay, I'm waaaaiting." Sometimes it's when she's put her blocks in the chimney on her train (one of her favorite activities). Sometimes it's when she hands you her shoes and looks at you like "don't you love my accessory choices?"

2. She's always been good at hi-five. Today she took it to a new level. I held up my hand and asked for a hi-five and when she laid her hand on mine, I slid it out with a "pssh." This is her new game. We walked around Target for a good half hour and anytime I'd put my hands down to steer the cart, she'd grab it, turn it over and make me play hi-five again. Then, when I stopped making the "pssh" sound, she started doing it for me. She certainly picks up on things.

3. Every day since she was born (pretty much), Emily has sat in her carrier, bumbo or (now) seat on the bathroom counter and watched momma get ready. In the last couple of weeks, she has begun trying to fix her hair. It's so cute to watch. She will pick up whatever is on the counter (deodorant, toothpaste, whatever) and rub the closed bottle/tube/whatever on her hair and then scrunch. HA! She is also so totally into brushing her hair. She'll brush her hair for ten whole minutes. Mind you, the brush is usually upside down so it does no good but she loves to try.

This past weekend I had a day when I hadn't been sleeping well, Scott was sick and Emmy (who I think is cutting a molar) was just a pill. That day, it was very good for me to pull out the reminders of all the times she makes me laugh.

Here's a recent photo of the funny girl herself:

Steps in the right direction . . .

2009-02-09T15:01:00.002-06:00

Big happenings in our family yesterday. For the first time, Emily took a step without holding onto anyone's hands. Of course as soon as she realized Papa had let go and she'd taken a step on her own, she lunged for Marmie and that was the end of that! :) She did it one more time walking from Marmie to me too and when she realized no one was holding on, she took her step and then plopped on her bum. Which was just fine with Momma. I want her to walk (mainly so that everyone will say "she should be walking any day now" in that tone of voice that translates to "I'm not sure what her parents are doing wrong but she should have been walking weeks ago.") but dang it! That means she's growing up even more. I'm seriously not ready for that.

Last night she was having trouble going to sleep. It was so windy outside and at one point, it blew the turbine on the roof and there was a loud groan as it turned which caught my attention and woke her up. I went and grabbed her a sippy and put her in bed with me and just cuddled for a little while. She doesn't cuddle and sleep anymore. It was a rare treat for her to snuggle up and fall asleep on me. At one point she wrapped her arm around mine and petted my arm. It was so sweet. And over very quickly. Soon enough, she flung her arms wide and had to be lying on her back, on her own.

I know that sleeping on her own and walking mean she's moving in the right direction. She's growing up. She's healthy, and all is going well. But dang it! Did it have to happen so quickly?

**Tune in tomorrow (or next week but I know it will happen) for the blog post entitled "when is she finally gonna be able to eat/walk/potty/fill in the blank on her own?!" lol. **

Tag, You're It!

2009-02-04T10:35:00.002-06:00

I got tagged by my sister, Courtni at http://www.ittakes2baby.blogspot.com/, so what the heck, let's try it out.

Here are the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same. No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.) Have fun!!

This is Emily goofing off at her Aunt Linden's baby shower. She decided she should get to play with Cousin Kylin's goodies since Kylin wasn't there yet. I was snapping pics and this is the one I got.

So now, I'm going to tag: Kari, Gwen, Donna and Katie (all to be tagged on Facebook as I don't know if any of them have blogs . . .)

Fit to be tied

2009-02-03T09:34:00.002-06:00

Last night, Emily and I were in the kitchen making dinner and I was snapping a few pictures of her playing with measuring cups and spoons (and realizing I really need to mop!). Then I went to the living room so I could maybe get some shots of her playing with her toys.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I dont' know if it was fatigue or annoyance at mommy for having moved to another room or what, but she just moved to the dining room floor and threw a fit. I mean a screaming, drooling, big ole crocodile tears fit. What could I do? I just laughed. I know, I know, it's cruel, but seriously, y'all . . . it was dramatic. At one point, she just laid her head facedown on the floor and cried this pitiful cry that was just so darned cute!

Eventually I walked over and picked her up and told her that she was being silly and there was no need to throw a fit.

But I don't think she really cared. . . lol!

Breakfast with Mom

2009-02-01T09:22:00.000-06:00

This morning is a girl's morning since Scott had to head in to urgent care for a follow up.

We're enjoying a lovely breakfast at Mickey's (where the nice men up front even have her a happy meal puppy!)

I kinda dig mornings like this. We definitely have a busy day ahead but for now we're just enjoying a biscuit together.

Birthday surprises

2009-01-31T21:47:00.005-06:00

Whew! It has been a long day. We were all set to go out for dinner tonight to celebrate my birthday but in the middle of last night, Scott got ill and spent the morning at Urgent Care. He's doing better now but didn't feel up to par for most of the day.

So, instead of dinner, we all just went out to my parents' to do gifts primarily because Scott could no longer wait to give me my primo gift.

We had a nice quiet family time and were able to relax.

Wanna see my loot?

From the Hamiltons:

From Mom and Dad:

and from my hubby and daughter . .. the coolest ever:

It was a lovely evening and I loved each of my birthday gifts. I can't wait to start using the new camera and post some shots!!

Thanks everyone!!

Banana Candy Bar

2009-01-31T21:38:00.005-06:00

Last night we were waiting on daddy to get home so we could head to the carousel at the mall again. This time daddy was going to ride with her. While we waited, I got a banana out for Emmy. She has recently started wanting to hold her own food instead of us tearing it up and putting the pieces on the tray or table in front of her.

Once she got ahold of the banana, I swear, it became something like a banana candy bar. She grabbed it and chowed down. lol. I just thought it was cute.

Sing Along Songs

2009-01-29T21:29:00.002-06:00

I downloaded a bunch of Sunday School songs by Cedarmont Kids for Emily. This morning, on the way to daycare, we were listening and I'm not sure if Emily loved it or not, but I have to say that I was struck by the fact that there are whole sermon series' in those songs. It's been awhile since I've listened to any of them so I thought I'd jot down my favorites . . . the ones I want Emily to get deep down in her heart:

"Oh, be careful little ears what you hear . . ." You remember this one. It goes on to tell little eyes to be careful what they hear, tongues to be careful what they say, minds to be careful what they think. But the chorus of all of these verses is, "for the Father up above, is looking down in love." I think it's so sweet that while we need to be careful of the input/output in our lives, all of that is tempered by the fact that God loves us and doesn't warn us to be good out of some kill-joy motive but out of love for us. Maybe I can use that logic when she thinks her mommy is a no fun fuddy dud that just wants to make her life miserable. That should hit between 13 and 17, right?

"I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart . . ." Ahh, one of my favorites. I remember when I was a youngun at Capitol Hill and we'd go through the normal verses of peace that passes understanding and start in on verses that said we had the "far out faith that freaks my friends out," or the "Bible belief that baffles Buddha." Good times. The version on Emily's playlist includes a verse that I hadn't heard before and I had to back it up to catch it. In double time, it said "I've got the wonderful love of my blessed redeemer way down in the depths of my heart." What a mouthful! Again, the chorus of this one is what made me think, "this would preach!" It said "and I'm so happy, so very happy, I've got the love of Jesus in my heart." I sure hope that Emily gets that. That her joy sinks way down where no one has a chance to dislodge it.

Anyhow, these great old Sunday School tunes have been rattling around in my brain all day and I just had to get some of this down.

Just goes to show you never know what God will use to snag your attention.

Snow Day Fun

2009-01-28T21:21:00.005-06:00

Today was day 2 of the snow days of 2009. :) Day one nearly drove momma out of her mind. Emily is in this phase of "momma hold me, momma let me crawl on you, momma don't get more than three inches away from me or I'm gonna scream and cry until you come back."

It's fun.

Today, we ventured out just a bit to the mall and Emily had a great time. So did Mom because Emily was entertained and not climbing up my legs like a spider monkey. We had a great lunch, then she got to play and ride the carousel. It was a perfect plan because right about the time we got home. . . N-A-P. hehehe. . .

Projects abound

2009-01-25T11:26:00.002-06:00

So I have seen several people who have begun projects this year. Two of the coolest I've seen are:

365 days of service: my friend Alison actually started this last year and I think it's wonderful. Every day she looks for a way to be a servant and blogs about it after she completes a service.

A Year in Photos: several folks I've seen online are doing this. They take at least one photo each day of something going on in their lives and post it with an explanation.

I like both of these projects. I haven't yet figureed out what project I want to take on but I love the idea of doing something every day that draws your attention to your life. Something that makes you take stock of the here and now. Something that helps you live in the present.

Success!

2009-01-22T10:34:00.003-06:00

Well I am one happy momma to report that Emily is feeling much better. After running a fever from last Saturday until Tuesday of this week, she is finally recovering. She still has a bit of a cough and cold but no croup and no temp. I feel so blessed, especially after hearing that two other kiddos at her daycare developed full blown RSV. I couldn't even tell you what those initials stand for but they scare me. (Okay, I think the V is for Virus but the others are long words I don't know).

I'm really looking forward to a good evening tonight and a great weekend with a baby who is well.

Thank you, to everyone for your prayers. They always make such a huge difference.

Shoes

2009-01-12T11:16:00.004-06:00

Emily has adorable shoes. Even when she absolutely wouldn't wear shoes, people were buying her shoes. By now, she has several pairs and I've been dying to get her to wear them. They usually get removed and go in her mouth several minutes after they go on her feet.

UNTIL THIS MORNING! Apparently shoes are now cool because Emily wanted her shoes on her feet before I even took her jammies off. We discussed it and compromised. I would take her jammies off and put her jeans on while she fussed at me and THEN the shoes would go on. Okay, so it wasn't much of a compromise on her end but she still got her shoes!

The cutest part was that while I was still gathering our stuff so we could get dressed, she kept lifting her foot in the air and trying to put her shoe on herself. I'm always so excited when I can tell that she's learning new things. :)

Oh! I will have to post pictures because she looked SO cute this morning. Just like she did yesterday. And the day before that. . . etc, etc. hehe

Wheelin' in style

2009-01-10T19:43:00.005-06:00

Emily received so many great toys this Christmas. Santa stops at Grandma and Grandpa's and also at Marmie and Papa's before he ever stops at our house. She got a pony with wheels and a rocking horse that talks (which freaked her out at first but now she loves to push on the ears herself to hear the little song it plays). She also got a train that just cracks her up. You can put blocks in the smoke stack and they shoot into the caboose of the train. She has now gotten so industrious that she looks for other toys to put in the smoke stack and so far she's not gotten anything stuck.

When Santa came from our house, he left her a pretty pink car. So far, we've had very few nice days to go out and take a storll in the car but we have been out once or twice. She LOVES this thing. And Heaven forbid if you slow down or (unthinkable) stop along the walk. She will stand up and jump, as best as she can with a seat belt on, to get things going again. Even if it is only a few inches, she has to be in motion.

We've watched as she gets her lean on and relaxes with one arm up on the side of the car and one hand on the steering wheel . . . when she's been a cautious driver and been very sure to stick with the 10 and 2 position . . . and when she's done a little Holy Ghost drivin' with both hands in the air (praise Jesus!) :)

Here are some pictures of her outings:

And. . . if I can work it out. . . a video of yesterday's walk.

Wahoo! Mommy rocks! It worked!

I'm a terrible blogger lately . . . I know

2009-01-08T15:34:00.002-06:00

I feel so disconnected from the blog! I've just been over on Courtni's and she does a beautiful job of updating with pictures of the babies and posting memorable things.

And . . . I don't.

So, I'm going to work on that. After all . . . This is kind of Emily's baby book.

When I think of where it all started one day in a bathroom with Scott and I looking at a pregnancy test and crying our eyes out (well, Scott was crying in a very manly way), I cannot believe how things have changed.

Now:

I scoop pink rubber duckies and sea turtles out of the tub if I want to take a bath.
I can't remember the last time I went to the bathroom alone in my own house.
I'm constantly thinking "Lord, I hope I'm bathing her often enough!!"
I worry about things like nutrition (clearly for the first time in my whole life).
I walked down an aisle at Walgreen's today and stopped, struck by the notion that one day, I will have to explain the "facts of life to someone" in a DELICATE way.
I have almost as many Sunday School songs on my iPod as "grown up" praise and worship.
Anything I plan must take place after 8 p.m. when my munchkin is asleep.
My house is a shrine to this beautiful little munchkin (it used to be a shrine to my niece!)
I cannot leave the house with less than two bags, a handful of toys, snacks, milk and a variety of things I'm never even sure I'll actually use.
I assess every object in my house, car, and outside world for its ability to cause injury or death.
I get to buy pink, ruffly stuff all the time and now it's not for a dog!
I pray harder than I ever have before. Usually something like "Dear Lord Jesus, please fix all the things I'm gonna screw up!"
I watch a man who used to be the most awkward baby holder I'd ever seen turn into a guy who is the chief baby rocker and usually the only person who can get my daughter to sleep.
I annoy everyone with my incessant chatter about the most beautiful baby ever!
I can't remember a time when the person pinching my rear was someone I hadn't given birth to.

I cannot imagine what my life was like before. For all the hard work, this is exactly where I want to be. Tired, old lookin', creaky and absolutely satisfied.

xoxo

Sleeping Beauty

2008-12-31T10:25:00.002-06:00

About a month or so ago, I thought we were never going to get a whole night's sleep again. For some reason (her doctor thinks seperation anxiety), Emily would wake up in the middle of the night, usually around 2, and scream as if a monster was sitting on her chest, eating her fingers. It was actually really scary the first time she did it. I remember bolting from bed and running to get her thinking there must be tarantulas swarming into the crib.

We had no idea what to do that first week so, of course, like a good mommy and daddy, we put her in the bed with us. Which worked fine until she fell back to sleep and would only stay asleep if she was in bed with us!

We did about three nights of ignoring the wailing which was really difficult to do but this week we realized just how much that paid off.

Now, we get her calmed down around bed time and get her a sippy and before she's drifted off, Scott goes and puts her in her crib while she's still awake. And you know what the most surprising part is? She doesn't even cry when we leave her in there. It's incredible. Actually, one day last weekend, we didn't rush right in the moment she whimpered in the morning (because mommy had stayed up too late and daddy was sick, okay? Not because we ignore our kid) and lo and behold, she got over the whimpers and was playing in her crib with Dylan (her teddy bear, not the dog).

It's so nice that we don't dread bedtime anymore. I'm sure that's cyclical and she'll have her time of hating bedtime again but for now . . . it's very nice.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T22:27:00.003-06:00

Tonight we celebrated Christmas at my mom and dad's house. We had a stinkin' blast. Everyone was so relaxed and really quite happy that we were able to just enjoy one another. Emmy, Hailee and Jackson received some fantastic gifts. So did the grown ups! Among other things, Emmy and Hailee flipped out over the gifts "Santa" left for them at Marmie and Papa's house. Check it out:

Emmy got a pony!

Hailee got a castle!

Have an amazing Christmas, everyone! Be blessed.

Finally. . . a birthday/birthweekend slide show

2008-12-10T22:11:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to all . . .

2008-12-10T20:36:00.001-06:00

After a "woopsie" at the printer, we've decided to go the electronic route for Christmas cards (again) this year. Plus, it's environmentally friendly. What more could you ask for?

Merry Christmas!

--
Leslie DeHart

-There has never been anything false about hope-

You're invited

2008-12-08T21:07:00.001-06:00

--
Leslie DeHart

-There has never been anything false about hope-

Birthday photos

2008-12-04T15:03:00.007-06:00

I keep thinking I'm going to have time to sit down, pull birthday photos from my camera, enhance, fix and post them here . . . but I haven't found time yet. Finals are right around the corner and I'm CRAMMING!

However . . . I DO have birthday photo shoot photos to show everyone (not that there's anyone left who reads the blog and HASN'T seen the photos! lol)

Here are Mommy's favorites:

I will have photos from her party posted ASAP. Honestly. . . . I swear!

Happy Birthday, Da-Da

2008-12-01T08:41:00.001-06:00

It's Scott's birthday today! I must say, when we first got together, I thought, geez, it's gonna be hard making his birthday special when it's wedged right between Thanksgiving and Christmas but now we have Emily's birthday, Thanksgiving, Scott's birthday, and Christmas. It's a lot to do in a short time.

He's taken the day off today to enjoy some down time. I have to hand it to him, he's the first to pop up out of bed when Emily cries at night and the head bottle maker at our house so he stays busy. It's good that he gets some time off today. He got his gift from his dad and Susan yesterday so he's planning on getting himself a birthday present and then maybe see a movie. I'm sure it will be an uplifting art film. Yeah right!! lol.

Tonight it's dinner, presents and cake. I just hope he's a little cleaner with his than Emily was with hers!

Happy birthday, babe! I love you!!

Shh!

2008-11-29T14:44:00.000-06:00

So I go to the pharmacist and pick up Emmy's scrip for her ear infection and now I have to listen to the pharmacist tell me how she doesn't usually see kids in their system as much as Emily. Thank you. I needed to hear that you think I have a sickly child. Argh!

Busy busy day!

2008-11-29T13:41:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting at taco bell waiting for food and thought I'd update. Today's to do list?

-take Emmy to the doc: she's got a cold and a bit of an ear infection but she'll live.
-stop to order birthday balloons and whadda ya know they're out of kids birthday balloons. Great.
-take Emmy home, head out again to pick up Scott's birthday present.
-get glasses fixed.
-drive to another party store and order balloons for tomorrow.

Still have to hit dollar tree and the grocery store. What a day!!

Birthday fun comes to an end

2008-11-26T20:16:00.000-06:00

It's the end of the day. We've made it safely to ardmore and had a dinner of catfish, potatoes and beans (though Em mostly had pickles and now smells like a jar of vlasic).

After a bath with the cous, it's sleepy night night time because I have one exhausted birthday girl.

I don't know if it meant anything to her but Scott and I had an amazing day with Emily.

Heading home

2008-11-26T13:48:00.000-06:00

We stopped by the bank on the way home (to take out a loan to pay for birthday-palooza, lol) and Emily needed to be entertained. I know it looks like daddy's bein' mean but he's not. Emmy loves it when you pay her mouth so she can make "ba ba ba" sounds. Hehe.

A near named Dylan!

2008-11-26T13:11:00.000-06:00

Emily made her build a near today and when they asked us what we wanted to name it, we could only come up with one thing... DYLAN!

(that's my dad's dog's name and Emily is very fond of saying it)

Onward we go!

2008-11-26T12:18:00.000-06:00

Pictures are done (and will be awesome when we get them) and we're headed to build-a-bear (or bunny we haven't decided)

Birthday biscuits!

2008-11-26T09:40:00.000-06:00

We're at Cracker Barrel having some biscuits and apple butter. Every birthday girl's dream!

(author's note-just after taking this photo, Emily tore into a pad of butter and used it as finger paint to decorate our table. We'll be tipping well today!)

Birthday visitors

2008-11-26T08:53:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday from Hailee, Jackson, Aunt Courtni, and Marmie! We had surprise visitors this morning and let Emmers open a present!

Now we're off to have breakfast and then take some pictures. Birthday-palooza is officially underway!

The busy life of a birthday girl

2008-11-26T06:13:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday to Emily!! Her first activity of the day? Shredding toilet paper! Yippee

Multimedia message

2008-11-25T12:34:00.000-06:00

Mommy's trying out blogging via blackberry! And Courtni thinks NATHAN spends too much time on his phone. Lol

Last day as an 11 month old

2008-11-25T10:58:00.002-06:00

Today is Em's last day as a "month old" baby . . . Tomorrow she turns one. I cannot believe it. The year has flown by. I'm hoping to get a good slideshow posted late (very late) tonight so that everyone can see just how our baby girl has grown.

I have to admit I'm sad to see this milestone get here. Sure, I'm being melodramatic but . . .first she turns 1, then she turns 16 and starts driving and wanting to date boys, then she's gonna move out and get married and AAACK! I don't know how my parents did this with two little girls. I just want to keep Emily small and cuddly (though she's not much for cuddling lately because she's mommy's independent little whipper snapper) for as long as I can.

I look at Hailee and see how much she already does on her own and it blows me away. I can't wait to see Emily take her first steps or start talking but then again . . . it just gets us closer to boys and cars and moving out! Ugh.

I mean, look at this! How big and beautiful is my daughter??!???!

Pictures . . . well worth the wait, I promise

2008-11-17T16:40:00.003-06:00

First . . . a photo of the tutu I promised to show you:

And THEN . . .because she is so very cute . . . pictures of baby cousin Kylin!

Here's another!

What a cute li'l punkin! If nothing else, Scott and I are related to some beautiful babies!!

Christmas lists

2008-11-06T14:06:00.002-06:00

I just think that sometimes, pictures are worth a thousand words . . .

I used to do a powerpoint presentation of what I wanted that included where to purchase it, what the price was. . .it was a very thoughtful presentation of my wishlist that I hoped made it easier for my loved ones to buy me stuff. :)

Here's this year's scaled down version:

Emmy's Tutu

2008-11-06T12:43:00.002-06:00

Okay, so after months of talking about it and days of looking online for a great deal, I finally just purchased the materials to make Emily a tutu for her birthday pictures. It's going to be two shades of pink and one of white (because white really only comes in one shade. . .), then I have ribbons to go with it and one little surprise that will be totally awesome if I can get it to work right.

Pictures will, of course, be posted immediately unless it turns out to be a hideous monstrosity that should never see the light of day! lol.

New additions

2008-11-05T12:24:00.006-06:00

I have photos! Not a ton just because my camera battery died this morning while I was trying to upload them . . . But here's a few.

Emmy with her daddy and her Auntie Dee. She had so much fun at the hospital surrounded by people to watch. Her favorite was to stare at Grandpa DeHart.

Aunt with the new little cuddle bug. Yeh, that's Uncle Scott's finger in the top left. He's getting photography lessons soon, I promise.

Uncle Scott with his second niece! How precious!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-04T16:19:00.011-06:00

Emily and her first candy of the evening. . .

Hailee was a little pooped out by the time we walked the neighborhood.

Jackson was carried around the neighborhood in a manner befitting his prince of the family position. :)

Papa's always good at helping ladybugs fly!

Marmie and her girls on the front porch!!

I was reminded today that I've not yet posted pictures from Emily's first Halloween so I'm posting some now. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the day!

Happy Birthday, Kylin Marie!

2008-11-04T13:27:00.002-06:00

Well we are just bustin' out all over with babies this fall. This morning, Kylin Marie Priddy joined the family. Proud parents Kyle and Linden are doing well and Kylin seems to be very happy to be out in the world.

She hasn't met Aunt Leslie or Uncle Scott yet but we're headed up after work to introduce ourselves. I bet she can hardly wait!

Wait. . . weight. . . OH! Weight and height! She weighed 6 lbs, 4oz and was 19 inches long. I've been told she has a ton of dark hair but then so did her Cousin Emily who is now a blondie so you never can tell where that's going to head.

I'll post pictures later tonight!

Congratulations to Grandma and Grandpa DeHart, Grandma and Grandpa Priddy (who have another little grandbaby due in December), Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Jeff (who will be welcoming said baby in December), Jason, Val, Jamie, MeMaw (Cathi), Tom, Coop, and Mack. I know everyone is thrilled that Miss Kylin Marie is here, safe and sound.

Christmas cookies and Boogers

2008-10-29T11:23:00.002-05:00

So tonight I'm headed to a class that I have to take in order to make up my "I" from last semester when I had to back out of school to have Emily. I am less than thrilled to be in this class. I liken it to being a senior in college and someone realizing that woops! you didn't take Freshman Introduction to College Life and you'll have to sit through the course to graduate. While the professor is very good and seems quite knowledgeable. . . you're still in a class with freshmen!

I'm in class last week, minding my own business, taking notes, etc. We started talking about food safety (the course is Environmental Health) and food additives. Turns out, before there was an FDA, people used coal dust and alum to color foods. Not a good idea.

So the professor asks this question: "What other foods do we eat every day that are dyed?"

Without missing a beat, the lady behind me answers, "Christmas cookies?!"

I had to duck behind my computer screen so that the teacher didn't see me giggling. Honestly? Christmas cookies? How'd you get into a graduate program?

Later that same night, we were discussing foodborne illnesses and the professor mentions that there is one strain of staphylococcus that is probably present in everyone's body. He said that if he swabbed the inside of all our noses, he'd probably find it.

SAME LADY: "So do we need to be concerned about people who pick their nose and eat it?"

Wow. I mean . . . Wow.

The professor, who breezed right past the Christmas cookie comment without response, was then sucked into a discussion which ended when he, a PhD level professor at one of the best colleges of Public Health in the country said "Yes, it's okay to eat your boogers."

Honestly . . . I pay tuition for this. . . I miss out on time with my family for THIS. . .

And I'm going back again tonight. If nothing else, it's fodder for the blog!

Pictures from a lazy Sunday

2008-10-26T21:28:00.006-05:00

I have come to savor my Sundays because even during weeks when I have Friday or Saturday class, my Sundays are mine to share with my husband and daughter. I love them. Sundays and my husband and daughter. :)

This morning we started out our day with bath time. Except that my head was hurting and I didn't savor the idea of leaning over the tub so we tried the kitchen sink instead. :)

Cute, right? Did I mention that she's 11 months old today? I can't even comprehend the fact that my kiddo will be a year old in a month. I try not to get all emotional about the things that have just flown by but holy cow. . . she's a YEAR old in a month. Wow.

Okay, back to pictures. . . here's another great one. I folded about five loads of laundry today (yes, I was a little behind) and Emily wanted to help. Not sure how helpful this was but it was definitely cute!