Hamilton, Ontario

Issa has a nice swing set in her back yard. Emily enjoyed swinging.
She even mastered the Big Girl Swing!

That evening we went to a lookout that showed an awesome view of Hamilton. That glow in the sky there is lightening.

Emily and Sage watched the lightening from the window.
Joshua read the girls a story.

Timmy's

After we got into Canada, my friend Issa pulled into a Tim Hortons and asked if we'd been there before. No, we hadn't, what is it? It's the place to get coffee that also has pastries and sandwiches. And they're EVERYWHERE!!! You don't have to go far to find one.

So, the next morning while Issa was at work, Rob, Emily and I walked to a Tim Hortons to get breakfast. Well, actually, by the time we got around to it, it was lunchtime, but anyway...we got our Timmy on! Pretty good food!
Look at the size of their cookies! Yummy for my tummy! (Notice the Canadian quarter I used for the size reference)

We're Back!

Whew, what a fun trip! We had such a super time in Canada and we met some amazing people while up there. The wedding was beautiful and I have SO MANY photos to go through. I'll post highlights as I go through them.

Here is Emily and her new friend Sage. They hit it off immediately. Emily calls her "My Sage!"

Sage and her brother Joshua. He was so good with the girls. He's a good big brother!

The girls enjoyed climbing up the slide and then sliding back down.
Look at Sage's curly hair! It was so beautiful and soft!

Still Up Yonder

Sorry I haven't posted photos. We've been without access for a couple of days (talk about major withdrawal!)

We are having a super terrific time and I can't wait to share photos with you. I'm sitting in the hotel lobby using their wireless access because it's the only spot to connect. It's late and I still need to iron my clothes and clean equipment for tomorrow's photo shoot.

I'm excited about the wedding tomorrow, but I'm in desperate need of extra prayers. I'm so nervous I'll mess up and I'm also scared that I'll get pooped before the ceremony even begins.

Oh! Canada!

Hey! I'm blogging from another country today! It seems strange to type that. We are in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. And it's beautiful!

Rob, Emily and I got on a plane early yesterday morning and flew into Cleveland, Ohio, and then caught another plane to Buffalo, NY, and my friend, Issa, who lives in Hamilton, picked us up at the airport and drove us to Canada. Long trip, but it's so great to be here.

I'll update with photos later. I haven't taken many, but believe me, it's pretty here. Think northern California. We passed many vineyards on the way to Issa's and it really made me think of NapaValley.

So, eh, I'll update later, eh.

Under 100 Days to Go!

Eeeek! And holy freak!

This belly pic is from last week. I forgot to post it.

I haven't taken this week's pictures yet.

And here is Emily smelling the flowers from our garden. In her nightgown.

Some Things

Emily loves playing with her friend Elizabeth. She calls her "Wibby". So cute. They chase each other around and scream and laugh and hug. It's cute.
Elizabeth also likes to torment Emily with fake snakes.
We watch Toy Story nearly every day. Can you tell?

Here are the first peppers from our garden! They were small peppers, but they were so delicious in the fajitas we made.

'Scuse Me?

I told Emily this morning that we needed to brush her hair so it was out of her eyes. She waved her arms like an umpire calling a baserunner safe and said, "No, no, leave it alone!"

Where'd the 'tude come from?

Leeezard! And a Craft.

A couple mornings ago I saw this little guy in our kitchen. The cat was very interested in him and was batting him around a bit. He lost his tail, but I think they grow back. Right? Please say they do!

When Emily and I got back from our walk, the tail was gone. So either it hooked up with its body or the cat ate it.

Mom put in an order for personalized clothespin magnets to hold grandkids' pictures. I had a fun time making these.

Da Belly

I know, it's several days late, but better late than never, right?

And here's a better profile of the bump.
Oh goodness, my hips are hurting!!! I've been walking at least three times a week and maybe I overdid it Saturday. I don't know, but YOWCH! I feel very old. How many more weeks to go...? *sniff* Pity me. Or something.

Glasses for Emily

Talk about big cheese! She likes to wear her Potato Head glasses.
And carry around a purse.
So she's ready. For what, I'm not sure.

Blah...

1. Avery is a night owl. An all-night owl.
2. Rain is nice, during the day. I can't sleep with the thunder and pelting. It's not soothing, especially when it comes with muscle aches.
3. Toy Story is cool. Was cool. Was cool about ten viewings ago.
4. Since it's raining today, I won't be walking at the park. So I guess I'll do laundry. Blah.

Photo Updates, as Promised

I'm painting and gluing ribbon on clothespins. I'm planning on displaying Emily's artwork on a clothesline that will be in her room. I'm having way too much fun with these! I have more I'm working on and then I'll have to buy more clothespins. Anyone want any? Maybe I could make a buck or two...

"Cheese!" Oh goodness, I should have combed her hair before taking her picture. Oh well, I really had asked her earlier if she wanted a pigtail, but she said no. Plus, I didn't really feel like fighting with her to keep her still to get the hair thingy in her hair.

Her favorite saying, besides "Hey, what's that stuff?" is "Whaddya got?" And she repeats it over and over. It gets to the point where I'll just give her random answers, like, "Seven," or "Potato head." She just gives me funny looks and asks again.
Her hair is getting long!

I swear my belly feels bigger than it looks in this picture. It looks exactly the same as last week! What is up with that???

See? The bottle is TINY!!! She is so weird. When I brought it out to take a picture of it, she freaked. She freaked while I was taking the picture and she freaked when I walked through the room to put it back on the bathroom counter. And she continued to freak even after it was out of site and I had moved to the computer to download my photos.

Stuff

I've been keeping myself busy by...doing crafts! I know, it's not my usual thing, but I've come across several blogs that have inspired me to make stuff. I'll take photos later to show you what I've done.

I've been wanting to paint Emily's fingernails for some time now. I know *gasp* me wanting to do girlie things with my daughter. But anyway, I had bought this tiny little bottle of pink polish a couple months ago and I actually had misplaced it for a while, but I found it and had it on the bathroom counter. Emily kept seeing it and saying, "Hey, what's this stuff?" I explained it was paint for her fingernails. She'd keep seeing it each time we'd visit the bathroom (for me, not her) and she'd keep asking, "What's this stuff?" So I handed her the bottle. Guess what. She absolutely freaked out. Seriously. She wouldn't touch the bottle, wouldn't look at the bottle, so I'm guessing she won't be allowing me to paint her nails (unless she's asleep, heehee). She is so much like me, it's scary.

Nana bought Emily this I Spy book a couple weeks ago that has Disney movie friends and heroes in it. Emily loves this book and we read it every night before bed and at naptimes. So, I decided to see how she'd do watching some of these movies that the friends and heroes come from. Emily's not much for sitting through a movie, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Right now she is glued to the TV watching Toy Story. She recognizes the characters and gets very excited to see them animated. She's especially excited to see Buzz Lightyear.

My belly is still growing and growing. I think I've grown a lot since last week. I'll take a pic today. Avery moves and kicks often, which is too cool. I love that part of pregnancy. I don't like the heart burn or back aches or the feeling that my belly button is stretching beyond its limits and turning itself inside out. Other than those things, nothing is new.

22 Weeks

I guess I should post a pic of my belly. It's not that great of a shot, because I just KNOW I'm bigger than this. Unless my mirrors are lying. They're lying, aren't they? Stoopid mirrors. When I look in the mirror and see my buttockal area, I see an increase in acreage. And I see lots of growth in the belly area, too. Especially when I look down.

I'm going to wear these jeans in my series of belly shots for this pregnancy, just to see if I can. It should be interesting.

And The Baby's Name Is...

Avery Joy!

I've been going through Emily's old clothes (SUPER FUN!!!) and I'm just so excited for Avery to get here! Emily would see the baby clothes and say, "Cute! Aww! Avery!" I got the bottles and other feeding stuff out and Emily said, "Avery bottle!" So, her name is being used often now and I think we all feel it's a name that just fits.

Avery kicks a lot and moves a lot. I'm scared. Will she be like this outside? Eek! I can only imagine, especially with how Emily is now. Avery doesn't like it when I wear jeans and try to sit at the computer. Apparently my jeans are too small. She's already winning battles.

I'm just so excited to be having another girl. Not that I wouldn't have been thrilled to have a boy, though. Either way, I would be happy, but talking about "the girls" and their room and matching outfits warms my heart. Something else that warms my heart is when Emily is sitting next to me and she puts her hand on my tummy and Avery kicks or moves, maybe not so much that Emily feels, but I do and it's like they already have a bond. *sigh* I melt.

In other news, we've been working with Emily and her counting. When she counts, it's like this: "Two, by (five), two, by, two!" The other day mom, Emily and I were driving home from the store (most likely Walmart) and I was counting with Emily and she was repeating each number. Then we got to ten and she said ten, and then she started counting backwards! She got to seven and then counted up to eleven! I almost wrecked the car! She hasn't done it since, but I was absolutely amazed, especially since I rarely count past ten with her.

She's also learning the days of the week. The show Signing Time has a song for the days of the week and Emily can recite Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and then it starts over at Sunday. Sometimes she says them backwards, which freaks me out. She can say the other days if I say them first.

Oh, funny story (I seem to have lots of these lately). Yesterday I was cleaning the kitchen and Emily came in and put her foot on the wall and said, "I can't climb! Climb up there?" and she pointed to the ceiling. "Uh, no, you can't climb the walls, as much as you'd like to, silly girl." She sighed and walked away. All I can do is shake my head...

It's a GIRL!!!!!

Today we found out that we're having a girl! We are so excited! Now I can get the clothing bins down from the attic and start going through Emily's old newborn clothes! Eeeek! So fun! We're still working on a name, so hopefully that will be announced soon.

Coloring With Emily

Emily has been feeling very cranky and out of sorts lately. I'm not really sure what's going on, but it's getting old. Seriously.

Anyway, she asked to color today. She wanted to color Tigger's tail. But she ended up coloring Roo instead. But at least she could tell me which coloring book she wanted! Very cool.
I love her concentration here...

It's fuzzy, but to me it looks as if she's smoking her crayon. I don't know where she got this since she's not around anyone who smokes.

She told me she had a boogoo (a booger) and I guess the crayon helped get it out.

Soon after taking these pictures, she was yelling that she couldn't see. "I cate see! I cate see!" I hadn't put her hair in piggies yet and her hair was in her eyes. She can see now.

Oh, and she sings "Row, row, row your boat" now. Only this is how it goes:

Woah a boat

Woah a boat

Woah a boat

A streeeeam

Merry, merry, merry

Again.

July 4th Fireworks

We went to Aaron and Tammie's neighborhood fireworks show on Saturday. We've enjoyed the show that they put on. This year we went to a different spot and didn't have such a great view. Next year we're definitely going back to our old viewing spot!

Look, it's Jason! He came to watch the show with us.
Emily didn't enjoy the fireworks so much. She saw the first couple of sparks and then threw a fit for whatever reason.

Here are some highlights:

We hope you all had an enjoyable and safe Fourth! Update your blogs, people! (Like I can talk, right?)

Ugh!

When does this baby sleep???

It's now just after 8:30am and I've been awake since 1:30am and this baby has moved most of that time. I really, REALLY hope this isn't a sign of things to come. I'm tired.

Pity me...wah.