Home Sweet Home

Tonight, a mom is taking her kids to their new home. I want to tell them that they are pretty darn lucky. If they get half the love, the joy, the excitements, even half the groundings, I did in that house, they will know it is a wonderful home.

I can't imagine what someone else will do in MY house. I should warn them that I never snuck out of there successfully. And the walls are pretty thin and my brother carved in the ceiling when he was on his top bunk bed. And that the back yard is a great place for a fort. And there is so much love already there and all they have to do is tap into it.

We Had a Holly Jolly Christmas!

We had so much fun this year! Emmy Ruth wasn’t sure what exactly was going on but she was very aware that she was getting lots of presents. I thought we did a good job of not getting too much for her, but apparently that was not the case. But, seeing her little face when she discovered the giant Minnie Mouse sitting on her tricycle or the kitchen that she can crawl into or the Aquadoodle where she can color, really brighten up any grinch’s day. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the girl. Of course, even after getting so many gifts, she still found time to play with my plastic bowls!!!

 

What a wonderful Christmas!!!!!

Oh we had such a great time!!! Emmy loved her kitchen that Santa brought her and so many people that love her gave her food and accessories for her new kitchen. She got lots of great toys and gifts but more than anything got lots of love. We are so happy and lucky!

A Week of Christmas Celebrations

Emmy is not going to know what is going on when the holidays are over and she isn’t getting presents all the time anymore! She had so much fun this weekend. On Saturday, we meet Julia and Joy for lunch and saw Mrs. Pat. Of course, Emmy got and gave presents. Then, we went to AunTee’s family Christmas party in Beedeville. Emmy and Lucas had so much fun. She was NOT impressed with the big guy in red however. She screamed when he came in the door and literally quivered until he left. Even after she got her present (twin babies! a boy and a girl!) she was beside herself. Lucas’s MiMi gave Emmy a baby doll set too, so she spent the entire night carrying all three babies around with her! This baby cries and on the way home Saturday night, Emmy was asleep but as she slept, she would squeeze the baby and that darn thing would cry out. The first time it happened, I almost jumped out of the car.

 

Then on Sunday, John’s family came to visit and brought her a Yo Gabba Gabba explosion. Not only did she get the Dancing Brobee, she got two new t-shirts, a hoodie, a hat and gloves. And she insisted on wearing all of them at the same time, hence why she looks so disheveled in the pictures. There is a picture of me somewhere when Grandma Jackson made me six new pairs of shorts and I insisted on wearing them all at the same time. I know that Momma is chuckling at our little Emmy Ruth right now. Her granddad got her a tricycle too. Of course, she is wearing all of her layers and carrying Baby while learning to ride it.

 

These pictures are some of my favorites from the weekend. In one of them, she is talking to Baby and saying “Hello there, Baby!” and in another, she is addressing her Christmas cards.

 

Ah, what a silly chicken she is. I can hardly wait until Christmas morning. John and I are just giddy to see what she thinks of what Santa Claus is bringing her. I am going to get off early on Christmas Eve so we are going to bundle up and stay at home all night and then all day Christmas Day. What a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Christmas this will be!

 

Baby

Oh how Emmy Ruth loves this very ugly baby that was mine when I was little!!

Twenty Two Months

Oh, my Sweet Petite….  What a month this has been! Emmy Ruth has changed from a baby to a little girl right before our very eyes. And, amazingly enough in spite of the example she got from me, she is a wonderful little mommy. All of her babies get love, they get diaper changes, they get feedings and they all get put down for night-night. It is the absolute sweetest thing to watch. The funniest thing is Emmy with her phone. She cracks me up talking on it! The other night, we were in the car and I heard “Becca? {pause} Awe, man!” I am not sure what her Aunt Becca is telling her on these calls, but it must be wonderful because they “talk” all the time!

 

This weekend, she was sitting in Daddy’s lap with a swaddled Baby and Rudy climbed up in the chair and sat on Baby’s head. Emmy LET.HIM.HAVE.IT! She pointed at that cat and all we could make out was when she pointed at his tail and exclaimed “That’s where Rudy boo-boos!”. Such the overprotective mommy. How dare the putt his booboo on her baby’s head??? I don’t blame her one bit. I would be upset if someone came and sat on Emmy’s head as well.

 

We were in her room playing, me sitting on the fairy toddler bed and John in the Barbie desk as instructed, and she was playing with her Justice League bop bag. She pointed at Wonder Woman and said “Mama!” and then pointed at Superman and said “Daddy!”. Of course, we told her that she was absolutely right, she did live with Wonder Woman and Superman in the very same house and she was a very lucky little girl. I am trying to teach her our names, just in case, God forbid, something ever happens. I ask what is Daddy’s name and she looks at me as if I were just stupid and says “Daddy”. I am waiting on her to add the “duh” at the end, any moment now. Last night as she was trying to go to sleep, she told me that she needed milk and that Baby needed a diaper so I asked what Mama needed. And she replied “Daddy”. How right she is… I need Daddy more than she will never know.

 

Daddy is the one that keeps us all sane around here. I scratched Emmy under her eye Friday night and I feel so very badly. Lately, she really has had an aversion to me, wanting anyone but me.  If her AunTee is around, I might as well go ahead and sit out in the front yard by myself, she will have nothing to do with me, going so far as to call her “Mommy”. At first it was cute. Now, weeks later, it is starting to really hurt my feelings. In the rare instances that Emmy comes to me and grabs my hand and says “come on!”, I just melt and jump at the chance to be the chosen companion. In my zest to make our playtime fun, I was flipping her around and she hurt something, I am still not sure what. She ran to her daddy and there were lots of tears—by both his girls.

 

Who knew that being so very happy and so very sad could come from one little girl?  She absolutely is our everything and we are so thankful and so lucky to have spent the most wonderful 22 months with her.

 

 

 

Christmas Parade

I would love to say how much Emmy Ruth loved the Christmas parade but I can’t since she wouldn’t speak to me—it was all about her AunTee. They had a great time watching the parade together.

 

Christmas humor

Last night, we could not find Emmy for a bit. Turns out, she was guarding the presents under the tree. By sitting on them. And opening all the gifts that were in gift bags.

 

Tara walked in a found Lucas unwrapping a present, singing “Happy Birthday to Me”. It was time to tell him whose birthday it really was!

 

We have had a big girl bed setback. Last night, Emmy went to sleep in her bed but fell out of it. John heard her fall and went in there and the poor little thing was just shaking, she was so scared. I am not sure if she rolled out or if she was trying to get out to come into our bed and got tangled up in the sheets. I am not sure what this will mean for tonight’s bedtime routine. Fingers crossed.

Precious Moments

Is there anything more precious than taking your princess to her first ballet? My friend Shannon works at AutoZone and they were invited to see The Nutcracker final dress rehearsal last night at the Orpheum before the show starts today. She invited Emmy and I to go along with her mother Peggy (my friend and boss and “Giggy” to Emmy). I was really worried that we might not make it through the first scene with our rambunctious girl but she was wonderful. She loved it! The entire first act, she sat relatively still and watched, pointing, “oohing” and “aahing”, and clapping at all the right moments. It was so very special. Momma used to tell me about all the times she and Daddy took me to see The Nutcracker and I slept through it. I know that Yia Yia was so proud of our girl for being so grown up last night. Of course, I sat there with Emmy in my lap, wearing her shirt with ballet shoes on it, kissing her hair and thinking of how lucky we are, and had tears in my eyes. Emmy kept whispering “No, Mama” when I squeezed her too tightly or nuzzled her neck a little too much.

 

And then we got home and she promptly ditched me to play drums with her Daddy.

 

Christmas photos

We took our Christmas photos this week and here are a few of my favorites. You can’t really see Bill in the one that she is petting her, but I just love the smile on Emmy’s face.

Burton Family Tree

The older I get, the more I feel like I am trapped in a Griswold movie.  After decorating the tree, I tried to put a rather large gift in the back and pushed it over. John came running to help and as I we lifted it up, the piece that fits in the top snapped and broke. And yes, we tried to duct tape it back together. I am sad since the tree was Momma’s and it’s a lovely tree, but it’s a huge tree and really was way too big for my living room. I have wanted a taller, thinner tree or a real tree for a while so I guess it’s not a horrible thing.

 

We are going to celebrate Christmas this year with our half tree. Emmy will always remember this anyway…

Welcome to the Wonderful World of One, Julia!

On Saturday, we went to Wynne to celebrate Julia’s first birthday! I can’t believe it’s already been a year since she arrived. Emmy had only been here a few months when Joy called with her fabulous news.  It was amazing to think that the two of us—after so long—were going to be mommies together. It’s a beautiful thing that Joy is one of my dearest friends after her mother was one of Momma’s dearest friends. Julia, Emmy is available to chat any time you are ready… We love you!

More Tales of the Bed.

So, last night, Emmy fell asleep in our room and I took her into her room. She of course woke up so I crawled into her fancy dancy fairy bed with her (it’s a Thanksgiving miracle that the darn thing didn’t collapse) until she went back to sleep. She slept all night long in her room without waking up once! I, on the other hand, was up almost all night missing her. About 4am, I asked John, who was also awake without his snuggle bunny, if this was how it was going to feel when she left to go to college. Hopefully I can get used to this soon!

 

Thankful for a kids' table--especially the kids part

Finally! A thanksgiving dinner with a kids’ table and I am not sitting there! Aha! So, this is what it feels like! The Jacksons (sans Linda who was out of town but we missed her!) came over yesterday for Thanksgiving and we had a great time. Emmy and Solomon sat at a little table that was Momma’s when she was a little girl. I say that they sat there, more like they  came to the table to pick up food so that they could ‘graze’ while they continued to play. As seen in the pictures, Emmy really likes ketchup.

 

The kids had great fun playing outside afterwards—riding Emmy’s fourwheeler, getting pushed in the Beetle, getting pulled in the wagon and playing at the sandtable.

 

I am so, so thankful for these beautiful children. And for all of the people that love them so very much.

 

Worth the fight

Well, she fought it and we stood our ground and she is napping in her bed!!

Big girl bed

Not sure how tonight will go but for now she loves her big girl bed.

I want that!!

Every commercial that comes on Emmy says "I want that!" I was afraid it was going to be a really expensive Christmas. Then, a Bare Minerals makeup commercial and said she wanted it too.

Me to Emmy: "are you supposed to be in that?"
Emmy: "NO"
Me: "No what?"
Emmy: "NO MA'AM!"

It's a beautiful, chilly morning!

Last night, we got home really late because I got stuck in traffic heading to get Emmy Ruth. She was having so much fun when I got there that we played the whole way home. She had worn a sweat suit to the sitter so we didn’t have a coat to deal with before getting in the car. We were singing to her Sunday School CD and the song “I’ve got Joy” was playing and she would sing out “WHERE?” and I would sing back “Down in my heart!” and she thought that was the funniest thing ever.

 

This morning she woke up on her own about 15 minutes before her normal time so we got to hang out and cuddle on the couch for a while before we left home. It seemed to make a big difference. That and I let her wear her hot pink hard hat that she got in Gulf Shores to hunt for crabs. Apparently, it’s all in the little things.

Fighting a battle--and losing

I very vividly remember a conversation with a coworker when he first started working with us. He was telling me about his two year old son and how the night before he was having trouble getting him to brush his teeth. Of course, I didn’t say this, but all I could think was, “What do you mean? He’s two! Make him do it”. Apparently, even thoughts can come back and bite you. 

 

Now, Emmy’s favorite new word is “NO!” I am trying not to act like it bothers me, because I don’t want to encourage it so I simply say, “No what?” and get her to say “No, ma’am”. I feel it’s a fair trade. She can be a little snot but, by God, she better be a polite little snot.  Last night, Tara and Lucas came over to play. Emmy refused to even converse with me, going so far as to tell ME to stop dancing during Yo Gabba Gabba! and sitting in Tara’s lap and calling her “mommy”. I know that she doesn’t see Tara as much as she sees boring old Mama but I can’t help that it did sting a little. Lucas of course, was the little genius the entire time reciting the states for us, so he couldn’t have cared less. After they left and Emmy was properly bathed, she wouldn’t let me put a diaper on her. I debated the theory of just holding her down and doing it but decided for the sake of everyone’s sanity, I would just let John do it, that she was happy to oblige.

 

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

I know that she is just becoming independent and testing her boundaries, and of course she loves me.

 

(… I am just going to keep repeating it so that I don’t get too perturbed!)

 

 

 

We kissed and made up

After Emmy spending all night enamored with her daddy, she finally woke up this morning and was okay with me again. She told me she loved me and we bought snacks for her to take to MeeMee’s today. All must be well in her little world again.

 

Every day when we get home, I ask “who lives here” as we pull into the driveway and every day she says “Daddy”. I ask “and Mama? And Emmy?” All I get in return is “no, Daddy”. What is it with little girls and their daddies? It’s pretty darn sweet.

 

Hiding

I am in the bathroom right now hiding from an Emmy tantrum. If she has snapped "no!" once she has a thousand times. She brought me a stackful of books and when I asked if she wanted me to read them she screamed "NO!". Alrighty.... Only sixteen and a half years to go.

Twenty one months

I love love love that when I whisper “I love you” to Emmy, she whispers it back to me and then we give each other Eskimo kisses. It’s quite possibly my favorite thing these days. Sometimes I think that I just don’t realize how many words and phrases that she does say until I sit down and try think of them. She has certainly got “come on, daddy” down pretty close to perfect. She says it all the time and she wants him with her everywhere she goes and for all she does. The other night, John was installing pedestals under the washer and dryer in the basement for me so Emmy and I were hanging out down there, just in case he got trapped under a massive pile of laundry. There is an old chest that was actually my mother’s grandmother’s that I just couldn’t get rid of when we cleaned the house in Wynne. It is in the basement as Emmy’s dress up chest now, with all of Grandma Jackson’s costume jewelry in it. I turned around and Emmy was standing in the middle of her play area wearing about twenty necklaces and needing help getting more of them untangled. She is definitely a little girl—thank goodness, I don’t know what I would do with a tomboy!

 

There is a new Barbie commercial out for the holidays that makes me cry every time I see it. There are several women my age talking about having Barbies when they were kids and one even described the Barbie mansion that I had as a kid! At the end, a little voice says “Mommy, will you play Barbie with me?” and I immediately jump up to grab and kiss Emmy—knowing that all too soon, that little voice of hers is going to be a memory since she is growing up so quickly already.

 

We are still in Yo Gabba Gabba! heaven around here. We watch it daily and still get the same excitement from it.  She wore a shirt with Brodee on it the other day and when I held it up to put on her, she exclaimed “BABBA!” The best part is that when John or I dance to it, she gets mad and tells us to stop. I suppose that is the terrible twos coming a little early.

 

Last night, she wouldn’t let me get into my own bed. Yes, I know, yes, she needs to get out of our bed but she is still sleeping with us. Last night, she patted her pillow and said, “Night, night Daddy” but when I got in bed, she said “NO!” I ended up having to put her in time out because she continued at it for a while. I can’t help but giggle at her in time out, she’s so dramatic! I wonder where she gets that from… her Yia Yia, of course.

Just a normal Saturday

We are getting hardwood floors in our dining and living rooms and hallway today. Emmy, John and I are hiding out in the basement while the work is taking place. Of course, Emmy has all of her costume jewelry on at the same time. And then Daddy had to wear them as well and I am getting bejeweled as I type this.

Socks

Emmy's birthday post will be coming soon for her 21st month. I didn't feel like I could do it right now. I have been sick for two weeks now and found out yesterday I have pneumonia. Argh! I put on momma's red hat socks this morning to see if that made me feel better and it has worked well, I am sure that is why anyway.

Weekend plans are to stay in the house and keep Emmy and John well.
Q

Weekends at AunTees

Emmy stayed with the Salinas family Saturday night. They had a wonderful time!

The Purse again

MeMaw took a nap today holding her purse in her sleep. Pre nap photo-this is how she dresses on Mama's vacation day.

The Purse

Emmy just emptied her purse on to my bed. There were several crayons, a bracelet, a toy phone and fried rice. I can't tell you the last time we had Chinese food so I am little frightened. That silly pink purse goes every where she goes. Right now, she is sitting on my lap with it while I try to type. Because I am off tomorrow for Veteran's Day, I went ahead and took a vacation day today as well. Since I am home, I thought we could work on wearing big girl panties. She sits on her little potty with her purse right beside her on the floor.

Aunt Pat, you did a great job picking out this purse!!!

Happy Birthday, Momma

I can't believe that it has been three years since you got the floors and windows replaced in your house--because you had just turned sixty and got your first retirement check. I can't believe that it's been three years since you started acting strange. Oh, the things that I wish you had been here to see. I miss you every day and today I told Emmy Ruth that it was your birthday and we sang the birthday song just for you. I love you....

Catching up...

Have I mentioned how busy we have been lazy? I can't tell you what we have been doing but it seems like we are short on time always. I think that Emmy is not quite adjusting to the fall weather--she is so hard to wake up in the mornings these days. But, we have managed to make time to have a little fun here and there.

On Halloween, Emmy dressed up as a pink poodle to go to MeeMee's for the day. She was stinking adorable. Then on Friday night, we went to a party at Neall and Becca's. It was so much fun to see everyone. Of course, I don't know what was wrong with me but I took few to no pictures. But, I did get this one. We tried to get one of them all together and they were having nothing of it but I love it that Emmy is holding sweet Julia's toe in this picture. I can see Emmy's YiaYia holding Julia's JeeJee's hand thinking, "surely we can get through this!"

The rest of the weekend, we managed to hang out at home, or at least close to it. We took a big walk around our neighborhood and decided to let Emmy walk for a little instead of riding in the stroller. She decided to go into the street so that was the end of it. Then, of course, she screamed and screamed to get out again. Which lead to John and I 'screaming' about what to do about her screaming! My theory: she'll quit eventually! His theory: my sweet girl is crying--I must hold and comfort her! So, he walked, carrying Emmy, about six feet ahead of me and the empty stroller the rest of the way home. We are going to try again this weekend if the weather permits... wish us luck!

It's Fall, Ya'll!

Oh we have been so busy that I haven't even had time to write. Once I got home from SF, Emmy has kept me on my toes. We went to the pumpkin patch and she and Lucas had a fabulous times. They had a petting zoo and pig races and corn mazes but also a little hay maze for the kiddos. All kinds of fun.

This was as close as we got to the pony ride. She almost lost her mind when I put her on that pony!! She was all about it until we got there and then, well, things didn't go so well. We even called Dadoo in for reinforcement but no luck.It is hard to get a good measurement on how tall they are with the hugging and all, but it's safe to say that they are edging up on 3 feet tall!

And then of course, you have to carve the pumpkin. Here Emmy is helping Dadoo. "Emmy, how do the pumpkin insides feel?" "Blah!""Emmy, what do you think of Mama's carving?" "Ohhh! Amazing!"Be careful! Pumpkin inards are slimy!!!!But, the best part of this week is our sweet Lucas's second birthday. That boy is part genius, part prankster and all around lovable. I remember the day that sweet boy arrived as if it were yesterday--Tara the whole time trying to convince me that it really wasn't that painful (I was 5 months pregnant!) I couldn't believe how perfect and tiny he was and here he is, just as perfect but not so tiny. And a darn good little golfer! He got a hole in one at his party!

And this picture is so sweet to me... Teri Ann is Jorge's little sister and I remember when I was hanging out with all those Cross County boys, going to BearKat (her mom worked there at the time) and TA would come running up to give me a huge hug everytime I came in the store. And now, here she is, a beautiful, independant young lady. I like to think I have a part in that--:).