How she sleeps

Our video monitor is one of our most favorite luxuries.  It is fun to be able to "spy" on our Emma girl and watch her be herself while she does not know we are watching.  

For her afternoon nap today, after one hour of tossing and turning, and after throwing *everything* out of her crib (Bunny, Monkey and her blanket), she finally fell asleep.  And this is what she looked like -- (the hand eventually came down, but the leg remained sticking out for quite some time after).

Then tonight we peeked at her again and this is what we found -- (oh my!)

In Athens

We went to visit my sister in Athens this past Saturday.  It had been over two months since we'd last seen her.  She had won a $50 gift card a while back to an oriental restaurant and wanted to use it to treat us out.  So sweet!

We enjoyed our meal together, while Emma enjoyed ignoring hers.  By the end of our time there, 80% of her food was on the floor along with three torn us napkins.  *sigh*

 Being the geniuses that we are, though we paid our parking meter one hour worth of time, we did not set it up correctly and ended getting a $10 ticket for it.  

Tia Alison welcomed Emma girl with a sweet welcoming sign in Spanish.

 

It was a fun trip!  Glad to get to spend time with my lil' sis.

 

Life with a one year old

Blogging and picture taking have recently become secondary in my life.  I am now a part time graduate student (in addition to being a full time mommy).  I am also slowly realizing that though I am a full time stay-at-home-mom, between MOPS, school, tutoring, and (trying to go)/going to the gym twice a week, I am not spending much time with my little girl as I used to.  (This is a sad realization, but beside my point).  Hence, not as many pictures, not as many moments to capture.

But in addition to time being an issue, life with a one year old has taken a turn for the worse.  Yes, I've got stories to share, but they are not the stories I wish to share.

You see, my Emma girl seems to want to drop her morning nap, but she hasn't quite made up her mind about it.  This then results in a very grumpy baby girl.  She is very much fond of her daddy (and her Memma!) and will cry when mommy comes to take her.  She does not like me to change her diaper or change her clothes, or sit still in the grocery cart, and will throw a fit until she gets her way... this means she'll also bite, yes, BITE me on my shoulder until she gets her way.

*sigh*

But don't you worry about me.  I just share this to inform you (and to remind myself later in life) of how things are in the Morris household these days.  I've got four teaching years of experience with unruly children under my belt -- I think I can handle this one!

But there are also sweet moments that I want to be able to remember:
-  The way she crunches her nose and mouth in imitation of a bunny.
-  The way she extends her arms up at me when I go into her room to pick her from her nap.
-  The way she signs for milk or food.
-  The way she stretches out Bunny at me because she wants to share his softness.
-  The way she takes her medicine and then claps at herself when she knows she has done a great job taking it.
-  The way she gladly follows me around the house, crawling from one end to the other within seconds.
-  The way her cheeks weigh down when she is still and is concentrated looking at something in her hands.
-  The way she says "bye bye" at people.
-  The way she smiles.
-  The way she likes to keep mommy company in the kitchen.

My baby girl enjoying her new swing in the yard.

Pig tails

I am realizing I am becoming quite bad at taking pics since we got back from our trip.  Having said that, it's been a fun, fun, fun week for us.  It's been great having my baby girl back in my arms every day.  She is such a sweet companion.  Will almost always be content just following me around the house or running off to her room all by herself to play.

Her hair has become very long and a bow will no longer stay in very long (she pulls it off), so I've been starting to put pig tails on her.  She suddenly looks so much bigger in them.

While Byron was getting ready yesterday morning, he noticed Emma just laying on our bed, with his watch on one of her hands and "putting on" some of Mommy's chaptsick.  So chill, yet so silly!

 

Georgia Aquarium

We hit the ground running as soon as we returned from our vacation.  The very next day after arriving home, we drove 2.5 hours to Atlanta to meet my cousin Farizet and her family and visit the aquarium with them.  This was the first time Emma and (three months younger) Sarah met.

They enjoyed talking and sharing their food with each other during lunch time.

And then watching the fish swim by.

Fary is two years older than me.  We are two out of 20 Charruf cousins.  Our dad's are/were brothers -- two out of seven siblings.  

I found out yesterday that her and her husband had full intentions of naming their own girl Emma until Emma herself was born three months earlier.  They opted to not have two Emmas in the family and named their girl Sarah instead.

Rich, Sarah, Emma and me.  

 Uncle Rich became Emma's best friend because he kept giving her Maria cookies to eat.  My baby girl may have some Mexican in her after all :)

The six of us before we said goodbye.  

Hilton Head Island

After two nights at Charleston we drove to HHI for three nights.  It was a fun and relaxing time there.  Our time there was spent eating out, going to the beach, swimming in the pool, riding bikes, and going to the movies.

Eating some seafood.

Riding bikes.  Probably the highlight of all four of us.  So fun!

We decided to go out with a "BANG" our last night together, so we drove one hour to Savannah, GA on Thursday night to eat at The Lady & Sons -- restaurant owned by Paula Deen.

Well hello, Sean-ee!

There was some sort of party going on on the streets of Savannah that night, so we decided to join in.

Saying goodbye to HHI the morning before departure.

Charleston part 2

Shopping for fudge.  Yum!

After dinner one night, we stopped at Haagen Daz for some very yummy ice cream.

At the market purchasing our souvenirs. 

 Memma kept us posted with Emma happenings by texting pictures of her.  I would stop anything and everything I was doing to savor those sweet images.

Taking a break from our walk around town.

Charleston with the Kelleys

Happy five years of marriage to us (and the Kelleys)!

The four of us celebrated our five years of marriage by going to Charleston and Hilton Head Island for a full week.  This was our third trip together in three years.  

Our time together started off with the Kelleys staying at home with us.  We sent Byron and Sean to the grocery store one night for some milk and they came back with two dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  It was worth a shot :)

Once settled in Charleston, we went out for a nice dinner and walked around the town.

Our first breakfast at Charleston. 
Labor Day = long lines at every restaurant = late breakfast = grumpy tourists.

At USS Yorktown after breakfast.

At Fort Sumter.

I was so exhausted by the end of the day, I ended up laying on the ground while the three others continued looking around.