Holiday Spirit

Buddy, my dad, came over to help decorate the tree. Emory insisted that we all keep our hats on. You can't see him, but Brent's in reindeer antlers. And she's named that cute dog she's holding, "Puppy Jesus".

Rocky's a great co-pilot.

Emory's really into changing diapers. Puppy Jesus got his chance here.

"Ohhhhh! Mommy, like da shoooeeesss."

Drama Mama

Emory has taken to calling herself a "Drama Mama". She gets it from Brent. She sings all the time. Today it was, "Going to see Daddy....going to see Daddy."

She's very into emotions, especially "sad". "Mommy, Emory saaaadddd. Emory got tears....." wait for response and, "Emory HAPPY!!!!" The other day we went to Jumpoline, a big warehouse with a bunch of trampolines, with moms and kids her age from the neighborhood. At one point a boy fell on his face. He sat up and was a little woozy. Emory ran over, kneeled by him and said, "Oh, Marshall!! What happen??? Marshall sad. Oh. Come HERE." She stands ready for a hug. Marshall, who does not talk much yet, was understandable overwhelmed.

"Mommy!!! Go pool, PLEASE?? Got Emory's hat!"

Kissing Cousins

A few more Halloween pictures and a couple from Thanksgiving with our cousins.

Cousin Haven. Cousin Lincoln.

Some babies get hysterical in costume. Some go comatose.

Fall 2011

Austin's been great! We're actually pretty busy, hence the lack of blogging. Here are a few recent pictures. We did a trip to Georgia.

Cowgirl Emory discovered candy during Halloween and she LOVED it. Everyday for several weeks she asked for, "More condies???"

A Cupcake Day

When I was a kid and had a bad day my mom always made me feel better by taking me out somewhere. Usually it was Los Tios, but there was the occasional Olive Garden visit for the yummy breadsticks.

Today is rough. Emory has had a cold for a week, hasn't been sleeping well, woke up at 5:30, fell on her face and got a bloody nose at 7am. So now her nose is not only sore from tissues, but crusted with blood. She coudn't nap because of the cough, and got up from the crib sobbing and miserable. So I did what my mother would do.... bribery. I went through the list of all the things that MIGHT make her happy: Chick File, Elmo, visiting daddy, wearing boots, a cupcake??? And she bought it. A slight smile. I started to bake, but the sobbing started again so we took off for a trendy little shop nearby and hurried home to eat it since I left the oven on. I bought a $3 cupcake that tastes a little like vanilla chalk, but she's happy and it's worth it. She is presently eating it with the spoon she insisted on.

Took this over a month ago. Is there anything better than naked porch dancing?

Emory insisted on wearing goggles and keeping them on. She also likes to do that with her bike helmet.

Going to the chapel

We are in the middle of visitor season, which I love, being an E on the extrovert scale. One of our recent visitors was Caitlin, a 22-year-old adventurer, who was traveling the south by planes, trains, and automobiles. She visited the coolest spots: New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah, Wilmington, Dallas (well, one not so "cool"), and Austin. Her trip made me hunger for the old days when I did many a random road trip- eating pickled pigs feet in Virginia, rolling down grassy Tennessee hills off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and trying to understand rural North Carolinian when I locked my keys in the car.

But for now, I'm getting a whole new adventure in Toddler Land. Caitlin is a photographer, amongst other talents, and she took some great pictures of Emory. The top three pictured are hers. Emory had a cold, was snotty, drooly, and not-so-happy, but it was a glimpse of her new sassy personality.

Grandmama and Papa Coley are here, and Emory finally got to go to the sandbox- something Mommy has been avoiding, well, since childhood. I'm not so into dirt.

Catherine may use my veil for her wedding so we had it out. Emory makes a pretty cute baby bride. She wears those beaded necklaces all the time. She's into all things that are choking hazards.

http://caitymurphy.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/baby-emory/#comment-126

Go to the above link for more of Caitlin's pictures...

A different perspective

Here is a typical Sunday night in our kitchen from Emory's height. Jen Kilgo's really cool boots are included.

Little Flirt

This video makes my delay of posting totally worth the wait. Pictured in this is Emory and Beckett who was with the family visiting us last weekend. We were out at Freddie's for dinner, playground time, and live music. In case you haven't heard, Emory really likes boys, as demonstrated here. Her flirtation goes so well to the blues music in the background ("It's a Man's World"). Beckett was really shy and intimidated by her bold flirtation, but by the end of the dance she had him eating rocks from her hand.... literally.

18 months

Eighteen months happened on September 12th, and man-oh-man do we have a toddler! She is busy, feisty, and even calls herself "Drama Mama". She's been a big talker for quite a while, and the things she's saying keep me smiling. Today was a pretty big sentence: "Daddy ride bicycle, too!" as she went on her first ride in the trailer seat. She lets us know exactly what books she wants to read, when she wants to brush her teeth, and when her incoming teethe hurt and she needs pain relief, "Mouth hurt ouch, Advil?"

She's really sweet most of the time, but she can be pretty defiant, too. Below she's holding a rock from the bar/playground/stage area in her mouth looking at me knowing she's not suppose to do that. She holds it until I finally get up, and then spits it out at the last second. So gross. She is also not at risk of being bullied...or at least putting up with it. In fact, we have a bit of a hitting problem. It usually appears with teething or sleepiness, but also when ever she feels it's necessary. For instance, a three or four year old girl shoved past Emory on the playground the other day. Emory looked at the girl, then me as if to say, "HOW rude? Who does she think she is?" When the girl pushed past her a second time Emory turned before I could stop her and shoved the girl from behind with both hands and all her strength. I grabbed her and moved away before it got ugly- not sure whether to scold her or give her a high five.

Dancin' away to a blues band at Freddie's kid friendly happy hour.
The Zilker Zepher...the little train in Zilker Park in Austin. Emory was not scared of the tunnel or the bridges- if anything I just had to worry about keeping her inside the car. When it was over she said, "Again? Again??"
At the zoo in Denver banging the bongo (before we moved).

Updates

So far behind.... we've been really busy here in Austin. We're having so much fun and it seems to be a great fit. Brent continues to enjoy and be challenged in his new job. We've found a church and plan on joining soon. I made friends at the playground, and Emory is invited to play groups and I'm invited to neighborhood Bunco. We've had quite a few visitors come through recently and have enjoyed that, too.

Meet Liam Waggener! Trey and Elecia's son is adorable. We got to meet him at Canyon Lake over Labor Day weekend. In case you can't tell, I've totally forgotten how to hold a new baby. That's why I look awkward.

Do I need my putter or the 9 iron? Fyi, Texas is too hot for swim suits.

If Aunt Catherine, (AKA to Emory as "Aunt Kitty") is throwing a party I need a good outfit.

This will do.

Made it!

I don't have pictures. Sorry. Too busy unpacking. We are in our rental...in Allandale...a part of Austin I didn't know existed when I was in college. It is "north central" and a much closer commute for Brent than my dad's place.

Shout out to my family who helped move us in: Kolin, Marcus, Ryder, Catherine, Dad, Patricia (who babysat), and to Carter- who showed up late enough to miss unloading the truck, but long enough to lose his keys for an hour and a half....most of which was spent rearranging my furniture. Big thank you to Heather, who entertained Emory while I drove from Denver. She was fabulous, and she helped me get the house in order VERY quickly. Her Tubular Taco was well deserved- of course I've already been to Hula Hut.

We're happy, very air conditioned, and somewhat settled. Emory and I are about to venture out to explore the neighborhood "POOOOOOL." We are enjoying the live music already (Emory danced to an old timey country band last night at Waterloo during dinner), and are loving Texas hospitality. EVERYONE is so friendly. I'm very thankful to be back in such a talkative place. I fit right in.

Everything is great....except the cockroaches. I now remember that I once thought, "It's worth putting up with the winters in Colorado to avoid the cockroaches of Texas," which are Texas sized and sometimes fly. They are terrible. And they are holding my dishwasher hostage. I've waited 5 years to have a dishwasher again, and there's a live one in there. I told him he could have it. I killed his brother last night (but had Brent remove the remains) and I think he's mad at me. I'm basically staying on the far side of the kitchen. The exterminator will be here tomorrow, so I'm sure I can wait to do dishes until then.

On the go

Emory and I have taken turns with Brent traveling to Texas (or Colorado) over the past 6 weeks. In the meantime, I've been packing and Brent's been working. Brent really likes his new position with his new company. And we're pretty much packed up. Brent joins us again in Denver tonight and will move out of our house on Thursday with hopes of closing on the sale in two more weeks. We'll drive to Austin this weekend and move into our Austin rental house this Sunday. It has been a whirlwind of a month, but the we have almost reached our next big destination as a family, and we're excited for what is in store. God has made a clear path for us and that helps us have confidence about the time for change and what's ahead.

Looking forward to having family nearby, tubing the Guadelupe (when there is water), fantastic food, shopping at the Co-Op, live music in the supermarkets and airport, rolling hills, warm winters, UT football season, lake days, decent margaritas, bike rides, and reconnecting with old friends.

On the same front, the exit is bittersweet. We'll miss our friends in Colorado, the ski days, 14ers, cool evenings in the summer, the fun that's just around the corner at Highlands Square, running without sweating, old western mountain towns, jeep roads, and the opportunities for adventures on a daily basis.

Here is Emory in Target. We have a book that taught her what, "HURRY! HURRY!" means and now she runs around all the time shouting that.

Visit to Austin two weeks ago and Daddy's new office. That's northeast Austin behind him.

Boulder

I should be packing our house....but packing is terrible. I get one box done and then stop and stare at the many, many things left to go.

Here is an adorable picture of "Papa" Coley and Emory in Boulder.

Bathing Beauty

Grandmama Coley decided that a pool is a must-have to beat the heat wave. Emory loves it.

Tree Hugger

Warning: This may be a boring and contrite blog entry and has no pictures of cute toddlers.

I'm just confirming what I already knew to be true: I'm a highly emotional person. Also, I think that Colorado has rubbed off a little on me. I'm adament about recycling, I was starting to see the benefits of a compost, and I'm feeling like crying over the loss of my tree.

While we were out of town, the tree (which had some rot issues when we bought the house) lost a huge branch in a wind storm. The Tree People told me that it had rot and would only get worse. The potential house buyers said they would like it removed. So today I watch the tree be dismantled by a guy with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and a chainsaw in his hands.

Here is a picture of Tree on its healthiest day.

Bye, bye, Sucker.
I don't see the rot! Where's the rot???
I thought about asking them to keep it like this as an weird art statement, but remembered that's not allowed in the contract.
And then there were none.

If you would like to take a virtual tour of our home while it is still ours, please go to the link below. There is lovely music that gets very exciting as you get to the basement.

https://www.goodkarmaphoto.com/tour/tour.php?tourid=00001393

Park Days

I'm so looking forward to getting to Austin and enjoying days at the pool, but I will miss summer days at the parks in Denver. Yesterday at Belleview Park it was maybe 80 degrees. Emory got to do her first train ride and petting zoo. She waved like she was Miss South Carolina at all the people as we passed by on the train. And she had no fear in the petting zoo. She had goats and sheep pushing past her, chickens wandering by, and of course her friend, Moo, pictured below. She kissed Moo over and over, and tried to feed him rocks. When he politely refused she decided to just put them in her own mouth. Yes, these are the same rocks on which the goats poop. She's got to have a great immune system from all the stuff she puts in her mouth.

Emory creatively named the cow, Moo. She is into names right now. She recently started calling me, Becca, and liked it enough to name her baby doll Becca, as well.

Running of the Bulls Denver Style

This weekend had some excitement. There was a running of the bulls event three blocks from home, with a little twist. The bulls are the Denver Roller Derby Girls. Brave men, women, and children dressed in white with red embellishments and ran a FULL 1K as they dodged roller girls armed with wiffle ball bats. The participants paid to run and the money went to the Tennyson Center for Children at Colorado Christian Home- which is a fabulous non-profit. http://www.childabuse.org/

We didn't run it, but Emory, Dad, Jen and I had a great time watching. And I did run...started training for the Savannah Marathon this week! I don't know what's wrong with me....