Happy Birthday.........

This week has been a big week for our family.... this past Thursday my mom, a.ka. GiGi, had a birthday.  Because announcing her age to the blogosphere might be traumatic for her....I will keep the details to myself.  However, we are so thankful for her life and for the way she loves our family.  We were so blessed to have her, my dad, my sister, and my brother-in-law come visit for the weekend. It was so great to spend time with them. We miss our families so much.  They have all been so gracious to come visit us over the  past year since we can't get away very often.  For your viewing pleasure, here is a picture of GiGi blowing out the candles on her Pumpkin Pie Cake that I made (yes I am that domestic).

In other exciting news, Emerson turned 5 months old today!  I really cannot believe how fast our time with her is going by.  Here are some of her latest stats:

• She is pretty much happy all the time, except for when she gets a little whiny and makes this really cute face.
• She can roll over from her stomach to her back and from her back to her stomach.  However she can only roll to her left....it is funny to watch her roll in a straight  line across the den.
• She actually likes our dog, Stabler, God bless her
• While she is 5 months old, she is still in 3 month clothes
• She likes to wear hats, or atleast she doesn't mind them
  

Of course I am about to show you some pictures of her from today...but just a warning.......she is cuter than ever...seriously.  These pictures show Emerson wearing one of our favorite hats that unfortunately does not fit her anymore. :(  However, she still manages to rock it!

The whiny, yet still cute, face

And finally, our dog, Stabler, turns 4 tomorrow.  When we got Stabler almost 4 years ago, I looked 4 years into the future and envisioned an older, calmer, easier dog.  It is funny how our visions can be so WRONG.  While he is older, he seems to be just as energetic and even more neurotic.  However, we still love him (although there are days when I feel like I am just tolerating him).  Happy Birthday Stabler!

B/C You Can Never Have Too Many Pictures.....of Emerson

This kid is so flippin' cute I really don't know what to do with myself.  I can't stop taking pictures (and neither can our babysitter, she took most of these).  I feel it is my duty to share her awesomeness with the world.  If you are sick of seeing her I'm sorry.....but I can't stop. I actually take a million more pictures than I ever post.  Be on the look out for pictures of her in her Halloween costume...she only gets cuter!  Yes, I have become that mom.

Fall = Happiness

As most of you know, Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year.  There are about a million reasons why this is my favorite time of year...a few of those reasons include but are not limited to: college football, apple everything, pumpkin everything, yummy food, cool weather, beautiful leaves, comfy clothes, fun boots, the excitement of the holidays being right around the corner, which ultimately means wonderful time with family, and drinking coffee sprinkled with cinnamon while cuddled up under a blanket.

 Really I could go on an on...but I won't. Garrett and I have discovered that this time of year is even more fun with Emerson.  The kid gets cuter and more fun everyday.  I told Garrett the other day that it is a good thing I didn't know this baby thing was gonna be so amazing because I would have wanted to do it sooner! We took Emerson to a pumpkin patch this past Sunday and it was so much fun.  It is so cool to watch her take everything in...and dressing her up in fall outfits has also proven to be fun.  I have always HATED Halloween (mostly because it annoys me to have to dress up), but I am actually looking forward to it now. Emerson adds a whole new element of fun to everything.

I cannot believe she will be 5 months old soon!  Some of the more hilarious things Em has done lately are: 

• Escaping from her bouncy seat (ok, so i was a little concerned when i heard a thud and found her laying on the floor but once I knew she was ok...very funny)
  
• Sucking on her toes (ok so this is more gross than funny)
• Using her toes to turn on her mobile....amazing!
• Pulling her leg warmers off and then sucking on them
• And finally she has started making motor boat sounds with her mouth...which is really funny except for when she has sweet potatoes in her mouth

All this to say, Emerson brings more joy to our life than I could ever put into words.  The Lord has blessed us in ways that we do not even come close to deserving.  Although this season of life is difficult for us, it is making us so greatful for every minute we get to spend together as a family. With Garrett working from 7:30am-10pm 6 days a week, Sundays are a treasured day for us.  We have a found a church, The Summit, that WE LOVE!  http://www.summitrdu.com/  Our Sundays are spent worshipping together and exploring Durham.  We have met some great people and are really enjoying the time that we have here.  However, we are also very thankful for all of our support from our friends and family at home....don't know how we would get through this time without all of y'all!

Here are a few pictures from us enjoying Fall and Sunday.