It has been awhile since I wrote - over a month!- ... and LOTS has been going on in the past month, including two stomach viruses in our home- the worst one skipped by Emmy, thank the Lord, ...and most importantly, a pregnancy! We kept it a secret for the most part, and are happy to be able to share now- that I am a little over 15 weeks pregnant- which is a blessing, both the pregnancy and the fact that I am now in my second trimester:) We really are so excited. Emmy exclaims "sister!" whenever the baby is mentioned. And lately, she points to her belly and says "Emmy's baby." 

A big change in the last month since I've written, is that Emmy has really been exploding with language. She started with a couple two or three word sentences like "See my Daddy!" or "Drink please," but now it is just too much to keep track of. 

A very cute thing lately is that she is able to finish lines in her books that I read to her. At first I noticed it in books that we've been reading to her often since she was a year old or so. Then, I wondered if she had caught on to any of the words in more recent additions to her library- and much to our surprise, she knows so many words in books that we've only had for a little while

Here is a little video of her helping me to read her Easter board book. So fun and so special to hear her say these words that she doesn't quite understand, but of course hold so much meaning to us! Unfortunately, I couldn't capture her saying "Jer-ooo-salem", which is the cutest word in the book to hear her say:) 

Emmy's Nest.

For the past few months, Emmy has been really into her "nest". Actually, nest was one of her first words,! It is the little window nook in her bedroom, where I made her a little bed of blankets and pillows. After her bath, and pajamas, she soon proclaims "nest!" and grabs an armful of books for me to read to her. It has actually been a blessing that developed after I stopped nursing her, a little bedtime routine that she can count on and enjoy.

Fun fact- this picture is actually a little outdated, a month or 2 ago, -because Emmy now associates her pacifier only with her crib- yay!- naps and bedtimes only. Once we are done reading books, she declares "Paci!", which I give her, then "Jesus." who we sing about in the rocking chair. and if she is still awake, "Pray?" before I put her down in her crib. The joy of routines that work:)

(A little less cute of a routine in the last couple months, has been Emmy's funny habit of waking at 3:30am almost every night, and when I go in she tells me she would like to be put in her nest. It is sort of strange, but she falls asleep in a few minutes, and spends the rest of her night here. Thankfully this is getting :a little: less regular,! hehe.)

 All this to say, that this weekend we are actually going to be saying goodbye to the nest, and switching our bedrooms. Bron and I have the big front room, and Emmy has this little green room. Emmy's toys and books are kind of taking over our house, so we are going to give her the big room and make it into a playroom too.

Someday I hope to paint over the green, but I suppose that can wait a couple months. :)

Sort-of Spring !

So excited about the temperatures this week, reaching into the 50s and 60s!

Took the opportunity to switch out our wreath, and to purchase our home's ::first ever:: Welcome mat. :)

Emmy was so excited to get to play outside, (She asked for "Hope!" on the bumpy parts of the sidewalk)..

and of course to shout out her friendly greetings to anyone who would listen, even the skateboarding teenagers, hehe.

(I love her little shadow.)

 -

Winter, you were fun but you were way too long! We trust God for you, but we are glad you are leaving our lives soon.

^& I must admit, she did not get out to play in every snow storm. After awhile, it just got to be too much! Not sure I'll be able to get away with that next winter:) But we will definitely be getting out for every warm Springy day that comes our way.

( Thank you Lord for changing seasons! And how everything seems more joyful and magical, imagining it through the eyes of a little one. )

If you didn't know...

Emmylou is sort of a ham :)

(and she thinks everyone is her best friend!)

especially when she is in her own environment...

^This cute little guy stayed with us for a couple hours the other day, while his mom went to a midwife appointment. And Emmy just showered him with love. He was a good sport! But I had to say "No more hugs!" a few times, for his sake

.

Lately, when we see kids at the store (or out our front window), Emmy says "Friends?" very sweetly, and I tell her that yes they are her friends. When we talk about going to Mops or to caregroup or to church, Emmy says "Kids! Friends!" She has quite a few names she can list of all her favorite friends. (And I have to be very careful if there's a baby in the room, because Emmy will be on a mission to snuggle the baby.)

She also tells me she wants her "Coat!" often these days. But it's just so cold! We're all ready for Spring.There's so much to look forward with Emmy in the warmer weather! 

It is so fun as she is learning to talk, and learning to understand the world around her more and more. I feel like I have this fun little companion with me all day. We talk about friends and family, farm animals and food, and babies and even Jesus, all day long:)

a $3 dress, and floral wallpaper.

couldn't resist this $3 dress at the thrift store last week:)

(We really do brush her hair, I promise! it just wants to do this most of the time, despite our efforts.)

^this is Emmy's new thing- the sideways glance, 
which she does when she knows she is being cute,
 or when she knows she's being naughty-
Usually both at the same time these days;)

& P.S.-
You've probably never this "lovely" baby-blue hallway,
we try not to let people go upstairs:)
Everything up there has been on the last of our list of things to re-do,
Well, the neglected upstairs hallway will soon be covered in pretty floral wallpaper! A dream of mine:)
(Yes, I have a very gracious and loving husband!)

It is fun to have little things like this, a cute thrift-store dress that's just slightly too big for Emmy,
 and wallpaper samples on the wall, to get excited about in this crazy winter!

Conversation with an 18 month old,. a video

Emmy turned 18 months old this weekend! Which is the age we've decided to try potty-training. It's a little early, so it's more of a "potty-awareness", because she's never actually used the toilet. So, all the sudden we have a little toddler who has a potty, and lots to say.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of work on the house, Emmy has really been learning to talk well! In the past couple weeks, we've been realizing we can basically hold a conversation with her. She has a couple of stories she cycles through often- the story of when my parent's dog bit her and so she calls Mikey "hot!" (meaning hurts to touch, like an oven), she talks about the pictures of family and cats that Granddad shows her on his phone whenever he comes to visit. This week she is telling the story of "Tom", my 16 year old sister's boyfriend who we just met for the first time, and for some reason Emmy flung herself onto him and ignored everyone else at my nephew's birthday party.

Pretty much all day, she excitedly lists all the people she knows. She talks about her friend Atiyah (Taa-Taa) every hour! and has twice tried to escape to the front door calling her name. They live around the corner from us, so it made perfect sense in her little mind. We have a feeling she is going to be an extrovert, which is not like either of us, so it's kind of funny to us.

Emmy is camera-shy for some reason, but I tried to coax some of her favorite words and topics out of her over breakfast with this video.

Construction Zone Baby.

This week is when our house will become the most livable it's ever been! More than livable, it is feeling like a real home, that we love being in. I was looking at pictures from this past year of all of Bron's work. It is so funny to see that Emmy's life has been in such a construction zone so far. I am glad we captured these moments, even though it hasn't been the easiest season for me! But they will be sweet memories to look back on one day- the first years of our family. I tried to post them in order of most recent. Hopefully soon I can post some After shots of our dining room, living room, hallway and this week-bathroom~! For now, here are a bunch of Befores:) 

dry wall lift,

Emmy's play zone has been scattered all over the house.

awkward built in mirror,

this time last year!

Those were the days. :)