Emmy – 4 Years Old!

I always find these posts so hard to start. How to sum up a year, how to put to words how awesome this little person is.

Emmy, you have grown and changed a lot in this last year. We enjoyed watching you have many new experiences and adventures. You helped build (or watched Mama build) a snow quinzee in the back yard.  You began the adventure of learning how to skate (and fall!) That one came with many ups and downs. Literally and figuratively. You were able to try out gymnastics for a few weeks and LOVED it! Although you definitely preferred when you had a smaller class and even better if Hudson was with you. You and Hudson also went to Vacation Bible School which you had a lot of fun at! It was your first time. You got your ears pierced which was a bit scary but you adore being able to wear earrings. Especially the special ones you got for your birthday this year. You got to ride on a houseboat, spent many days at the cabin and had several sleepovers at Oma and Opa’s house.  Your cousins, Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents all had several sleepovers at your house too! We had many beach days this year. They became a family favourite! You guys even went “swimming” in your clothes when we found ourselves at an inviting beach without swimsuits along. You climbed your first mountain! The wet, muddy, buggy part of the climb was not your favourite but when you got to the top of Mount McKay you were all smiles! This year you visited a hobby farm, went on a few hikes with the family, saw a couple waterfalls, started a rock collection and really took to swimming! This summer we sadly said goodbye to some wonderful neighbours who moved away. We also said goodbye to your great Opa who passed away in the fall. You went to a small amusement park and I was so amazed at your independence and love of a thrill! You also got to do lots of wall climbing with Mama and Daddy.  You build up a lot of bravery! For your birthday this year you invited a few girls over and had a fancy tea party! There was a lot of adorableness happening that day!

Emmy, you are energetic, silly, full of sweet smiles and at times quite rebellious. You have such a sweet voice and a funny sense of humour. You don’t wear dresses daily anymore…when did that even stop? But you still love all things pretty and sparkly. You love to run around bare feet, climb anything, and ride on the swings. You can be overwhelmed easily in a crowd but open right up and flourish when you feel comfortable in a situation. You speak years beyond your age with a clear and growing vocabulary. You love stories and snuggling up with a book. You also love to get lost in your imagination, curled up on the floor with a few small characters to play with. This year you also grew in your love of baking! You love to bake “almost all by yourself” doing as much of the measuring, mixing and everything as you can by yourself.  Something that I really saw develop in you this year is your love of drawing. Once when I asked you why you had drawn on {the table.the floor.the wall.your leg.a book.the deck.etc} you told me “Mom, I just love drawing so much I want to draw all the time.” We’ve been working on having appropriate things around for you to draw on because I love your drawings! Right now as I type this I’m watching you out the window draw on the driveway with some chalk.

I love watching you grow, Little Peanut! I hope you keep that joy for life, that contagious smile and a pencil in your hand!

This is Emmy at 4 years old!

 

Here are a few from this past year!

 

 

1 Year! – Miss Emmy

Our little peanut is one year old!  She’s still pretty little (about 3 inches shorter than Hudson was at 1 year) but she has grown a lot this past year.

Emmy is such a character.  Last night Aaron and I spent a bit of time laughing and smiling as we talked about Emmy and who she is becoming.  She loves people, especially her brother and will come over and give snuggles and hugs freely.  She has lots of kisses to give too when she’s in the right mood.  Sometimes she will just motor over, lay her head down on your leg for a moment, then look up and give you the best smile you’ve ever seen and then hurry away again.

The other side of her is that she’s also a little diva.  She has attitude and will let you know when she’s less than impressed.  This past Sunday it was clear that you do not take a cookie from Emmy even if she pretends to offer it to you!  She has a shriek that will definitely get your attention and she’s not afraid to pull it out at the grocery store, during a wedding ceremony, when her brother takes her things, when she can’t play in the toilet…  That’s right. She’s one of THOSE kids. Her favourite is to dunk toilet paper in the bowl and then eat it. GROSS!  We have caught her doing this at least twice. I always try to keep the bathroom door closed but sometimes we forget.  At least its always flushed….

Emmy is also a monkey. And she’s a pretty good one too!  She climbs on top of Aaron’s small amp, on the rocking chair in her room, on the couch, on the step stool, on a basket of magazines, on her toy farm, on people, and just about anything else that has a ledge, a platform or surface of any sort! 🙂  This means she has also CARTWHEELED off of our bed, the arm rest of the couch and a stool (into an awkward area where she got stuck).  She’s quite the trooper though.  She’s quick to cry but with the right kisses and hugs she’s good to go and, against my warnings, try it again!

In terms of what’s new with her this month…
She’s walking quite a bit now.  She’s getting more confident every day!  But she still crawls like a speed machine most of the time!  She has three teeth fully cut through but she’s working on three more that have just cut recently.  Her vocabulary is growing and her new words are bye, coco (my parent’s dog), GO and once I’m SURE I heard her say “again!” while we were playing.  She is learning how to use the spoon by herself and eats pretty much anything.

She is so incredibly sweet and you can’t help but love her. One look at those brilliant, bright eyes and she’s got you.  I love this girl to bits!  She brings so much joy to our lives and I’m incredibly thankful for this year that we have had with her and for the monthly blog posts to look back on from this year.  She has grown so much!

I had a hard time narrowing down my favourites from this shoot but here they are:

 

Kathryn
Thunder Bay Kids Photographer

807.6316502
kathryn@popcornphotography.ca

{Just Popped!} Mr Keith

Oh how much love there is for nieces and nephews. I didn’t realize what this feeling would be until my siblings started having these adorable little kids and I just love them to bits!

This is my first nephew. Mr Keith. He’s such a little heart breaker. He is absolutely adorable and I haven’t gotten to spend enough time with him yet!  We are heading that way this weekend and I am excited to be able to give him another snuggle soon. 🙂

Here are just a few I took of him at the hospital when he was just a day old.

Kathryn
Thunder Bay Newborn Photographer

kathryn@popcornphotography.ca
807.631.6502

Family Vacation

We are just back from a super fun family vacation to visit friends!  A total of about 30 hours in the car with a 10 month old and a 2 and a half year old went surprisingly well.  The absolute worst part was the last two hours away from getting home at the end of the trip.  Actually being delayed by several hours on our first day of travels and not arriving at the hotel until midnight wasn’t ideal either. 🙂  All in all, the travels were great.  I had planned all kinds of surprises for Hudson and we didn’t even need them the first day! But it seemed like we needed one every 10 minutes on the last travel day.  It was two days there and two days back with about 6 days staying with friends.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves but here are some of our memories from our trip!  Actually, I do have one story about these first few pictures.  On our first full day there the park beside our friend’s house where we were staying was having a big kids fun day!  There was face painting, balloon animals, pony rides and a food truck. I think there was some kind of a scavenger hunt or something as well, but that was over by the time we arrived.

We packed up all four kiddos and headed the African Lion Safari with our friends.  It was a fun, full day!  We took the bus tour and saw all kinds of animals, played at the water park and playground and Hudson and Emmy got to ride on a small train!  The elephants were certainly a highlight for the boys. They were talking about them for a while after we got back!  Here’s some pictures from the African Lion Safari:

We also had an afternoon with the group of friends from our church and bible study.  It was wonderful to spend time with them all again. Catch up and enjoy a lovely bbq.  It felt totally normal to be with them. Although there were a few more kids in the mix from the last time we were all together!

There’s just something so cute about kids eating ice cream cones! 🙂

We also spent some time with the Jeffersons but for some reason I didn’t seem to take any photos there!  It was great to be able to see them as well. Enjoy dinner together, sit around chatting about books, and then walk through their community garage sale! 🙂
It was such a nice trip. A great opportunity to step out of our regular routines and spend time with friends!  Looking forward to going back again already! 🙂

Randoms

Third instalment of a random post!  🙂  I find I have so many little stories that I try and remember to write down but usually forget.  They are fun little snippets to remember and share.

Some highlights recently are that we have been able to get out biking with the kids and have spent some time at the parks.  The bikes let us go so much further than walking!  Emmy HATES her helmet and spends most of the trip trying to pull it off. Poor girl.  But on her first bike ride she just slumped down resigned and fell asleep. I was pretty impressed.  Must be my smooth biking. 🙂  haha

It has been fun to see how Hudson interacts at the playground this Spring so far.  He’s so much older than last year. There are some things he is even better at than last year but then other things that he is scared about and needs to get used to again.

Hudson has a new phrase lately … “That’s not a good idea” Its hilarious when he uses it in appropriate situations like people are parked poorly on our street.

There have been some really fun times of Hudson and Emmy playing so well together.  Hudson still has a lot of issues with Emmy wanting to share his things, but sometimes they just play so well together. I LOVE when Hudson makes her giggle. 🙂  Last week I caught Hudson sitting on Emmy’s lap while she was in her car seat. “What are you doing!?!”  “Sitting on the train” He responds.  Then I notice that Emmy just thinks this is the funnest thing ever. Okay then…

Here are some photos to enjoy! 🙂  (excuse the phone quality pictures)

Hudson’s First Plane Ride

 

Hudson got to go on his very first pane ride in Grandpa’s 2 seater Auronca Champ.  He was excited to go in the plane. When Hudson is in an unfamiliar and new situation he tends to be more stoic and thoughtful about it all.  He is quite as he takes it all in.  That’s exactly how he responded to this situation. I was able to take a video on my phone of his reaction to taking off and landing.  It was so fun to be able to see his face!  He was quiet and thoughtful about it all.  But a couple times he looked rather surprised.  He liked being able to look out the window and see new views. He pointed out trees and roads.  We flew over our family cabin and were able to see Daddy, Grandma and Auntie’s and Uncle’s waving!   We flew over the many lakes watching for any leftover ice.  On the way back the gentle humming of the plane was enough to put a tired toddler to sleep!  He slept for 5 minutes or so before I woke him for the landing. But he was so tired he kept nodding off.  haha.  I got Aaron to take a photo of us before taking off and the rest of the photos I just took with my phone.  Enjoy: 🙂 

Randoms: Long Weekend

A few randoms from our long weekend …

We were at the cabin with all of my family and my dad and hudson had a funny conversation at the dinner table.

Grandpa: Hudson, after we are done eating do you have time for a walk in the bush?
Hudson: (after thinking for a moment) I don’t have time to go for a walk because I need to take a nap. But after my nap I WILL go for a walk.
Grandpa: Do you know what time it is?
Hudson: 4 o’clock
(It was actually 6:30)
After we explained to him that he already had a nap today and after dinner he could go outside for a while before bedtime, he told Grandpa that he would go for a walk and then turned and told Daddy that he was going for a walk with Grandpa! 🙂

That’s another thing Hudson says lately … “I WILL do such and such.”  Things like “When I am bigger and older I WILL help you Daddy”

Hudson has also started making up songs and using voices to character his toys. It is pretty amazing to see his imagination developing.

Emmy’s new phrases are mostly shrieks, babbles and raspberries. Quite adorable as well! 🙂

Monday morning we all got to sleep in at the cabin until close to 8! Woohoo! 🙂  Hudson woke  up so happy and singing his ABC’s.  Auntie Bea got to wake up to Hudson saying from the bunk above her “Hi Auntie Bea” haha.

Oh, the other day we came across the word “hola” in one of his magazines so I asked him what it meant”  His answer was “its how I say hi to Auntie Bea” (Spanish is her first language)

Photos!  Many of these were taken on my phone so excuse the quality.

Happy Mother’s Day

What a gorgeous weekend we have been having!  I hope you have had the opportunity to be out in the sunshine at least a little!  This afternoon my little family and I plan on taking a bike ride to find a nice park!

For me, Mother’s Day is special.  Its a time to be thankful for the many wonderful women in my life.  Both my Mom and Mother-in-law but also my Grandma, my sisters and sister-in-law and my amazing friends, some who are moms and others who aren’t. It is at this stage in life where I am learning how to be a mom that I realize how thankful I am for my own mom.  For all of the work she did for us over the years. For the patience, the love, the kisses that heal wounds and the week by week daily repetition of moments that make up life.  And now, for being a friend, an encourager and the one I can call on for advice and tips.
Thanks Mom!

But I know for many Mother’s Day holds a lot of pain. Memories of loss, regret, the pain of infertility. I want to recognize that as we celebrate woman today its not just biological mothers we celebrate.  I actually really liked the way my cousin Melanie put it this morning so I am just going to quote her. 🙂

whether we are biologically mothers, spiritual mothers or faithful workers in God’s kingdom, let’s work unto the Lord and ask Him to bless the work of our hands for His eternal Glory!

To all the woman out there, thanks for all that you do, for loving on your family and for being amazing!  Thanks to all of my friends and siblings for loving my kids! I appreciate it!

And thanks to my two, amazing kiddos who love me despite my failings, who are teaching me what it means to have patience and for bringing so much joy and energy to our home!

Have a wonderful, warm day!

Kathryn
Popcorn Photography

Thunder Bay Family Photographer
807-631-6502
kathryn@popcornphotography.ca

{8 Months!} Miss Emalyn

Whoops! Almost missed getting this post out before she turns 9 Months!! 🙂

This is my favourite age I think!  She is so fun and explorative!  She pulls up on everything now! That’s the new, big milestone this month. She gets quite frustrated when she can’t do what she thinks she should be able to.  Her crawl is still funny drag where she pulls herself along with her arms and pushes off with her toes. Looks like so much work, but she’s fast at it.
She loves to chatter away and the sounds they make at this age are SO adorable! Oh my goodness. I love listening to this girl chatter. And her smiles. They light up the room! Its so great watching her and Hudson interact. When she’s crying, Hudson is often singing “Jesus loves me” to her or repeating “Its okay Emmy!” to cheer her up. Those sweet moments just melt my heart (and make up for the fighting!).
Emmy has finally started eating some food. But she doesn’t prefer “squishy” things.  She likes a little piece of cooked veggie chunk or a bite of bread. She spits out baby cereals and pureed foods.  I guess that’s why I couldn’t get her to eat much before. I was only offering pureed foods.
Emmy came on a girls getaway with me and some other friends. She was a pretty good little traveller and shopper. 🙂 She was very patient with us all and got to do a little bit of swimming at the hotel. She does like water quite a bit.  She’s very relaxed in the water.

She’s still a tiny, little peanut with a goofy personality.  She can really charm her daddy and makes us all laugh frequently!  We love that little goober! 🙂

Watch for another update soon!

Kathryn
Popcorn Photography
Thunder Bay Kids Photographer

kathryn@popcornphotography.ca
807.631.6502

Randoms

I thought it would be fun to have some random posts which look into my ordinary but fun life with two awesome kids and the best hubby I could have asked for!  I have been encouraged recently by a few friends to “blog for myself.”  To cherish these fun memories with my kiddos and that a blog is a great place to record and share those memories.

Enjoy 🙂

• A couple days ago day I came to the entrance way to find Hudson standing with the door open and Aaron’s shoes on.  He was ready to go outside he told me

• Emmy was playing in her room quietly and, when I went to check on her, I couldn’t find her!  She was hiding under her crib where I was storing her old bouncy chair that was taken apart.  She was stuck because she couldn’t figure out how to duck her head down again to crawl back out. …. Which reminds me of a few weeks back when Hudson got his head stuck in the header of his bed during nap time. He was quite panicked! Poor guy.

• Fun story. Yesterday, after I used our keys to put something in the car, I came back inside the Church and put them back in Aaron’s jacket. Only it turns out it wasn’t Aaron’s jacket that I put them in! The most ironic part was that the message was on dealing with locked doors and our Pastor said undoubtably some of us would deal with locked doors this week but the coincidence wasn’t his fault! I think I still blame him!  😉 Fortunately, for those that are curious, the man who I gave our keys to noticed them in his pocket when he got home and brought them back to the church for us while we were trying to figure out what to do. haha.

• Aaron and I have been talking about a trip down to Southern Ontario to see our friends there.  Yay! We thought driving would for sure be cheaper and were talking about the pros and cons of driving vs flying.  But we have some flight credits and I think in this situation it will end up being cheaper to fly.  Hudson sure would love the ferry though!  And its so much nicer to have our own car there…hmm

• I figured out the secret to my little houseplant I got a few weeks ago. I need to leave it be until its wilted and looks like its dying and THEN water it. Not sooner or it looks even worse! Wait until its at death’s door and then give it the water!  Interesting.  

• Aaron and I went on a date this weekend!  Hudson’s TBay adopted grandparents asked if they could have Hudson for a sleepover. We dropped Emmy there for the evening as well and went out to eat.  It was fun to spend time together and eat out. We love Montanas!

• Emmy has the most adorable pink overalls right now. I just LOVE them on her!!