At home after a weekend of Christmas. Look what I found Emmitt doing. Digging for Chocolates after pulling up his own chair!

Emmitt's Daddy showing him how to slide down the railing. As you can imagine Emmitt thought it was perfectly acceptable to try this on his own. "Thanks Dad!"

This trip to Sara's house was the first time that Emmitt got to really hang with his cousin's. I think his ability to talk and stand up for himself is making him more appealing to the boys. Holden played hide and seek with him and Killian told him about the Christmas tree. Very sweet to watch the relationship develop between these cousins.

I know this is not my guy, but look at this little builder. Very happy with his building presents!

Baby and Daddy tired!

Waiting for dinner... and getting a bit sleepy.

Just Chillin while we wait for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the Christmas mayhem. My camera must not have been working. While I am sad about this. I know there are pictures out there and when I get them I will post them... you can be sure of that!

These boys are very lucky that Santa came for a visit!

So tired from a day of "parties, presents, and food". Nothing like a good bottle to settle down with.

A dinosaur book with Uncle Jimi. Poor Emmitt fell in love with this Pop up Dinosaur book that Killian got. He was asking for it after we got home and I had to break his heart when I told him that the book was Killian's and I didn't have it anymore. Can anyone say "toddler tantrum?"

"what's in here?"

The first "party" of Christmas. Making Ants on a log with Nana, Holden, and Killian.

A little Christmas picture of the two of us!

First present of this Christmas. Christmas jammies from G-ma Jo!

And of course we need a picture together!

All dressed up....mom better hurry and stop taking pictures before the clock runs out!

Of course a little "show?" before we head out.

This is literally the first time I have EVER been able to get a hat on this boy. It was totally awesome. I was proud of myself and then even more pleased when he let me take him sledding.

He likes to try his food, makes sure it all tastes just right....and then adds a special ingredient!

Emmitt's new favorite past time, cooking.

"Emmitt where is the rock?" ......."there"

Another beautiful Colorado day. Throwing rocks and feeding the ducks at the river with G-ma Nana. He especially enjoys the "big big rocks".

As always Emmitt must use his toys for climbing purposes

Emmitt hard at work on a beautiful Colorado day

My Baby still loves his bottle, especially in the bath! Although sometimes this is concerning, mostly I don't care and really don't think it will affect his development!

Emmitt...ALMOST 2!
So sorry it has been so long since the last post! With all the holiday mayhem I just haven't had an evening with energy and time to catch up. Also, I am having difficulty posting videos. So I spend a long time trying repeatedly without any success. I am super bummed about this because I have several great videos. So, I might need to find a new way to post the videos. Until then enjoy the pictures we have collected. This was Emmitt's second Christmas. He understood the concept a little more. He definitely understood "presents" and can say both presents and Santa. I don't think he has a clue as to why we have a tree in the house or kept talking about Santa. What he did enjoy was all the fantastic gifts he was given. They keep giving and giving! So, what is the little guy up to these days? Well, his verbal skills are quite astonishing. He will try to say anything and everything you ask. Sometimes he uses words correctly and other times he tries it out a few times until he gets the reaction he is looking for. For example: "everybody". While at Sara's house for Christmas I said to him after nap "lets go downstairs and see everybody". He then proceeded to say "everybody" when he would see anyone in the house. Very cute! One of the cutest words he says is "Sara". He enjoys saying her name over and over, when around her he calls out her name...even when he doesn't really want her. I of course have video of this but can't show off his cuteness on this blog. Another favorite is "apple juice" and "buffalo". I think he started with "apple juice" because his cousin Killian drinks insane amounts of the stuff. But, what is funny is that he doesn't like it or drink it and he continues to ask for it, just says it for the heck of it, and pretends to make it when cooking in his play kitchen. "Buffalo" started long ago when my dad gave him a Buffalo stuffed animal. So the word has been around for a long time, however then I showed him a movie about a creature called the "Gruffalo". He called it a "Buffalo" throughout the movie and now calls lots of things Buffalo's. Sometimes he is close, like calling an Ox a buffalo and other times he just cries out for a Buffalo. I think he likes the way it sounds and feels when he says the word. What does Emmitt like to do these days??? He still is very physical. He especially enjoys jumping on the bed, couch, and chair. He loves to run around the house naked after bath and puts on quite a show for all to see. When you are watching this naked madness it is very obvious that he is PROUD of himself. Emmitt also is obsessed with Dinosaurs. He has just begun to actually play with them and requests others to join in. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to talk well enough to have dinosaur dialogue so he mostly just roars! Another fun (OK sometimes it is not so fun) activity that Emmitt has taken to is cooking. Not surprising since cooking runs on all sides of his family. He has a stool that he stands on and we let him put spices and pasta in a pan. He loves this activity and cries out "cooooooooking". Considering Emmitt is almost 2 he continues to be a joyful child. Yes, he has started to throw the occasional tantrum and can be quite feisty when he wants, but mostly he is funny, relaxed, and definitely engaged in his surroundings. I just can't believe it has been 2 years since he blessed our life. I think the amazing thing about raising a child is that you love them more each day. Each day I think I can't love him more and then I do.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am going to make a concerted effort to send out a New Years card/letter. But if not Please don't give me any **** for it. Life is busy!

He kept calling this Strawberry an Avocado....guess he was hungry.

Decorating the Christmas tree. Emmitt was kind of interested in the ornaments, although not as much as I thought he would be. He did attempt to put on a few decorations. I guess he just thinks we got a new house plant? Oh'well better than him being overly interested in the tree and the destruction of it. He does love to walk by yard Christmas decorations especially blow up Santas, dogs, and Snowmen.

Emmitt and his good friend "the remote". If you say "No Show" Emmitt takes his anger out on the poor remote by throwing it across the room...charming behavior!

Watching a show pant-less.....Emmitts favorite way to be.

The Thanksgiving dinner table...total chaos! Not one child ate at the same time, there were dinosaurs in the water glasses, poured water on the plates, and several different bribes offered throughout dinner time. Oh' well...Emmitt really enjoyed the Vanilla Ice Cream Aunt Sara made. He had two bowls and can very clearly ask for it!

A little conversation with Uncle Jimi

Emmitt can be super sweet when he wants too and is actually a really great "sharer". Here he randomly picked up the dinosaur that Killian dropped and gave it to him.

Need a gift idea for Emmitt???? anything Dinosaur! He has even taken to sleeping with the dinosaur Library book I got....he doesn't know it is actually written in Spanish. Ha!

Dinosaurs! The biggest thing in Emmitt and Killian's life. All three boys were playing dinosaurs together, it was very cute.

Emmitt and his Papa Bob...LOVE!

Emmitt took a bite of everything and then put them back on the tray....delicious for the rest of us.

"Hello! Thanksgiving Relish tray", oh and never mind the pants...Emmitt would rather go without these days!

"Ouch", one of Emmitt's favorite words. He says "ouch" ALL THE TIME. One of the many ways that Emmitt is testing the attention he can get from actions. It is very cute!

Playing at the river, our favorite past time. Emmitt can spend hours throwing rocks, sticks, and feeding ducks. Luckily the weather in Denver has allowed for several beautiful days out of the house. Good for us all.

Shark soup! If you can't tell there is a plastic Shark squirt gun in the pot. Emmitt is very interested in what goes on in the kitchen these days.

Yes, the tongue pictures are back! Now that Emmitt has a new found interest in the Camera and understands "make a face"...we have lots of fun!

Just playing with some toys

Emmitt-22 1/2 months

Oh' Emmitt you are so funny!

Story 1) I am in the kitchen doing dishes, Emmitt is in the living room doing what??? I walk in and immediately see Emmitt at the dining room table with my wallet. I say "What are you doing monkey?" Emmitt looks up, shuts the wallet, hands it to me and says "here Momma". I have never seen the kid look so guilty, know what he was doing- that he shouldn't do, and never ever has he stopped and gave me my personal item. We have entered into new territory with this guy. My Monkey is definitely not a baby anymore, although he will always be my baby.

Story 2) Bath time. It has grown lately to be about an hour long. It consists of me taking a bath with him (if I don't he says repeatedly "Momma, Momma and points to the tub. He then grabs the sleeve of my arm trying to pull me in, so usually I give in as it is just the two of us in the evenings these days). What can I say a bubble bath with my monkey isn't such a bad thing! Anyways, he also has been very preoccupied with hair. It is usually my hair and usually sticks to his fingers. Sometimes it is Percy hair at which he says "yuck". On this particular evening Emmitt found 1 hair and then spent 20 minuets trying to get the 1 hair to stick to the head of his monster. After much frustration, and laughing by me, I helped the guy out and stuck it to the monster's head. Emmitt yelled in joy "yay, yay, yay". He is so cute.

Story 3) "Dad Bottle!" Emmitt has turned his poor father into the servant of the house. Whether we are driving, in the bath, in bed, on the couch, downstairs, in the stroller, or reading books when Emmitt needs a beverage, usually a bottle he screams "Dad, Bottle!" Kevin of course rolls his eyes, but always gets his guy a bottle. Emmitt can say "I love you" so that always makes up for it. He also says "Tank you".