Water Babies Part 2

Memorial day was spent relaxing around the house and enjoying each other. The weather was very warm in the afternoon so we filled up the baby pool. It's our 'go to' entertainment until the neighborhood community pool warms up. Dylan and Emersyn had a blast as usual, laughing, splashing, and loving the water! Dylan is my handsome little man and great big brother. He tells Emersyn to ' be careful' if he thinks she might get hurt.
Emersyn on the other hand has no regard for anyone or anything. She's my risk taker, aka Trouble Maker. Yup, those blue eyes are trouble!!!
She does opposite of what is said. In the pool we say sit down, she tries to stand up. We say no, she continues to lean over the side of the pool. She splashes, Dylan cries, she laughs and splashes more. How opposite my babies are!!!

We had a great weekend together!
Hopefully everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day!

Dylan's New Friends

Dylan has many, many stuffed animals. They are lined up on the window ledge in his room, and the select special ones reside in his bed. I'm not sure what the qualifications are to sleep in his bed. I do know that he absolutely loves soft things, so that is part of it.

His new favorites are his lion and penguin. He got King the Lion from his Grandma Claryce at Easter, and I bought him the penguin. He carries them everywhere. They travel outside, to bed, to school, for car rides, watch him during bath time, snuggle during cartoons, and sit on the table while we eat. They get baths frequently!!!
He still has his good old stand by White Bear, but he stays in the bed, as he is to big to travel around town.

For the pictures in this post, Dylan set them like that, I just captured the moment.

Marbles Children's Museum

Our plan was to go to Wrightsville beach for the day but the weather changed our plans. With scattered showers, possible thunderstorms, and water advisories, we decided it was best not to make the 2-hour drive.

Instead, we took the kids to the museum. The older Dylan gets, the more fun he has! Emersyn was able to participate as well. Everyone had so much fun that we took a family nap this afternoon!!!

My Swinger

Emersyn L.O.V.E.S. the swings!

Pullen Park

Last weekend we took the kids to Pullen Park. This is a special park with an indoor carousel, a train that goes around the whole park, little tug boats for the kids, different play areas, picnic areas, and more. It was restored last year and it looks fabulous! Each 'ride' is a dollar, but well worth it. We rode the train as a family which was fun.
After we bought and ate a little picnic lunch. Next time I'll come more prepared with a packed lunch.

Oh the fun we had!

Mothers Day

I have a list sitting on my counter of all the topics I've been meaning to blog about. Life has been so busy I just haven't had time to write (or type).
This week I'm trying to catch up.

On to my wonderful Mother's Day.
I did get to sleep in an extra 1/2 hour thanks to my wonderful husband. Sleep is hard to come by in our house. My day was similar to a typical Sunday, filled with laundry and grocery shopping, but my family did make me feel special. Emersyn made me a cute footprint card at school. Dylan made me a card and gave me a candle with his little fingerprints on it. Together as a family they gave me the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy that I've been asking for, and a beautiful necklace!!


My family is the best!

Water Babies

While my parents were here, we had beautiful weather, which we took advantage of as you will see. Last summer Dylan had a little baby pool that was eventually destroyed by Niko & Blitz. This year we bought the next size up since we have a new addition that is part fish. We wanted room for Dylan, Emersyn, and maybe even me! We put it to the test for the first time this year.

After getting the temperature of the water just right, not to cold, not to hot, the kids willingly wanted to swim. Dylan is content just sitting in the water playing with toys. Emersyn I believe is part fish. She loves dunking her face, splashing, drinking the water, and pouring it all over herself. At one point Dylan was yelling at Emersyn for getting his hair wet. Heaven for bid he look 'geeky' as he would say. D.R.A.M.A.!!!

Tasting the water and loving it :-)

The head dunk! She does this in the bath tub too! After the dunk, she always looks up, catching her breath, with a giant smile on her face. She is quite silly...and I have NO idea where she gets that from!! HA!

Our first time this summer in the pool was a success! Next we are hoping to go to the community pool and the beach.

Gap Casting Call Update

The finalists were posted today for the Gap Casting Call. Unfortunately my handsome Dylan and beautiful Emersyn did not make the cut.

The kids that did make it, well... Let's just say my kids are cuter than some of them. Don't get me wrong, some of the finalists are adorable. My kids just happen to be cuter than some... But then again I'm bias.

I did vote, so please take a moment and vote for your favorite cutie in each category. It's the Gap Casting Call 2012 finalists.

In my world, Dylan & Emersyn are the cutest kids, and always winners in my heart.

Can't Resist

I can't resist these little faces. Hugging and kissing them daily makes me one happy Mommy!

Emersyn's 1st Birthday

(I've been trying to finish this post for over a week-I started last Sunday and it's now May 20th...my apologies for those of you that have been waiting)

It was 10:30 p.m on May 9th, the night before Emersyn was born. It was then that I reminded Zack that at that moment, one year ago, I had my first contraction. We had been arguing about something stupid and I decided to go to bed, only to start contractions, 3 days prior to my actual due date. The useless aruging stopped and the panic set in." WE ARE HAVING A BABY!"
Oh how I remember that painful, yet exciting, 10 hour labor it took to see my baby girl. The doctors said the second delivery would be easier, but they were wrong. My delivery with Emersyn was much harder than Dylan's, and I remember as if it was yesterday.

At 8:47 a.m on Tuesday, May 10th, Emersyn Isabella Henry was born. My angel, my ladybug, my princess, my hero, my baby girl! Her poor little face was so smushed...but I cried tears of joy when she entered this world. Love at first sight!

Fast forward one year. Yes ONE YEAR!!!! My baby turned one and I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea. She has had one heck of a year! Emersyn has been through so much and still manages to blink those baby blues and flash her toothless smile at everyone around her.


Emersyn's birthday celebration wasn't just one day. It was over a week worth of fun. Packages, envelopes, presents, parties, lots of cake, and a special visit from her Grandma & Grandpa Manfredo.
On May 5th we had her 1st birthday at our neighborhood park. 17 adults, 11 kids, food, presents, cake, fun, fun, and more fun!  Friends and family were very generous in the gift department. I tried to capture all of the moments, but 280 pictures later, I had to pick and choose. On Emersyn's actual birthday she was at school. I provided mini cupcakes for the class. At this point Emersyn was programmed to dance to the 'Happy Birthday' song. I dressed her in the onesie I bought her that said "Look Who's One!". At night we celebrated with a special ladybug cake made by my friend Jenn. She was the friend that came over to watch Dylan the night I went into labor with Emersyn. The gifts and cards continued over the week, we ate cake non-stop, and left the balloons on the back of her highchair. The idea that our baby was one just wasn't setting in.

Emersyn wore a ladybug dress for her party (of course!). I had a bib made for her as well. It had a '1' on it with a ladybug and under the number was her name. Surprisingly the stain of red frosting came right out! Her smash cake was a ladybug. She started off just poking the cake, then gradually tasting it, digging in, and smushing it it all over her face. She didn't get it all over like I thought she would, but she enjoyed it thoroughly.

(Click on any collage to see it in a larger form)

Pictures below are from party day. I took so many, but had to only select a few to share or this posting would be forever long.

When I started this post (a week ago) I had so many ideas of where I wanted to go with the post. It has taken me forever and I've forgotten....go figure. So I'm going to treat it like all my other postings.

This is the last month for the monthly stickers I've been using, but I totally forgot to use the 12 month one due to all of the birthday craziness.

Ladybug Fun Facts:

- Emersyn is a speed crawling, pulling up, climbing stairs, and just beginning to cruise.

- Loves to give hugs and kisses.

- Would rather have food than a bottle. She eats almost everything and loves water.

- We are currently on our last few scoops of formula and then we are officially on whole milk. Still in the process of phasing out bottles. One thing at a time.

- Waves at everyone, points at things that interest her, plays peek-a-boo.

- Loves drinking out of a straw.

-Testing limits already. If you tell her 'no' she smiles and does it anyway.

-Says "Dada, Mama, Mo (more), hi, make a D sound for Dylan, and a K sound for many things

-Crazy hair! I don't want her to have bangs, so we are trying to let her hair grow. She pulls out bows and hair ties, so she frequently looks like a mop top.

- Gets excited to see her brother and her Daddy. The excitement never gets old. She kicks her legs and squeals with excitement every time.

-Eats more than Dylan and the difference in weight between the two of them is 4lbs.

-Still uses a paci.

-NO teeth. We see them down below in the gums, so they should be here sometime in the next month or two. I have a feeling more than one will be popping through at a time. Oh joy!

This past year has gone by so fast. Emersyn brings so much joy and laughter to our lives. I don't think there is a day that goes by that we aren't laughing together as a family. Her smile and laugh is contagious. She has a sassy, outgoing personality, that will draw you to her. Since the moment she has been born she has made me a better person. She inspires me, she is my hero,  my heart and soul, my baby girl. The love Zack & I have for her is endless.

So today we celebrate you Emersyn Isabella!

Happy Birthday to you my sweet daughter, my lovely ladybug!  WE LOVE YOU!!!!



Happy Birthday Ladybug

Happy 1st Birthday Emersyn Isabella!!
We love you!

Operation Yard Work

A few weeks back I posted about our yard transformation. We laid down sod, cut bushes, and tried to clean up our overall curb appeal.
The sod is finally growing and turning green. A giant thank you to my Dad for cutting the bushes and laying down more mulch! With flowers in bloom the yard is looking great. Oh, and how can I forget about our wishing well! Friends of the family made it for us when we got married. We've tried planting flowers in it, but haven't had success in the growth department. while my parents were here, they 'planted' some beautiful artificial flowers in the well. They won't die or attract bugs... Perfect!!! I'd have to say, the well looks lovely!!!

Our next project will be painting the pillars, replacing outdoor lights, and keeping up with the yard maintenance.

Thank you Dad for helping us!

Big Weekend

My parents come to visit today and will be here through the weekend. We are also having Emersyn's 1st birthday party. The next four days should be busy and fun filled.

I may not have time to blog but stay tuned. After the weekend there will be many postings to come!