April thru July update!

I know it has been forever, but there has been a lot going on! First off, I lost my phone a week ago and I am in the process of getting back all the pictures that were on my phone. So I have a limited amount of pictures right now. So, lets get back to Mother's Day. We had a very laid-back day. I was itching to start planting, so we went to the local nursery and bought jalapeno plants, strawberry plants, green bell pepper plants, and then some assorted flowers. We spent the rest of the day planting (Emily is so good at smelling the flowers and not touching them!) and relaxing. It was a wonderful day.
     Next, we took a vacation in early June. Chad had found out about this Beer Bourbon Barbeque Festival out in Washington DC, and was dying to go. So, us three drove down to Chicago where his sister lives, and Emily and I stayed in Chicago with her, and Chad and her husband Eric drove out to DC to attend this festival. The boys had a fantastic time! They also toured the Jim Beam distillery along the way, and toured DC. Eric had such a good time that he passed out on the subway home! All in good fun! Us girls went to the Chicago Childrens Museum on the Navy Pier and went to a water park. Again, when I get the pictures back, I will post them. Also, if you have Instagram, I have pics up there too.
     For father's day, Chad wanted to grill, of course! It was much like mother's day...relaxing. I got Chad one of his favorite movies, Law Abiding Citizen. It was a beautiful day, so we spent most of the day outside- which was fine by Emily! She absolutely LOVES it outside! The neighbors are used to hearing her scream as we basically drag her inside- it is quite the production!
     A couple random tidbits: First, Emily has been in a bad habit when she goes down to nap- she strips down naked before lying down. Diaper and all. Which is a bad thing because she wakes up in a pool of...you know. So we've been taping her diaper before naptime, which so far has solved the problem. Also, both of Emily's daycare providers can't take her anymore, for different reasons. She has started at a daycare called The Learning Tree. She fits right in and seems to enjoy it. Lastly, Emily's language has ERUPTED! A month ago, we were getting worried because she was barely speaking at all. We were in the process of setting up meetings with birth to 3, when she suddenly started talking! For the purpose of archiving, here are her words: "shoes," "socks," "outside," "done," "doggy" (one of her first words) "bye bye," "go," "uh-oh," "mama" (FINALLY!), "what's that?" (she pronounces it funny so it kind of sounds like "oh shit!") "Grandpa," "night night," "hi," "dada," (also one of her first words) and "all done." Her most recent addition to her words is a fun one: NO! The thing is, she says it just to say it. Everything is "NO!"
     Finally, for the fourth of July, Chad and Emily headed up to his family's cabin. I had to stay behind because I couldn't get work off. It has been 2 days and I miss the little bugger already. I'll post pictures once I have them.