Hannah Says...

Emmett at 3

• 37.5 pounds and 3' 4" (both 90th percentile).
• Wears size 4T clothing and 9-10 in shoes.
• Can be really reserved in a new situation, but usually adjusts quickly and becomes pretty outgoing.
• Loves the disney channel.
• Getting more selective about what he eats, but still loves noodles, rice, bread, cheese, grapes, berries, popcorn, bars (cereal or granola), salad.
• Loves drinking  "spicy water" (talking rain).
• Has started saying he needs a "hangabur" when we drive past a Wendy's or McD's, even though it's rare that we go there.
• Recently has started insisting that we turn his lamp on when he goes to sleep.  It hasn't been a problem so far, so we are letting him.
• Still loves his giraffe "stretch".
• L.O.V.E.S baseball.  Anything and everything about the sport.  He carries his bat and/or glove/ball wherever we go.  And he sleeps with them.  As soon as Brent walks in the door from being gone Emmett immediately asks "You wanna go downstairs and play some ball?"
• Always digging through my purse for gum.
• I'm starting to let him walk at the grocery store.  He's pretty good since he knows if he makes one false move he's strapped into the seat of the cart.
• Loves helping me cook and bake.  When i'm making cookies, pizza dough, scones, etc. I'll give him his own bowl of dough and let him form his own.  He works really hard and is always really proud of whatever he makes.
• Still not potty trained.  We've been talking about it alot and even borrowed some potty seats in hopes that it will happen soon.  He's pretty resistant to the idea and if I push it, it usually becomes a fight.
• Loves recounting stories.  (About a month ago, we got to my mom's and there was a bird inside.  It took my mom and me about 15 minutes to chase it out.  Now anytime a bird is mentioned, he tells the story about the day there was a bird in grandma's house.)
• Usually gets his Bible stories from Sunday school and BSF, retells them with some accuracy
• •  when learning about Saul/Paul interacting with Jesus:  Paul saw Jesus with a flashlight on His head, and it hurt his eyes
  • about Palm Sunday: His friends had palm branches and they were waving them, Jesus was riding on a donkey and God was organizing
  • About Easter:  Jesus had owies on his arms and feet, and when they found Him, He was alive!
• Also loves taking pieces of different stories and putting them together.
• Long naps are rare, short naps are more common, but still inconsistent.
• Bedtime is around 8:30, wakes up anytime between 7:00 and 8:00.
• Has a good-nature and is learning to show concern and empathy for others
• Loves playing with other kids.
• Getting more independent.
• Still our pride and joy.  Can be infuriating at times and can also melt my heart.

The Pioneer Woman

I went Oregon over the weekend for a couple of reasons.  (Mainly to celebrate Shannon's 30th birthday.)  But it worked out wonderfully that The Pioneer Woman was doing a book-signing on Monday!  So, when Shannon told me about it and asked if I wanted to go, of course I said yes!  (I didn't tell her yes right away, because the fact that I was coming for the weekend was a surprise.)  Anyhow, we went and had a lot of fun!  When she first got there, she had a question/answer time with all of us.  Shannon even got to ask her a question!  We came up with the question together and then I photographed PW answering Shan's question.  She asked if PW had any plans for a photography book.  She didn't give a very clear answer, so maybe she's not?  Or she just isn't ready to talk about it yet.  I hope it's the latter.  (Yes, we really are this silly that we love this woman so much!  And we know how silly we are.)  I didn't end up staying to get my cookbook signed, since we were #200 in line and I still had to drive home.  (Shan's aunt waited until 9:00 to get hers signed!)  But we had fun and I'm glad I got to see my favorite blogger in person!  (Favorite blogger that I don't know personally.)

A few pics from the night.

 
Me, Shan, Holly, Lacey, Sophia 

 
Answering Shannon's question!

 
This was about the closest I could get.

 

Yes, I was really so lame that I took a picture of her daughter!  But I don't care, I had fun.  

 

Happy Birthday Emmett!

Today is Emmett's third birthday.  Really, third?!  It doesn't seem like we've had him around that long, but I guess time flies when you are having fun.  When he woke up this morning, I said "It's your birthday today, remember?" and he said "Yeah, it's my birthday!"  We've been talking about it for a few weeks, so I think he was glad his day actually got here.  I let him open his present from his friend Sophia, but that was it since Brent was already gone for the day.  He got a new game, Uno Moo and he carried it around all morning.  We spent the rest of the day working (me, but he had to go with me) and just hanging out.  He was acting like a typical 3-year-old, so I tried my best to be extra patient with him.  I decided we need to get a few birthday picture with a mini-shoot, so we headed out to the front yard.  Even though I don't like that the sun wasn't out today, it made for a much easier for me to take some pictures.  Meanwhile, Brent came home and brought out his big present (from my mom and dad)...a new bike!  He has slowly been outgrowing his trike, and it was time for something bigger.  And to top it off, it's a Lightening McQueen bike!  When Brent brought it out, Emmett quietly gasped and said "Is that a new bike for me?"  I can't even tell you how fun it was to give him something he loved so much!  Of course he had to try it out, so he and Brent went up and down the side street.  I was a little worried it would be too hard for him, but he caught on quickly.  I'm quite sure we will have to keep an eye on him even more now!  After a little Red Robin with my parents and Uncle Andrew, we came home and gave him our present.  I had a hard time figuring out what to get him this year and only bought it on Sunday!  While in Oregon, I went to Target and saw a train set that I haven't seen at our store.  I second-guessed myself for a couple of days about it, but when we gave it to him tonight, he was really excited.  So, I guess we will keep it.  All in all, it was a good day.  I asked him tonight as I was getting his pjs on him if he had a fun birthday and he said "Yes!"  I guess that's all that counts.

Celebrating the Boy

Since it's a rare occasion for Emmett to have all of his cousins in the same town on the same day, we decided to take advantage of the fact that they were and celebrate his party over the weekend.  A few weeks ago I had this great idea to have a cowboy party and hold it at my in-law's "ranch" complete with horses.  What I didn't seem to remember is that April weather can be fickle and unreliable.  So, with the freak snow storm on Friday, I had my doubts about the horse riding, but Saturday dawned sunny and bright.  Of course, at party time a viciously cold wind had picked up.  And the usually docile Junebug wasn't too sure of the flags that were flapping so hard it sounded like whips cracking.  So we opted to spend just a little time outside and feed the horses some carrots.

 
Grandpa Steve showed all the kids how to lay their hand flat with the carrot on it and let the horse take it.  Since the Hoefer girls used to live in Ellensburg, they were practically experts.

I love this one because it shows just how excited Roc was!

All bundled up.

My little cowboy.

 The "big"girls.

So we decided to come inside for a little crafting...something all the kids enjoy.  And fortunately, Brent's mom has a ton of stuff.  We just piled the table with crayons, markers, foam stickers and regular stickers and let the kids have at it.  After crafting he opened his presents (art stuff, playdoh, bubble bath, and a Handy Manny car!) and then we ate cupcakes.  It was a fun afternoon (despite the cold) and it was so fun to have all the cousins together!