Daddy is FINISHED with SCHOOL!!!

This past Tuesday Craig had his LAST class of his Masters Program!! Wahoo!!!

We are so PROUD of him!! He doesn't get to graduate till next year but he is officially finished with school. Looks like he is going to graduate with a 4.0 with his MBA!!!

The kids and I made him some homemade signs and got him a few little things to celebrate with him!!
When he got home from work today we had the little signs up and his presents out! Max ran to him as he got home and said HAPPY BIRTHDAY Daddy! LOL

He was quite SURPRISED!!!

And of course he LOVED his goodies we got him!

Cowboys shirt and some candy! Nothing much because...

I had another surprise up my sleeve! I took him to Ruth Chris for dinner and I had asked my parents if the kids could spend the night. So...we dropped them off and then I told him they weren't coming home tonight. He was VERY SURPRISED!! He couldn't believe that I was letting the kids spend the night out (this was Emery's first time and probably Max's 3 or 4th). Ha! Then on the way to dinner I told him where we were going. He was just so happy. He told me that he was most surprised about the kids staying out. So much fun! We had a wonderful dinner and just great quality time together!! We are so BLESSED!

Emery 13 months!!

13 months!! Whoop Whoop!! Get ready for a lot of pics...there was just too many "CUTE" ones!!!

Emery was quite the character and "rowdy" for this chair photo shoot. But that is just her at this age!
Weight is almost 21 lbs. I am not sure on length but I know she has gotten a little taller as she is filling out her 12 month one piece pjs.

She is not much of a "lets sit down and read a book kind of girl". This is her favorite book only because it is an interactive one. You lift the parts of the page to find the baby underneath. She loves to look at books and any that make noise or play music. But she is usually done with it about 5 min flat!

She HATES wearing bows. Most of the time it is a challenge and I just try to get it on for a few pics every now and then.

She really doesn't PLAY with anything for more than a few minutes. Her favorite toys right now...laugh and learn house, musical toys, and anything that isn't a toy!

She is such a character these days!! She has so many different faces and she just really knows how to make someone happy in a second. She has such a contagious little laugh and she uses it very frequently. Lately, she just busts out laughing for no reason! Talk about turning your bad day into a good one!! I just LOVE that about her!! She is very emotional, dramatic, and sensitive too (especially when it has anything to do with her brother barely touching her...LOL). Like look at pic below...she was like seriously mom are we done yet!!! Ha!

And we try the bow again....love how she looks so chill in the pic below.

Then brother interrupts and wants to join in (notice the bow is already gone)....he has been just a tad bit jealous these days. It really is hard to explain to a 3 year old that you did all these things with them when they were a baby.

Back to sweet lil ole Emery. She has been quite the LOVEY baby these days! She LOVES to give out kisses to EVERYONE!! And I mean everyone. If I give her a kiss in a store she will lean over and try and kiss someone, anyone very near. It is quite hilarious. And she will lean in, close her eyes, and say mmmmmmm....ah. So precious! I wish I could bottle this up and keep it forever as I know I will blink and she will be telling me to stop kissing her....

As for walking...she is taking about 8-10 steps and falling down. She does get back up and try again many times a day but she prefers to crawl most of the time. I think she only does that because she can get places faster crawling. For instance, if there is food involved she is crawling! LOL

This girl LOVES to eat still! However, we are starting to see a picky side of her. Lots of foods she ate before she is starting to shake her head, say uh-ah and throw them off her high chair. Or she will just throw them...this was funny at first (especially to Max). Her favorite foods are chicken, fruit, and carbs! She isn't too much of a veggie girl....so...we need to work on that.

Oh and did I mention she has an A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E!!! Wow! I am pretty sure I am in for it when she is a teenager!! Yikes! This girl will slap, scream, and just plain get ticked off!!! And if she doesn't get her way...EVERYONE know about it! She is quite LOUD!!

Notice this attitude above...all because I put the bow back on and was telling her not to take it off! She was thoroughly upset with me!

No worries...she got her way quickly and was happy as a peach! LOL

We are truly LOVING this age with Emery! She is just so much FUN!

Making Pizzas with Nana!!

Our Tuesday night ritual has come to an end because Craig had his LAST class of his Mastors program tonight!! Wahoo!! We are so EXCITED for you Daddy and of course so PROUD of you too!!! Since tonight was our last Tuesday night dinner with Nana and Pawpaw, Nana wanted to do something fun and special!! Homemade Pizzas!!! And Max was ALL about it!! He helped Nana roll out the dough! And then he kept patting his to make sure it was just right...

And my picky little eater only wanted cheese... he told us "white cheese and that's it"
He was oh so serious putting his cheese on top!

Sweet little fingers!

Max did help out making everyone else pizza since his only took about 5 seconds! LOL

And Max's finished pizza...or bread with some cheese melted on it!! Ha!

So sad that our Tuesday night dinners are ending but so excited to have Daddy back home every Tuesday night with us!! Thank you Nana and Pawpaw for the past two years of taking care of us!! We are so blessed to have you so involved in our lives!! Don't worry...we will still come eat every now and then during the week because we do LOVE your cooking Nana!!!

Zoo Date with Mommy!

This morning after we got up and ready for the day I asked Max what he wanted to do. He told me that he wanted to go to the zoo! It was wonderful weather so I thought it was a GREAT idea!!

We had a wonderful time just the three of us! Usually we meet up with friends at the zoo but it was nice this time to go at our own pace. We also ventured over to parts of the zoo we have NEVER seen!!
SNACK TIME!! Always a must with my kiddos :)

Max's only request of the day..."I wanna see the zebras, mommy!"

We stayed there for a while. Max would count them and tell me there were 3 zebras but that he wanted there to be more! LOL

The hippos were out sunbathing today which was really cool to see them so up close! I had no idea how BIG they were!! Max kept telling them "get back in the water!! I wanna see you swim, not sleep!" Ha ha ha

So we saw the Komodo Dragon (aka large lizard) for the first time. Max was grabbing Emery's arm back and telling her "NO, NO Emery that dragon will eat your arm off!" Oh...goodness what an imagination my child has....

We also found the Herpetarium (aka house of snakes, turtles, and lizards). We have never been in there before and we happened to head in at feeding time!! We were so LUCKY to see them feeding small mice to the snakes!! LOL Max LOVED it even if he kept saying "ewww, yuck!" He kept staring as the snake opened up his jaw to swallow the mouse down whole!! Really, not something I care to see again. But just so you won't be left out here is a pic for you :)

We also discovered a huge Koi Pond over by the snake house. It was so cool how you could get up and close to it. We watched them for a while and then headed to a shaded spot for lunch!

Emery had her FIRST peanut butter sandwich!! She tore it up...oh wait there isn't much she doesn't do that too....ha ha!

Max was thoroughly upset that he had to share his sandwich with Emery. The thing is he has NEVER hardly eats half of one so I made a whole one for the two of them to share. Boy I will NEVER do that again. He threw a fit and pouted about it the entire lunch. Emery and I were done eating and then I finally got him to eat. Ugh...so needless to say we didn't end the zoo on a good note. 3 year olds....I'm just saying! Check out that pouty face....After nap time we were all better!!!

The kids were having a blast throwing the balls into the little clubhouse. Who knew my kids could actually find something they enjoy playing together...LOL

They were laughing and cutting up together! It was so sweet to watch!! I just love watching how they interact more and more as Emery gets older!!

I'm a BAD momma...Max's 3 yr post!!

I have NO IDEA how I forgot to do Max's 3 year post!! Makes me so sad...

Well, today he is officially 3 yrs and 3 months!! I actually took these pictures a week ago when Max had picture day at school. He looked so cute this day in his new jeans and his first pair of Merrells.

Our precious little boy is now weighing about 33 and a half lbs and he is about 39 and a half inches tall!!

He is wearing a size 3T in tops, 2T shorts and 3T pants (only adjustable waist) as he has a very small waist and bottom. He gets that from his daddy ;)

He is wearing a size 10 shoe!!! Seems so crazy as last year at this time we were buying a size 8!!

He is FULLY potty trained and wearing big boy BOXERS(we don't wear underwear around here)!! We do use pull-ups at night but he has yet to have any accidents in them. I honestly didn't realize they could hold their urine that long at this age!!

Not the greatest eater...some of his favorites fruit, cereal, cucumbers (which use to be called cuemuters until here recently) and carrots with ranch dressing, tri-color noodles with NOTHING on them, biscuits with syrup, cinnamon rolls, french fries with ketchup, bread sticks, cereal bars and frozen waffles. Can you say carb-o-holic!

As for sleeping he has pretty much given up naps at this point. If he does need one I don't let him sleep too long as he would be up until 11 oclock at night!! Bedtime rituals are usually about 8:00 he has a snack and a show, then 8:30 brush teeth, read some books, prayers, songs and lights out! Craig or I lay with him and he is usually asleep by 9 or a little before most nights. Since he stopped naps he usually passes out quickly and sleeps till 8 or 8:30 the next morning. Sometimes, even later depending on how much we did the day before. He is still obsessed with his "B" (his little blue blanket) and must have it for bedtime.
He is ALL BOY!! He loves any kind of sports and will play any kind ALL day long if you let him. I still think basketball is his favorite but it seems like every other day he has a "new" favorite. He will be quick to tell you that he LOVES all sports though!! He loves to be outdoors as long as it isn't TOO hot...LOL He is constantly jumping or climbing on whatever he can! He loves to be in the water/playing in the water. If we are inside we are playing sports games, puzzles, reading books, or playing wii or ipad. He will play other things too but these are just his FAVORITES.

He is very very SMART! He knows ALL his ABC's and letter recognition. He is actually starting to see words and say what they are. I think a friend of mine said this is called sight words??! Not sure really but like the other day he is saw STOP and he said mommy S-T-O-P that says STOP! And he saw the word QUIT on the wii game and did the same thing spelled it and then said the word!! Crazy!! He knows all his numbers and number recognition. He also likes to count everything. He knows all his colors and word recognition of the color's word. He can memorize a book after reading it to him a few times and he will read the entire thing back to you. If you didn't realize that he can't read you would think he could because he doesn't miss many words! I can't even explain how good he can memorize things!! If only I had his memory.....

He is such a sweet fun loving little boy! He is so very loving to me. He loves to snuggle with me, crawl up in my lap, and is quick to give out hugs and kisses to his family. He is learning to be more loving to his sister but this will come with time and yes I am fully aware it may take about 15 more years....LOL He is very sensitive and honestly very quiet around those he doesn't know. He gets anxious in a large group and tends to act out when he feels this way. I have learned very quickly to not do large playgroups anymore as it just ends in us leaving shortly after going. I am thinking he is more of an introvert like his Daddy but it is hard for me to tell because he is SO outgoing with people he is comfortable with. I mean he really is a little talker and will pretty much carry an entire conversation with you. He is definitely in the stage of asking all the why and how questions.

Oh goodness...I think I could go on and on...Our sweet Max...Daddy, Emery, and I LOVE you so much and we are so blessed that you are in our family! I can't even begin to tell you how much your sister adores you (and your Mommy and Daddy too for that matter). I want you to know that you are truly a gift and I love watching you grow and change all the time (even if I do want to make time stop sometimes).