Just A Few Thursday Tidbits

Hey Everyone!

Can you believe that it is time to start the Holiday talks!? I can't! I am so excited though. I think this year will be an absolute blast with Emma. We have been out quite a bit this week and she is loving seeing the occasional Christmas Tree at the mall or decorations in different stores. We made a trip to Hobby Lobby today bought some fun little Christmas crafts as well (I know it is early, but I can't help myself ) Even found a precious little Holiday apron for her. Think I will have it monogrammed and do alot of baking this year *ahem* attempto bake anyways ;) I will also be looking for some EASY fun baking recipes so if you know of any please send them my way. Also if you are having hard time coming up with a gift for somebody then you should definatly check out Mama M's Holiday Gift Guide that will be kicking off on Monday! I will be joining in.. should be alot of fun.

In other news Emma's sleeping problems seem to be getting worse. I wrote a post about a week or so ago talking about transitioning her from two naps a day down to one because she was having some issues not wanting to go to bed at night. Well, she is now down to one nap a day and is still have a hard time. Homegirl did not go to bed the night before last until 10 pm. We started the battle around 830 and she was just yelling for us or coming out of her room every five minutes until she finally gave up at ten. I don't know about you but that is not cool. Last night she woke up around 1230 and  decided she was done sleeping. I tried everything! We snuggled, said prayers, changed diapers, you name it we did it. Finally as a last resort I pulled out the pack and play! I set it up in her room at 3 AM and told her if she could not stay in her bed then she would have to sleep in there. Needless to say that is where she slept because of course she did not stay in her bed! I feel terrible leaving her in there to cry in a P &P but she can not be up and ready to play at midnight. Something has got to give! Praying for a better night tonight. She has not had sleep issues like this since she was 6 month old?!?

Alright well I am going to get my craft on and enjoy a few quiet moments. Don't be surprised if you see a few Christmas decorations slowly going up in the next few days. Derek will have a heart attack if I pull that stuff out before Thanksgiving...but....why not?!!? LOL

Talk to ya soon!

Last But Not Least...

I know I am really late in the day with my Halloween pictures.

But this little one....

 this sweet cute puppy dog.. has been a disaster today. A very loong weekend full of nightS waayy past her bedtime made for one crazy day today. She only wanted to cuddle, cry, be antsy, cranky and any other shananagin (sp?!!?) that an over tired toddler would pull. However, she was still the cutest puppy on the block this weekend!

 From L to R My godsone Landon (swat team member ;) Kelsey (Alex from Wizards of Waverly Place) and Emma!

We went trick or treating in style. Complete with an awesome hayride around the neighborhood! So much fun!!

My sweet grandmother bought this precious trick or treat bag for E. I loved it.. on the other side it had her name.

 Sorry for the blurry pic here.. my nighttime photo skills are not up to snuff ;) Anywho this was our pumpkin this year. I thought DH did a great job!

 We went to a fall festival on Saturday. It was fun but not exactly what I thought it was going to be. What did make it fun was that my sister, her bf, and my mom got to come with us since Derek had to work. We really enjoyed the time together..

This is our scarecrow we made.. hilarious huh?!

Group shot...

From L to R (Cole, my sister Lauren, and of course little E) 

 Two of my favorite girls in the world. my mom and sister!

We had a wonderful weekend! I hope y'all did as well. Now that is over though...

I say bring on ChRiStMaS!!!! If it was up to me I would have pulled out my decorations today (Derek says no way! ;)

Transitions...

Hey Everyone!

Here in OUR Paradise we are going through some changes. My little E is changing and doing so much growing that I am having a hard time keeping up. I may need a few pointers or tips if you don't mind!

Emma has always been a two nap a day kind of girl. Even at 26 months old! Yes, I understand I am really lucky and that most mom's do not get to enjoy two naps a day at this age. However, she really needed them and never had any problems going to bed at night or never fought a nap. UNTIL this week! I am seeing a few sleeping pattern changes in the making. My question for you is how did you transition from two naps a day to one nap? I have tried for two days in a row and she is acting extremely over tired. Yesterday her nap was a little over an hour and a half and still was fighting us to go to bed at 9 pm. Not cool! Any suggestions, tip, or anything of that sort is welcome!!

Toddler-hood is hard enough but then you add an over tired cranky girl on top of that and it is enough to do me in ;)

So help a sister out!! Give me all you inside info.

Thanks!!

A Helping Hand

I took this picture this past weekend while we were up in the mountains. Derek was giving E a helping hand (she loved climbing up the rocks..) Once I got home and uploaded this picture it took my breath away. For some reason for me it just captured his love for her and his commitment to always be there to give her a helping hand. I kind of related it to how God must feel about us. So wonderful and loving always there for us when we need him. There for his children if we will just call on him and ask for his help!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Overnight Adventure Part 2

Alright.. earlier today I started a recap of our little weekend outing and then.. life happend. I snipped it short and am here to finish up now!!

On day two of our trip we went to Grandfather Mountain. It was remarkable to say the least! We would def like to go back again and hike around a little one day.. not exactly an Emma thing to do.. but maybe soon :)

Up the stairs we go.. heading towards the swinging bridge! Yes I believe that real mean wear pink ;) Esp to help their wives  from falling over with a 30 lb bookbag on her back!

 Once we got to the top of the stairs I saw this sign.. and was a little concerned that we had brought E!

A view from the top!! The picture does not even do it justice my friends!!

On the bridge!

 

This is a picture of the bridge.. it doesnt look so impressive from this point of view.. but let me tell you! When you are standing on it and realize you are a mile off the ground you gain a little more respect for that bridge ;)

Here goes E!! She no longer wanted to be held... and it was either let her walk holding hands or have her flailing in daddys arms walking across. Think walking was the best bet there! She did great :)

Strong girls! ;)

Think Emma enjoyed the leaves as much as we did. We would ride down the road and she would say "pretty pretty"

However... we did have a little mishap on the way home. We had 17 miles of very sharp curves and turns.. and we now know Emma gets motion sickness :(  Thankfully as soon as we made it down, got everything cleaned up, and situated she was good to go!

Overall it was a wonderful trip. Enjoyed time with great friends and a day with just our little family! Next time we head up to  the mountains it will be to get our Christmas Tree!!! I can hardly contain myself ;)

Overnight Adventure

Sunday morning (because Derek is off Sun and usually Mon) we headed up to the mountains to see the leaves. This weekend was peak weekend up there and we thought a good little over night adventure was just what we needed! That is one of the wonderful perks about living in NC. We live Approx an hour and half from the mountains and about three and a half from the sandy beaches!! Perfect!

On Sunday our friends drove up with us. They were only going to stay for the day because they have a newbie on board ;) 

Emma and Landon had a great time together.. she loved having somebody to play with. It was so sweet she tried to do everything he did..Sweet!

 Emma does not get much time with her godfather because he works alot of hours just like her daddy but boy did she soak up her time with him today. I think he enjoyed it just as much as she did.

My bestie and her new little one. She was soo good the entire time. I think her favorite part was the park ;)

I had to sneak some snuggles in as well..

After having lunch downtown Blowing Rock and enjoying some time in the park we decided to go and see the actual Blowing Rock.. click here to read the myth about the rock...I have been up to the mountains many times but have never actually been here before. We loved it! It was gorgeous.

 

Stay tuned to hear about the rest of the trip later on this afternoon :) Hope you had a fabulous weekend as well!!!

Saturday Snippits

Hey y'all!

So glad it is Saturday finally! Derek works Tue through Sat so I get excited to see Sunday roll around. We are heading to the mountains early tomorrow morning. I am so excited :) It supposed to be beautiful up there right now. We are not getting to much leaf change yet.. so we will drive a little bit and enjoy the leaves up there. 

 See?! There is a smidge of color starting to come out but not much considering it is the middle of October. No worries after this weekend I should have some gorgeous leaf pics for ya.. hopefully ;)

Me and E like to head out on Saturdays and spend some time together. Today I decided to head out to the nature trail and let her wonder around a little bit. OK you caught me.. yes I had other ideas in mind.. like pictures!! Here are a few of my favorite of the day.

 She will just stop in the middle of the walk.. squat and take everything in.. then when she is ready she gets back up and carries on!

 Yes this was totally posed but I had no idea she would actually stay like that ;)

 Love that sweet little girl! I adore her beyond words...

 She found a small pile of leaves.. she will be in heaven when they really start to fall!!

 She is def. a tree hugger! She often gives them hugs.. and occasionally a kiss! Strange!?

Terrible pic.. but nobody is ever around to take our picture so I decided to take matters into my own hands. As you can see the result was less than par!

As you can tell we had a great day together!! I am excited for a family adventure this weekend! Hope y'all are having a great weekend as well.

Happy Saturday!!