The Larson Family

Hello again...

2008-09-06T11:09:00.002-05:00

It has been so long since I've posted! Emma is now 15 months old and is walking everywhere. We just had her 15 month checkup and she weighs 21lbs 13 oz and is 31 inches tall.

A Busy Month

2008-05-19T16:33:00.004-05:00

May has been so busy for us. Joey went camping in the Guadalupe Mountains at the beginning of the month. He and the guys had a good time even with the hospital visit.

My birthday was two weekends ago (the 10th) and I also celebrated my very first mother's day as a mommy! We went to Kemah to celebrate the day before. Then the day of my birthday we went shopping and to a fish fry that evening. On Mother's Day we went to church and Emma got to be in the Mother's Day baby parade!

This past weekend we had dinner with some friends of ours on Friday and then on Saturday we hosted an un-going away party at our house. It was originally a going away party for the Waltons but three days before the party they found out they didn't have to move. We were so excited and the party was so much fun!

I have also been hosting a Ladies Bible study over here at my house on Monday nights and Joey has been going to a Men's Bible study at the Blanchard's home on Wednesday nights. So, needless to say we have been very busy! No wonder I haven't posted a blog in over a month!

We are looking forward to Emma's 1st birthday at the end of the month. My family is coming to stay for a week to celebrate. And then we are going to have a big Pretty in Pink party on the 31st!

Phew! Maybe June will be slower for us!

A Big Week

2008-03-27T19:49:00.002-05:00

Emma is 10 months old today and she has had a very big week. As mentioned earlier, she learned to push herself up to a sitting position earlier in the week. Yesterday she got a new tooth in and she started crawling - not super skilled crawling, but she can slowly get to where she wants to go. I am amazed everyday by everything she is learning. She has figured out which of her toys make music and likes to push their buttons so she can dance to the music. She puts her phones up to her ear and says hello into them. She likes to pass toys back and forth with me. She plays peek-a-boo. And occasionally she'll amaze us by saying "thank you".

Well, and one more thing happened this week - I got a job. I will be working three days a week doing computer drafting for a residential design firm in Houston. I start next Tuesday. It was a really hard decision, but I feel that it is the right one for right now at least. Emma will be in good hands and it will help me to start paying back my student loans. Pray for us as we adjust to being apart.

Surprise, Mommy!

2008-03-25T16:49:00.004-05:00

Emma has learned to push herself into a sitting position from her stomach. Yesterday when I went in to get her after her nap, I found her sitting up in her crib waiting for me. Today when I went into get her, I found this -
Guess we'll be moving her mattress down to the next notch so she won't fall out of her bed!

Last Weekend

2008-03-14T14:42:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Joey's parents came to visit. Emma enjoyed being spoiled by her grandparents. We went to the Rainforest Cafe which she hated. I thought she would like the animals and stuff, but it just scared her. We also went to the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens and she really enjoyed that even though it was super hot in there. Here are some pictures from inside the Rainforest Pyramid.

Easter Eggs

2008-03-02T14:21:00.002-06:00

I got Emma an Easter basket this week and filled it full of eggs. She has been having a blast dumping all the eggs out and then throwing them around. Our cat, Maggie, has been helping her spread them around downstairs. Maggie has played more with Emma's Easter eggs than any other toy she owns!

9 months

2008-02-27T22:05:00.002-06:00

Emma turned 9 months today! She weighs 18 lbs 2 oz (40th percentile) and is 27 3/4 inches long (60th percentile). The doctor was a little bit worried that she hasn't gained any weight this month - she actually lost an ounce. And she has only gained 1 lb in 3 months, but she said that she sees that a lot with breastfed babies and that she should start gaining weight now that she can have more foods. Emma can clap her hands, wave bye-bye, say "ma-ma", and she pulled up to standing for the first time today! She is growing so fast. Here are some pictures from today.

Just a swingin'

2008-02-20T20:29:00.003-06:00

Emma and I went to the playground on Valentine's Day with some of our friends. I figured out that Emma loves to swing by herself! She had a really fun time.

Eight Months!

2008-01-29T19:50:00.000-06:00

Emma turned 8 months on Sunday! I can't believe it - it has gone by so fast! She seems to be doing something new everyday. She can stand for little bits at a time by herself holding on to things. (We stand her up-she doesn't pull up yet.) She claps her hands when we say "yay!" She dances to music and she can even say ma-ma! She loves to laugh at Boo (our dog) and she has got the cutest laugh I've EVER heard. She had to go to the doctor today for a follow up visit (she had bronchitis a couple of weeks ago), so I got to find out her 8 month stats. She weighs 18 lbs 3 oz and is 27 inches long. Here are a couple of pictures of her from this week. The first one is in the middle of a clapping session and the second one is her practicing standing up in her crib.

Cousins in Baton Rouge

2008-01-22T15:43:00.000-06:00

The weekend before last, we went to visit Joey's family in Baton Rouge. Emma got to spend some time with her cousins. Joey and I brought the girls some blocks to build stuff with - we ended up building stuff so that they could knock it down all weekend which they seemed to enjoy.

Emma enjoyed riding this horsey that was too small for her cousins...although once they saw her on it - they wanted to ride too!

Joey entertained the girls by wearing a tiny hat - what a goof ball!

Emma really enjoyed playing in the ball pit that my mother in law has at her house for the girls.

Baby's First New Year's Eve

2008-01-22T15:36:00.000-06:00

We had a fun New Year's Eve this year! We went with some friends to Galveston and ate a nice dinner and then went to Moody Gardens to see the Festival of Lights. Emma enjoyed looking at the lights, but she got tired by then end. We came back home and stayed up playing board games. Yes, that is right, we made it all the way to midnight! Just cause we have a baby does not mean we are old fogies yet!

We are excited about 2008 and all of the firsts it is going to bring for Emma and for us!

Baby's First Christmas

2008-01-22T15:27:00.000-06:00

Emma had a great first Christmas. She opened her presents from mommy and daddy here in Texas on the 22nd (mommy and daddy's anniversary!) and then we went to Arkansas on the 23rd. We celebrated in Camden first with my family and then went to Little Rock to Joey's grandparents house. Emma had fun being spoiled by all her relatives, but she really had no idea what to do with the presents! Here are some cute pictures of her that my sister took while we were in Camden.

Emma meets Santa

2007-12-19T11:42:00.001-06:00

Emma met Santa on Monday. She is definitely on the nice list! She looked really surprised when we sat her in his lap. She seemed mesmerized by his hair and beard - it was really cute. For a minute she just stared at him before they got her attention with some jingle bells.

Well, Merry Christmas everyone! Can't wait to see some of you in a few days!

Emma's Dedication

2007-12-19T11:36:00.001-06:00

Emma's dedication was this past Sunday. It was very sweet. The pastor prayed for us, affirming our commitment to raise Emma in church and in a Christian home and also prayed that Emma would come to know Jesus early in life. I, thankfully, did not cry although for a couple of seconds I thought I was going to. I'm proud of myself for holding it together! Anyway, here are some pictures of us after the dedication prayer. We had a bunch of friends and some family over for lunch afterwards to celebrate. We, somehow, didn't get any pictures of everyone over at our house -oops! But, thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate. It meant a lot to us!

Portfolio Show & Graduation

2007-12-19T11:25:00.000-06:00

Portfolio show was last Thursday. It went really well; I still can't believe that I got everything done. The past few weeks have passed in a blur - finishing my internship, getting my portfolio printed, and getting everything set up at the show - I hardly had time to be excited about graduating. Here are a few pictures of the Portfolio show. A few designers and architects came through looking for employees, so we'll see how things go...

Graduation was on Friday. It was okay...ya know how graduations go - exciting yet boring at the same time. I basically just spent the whole time wishing I was sitting with Emma and Joey. Here are some pictures of us after the ceremony. My in-laws came too - but somehow managed to escape the photos. Thanks, Jim & Krista for supporting me at graduation!

Sitting up

2007-12-19T11:21:00.000-06:00

I don't know if I've already written this, but Emma is now sitting up on her own. She still topples over some, but hey, she's a baby and that's what babies do, right? Anyway, she loves to sit up and play with her toys - it is so cute to watch. I still can't believe she is mine sometimes!

Bethlehem City

2007-12-19T11:14:00.001-06:00

I've been pretty bad about posting blogs and pictures this month. We've just had so much going on, but things are finally slowing down so now I can get some pictures uploaded. So...these pictures are from our night in Bethlehem City. Every year our church puts on a drive thru Bethlehem City for the community. Joey and I always participate and this year little Emma got to participate too. We were just townspeople, but Emma sure stole the show! We could hear the kids as they drove by, "Look at the baby!" Some people even seemed to think she was baby Jesus. It was a lot of fun and really put us in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas is coming...

2007-12-08T15:27:00.001-06:00

Christmas is approaching very quickly! I am so excited to be celebrating this Christmas with Emma. Even though she has no idea that it is Christmas, she makes everything so much more special just by being here! I can't wait til the day we can read her the Christmas story and she truly understands the meaning of Christ's birth.

We have already begun our celebrations by taking Christmas photos, going to a church Christmas party, decorating the house, going to look at Christmas lights, and going to a Christmas concert. We have much more planned though; I'm sure we will be exhausted by the time Christmas actually gets here. Tonight we are participating in our church's annual Bethlehem City drive-thru production. And then next weekend, we are celebrating my graduation and Emma's dedication. And at some point we've got to squeeze in a visit to Santa before we leave for Arkansas to visit family!

Thanksgiving & 6 Month Check-Up

2007-11-29T17:08:00.001-06:00

We had a great Thanksgiving at home - my parents and sister came to celebrate with us. Emma had a great time being spoiled by the family. Here are pictures of her with her Aunt Toni and her Grandma Temple

Emma turned six months this Tuesday. She went to her 6 month check up and got her shots too. She weighed in at 17lbs and 26 1/4 inches. She is in great health and is now going to add vegetables and fruits to her diet. She is also going to try out a sippy cup with water soon too! She is growing up way too fast.

And....two little teeth popped up today - no wonder she's been drooling so much lately!

Baby's First Halloween

2007-11-02T10:03:00.001-05:00

Emma had a great first Halloween! We started our celebrations with a Halloween birthday party for one of Emma's friends. All the kids were dressed in their costumes - they were soooooo cute!

Here is Emma with the birthday cat!

Here Emma is with two other precious girls from the party...

On Halloween night, Emma and I went to a Fall Festival at our church. We helped out with a picture taking booth that our Sunday School class was in charge of...there was tons of candy, but of course, Emma can't eat that yet...so I had to eat her share.

Emma and I at the Fall Festival

Hope everyone had a great Halloween - we did and we are really looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Here comes the fall (finally)...

2007-10-26T11:21:00.000-05:00

Well, it has started getting cooler here. It is down to the 40s in the mornings and at night. I love it. It makes me want to wrap Christmas presents and drink hot chocolate. Emma is so snuggly in her long sleeve outfits and blankets. She is going to make this fall so special. Having her around makes everything so much more cozy and homey. The other night we went out to eat with her and I carried her in all wrapped up with a blanket. I just had to take some photos of her with the blankie.

This is her "blue steel" face.

Cutest Pumpkin Ever!

2007-10-24T20:27:00.000-05:00

Emma and I went to a Pumpkin Patch the other day with some friends. We had a great time and got some awesome fall photos! Emma is so cute amongst her fellow pumpkins. Check her out!

Rolling over

2007-10-10T19:38:00.001-05:00

Well, Emma is now a pro at rolling over. I can't remember the first time she did it (I wish I had written it down!), but it was a few weeks ago. At that point we could only get her to do it every once in a while and boy did she get mad about it! Within the past couple of days though, she has become a pro at it. Everytime we put her on her tummy she immediately rolls over unto her back. Now, we've just got to get her to roll from her back to her tummy!

Four Months

2007-09-29T20:49:00.000-05:00

Emma turned four months on Thursday. She went in for her four month check up and to get her second round of shots. She did really well! She weighs 14lbs & 14oz. They said she was 25.5 inches long, but I didn't think that was correct so when I got home I measured her at 24 inches. We had a good time taking some photos of her over the last couple of days.

Looking pretty after her doctor's visit...

Talking to the camera...

Pulling on daddy's face...

Standing in her jammies...

A visit with family

2007-09-27T11:16:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Emma and I went to visit family in Camden, AR. My sister flew in from Charleston and Emma and I picked her up at the Houston airport on our way out of town. Toni kept Emma entertained in the backseat on the way to Camden. 8 hours is a long way for a baby! Toni had a good time taking pictures of her niece this weekend. Emma enjoyed being the center of attention and her grandparents enjoyed spoiling her. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Just Emma!

Emma and her grandpa

Toni stealing some kisses after a bath

Toni and Emma ready for church

Emma and mama in the nursery

Aunt Toni and Emma getting ready to come back to Houston

Back home in her own room!

Celebrating Joey's Birthday

2007-09-20T15:34:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Joey's birthday last night with some friends. I made everyone wear goofy party hats - I thought it was more fun that way. And we got to embarass Joey by singing Happy Birthday to him. Here are some pictures from the evening.

Joey and Emma wearing their transformer hats.

Me, Lindsey, and Chris

Ella - Emma's Tuesday sister

I'm picture crashing David and Stephanie's photo!

Tim and Jamie thoroughly enjoyed the party hats!

Emma's ABC Adventure

2007-09-15T15:25:00.000-05:00

My sister made this video on shutterfly.com. It is very Mr. Bean - check it out.

an early Halloween?

2007-09-13T18:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I know that Halloween is over a month away...but Emma's costume came in yesterday and I couldn't resist trying it on her and taking a few photos. Check out my little pumpkin.

Bows, Bows, Bows...

2007-09-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm afraid having a little girl may be detrimental to our bank account. I want to buy her clothes all the time! I absolutely love Carters; I have an impulse to buy her one of everything in that store. I am holding myself back somewhat at the moment. And lately I have become obsessed with bows...I feel as if she needs one in every color. Is this what happens when you have a new baby? Or is it just because I have a girl? Ladies with baby boys - do you have this problem as well? Here is Emma looking sassy in one of her new bows!

Three months old

2007-09-02T20:10:00.000-05:00

Emma turned three months old last Monday. Time sure has flown. She is growing up too fast! Here are some precious pics of her on her three month birthday.

Venturing Out

2007-08-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

Well, today was Emma's first day to stay all day with someone other than me or Joey. Joey had been home with her on Tuesdays while I had class, but he started back to school on Monday. Thankfully, one of our good friends -Kimberly- can watch her at least for a few Tuesdays. We were so glad to find someone we 100% trust; it makes it so much easier. Although I'm not going to lie - I did cry when I left this morning. I seriously contemplated staying home, but I figured that I had to leave her at some point...so Joey pushed me out the door and I made it to school somehow. Anyway, Kimberly was nice enough to email me this picture of Emma during the day. I think next week will be a little bit easier - hopefully. But, seriously, who could part with those chubby cheeks for very long? 8 hours is way too long to go without squeezing that precious baby!

Sunday

2007-08-12T17:29:00.000-05:00

I've gotten into the habit of pulling Emma into bed with me in the mornings and snuggling with her before we get up. It is my favorite part of the day! This morning Boo got to snuggle with her a little bit too.

After the morning snuggle was over, we got her all dressed up and took her to church. Today I left her in the nursery for the second time. It was still just as hard as the first time. I hear it gets easier with time; I hope that's true!

Learning to play

2007-08-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

Emma is learning how to play with toys. Which basically just means that she can grab them and shake them around and kind of giggle at herself. She probably has no idea what she is doing, but it is totally cute to watch.

She also totally loves her leap frog learning seat. (Thanks to the Drapers for getting us this!) She loves the animals that hang down from it. She bats at them, grabs them, talks to them, and laughs at them. We call them her friends. I highly recommend this chair if you have a young baby!

Two months today

2007-07-27T15:57:00.000-05:00

Emma is two months old today! She went to the pediatrician for her two month check-up today as well. She weighs 11 lbs 12 oz and is 22.5" long. She is a healthy baby! She also got her first round of vaccinations - 1 oral vaccine and 3 shots in her little thighs. It was horrible to watch; I think I cried as much as she did - only not quite as loud. I guess I finally understand what my parents meant when they would tell me, "This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you."
On a different note, Joey got a promotion this week at work. He is extremely excited about it and Emma and I are very proud of him. He is such a hard worker and a great provider and we love him for it. Congratulations, Daddy!

Too cute for words...

2007-07-16T21:29:00.000-05:00

Emma seems to be growing up before my eyes. Every day she seems more and more alert and interactive. I am glad for her to gain new skills, but at the same time I feel sad because I want her to stay a baby! Well, anyway, the fact that she is going to grow up so fast is all the more reason for me to shamelessly post some incredibly cute pictures of her.

One of my favorite parts of the day is getting her in her pajamas. She is so soft and cuddly in her jammies - it just melts my heart!

I also absolutely love giving her a bath. She loves it too. Here she is getting dried off after a bath. Too cute!

And finally, these last pictures were just too funny not to share. I made her hair stand up this afternoon and we couldn't resist taking some photos. Check out the crazy hair and crazy eyes!

Beginnings

2007-07-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

We have decided to start a blog in order to better keep up with family and friends and vice versa. We probably should have started this before Emma was born, but better late than never.

Emma is now 6 weeks old. The last time we went to the doctor, she weighed 10 lbs and was 21.25 inches long. She is growing so fast! She is so much fun to have around. She is able to track us with her eyes now. She can smile and laugh. She loves to be read to, sung to, or just talked to. It is so fun to watch her try to form her mouth into the shapes our mouths make as we talk to her.

Emma got to visit her Grandma and Grandpa Temple this weekend when we went to Camden for my 10 year class reunion. Her Grandma gave her a baby doll named Emmy that somehow kind of looks like her. Emma enjoyed seeing her grandparents, but traveling definitely tired her out. This is a picture of her napping with baby Emmy when she got home.

Well, hopefully, we are going to post updates on ourselves and Emma pretty regularly and we hope that you will keep us informed on all you are doing as well!