Mommy and Emry at the party!

*Sits up all by herself. She still topples sometimes but is pretty good at balancing herself (especially if she has a toy or something that she is concentrating on)
*Gets up on her hands and knees and tries to crawl. Sometimes it looks like she is doing yoga how she gets up on her hands and then on her feet and puts her butt in the air! So funny! Then she pulls her knees in and rocks back and forth and sometimes will "leap" forward trying to get something (I swear she is going to crawl in the next couple of weeks!)
*Laughs and Laughs. Some favorites: being tickled, being thrown in the air, kids jumping up and down (she seriously thinks it's soooo funny!), anything kids do (she loves having other kids around), mommy and daddy growling and the "I'm gonna get you!" game!
*Loves to bounce with me on the exercise ball. It's also my favorite because she clinges to me and kinda cuddles for safety! I love it!
*Doing so well at eating. She now sits in her high chair and even opens her mouth to eat (she started doing this just after 5 months). She is finally getting the hang of it. She has had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, green beans, avacado, and banana. (ok, ok, so she has had ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel sauce from various relatives...)
*Wakes up several times a night talking and crying, but always puts herself back to sleep or a binky does the trick. I don't feed her at night anymore. She goes to bed at 730 and she is up at around 7-730. I'm hoping the night waking will go away soon because it make me tired!
*Takes 2 naps a day (she isn't the greatest napper, but we are working on that!)
*Babbles all the time. She loves to say "da da da da" which makes Ryan elated (although she doesn't actually know what it means yet...)
*Graduated to size 3 diapers and is even wearing some 9 month clothes. She still fits into a lot of her 3-6 month clothes though.

We were blessed enough this year to have TWO thanksgiving feasts! (and yet, I didn't take any pictures at either of them... sorry).

The first Thanksgiving was with my family. My mom drove up to Utah with my Grandma and Grandpa and we all ate at my cousin Kristin's house. She made a delicious homemade dinner (seriously impressed with her cooking). We had turkey, homemade stuffing (made from homemade bread!), homemade rolls, jello, salad, creamed corn, homemade cranberry sauce, really good drinks, and I'm sure I'm missing another delicious entree. All in all it was a great meal. But more importantly, we had so much fun with all our family. I love visiting with my Grandma and Grandpa. I am so grateful for grandparents who are so involved in our lives. They LOVE the great grandkids so much and are always wanting to spend time with us. It was really fun to have them here for Thanksgiving. After dinner we had a dessert party at my cousin Jason's house. He just had a cute little boy, CJ! He was born like 2 weeks before Thanksgiving so he was still extra tiny! I forgot what it was like to have such a tiny little thing and it hasn't even been that long for me! Emry is getting so big and while I wish she would just stay my little baby forever, I'm so happy that she is healthy and growing well. We are truly so blessed!

The second Thanksgiving was equally as delicious. Ryan's family came into town on Friday night (because 3 family members had to actually work on Thanksgiving) to have Thanksgiving meal on Saturday. We had some absolutely delicious food and once again, I was stuffed! (Two Thanksgiving meals are delicious but, man, I was full by the end!) We had this meal at my house and it was so much fun to have everyone there enjoying Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for a beautiful home and wonderful in laws! It has been so much fun having another family to be a part of and we really LOVE when they come to visit us.


We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, but above all I am so grateful for my own little family. I feel so lucky to have married Ryan. He is such a good husband and the BEST dad to Emry. He loves her so much and seeing him with her just makes me love him more. When I married Ryan I knew it was probable that I would only have boys (which I was ok with because boys are fun!), but Heavenly Father has blessed me with two beautiful little girls who I love more than I can say. Olivia made me a mom and I will always love her sweet spirit. I miss her terribly and wish that she could be Emry's big sister and I know that one day she will get to be. Next, I was blessed with the sweetest, happiest little girl! Emry really has brought such joy to my life. Having a family is what life is all about, and having to struggle to get my little girl has made me love her even more I think. Sorry this turned into "thankfulmony" but I am truly blessed and am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for this wonderful life I have been given. It isn't always easy and I have had some rough times, but I have been given a wonderful life that has brought me so much joy!

I hope we can all take a second to ponder all the blessing God has given us and realize what good lives we have! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!