The Elusive Gecko

We had a fairly uneventful weekend. Emma's friend Jonathan had his 2 year old birthday party on Saturday afternoon. They live right in our neighborhood so we were able to pack up the wagon and walk over to their house. He had a big bounce with a huge slide and Emma loved it. She was a bit small compared to the other kids so she had to be chaperoned by mom or dad whenever she went inside. She could barely stand up and every time she did she took a big header. She laughed and laughed. She even went down the big slide with us a couple times.

She seemed to like the normal sized slide even better. She kept trying to crawl back up the slide and go down again and again. We knew she was worn out when she started falling asleep on the swing! We packed up and headed home to watch the MSU game at night. It was a huge disappointment as they lost in the last seconds. Our adorable little cheerleader couldn't make it through the whole game - she was exhausted!

We were outside quite a bit today as the weather has been gorgeous. It has been sunny and mid 70's. Emma went on two walks today - one with mom and one with dad. She and I played outside and used her swing. She also helped me fill the birdfeeder and sweep the porch. She absolutely LOVES to be outside. I can say "Come on Emma" and open the back door and she immediately drops anything and everything in her hands and runs to be the first out the door. I just have to keep a close eye on wherever she runs because we have a never ending red ant problem and I have to make sure she doesn't run through a pile of them.

Speaking of bugs, ants and such. Ever since moving to Texas I have hated geckos. Everyone who has lived in Texas laughs and says "They are harmless" or "You want them because they eat other bugs." I don't care if they are good or not - I hate them! They are pesky little critters that always scare me when I am gardening because they hide in the bushes and jump around in front of my face. I can't ever open the front door without being scared one will crawl in the house - which has happened countless times. We are just inundated with them in our current house. Every night we can turn our porch light on and see at least 15 on our patio cover. I swear there are hundreds around this house. I even asked our pest control guy if he could kill them. He proceeded to laugh and tell me they were good to have. (On a side note, a gecko came in through the front door even when my pest guy was here one time and I made him chase it out!)

With all this being said, on Friday afternoon I walked into the bathroom and saw a baby gecko on the floor!! I scared it into the room with the toilet and shut the door and stuffed a bath towel under the door so it couldn't get out. I called Jay and told him that I had a present for him when he got home. Yes, that is right, I figure the man of the house can do his duty and kill the damn gecko! When Jay got home we armed ourselves with a broom and paper towel to trap and kill the gecko and we opened the bathroom door. The gecko immediately crawled in a teeny tiny hole between the floor and the baseboard. UGH! We poked and prodded and couldn't get it out. So, we shut the door and stuffed the towel under it and thought maybe we could try again later. This went on all day Sat. as we intermittently did a "Gecko check". We never saw it and decided to give up - it must have crawled up into the wall and found a way out. I took care of the broom and everything. Well, Sat. night I walk into the bathroom and what do I see but the damn gecko again! I screamed for Jay and shut the door quick. By the time he got their the gecko was gone again!! I am so frustrated! The towel is back under the door. Mind you this is the master bathroom toilet room. Now I have been walking across the whole house to use the bathroom - which isn't super convenient in the early morning. I have also been having nightmares of geckos crawling all over me! It is hiding somewhere about 15 feet from my bed and every night I make Jay do a "gecko check" in the bed to make sure it isn't hiding in the sheets! UGH! It better come out soon because I can't handle knowing that it is in my house somewhere. I know that it is a harmless little baby gecko and not a big poisonous snake, but it is a creepy crawly critter. Wish us luck on our gecko hunting!

Having a blast in the big bounce

All smiles in her PJ's - look at all that hair! She is our little supermodel!

Playing at the birthday party - spinning the wheel



Trying to go up the slide the wrong way

WEEEEEEEEE!

Daddy and Emma taking their shoes off to go in the big bounce

Daddy and Emma going down the slide

Grammy's Visit and the Pumpkin Patch

We have had a fun filled past couple of weeks. Two weeks ago Grandma Charney came from Wed night thru Mon to visit and spend time with Emma (and Jay and I, too!) We had a great time but didn't do anything too exciting. We walked everyday, went out to eat, cooked some dinners, and of course shopped a little. We went to a local flea market that was TERIBBLE. Would not recommend the Winnie Trade Days - except for the food. We had some yummy tater chips and funnel cakes (so yummy that it made us both have an upset stomach!). We also got a pedicure, which is always a nice treat. Of course Grammy spoiled Emma with a new fall jacket and hat to match. We are just waiting for some cool weather to put it to good use. (Does that make anyone from MI mad that we are just WAITING on cool weather? Hehe!) Emma also loved Grammy's slippers and kept taking them to walk in herself. She was so cute with a huge purple slipper on her foot and she walked throughout the house in it.

We had a nice weekend this past weekend too. The weather has been gorgeous! Mid 70's and no humidity. We went to a local "pumpkin patch" and Emma picked out her own pumpkin. She picked it out right away and carried it throughout the patch the entire time we were there. We went out for dinner and watched the movie "The Soloist." Jay fell asleep if that gives you any indication of how good it was. I also cooked quite a bit on Sunday. Emma loves to be in the kitchen with me and always wants to see what I am doing - she loves looking in the pots and on the counter when I am cutting things.

Emma has been growing and doing all sorts of new things. She loves to say "bye" and wave all the time. I swear I heard it no less than 50 times yesterday. She says bye as she leaves the room or leaves the house or just sits in her highchair. She doesn't have it completely mastered at the most appropriate times. For instance, we left the babysitters the other day and all the kids waved bye to her. She waited until we were in the car and all buckled up to wave back and then proceeded to do it for 5 minutes over and over.

She also LOVES to get up onto the couch with us when we are watching TV. She wants to get up and down and up and down. I finally brought out her chair that was a newborn rocker that she never really liked. Now it converts to a chair and she loves it. It is just her size and she can crawl in and out of it over and over.

She is such a smart, impressionable little girl. Today I was washing a couple windows and she immediately took the windex and paper towel and started washing the window too! I have a video of this below. I can't wait for the day when she can really help me clean around the house - it might not be too far off! She also likes to carry my lunchbox in from the car on the days that I work. She carries it right in and opens the cupboard where it belongs and puts it right away! She is a busy little bee all the time and always on the go. She never sits to play, it is always up and down and all around. She keeps us very busy and very tired! She has even initiated dancing a bit with music and tries to jump when we do. The jumping is adorable - I'll have to get that on video.

Sweet baby sleeping - all curled up with Eddie

She found Grammy's slippers

Walking with Grammy - one slipper a piece!

...and again!

Posing in front of our Halloween trees

Emma with the scary ghosts at the pumpkin patch

Pointing to her favorite pumpkin - right at the very beginning

Daddy telling her she can have the pumpkin

YEAH!!!

The family

Oh Mom and Dad - this is so much fun!

Which one should we choose?

Enjoying one of her first ever homemade chocolate chip cookies

Climbing in her new chair

Video of her climbing into her chair. She played with it the entire time that I made cookies. She loves to be in the kitchen with me when I am cooking.

Cleaning the window - get those streaks Emma!

Our Little Monkey

Emma has started a few new tricks this past week. She discovered that she can empty her toy basket and climb inside of it. How Fun! She was then getting stuck inside of it and couldn't figure out how to get out. Mommy and daddy both had to perform rescue missions. She has been doing this over and over and over and has thankfully figured out how to crawl out. Lately she has been lazy and just crawls into it without taking the toys out - quite funny!

She has also realized that her sippy cups are in the refridgerator and when she is thirsty she goes to the fridge door and starts grunting for her milk. When she gets hungry she goes to the snack drawer and picks out either the CheezItz or Cheerios and brings them to us to open for her.


We had another good weekend. Our beloved Michigan State Spartans beat U of M and both Jay and I couldn't be happier. Although they haven't had the best season, this win makes everything OK again! Jay has also taught Emma the touchdown signal. She is getting pretty good at it and almost always throws her arms over her head when he yells "Touchdown!"

We have also fanatically been watching the Tigers in hopes they can win their division. Can't believe they have blown their lead and are actually having to play a tiebreaker game tonight! I am on the edge of my seat and chewing my nails! I am actually having to watch my voice as I scream at the TV so that Emma doesn't wake up. With Jay and I as parents Emma is destined to be a sports fan.


Jay is in Austin today and tomorrow doing some recruiting at UT for Exxon. I am just preparing for my mom to come visit. She comes tomorrow and will stay until Monday. We don't have much planned this trip. I am sure we will find some shopping to do. Emma can't wait to see Grammy again!


I am having trouble uploading a really cute video of her crawling out of her basket. I will try in another post and hope it works!

Playing with her rings - she carries them everywhere now

After an exhausting day cheering on the Spartans

She was actually waving "hi" to me here
Look how fun this is mom!

Stop bothering me - I am on the phone!

This was her first time in the basket after throwing out all her toys - she was so excited

Emma's Touchdown

Go Texans!

We took Emma to her first NFL game today: Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville. Emma was extremely well behaved both at the game and in the car on the way to and from the game. We "strategically" woke her up early this morning and played hard with her so that she would sleep in the car on the way to the game. This totally backfired and she didn't sleep a wink. We should have known better - she never sleeps in the car. However, she didn't cry at all durig the car ride on the way there or home, which is a true miracle. We never once had to put in the bear or moose CD (her favorites.) She must have been really tired because she slept the entire fourth quarter. She slept through all of the loud cheering and even cannon's going off! We had a great time even though the Texans lost.

Not much else happening here. I posted a video of her quacking at the ducks outside. She has the cutest little quack - if you listen good in the beginning you can hear her doing it really good. Sorry that the video is sideways.

Playing with her pompon at the game

What a little diva!

Go State!

Not much happened here this weekend. We caught up on running errands and working on the lawn and outdoors. I also put some fall decorations out. We cheered hard for our hometown Spartans to beat Notre Dame, but they didn't pull out the win in the end. Emma is the cutest Spartan cheerleader ever! Here are a couple pics.

Have a great week and Happy Birthday to our nephew Kole who turned one today! Happy Birthday to our niece Kennedy on Friday! Wish we could be there with you to celebrate!

Already ready for Halloween

Go State!

Labor Day and San Marcos

We have had a very busy last couple of weeks and it is so nice to finally be home and relaxing! Prior to Labor Day I went with a couple of girlfriends to San Marcos. We shopped till we dropped at the outlets and had a fantastic time. We also went to the historic town of Gruene and to the Gruene Hall - the oldest dance hall in Texas. It is where the famous George Strait got his start. There is nothing like a great weekend with the girls!!!

Jay and Emma and I just returned from a week long trip home to Michigan. I coud write forever about it, but am just too darn tired. We had a week full of Emma's social engagements to see as much family as possible (she should be a local celebrity.) We saw all four of her great grandparents, all of her grandparents, all of her aunts/uncles/cousins, and even some great aunts/uncles/second cousins. Throw in a day at the beach, a football game with tailgating, lots of time traveling on the roads (and airports), a day at the pool, and of course some time shopping (for new shoes because her feet have grown a whole size in the last month) and we had a whirlwind vacation. We just love this time of year in Michigan - the weather was gorgeous. It was high 70's and sunny all week. We had a great time seeing all of the family and showing off our beautiful girl to them! She still hates the water and big dogs. Surprisingly she was scared of Jasmine (our cocker spaniel) at first but quickly warmed up to her and Chloe. She ended up loving the small dogs and wouldn't stop putting her hand in their mouth and squeeling. Here are a few pictures and videos of the past couple weeks.

In front of the dance hall

Patty and Jenni

The three amigos

Do you like my shades?

Jenny, Becky and I at the Spartans home opener

The boys

Snuggling with Uncle Seth

Cousin Kole

Let us out!!

Kole at the beach

Emma playing in the sand

Koles cool shades

Kisses from Nana and Papa

Family pic - including Eddie

Bouncing with Kennedy on the trampoline

Swimming - she still hates the water

Playing with her stuffed animals

Where is Darian taking me?

Playing with Great Nana's cane

Papa - what are you doing?

With Aunt Jenny

Emma and Grammy

Taking a stroll with Aunt Jenny

Great Grandpa Bill, Mommy and Emma

Great Grandma Charney

What kind of trouble can I get into in here?

Swing me - Swing me please!!

Save me from Uncle Ryan!!

Grammy

Emma getting into trouble at the airport - late at night with her jammies on

Loving the trampoline

Hating the water

Loving the dogs (rephrase that to loving the small dogs and hating the big dogs)