Christmas Pictures!

So about a week or so ago, we went and did our family Christmas pictures. I was sick as a dog, but luckily you can't tell at all. (Yay!) Emersyn was a total star and couldn't haven't been better. Cameron, as always, was wonderful. We did the kids' Christmas outfits and then did both of them in their Ravens' jerseys. I think the jersey pictures turned out extra cute since they have different jerseys this year, but I also think the whole session was one of the best as fas as how well the kids did.

So here's "a few" of my favorites, but of course there's more at http://www.theswaderfarmily.shutterfly.com if you want to see more of the fabulousness!! Since it was a productive session, we didn't have all that many compared to other photo shoots so these pictures are just in the November album. While you're at shutterfly though, check out all our fun videos and pictures from all our adventures... Also, you can check out Emersyn's special tab/page with the pictures she takes all by herself! **

"Mama I masss"

Well, I guess I can't really say I'm surprised by this morning's antics. She is, after all, my daughter...

Emersyn saw a hat hanging in our room and realized it matched the shirt she was putting on. So she asked if she could have it and then refused to take it off. She just thought it was the greatest thing that she had a "pretty princess hat" and that "it masss" (matched).

Happy Monday

Yesterday, after thankfully sleeping in, we went over to my parents' like usual. It was just us, but Emersyn had a good time playing with Maw Maw and Poppy. We did end the accident-free streak after about 2 weeks though. I think it was more because she spent the better part of the last two days in a pull-up more than "a real accident" if you know what I mean.

Since the bathrooms at the zoo aren't exactly next to everything, we figured it'd be better to put a pull-up on just in case we didn't get to the bathroom quick enough... She ended up staying dry the whole time and asked to go potty when we were in the gift shop at the end of the day. Luckily we had the pull-up on because, as expected, we just couldn't get to the bathroom in time but we just barely missed it. Saturday we put a pull-up on for gymnastics like normal and then she refused to take it off the rest of the day/night. Emersyn stayed dry all day and went on the potty like normal, but still didn't want to not wear the stupid pull-up.

So yeah, that was yesterday.

This morning was pretty funny though. Emersyn was (surprisingly) back to her normal self when she woke up, so we're hoping that the fussiness of the weekend (and the accident) has finally passed over. We'll see... so far this morning though, she's been... let's say, entertaining.

She insisted on wearing her headband while she ate her cereal. She wouldn't even let Chris put it on for her. So I came downstairs to see this... and hear "Mama I do my pretty hair all myself" with the biggest grin. How could I not share that?!?!Then we got dressed and Emersyn said she liked her "pretty clothes". So, a big huge thank you to Aunt Shannon for the super cute outfit that even Emersyn likes! Chris was able to snap the picture in between the twirls Emersyn was doing to make the dress/tunic spin out and as she giggled "I a pretty princess".

Play Date ♥

Tonight Emersyn got to play with Oliver again when he came over so we could babysit. She was so excited to have him come to her house, and Oliver started asking Janey when he woke up if it was time to go play with Emersyn. I guess that means they like each other a little. :)

They "cooked" and "ate" for a while...After a real dinner (pizza that was a huge hit with both kids), Chris read them the Lion King. Emersyn got this cool book at daycare's bookfair and it came with a little projector and slides to go along with the book. We turned all the lights off and they took turns holding projector, turning the slides, and flipping the pages while Chris read via flashlight. The pictures blurry, but you get the idea.Oliver and Emersyn played some more with legos and the food, and then started settling down on their own to watch Sprout. Oliver asked for a pillow and layed on the floor, then Emersyn had to mimic him right down to the bent legs and thumb!Taking our cue from them, we decided it was time to put some pajamas on. Oliver and Emersyn were both totally mesmorized by Caillou, so we waited until that show was over before heading up to bed.Both of them went down better than we could have hoped, especially Emersyn since a friend was here. It did definitely seem like both of them had a good time and we couldn't have had more fun with them. There's a little bit more pictures from our "great good night" at www.theswaderfarmily.shutterfly.com along with all our other adventures!

Happy Veteran's Day!

First, a huge and very grateful THANK YOU to all the United States Veterans and active military members. Nobody knows the cost of freedom more than you, nobody knows the price paid for the everyday things we so often take for granted. Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done, sacrificed, given and lost. Thank you for protecting us, keeping us safe and providing us with such a secure place to live. Thank you. Thank you so much!

Today we honored our favorite Vet with a day at the zoo...

It was supposed to be a lot nicer than it ended up being, but the animals were way more active than any of us had ever seen them before. Chris, Emersyn and I went with Russ, Janey and their son Oliver. The kids couldn't have cared less that it was cold, and their excitement made the trip worthwhile even while us grownups worried about it.

Oliver is almost 6 months to the day older than Emersyn, so they were well matched once Emersyn decided to act her normal self. We've been watching for signs of her catching the hellish thing I had, and so far the only thing we've seen is a little fussiness. And that shone through from the second the Crandalls got to our house this morning. Normally the perfect hostess, Emersyn acted like the complete opposite of her happy self but she did get over it while we were at the zoo.

Now, you'll probably see a difference in some of these pictures as far as quality. That's because Russ is one of "those people" with the nice camera that I dream about... well, having and actually having the ability to use. Anyways, the kids had a blast even with the cold. That made it fun for us, so we can't really complain. And, like I said, the animals were crazy active. That helped.

So we took our wagon to make it easier on everyone. Oliver was immediately making friends with Emersyn, but after falling asleep on the ride up, Emersyn wasn't her usual friendly self just yet. The standard zoo pictures on the lions... Between the hats and being nosey toddlers, these were the best shots! LOL! Isn't this beautiful?!?! I mean it was chilly, but just gorgeous looking... Chris, Emersyn and Oliver in the wagon, Janey and I Aren't they adorable?!?! On the giant turtle. Literally the two of them together on the turtle lasted about 3 seconds, but that fancy camera caught it. Walking into the Maryland section... Oliver in the birds' nest. In the Oriole's nest... Oliver loved the echo of being in there. Emersyn stared at him like he had three heads the whole time Oliver was making noises to hear the echo. That was kinda funny. Checking out the ducks... Oliver and Emersyn watching the big goose. This is in that little underpass thingy at the otters. Emersyn and Oliver were just facinated with the rainbows on the ground. It was really cute watching both of them watch the rainbows and look for the "how'd that happen".Can you see the fox?Russ and Oliver on the giant tree slide.Emersyn refused to go up the stairs to get to the slide, so Chris had to come back around with her.Oliver the TurtleEmersyn normally refuses to even come close to getting in the shell, but I guess having someone that's so close to her age/size doing it made her realize that it's okay. So, she got to be an Emersyn Turtle!!Guess who found a big stick!I love this picture. Oliver so badly wanted to pull the wagon and even with Emersyn in it, he still insisted on doing it all by himself. Poor Janey had to walk behind the wagon pushing it with her knee so that he didn't think anybody was helping him. Nobody else could get close, but Oliver was very proud of himself and Emersyn actually said thank you to him!It's a shame that Oliver doing this didn't help Emersyn do it, like the whole turtle thing...Yay! Goats!!Off to the Africa part of the zoo... You could really see the lively animals here. I swear some of them I've never seen before, much less knew there were multiples of them!! Yup, we got to feed the giraffe! That's like my favorite part and it was even better this time because Emersyn was really into it and Oliver had never done it before!The lions... who we've only seen once and that was, um, at the end of the mating season, so yeah... *** Looking at the penguins, who were surprisingly less active than normal unlike the other animals. **The elephant... which Oliver didn't find that interesting so he made himself comfy on the bench. **I believe Russ' quote to this picture was "it's like home sweet home"! ***Emersyn insisted on walking but also wanted to inspect every single twig and leaf on the ground, so I convinced her to let me carry her... She insisted on riding on my back, "like a monkey" and doing the "oh oh ah ah" noises all the way down the hill. She also thought that was hysterical!! **Checking out the chimps with Daddy. ***I swear this one chimp was just totally posing for Russ! He was so close and so deep in thought. ***Seriously, I love the chimps. ***I had so many shots of Emersyn with the lemur, but they were all blurry since neither one of them would hold still for the 5 seconds it took to snap the picture. This was the closet I got. ***I know this is super blurry, but I just like how Oliver is so pressed up to the glass to show Russ the crocidile. It was very sweet. ****Yeah, so Emersyn got a little tired... this was on our way to see the Polar Bears. ***Now, you would think that the Polar Bears would be totally active and playful in this weather. Nope. There was only one and he was totally crashed out all the way at the back of the exhibit. ***The snow foxes, however, were very lively! And gorgeous! ***Ok, so we go through the whole entire zoo and the best part for the kids was the light by the Polar Bear and Snow Fox exhibits... and they would have sat here all day like this if we let them. Oliver said they were watching Thomas on NetFlix. Emersyn said "yeah". But, hey, at least they like each other. ***So on the wagon ride to the gift shop at the very, very end of the trip Oliver started pulling one of the blankets over his head and Emersyn would pull it off. They both thought it was the funniest thing ever! Russ got the best shots of it and I was able to catch a couple seconds of it on video... The more one would laugh, the more the other one would laugh. It was so fricking adorable I can't even tell you. It was just so cute and it was like, to them, nothing else in the world existed for those 5 minutes. ****
You know we have a ton more pictures from our adventure today! Check out www.theswaderfarmily.shutterfly.com for all the fun pictures and for the video from today... while you're there, check out the other videos and pictures too. And remember, we like notes. LOL!