Thankful

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with my family in Chicago. This is my mom's favorite holiday (because there are no presents involved!) and we all try our best to be there. It was a wonderful, busy day. Yummy guacamole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese...oh, yeah, there was ham and turkey too!
It seemed like the day went a bit too fast. Amid the hustle, I feel as if there wasn't enough time to give proper thanks. So here it goes.....I am thankful for my wonderful husband, and my daughter Emerson, who is both very happy and very healthy. I am thankful for my family who always has a good time together. I am thankful for our jobs, our cozy little home and all the special people in my life. I hope this holiday season is one filled with much laughter and many memories!

My happy little princess.

Out on the Town

Last Friday night, Holland had their annual Holiday Open Houses. We went with the intent to enjoy the festive atmosphere and people watch. We ended up seeing our good friends and had a chance to visit for a while and I also found Emerson's final Christmas gift. It was fun to bundle up and enjoy a night out!

Wearing the new boots that Grandma gave her.

Flower Power

When we were in Chicago visiting my mom this weekend, she gave Emerson a hat that had been made specially by a friend. It's kind of hard to tell by the picture, but the hat has a flower on the top, stem and all. So cute! Wonder if she could make a couple more.........

Thanks for the fun hat Sarah! :)

Pretty In Pink

Even though we knew that we were having a girl, Jeremy and I purchased a gray and blue infant carrier for Emerson. Since she is so tiny, we have been able to use it for the past thirteen months. On Friday, we decided it was time to switch Em to her big girl seat. Because this is the seat she will have for many years (since it can transition into a booster seat), we went all girly and chose a pink one with butterflies. Emerson's maiden voyage in her new seat was a trip to Chicago to see my parents for the weekend. Although she liked the seat right off, she ended up doing a fair share of crying--we think because the seat is not reclined like she's used to. We'll have to work on this!

Excited to go to Grandma's house!

11-10-9

Emerson Grace, 13 months

Cheated

This week the flu hit my school district. We had so many students out earlier in the week that I was teaching to an average of ten kids per hour! The rumor mill got going within the staff and we were led to believe that if the situation did not improve, we might have Thursday and Friday off. Since this piece of information was coming from a semi-reliable source, I (being one of the healthy ones) began dreaming of all that I could accomplish with those two days off. Needless to say, even though we are still dealing with many absent students, we did not close the school. I am sad for all those extra hours that might have been! On a more positive note: yesterday, the school staff was given massive boxes of small hand sanitizers to pass out to the students. You would have thought it was Christmas morning! They were so excited! Now all they have to do is apply liberally.

My Little Pumpkin

A sleepy Emerson last year on Halloween......

and this year--a big girl who loves her pumpkins!!