Emersyn's 12-15 Month Update

Between Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now almost Christmas, the last three months have been a blur.

A wonderful, joyous, jam-packed with fun blur!

We feel like our E girl has gone from a baby to a kid!

She's so expressive, such a chatterbox, and is still her same smiley self.

She truly is a bringer of joy to all those in her presence!

Age: 15 1/2 months

Stats: 25 lbs at her 15 mo. checkup! Tall & skinny!
Clothes: 2T 

Favorite Foods: This girl just LOVES to eat! Granola bars, graham crackers, goldfish, hot dogs, pizza, and cheese are a few faves. Girlfriend also has a sweet tooth... and LOVES cookies & chocolate!

Words: I cannot believe E's vocabulary these days. Lately, her new words are: cookie (surprise surprise- ha!), baby, out, "ho ho ho", Santa (Ha-Ta), please... the list goes on and on! I would guess she knows about 30-50 words which is crazy to me! Our favorite is when she says "I love you"- so stinkin cute!

Activities: Our busy bee is into everything! Opening all the cabinets, drawers, etc. that she can and destroying everything inside. She loves playing at the indoor playgrounds we go to, loves pushing her baby doll around in a stroller, and loves to dance and sing- especially while listening to Taylor Swift or watching Frozen ;) 

Favorite Things: Still super attached to her "nuh-nuh"- which is her pacifier! Loves snuggling with her two blankets in her crib. She's also obsessed with her baby doll and other stuffed animals.

Signature Moves: Constantly signing for "please" when she sees something she wants. So cute and so funny! 

Mom's Proudest Moment: Watching E learn how to nod "yes" or "no"- makes knowing what she wants soooo much easier!

Dad's Proudest Moment: Hearing E yell "Dada!" from across the mall when we met up with him on his break (so cute!) and watching her run up to him every night when he comes home. She even says "dada!" when she hears the garage door open. She's attached to him to say the least!

With Christmas coming up, we are loving getting in the holiday spirit with our little family. We enjoyed visiting the new Holidazzle Market and seeing Santa at Macy's 8th Floor (E loooooves Santa!). We also loved decorating the tree and house together with all of our Christmas decorations. E thinks Santa is really neat and is saying "ho ho ho" everywhere we go. So fun to experience her first real memorable Christmas together!  But above all, we are thrilled to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We are so thankful for the hope we have in Him & for the abundance of blessings we have received this year. Amongst the excitement of Christmas, we encourage you to take a moment and remind yourself of the reason for this season - Jesus!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2015!

I am hoping for BIG THINGS for this blog- I really want to get on a regular blogging schedule and totally transform the look of my page! Stay tuned ;)

Our big ONE year old!

Almost two weeks ago now, our sweet E girl turned ONE!

I absolutely cannot believe a year has gone by.

Nearly one year ago, after 26 hours of labor, I gave birth to the most precious girl on earth.

I am embracing every day with her in this season of toddlerhood. 

I love watching her learn all sorts of new things and I love how her personality is blossoming!

Age: 12 1/2 months

Stats: Almost 23 lbs! Starting to slim down & get taller. Those baby rolls are disappearing sadly!
Clothes: 12-24 months depending on the item!

Favorite Foods: Bananas (she can't even see them at the grocery store or she goes crazy!), chicken nuggets, black beans, lunch meat, cheese, waffles, and all sorts of veggies- especially peas!

Words: Words are just flowing out of this girl's mouth! She says mom, dad, ball, bye bye, banana, bottle (ba-ba), water (wa-wa), cat, dog, grandma (amma), papa (grandpa), Alanna (Lana)... the list goes on! She impresses us daily!

Activities: Loves to play with puzzles, balls, and books! She loves to walk around the house with her walker and she thinks its hilarious to hide under the kitchen table. We love to go play at the gym, go for walks, play at the park, and go to the mall! She has also hit many milestones. She's walking, is down to only 2 bottles in the morning and at night, and is starting to use a spoon!

Favorite Things: She loves her blankey & nook (she ditched her sleep sack this past month!) She also loves her singing puppy toy, her Minnie Mouse ride-on airplane, and her soccer ball.

Signature Moves: Yelling "BALL" all the time (HA! It's her favorite word!) She also constantly is waving bye bye and blowing kisses.

Mom's Proudest Moment: Watching her first steps at Papa & Joyce's house. It was truly amazing to see our little lady walk right before her first birthday! We also had a wonderful time celebrating Emersyn at her first birthday party. She rocked a pink tutu, and double fisted cake like it was nobody's business! (See photo below- HA!) I was very proud to say the least! ;)

Dad's Proudest Moment: Getting hugs from Emme when she comes into bed to snuggle in the morning. She always crawls right over to her daddy and hugs him. He is in love! 

This past year has brought me the greatest joy and it has been the highest honor of my life to be Emersyn's mom. I have truly enjoyed motherhood every step of the way and I thank God that He entrusted me with this most precious girl!

11 Month Update

I seriously am in awe that Emme is almost one. The first year of her life has flown by. My baby is getting big and there's nothing I can do to stop it! I have loved every moment with her. It has been the greatest joy to be home with her these past 11 months! 

Age: 11 months

Stats: Approx. 22 lbs! I have noticed she seems to be getting taller and thinner- losing her baby rolls! :(
Clothes: 12-24 months depending on the item!

Favorite Foods: Emme loves anything put in front of her! Last night she tried Hamburger Helper and loved it- haha! She squeals when she sees a bag of cheese and exclaims "MMM!" when she eats ice cream! (I swear- she really does have a healthy diet aside from these things ;) )

Words: She is babbling all the time! "Mom" "Up" and "Amma" are her only words that she says, but she does sign for "all done" and "more". She also really is starting to understand words. She knows what "Mickey Mouse" is and  she knows when I say "blow a kiss!" or "say bye bye!" what to do for example. 

Activities: I can hardly keep up with little E's activities! She crawls all over the place and pulls up and walks around our furniture. She is even standing for a few seconds at a time by herself. She loves to dance when a song comes on which is so adorable. She also loves to dump out her toy bins, dig in our TV console, and open all the doors/drawers in the kitchen.

Favorite Things: She loves her wagon! We just got one this past week and E loves to ride around in it. 

Signature Moves: Waving her hands in the air during a song, climbing up the stairs, blowing a kiss to everyone she sees, waving hi & bye when we go/leave somewhere.

Mom's Proudest Moment: Seeing her sign "more" and "all done" for the first time- we have worked on that for a long time! 

Dad's Proudest Moment: Watching Emme blow kisses to people. He thinks its the sweetest quality for a little girl! He also loves that she is learning no- which he is really good about teaching her with kind & gentle discipline. 

Our sassy little spunky baby is turning into a toddler before our eyes!

Next post will be full of what I'm sure will be adorable 1st birthday party photos.

I can hardly wait!

Home Office Makeover

Now that I am running my own business, we have decided to convert our guest room into an office! I am so excited to have a little place of my own to work. Currently, it looks like this:

Since this space will be shared with our guest bed and dresser, I need to come up with a functional way to use this room. I am envisioning some wall shelves, a mirror, and definitely a new desk chair!

I do love my desk from Ikea and all my little trinkets. I just need to come up with a fun way to display them!

This is my first major design project in our home so I am excited! Keep posted for some before & after photos :)

10 Month Update

I gotta admit it, ya'll.

I've been slacking in the blog department as of late.

Life has been crazy between my new business, my hubby being out of town for two weeks, and sneaking in any walks to the park we possibly can on these beautiful, sunshine-y days.

Our little lady turned 10 months old on her first Fourth of July! I can't believe we are so very close to one.

Age: 10 months and one week ;)

Stats: Our girl is probably close to 22-23 lbs now. Ouch on momma's back! But we are so thankful she is a healthy girl!
Clothes: She wears anything between 12-24 months depending on the brand.

Favorite Foods: Girlfriend eats whatever we are eating now. Her faves include mama's chicken chili, tilapia, watermelon, spaghetti, and avocados (still!) She absolutely loves spicy Mexican food! Who would have thought!

Words: So many little words are rolling off those sweet lil lips! She is saying mom" constantly, which warms my heart every time. She also says "up", "hi", and "amma" for grandma! Still working on "dada" ;)

Activities: Active is E's middle name! Mama and Dada are constantly chasing her around the house. She is now pulling to stand on everything and even walks around furniture. She can also walk really well with her walker! She crawls at lightning speed and climbs the stairs. She also loves to chew on everything.... even if it is her crib or our TV stand. *yikes!*

Favorite Things: She absolutely loves music and dances whenever a song comes on. She loves to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and dances and claps along... which is so cute to watch! She loves to swing at the park and she is still obsessed with her singing puppy toy. The water is her best friend- she loves going in the pool and even washing her hands. And of course, lil girl loves to eat. I'm impressed how much she can put away!

Signature Moves: Doing whatever mom and dad say no to ;) HA! She's gotten really good and sneaking out of our grasp and crawling away to get into things! She also loves to give kisses. All we do is say "kiss!" and she plants one on us every time... it is SO cute!

Mom's Proudest Moment: Watching her take her first few steps with the walker!

Dad's Proudest Moment: Seeing how much E had grown up after being gone for two weeks out of town. He was so impressed by how much she learned in two weeks! Babies are truly remarkable!

We are embarking on our FIRST family vacation next week!

Roadtripping to the Wisconsin Dells!

Here's to praying that E will behave (and sleep!) in the car and that Mom & Dad don't get too lost! ;)

Monthly Chalkboards

One thing that I have loved doing with Emersyn is create her monthly chalkboards.

Each month, I write a few of her newly acquired skills/likes/dislikes and snap a quick photo.

I actually did a chalkboard each week of my pregnancy too! 

It was fun to watch my bump grow and now I have loved watching Emme grow up.

Here are her photos from months one through nine!

It's so fun to look back and see how much she has changed!

I plan to continue this until she turns a year and then take one each year after that.

I can't wait to show her one day!

I think she will especially love seeing that I put her in a pink turkey tutu on her first thanksgiving! ;)

Nine Months Old

Where did the last 9 months of her life go?! Our babe is getting big right before our eyes!

Age: 9.5 months old!

Stats: At her nine month well check on the 5th, E was 21 lbs 4 oz & 29 in long. Whoa mama! 90th percentile!

Clothes: 12-18 months! 

Favorite Foods: What food isn't her favorite? HA! E is eating all finger food now. Her faves include whole wheat waffles, pears, shredded cheese, and broccoli. Her 6 teeth help her chomp all these goodies!

Words: She just said her first word the other day! MAMA! Love hearing that word come out of that sweet lil mouth!

Activities: This girl is a wild child. Now that she is crawling/pulling up on everything, I can't keep her still! The only times she will relax are when we go on walks and car rides- both of which she loves. We have been busy enjoying all the fun things that come with summer like trips to the zoo and parks. 

Favorite Things: E girl loves to clap her hands! Any time she hears the word "YAY" she instantly starts clapping! She also loves to eat (which is evident haha!) and she loves the water. She got to go to the splash pad and the pool for the first time this month and she was so happy!

Signature Moves: Her move of choice is crawling away at the speed of sound towards the stairs/cords coming out of the wall/any rug on the floor.... aka: all the places I don't want her to go haha. We are learning the word "no" very quickly ;) She also has learned to turn around in the seat on the front of the cart at Target. Again, we are learning "no" VERY quickly!

Mom's Proudest Moment: Hearing Em say "mama" after months of teaching her!

Dad's Proudest Moment: Em learning how to give kisses. He loves when she gives him a smooch randomly throughout the day!

This little girl literally fell out of Heaven. She is sweet as pie. This has honestly been the best month of her life- I adore watching her learn new things and she is slowly becoming an independent little toddler instead of a baby. Bittersweet times over here, folks.

Love you E girl. Thanks for making our world brighter every day!

Our trip to the Windy City and The Importance of Getting Away

This past Memorial Day weekend, Mister and I got away to Chicago.

We spent Sunday through Tuesday in the Windy City and let me tell you..... it was amazing.

Like whenwasthelasttimeishoweredforanhourjustbecauseicould amazing.

My hour long longer than average shower was only one of things I did to "indulge" on our vacation.

I spent over an hour getting ready- like actually did my hair, makeup, shaved, put lotion on.

Went through outfit after outfit, adding accessories that I normally wouldn't wear since my child would

break poop on lick ruin them.

And perhaps my favorite thing I did was rest here. 

The hotel lobby- which was stocked with a free coffee bar, an oversized chair, and a beautiful view of the city. Yup, basically heaven. I got up early (I'm programmed to getting up with baby girl) and went down here for some quiet time while hubby slept. To say I enjoyed it is an understatement.

We did many fun touristy things....

Checked another Hard Rock off my list (I'm a hardcore Hard Rock pin collector... more on that another day!)

Ate one (or two) Chicago style hot dogs

Saw Wrigley Field

Sat by the water at Navy Pier

And chatted with this handsome fella while we enjoyed the view.

Indulged in some Gino's deep dish pizza

Looked down on the city from the John Hancock observatory

Roamed Millenium Park

Took some corny pictures at "The Bean"

Yes, obligatory "Bean" pictures were a must.

Noshed on some focaccia at the wonderful Eataly (DISCLAIMER: if you are going to NYC or Chicago any time soon you MUST visit Eataly... it is divine!)

Kicked our feet up at the Pier once more

Snuggled up on a boat ride on Lake Michigan

And sat back and enjoyed this insanely gorgeous view.

While sightseeing, eating, and shopping were wonderful,

the thing I enjoyed most was just spending time with my Mister.

We talked, we laughed, we cuddled, we strolled hand in hand,

and we didn't have to worry about bottles strollers blowouts kid stuff for a few days.

Of course, we missed our little E girl terribly.

But we tried to make the most of our alone time together and I can honestly say that

EVERYONE.... (yes, that includes you)

needs to take some time away from their kids.

You heard me.

Leave the kids, pray about it, get up, and go.

I know to some that seems like a crazy idea.

But it is SO valuable to your marriage.

We felt like a dating couple again getting to just go out and enjoy things we don't get to do much anymore and that was so refreshing.

I know the anxieties are intense, believe me.

I worried about little E not sleeping,

not eating,

choking,

missing a bottle,

falling and getting hurt and getting rushed to the ER,

but did that happen?

No.

And even if it had, things would have been OK.

It's so easy to get worked up over the small stuff and to let fear keep you from doing things.

Ultimately, this battle is about trusting God.

We pray over our little girl every night and know that even when we aren't there to protect her,

God is.

And He is bigger and more powerful and has all the control over her life.

He is watching her in the wee hours of the morning,

and He is even watching over her while we are away.

If leaving your kids is something you struggle with,

I encourage you to pray about it.

Ask God for the strength to do something for yourself, 

and leave your kids (and your fears) in His hands.

Now trust me, I KNOW this is not easy. I struggle with this constantly. However....

I believe that God wants us to have the strongest, healthiest marriage we can have.

And ultimately, sometimes we need to make sacrifices and get away from the day-to-day routine to strengthen our marriages and give our husbands some quality time

without dashing off for the next diaper change.

Mommas,

I encourage you to rest in Him.

Grab ahold of the peace He provides and those little fears will disappear.

Take a step in faith and go on a little adventure with your hubby,

even if that means going out for an hour-long date night.

I promise you He will watch over your precious babes while you are away.

And you might even enjoy yourself too. ;)

Hitting the Motherload

This past weekend, we celebrated my first Mother's Day.

What an honor it was!

We also had Emersyn's dedication at church on the same day.

Doubly honored.

This weekend was special but boy was it crazy.

We kicked it off with this....

Behind that lovely bandage are six stitches.

Cup exploding incident. Yeah, don't ask. ;)

After one frantic call to my hubby, a bloodstained kitchen, and one crazy trip to the ER, 

I was on the mend!

Happy Mothers Day to me!

We spent Saturday celebrating my Mothers Day at the Mall of America!

After a great morning walk in the sunshine, it was fun to shop & go out to eat.

I love that my hubby captured this sweet moment...

Sunday it was Mothers Day and Emme's big dedication day.

We woke up and had no idea our day would get so interesting.

Before I go into details, take a look at my pretty baby in her dedication dress.

I mean chambray and pink... can you really go wrong?

Well apparently... you can.

Because this was the only picture I got of E in that dress before I threw it in the trash.

This girl had a MASSIVE blowout on our way to the church.

I'm talking all over her dad, the carseat, in her finger crevices, ashamed to carry your baby in naked to church blowout.

As Ethan scrubbed his shirt in the church bathroom and doused the car seat with water,

I tried to sponge baby-wipe bathe our child in an attempt to save any part of her outfit.

Well, I got the jean jacket out of the deal.

And thank the sweet Lord above, otherwise my child would have gone 

on stage in a grubby white tee shirt and much too big pink leggings.

See below.

Well hey, she still looks cute.

A story to tell her forever I guess!

We came home,

celebrated with family,

ate some cake,

and rejoiced over dedicating our daughter to the Lord.

I pray that Emersyn does big things for Jesus.

Scratch that.

I pray that she does BIG bold brave things for Jesus.

I pray that He uses her to bring light to this world- which I know He already does.

And most of all,

I pray that she always knows His great and immeasurable love for her

and the unending grace that only He can give.

Happy dedication weekend, little love.

Mama couldn't have spent her Mothers Day weekend a better way.

Xoxo

Get Your Crafty On

My mister was away this weekend doing his Army thing. Boo.

Hate when that happens! 

Makes for one sad & lonely mama.

I decided I needed to be productive in order to forget about his absence, so....

I got my crafty on!

I must say I am proud that this is my first successful DIY project.

I've tried my hand at Pinterest many a' times and lets just say that failure is an understatement.

 No really, UNDERstatement.

Here's how to make an easy breezy front door wreath that looks cute & won't break your bank!

DIY Front Door Wreath

You will need:

1 wreath 

3-5 fake flowers (I got each of them for 50% at Joann's!)

Wooden letter

Burlap ribbon

Twine 

Glue gun

I started out by taking my flowers and cutting them down so they had about 6 inches of the stem left. Then, I weaved the stem through the twigs in the wreath so that they were hidden. I used hot glue to hold them in place. I like the look of having them all bunched up, but you can of course glue the flowers all over the wreath if you want! I did have some bunched together on the opposite side of the wreath too but I didn't get a picture of that so.... #excuseme #newblogger :)

Next, I took twine and glued it to the back of my wooden letter. I left the twine really long so that I could wrap it around the top of the wreath in order to suspend the letter. I tied it and hot glued it in place.

Lastly, I took my entire roll of burlap ribbon and made a giant bow. I glued it right on top of where the twine was tied so that you couldn't the knots I had made.

Here's the finished product!

So easy and so fun to do! The whole thing only took me like thirty minutes to make. I love this project because it's cheap enough that you could make one for each of the seasons without going way over your budget! 

Well, its off to church for the Kleiner family!

Be blessed & enjoy your Sunday!

Feeling Green

Lately we have been on a little bit of a "health kick" over here at the Kleiner household!

Truthfully, we don't eat very healthfully- which is something we are working on changing. It's just hard when you have an undying love for pizza milkshakes tator tot hotdish foods that are not so nutritious. A lot of that we attribute to our crazy busy schedules, but we have now figured out a great way to incorporate some greens & fruits into our diet in a super easy way!

I give you... the green smoothie!

We've been making these babies for breakfasts, snacks, and for those times where you just need a drink when you're driving in the car. And we love them! 

My mister was not so keen on the idea. When he saw me drinking a cup of green liquid, he instantly said "that's disgusting" and refused to put his lips to the glass... but once he had a taste, boy was he apologizing for his harsh words! Then he wanted me to make him one, to which I happily answered... no :) 

Here's the recipe for what we call our "green machine" smoothie! I make this in the Magic Bullet so this recipe is really for a single serving. You would have to make a larger batch if you're making it in the blender for more than one person.

Green Machine Smoothie

1 handful of spinach leaves (I buy the big Fresh Express bag for $1.99 and makes a week of smoothies)

1 whole banana

1/2 cup of orange juice

1/2 cup of frozen mangos

Splash of coconut water (optional)

Simply blend these ingredients and voila... a delicious & nutritious snack! If you want it colder/more blended, I would just add a few ice cubes!

Do any of you have an fun recipes for healthy foods that are easy for on-the-go families like us? We would love to hear your ideas!

European Dreamin

In a previous post, I mentioned our living abroad stint. Allow me to explain.

In May of 2012, I graduated from college & two weeks later hopped on a flight to Germany to await the return of my soldier hubby from war. He had been stationed in Germany for a couple years & I had made a couple visits. But once school ended, I was able to stay with him permanently until his active duty time ended in October. During those five glorious months, we visited all sorts of amazing places- seven countries to be exact. Here are some of our memories...

First visit to Stuttgart, Germany where Ethan was stationed (December 2010)

Paris, France (July 2011)

London, England (July 2012)

Barcelona, Spain (July 2012)

Rome, Italy (July 2012)

Venice, Italy (July 2012)

Munich, Germany (July 2012)

Prague, Czech Republic (August 2012)

Strasbourg, France (September 2012)

Amsterdam, The Netherlands (September 2012)

We still feel so blessed that we got the privilege to travel Europe! Although active duty Army life was terrible horrible less than thrilling, we would never have had this experience without it. I can't wait until the day we can go back again!