Little Fish

Timothy has been wanting to get Emma into swimming lessons for a while now and, we finally did it! We had our first class today. It was really nice because we could both get in the pool with her (spoiled brat). We needed the tag team because the little monkey would not let go of me. It took her about ten minutes to stop crying and by the end, she was loving it! We sang some songs and learned to blow bubbles (Emma didn't quite get her mouth in the water, but she has the right idea), and we kicked and splashed our hands and chased some toys. It was fun and really neat to see Emma react to it all. They had a little slide that went into the water too and that was probably her favorite part. She loved going down that. All in all, it turned out well and I think when we go back next week, it may only take her five minutes to stop crying. Anyway, here's some pictures of swimming and some of just hanging out.

The Winds of Change

So, we came home from church last Sunday (the 7th), and discovered that the winds of change were indeed blowing. Very strongly. I sat down to take off Emma's shoes and coat and looked out our front window. A branch the size of a tree from our neighbor's yard and been broken off by the gale-force winds and had landed on our fence, flattening it. People complain about the wind here and when some find out where we live, they ask how the wind is. We always thought people were exaggerating or something. But these last few weeks have changed my opinion. The wind keeps me awake at night and sometimes wakes up Emma. And now, the 'branch'. The pictures just do not do it justice! Fortunately, the fence was chain link, which is fairly bendable, and our neighbor works for the city's forestry division or something. I think we were his first job Monday morning. Anyway, enjoy the pics, I'll start another post.
Oh yah, I almost forgot, we had an ultrasound on the 3rd. They said that everything is looking good, all the parts are there and that we will stick with our due date of May 29th. They also said that we should be preparing ourselves for a baby sister. Any ideas for names? We're taking suggestions!

A Belated New Years

Well, mostly because I'm lazy, I haven't posted anything in a long while. I guess it's about time. I have a lot to update you on, so I'll have to do it in a couple of different posts, so that it makes sense. Anyway, Grandma Allred came up for the weekend for New Years. We had fun, I don't know if you would say tons of fun (who puts Grandma to work when she comes for a visit?), but fun. We wanted to get some painting done (we've lived here for 8 months and figured its time to make this house our own), so, we put Grandma to work. Emma did some painting too, as you can see in a picture. I striped one wall in her room and she really wanted to help out. Fortunately, the paint was dry. Grandma also brought Emma another Christmas present, her baby. We were amazed at Emma's mothering instincts...she immediately fed and then burped her little bundle of joy. And we had to take her to church because, well, you can't leave a child that young at home alone! Emma would not let her out of her sight all weekend. She is still fascinated with her baby and as long as I tuck baby into bed before Emma, things are alright. This makes me nervous to see how she handles the real baby...she's a very attentive little mother but, a little bit violent. Oh yes, and, the baby is not allowed to wear her clothes, or diaper. So, we'll see how things go in a couple of months here. Anyway, here's some pictures. I'll get started on another post.