Belated

It was Emory's birthday a few weeks ago. We've been all over the place and she didn't even mind our low-key-ness. That's one of the things I love most about her! I kept saying how sad I was that we didn't get to spend the whole day fawning over her and she'd say, "I really don't mind, Mom."

We spent the day moving, unpacking, cleaning, field day-ing, and Yogurt Extreme-ing.

This little girl is so special to us. Someone recently informed me that during my infamous Georgia stint with Emory six years ago, I'd offend

ed another person. It was so weird to hear about this thing that I had no recollection of! Then I tried to remember other things that happened during that unplanned 11 week stay, and all I remember is Emory. Not to say that I don't have memories like when my mom kept me company for 5 of the 11 weeks, or when I first held Emory, or when she finally came home, it's just hard to remember anything else that didn't pertain to her.

Unless you've done the NICU, you have no idea what it's like. To leave your baby there. The day you're discharged from the hospital, you go home empty handed. And everyday after that. You have a baby, but you don't. And to top it off, she's sick. Can't breathe very well and doesn't know how to suck and swallow. It's not a good feeling, watching your baby forget to breathe. Trust me.

(Photo by Kylee Ann Photography, more to follow!)

But now She's mine, and I'm holding on to her Forever, even if she's getting to big to hold!

Hike and puppies

A couple weekends ago we wanted to get out of our house/miniature apartment/town, so we headed for the hills. I've wanted to hike Mary's Peak since last summer, alas it was not to be.

I thought by late May the snow would be dwindling, but it wasn't. We settled for a jaunt down a trail and the girls loved it.

They kept saying, "This is the best hiking!" and, "Thank you for taking us hiking!" There was tons of fog and snow, but it was fun (and a memory) nonetheless!

2 days later, the weather was gorgeous, so the girls and I had a picnic at a favorite park.

Emory has been begging to get on top of this train since we moved here, and I finally let her.

I LOVE this big tree at said park.

Some random funniness;

We were playing a game with some friends and one of them noticed a particularly interesting passage on the fridge:

We were also invited to a pizza party a while ago. One of the children, in the family that invited us, was one of my Laurels and babysits for us.

Tessa has her wrapped around her little finger. (Her and most of the other 16-18 year old girls in our Ward ;)

We were playing puppies and building castles for them yesterday.

Tessa's were Tutu, String, and Dad.

Emory's were named Flower, Awesome, and Diarrhea. Their weirdness and creativity cease to amaze me.

I'm starting to feel a little sad about leaving Corvallis. I've always been sad to leave all my wonderful friends, but I will miss this quirky, little city a little too. I'll miss going up the "mountains" as my girls call them, where some of our friends live and seeing deer in the middle of the day. I'll miss our fun library and story time. I'll miss the parks we frequent.

I won't miss the lack of stores to shop at or the smallness of our apartment. Ever.

Finally, about once a month Grandma Chris sends the girls a package. It's the best day of my month! I set it on the table and tell them, "No fighting, no whining, no nothing!" and they hover around the package all afternoon, being relative angels, until I've decided they've been good enough. It's awesome. In this package they received new swim suits (for both passing a level in swimming lessons) squirting tub toys, ring pops, and puzzles.

Cory even got some of his beloved Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans, which I have to say are very addicting. Hooray for Grandma!