Memorial Day Weekend

Grandma Donna came from Montana to stay with us from Thurs - Tues. We had a great time!
Emily enjoyed her first Memorial Day and wore her red white and blue proudly.
There was plenty of time for playing on the floor....
And trying on the new clothes grandma brought....
and a trip to Leatherby's Family Creamery....
where the ice-cream is larger than life....
and very yummy!
We drove toward the coast for a very cold and breezy coastal hike....
and eventually got to the sand and waves....
Emily enjoyed the beach, and the snuggles as we all tried to stay warm.
Then we trekked a few miles back to the car, and headed for IN N OUT.
Thank heavens for blankets.... and fun times with family!

Playing with our new color select feature of the Canon





Being silly

Reading Daddy's book to him
So I always thought bloomers were just for looks. But when I found her after naptime like this, I learned that when bloomers aren't put on, they can't serve their purpose of keeping diaper tabs out of reach of baby fingers.

Our 2 little fuzzy ones

Doesn't Bridger have a lovely smile?! He's so happy that his little sister likes to talk to him!
And they have so much in common.... especially a love for stuffed animals.
Although Bridger doesn't take her toys, she is very interested in his squeaky squirrel.
He's really glad she can't figure out how to crawl.
Always a careful gentleman, if Emily can wrestle it away from him, he will let her keep it.

I found her like this

She took half a nap, and when I went to see what she was doing I found a very stinky and silly baby behind the bumper pad. She's squirmy wormy these days, and gets into plenty of mischief.

Grampa Buss came to visit!

Emily had a great time when Gramps Buss came up from Bakersfield to see her this weekend!
Gramps reads to her on Saturday morning, and then she 'splained what it was all about! Here she is elaborating on one of the passages.
This is a cute springtime outfit Crystal gave Emily! It's perfect on her! Thanks Crystal!!

Road Trip!

Up north for a dorm-mates reunion!!
We drove to Oregon this past weekend. It was beautiful.... deer, snow, and here's Mt. Shasta.
We stayed at Allison, Chet and Ella Bolen's lovely house. Ella is ten months old, and super sweet! Allison is an amazing chef and treated us to 3 days of wonderful meals!! Chet was a pro on the BBQ as well! I felt like we were being spoiled at a Bed and Breakfast with some of my favorite people!! What a blessing!
Ella can walk and crawl, and wanted to teach Emily how. :)
Crystal (Barber) Lazenby and her husband Jeremy and their girls Lili (14 months) and Maddie (3 months) came from 4 hours away for this fun reunion! Both Allison and Crystal were bridesmaids in our wedding! Crystal's girls are almost as adorable as she is!!
We loved meeting and playing with each others' sweet dollies! Above, none of us are holding our own!
It snowed this day, but then was beautiful, so we went for a nice walk!
The 4 girls together
Scott and I holding Maddie Lazenby... the youngest one there
Ella sharing her toys with Emily. Emily is younger but bigger than Ella. Ella is smaller, but independently mobile. It was funny to see such a little person walking around!
Emily loved Crystal!
Ella could cruise around and visit with anyone she wanted to!
On Sunday the girls enjoyed being in the nursery together.
The Bolens have a very cool dog.... Buster
A family picture Sunday at their house. Thankfully, Scott had Cesar Chavez day off, so we took our time and drove back Monday. The weekend was a refreshing time of sweet fellowship and hilarious FUN!

Visiting family

Emily and I went to my cousin Aimee's place to visit with her and her baby Jack. Jack smiles so sweetly and is quite a happy little guy!

Resurrection Sunday

Emily in her first Easter dress, with Elly helping her stand up. :) Her Grandma Donna bought it for her.

Grandma Donna came to visit us during her Spring Break! Emily was pleased to get a lot of play time in, and she chatted quite a bit with her Montana grandma.
Emily likes to read to her daddy. She has lots to say these days.

It seems the days of toothless grins are coming to an end. This may be one of the last gummy smile pictures.... we can see teeth are on their way!
Look how fast I can move my arms! The camera can't even capture them!
But I'm going to try to capture the camera!

Grandpa Buss comes to visit! And a VERY fun gift comes in the mail!!

Carey's dad came up on Amtrak to see us for a few days! We had a great visit, and Emily loved getting some extensive walking lessons.
My dad says that her right leg is good at walking but the left leg doesn't really get it yet. So it looks like she'll still be using other modes of transportation for awhile. :)
Grandpa Buss held Emily during breakfast, during dinner, and even babysat while Scott and Carey went to an International Student party on Friday night! Thanks dad!!
A wonderful surprise package came in the mail a few days ago!!! My best friend from my days in China.... Linda.... mailed us an outfit that her sweet mother (AKA my Chinese mum) handmade for Emily. It is complete with sweater, pants, and adorable booties. It is sooooo cute and soft and perfect! Can you see the beautiful stitching?! It's Em's favorite sweater now!
In true Chinese fashion, it even has the crotchless feature that all the babies wear over there! (Since they don't use the diaper). I love it! However, I think it's too late to train her to go only when I whistle. :)

Bridger walked by and upset the photo shoot, but it turned out to be a good shot of the hairstyle she's sporting these days.