The Harmon Family

Won’t you be my Valentine?

2012-02-14T20:57:00.001-06:00

We have had a lovely Valentines Day! Our festivities began yesterday!

It was a rainy, cold Monday, so Emerson watched Addie and I get crafty…

(SERIOUSLY, have you ever seen anything so cute!?)
(It’s a good thing she’s so cute considering how much of my beauty sleep she’s been interrupting lately! HA!)

Addie made her Daddy a Valentine. He only wished it was bigger! LOL!

Addie had a blast preparing these super fun scratch n sniff “chocolate scented” cards for her friends at school. Thanks Hicare!

We put together this little gift for Daddy…

And made these yummy treats to pass out to teachers and friends.

It delighted my heart to see Addie so excited to pass these out to her teachers at school! She really got into GIVING to others and that brings a smile to my face!

After school, Addie was so excited to open her “balentimes” from her friends and she chose one thing to eat!…a sucker!

When Daddy got home, he brought her a balloon, which made her SO HAPPY!

And Daddy made us dinner! Breakfast for dinner complete with PINK chocolate chip pancakes!

Then we took pictures in our matching shirts Cece sent us!

Thank you to our friend Lindsay for Emmie’s “My First Valentine’s Day” Outfit! She loved it!

Me and my girls…I am one lucky Momma!

Can’t believe it’s my 15th year to celebrate with my handsome Valentine, Brandon! Love you babe! This year was fun, thanks for the memories! You always make it special!

Lots of Lovin!

2012-02-07T21:39:00.001-06:00

We have been very busy lately! Emerson has had lots of fun meeting people that love her so much, and her big sister enjoys showing her off to everyone!

We had dinner at Nana and Leelee’s and Emmie got to meet her Great Papa Jinks.

4 Generations!

Bubbie and Poppie came over for a Sunday afternoon visit! They babysat both girls so Mommy and Daddy could run some errands.

It was so exciting to get to see Hicare and Baby Meredith last week! We have waited for this moment since December 16th when sweet Meredith was born! Emerson loved getting snuggles from her Auntie Hicare, as you can see below, and I was SO HAPPY to finally hold her sweet baby. We were blessed to spend two days with them last week! What a treat!

BFF’s!…how cute are they!!? Emmie on the left and Meredith on the right.

Addie was soooo happy to hold baby Meredith! We have enjoyed facetiming with her so it was neat to get to see her and snuggle her!

Emerson loved hanging out with Hicare. Mommy cried when our time was over.

On Saturday morning these three snuggled like this for a long time….

Wearing a sweet outfit from Aunt Hillie….

Saturday night Emerson attended church for the first time! She loved Hope just like us! When we told Addie we were going to church she said, “I will see all of my friends, eat animal crackers, sing songs, dance, pray, and do a craft.” Then she wanted to know if Emmie could go to her class too. It was so sweet!

Oh, and this was not such a proud Mom moment this past week. Addie got into my makeup and colored her face. EEK! I showed her how UGLY it was in the mirror! We’ll see if the message sank in.

Thanks for reading! I sure love the daily adventures of being a momma to these two girls! (well…99.9% of the time I love it! ha!! it keeps me on my toes, that’s for sure!)

Love to all!

Visit with Cece and Grandpa

2012-02-07T10:41:00.001-06:00

I know this is a little late, but better than never! On January 8th, my mom and stepdad came into town to see Emerson and help out with our transition! We had a great visit with them both! They did a lot of fun things with Addie that week to keep her entertained, like Gattitown, visits to the park, and even a shopping spree! Grandpa had to leave after a week and my mom stayed another week. She helped us so much and cooked great food while she was here! It was a great visit. I was not very good about taking pictures, but here are a few! :)

A Month of Firsts!

2012-01-29T19:54:00.001-06:00

My friend Carol has a new blog, and I am so excited about it! You can check it out here www.youngsterfamily.blogspot.com She made a post last week of her sweet baby’s “firsts” and I loved that! So, I am doing the same! We have had a wonderful month of firsts with our sweet Emerson! Here are a few!

But before we begin, one LAST picture in Mommy’s tummy!

First time to see the world! And Mommy and Daddy’s Faces!

First exam…

First time to meet Big Sister…

First snuggles with Nana

First hold by Aunt Lee Lee

First time to be loved on by Bubbie

First snuggle with Uncle Ryan

First Nap with Poppie

First admiration from Uncle Thomas

First time to meet Grandpa and Cece!

First Hearing Test

First Car Ride

First time to arrive HOME!

First time in bouncy seat

First Dr. Appointment with our beloved Dr. G (at 2 weeks old)

First Bath! She loved it!

First time to get all fancy!

First time to….well, I just liked this picture! :)

First trip to the park

First Picnic

Happy 1 Month Birthday Sweet Girl! You have blessed us all with so MUCH JOY this month! You are the sweetest, most precious little baby! We love you!!!

(Be sure to check out another new post below! I know! Two in one night! Crazy!!)

The Best Big Sister Ever!

2012-01-29T19:07:00.001-06:00

I wanted to make a post to document some sweet things I want to remember about Addie’s first month as a big sister. She is so incredibly sweet to her baby sister and loves to help in any way she can. I love this little story from the day Emmie was born. So I have been told that when Brandon came out to the waiting room to share the exciting news, everyone gathered around to hear about Emerson, and Addie was right there listening. Brandon shared her weight, length, and details from the birth. As soon as he finished, Addie said, “Ok Daddy! Now let’s go to Sonic and get ice!” LOL! Her favorite thing in the world right now is a cup of ice from Sonic. We thought it was so funny that she was like, ‘Ok…glad baby is here…now let’s go get a treat!’

The super cute big sis…. (Who will be THREE in just two months! Can you believe it!? I can’t!)

So, Addie has given Emerson a nickname and we have NO IDEA where it came from! She calls her “Little Feather.” Just out of the blue one day she started saying “Hi Little Feather…” She is so funny!

Chilling in Mommy’s hospital bed….making a phone call on the tv/lights remote.

When we got home from the hospital she greeted us with the sweetest hugs!!

We brought a new baby home with us for her when we brought Emerson home. She named her new baby Emerson….she has loved caring for her baby while I have been caring for mine.

She got to hold Emmie right after we arrived.

She sometimes thinks SHE is the baby lately…

Feeding HER Emerson a bottle…

“I’m just watching her Mommy!” (Thank you Landry for loaning us your swing!!)

She loves to ask Brandon and me if we want to hold “both girls.” It’s her favorite time…

After 6 weeks of trying to keep a bandage on Addie’s face to heal her skin infection, she decided her little sister needed a bandage too the other day! She makes us LAUGH!

We love our new stroller and have been to the park a few times! Yesterday when we were walking we saw a family with a toddler, a baby, and a dog. She said “Mommy, we just have a little sister, right!?” (No dog…) It was so cute to watch her processing our situation!

I am convinced she is watching everything! She asked me the other day if she could give her baby a bath right after I bathed Emmie. It was really sweet watching her give her baby a bath. She was so soothing and motherly. She even wrapped her up in a towel so she wouldn’t be cold when the bath was over. I could hear her saying, “I know it’s cold baby…Mommy’s gonna get you warm.”

Addie had PJ day at school on Thursday. When I asked to take her picture, she wanted me to take it with her baby sister. So here they are!

This particular day was her first time to be taken to school by Mommy and Emerson. She was SUPER excited about this and could hardly wait to show Emmie to her teacher. Here we are in the parking lot all ready to go in. We do not travel lightly, but we do travel in STYLE! :)

She loves to ask me to hold “both girls”….and how can I resist? Sorry for the picture of me pre-shower! Ha!

And here was their first bath “together.” I am sure the first of many! Emerson was less than thrilled but Big Sister was super excited!!

She has had her moments this month, but for the most part, we think she has adjusted VERY well to her baby sister. She loves her so much and wants to take care of her. She does not like it when Emerson cries. She says to her, “ I know sweet girl, I know.” She also asks me to get her and hold her so she will stop crying. It just melts my heart! It’s been fun to see her in action this month as Emmie’s big sister! She loves her LITTLE FEATHER! :)

Newborn Photos

2012-01-26T12:32:00.001-06:00

We are blessed to have a wonderful photographer and friend named Chrissy! She graciously took photos of Emmie and our family when she was only 8 days old! She spent HOURS working to capture the best shots of our little girl and I am sure many more hours editing the photos after the shoot! If you are needing photos for any reason, please check her out! You can visit her website by clicking here, or email her directly at Chrissy@CapturedByChrissy.com. Here are some of our favorites from the session!! I can’t even look at these pictures without tearing up! So blessed to be the momma to these sweet little girls!

Around the House with Our Sweet Baby

2012-01-17T14:02:00.001-06:00

We sure are loving our little baby girl! These are all taken with my phone, so not the best quality, but it's better than no post at all right!?

This little girl is so sweet! Can't believe she's ours!! ;)

Emerson’s BIRTHday

2012-01-05T17:11:00.001-06:00

December 27th was a beautiful day! From the first moment I saw this little girl she had my heart…..as you can see in the first picture. Not a lot of time for blogging these days, so I’ll let the pictures tell the story of the day we met our little angel, straight from Heaven! Love to all! Hope to be back to blogging regularly some day! :)

She's Here!!

2011-12-29T13:14:00.001-06:00

Our precious blessing, Emerson Claire, arrived from Heaven on Tuesday 12/27 at 8:08 am weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and measuring 19 3/4 in long! She is so sweet and precious and we are ALL in love with her!! More pics to come soon but just wanted to announce her formal debut!

We are so blessed!!!! Love my baby girls!!!

Tomorrow is Baby Day!

2011-12-26T23:01:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe that as I sit here and type this tonight that tomorrow is finally the big day! This pregnancy has seemed to fly by much faster than Addie's in some ways, but in other ways it feels like I have been pregnant forever! I am so incredibly excited about tomorrow and I am not sure how I will ever sleep tonight. I have to get up in exactly 5 hours (4 am) to get ready and be at the hospital by 5:30 am. I have been so nervous all day and all evening! I am not nervous about the surgery, but more about how BIG of a day it is. I often say that the day I had Addie is the best day of my life. I just can't believe we get to do all of this again! I feel so incredibly blessed to be having this sweet baby tomorrow and just cannot wait to see her sweet face. Someone once told me that there is just something about telling your first born child good bye to go have your second. Oh goodness how true that statement is. Telling Addie goodnight tonight was so incredibly emotional. I can't wait for her to meet her baby sister. I have been praying for a long time that God would prepare her heart for all that is to come in the days, weeks, months ahead, but also for the rest of her life. Emmie will always be her little sister, and will look up to Addie. I THINK I have everything packed that we need, I have everything ready at home for our return, Addie is all set for the week, her BIG SIS shirt is pressed and ready to go, and Brandon and I are ready. So here we go! We would love, love, love your prayers for our family tomorrow morning and in the days ahead as we prepare for a great big change! And also just for a smooth delivery! I guess I had better stop rambling and get to sleep!

Love to all,
Michelle :-)

Harmon Family Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T21:31:00.001-06:00

We had a lovely, relaxing Christmas Eve day and evening in our home! I just love this time of year so much! We spent the day around the house and then got ready for Christmas Eve service at church early this evening.

Carol’s sweet Aunt Penney sent Addie this special Christmas dress…

Then we went to P.F. Chang’s for a nice dinner! It was such a treat! Addie loved her noodles :) and was so excited to eat her chicken with chopsticks!

Then we came home and decorated cookies for Santa. She had a blast! We used a special Christmas china plate that belongs to a set that was my Grammie’s. My Dad and Julie saved these plates for me because they knew I love things like this! It was fun to use them for our Santa cookies tonight! I bet she was smiling down on us!

She was so proud of her cookies and milk for Santa. She even said, “Decorating cookies was fun Mommy and Daddy!!”

Thank you Hicare and Uncle Micah for the adorable Christmas jammies!!

Then we tucked her in bed and listened to the audio version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas read by Cece and Grandpa!

We are excited to see what Santa brings tonight! I think she’s going to be really excited!! She is so much fun! We feel so blessed that she is ours.

Just to reminisce a little, it’s crazy to look back to just a year ago on Christmas Eve…

And even crazier to look at Christmas Eve TWO years ago!

Oh I could JUST SQUEEZE her!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

“And the word became flesh and dwelt among us…and we beheld his GLORY…” John 1:14

Our Last Week as a Family of Three!

2011-12-23T17:59:00.001-06:00

We have had such a fun week with Brandon off work! We have tried really hard to do some fun things with Addie since we know next week her world is going to be turned upside down! It has been so nice to just play with Addie and enjoy her.

Some of our fun has been….

Playing with gifts from sweet friends like this matching alphabet set from the Cannons…

Playing with playdough from Sharon and Hillary….

Listening to REAL Christmas carolers on our porch!!

Making rice krispie houses (instead of gingerbread houses)

Eating more icing and sprinkles than we put on the houses…. ha ha

Enjoying some Christmas shows….

Playing in the Toy Wonderland at Neiman Marcus Dallas…

Looking at the window displays in downtown Dallas….

Having a fun dinner with good friends….

Organizing and checking things off our lists…

Eating yummy treats….

Park time!

And looking at Christmas Lights in Deerfield!

I have also loved reading to Addie a lot this week, especially her “I’m a Big Sister” Book! So much to look forward to, but so much change too! I’m ready! :) Let’s do this!!

First Haircut, School Christmas Party, & A Surprise Shower!

2011-12-21T20:13:00.001-06:00

Well, we took the plunge! We cut my baby girl’s hair for the first time! It was getting really long, and unfortunately the ends were all baby hair, so they were scraggly and a little hard to comb through. We took her to a cute little kids’ haircut place locally called Sharkey’s and she got to sit in a hot pink Barbie jeep while her hair was cut. At first she was not too happy about it all (as you can see in the pictures) but after a few minutes she calmed down and realized that this could be fun!

Before the cutting began….

After her haircut the lady took her to a special room to have her nails painted. She chose purple for one hand and blue for the other. Then they did some glitter art on her face. She thought she was something else!

Checking out her new “do” and face art in the mirror…

It didn’t take her long to find the microphone and bust out a little song!

Before we left we took some pictures out front of her with her new haircut. She was really excited. We cut about 3.5 inches off!!

Modeling the back….

On Thursday we had her Christmas Party at preschool. It is always so fun for me to see her in that element. She was precious and so happy to have me there!
We started by making a craft together, it was a “Baby Jesus” in the form of a stuffed sock placed in a paper bag manger. She loved making it, and we had fun together.

So proud of her Baby Jesus. This year we particularly love the way she says Mary is Jesus’ Mommy and JOFAS (her version of Joseph) is Jesus’ Daddy.

Addie’s sweet friend Ben and his mommy Ms. Amy…Addie sure loves these guys!!

Sweet, sweet Baby Briggs was having fun with Ben’s manger bag. This little guy is the happiest baby you’ve ever seen! Addie could eat him up!

Showing Ms. Amy her Baby Jesus…

Praying Hands before snacks….

We did this neat activity where they placed their ornament picture of themselves on the baby Jesus as a symbol of “giving themselves to Him.” Addie was first and was so excited to go up in front of everyone and put her ornament on the manger. She put it SMACK on top of his face, which we all laughed at. If you look at the manger behind her you can see her ornament over his eyes, mouth and nose. I guess Baby Jesus doesn’t need to see, because Addie is all up in his business! It made me giggle, but she was so proud, that it just melted my heart.

Finally, on Thursday afternoon Brandon’s boss called an important meeting and he didn’t know what it was about. He showed up to a conference room and they had put together a surprise shower for him! They had gifts and cupcakes and drinks! He was so surprised! He actually sat and opened all the gifts in front of them all and even wrote his own thank you notes that night to pass out the following day! It was such a sweet surprise! The guy in the striped polo got him a container of baby powder called “Baby’s Anti Monkey Butt.” But the funny part? He crossed out Baby’s on the package and replaced it with Brandon’s. So he got a container of “Brandon’s anti monkey butt.” HILARIOUS! We are so grateful to his coworkers for stocking our diapers and wipes stash for baby Emerson! Here is the ONE picture I got from the shower. He is is such a cutie!

An Angel is Born!

2011-12-17T22:33:00.001-06:00

We are so incredibly happy for our dear friends Carol and Micah!! They welcomed their precious baby girl, Meredith Stearns Young, into the world yesterday at 5:47 pm, weighing 7 lbs, 5 oz, and 21 in long. She is perfect and beautiful and healthy! She only wishes her aunt Chelle could snuggle her!! Her mommy says I must stay in dfw in case her bff Emerson decides to come early like she did!! I am so, so happy and I'm praising God for this precious little miracle!!

Love you guys SO much!!!

Emerson’s Nursery!

2011-12-11T21:05:00.001-06:00

We are about done with Emerson’s nursery! I am so happy with how it all turned out! I think she’s going to love it! There are so many touches to the room to make it special and unique for her, that we thought long and hard about. There are also so many people represented that love her dearly in this room!

The curtains were made by me, her Momma out of Ikea fabric that I found this summer. The pillow in the chair was a special gift from her Bubbie and the puppy dog and blankie on the chair were thoughtful gifts from our sweet friend Donna. My friend Emily made her the blanket on the changing table. It is crocheted on the back, so soft!

The BEAUTIFUL letters on the wall were made by my precious friend Amanda, and Grandpa and Cece paid for this project to happen!!

The crib skirt was handmade with love by Emmie’s Nana and turned out amazing!

The tree was applied to the wall by her daddy, and let me assure you, he took lots of time making sure it was perfect! He even chose the placement of all the birds and owls! I think he did a beautiful job!

The sweet blankies in her crib were a gift from Bubbie and Poppie as well, and they are extra special because they are very similar to some that Addie has loved the last few years!

The Minnie in the crib was a gift to her from Brandon after a trip to CA this past fall. He went to Downtown Disney and picked out the sweet lullaby “My First Minnie” for her since her big sis loves Minnie so much. I think she’s so sweet!

The beautiful chandelier is an incredibly thoughtful gift from “Hicare” (Aunt Carol) and Uncle Micah. We just love how it illuminates the room and reminds of their sweet friendship (and their sweet baby girl who could share the same birthday with Emmie!)

This is the verse we chose for Emerson’s wall and her daddy put it up tonight! I think it’s a very powerful reminder that we are CHOSEN! She is so special and was formed by HIM, set apart by HIM!

Thank you to all of you for making her room such a special place, so full of love. I can’t wait for her to come home and see her room!

And last night, Brandon took this belly picture of me before his work Christmas party, two weeks to go and counting down!!

Love to all!

Baby Emmie’s Sprinkle

2011-12-06T21:31:00.001-06:00

My sweet friends at church threw a sprinkle to celebrate Emerson on Sunday night and it was so much fun! They decorated with red, lime green, and hot pink for the holidays and baby girl, which was so cute! They made a ton of yummy desserts, and even planned fun games to play! I had such a fun evening celebrating my new little miracle. Addie was so much fun too. She helped me open gifts and even received some of her own! She had spent the weekend at her Bubbie and Poppie’s house (so wonderful!!!) so it was my first time to see her in a couple of days. She was dressed up in a new adorable outfit (thanks Bubbie!!) and was so excited to come to the “party!” She’s really getting into this baby stuff, I can’t wait to see her in action as a big sister!

My friend Tara made this diaper cake and embroidered the layers with “Sweet Baby Emmie”…isn’t that so sweet!?

Yummy cake balls Emily made!!

Addie and Rylee working HARD on their pages for the ABC book that all of the guests worked to create! CANNOT wait to see this finished product!

Friends tasting/smelling baby food for the fun game!

Bunch of pretty girls!…

My sweet little stylish girl….. (that night when I said, “You look so cute!” she said, “Mommy, I not cute, I stylish!” Ha ha!

I received a wonderful gift from my mother in law, Vivian! She made our cribskirt for Emerson’s bed!! It looks amazing! Almost ready to post pictures of her room!!

Also, I was so touched to receive another special gift! My sweet stepmom, Julie had these blankets made/embroidered for Emerson and they are very similar to some she had made for Addie a few years ago! The one in this picture is from Caden Lane, and I just love it! She also got her a bunny blankie just like Addie’s and a special pillow with her name on it! So thoughtful!

I also received a special surprise, when a gift was given to me from Carol, all the way from Houston! She shipped it directly to the party! So sweet! LOVE this little dress!!

Addie was excited to open a few big sister gifts too!

My precious friend Alyson and me….

So incredibly blessed by the evening! I received so many wonderful things! I love all of these women so much and thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for hosting this party for us!!!

Family Photos!

2011-12-05T15:27:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago we had some family photos/maternity photos taken by our wonderful photographer, Chrissy! She does amazing work, you can check out her site here: www.capturedbychrissy.com

I tried really hard to narrow down the photos to just a few, but I love them all, so I had a hard time!

Addie Visits Santa 2011

2011-11-30T20:15:00.002-06:00

We took Addie tonight to see Santa and she was so excited! It was a much less traumatic experience than last year! We were total suckers and bought the USB stick so we could have all of the pictures! Here are our favorites!

A Wonderful Week!

2011-11-27T13:28:00.001-06:00

We have had a wonderful week this past week! Brandon was off with us and it was so fun to be together all week. He is such a big help with Addie and around the house, I am so lucky! I took naps, did some holiday crafting, and just enjoyed him being here.

On Monday, Addie and I were so excited to have a visit from Auntie Hilly and Landry! It was so great to see them and catch up! Addie had fun showing Landry her “tangerine” (trampoline) that her Bubbie and Poppie gave her as an early Christmas present!

He is so cute I could just eat him up!

For Thanksgiving, we went to my dad and Julie’s house and celebrated with a DELICIOUS meal! We were so stuffed! Addie had a great time running around, being silly, and skipping her nap! Nana and Leelee joined us over there, it was nice to see them on Thanksgiving too!

Addie had a special setup to eat her lunch…what a little princess.

After we ate lunch, Addie had to help check out the sale ads for Black Friday….

And she got to take a fun bath in the SUPER bath tub!

She had Thanksgiving jammies to wear that evening too. :) They say “Thankful for Mommy”

We also decorated for Christmas this weekend! We kept it very minimal this year due to the fact that Emerson is due one month from today and honestly I didn’t have the energy to put out all 12 tubs of decorations (nor did I expect to feel like putting it all away in a month.)

So, we started with the most important thing to put out….and Addie got to open an early Christmas gift from Hicare and Uncle Micah, her very own Little People Nativity Scene! It is so precious, and she loves it! I want her to understand that the ONLY reason we celebrate Christmas is because our SAVIOR was born on that day long ago. It’s really, really important to us. Last year Hicare and Uncle Micah gave her the Innkeeper Little People set and she played with it this weekend too! I am working to teach her the Christmas story, and it warms my heart to see her loving and playing with these little Biblical figurines. Thanks Carol & Micah for the wonderful gift!! This is ALL that matters!

We also decorated our tree, which she loved this year. It’s amazing to see the difference in one year! She was totally into it and wanted to help hang ornaments.

And Addie got to put the star on top when we were finished!

She is getting so big and just has so much joy to share! When I ask her to say cheese for the camera, she does things like this now:

Silly little girl.

I am so blessed! I love my little family so much! I can’t believe how close we are to seeing Emerson’s face! The countdown is on!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Love, Michelle

Fun phone photos :)

2011-11-23T08:12:00.001-06:00

We've been very busy lately around the house and I've been snapping some cute little photos with my phone.

I grew up LOVING the Radio City Rockettes, and even got to see them live a few years ago in NYC. It was a dream come true!! Addie and I watched them on the Today Show last week and she loved it too! We actually watched it three times. We are excited to see them in the Thanksgiving Day Parade! In this photo she was dancing with them, practicing her high kicks. Lol!

Here she is in an adorable hand me down outfit from Rylee.

She is starting to show interest in helping in the kitchen. Last week she helped me make pumpkin bread for her teachers.

She loves to have dinner theater these days! She gets to eat and watch a show at the same time occasionally and she thinks it's so fun!

My mom's friend sent her this apron and she will not take it off!

Playing with her rice sensory tub. She loves to do this kind of stuff :)

Showing off a new outfit from
Bubbie....being silly in the process!

And trying out Emmie's bumbo to make sure it's working properly! Ha!

She is so much fun! Trying to relax and enjoy these last few weeks with her as my only baby!! Love to all!

A Lovely Little “Sprinkle” for Emerson Claire

2011-11-14T20:18:00.001-06:00

I was absolutely blessed beyond measure last Friday night when 6 of my precious friends (with whom I go WAY back!) celebrated Baby Emerson at a “Sprinkle”. We met at a restaurant in Lewisville, near the area of our first home. I have been friends with these ladies for many years and it was so much fun to catch up and celebrate together! My sweet friend Hillary put the evening together and just did so many special things to make it memorable. I was blessed with several really sweet outfits, lots of diapers and wipes, baby care essentials, a book for Emmie, and even an adorable pair of FUR boots for her!

The whole group, left to right:
Jessica, Hillary, Lindsay, me, Renee, Lina, Melissa

We enjoyed a delicious Italian Crème Cake!

Hillary put together the most amazingly thoughtful favors for each guest. They were little bags of homemade chocolate chip cookies, with these adorable tags tied on each one. Notice the background of the card is the same print as the fabric in Emmie’s nursery?! I was amazed that she was able to do that! The best part was the back side though. Hillary made 6 separate cards, one for each guest, that had a scripture at the top, along with a specific way to pray for Emerson and me in the next 6 weeks and as she is born. They ranged from prayers of protection to prayers that she will come to know God, to prayers for joy in her life. She made a set for me to keep of all of the cards. It is such a special gift, and one I will always treasure. I know Emerson will some day too! What a gift…prayers for my little girl! Talk about making me tear up!

It was a lovely evening spent with the sweetest ladies, and I will never forget it! :) A heart-felt thank you….

to my precious friends.

Love, Michelle & Emmie

Boo! Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T20:20:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful Halloween this year! Addie was a ton of fun! This was the first year that she really “got it.” Our little Minnie Mouse had the TIME of her life on Halloween night! She would skip to the door, say "Trick or Treat!!" Then, "thank you!" and even "happy Halloween!" She even said to a few people, "I am wearing my Minnie Mouse dress!" We definitely will never forget our last Halloween as a family of 3!

Before we started Trick-or-treating, she was so excited because she was sitting watching out the window at the kids coming to our door. She kept saying, “They’re coming Mommy! The tick or treaters are coming!!”

These two melt my heart….

Nana and Leelee came trick or treating with us!

Addie and her sweet friend Lizzy…

We also enjoyed a hosting a Halloween Playdate for our MOPS (moms of preschoolers) group the week before Halloween. It was so fun to see all of the kids in their costumes. Addie and Rylee were the “Minnie Twins,” and they were so excited to be in the same costume. It was a great time!

Addie loves Baby Eli (Baby “Ery”) and had fun admiring him….he was the cutest Mickey we’ve ever seen!

We had crafts and cookie decorating on our back patio, and Halloween treats in the kitchen.

I also had to post the pictures of my little “Kitty” in the dress Aunt Penney gave her last year. (Aunt Penney is Carol’s super sweet Aunt who lives in South Carolina) We love her so much! We have been waiting for Halloween to roll around so Addie could wear this dress!

Opening Halloween cards from Nana and Lee….

I just love how her “exuberant” personality shows in these pictures…

Showing off her new Halloween Jammies from Cece and Grandpa…

Oh, and I had to throw this one in with the Halloween post as a way to say, “I pick my battles.” I actually let her carry this fake pumpkin from our porch to school with her. (She did not take it into school, but it rode in her lap with her all the way there!)

Can’t wait to celebrate Halloween again next year with not one fun little girl, but TWO! Hmmmm….what will they dress up as? Gotta start thinking now! After all, I did get Addie’s Minnie Dress at a consignment sale this summer for $4! Gotta keep my eyes open for next year’s costumes!!

Addie’s Big Girl Room!

2011-10-24T18:03:00.001-05:00

Along with progress on Baby Emerson’s room, we are officially finished with Addie’s Big Girl Room! She loves it so much!

I am so proud of how cost effective we were with the design of her new room! I found the headboard and footboard at Frisco Resale for $35! It’s a full size bed, so we were able to use the mattress and box springs from our guest room (that is now becoming a nursery!) It’s painted white wrought iron, which I thought went with the room so well!

The toy organizer/book shelf is an IKEA find that was a great price! And since my little princess LOVES to play in her room, it’s a perfect solution to organize her toys and books!

The dresser and night stand were mine when I was a little girl, so it’s pretty special to have that in her room.

It makes me a little sad to think that my baby girl is in a big girl room and especially in a full sized bed, but she loves it and is doing great in it! Just another sign that change is ‘a comin!

Here are a few pictures. :)

Baby Girl 30 Week Update

2011-10-22T08:02:00.001-05:00

I felt like it was high time for an update on the sweet baby girl growing in my tummy. OH MY WORD she is growing! I am not sure how we are going to make it 2 more months! My belly is so tight and she is so cramped! I don’t know which direction she will stretch in next! I am feeling lots better than I was, with the exception of a few sick days a week. Other than that I am just really tired all of the time! It’s a whole different ball game this time around, chasing little miss Addie and keeping up with her daily life while toting this extra weight around! I feel so blessed every time I feel her move…she moves a LOT more than Addie did. Sometimes it feels like she is literally doing flips in my belly! We had such a hard time deciding on what her name was going to be, even though Addie decided several weeks ago it would be Emerson. Just out of the blue, she started calling the baby in my tummy “Baby Emerson.” We thought it was so cute. For me, it was so sweet that it made me ready to commit to Emerson. For Brandon he still needed time. On Saturday evening, October 1st, we were laying in bed watching TV. Addie was long asleep. Brandon talks to my belly every night to get her to move for him. He decided to ask her what she wanted her name to be. He explained that he was going to say both names and which ever one she reacted to would be her name! So, he said “Baby Olivia are you there?” She did NOTHING. Then he said “Baby Emerson are you there?” And she went crazy flipping and kicking. So at that moment, we both smiled really big and decided…Emerson Claire Harmon it would be. The next big decision was how we would spell her shortened name. (Everyone knows we are all about shortened names!) With help from Facebook (LOL) we decided on Emmie, because it is just like Addie and that makes it easy to remember. Besides, my teacher friends all agreed that it was phonetically accurate and that’s important to me! So it’s official. Emerson Claire or Emmie will be our sweet baby girl’s name and we are so excited to actually call her by name now. We have been working on her room, but still have some things left to do. I will wait to post pictures until it’s finished. It’s very different from Addie’s room, but I love the change. I am excited to get it finished up. I made her drapes, we have a tree on her wall, now I just need to make the crib skirt, and we need her name on the wall. I have been working the last few weeks on getting all of her clothes washed and put away, as well as the bouncy seat, bottles, etc. It’s very surreal that in 9 weeks or less we will really have another baby in this house. I have enjoyed looking at all of the things Addie wore and dreaming about Emmie wearing them. I can hardly believe I am 30 weeks already! This pregnancy is going much faster than my first did, in my mind. I am so excited about all that is to come! After doing lots and lots of laundry for Addie and Emmie the other night, I asked Brandon to take “The Girls’ Clothes” upstairs and he just stopped and smiled really big… and then pointed out that this was the first of many times that we will refer to them as our “Girls”…he just loved that. I loved it too! :)

Addie loves to talk about the baby in my tummy and touch my belly. (She also loves to tell me that Baby Emerson is in her tummy) In fact, when friends come over I think she is more excited to show them “Baby Emerson’s Room” than her own room. She will sometimes put her hand on my tummy (after pulling up my shirt) and just leave her hand there while she watches a show, waiting to feel the baby move. I took a picture from my perspective the other day.

I still don’t think she really has a clue what is to come, but it’s fun to watch her trying to figure it all out!

And I can’t make a post about my baby without thinking about the sweet friends I have who are trying so hard to have babies right now. I just want to you girls to know (and you know who you are) that I am praying for you every single day. I know that God knows the desires of your heart and you will have babies soon! It truly burdens my heart, and I want you know it is always on my mind.

I hope the words of this verse can encourage you today,
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Love you all,
Michelle

We've got a streaker!

2011-10-17T22:02:00.002-05:00

Ok! This is a shout out for help! My child LOVES to be naked and is constantly taking off her diaper and all of her other clothes and running around the house. She has even done this at church (in her class) and at school. It happens at the end of nap time, it happens when she's watching a show. It happens. ALL. THE. TIME.

Any ideas on how to fix this? HELP!!!!

~Michelle :-)