...mama, mama...

i think i hear the word "mama" about 5000 times a day. emery has entered the phase where she pretty much talks from sun up to sun down, and let's just say that "mama" is still a major player in her ever expanding vocabulary. everyday, but especially today, i am thankful to carry the title of mama. we had a great day celebrating mother's day as our little family of three. it is a blessing to be emery's mommy, and i'm so thrilled that by next mother's day, there will be another little human being in the mix [boy or girl? we still don't know!].

we started out the morning in del mar at poseidon for breakfast. yummy. it wasn't the most beautiful day, but we ventured up to powerhouse park afterwards, and beebs had a great time playing on the swings and slide. and i had a great time sitting off to the side and watching drew chase her around. i saw many a mom sitting and many a dad chasing the kids. it's like we all had that look on our face saying "it's my day off. you have fun now." because as we all know, the park may be fun for the kids, but at this age, it's a lot of work for the parents. :) we went home for naps [everyone!], took a quick trip to the mall and target, and then out for a quick [and cheap] dinner at chipotle. i just discovered how much i love their kids meals...cheese quesadilla, rice, beans, chips, and organic milk all for $2.95! since emery will pretty much eat rice and beans anytime, anywhere, this means a happy dinner was had by all.

i'd like to give a special shout out to my hubby who planned our day and who is an all around great guy and AMAZING daddy to emery. i was one lucky lady today, and i'll be one lucky lady tomorrow still because of my wonderful family. i am not only blessed by my husband and daughter, but by my own loving and supportive mom who has remained a constant encouragement to me over the years. it has been amazing to come into my own journey of motherhood and have such an incredible role model who has always been there to hear every detail of life as i know it. i also am lucky to have many other "mothers" in my life such as my MIL crystal and all my fabulous aunties, and the many mommies that i get to walk the path with as we raise our own little ones together. happy mother's day!

just ridin' the pelican

best friends

watching for the choo-choo train

...hope beyond hope - he is risen...

yesterday was a very good day. well, except for jellybean meltdown 2011.

i wasn't planning on having emery go through her easter basket first thing in the morning, but since we were going to be gone all day and i had set it out the night before, i guess it was hard to resist. she had her first egg full of jelly beans open in a jif, and she had scarfed down half of them while saying "mmmmmm, mmmmmm" before we could say otherwise. you can imagine the wails that came from the core of her being when we asked her to put the candy away and eat an actual breakfast...perhaps one with a little less sugar?

we were able to celebrate easter this year at our home church, north coast calvary chapel. beebs doesn't love the nursery, but the past two times she has made it through the service without us getting paged out. hooray! i was actually able to listen to the entire message, and i found it to be so relevant to this season of life for drew and me. it was a message of hope beyond hope, and an important reminder of where, or more importantly, in whom we place our trust. it made me truly thankful that we have a God who is bigger than our circumstances, a God who has defeated even death. amen!

afterwards, it was off to the olson's for a big lunch and easter egg hunt! kim and dust did a great job of hosting, and there was a huge spread and lots of fun. papa, yaya, and whit came down, along with dusty's parents chuck and pattie. it was a great time together, and the best part was watching beebs and dilly take part in the easter festivities.

sugary goodness

we rarely take family photos!

easter egg hunts are fun!

dilly and beebs inspecting their loot

fun, fun, fun

...eggcellent...

my mom just asked me if i remembered the pictures of my brother and me dying easter eggs back in the day. and i honestly don't. my [once-sharp-as-a-steel-trap-but-that-was-before-i-ever-was-pregnant] memory only goes as far back as college when i would go "home" to my aunt rae's house for the easter break and my cousins and i would make a big deal out of dying easter eggs. i wish i had a picture or two to post of that glorious era...

tonight, we gave beebs her first taste of the age-old tradition of coloring easter eggs. and she LOVED it. too bad i had only boiled eight eggs, three of which cracked in the pot, thus leaving us with just five precious eggs for her to stir around in the different colors. i think she liked trying to use the crayon to draw on them [while in the dye] more than anything. we then decided to pull out all the stops and brought out her minnie mouse stickers and let her go crazy with them. oh, how the "i hate all tacky things" part of me did cringe inside...

tomorrow we head to church for the most important tradition - the celebration of the resurrection of our savior. i've had a good week of reflecting on the loving sacrifice that was made for each of us, and i look forward to the many years of celebrating the unconditional love of christ with my family. happy easter to all!

getting ready to dye those eggs!

this smile is my favorite

hey, i want in on the fun!

the finished product

emery's easter baskets from both mama and birdie

...little lady...

at almost 20 months, emery has grown from a little babe to a little girl...right before my very eyes!

rocking her pigtails and pink shoes

emery LOVES her daddy

...mama in training...

emery has been obsessed with babies lately. and i'm excited because her motherly instincts are kicking in just in time! kim brought dillan and connor down for a visit today, and emery made it her personal mission to make sure connor had his blankie or his paci at all times...and she alerted us anytime the baby was "ki-ing." i'm sure she'll do the same thing when her new little sibling makes his/her entrance. i just love watching her love and care for little babes!

look at my adorable nephew. i love his face!

babies are the best! emery preparing for her big sister role.

...my little shopper...

today we took a trip up to the mission viejo mall to hang with les and havilah. we played at the playground, took a trip to the disney store, and beebs had her favorite fish tacos for dinner. also, les and i ended up purchasing matching pink TOMS for the girls. they were the only shoes in the past few weeks that i've tried on emery's feet that she hasn't immediately ripped off or waved her hand and said "nooooo" to - SOLD! on our way out, emery insisted on carrying the nordie's bag. she and havi were walking the length of the mall with their bags in hand. and while i do not consider myself world's biggest shopper, it did just melt my heart [and frighten me a bit] to watch beebs get in touch with her inner shopper.

...sunny days...

emery could not love the beach more. everytime we go, no matter what the weather, she makes a beeline for the water. she has no fear [although i certainly have plenty of fear about the fact that she has no fear!]. drew is awesome with her and spends as much time as she wants splashing around. we thought today would be a good beach day, but when we got down there it was pretty windy. and after beebs was soaking wet from a few topples in the waves, she got chilly pretty quickly. so it was a quick trip to the beach for us. but we're looking forward to plenty of sunny days at the beach this summer.