Turning 40 Ain't So Bad!!!!

My birthday has come and gone.  Like the long anticipated wedding date that you stress and worry about and build up in your mind.  And in a day it's done.  Well, I was, sad to say, stressing about this birthday for the past year.  I think a big reason for that is because of our move to Texas.  I think it may have been different had we still been in Fresno with all our long-time family and friends.  I always said I would embrace 40 with grace!  But here we are and so I have been a slight bit insecure about this one.  But despite all the worry and stress, it came and went, and I still feel the same as I did a week ago!  LOL  As if 40 would really change who I am or how I look.  I think there's grace all over it!

Well it came and went, but not without a lot of celebration, lots of memories and fabulous friends who are like family!  I had an absolutely wonderful birth-week! (yes, Sean and I celebrate the entire week!)  Sean set out to surprise me with a super fun weekend.  He asked me what I wanted a while back and he did all that he could to see that it happened down to every detail!  He told me only days before that I needed to pack my bags.... We are staying over night!!!!!  

My Saturday started out with getting my hair done.  I think I set a record with a 4 hour hair appt!!  It was the first time seeing this girl, Amber, who is a sister and cousin of a couple of my friends at work.  But more than that, my hair color was awful!!!  It was a year of boxed home hair color!  Like layers of paint on a wall.  And so she went to work gently stripping it down to shades to reveal the natural highlights underneath.  We will do this one more time and then it will be on to beautiful color!!!  I felt bad that the appt went so long, but Sean was so gracious saying this was My Day!  I got home and we were instantly off to Dallas (he had already dropped Emery off a couple hours earlier)

Hello Dallas!!!  Hope you have your party hats on!!!

I was "Wowed" as we pulled up to our hotel... the Hotel Zaza.  It is a very trendy, hip, artsy hot spot of a hotel in the Arts District in downtown Dallas.  It is beautiful!  Definitely not like anywhere we've ever stayed before!  And he found it all by himself! :)

 

That's Sean standing in front, in black. :)

The Lobby

Beautiful Art everywhere!

The pool... which reminded me of the Roman Baths! 

I couldn't believe how 'live' it was at 4 in the afternoon.  At night it closes and becomes one of the hottest poolside nightclubs from 10-2am.

Just a little pre-dinner drink at the hotel!

Our room

We set off for dinner, taking the hotel shuttle (a black Escalade... I kind of felt like a Kardashian! lol)  I felt so alive as we drove through the city to the restaurant.  It's confirmed time and time again that I am truly a city girl!!!   I just looked at Sean and said "I'm in heaven!!!"  As we waited for our friends to arrive, Sean and I even discussed that maybe we bought a house in the 'burbs' too soon and should have moved to the city! lol  But we both need new jobs for that!  So back to the 'burbs' we go!!!  hahaha  But I LOVE the fact that we can drive 35 min and be in the city!  I love that about the DFW area!!  

We ate at Del Frisco's.  It's a high end, trendy restaurant about a mile from where we were staying.  Sooooo very yummy!!!

The best part about this night together was the time we spent sharing wisdom. It started with Steve stating that 40 is the year of wisdom and so I needed to share 3 words of wisdom that I've learned over the years.  I shared a bit about marriage... about how it is the hardest and yet best relationship you'll ever have.  We talked awhile about that, digging deeper, and then I was like "wait a second!  You all are already in your 40's... YOU need to share your wisdom with me!!!"  It began a time of sharing with me.  It was a priceless, beautiful and rich time of sharing wisdom, encouragement and really speaking into my life.  Given that I had been sad, since we moved, that I would not be celebrating such a huge milestone in my life with my closest friends and family back home , God truly came through and has provided the most wonderful friends, both old and new!  (and the fact that we have such rich and long history with these two couples is the icing on the cake!)

I feel like every next picture like this that Sean and I take shows more and more depth, beauty and maturity in each of us and together as a couple!

(dessert on the house... the best Coconut Creme Pie!!)

On the upper deck/balcony of the restaurant.  

We wish we would have known about this before dinner!

At night, the street comes alive with lights, music and people!  After dinner we ended up at this Irish Pub, Idle Rich (I have a thing for them, being that I'm Irish!  Someday I'll get to go to a real one! lol)

Luke and Kathy

Steve and Tyranie

The Carlsons left around 11pm (they just drove home from Colorado that day so I let them go home), but the rest of us party animals stayed out.  We found this cute little house called BrokenTree Coffeehouse and chilled for awhile with some cappuccinos.

Me and My Cappuccino!

We walked back to our hotel and Steve and Tyranie met us there.  The Dragonfly Nightclub was open and the place was hopping!  They came by to check out the hotel and then left for home a short time later.  It was the best night in the city with great friends!!

The next day we slept in (as best we could) and then headed out for breakfast.  I got a few recommendations from people at work and we ended up at Breadwinners.  From the outside it looks like a big house, but when you get inside you realize just how big it is as it goes on and on and on (the host must have led us through 4 or 5 different rooms and lush patios before we finally ended up in an upstairs room off the bar-room.  It filled up quickly.  

 

THIS was the highlight of my weekend!  Up!  I said it!  In 22 years of being together, I have never been able to get Sean to take these silly booth photos with me.  I love them and he never got it.  So guess what was right behind me in the restaurant but a photo booth!  He easily agreed to take pics with me.  I was SO excited, grinning ear to ear!!!!  (I can be such a school girl sometimes... it really is pretty easy to make me happy)

We chose to walk it back through to our hotel after breakfast.  It was a beautiful mile long morning walk through the city, but it was warming up fast!

And let me not fail to mention Emery at least once.  It was a big deal for us because this was the very first time we have left her overnight with anyone.  She stayed with the Caughrans, who of course were with us for the evening.  But their oldest, Josh and Elizabeth, watched all the young ones (four in all including Emery!).  That was kind of weird to think of too.  But we trust them so much and she really is part of their family as she is watched by them twice a week while I'm at work.  So we were able to have a wonderful time away without worry.  But it definitely was weird to not kiss her goodnight or good morning!  I won't be longing to do that again for a little while. :)  And of course, we had to bring her back a little something yummy from the Breadwinners' baked goods counter!!

Sean did awesome in planning this weekend!!!  We had invited three more friends of mine but they were not able to make it, so we all celebrated another day.  But it was so much fun and SOOOOO what Sean and I have been needing!  I was amazed at just how much MORE we needed it than I had even thought.  It was rejuvenating for each of us and our marriage!!!  

Been too long...

Well gosh!  I need to catch up on my posts.  But there is so much is going on and I feel like I better write in the moment or it will be gone!  We were without internet for 10 days after we moved into our new house.  So I am very behind!  

First and most important... Emery!  She is doing so amazing!  She is such an awesome little girl.  Although it does not make her exempt from those toddler twos.  But realizing the development side of this stage helps to survive it, as she is forming independence, social skills and becoming aware of her own being.  But man, she gives me a run for my money some days!  I don't remember if I blogged this before. But I realized at the end of my visit in Fresno that I was really letting her get away with a lot.  And she was becoming this whiney, fussy little squirt.  But I was mentally, emotionally and physically tired from all that was going on.  Whether one could see that from the outside, I'm not sure, but that's what was going on on the inside.  Sean and I noticed this upon returning home and agreed we had to kick it into gear and get back on track.  I hate to think that friends and family back home saw her that way (hopefully it wasn't as bad as I perceived it...lol), because she truly is a very sweet and fun girl (all bias aside!).  So we have been a lot more on top of discipline and rules and consistency.  Even recently I realized how many chances I was giving her and, once again, knew I was creating a monster.  So I now am telling her once and if she doesn't obey then there is a consequence.  This only happens once or twice and then I can see her attitude change for the better.  I'm setting boundaries for all her not-so-nice habits she's forming... "no", "I want blah blah NOOOOOOOW!" (this is the newest...ugh), whines, and irrational cries.  It's amazing how quickly she changes and becomes a happier baby when we set, and stick to, these boundaries.  Makes for a much happier family. :)

On the more fun side of things, she is growing so much in spirit and personality!  She memorized her first memory verse, "Fear not, for God is with me!" Isaiah 41:10!!!  It is adorable when she sings it with signs!  And she's learned almost all of her ABC's and 1-10.  She goes around singing A-Z along with the jingle at the end "now I know my ABC's...".  Although she does leave out a few letters, but she puts them all in the right order.  Yes, I think she is a genius!!!  haha   She still has funny sayings for some of her favorite things.  Almost everyday, she asks for "oh-oh" which is the Lincoln Brewster song "Today is the Day".  It starts out singing "oh-oh-oh-ohhhh, oh-oh-oh-oh!"  She LOVES dancing to it!  And when he says "Jesus", she sings along!  It's awesome!  The other thing she always asks for is "ooh-ooh-ah" which means monkey. lol  First it was a monkey sing-a-long video on you-tube but now it is baby monkey Nala getting a bath on you-tube.  Her vocabulary continues growing every day!  We have full on conversations now!  It's so much fun!  I still can't believe that we created her!!!  It amazes me all the time!  And the times when we can't understand what she is saying, she gets all impatient and frustrated.  It's kind of cute. lol  

I keep thinking I want to leave my "Emery" journal out (I haven't written in it in months!) and jot down every cute, amazing and funny thing she does and says.  As you parents know there is so much!  I feel like I'm experiencing this as if it is all new to mankind.  To think I had missed out on this for soooo long!  But I'm here now and it is the most amazing time of my life!!!  I feel so blessed to get to be home with her, working minimally, and get to be such an intimate part of her life. 

Potty training and big girl beds!!!

So I started potty training 3 weeks ago on May 21st.  I decided to do the "Potty Patty training in One Day" technique.  I did not use Potty Patty (she's too expensive), my friend let me borrow her DVD (thank you Karah!!!) and I bought a cheaper potty training doll, which I returned realizing Emery's dolls would do the trick.  So all in all, I did it with no money out of pocket!  

I talked the whole event up for a few days before, and that morning she woke up and I said "Today is the day!  No more diapers!  You're a big girl now!"  I used one of her dolls she got for her birthday and I had Emery name her.  She named her Lola (ok, so I helped with that one).  First we took off Lola's diaper and put on 'big girl panties' and began the entire training process with Lola.  We celebrated every time she went potty in the big girl potty.  I got creative though and used a syringe and apple juice to simulate her pee'ing in the potty.  I did this without Emery noticing and she was amazed every time!  It was fun!  

Once Lola was officially potty trained, it was Emery's turn.  We ran through all of the drills and practice runs and then it was every 5 min of asking if she has to go potty or if she is dry (she feels for herself) or, eventually being more suggestive and asking if she 'should' go potty.  Every... 5... minutes!!!!  It was an intense day, but I felt it was quite successful!  With lots of salty snacks and lots of apple juice, she went 23 times that day!!!  We were 13-10 with successful pee pee's in the potty being the winner!  More than half of them were self-initiated and she only had one accident after her nap that evening.  

Emery teaching Lola how to use the big girl potty!!

 More teaching! (don't mind the bare booty!)

 Emery's first attempt that day of pulling up her own panties

 Lola sits by and cheers her on!!  Emery say's "Good job!" with thumbs up! (her new thing!) 

I'm a big girl now!!

Day 2, however, was excruciating for me (I brought it on myself) because for some reason I thought she should be an expert by then (she should, right?! lol), but she continued having accidents that morning and I ended up in tears.  But after her nap, she had no accidents.  I was ready for a break by day 3 and welcomed a day at work.  Tyranie took over potty training on day 3 and 4.  I figured all the kids would be a distraction or they would be her biggest supporters.  Luckily, Emery LOVES all the attention and so she did great with her entourage looking on and celebrating every success with her!  

By Day 5, I took her for her first outing.  We went to downtown Dallas, REI and Klyde-Warren Park.  We played in children's courtyard, in the water fountains and ate ice cream sandwiches.  We were out for 5 hours and she had only one accident.  I took her portable potty with us and she went in the back of my car and also on the curb. lol  It was also her first time going on the "big-BIG potty" in a public restroom.  Success!!!!  We had a great time!  

 Going potty before going into REI!

 Playing at Klyde-Warren Park

She even made new friends

 Going potty before driving home!

She's always so happy and proud of herself!  She'll say "I proud of you" when she goes because that's what I always say. :)

We had no accidents on day 6 and she continued doing well from then on!  According to experts, she is officially potty trained.  But it is still a conscious effort to stay on top of her.  She does have accidents once in a while and she hasn't figured out how to hold back and get to the potty BEFORE pooping in her panties, which the my least favorite of this whole thing! lol  But overall she is doing so well!  I put plastic covers over her panties when she naps (99% of the time she wakes up dry after a 3 hour nap) and for bedtime she wears a pull-up because 99% of the time she has a huge wet diaper in the morning despite limiting her fluids at night. 

Yes, the first two days were intense, and maybe even extreme, but I think it was a great technique and would recommend it to anyone who is willing.  I always thought I would just let it happen on its own, but I'm so glad I did it this way.  BAM!  It's done!  lol  

The next thing to conquer was transitioning her to a big girl bed.  I had planned to do that when we moved into our house this next weekend.  It would be a new house with a new room and a new 'big girl' bed!  But funny thing is, she transitioned herself last week!!  I have our long couch cushion in front of her crib in case she tried to climb out.  I had stripped her bed that morning because she soaked her sheets.  When we came home from bible study, I realized I had no where to lay my sleeping baby for naptime.  So I laid a blanket on the cushion and laid her on her pillow, covered her up and she took her nap there.  That night, she wanted to sleep there again.  And the rest is history!!  She never went back to her crib!  It was way too easy!  Now that she is used to it, she will play for a little bit in there before finally falling asleep.  I'm okay with that.  She always did that anyway in her crib.  But there is a rule that she cannot get out of bed after I leave and shut the door.  Can't say she is 100% obedient on this, but she still ends up back in bed and asleep before too long.   A couple of times she has ended up with the lower half of her body on the floor and her upper body on the pillow.  Or one morning before work, I walked in to find her 2 feet away from her 'bed' curled up on the floor... no pillow, no blanket.  Po' baby!  lol   The thing I absolutely love about her new bed is that I can go in and kiss her whenever I want!  I can also lay down with her in bed which brings back the fondest and most precious memories of my childhood with my mom.  She always laid down with me as I fell off to sleep.  At Emery's age, I don't do it to that extent yet because she doesn't understand boundaries and would demand it every night.  But I love having the option to cuddle with her when I want.  This mommy thing just keeps getting better and better all the time.  Every time I think I don't want this stage to be over, she moves on to the next stage and I realize it is even better!

This weekend when we move, we will convert her crib to the toddler bed and she will officially be transitioned.  I think the cushion worked well for her to get used to it before being a little higher off the floor in the actual bed.   So that is 2 out of 3.  Now if I can just retire the pacifer (or as she calls it... Fru-frier)!  lol

 First nap on her pseudo 'big-girl' bed!

 First night night time!  This time with her bed officially made up with

 sheets, blankets and animals! 

She's a pro!!!

My sweet, sleeping angel!!!

Kevin's visit to Texas! (in April)

Well, the fun didn't stop in Fresno.  In fact, the fun "was on!" as soon as we got home.  It was a crazy 2 weeks that followed.  Sean, Devin and & Tom drove in only an hour or so before Emery and I flew in on Wed, April 10th.  Luke and Kathy picked us up from the airport and we were all re-united back at our house.  The next day, my brother Kevin arrived for his 2 week visit that we had been planning for months!  The timing of everything was a little crazy, but I was so glad to have him there to soften the reality of all that was changing for us.  "His room" was now Devin's room and so Emery got moved to our room and Kevin took over her room.  It was a musical rooms kind of gig.  lol  It seemed the first week Kevin was here was a little crazy.  Between me working, Emery's naps and Kevin taking off for a day to storm chase in Oklahoma, things started out slow but began to pick up.  However he and I still managed to make the most of our time together.  

April 12, 2013

 We had the most fun game night.  Tom was still in town and came over for food and games. It was like old times when Sean and I would go to Tom and Michelle's every weekend, play Shanghai and listen to classic rock (Tom's pick... these days it's Aretha Franklin... go figure! haha)  But this time it was just me and the boys!  For the first time in my life I had more than one beer... haha  I drank it like water and it was yummy!  We had a blast!

April 13

 I took Kevin out for lunch on Saturday.  This is one of my most favorite places to eat, Brewed in Fort Worth... 

 Even Emery LOVED the grass fed beef burger and sweet potato fries!

April 15

 One morning my girlfriends and I got the kids together for some playtime at the park.  They were adorable!  They played, ate and drank their juices together & found ducks.  (with all these guys in my house now, I needed some girl time!)

 Emery is such the risk taker!  She is a monkey and loves to climb on anything she can get herself on.  The above pic is a very tall slide and she went down all by herself!  Below is a ladder she loves to climb.  But don't let my picture fool you, I only stepped away for a second to capture the moment and then I was back to "hands-on".  On all the climbing structures, I encourage her to do it herself.  I barely help her but keep my hands close in case of a slip.  But she is surprisingly strong and does amazing!  By the 2nd or 3rd time she is practically independent! (so proud!)

 She stole her friend, Griffin's, hat (not the boy here... I don't know him... lol)

 Griffin and Emery sittin' in a tree......

 Back at home Emery loves to play with our neighbor's granddaughter, Alexis.  She always shares her bike and chalk with Em!  And the adults get to hang out and chat!  (I'll miss this when we move but trust she will make new friends quickly.)

April 18

 Emery's first sucker!  It bought me time at my first official doctor's appt for myself in DFW

April 20

We finally got a whole weekend together as Sean didn't have to work.  We had a great time!

On Saturday, we took Kevin to Buon Giorno in Colleyville for lattes and then headed to Parr Park for a 2 mile walk.  It was a gorgeous day on one of the most beautiful trails!

Ah.... look at the happy couple!!!  hahahahahahaha!!!

Showing Kevin there IS hiking in Texas!  ha!

Had to take a pic of Emery sleeping on a pillow for the first time! 

(time stamp... April 20, 2013)  She loves her pillow now!!

April 21

On Sunday, we spent the day in Dallas.  We have to get out early enough for Emery to be fun before she poops out and needs a nap. lol  We went to Klyde Warren Park in the heart of downtown.  Sean and I had been once before, but it was 42 deg that day and no one was out.  But on this beautiful sunny, cool day the park was hopping.  With so many people, we were surprised when we all felt such a family vibe there.  All the food trucks were out, dog park filled with doggies, and the children's park busy with little "busy bees" jumping and running through the splash pad.  We had such a great time! I'm in love!

The boys even played ping pong!

This was the highlight of my day!!!  Ice cream sandwich truck... Cool Haus!  

It was amazingly delicious!!!

I love my brother!!!!  He cracks me up! (sorry Kev, I only said I wouldn't post it on fb!)

Then we headed over to White Rock Lake in Dallas.  Sean had heard about it while working at REI.  A lot of cyclists come here to ride around the lake as well as a popular place to run, rollerblade and stroll.  It was gorgeous!  Yes, someday when we are really rich we live in the surrounding neighborhood!!!

Love this picture of Emery and her uncle!

Such sweetness!

Emery still practicing what her Auntie Nae Nae taught her during our visit in Fresno... 

how to blow the dandelion poof flowers (I really don't know what they're called...lol)

To finish out our day, we all (including Devin) drove to Frisco for some yummy 

Babe's Chicken!  It was delicious!!!

April 22

Monday, being our last day to spend together, I took Kevin to Grapevine Lake.  We walked/ran a few miles on the trail there.  I have never been here so it was my first time as well.  We had a great time!

Uncle playing with Em on the playground on the lake (lake in the background)

Then we did what no other man in my life will do with me... we got pedicures!  He loves me!  lol  Kathy watched Emery for us.  We had lunch at Market Street (like Whole Foods), got coffees at Peet's and then got our pedicures :)

He relaxed out by the pool at Kathy's until Emery woke up from her nap

And then on Tuesday it was one last meal at Fuzzy's for lunch!  Kevin was hooked.  I think he had Fuzzy's crunchy pork tacos 4 times while he was here!

My friend Lisa taught me a long time ago how to play Nertz.  I taught Kevin at the beginning of his visit and we had an ongoing game for the 2 weeks he was here.  After lunch on Tuesday, the only thing he wanted to do  was play and try to catch up and beat me before he flew out.  So for 4 hours we played.  He caught up.  But not for long.  I suppose I should have let him have the victory.  But like him, I'm too competitive and I kicked his butt and sent him home!!!  Mwahahahahaha!!!!!  

Final score :  Amy 1473, Kevin 1382  :-)

We are already planning for his visit next year.  We only got one storm in which we stayed up ALL night!  I finally went to bed around 4am, I think.  Unfortunately, it wasn't that impressive of a storm.  But the time spent, just he and I, was priceless.  

Better luck next year in May!!!  Love you Kev!!