The Brownings

Bedtime rituals

2010-09-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

Emma hates bedtime!
Ryan and I take turns putting her to bed. On ryans turn they say the prayers read two books and he tells her a story and checks for means. My turn we say prayers read three books and check for means. We check no less than 10 places apparently means can hide. One of these is a crack behind a picture. We then go to the computer room till she falls asleep. I am writing this as I am waiting on her to go to sleep. She then tucks in with a thousand stuffed animals, but only the special ones get under the covers....scruffy, marie the cat, Bolt, Sprinkles the dog, Snowball the cat, Rapunzel, and Cowie.
If it were up to her she would always be in our room...
We are those parents.
You know the parents you say you are never going to be...The ones who let their kids sleep in bed with them.
She always starts in her bed but somehow in the middle of the night she sneeks into our room.
Sometimes I wake up and take her back to her room. Sometimes I never hear her. Sometimes her little sleepy self is too cute and snuggly and I snuggle her into the safety of our bed.

She will only be little once!
For now I love out Bedtime rituals....even if it involves her ending up in our bed.

Bible Stories according to Emma

2010-04-28T18:52:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday Emma attended Church with her Mimi and Papa since Ryan had a kickball game at 12:00. She loves to go with them and go to Sunday School at their church as well.

This was the Bible story Emma recalled from her class.
Jesus was put in jail by someone named Harry. Peter prayed for Jesus and an angel rescued him. When pressed if she didn't think it was Peter in jail and maybe he prayed to Jesus she consistently said , "NO, Jesus was in jail!" Somewhere there was something lost in translation. It was pretty cute though.
She did learn two songs and has been singing"I'm gonna Sing sing sing!" So at least we got one thing right :)

Her Papa also told me she was playing air guitar with the praise and worship group! My Princess loves going to church and boy does it bless my heart!

My Baby Girl

2010-04-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

As I continue to have an ever expanding belly I cannot help but think how big Miss Emma is getting! She expresses herself ever day in new ways. She is sensitive yet stubborn! Funny and Imaginative! As her birthday approaches I am sad that my Baby is turning four! She will Always be my baby though! Her current dreams are to become a Cheerleader...pierce her ears( who knows when we will be brave enough for this) and start dance class in the fall!

I love my little Monkey more and more each day!

Photographer

2010-02-05T18:39:00.001-08:00

If you are looking for a good photographer here is a good one!

www.danielledavisart.com

Loving life!

2010-02-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

Well for those of you who don't know.....we are expecting again in August. Emma is gonna be a Big sister and she is super excited about it. We have been trucking along here.

Last week After having Emma sick in our bed for a week we began the fun task of getting her back in her bed. (Boo) I am a pushover of a mother and would let her get in bed and snuggle anytime day or night. There is a song I don't know who sings it and it says ..."Let them be little cuz there only that way for a while. Let em cry let em giggle let um sleeop in the middle. Just let them be little." Well Ryan and I had been listening to popular opinion that this is bad and we were trying to get her abck in her bed. After a LONG sleepless night we gave up.
She always starts out in her bed on normal nights and then sometime around three ends up in our bed.
There are probably many people reading this thinking...( I would never do this!) Don't worry I said the same thing before I had Emma. You just have to do what works for you!

For now at the Browning house we are gonna just let her be little!!! After all they grow up WAY TOO FAST!

Scary!!

2009-10-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

When you become a mom life becomes scary!

I heard it best put once that now your heart is walking around outside your body and you have no control over it! This is very true!

What they don't tell you is that sometimes you must do scary things that you normally wouldn't do in order to not instill fear in your child.

Who would think that could happen at Boo at the Zoo...., but it did.

I rode a ferris wheel! For many this may not seem scary but I have managed for 30 years now not to get on one. I even talked Emma out of it at the fair....however there was a much smaller one at Boo at the Zoo and My Little Bo Peep wanted to ride it! I thought I was in the clear because my sweet husband and Prince Charming was going to ride with Emma and I would remain safely on the ground! However as we were waiting for them to ride some sweet gentleman handed us 7 tickets. Now I had NO excuse! Ryan, Bo Peep and I boarded the ride. We proceeded to go to the very top while my Good friend Jenn and her daughter boarded. On the way up I could hear lots of creaking and squeaking. I really think you could describe what I had as a panic Attack. All I could think is here I have agreed to ride this thing, it is not properly put together and it is going to break and I have endangered my whole families life! As I was telling Ryan I NEEDED to get off Ryan calmly explained that the reason we were stopped at the top was so they could load Jenn and Belle and we would not be stuck there anymore I calmed down a little. As we went around the bottom not only am I still a little panicked but there is a bag of tools you can clearly see at the bottom where we boarded. Not a good sign for a crazy panicked person! I can now say I have ridden a ferris wheel and don't care to ever again. Miss Emma will have to depend on her brave daddy for that!

Emmaisms

2009-09-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

First she begins many things by saying, "The problem is...." also " So here is the deal"

Going to the barn to feed bolt
Emma- "I need mimi to come with us so she can hold me and I won't have to wash my hands because I won't touch the kitty or Bolt"
Me- OK we can do that
Emma ( After we got to the barn) - "Ok mimi you can just put me down I HAVE to pet that kitty cat! ( She just couldn't stand the temptation)

While her Baby Mammaw was watching her
Emma- Why do your arms look like that?
Mammaw - Because I am old.
Emma later on - You really are old Mammaw!
Mammaw - I know I told you I was! Can you help me I am old?
Emma- No mammaw! I am not Jesus!

At her Mammaw Jeffers house
Mammaw gave me some jewelry to which Emma says
"I am obsessed with jewelry! I am just a jewelry girl!"

My girl keeps me cracking up!

Behind with Lots to tell

2009-09-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

The week after we got Bolt.....the Brownings had a full week of going going and more going. We were trying to go and visit/feed/brush Bolt on a regular basis so he would get used to us. This apparently worked because Bolt now comes when we call him.

Also kickball is up and running which makes Ryan's and my Sundays super busy. Fitting church and kickball in basically takes up the entire day, but I love it! Our Team has steadily been improving and we got moved to the Upper division of the novice bracket. I assumed this would mean we would get stomped by all the other teams but our current record is 2-2 which I am pretty pleased with!

On top of that Emma has Started MDO again and is now going two days a week. She loves it and seems to be doing really well. Loves her teachers and is making friends as well. The first day she came home and told me she got in trouble for talking at naptime with a friend and that the teacher told her SSSHHHH! When I asked her what she was talking about she promptly replied, "Dolphins!" That must be very important naptime conversation :)

I got cast as a principle role in a commercial I had auditioned for in Little Rock. The commercial was filmed at Mount Magazine and they paid for a room at the lodge since it was such an early call time. It was so much fun. My mom and Emma went up with me and we stayed in the Lodge which was Beautiful! Mom and Emma got to sleep in and swim in the pool and I got to see the makings of a commercial. The commercial is for Chesapeake Energy and Natural Gas/Clean Air. It will be a nationwide commercial and will also be print and billboards. As I went down to breakfast I didn't know anyone so sat at a table alone. A gentleman with an austrailian accent invited me to sit at a table with a few others from the crew. I sat down and they asked where I was from. I told them Little Rock and before I knew it in my most southern drawl I said, "Where are ya'll from?" They replied Los Angeles and I felt quite out of place. Later in Wardrobe I found out I was sitting with the Director and Director of Photography. They turned out to be very nice and explained tons of the commercial process to me. It was a very interesting day!

We also traveled to some dear friends wedding in French Lick Indiana. It was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful reception of a very deserving couple. Check out there story here

Http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/stock%20news/2027407/

Lots more to tell but this is all I can squeeze into naptime!

A Horse is a horse of course of course!

2009-08-25T11:38:00.001-07:00

Well Ryan, Emma and I are now the proud owners of a Tennessee Walker Paint Horse. It has been newly named "Bolt" by Emma. We got him yesterday.

I personally have always wanted a horse. Most little girls I know want one. I have been telling Ryan for a while that I wanted one and joking that all I wanted for my birthday this year was a horse. Well my brother got one, then my aunt, and finally after much sweet talk I convinced him we should get one.

Now Ryan and I know NOTHING about horses. We are learning quickly though. My mom had horses growing up so she knows a little and we have friends with horses and my brother has one he got a few months ago so we are getting smarter and smarter when it comes to our horse knowledge.

We got Bolt from an old family friend who was selling him. Looked at him Sunday and he got brought to the barn Monday afternoon! We went and got some necessary supplies at TSC or Tractor supply Store for those who don't know. Then we headed out to see Bolt. We had him saddled and Emma and I were on him before The previous owner had even left. He is very gentle and was doing pretty good. However after we all kept getting off and on and off again he was showing out a little. ( This reminded me of Emma....new environment, new people....not gonna be pleasant) Needless to say Bolt .....Bolted into the pasture we did not want him in due to fences being down and it was not bushhogged. Ryan had boots on so he waded through the briars and brush to get to Bolt who was now at the back of the pasture visiting some horses from another farm. He would let Ryan get close but not close enough to get his lead rope on. After Ryan hiked back to the barn my dad had arrived with a truck. I got some Alfalfa Cubes and we headed back to bribe him with food.It worked and we got him back to the barn. We are keeping him in the corral this week till he gets used to us. He got to meet his stable mates last night which includes My aunt and Uncles Clydesdale "Pete" It was a fun evening. Long and Tiring to say the least. I know I have the greatest husband in the world! He loves his girls and wants their dreams to come true!

Perdido Key 2009

2009-08-12T06:41:00.000-07:00

Back to reality! We made it to and from Perdido Key with no mishaps except the drivers side window could not be rolled down or it just might not go up! :)

Seriously we have been back for two weeks from Perdido Key florida and it was a great relaxing vacation. Emma was such a good little traveler. Only one time she HAD to get out of the car and I myself was getting a little impatient that we were not there yet!

We stayed on the tenth floor of the Palacio condo in Perdido and it was beautiful! Big pool, white sands, tennis court, what more would you ask for.

Emma didn't realize we were on vacation and woke every morning around 6 but I am pretty much used to that with my little Morning girl, and I myself like to get up early at the beach. I feel like I am wasting my time if I sleep in.

We played lots of Tennis, went on a few runs, hunted crabs, made numerous sandcastles. We boogieboarded, swam in the pool. Emma's two favorite things wold have to be seeing the dolphins and the game of hide and seek we played. It involved everyone! ( don't tell but I think everyone had as much fun as Emma did) Nate hid in a cabinet under the wet bar....still not sure how he got under there. It was a blast.

The boys and I went fishing for Red Snapper. Had tos of bites....not too many fish, but it was a good time. We played putt putt and ate some great seafood!

Here are some pics enjoy!

Baby Mammaw

2009-07-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Emma adores her baby Mammaw.

I love the times when she can come over and watch her. They crack me up because they both aggravate each other so much,but have so much fun together. Emma definately has her baby mammaws sass passed down and doubled a few times I think. How lucky Emma is to get to know and be loved by her great grandmother! And how lucky to have such a fun Baby Mammaw. Here are some pics of the two of them I took after running. Baby Mammaw is Young at heart!

Christmas in July and Disney World!

2009-07-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

So exciting news around the Browning family is that my darling Mr. Browning is taking his two Princesses back to Disney world right after Thanksgiving. If you know me, you know I LOVE Disney World. I have fond memories of it as a child and it holds a magic you just cannot describe! When Emma was 18 months we went at Christmas with my family. The magic of both the season and Disney is indescribable. Mr. Browning loves us so much he is gonna take us there again at this time.

We had not told Emma and so decided to have a Christmas in July party to tell her the exciting news. ( I think after the fun we had this will be a yearly tradition)

I cooked Chicken and Stuffing for dinner, we made a Sugar Free Cobbler for Ryan and decorated Christmas cookies.We even wore Christmas shirts! We strung up some Christmas lights, gave Emma a Christmas Disney present and watched Christmas movies in bed. It was too much fun!

Today Emma has been telling me all the characters she will hug and what songs she will sing to them. She told me, " I am gonna kiss Rabbits nose so fast he won't even know it is me!"

Here are some pictures from last night.

Funny Sayings!

2009-07-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

So Emma says numerous cute things in her life but I nned to document a few! The other day while riding in the car Emma the song that came on the radio was not to Emma's likeing. She quickly told me, "Mama, this is Stresstrating me!" Don't we all feel that way sometimes Stressed and Frustrated at the same time. Maybe that will become a new word. She also awoke the other morning and before Even a good morning was uttered she told me, "Mama, you NEED to get some of those grapes mimi has!" I think those grapes must have been so good she was dreaming about them. I proceeded to hug and kiss on her to which she said," Mama, can we get up I have been asleep for 57 hours!"
The things she says cracks me up. She has such a funny personality and is so serious when she says them! She keeps me in stiches!

SUmmer Fun!

2009-06-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

This week Emma has been attending Summer in the Backyard! She has been loving it! We had to miss the first day because she had a dr's appt. Tuesday for the first time ever she left me and didn't look back! I was SO PROUD of her. Emma is a shy girl and that was a HUGE step for her. Today she was a little more nervous but only whimpered a little! After she got picked up yesterday we ate at McDonalds with Mimi and Auna. She ate more than I have ever seen her eat! ( later I found out that is because she was being a diva and refused the snack she was offered at camp) She talked and talked about the songs she sang! was so proud of her art work and told us about some game she played where she threw straws at her teacher! She has been singin the "Jesus is my best friend" song nonstop! She is growing up so fast!

Tonight we are headed to swim and I can't wait!

Dino Dash

2009-06-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

Emma had her first race on Saturday. We went down to the river market and let her be a part of the 1K dino Dash that raises money for the Museum of Discovery. The anticipation of the race was great for her. We went and picked up her race shirt Friday night. Her Race bib had a dinosaur that she got to color on it. Unfortunatly she had a bad cold this weekend as well. When her nose runs it drives her CRAZY! she will constantly want to hold on to a tissue. She carried around her tissue all race morning and I knew she would want it when we got there as well. She got to pet an alligator....see a snake and dance to the Kinders ( a childrens group from LR) She loved them ( I think more than the race).

Finally the race was to begin. It was led my a huge Green Dinosaur. Emma had to stop before we had even made the first turn to go give the Dino a high five. Plus she is not too good in crowds and there were a LOT of people around. This let the area clear out some so we had more room. She walked 95 percent of the way.....not really feeling great but at the end when she got her medal and dinosaur she was beaming. She was so proud that she had one just like us!

When she woke up from her nap that afternoon the first thing she said to me was.....momma....that dinosaur sure was nice to me! How precious!

My little Runner!

2009-05-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

These are two of my favorite photos from Mrs. Judy's daisy field. It is our second time to get to take pictures there and I love it! I cannot believe my baby girl is turning three in a few weeks. The time has gone by so quickly. I will turn around again and she will be grown! You truly have to hold on to every second!

I love you Emma for your sassiness and your need to exert independence. I love how you hate people to bombard you when you first see them yet hate to say goodbye! (you are great at stalling) I love how you are sensitive to people's feelings and are quite a good reader of people at the age of three! I love how you like boy things but hate getting dirty and love tea parties! I love how you snuggle with me in the morning! I love your prayers at night! ( we cannot even forget friends like Licia and Jack) I love how you love to dance and have your own style! I love your sense of imagination and I LOVE that I AM YOUR MOTHER! I am so proud! I love you to moon and back again my monkey Princess!

Momma

Sweet Prayers

2009-04-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

Last night as Emma was going to bed we were going through our normal bedtime routine. Ryan and I switch off nights. She gets two books a story about Scruffy ( a white stuffed dog she sleep with) and then prayers. Normally Emma will contribute some to the prayers but it is just adding people's names. Lately she has added a little more, but last night was SO Sweet! As we were thanking God for lots of things Emma added, " And thank you God for the Sun, and the playful green grass. Thank you for Mommies hair and letting us play outside. Oh and Thank you God for Jesus!" It was precious and a moment I will always Remember.

Yesterday also we got our first skinned knees. She scrapped them pretty good. They were red and bleeding for a while. She was so sad she wouldn't walk by herself for the first couple of hours. We were still traumatized by them today when she had to get a bath before school.

Thank you God for my beautiful daughter and her sensitive heart!

Busy being a Momma

2009-03-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged in forever. For those mothers who do blog regularly I envy you! I wish I kept this blog more up to day however I don't so I will try and catch up.

Since Disney we have been busy celebrating Valentines day, Running a 1/2 marathon, Seeing Wye Mountain, Countless Tea Parties, A few play dates and Day to day activities.

Valentines day was fun. Emma was confused and thought it was like Easter. When she woke up she quickly went to the living room aka the "yiving room" to see what she got. I think she though V-day was like Christmas. Lucky us Emma and I had our Valentine aka Prince Charming with us so we got all our gifts and did them then so that she would understand the Day.

Also Ryan and I ran the 1/2 marathon a couple of weeks ago. Our longest run to date. We finished in 2:23 and I am stinkin proud of us. It was tough, but even tougher my dad. At 58 he ran his first full marathon and finished in 5:56. Pretty amazing! Emma later that day told us she yelled Run momma and daddy ...smack the Kenyans. Three Kenyans finished right before we did and she saw them win and get leaves on their heads. I guess she thought we would get that if we beat them. Watching us run we may have a runner on our hands. She told my mammaw the other day she was a runner and ran all the time with her momma and daddy. I think she might just be one!

We made our annual trip to Wye mountain the other day. It was freezing outside and I had dresses Emma for more springy weather so needless to say we didn't stay long.

Well I have been busy here playing hopscotch, making chalk drawings, having tea parties, dressing up, dance parties and baking pies outside. Also Emma has started Mothers Day out and attends one day a week. She seems to really like it and will go two days a week in the fall. I am excited for her because she has kids to play with now. Well I better go so i can get some things done before the princess awakes.

Reflections on Disney

2009-02-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I took Emma for her second trip to Disney World last week. It was a magical experience but I knew it would be because I ADORE disney world. It truly is a magical place and I have so many memories already from there. Taking Emma alone with Ryan only added to the Magic. You lose track of days there so I will try and break our trip down into days.

DAY ONE

We left early Saturday morning but Emma woke right up because she knew where we were going. As we landed in Atlanta Emma yelled at the top of her lungs," We are in Disney World!" However we still had an hour layover and another plane ride! We made it to the next plane and Emma was hitting her nap time, but who can sleep when you are that excited. After grabbing some lunch when we landed and catching the Magical Express our vacation had begun. We arrived at the hotel and while Emma and I watched Mickey cartoons in the lobby Ryan checked us in. A luggage guy gave Emma eight stickers and she proceeded to put all eight on her outfit. The room wasn't ready so we headed to the Magic Kingdom. The first ride....Of course Dumbo!
After riding quite a few rides and meeting Rafiki we headed to dinner at the Wilderness Lodge. At this point I had a very Tired two year old on my hands who was also very hungry! Poor girl....she did not make it to dinner but passed out right before our name was called.

She slept through the entire dinner (and this was a very loud restaurant) but woke up when we got to our room, so we ran to the food court and got her some Mac, N Cheese and Corn in a mickey plate. She then passed out ready to see Characters the next day!

DAY TWO

We woke up early....When two year olds are excited they wake up early....kinda like Christmas, went and ate a Mickey Waffle and headed to The Animal Kingdom. As we were going over the bridge towards the Tree of Life I saw Tigger and Pooh, and there were really no kids waiting in line so Ryan and I asked how to get there and headed in that direction. We found them and walked right down what would have been a 2 hour line and had about 5 minutes with Tigger, Eeyore and Pooh! It was so sweet. Emma hugged each one of them and told Pooh, "Hold on Pooh, My daddy has my book for you to sign. Let me get it!"> She Hugged on Eeyore and Bounced for Tigger! Magical!
We then went and Daddy rode Everest and we Saw Lilo and Stitch, Chip, Dale, Donald, and Mickey before heading toThe Tree of Life to see the Bugs. This was a little too scary for Emma and we had to bail on that show the Spiders and Bugs in 3D were a little much for her.
We decided Kiliminjaro Safari would be better and headed that way. Emma missed this ride again, the last time we were here she fell asleep as well. Oh well maybe next time. We then headed back for an afternoon nap and to get ready for our Princess Dinner in Norway. After much needed sleep we headed to Epcot to See The Princesses and I had my first bad experience with the Epcot birds. One of them Pooped in my hair. A LOT! Gross! I then had to go and wash my hair out in the bathroom sink....more on the birds later. We headed to Nemo since we had some time before dinner. Emma loved this ride 1. because she got to see Nemo and 2. because when you exit the ride you are in a HUGE aquarium. We got to see Dolphins, real nemos and Dories , Manatees and lots of other fish. Emma loved standing at the glass and having the dolphins swim past her. It was time for our reservation so we headed to Norway. Once we got in the restaurant we were greeted by Belle and got to have our picture taken with her. Then we sat down and ordered and waited on the other Princesses. That night Jasmine, Aurora, Ariel and Cinderella were there. Emma was most excited about Jasmine and Cinderella. When she saw Jasmine across the room she whispered "Boobies to Ryan and I" ( This is a joke because when Emma would look at the pictures of the last time she met Jasmine she noticed the girl was well endowed and became obsesses with saying this and falling down laughing when she did. I told her NOT to say this to the girl but that she could whisper it to us) She did, every time she saw her! Too funny! Cinderella she loved and even got down and hugged by herself. She also sang to her a portion of the song from Cinderella that the mice sing. She was so proud because Cinderella told her she sounded just like her mice. As a side note this was the best buffet we had of all the Character meals. I would definatly eat there again. We finished dinner wandered through Mexico and the Three Cabelleros ride and then decided to call it a night.

The next few days I will get to as soon as possible.

Cuteness!

2009-01-27T08:33:00.001-08:00

The other night Emma Ryan and I were coming back from Park plaza in the car. Emma was in the back seat with her daddy and he asked her if she wanted a cookie.....She promptly responded, "Thank you please, don't mind if I do!" Hearing that grown up statement come out of her mouth her daddy and I cracked up.
Where she learned it we are not sure but it sure was cute!

Beautiful day

2009-01-22T11:07:00.000-08:00

Today has been a beautiful day! I am PAST ready for spring...just not a winter sort of girl. Honestly I would rather sweat that shiver and since I am a southern girl we don't sweat we glisten. At least that is what a GRITS ( Girls Raised in the South) book says. Neways I have taken the opportunity to get outside with Emma. We went to Mimi's and played on the swing set they got her before Christmas. We had a great time and even had a picnic outside. Emma is now napping and Ryan and I are going to attempt our longest run yet 10 Miles when he gets off work. Yikes.....I am trying to mentally prepare for it and with this gorgeous weather it is fairly easy. I will let you know how it goes.

So last weekend we went with the guys on a duck hunting trip. No...we did not hunt. The boys did but there were no ducks in site so needless to say it was a duckless weekend. We did have a great time in the Lodge we stayed at. When we first drove up I was a little afraid. It was a tin shack in the middle of farm land, but turns out the inside was very nice. All the walls were cedar lined and it had twelve bunk beds. Huge living area with pool table. Big Kitchen and a pool table. It was nice to get away and just hang out. Plus we had the lodge to ourselves.

Here are some pictures of the trip.

My little Princess!

2009-01-19T13:20:00.000-08:00

Often when Emma plays with me she calls me Cinderella and she either Belle or Ariel. It is really cute . Her Daddy is Prince Charming. I hope she always views us this way. The other day she asked where her Prince Charming was and I told her work. She quickly let me know she needed her Prince Charming that his Princesses were waiting on him. Her future husband has big shoes to fill!

Emma in a Big girl Bed!

2009-01-12T09:55:00.001-08:00

PRAISE THE LORD! Emma has been sleeping in her bed for 14 days now. ( actually 15 but the first night was so rough I don't count it) I know I know you are probably thinking how in the world have they let a 2 year old sleep in your bed and if you don't have kids you are thinking I would never do that, but don't judge till you have been there. I have thought some of those very same things before I had a baby and we did it to sleep. Guilty as charged. This was our last major hurdle. We have suceeded in all other fronts Bottles, Pacifiers, Potty training, but now we have had sucess in the bed! I am so excited!

She fell out of her bed for the first time last week. It was too cute. We heard a loud thud and both of us were headed to her room. She only fell about a foot and only 1/2 of her fell off but she laid there to make sure we knew she had done it. Honestly if she didn't have 15 stuffed animals in the bed she would probably have had more room but that is what gives her comfort so we are letting her have as many as she likes!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

2009-01-05T08:23:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I wanted to start Traditions for our family and I already had quite a few with my family so we have added to them and come up with our own traditions for our Chrismas Eve and Christmas Day! We started by baking Jesus a birthday cake and making Christmas cookies the day before Christmas Eve so we can take them to share with all our families!

We get up on Christmas eve and head over to the Brownings. Hang out there and eat lunch and then head out to my grandma Jeffers for the Jeffers Christmas after Emma's nap. We then go caroling! This tradition started a few years back and has continued on. Some years it has been very painful as we have lost two family members of our own. Jae Lynn and Then Paw. This year as we were caroling I closed my eyes at the first house and envisioned their voices there with us still. Jae's Cute Warbly voice and Paws deep Baritone! It brought tears to my eyes but I have a feeling they were singing in heaven right along with us! This year we were able to carol some old neighbors of ours the Snows and it was wonderful to brighten their Christmas! We then head back to Mammaws house and eat nontraditional Christmas food. This year was Taco Salads Yummy!!!

After dinner we gather in the living room and read the Christmas story then open presents. It takes a while because the tradition there is to open one at a time and for everyone to see what you get. I love this way of opening but if you are new to it it can take some getting used to.

Ryan Emma and I head out first usually since we have the youngest and get home to put out our cookies and carrots and get in bed so Santa can come.

The next morning we wake bright and early! We are talking 6:00 am. and we see what Santa has brought us and open our presents and stockings. Then we started a new tradition one I hope that will carry on of cooking belgium Waffles ( thanks to the waffle maker my Mammaw Venable gave me) THen we play with gifts and get ready to head to our parents houses. Since we live so close we spit the day with each. This is such a blessing to be able to do this. In a few years we may try everyone coming ot our house as Emma gets older.

By the evening we are tired puppies and come back to our house to get in bed and rest because the next day we have new things to play with!

2008-12-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

Things I am thankful for: I am a little late on this post but still thankful none the less.

Ryan: Thank you for loving me all the time, not only when I am nice but mean and whiny! Thank you for helping me around the house and never complaining even though I am super messy and you love things neat! Thank you for being a Godly man who loves both God, Emma and I unconditionally! Thank you for working so I can stay at home and raise Emma! Thank you for doing laundry and keeping me organized! Thank you for being a wonderful Daddy to Emma and letting me watch you play with her!

Emma: Thank you for teaching me how to play again! Thank you for showing me how determined I am about getting my way! ( You are so like me in this) Thank you for teaching me shyness! Thank you for loving me unconditionally and thinking I am Cinderella! Thank you for sparking my imagination!

My momma: Thank you for loving me all the time and always being there to listen! Thank you for encouraging my parenting skills and helping me know I am not a bad mom! Thank you for being there always to watch Emma and love on her and being everything a Mimi should be. Thank you for sewing clothes and teaching me how to be a momma. Thank you for always being there to Rat around town with!

Daddy-O: Thank you for loving me and being the first man in my life to love me unconditionally! Thank you for showing me how a Godly father leads his family! Thank you for your emotional and financial support through many years of school! Thank you for teaching me how to ALWAYS see the good in poeple and never think the worst of others! Thank you for being a wonderful Papa to Emma and playing with her when she comes over. ( Especially showing her snakes in the woods :) )
To you both: Thank you for showing me love and grace and patience and How to love each other as a couple!

Mammaw: Thank you for being the best Mammaw in the world! Thank you for little debbie mornings, avon bubble baths and shotgun dan pizza nights!Thank you for draggin us in wagons and playing softball in the yard even after a hard days work. Thank you for watching Emma while I run and letting her have so much fun with her Baby Mammaw. Thank you for Ratting with momma and me! Thank you for four generations of stubborn women!

This is just the beginning of my thank ful list I have so much more! My cup runs over! I will keep adding to this but tonight I have to stop! Tears of joy for the good things God has blessed me with in my life!

Christmas Decorations

2008-11-19T06:58:00.000-08:00

Here is a small sampling of the indoor decorations we have up in our house. I didn't take pictures of all the trees. Yes we love Christmas! We love to decorate for it. We have a total this year of 7 trees ( a new record)We still have a few things to add like Christmas skirts, and balls to the new aluminum tree (Thank you mammaw) but all in all we are decorated for Christmas! Holidays here

we come!

Love Story

2008-11-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Check out this love story about some dear friends of Ryan and me!

http://www.bnd.com/living/story/541123.html

Wonderful Weekend

2008-11-10T10:28:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful past weekend. We started the weekend off by Suprising Emma with tickets to Disney Live to see Winnie the Pooh. She was super suprised and loved the show. Of Course Her daddy and I are huge fans of disney too and it just added to the disney fever we have right now of wanting to take her to Disney World in February. Emma told me today that at her suprise Tiggie said, "Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo!" She kept bouncing around saying it.

Saturday we slept in ( That means we got tosleep till 7:00) for those of you who don't have two year olds and Daddy made Purple chocolate chip pancakes! Yummy! Then we worked on finishing our christmas decorations inside the house and that afternoon finished the outside decorations.

Sunday we got up and got ready for church. I was really anxious because we were leaving Emma in the nursery for the first time and she has terrible seperation anxiety. We dropped her off and they said she only cried for 10 minutes but wouldn't let her teacher put her down. She was crying when we picked her up but because she saw someother kids get picked up and thought we weren't coming. She informed me this morning that she had told her teacher, " My name is Emma Bryce and I want my mommy! " Too funny. Everyone say a prayer for us next Sunday because it will only be worse I am sure since this time she will know where she is going. We Finished off the day with Chili's and a movie Madagascar in the newly finished Christmasy living room. Ryan is off tommorrow for veterans day so Emma and I are excited about that too.

Here are some fall pics we took the other day!

2008-10-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year .....to add to the moving we have been super busy with lots of fall things like pumpkin carving. My birthday, The pumpkin patch. race for the cure, mammaw venables birthday and Razorback games! I love when the weather starts getting cool and the nights start earlier! It just gets me in the holiday mood.

We have been making sure Emma gets to do all the traditional halloween traditions for us. We have our huge inflatable pumpkin, ghost and kitty cat in the yard, mums and pumpkins and this year we even have a halloween tree!

We took Emma to Mayflower to the pumpkin Patch there. She loved it we were a little disappointed because they would not take us to the actual patch but Emma didn't know and there were tons of pumpkins to choose from. She picked three little ones and we picked three big ones and carved a Cinderella pumpkin when we got home. It was alot of fun.

We also had a Halloween birthday party for a little friend of Emmas that she was able to dress as a kitty cat for. She was absolutely adorable. She kept meowing the whole time and pretending to swish her tail. She was really proud of her costume and enjoyed it.

Also I ran in Race for the cure for the 4th year. I had my best time ever and ran 29:10. I only missed getting a medal by 1:20. Next year that medal is mine. I can just feel it!

Enjoy the pics I have been so behind in posting about.

Happy Birthday to Baby Mammaw!

2008-10-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

My mammaws birthday is October 15th so for the past 29 years she has gotten to share the birthday month with me. Because our birthdays were so close we usually ended up celebrating together. She turned 74 yesterday and for about 5 months I have planned a suprise birthday party for her. Nothing Big just family but I wanted the day to be all about her. She takes care of Emma for me most of the time when I go work out and does countless things for me, Ryan and Emma and I wanted her to know how much she was loved and that I cared about her.

She came over last night on the premise we were celebrating our birthdays to her surprise the party was all about her. She is too sweet. She had brought a present for Emma so that Emma wouldn't feel left out while we were opening presents. ( That is an inkling of how much she loves us!)

Mammaw is now Baby Mammaw to Emma. I couldn't have asked for a more loving affectionate giving woman to be my Mammaw! She has spoiled me and continues to spoil me and my daughter to this day. I have such good memories of spending th night at her house, eating popcorn, pickles, and Shotgun Dans pizza. Then getting up to have Little Debbies for Breakfast. She would rock me, sing to me and scratch my back for hours! I love her more than she will ever know. We have a joke we always write in our cards. I would write I love you more and she always writes I love you more cause I'm bigger! I think we love her more now though because there are more of us! I hope Her special birthday made her day!

First trip alone in 2 years

2008-09-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Ok so Ryan and I went on our first trip without Emma last week to Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton Florida. We left on Saturday and came back on Tuesday. Emma split the time between Nana and Pops and Mimi and Papa. We were worried about how she would do, and largely how we would do being without her for that long since the longest she has not been around us is overnight. She did amazing though. We would call her and she wasn't even interested in talking to us.

We had a blast though. We went and saw THREE movies, ate out, slept in, went to Dave and Busters and hit a huge mall sown there. It was so relaxing and nice to be able to spend that much quality time with Ryan. We went to the movies there and got carded to go into a rated R movie. Also we got the student discount with no id's. It was awesome considering I will be 29 in a few weeks!

We are oficially in our new house now as well. Woo Hoo. We have boxes stacked everywhere but are making some headway on the chaos.

I will post some pics of the move and painting later. Lots to catch up on.

Craziness and moving!!!!

2008-09-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

So I have totally neglected my blog recently due to some crazy activity in the past few weeks. This month Ryan and I managed to buy and close on a house, we are in the process of moving in ...basically living in two houses, and ryan starts a new job at UAMS the monday after we will move in. To top it off we went on our first trip without Emma to Florida. I have so much to catch up on, but I am currently typing this blog in the middle of what used to be Ryan's office with nothing else really in the room. I think we have managed lots of stress pretty well this month.

So for everyone here the house is in Glen Hills in the new section of Gap Creek in Sherwood. We will officially be living there as of Saturday night. Wooo Hooo. Let me just say I never want to paint again in my life. I say this as my mom is still at my house painting. She is a much better painter than me. I am a rookie in the painting department and Ryan painted his first room today. I have lots more to catch up on but it will have to wait till after this weekend. Gotta get someZZZZZs before I get to paint some more tommorrow.

The House we are waiting to close on!

2008-09-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

I don't want to say our house till we close, but here are the pics.I don't have pics of two of the bedrooms or the baths. But you can get an idea of how it looks and how excited we are.

2008-09-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Emma calling the Hogs! She learned it quick!

Go Razorbacks!

2008-08-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday Mimi and Papa came and picked up Ryan, Emma and me. We hit the road around 12:15 stopped for lunch at a local Dairy bar and headed to watch the Hogs play. Emma did amazing the entire ride thanks to a few new movies Mimi purchased for the trip. We only stopped once to get gas. That is pretty amazing with a potty training 2 year old. Emma's favorite part of the drive was the tunnel. As soon as we got through it she wanted to turn around and go again. The longest part of the trip was waiting in the Scholarship parking line to turn towards the stadium. When we finally turned Emma saw the tailgaters and a blow up Hog and said " I see the kickball!"
Since Ryan and I play kickball that is really the only sport she has ever seen. We headed up the Hill to the stadium after a quick stop at the Hog shop and made it inside. Emma did wonderful through the whole game despite how hot it was. She cheered...watched and called the Hogs. Her favorite Razorback was the one in the cheerleading uniform. She was a doll! At one point in the game Northern Illinois called a timeout. Emma heard it and said, " Did they get a timeout?" It had a whole different meaning to her.
She made it through the whole game till the last few minutes and passed out. The crowd was really at its loudest at this point wanting the Hogs to hold off N. Ill. We did and won the game and our little cheerleader got her Jammies on and slept all the way home.

This is how tiring watching Football can be. With 1:30 left in the 4th Emma Passed out despite the noise around her!

Becky and Ralph at the game! Tiffie and Emma

Emma learned how to call the hogs! She caught on quick!

Papa teaching Emma how to use his Binoculars and Mimi and Emma cheering on the Razorbacks!

Lovin each other and those Hogs!

Our row at the game!

Our seats are in the chairbacks in the endzone....a nice view of the screen and the game from here!

The hike to the stadium Emma got a shoulder ride!

"Go Hogs go!"

My Little

Cheerleader!

This was our picture before we got all hot and sweaty climbing the hill!

Our wonderful Driver Papa!

Mimi was crocheting blankets on the way!

Mommy was along for the ride....my sole responsibility keep Emma happy!

Daddy the navigator!

Emma at the start of the trip.

Buddylicious

2008-08-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

Emma has come up with a new name for Buddy. She recently has been calling him "Buddylicious" I think because I have said Bootylicious and she likes the way it sounds, so now Buddys new nickname "buddylicious".

Also on Monday at Gymboree I was encouraging Emma to climb over this wall they had created. After she had climbed about three times she told me to climb and I said I was too big. She promptly responded, "Come on Mama. I KNOW you can do it!" My little encourager.

Fun times!

2008-08-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Who knew buying a house could be so crazy. Lots has been going on here signing papers, going to the bank, calling insurance companies. I have come a long way in learning things about buying a house. Three years ago I thought you could get a house for around 35,000. That is a blonde moment for sure. Then I learned about closing costs. Who knew there was so much stuff that goes into it. I am amazed at how complicated it can get.
Busy Busy Busy.....This weekend Ryan had a shooting event with my Dad and brother and Emma and I attended a birthday party for a little friend of hers at Oogles and Googles. Then Sunday we had kickball. Let me say we lost the kickall game but I had the game of my life. I have never played as well as I did on Sunday. I made a double play, a single play, and stopped the ball 4 times. Also I slid into home and knocked the ball away from the catcher which allowed Ryan to make it home as well! I was Super proud of my Athletic Prowess!

I will try and post pictures of the house tommorrow!

Candy from Church

2008-08-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Ryan and I gave Emma her first offering to put in the offering plate. She had $1.00 in quarters. Ryan held it for her till the time came. She held the money till the usher got to us and since we sit in the balcony we always have the same ushers. After Emma put her money in the offering plate our usher gave her a piece of candy. I thought it was really nice of him to do that.

However, Later that evening Emma was talking to my dad her Papa and I told him she had given her first offering today to which she promptly responded "And the church gave me candy.!" We both started laughing. I think she will be suprised next time if she doesn't get any! :)

Move over Martha Stewart here comes Emma

2008-08-13T10:11:00.001-07:00

Emma has discovered a love for baking! Move over Martha Stewart here comes Emma Browning. I am pretty sure she loves baking because she enjoys the rewards of baking like her momma....licking the spoons, and bowls and eating the treats afterwards. We recently have baked Blueberry muffins and a Funfetti cake today! She wants everyone to sample them after they are done too.

I like to cook, but I LOVE to bake sweets. I adore sweets and Miss Emma has gotten a bit of a sweet tooth herself lately. Today while we were making the cake she could not stop herself from dipping her finger in the cake mix and sampling it. She was tasting just the dry mix in the bowl. It was pretty adorable! She will tell you either it is "licious" for delicious or "gusting" for disgusting.

Her cake was "licious"

Exuma

2008-08-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well I have uploaded a small sampling of all the photos taken on this trip. Ryan, Emma and I traveled with his mom to Exuma, Bahamas where his Dad Works and lives to meet up with a few friends from St. Louis and Chicago. We made lots of memories and had a blast catching up with friends we don't get to see that often.

Emma had fun getting spoiled by her Nana and Pops and loved on by lots of people. She was definatly the center of attention all week. She loved Pops neighbor Doug and his giant but gentle rottweiler Shadow.

Emma is an early riser and if you have had a two year old you know when they get up....You don't have a choice you get up. We are the only one with a child in our group so they quickly learned your mornings are early and loud with Emma. They were all so sweet to her though even when they were sleep deprived and she was waking them up with her water gun, and some help from Shannon. She played parachute with Andrew and Shawn till their arms wore out. They even attempted to lift me in the blanket with her.

Lots of good meals, swimming, and snorkling occurred. My new years resolution this past year was to be braver in the ocean. I have a fear of big fish, sharks and Barracuda. On most trips there I do not snorkel. I have done it before but have a huge fear of Barracuda. I do not want Emma to see me afraid and become fearful herself so I was determined to be braver.

I however was not the only chicken in our group which made me feel like I was braver than I originally had thought. I snorkeled three times. The first time I saw a barracuda right off the bat and I was out of the water pretty quick. The second time I was drawn in by the promise I could find some cool seashells. I did find some beautiful shells and saw a lion fish ( These fish are not native to the bahamas and are a danger to the reef) they are beautiful however and it was Ryan and my's first time to see them in the wild.

The second time I also snorkled even though there was a small barracuda in the water near us. I climbed on top of Ryans back till I could get out but none the less snorkled. The third time I snorkled in the open bay and the most beautiful fish were there. Lots of angetl fish and parrot fish and Thankfully NO BARRACUDA :)!
Ryan and I also fed and touched three wild stingrays...pretty cool huh?!? One of them was about 4 ft wide.

We had a blast all in all. An amazing trip with lots of memories we will never forget!

This picture is of Megan and Emma. She became interested in poeple making faces and even learned a few of her own.

Wigging out!

2008-07-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

Emma has had an obsession with my hair since she was very little. She feels of it to calm herself, and to go to sleep! It is similar to a blankie. She always talks about how my hair is yellow and hers is red, and daddys is brown. When she was an infant I bought a weave at Sally's just so she could have some hair to comfort her if she couldn't feel mine. Ryan called it a rat tail. It was brown and kind of gross after she had felt of it for a while, but it did the trick.

Her most recent obsession has been with my hair being up in a ponytail. The second I put it up she tells me she doesn't like it and to take it down. It is entirely too hot in Arkansas to wear your hair down all summer so we make bargains.

The other day I got out some old wigs from my theater days to see what she would think. I had two a Marilyn Monroe, and a Wig from the King and I. Oddly enough she loved the brown wig and even asked me to wear it to Gymboree the next day. I did not. Here are some pics of us wigging out!

Gymboree

2008-07-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Every monday Emma and I head to Gymboree! It is a mommy and me class with Gymbo the clown and Emma loves it! They sing songs, have different theme days and climb and slide! She has quite a few friends that attend Miss Lila Olive, and Jackson and loves to see them and after it Lila , Olive, and Emma go and eat with their mommies. If you ask her why her daddy goes to work she will tell you to make monies so she can see Gymbo! BY the time lunch is over she crashes in the car and sleeps all the way home. She never even wakes up when I move her to the bed. Two is such a fun age and Mondays are so Special! It is a just Emma and Mommy day and I cherish them!

She has had a long time love for Gymbo this picture was from Feb. 2007!

Gymbo was her Valentine from her Daddy and me.

Buddy and Success!

2008-07-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Okay...so I am totally new at this blogging and not too adept at computers but I am going to try my hand at it and see how it goes. It will if nothing else, be a fun way to post stories about Emma, Ryan and me for our friends and family. I am at Mimi's right now so I have a free minute to get started. Other than that posts will more than likely be done during nap time and while Emma is sleeping.

We have just gotten a new puppy which is a black mini schnauzer.Emma named him Buddy. She has a bit of a love hate relationship with him. She loves him but does not like him to nip at her feet which is currently his favorite pasttime. She also Loves to chase him screaming and waving her arms through the house. Buddy is a very easy going dog! I left her for a moment yesterday to get something out of the kitchen while she was eating goldfish in her highschair and watching JoJo. She wanted Potato Chips but already had goldfish so I told her to wait until she finished the goldfish thinking she wouldn't. When I came back less than a minute later The Goldfish were gone and Buddy was crunching something. When I asked if she gave the goldfish to Buddy she said "Yes, Only one and Two!" At least she told the truth.

Later that afternoon Buddy puked...not only Goldfish, but Spaghetti which Emma had eaten for lunch.
This is the first of much mischief these two will be in together I am sure.