Daddy's little girl

Okay, so I could care less about "noise" in the house.  I don't need the radio on, I don't need the tv on.  I am fine with just good ol' conversation and hanging out.  Brian loves "noise."  Before Emily came along it took all of 30 seconds for him to turn the tv on when he got home from work.  You can imagine the struggle he had when I asked that we not watch tv when Emily was born.  I didn't mean never....just not when she was awake hanging out with us.  

When I drop her off at daycare, I know that she watches sesame street.  It's always on and I figure if that is all she is watching, then fine...what can I do?  She's sick and the rules are certainly getting bent.  The tv has been her companion.  She doesn't want to sleep and I can't handle the continual crying, so the tv has kept her attention.  She doesn't just sit and watch, she'll start playing with her books and toys and things.  

Yesterday, Brian sat down on the couch and Emily reached for the remote---this isn't uncommon, she often plays with the remote, BUT she started throwing down some 'tude.  I asked Brian what was wrong and he said she wants the tv on.  I said, "oh, you gotta show me this, I want to know if that is why she is throwing this tantrum."  Yep, let's just say she is daddy's little girl.

clark kent or superman?

fork time

How sweet is this?

I mean, seriously, how sweet?  Emily was over the pasta/broccoli we were having for lunch so I decided to have her finish the yogurt that she had left over from breakfast.  Bummer for me, she started eating lunch before we did because she just couldn't wait any longer, so that meant that she needed the yogurt right when I would be sitting down to eat my lunch.  "Auntie Jen, can I feed Emily?" (the sweetest question to my ear at that exact moment, so I said....YES!)  She did a great job.  This was the first time she has ever fed Emily (at least to my knowledge).  SO sweet!

First visit to Sea World

Southern California's weather is amazing to me.  You'll just never know what weather you are going to have from day to day.  It was SO sunny on Saturday that we decided to go to Sea World.  The Parlas headed out there with us and we had a great time!  Here are some pictures of the fun.  

Emily and Oliver in the "bay of play"

The fam waiting to watch the dolphins---can you see the excitement in Emily's face?  It got MUCH worse---Brian had to leave with her before it was over. 

The underwater view of a beluga whale

An ice wall on the way to the underwater viewing.  I think that might be Emily's only exposure to ice or snow in the near future!

where did the time go?

This picture was taken a year ago!  Crazy!

Feeling blue

I have had two wonderful weeks off of work and I am so sad it is ending!  Not only did I get to have two weeks with my daughter, but Brian had almost the same amount of time off.  It seems that Emily always has a hard time adjusting back to daycare when we have had so much time together and it just makes me so sad.  So, I am feeling a bit depressed today....

Merry Christmas

For those of you who didn't receive this beauty in the mail---probably means I don't have your address.  Ahhhh, yes, it certainly says Merry don't ya think?

All caught up!

Lots of pictures up from our cruise---scroll down, lots of posts!

Aunt Tabatha and Uncle Tyler
Uncle "Bob" 
Aunt Alyse
Grandma and Grandpa
Albert was our waiter every night.  He tried on the very first night to get Emily to give him a high five.  It wasn't until the very last night that she finally gave him the high five.  We made her do it several times, but I never got a perfect picture.  Oh well!
Our room steward made us a towel animal every night, we only took a picture of it the night of the elephant for some reason. 
Emily playing knock, knock with Aunt Tabatha
A very happy Croup baby.  Yep, she got croup on the cruise.  This was during her steam "bath."
First time picking her nose.  Of course I told her not to after the picture was taken.  
"Elegant night" picture taken on the deck of Grandma/Grandpa's room

The other elegant night choice...

Zihuateneo/Manzanillo

Looks like we didn't take too many pictures at either of these ports.  Not too sure why.  Manzanillo was HOT HOT HOT!!!  We only stayed out there for an hour.  I wasn't feeling good at all from the heat and there really wasn't much there in their downtown.  

Zihateneo was a cute little fishing village.  I enjoyed walking around there.  We ate lunch in town and I can't even begin to tell you how many people walked up to me and put their craft right in front of my face while I was eating.  I don't even know how many times I said, "no, gracias."

Acapulco

Our first stop was in Acapulco on Christmas day.  I gotta say, it was not my favorite stop.  Since Emily is so young, we didn't sign up for any excursions because there was an age limit for most of them---at least everything we were interested in.  So, we just spent the afternoon walking around.  We were "harassed" by so many people that were trying to sell us their crafts or services.  It was CRAZY.  I couldn't believe how many people just walked up to Emily and touched her and some even PICKED her up---it made my stomach turn. 

We're standing in front of the beach--our camera was died right after this shot, so there was no chance to re-do--anyway, you can't really see the locals in the background, but NONE of them were wearing bathing suits.  They were dressed in shorts/shirts and swimming in them.  The water was FILTHY and their clothes were covered in dirt.  It was truly so sad.  
Brian and Emily pictured in one of the back streets that our "tour guide" took us to get back to the boat.  (He is the one in the background all in white).  He pretty much just started following us around the city and made himself our tour guide, we didn't ask for his help, he pretty much just demanded it.  
Emily was intrigued by this little boy.  He was so sweet to her and of course they didn't speak the same language, but they just waved back and forth so many times.  He broke my heart.  He was wearing a girls shirt that was obviously way too small.  His "shorts" was actually a shirt too.  
Emily in the cruise stop right off the boat in Acapulco--she was NOT a fan of the bird.  She is her mother's daughter
I think visiting Acapulco on Christmas day was a really important lesson for me.  We didn't do gifts for Brian's side of the family because we're all struggling financially right now, but after seeing so many families literally covered in dirt on the sidewalk selling gum made me realize how incredibly RICH we are.  

More cruisin'

The second day of the cruise, we did a lot more walking around the ship and checking out what they had to offer.  Emily LOVED the chess game.  The pieces were just about as big as she was.  It was cute to watch her walk around the game.  

It was also the second day that we realized Emily loved our bed.  Granted, inside a stateroom there isn't much more than a bed, so it was her play area too, but every time we got home she did the same thing.  You'll have to check out the video.