Love Letters From 1st Grade

I found this note in Ryan's backpack this afternoon.
Eman is a sweet girl who was probably Ryan's first friend he made in kindergarten last year. They are in the same class again this year.
This is the second note from a girl he has brought home this year.  The other note actually had a phone number on it. When I questioned Ry about these notes from girls, he said, "Well, Mom! I had to get some playdates set up!"

Baby Love

Rock N Roll Marathon

Stacy, Crystal, Missy, Patrick and Jeff after finishing the St. Louis Rock N' Roll 1/2 Marathon!  Way to go!!

Rick, Ryan, Missy and Mary post-race.  Ry is really pumped about the medals they were given for finishing.

And the crowd goes wild looking out for our crew to pass by!

We Heart Uncle Jeff & Aunt Amy

Uncle Jeff & Aunt Amy were my angels today, saving my sanity and bringing Ry  & Jul on a fun afternoon outing!

Birthday Friends!

Elijah Avril Sones and Emerson Kate Harriss
These two cuties are sure to be friends someday.
Elijah's parents, Whitney and John go to Metro and do Fusion (youth) with us.
Our sweet babies were born at the same hospital, in rooms next door to one another, a mere three hours apart!!
This picture was taken on their first night of Fusion..someday they may get the award for "longest attended" or something like that! =)

Little pumpkin + spiderman

Obviously, this isn't the greatest pic, but I had to post so we can someday remember just how tiny baby Em was!

Emerson's Tricks

While I realize this video will be boring to the "average" viewer, I wanted to post it here to be able to remember Emerson when she was sooo tiny. Jeff has been calling her "Pip" because she seems to get the hiccups so frequently.

Ry's Pumpkin Farm Field Trip

Ry's class had a fieldtrip to the pumpkin farm today.  He begged for me to go as a chaperone.  I didn't think that was too feasible with a new baby. So he begged for me to just come out and meet them there.  So in a moment of insanity deciding to be a good mom, I loaded the girls up in the rain and we headed for the pumpkin farm.  

Fortunately the rain stopped and we had some fun!

The kids LOVE to hold Emerson. She's our little celebrity lately!

Julia and Eman stop playing long enough for me to snap a pic.

My incredibly handsome boy. =)

Pumpkin Farm

We headed to the pumpkin on this gorgeous day to let the kiddos have some fun.  The jump area is always a hit with the kids.  I braved it today with them to get my inner Tigger out!

Aunt Krista takes good care of baby Em.

Lucas, Tyler and Julia enjoy the tractor ride back to the farm from the pumpkin patch.

Nurse Visit

Today I brought Emerson to meet two of the nurses who helped with her prenatal care.
Kathy did our ultrasounds to make sure Em was growing appropriately (and so kindly often switched the machine to 3D mode so we could get awesome views of our angel!) and Beth did our weekly fluid checks and nonstress tests.

Great lungs, 10 fingers, 10 toes!

Party of 5!

Emerson's Birthday!

She's arrived!
6:04pm

Hey, that's cold!

weight: 7lbs 6oz
head: 13.5
length: 19 1/4

Emerson Kate

We're so blessed to have you finally safe in our arms!

Whoa.

Baby sister's home until tomorrow.
Wonder if she's as excited to bust outta here as I am to have her out!!??
Think she'll weigh the 30lbs I've gained? =)

The Unimpressive, Forgetful Tooth Fairy

This morning Ry comes in our room and announces the tooth fairy hasn't left him anything.

OOPS!

I grabbed $2 and covertly head into his room to stuff it down his pillowcase as if he's missed it.

When we go back in to check and see if he "missed" it the first time around, I pull out the $2.

"Ohhhh, yea!" he says.  "How much is it?"

I unroll the 2 bills, and announce, "$2! Awesome!"

And he responds, "Augh..$2 AGAIN??!  Geesch, I really needed a $50!"