Surprises for G-ma!

The Cesta's came in for Emmie's baptism and as a surprise for grandma.  We all headed to Kokomo and surprised her again with a surprise party in honor of her retirement.

Kentucky Visitors!

We had such a nice visit with the Louisville crew!  Dane especially loved having an older boy cousin to play with.  We all had fun celebrating Claire's 5th Birthday!

 Emmie had bananas instead of cake...

 Matt wanted an Ava hug all weekend and finally got one before she headed back home.

 Claire's painting party was a hit as was the pinata.

July Wrap Up

We had a great month with family and friends!  We got to see Mimi in Kokomo, which was a real treat!  Baby Charlie was born and that was super exciting!!  

 Dane got to visit grandpa's office.  The kids always enjoy feeding Helen and Norman, the swans!

Allie got to have a sleep over!

9 Months Old!!

Sweet Emerson is 9 months old already.  I can't believe how much Emmie changed during her 8th month - it's crazy!

Here are her 9th Months Stats:

Weight - 16 lbs. 5 oz. (5-10%)
Length - 26.5" (10-25%)
Head - 43.23" (34%)

So, she's little and that's ok!  Most people guess she's around 6 months when they see her.  She just loves to be held and is such a happy little girl.

She loves to move around and is an active little girl.  She can easily get to wherever she wants to go by crawling or cruising.  She can easily pull up anywhere and going up a stair (from the toy room to the laundry or family room) isn't a problem for her.

She protests a bit more at nap time as she would rather stay playing.  She also started standing up in her crib consistently shortly after turning 8 months.  No new teeth yet, but the doctor says the top teeth are about to pop through.  She has been a teething champ!

She has always been very into making strawberries and loves when we make silly sounds at her.  Her smile is ever present and her little laugh is just so sweet.  She is a happy little girl and she brings us so much joy!

 Yeah right, Emmie does not want her bow or necklace on!

4th of July

We had a very fun weekend!  We headed to Frontier Days on Thursday and had a great time.  Our 4th festivities included a parade and party with the neighbors.

Bike Flag Fun!

Grandpa and Grandma Welke gave the kids really cool bike flags.  The kids LOVE them.  They could not stop playing with them.  We like the flags better on their bikes and it makes the kids easy to see. :)

Bike Rider Boy!!

After a little practice...

Dane asked for his training wheels off last summer when Maddie learned.  We gave it a whirl and he did awesome!

Father's Day

We had a great time celebrating with so many special dads.  We feel incredibly blessed...

 Dane and Maddie picked out the Father's Day cards.  It was a really big decision!

 Doing FaceTime with the California crew.  Uncle Joe and Nico got the same shirts. :)

 Backyard fun!

Matt's first Father's Day as a father of 3! :)

Emmie 8 Months

Emmie girl is a sweet little 8 month old!  At 8 months, she is crawling, but isn't getting into everything quite yet.  She likes to stay on the rug and off the hard wood floor, which works in our favor! :)  She is still very much a mama's girl and is always happy just to be along for the ride.  People tell me she is small for her age.  She is wearing 6 month clothing, which fits about perfect.  Her two front teeth are coming in more, but no other teeth are showing signs of coming it quite yet.  Her appetite has increased and she enjoys trying to feed herself. She has been signing "more" and she does what we call her cheerleader move when doing "SO BIG!"  She is fun and is getting more attention, which Dane struggled with a bit this month.  Maddie seems to really enjoy her little play mate.  Emerson can entertain herself playing with toys for a while.  It is so cute to see her play on her own and we all wonder what she is thinking.  She is just a little joy!