Isn't she lovely?

Isn't she wonderful?
Isn't she precious... just at one minute old!

I always listened to that song and wondered if I'd ever have a little girl to sing it about. How is it that a year has passed since that wonderful day when our 3rd little miracle came into our lives?

A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST YEAR...
July 2, 2010 Emily Blair Jones enters this world and our lives

2 weeks old

One month old


AUGUST 2010- 1 month old


SEPTEMBER- 2 months old


OCTOBER 2010- 3 months old



NOVEMBER 2010- 4 months old




DECEMBER 2010- 5 months old




JANUARY 2011- 6 months old



FEBRUARY- 7 months old (crawling)



MARCH 2011- 8 months old



APRIL- 9 months old



MAY- 10 months old (Walking and first teeth)



JUNE- 11 months

With this ring...

About a month ago, my baby brother proposed to the most wonderful girl that I am so excited will be a part of our family. We had known for a couple of weeks that the plan was for them to come up to the lake, take the boat out and while out on the water he would propose. That afternoon, my family all make the trek up to the lake (all of this was unknown to Faith). We met her family at Horseshoe Bay for dinner. I only had my little Blake and Emily since Chris and Hunter had to go on to Waco for a family wedding that evening. We ate dinner and then drove over to the lake house while Uncle Blake and Faith were out on the boat. We had white balloons, flowers, champagne, wedding cake and gifts to shower the newly engaged couple with.
Before we knew it, they came around the corner and we all broke into cheers and congratulations. They were beaming from ear to ear and we all took turns hugging them and telling them how excited we were.

It was such a fun night!

Then, while weddings were fresh on our mind, we headed up to Waco for Chris' cousin's wedding. Hunter was a ring bearer for the 3rd time that weekend and even Blake and Emily got to go to the reception. Blake surprised us and danced the night away until the bride and groom left. We were shocked! I wish I had his picture cutting a rug but didn't take my camera that night.
My pretty lady!

My handsome boy!

Darling little boy!

Summertime

We are enjoying our summer so much! Hunter has participated in swim camp and had lots of playdates with friends. Blake has been swimming up a storm, playing outside lots and Emily has been running around after her brothers.


She is walking really well now and climbing too! If I'm not careful, she's up on top of a table or attempting to climb onto Blake's bed. Phew! She's at that "handful" stage for sure! Here she is at a friend's 1st birthday with her birthday buddy, Anna.

We all had VBS at our church last week. It was an incredible and fun week! Our church did Pandamania this year and I was a chapel leader with Cari. We had the best time and decided it was the best job- you get to lead the praise and worship and see ALL of the kids, and then during your "off-time" we were able to rotate around and see each of our kids doing their activities.

Emily got really sick starting Wednesday night when I noticed she had started to run a fever. She stayed home with my mom on Thursday morning and by the time I called, my mom said I needed to come home. She was really hot, very puny and not very responsive. We immediately got into the doctor and her temperature was 104.7! She had a raging double ear infection and felt so crummy. The dr did a shot of rocephin(sp?) and got her started on antibiotics. She seemed a little better that evening, but by Friday we were back at square one and complicated by her dehydration. Another trip to the doctor, a fever that was still hovering in the 103's and a very sad baby, and we had a day at home trying to get her to take fluids. She only had the strong meds in her tummy and was "losing" all of her fluids. ugh! We were steps away from the ER but finally got her to sleep around 11:30 that night. Saturday she woke up like a new person. Aside from being a little clingy, she is doing great now. Poor thing, I have a feeling ear tubes are in her future since we've had 3 ear infections in the past 3 months.

Hunter started karate this week and was so excited to get started. He's a white belt and got his first band today. We will see how he enjoys it but I think it's a great activity for him this summer while sports are on hiatus. (Look how proud Blake is of his big brother in uniform!)

The Graduate

Aunt Kristin drove all the way from Austin for the graduation

Our family of 5 with the graduate

Handsome in his coat and tie

2 Weeks ago, my baby boy graduated from preschool. Seems hard to believe! Just the other day, I was dropping him off for his first day of MDO. When I picked him up at lunch that day, he casually reported to me that, "Those kids have beds in there." He was referring to all of the nap mats being set up for an afternoon nap. The fall of 2008 was the first time he went to school and he's loved it since day 1. What more could you ask?

All of his teachers- his 2 year old class teachers Ms. Missy and Ms. Tobi. His 3 year old teachers- Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Amy... his 4 year old teachers- Ms. Beverly and Ms. Pat... have ALL been incredible and precious to our little boy. They have loved on him, been silly and fun, taught him lots of things that will carry him far, have encouraged his spiritual growth, strengthened his character and just been so sweet and wonderful. He has always begged to go to school more, so I know he has had an incredible experience. I am so grateful!

Off we head to kinder- those of you with little ones take note that it really is a blink of an eye. I feel way to young myself to have a child in kindergarten and much less to be on the PTO Board next year- I mean seriously? Words like carpool, PTO and homework are about to enter into our everyday vocabulary and will be there for many years to come.

We are relishing the days of summer so far. Lots of trips to the pool, the zoo, the train, out to lunch with friends, the library for story time and checking out books, water balloons and slip n slides in the backyard, playtime with friends and neighbors and just lazy, unscheduled days. We are looking forward to a couple of planned activities over the next several weeks but will enjoy our open and free time just as much.

A couple of stories that come to mind when I think of his time at Weekday School:
** I was told he had a conscience of steel. One day on the playground he came running to tell his teachers he had thrown sand and they hadn't even seen him do it. It was all they could do not to laugh.
**His 3 year old teacher, Ms. Amy, loved to call him Jonesey in her cute little accent. Hunter still blushed when he hears someone call him Jonesey!
**Ms. Beverly was very busy one day when Hunter approached her. She replied, "I can't do that right now Hunter. I'm already doing 14 things at once." To which he replied, "Wow, my mom can only do ONE thing at a time!" Ha!!
**Loved to go to Coach Kayla's motor movement! He also loved to come home and play motor movement at home with his whistle.
**Was running one day when my aunt Nancy (also a teacher at school) said, "Why don't you get some water. You are out of breath." Hunter drank from the water fountain and then told her, "I'm in breath now."
**LOVED getting warm fuzzies in the 4 year old class and would report to me which kind he picked out every day. It was a big deal to my little hoarder over here.
**Was Joseph in the school Christmas program and did SO well. We were so proud.
**Told the graduation audience that he wants to be a firefighter when he is older and that his favorite thing about school was getting fuzzies. (See, I told you!)
**Wanted to be dropped off in carpool line from the get-go. Loves to be independent.
**Was meticulous in his work and handwriting. His papers were always colored very neatly and he took lots of pride in his work.

There is so much more to recall about his 3 years there but not enough time.

Not so tech savvy

I have tried to publish a post on Blogger now for the past 2 weeks and finally was able to troubleshoot the problem and figured out how to get it posted. So, I am not really just now back from the beach like the post below says. We have been home for over a week now.

LOTS of milestones have been reached in our household the past couple of days. First of all, Hunter graduated from Preschool and finished his first season of t-ball. Coach Case gave lots of sweet compliments to our "South Paw" and Hunter loves his new trophy. He is counting down the days until Kindergarten and seems really enthusiastic for this new step- perhaps more than his mommy is!
Blake has tried and succeeded on the potty several times over the past week. Although it requires patience and more patience on my part, he loves sitting on his Spiderman potty seat and will tell me "Not yet" when I ask if he's all finished. I'm ready to retire the diapers but it's going to take lots of patience and time. So for now, we are going to have to wait until he's a little quicker with the process. This picture sums up Blaker Boo- poppy in mouth and just bopping along. That's another process we need to work on and I've got some plans in the work to nip the poppy (pacifier) habit soon.

Emily is nearing 11 months and walked on May 23!!! She has taken one, two and even three steps before, but on Monday she walked 12 steps in a row across the room. I had tears in my eyes cheering her on silently from behind as she walked proudly towards her sweet daddy who was smiling ear to ear. He was so proud of his little girl. She also sprouted her FIRST tooth yesterday on the bottom left. So, a tooth and walking all in one week!! She also has a funny game she plays with me. I will say, "Say Mama." And Emily will reply back, "Da Da Da Da." So I will ask again and she will repeat, "Da Da Da." Then if I ask again and again she will finally smile big and shake her head No! Ha!!

Back from the beach....

....and don't have the energy to explain. Pictures speak for themselves.

F-I-E-S-T-A spells FIESTA!!!

We are nearing the end of another very fun week of San Antonio Fiesta. We had lots of fun this past week and are beat! It all started last Sunday with Fiesta Fireworks-except this year the Jones family did not get to attend. All 3 had been running fever so we sat out. A doctor visit the next day brought news of Emily's first ear infection and a chest cold that had settled in the boys chests. So we had antibiotics times 3.

Monday night, Hunter and I went downtown with friends for the TX Cavalier's River Parade. Since my dad is a Cavalier, every man in the uniform was someone on Bab's team to Hunter. It was a fun night and we had front row seats in an incredible area of the river. The kids loved it.

Tuesday night, Chris and I had Town Club party and Thursday night was the German Club. Both are great fun and we enjoy the chance to see friends that we don't normally get the chance to see often. They are both really great parties.

On Wednesday, we were up at the church (also Hunter's preschool) and attended his Shoebox Parade. Everyone decorates their own shoebox to be their Fiesta Float. It's so much fun and the kids love showing off their creation. Parents come with cameras in hand and take pictures, cheer the kids along and follow the parade as it goes through the school and around the entire church. It's so cute!!




Friday, we skipped the Battle of Flowers parade and went to the Cavalier's party at the pool. I finally got myself a gordita- an absolute must during Fiesta!! For those not from San Antonio, the dress code changes a bit during Fiesta. Mexican dresses and bright colorful prints, ruffles, Guayaberas for the boys, fun jewelry and revelry are all in order for your wardrobe. It's common to hear people comment on an outfit and say, "That would be perfect for Fiesta!"

Blake's Guayabera is from 1986- it's my brother Blake's!!


You also get Fiesta medals from each event, so Hunter has been collecting his from everything we have gone to. He's up to over 50 in his collection.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

The Treefrogs have had a fun season so far. Last weekend, I snapped a few pictures of the threesome before heading to the fields. They were not too cooperative.

Lady E loved playing up by the chainlink fence. There will be a day when this is dangerous due to fast-flying foul balls. Rest assured that these t-ball teams are pretty tame so far.

Our very own Babe Ruth.

Blake loved being the gatekeeper for the dugout.

Fielding with Coach Jones nearby.

9 Months

Emily turned 9 months old this weekend on April 2. We went in yesterday for her 9 month check up.
Stats:
Weight- 17 lbs 5 oz (25%)
Height- 27 1/2" (50%)

She continues to only want table food, but I am adding in some baby food to get a little variety. She's not the biggest eater so I have to really be creative to get all of the food groups incorporated. She still LOVES her bottle. She is napping two times a day and is down around 7 at night and up around 7 in the morning.

Full speed ahead- Emily is a master crawler and has been moving around since 7 1/2 months. She pulls up on everything and is getting braver by the day. We are learning to move our feet to adjust our standing position.

She is interested and tickled by all of the things the boys do. It's not uncommon to see her with a car in her hand or a nerf dart (don't worry- I am always at hand to make sure it's safe).

No teeth yet for Emmy-Lou. She is the toothless wonder! Her hair is coming in thicker on the top and is blonde with little highlights of strawberry blonde. I am jealous of her eyelashes! They are thick and long, but very light.


She moved at 8 1/2 months to a carseat from the infant carrier. It was pulling my neck and shoulder out carting that thing around, so I was ready to make the move.

Emily always loves to be around the girls. It's like she knows she's in the company of others like her. I love this pic of her and Kate watching cowboy Kevin.


Although terribly cliche, Emily is such a happy baby. She is smiling and waving all of the time. She is starting to get a little stranger anxiety and will cling tightly to me, especially if any man other than daddy wants to hold her. She is a little love bug!
I love this picture too and have had the hardest time getting it to cooperate. Sorry, but it's too cute to not have.

I have been so blessed with such an easy, happy baby for the last 9 months. We have had so much fun and can't imagine our little family without her. She's like the cherry on top- so sweet, and so perfectly fitting to top us off!