So tired...

It's tough being a toddler!

Visitors from Chicago

Grandma, Grandpa, and Granny came to visit from Chicago today. We had a great time. Emma really enjoyed having everybody around!



She even gave Grandma Jean some advice on photography...


And let Grandma take some pictures of her with Mommy and Daddy during a break between rides in the laundry basket (a new hobby).


We're really glad you could come to visit us this weekend!

Emma at the zoo

Mommy took Emma to the zoo yesterday and Emma got her very first pony ride. At first she wasn't so sure she was going to like it (notice the death grip on mommy's neck) and was saying "no horsey":


But eventually she grew to enjoy it and changed to "more horsey" (sorry you can't see the horse in this picture):


Emma also had a really good time petting the goats in the petting zoo (the first time it has been open this season). The new refrain for the zoo is now "pet the goat." Thank God she did not treat the goats as she does her puppies at home!

Emma's flower cart

Emma has a new toy flower cart. It's like a little wheel barrow, and she loves pushing it around the house (the dogs do not like it nearly as much as she does).


She still needs to work on her driving skills, though.

She thinks that it's hysterical when you sniff the flowers and sneeze!

So much that she tries to do it herself!

Emma the dog catcher

Emma is training for a new career, dog catcher. Here she is studiously checking over her equipment:


And here she is trying to catch Cassie. It would probably help if she didn't shout "Net the Puppy" as she chased her:

Happy Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, we took Emma to the kids pool at the YMCA for the first time. Here she is cautiously getting into the pool:

Here is she looking a little uncertain as to whether she will enjoy the experience:

And here she is finally enjoying her time in the sprayers:


Here she is walking around and waving to her loyal subjects in the pool:

And finally, here she is hamming it up for the camera as she splashes around:

Some portraits

Christie and Cort bought a new camera a while back, and it takes really wonderful pictures (Christie's a great photographer, too!). When we were in town a month ago, Christie took a lot of candids of the kids. Here are my favorite shots of Emma.



Thanks for the great pictures, Christie!

Hanging out on the back porch

Now that the weather is getting better, Emma loves to be outside. She's a big fan of hanging out on our screened-in porch, just watching the world go by.



Personally, I think she's helping the dogs keep an eye out for deer and other things to bark at!

Grandma and Grandpa's house

We were at Grandma and Grandpa's house last weekend. In addition to the Easter parties, we spent a lot of time hanging around the house, making pizza, and getting ready for the party. There were a few good pictures that we wanted to share. This is Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids (though from a few weeks back, not this week!)


Emma hanging around in her lounge wear while we cooked pizza (with a shirtless cousin Dave in the background)...


Emma and her cousins Alexis and Dave (who is going for the Kid Rock look here).


And, finally, Emma banging on the laundry room door (she got really offended by people shutting this door for some reason).


We had a great weekend!

Easter, Part 2

For our second Easter part of the weekend, we had brunch and Grandma and Grandpa O'Shea's house. Emma had a GREAT time. She even wore her bunny ears for a few... well, seconds. But she didn't cry, and that's the important part!


Emma really enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs. She was so excited about it that she couldn't even wait for the Easter egg hunt to officially start. We had several rounds of unofficial Easter egg hunts before we had the real one.







And, finally, after an exhausting Easter egg hunt and brunch, we spent some time playing outside of Grandma and Grandpa's house. Emma loves the outdoors!

Easter, Part 1

We went to Chicago for Easter last weekend, and are finally posting some pictures (it was the last week of the semester and Emma had croup, so we've been a little distracted). Here are some pictures from our first Easter part of the weekend, on the Kelleher side.

Melissa bought Emma a pair of bunny ears. They were really cute, but she didn't really appreciate them very much...


Here's Emma with her cousins Alexis and Dave and John and Janet's house. Dinner was delicious!


And then the kids burned off some calories by running around in the back yard. Emma is finally old enough to be interested in playing with her cousins.


Though eventually she gets tired of it and comes charging over to Mommy and Daddy.




Aunt Christie took this picture, which I think is fantastic.


And, finally, we have a group portrait of all of the little kids!