Emma at 18 months

Oh Autumn, why do our sinuses hate you so? Our family got hit bad this past week and a half by cold and allergy bugs; mommy, daddy, and toddler have all been down for the count at some point. As such, no one has felt like doing much of anything. So now that everyone's down for nap time, I thought I'd fire up the computer and get some blogging done.

 



My grandparents, Elmo and Lillian, in 2005

Along with being sick, it's been a rough couple of months for our Walther family. Both my grandfather and grandmother passed away within 26 days of one another. We buried my grandfather Elmo at the end of September after he had fallen in August, had surgery, and just declined afterwards, and I think my grandmother Lillian had just been hanging on for his sake. Both of them were in their 90s and had lived good lives on their farm in Giddings raising cattle, and after 63 years of marriage, there wasn't much that they didn't do together. I am glad that they lived long enough to have Emma in their lives; I know that having her around brought them great joy. And while we will all greatly miss them, it is comforting to know that they are together in heaven watching over us.

 

So what else have we been up to during September and October? Looking back, a lot apparently. You've already gotten to see our adventures at the pumpkin patch, fall festival, and trick-or-treating, but there has been a lot of everyday stuff to keep us busy too.

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  Asleep on her nap mat at school

  Emma's gotten used to her school routine and loves her teachers Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Sue. We get all kinds of fun artwork sent home every week, and honestly, I'm glad someone else is getting to clean up all the mess that surely must come with it. At school, Emma goes to chapel once a week and goes to enrichment, which is like a PE class for toddlers. She has come home with lots of new skills and tricks, like knowing how to do the hand motions to some of her favorite songs like "The Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy and you know it," and it's fun to sing and do these things at home with her now. Going to school has definitely increased her vocabulary and her love for the outdoors. In fact, "outside" is one of her most frequently used new words.

 

Some of Emma's artwork from school

• We've spent a lot of time up at A&M this fall for football games, and Kevin got to visit the Engineering Career Fair as a representative for his department at Mustang. Even though we're season ticket holders, it never ceases to amaze us how much things change on campus. They have finished half of the renovations on Kyle Field, and I must say it looks pretty nice (except for the playing field they had to replace halfway through the season). They'll start on our side after the LSU game on Thanksgiving, so next year we'll have a completely different view. The Aggies have had some good games and some not so good games, but we have fun nonetheless.

The panoramic view from our seats - we're right on the 50 yard line

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  Morning bathroom time

  Emma's learned to become quite the helper, which if you've been around small children isn't always the most helpful of things. But, I try to be patient knowing that it comes from a good place. She's my little shadow most days - always wanting to do what mommy is doing. One of her favorite times of day is getting ready in the morning with mommy in the bathroom. Emma thinks she's the coolest because she gets to brush her hair and teeth in the big bathroom mirror. There's usually a good game of peek-a-boo with herself in the mirror going on too. It's become part of our daily routine to spend time together in there playing around, and sometimes I even let her pretend to put some powder on her cheeks with my makeup brushes. I love that she's getting to the point where she can and wants to do more of the things we do.
  

 

• Emma is as adventurous as ever. I don't think people really believe us when we tell them that until they see her in action. The silly girl is always trying new ways to climb up, crawl on, go through, or tumble over things. She's learned how to swing her legs up to crawl up on the piano bench and the bench at the end of our bed. So now, we're blessed with toddler piano hour and no longer have our bed as a safe refuge. Nothing is an obstacle too big for her to tackle. She just has an innate sense of curiosity about her, and she never ever slows down when it comes to playtime. She is our little Energizer bunny!

Video: New Sliding Trick #1

 

 Video: New Sliding Trick #2

 

 

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  SO much to sew!

  Lastly, I have been able to catch a few moments to myself here and there (gasp!), which means I've finished the appliqueing on the next block of my quilt. It was quite the painstaking process since each one of those petals had to be individually sewn on. I can't tell you how many times I've had to pin and baste, only to find that my petals were just a smidgen off center or too far apart for the center circles to be sewn on top. It meant having to pull it all out just to pin and baste all over again. Maybe by next Christmas, I'll have finished this quilt so we can actually use it in the cold weather. But for now, we'll just have to sit back and look at all the pretty pieces and imagine being snuggled under it.   

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