FEB 28

Hey there! Guess it's time for another Spivey update....I've been really looking forward to sharing a few pics and telling a few stories on Emma.

But first, I wanted to share pics of one more room in our new house. Not sure what to call this room, exactly. We tend to call it "the office," but it's more like "the catch-all" room. It has all of Brett's music & sports stuff, all of our photo albums & picture stuff, and all of my sewing, hobby, misc stuff. It's awesome to have a room that all this can go in. In Waco, all this stuff was spread out all over the house, garage, my classroom, storage, etc. We're loving it! It's hard to get a good picture, so I took 3 different shots of it. Notice the 2 different ceiling heights....it's kinda weird for a guest room, but perfect for "the office."

and my favorite part about this room.....check out all of my organized & labeled drawers!! I am, and probably always will be, unfortunately....A PACK RAT!!! But at least I'm an organized pack rat, right?!?! :o)

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and now for the Emma pics...

Here's our sweet baby girl (who's not really a baby any more....turns 2 on Sunday, March 2nd--WOW!!) She loves trying to wear our shoes, clothes, gloves, whatever she can manage to find....it's just a tad too big though, what do you think? :o)

Emma loves having her friends, Hudson & Hannah, over to play. We've enjoyed living right down the street from Rusty & Lesli and are really thankful that our kids are having so much fun together!! (PS-notice how Emma is wearing Hudson's boots....apparently she likes to wear everyone else's stuff except her own!)
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My parents came to visit us a couple of weeks ago...to see the house, Wichita, meet friends, etc. and also to celebrate Emma and I's birthdays. We had a really good time with them! The girls had a fun time shopping on Saturday afternoon, while the boys worked on a couple projects around the house....but don't worry, they were still able to squeeze in a Saturday nap too! :o) I was really sad to see them leave!!
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Then the next weekend, Brett's dad, mom, and sister came to see us (same thing....to see the house, Wichita, celebrate birthdays, etc.) We had a great visit with them as well! It even snowed a bit that weekend, which made it extra fun.
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So, yeah....Emma has quite the ouchie on her nose this week (you may have noticed it in the picture above with Brett's family). Last Friday, she had her THIRD tumble down the stairs, and this time...a carpet burn to prove it! She did cry a bit when she fell, but do you know why she was the MOST upset?!?!?? Because her Elmo paper got torn on the way down!!! It was traumatic, let me tell you! Even with tape on it, she was just so distraught..."ELMO BOKEN!!" Crazy girl!! I'm so grateful that nothing ELSE was "boken"......you know, like BONES!!!!

All joking aside, that fall gave me a real good scare! I saw it as it was happening and immediately started crying & praying b/c I thought there was no possible way that she'd be okay from a fall that bad. I'm told that she will learn & that this event might even help her remember to be more careful, but so far I still haven't been able to let go of her hand as we come downstairs.

By the way, take a good look at that face above....this is the face that she now makes when I say, "Emma, SMILE!!" What a stinker, huh?! :O) Oh, but she is sooooooo cute!!! I wish there was a way to share, or at least record, all the joys I receive on a daily basis! She is AMAZING!! Who knew that being a mommy would be so wonderful!?!!?! (okay, I know, LOTS of people knew.....but it's truly one of those things you just have to experience for yourself to really understand!)

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Regardless of what our day is going like, she can ALWAYS bring a smile to my face!! I have a few stories I'd like to share of things Emma has done lately.

1. As I was cooking the other day and Emma was sitting at her little table eating, I heard her making a funny sound so I looked over to see what she was doing. She was feeding herself...airplane style (food flying around on her spoon before landing in her mouth). I could have watched that for hours....
2. Every night before bed, I read Emma a few books. One night last week, we were reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" by Eric Carle, and I noticed that she was doing something funny every time I turned a new page. She was sticking her finger "into" the animals' mouths and then pulling her finger back real fast, whispering "ouchie" (then just sitting there like normal until I turned to the next page where she'd do it again). Where she learned that an animal can bite your finger, I don't know....I don't remember ever teaching her that, but I'm glad she knows! She's like her daddy though...she learns quick, soaks up new stuff like a sponge!
3. Today, on the way to meet Brett for lunch, I was watching Emma in the rear-view mirror. She did 2 separate things dealing with "ouchies." First, she was softly rubbing her doggy's head and saying "ouchie." Then she kissed the spot on his head and rubbed it some more! And 2nd, evidently doggy had an ouchie on his nose too, because she was rubbing the medicine off of her nose (onto her finger) and then putting it onto doggy's nose, while whispering "ouchie" again. So sweet!!

I guess "ouchie" has kinda been the buzz word around our house lately. I know there's plenty more stories that don't include ouchies, but I'm kinda drawing a blank for now. I'll have to start keeping a list of random stories to tell on Emma.

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As far as life here in Wichita, things are going great! We're really happy and this is feeling more and more like home as time goes by. We both love our church and small groups. I couldn't have asked for a sweeter group of girls! My small group has done a wonderful job of making me feel a part of the group so fast. We have a lot of fun together!

Projects around the house are definitely slowing down. We've pretty much just got all the biggies left to do (painting, adding a wall, finishing a bathroom, etc). We'll hopefully paint in the spring/summer months, and then all the other projects will just be "as we have time/money" type things (long-term projects).

Emma and I have been consistent going to the Y for the most part. I've gotten to the point where I really do enjoy working out and miss it when I don't go. I have lost a little weight so far, but still have a bit to go.....my goal is to try to lose about 15 total before my next pregnancy (I'm not quite halfway yet). Hopefully, this next time around, I won't gain so much weight. Overall, Brett and I are just trying to live healthier lifestyles. We're eating smaller portions and more fruits/veggies (and exercising too)....something that we should be doing anyway. It feels good!

Our church sponsors a city-wide 10K each year. Yeah, I'm no where close to being able to run that, don't get excited!! BUT, they also have a 2 mile run and a 2 mile walk that day. I had originally thought I might try the 2 mile run, but so far I don't know if I'll make it. I have never been much of a jogger....but I'm trying! Our small group was talking today about pushing strollers and doing the walk together. I would enjoy that time with them. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing, but for now, I'm just gonna keep on training! (I know some of my joggin' type friends--I won't name any names, Beth,Pasha, Kristin, Melissa--are thinking..."Training?!?!? Who needs to train for a two mile?? That's nothing!" I've always admired you-joggin'-type! :o) Maybe someday I'll aspire to do the 10K. :o)

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Well, that's enough rambling for one day. Thanks for staying interested in our lives. We love each of you and miss you greatly!! By the way, that offer still stands.....there's a guest room with YOUR name on it!! We'd love to have you come visit anytime!! SERIOUSLY!! :o)

A few more pictures of our new home...


This is our living room upstairs (we also have a "family room" in the basement with a TV, fireplace, more of Emma's toys, etc. You'll see that picture in a later post). The picture on the left is taken standing at the front door, and the second is taken from the dining area. Notice the curtains....Brett's mom made them for us while she was here visiting. I love them! :o)

And a guest room with YOUR name on it!! :o)
No, really! We'd love to have you come & stay with us!!! We sure are missing all of our friends from home (& Boston, Florida, and Colorado too!!). Please come visit!! You're always welcome!!
Someday soon, I'm hoping to get curtains hung (I actually already have everything to do it; it's just a matter of finding time for the project). And we will be painting the trim & baseboards white too. This is the ONE room that we actually kind of LIKE the wallpaper....it will probably be staying up.

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Kansas weather is CRAZY! 60-70 degrees one day, and then snowing the next day! Here's our latest snow, which was last Thursday (4 days ago). I never heard an official number, but I know for sure we had at least 6 or 7 inches. By the way, it's 81 outside right now...& the forecast for tomorrow....SNOW!!! :o)

Emma enjoyed playing in the snow on our back porch (for about 5 minutes....then she was happy to return to the warm inside).


We snacked on some good, clean snow when we got back inside. Then she played in the tub so that she could warm up....her poor little nose & cheeks were so pink!

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After we got back from all of our traveling over the holidays, we decided it would be a good time for Emma to transition from her crib to a toddler bed. Overall, she's done really well with it. There have been a few heartbreaking times that she stands at her door and yells "MOMMY!!!!"....oh my goodness, that is sooooooo hard to listen to. Her room is pretty bare so that she can't get hurt. I DO keep some books in there for her to look at in case she truly isn't sleepy (she loves books & loves being read to, which I'm super excited about). It's very normal to find her asleep in her bed with 4 or 5 books surrounding her. This picture below is my favorite....she fell asleep "mid-sentence" with the book opened up on top of her. Such a cutie! :o)

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I kinda already mentioned this, but Brett's mom came and stayed with us for about a week & we had a really nice time together. She helped us with several different projects as well as watched Emma for me so that I could work on a few things myself. I'm not sure why, but I didn't pull out the camera even once while she was here.....it just didn't even cross my mind, sadly enough. So, I have no pictures of Grammie and Emma. Sue, guess you'll have to come back again real soon....hopefully Charles will be able to come next time too! :o)

My parents will be coming up to visit us in about 2 weeks, so we're really looking forward to that. It's so fun to get to share our new home, friends, city, etc. with the people we love. We're really grateful that they are able to come and see us....it means a lot to us!

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Here's Emma playing with a few of her favorite toys from Christmas....both of course from her grandparents. They sure do enjoy spoiling her! :o) Aunt Carrie & Uncle Sloan do their fair share of spoiling her too.....they got her ALL the food that goes along with the kitchen (and believe me, there's A LOT of food!) My OCD tendencies come out every night when it's time to clean up....it really bothers me for some reason if the food is not put away in it's "proper place" (you know....refrigerated stuff in the fridge, dishes in the cupboards, etc). Just wait until #2 comes along.....SURELY my "OCD-ness" will stop then, right?!?!?

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One final thing to share for today...
Emma is doing a WHOLE LOT of talking these days....most of which we don't really understand, but SHE sure knows what she's talking about. Sometimes she gets really frustrated b/c she's trying to communicate something, and we just don't understand her. She's starting to talk in sentences, and we get a kick out of how many uses she has found for this one sentence:
I have _________.

What she says=blue
What she means=red

1.) I have booders. (oo as in hook) Please wipe my nose....I have boogers and I can't even continue playing because they're really bothering me, so PLEASE, hurry and wipe my nose. (there's a real urgency whenever she says "I have booders.")

2.) I have nigh-nigh. This means one of two things: a.) Hey! Let's play the night-night game.....you know, where you lay down and I cover you up with a blanket and pat your back or b.) I'm super tired and I'm actually admitting that I am ready to go to sleep (surprising enough, she actually says this on a fairly regular basis).

3.) I have milk. This too can mean multiple things: a.) Stating the fact that she has or is holding her milk or b.) telling us that she WOULD LIKE TO have her milk (asking for it) or c.) pretending she has milk when she is playing in her kitchen.

4.) I have poopoo. Once again, you have to interpret what she really means by this: a.) I pooped in my diaper and I'd like to be cleaned up please or b.) I've peed in my diaper and I'd like to be cleaned up please (yep, she's still not differentiating between the two) or c.) I haven't gone yet, but I need to poopoo/peepee. Can I try to use the big girl potty?

5.) I have Elmo. Oh my, you wouldn't believe what all this one could mean.... a.) Where's Elmo?!?! I can't go to sleep without him!! (usually said in her bedroom before nap or bedtime) b.) Let's watch my Elmo video (usually said as we're going down the stairs to the basement where the TV is) c.) I want to use the big girl potty (usually said whenever we walk into her bathroom which has an Elmo child's toilet seat that has been a great hit) d.) Let's read my Elmo book!! (usually said anytime she sees one of her Elmo books.....notice I said "one" of her Elmo books....yes, she has several different ones!!) e.) ANY other time that she sees something Elmo or wants something Elmo, etc. (yep, Elmo is her favorite for some reason....it's getting a little annoying, I must say.

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Well, guess that's it for now.
BTW, I know I haven't been so good about updating the blog (when have I EVER been, right?!?!) Oh well.....I try! Really, I do. I've been terrible about checking email and facebook as well. Just wanted to throw it out there that I'm all caught up again on email and am hoping to start checking it again daily.....I apologize if you emailed me in the last few months and never heard back from me. Life is somewhat normal again (whatever that means) so I'm hopefully going to be back on track as far as communicating better with everyone. :o)

We love you all!!
LOVE getting to hear from you too!!!