Christmas in Grand Haven (Ben's hometown)

This was our year to spend Christmas with Ben's family in Michigan. I am so glad that Emery's first Christmas was a white one! We had a fabulous visit with Ben's parents, brother, sister-in-law, little Austinator and all the wonderful people of Grand Haven. We did lots of partying, played lots of games, and spent every second enjoying being together. What a blast!

Perfect timing....Emery has just started to sit up by herself, so her duck tub was brought along for the trip. He's much easier to pack than a regular baby bathtub. This was her first time in the duck. She LOVES it!!

Emery wasn't grinning like this because of all the gifts.....it's because of all the gift WRAPPING.

Showing off her party outfit for the Clickners' open house.

Austin and Emery got a kick out of each other. I know they will be playmates in the coming years. I'm sure Emery will follow Austin around like a little sister and get into all sorts of trouble.

Gorgeous snow! Emery didn't really know what to think. We head out west to Steamboat in February where she'll be seeing lots more of the white stuff (hopefully). Although she's too young to ski this year, her daddy has high hopes for her on the slopes.

Thank you, Linda and Jerry, for hosting all of us and giving Emery such a memorable first Christmas.

Christmas in Greenville 12/21

My family (Mom, Dad, Nanny, Alison, Brian, Hayes and all the dogs) came to Greenville the day before Ben and I left for Michigan to celebrate Christmas. I prepared a Shepherd's pie dinner and we feasted and did gifts. Of course Hayes and Emery really didn't have a clue what was going on, but they sure did enjoy playing with each other. I never tire of watching those two interact.
The dining room all set for our dinner

Emery LOVED the wrapping paper....wearing it, eating it, crinkling it, etc.

Mom assisted the babies with their gift opening.

Parties, Parties, Parties!

Ben and I hosted our annual Christmas party this past Friday night. Of course I was too busy being the hostess with the mostest to take any pictures, but we had a great time and hope to continue making this a tradition. Then Sunday my parents hosted a Sip N' See so that their friends could meet Hayes and Emery. The party was a small little gathering at their house and Alison and I took advantage of the situation to get our Christmas card pictures taken. We had a great time catching up with all the families we've known our entire lives. What a great group!
Dad with his "Delta buddies," Al and Ron

Kay, Dad, Scott, Kathy and Alison

Stephens pic

The guests of honor

One of our Christmas card picture rejects. Trying to get a dog, a baby and a husband to all look at the same camera (with their eyes open, Ben!) proved to be quite challenging.

Now I'm off to the mall to finish my Christmas shopping! (Hopefully).

It's the most wonderful (busy) time of the year!

Well, Thanksgiving came and went in a big blur and now we are in the thick of the Christmas hustle and bustle. Whew! I am exhausted just thinking about the past several weeks. For Thanksgiving the entire Slagel clan headed down to my parents' house in Atlanta. Alison and I ran the Thanksgiving half marathon (our fifth time doing it!) and then Alison and Brian hosted everyone for a big turkey dinner. What a crew! I had so much fun and Ben and I really enjoyed that we were both able to celebrate with both our families......and we had Greg, Donna, Alicia, Kriya, Beau and Beau's parents on hand to celebrate as well. The more, the merrier! Now onto Christmas......Alison and I kicked off the season by taking Hayes and Emery to visit the Santa Claus at Phipps Plaza. He's legendary. Hayes and Emmy were completely unphased by Santa and we had a blast wheeling them around all the super fancy shops in their prams.

Brian joined us on his lunch break and Mom, Dad and Nanny were also on hand to witness the Santa experience. Such a fun afternoon. The shopping in Greenville just can't compete with Phipps!

Scottsdale

I just took my first vacation from Emmy last week. Augh! Ben and I headed west to Scottsdale, AZ, for a three night stay at The Rocks resort. Although I had a wonderful time with my husband, I couldn't wait to get home to Diva! The trip was excellent, though. The Rocks is super nice and Ben and I totally indulged ourselves....sipping champagne in our hot tub, getting a massage (me), reading, running, fancy dinners. It was heaven....except that if I let myself think about Emery I got really sad.

Ben's aunt and uncle live in nearby Cave Creek, AZ, so we headed up to see them one afternoon. Their house is really cool and they have lots of animals (dogs, horses, birds) and even some hummingbirds that may as well be pets! Ben and I tried to bribe Quincy and Shorty with carrots.

One of the tame hummingbirds.

Working our way up to the top of Pinnacle Peak

Our hot tub....ahhhh.

Halloween

Brian, Alison and Hayes came up to Greenville for trick-or-treating. The weather was less than ideal, but the rain did hold off during the nieghborhood pizza party and costume parade. Unfortunately, the kids going door to door got soaked as the rain picked up again around 7:00 p.m. At least it was warm! We had lots of trick-or-treaters come to the house....all of our candy is GONE. Emery was dressed as the cutest panda EVER and Hayes was a fierce little Blue Angels pilot. Thanks for coming to visit!

A Visit with Katie and Ella

My college roommate and dear friend, Katie, was in Charlotte this past weekend with her hubby and adorable little girl, Ella. Katie and Rob were visiting Rob's brother and sister-in-law who live in the fabulous Lake Norman area, which is just an hour and a half from Greenville. Since Katie is usually in upstate New York, Emery and I seized the opportunity to visit with her in North Carolina. The boys went off to the Panthers game and Katie and I hung out and played with our baby girls and caught up. It's such a treat to see her! The last time we saw each other was in May when Emmy was in my belly and Ella was still crawling. Now Ella is a very busy toddling one year old and Emery is a wiggly four month old. Such fun! I think our girls even look kind of alike with their blond hair and big blue eyes. I hope we can get together again soon! Miss you already, Katie!

Quick update

Emery is just about ready to sit on her own. She now hates to be laying flat, or even reclining! I bet under her layer of baby blubber she's got some killer abs because she's constantly trying to do a sit up. So now when I put her in her boppy I have to have another pillow behind her so that she is completely vertical. She tries to hang on to the sides of her changing table to keep from laying down and she gets furious if I do not have her stroller in its full upright and locked position. Gone are the days of leaving Emery unattended anywhere in the house--even for just a nano-second. She's a wiggler! And a mover and a shaker.
Although our weather is gorgeous this time of year (October is the BEST month in the south, in my opinion), mornings are quite chilly. I have had such fun the past few mornings bundling Emery up in various hats during our walks.

Great news to report: Maddux's staples came out this morning and he is almost as good as new! The staples were definitely itching him so I know he feels better now that they are gone. The vet said he is free to do whatever he wants but I'm still handling him with kid gloves. My firstborn!

Ben's younger brother, Scott, came to visit! Scott stayed in Greenville for four days on his way down to Ft. Lauderdale to search for another job on a boat. This was Scott's first time meeting Emery and she loved him right away. Emery was always willing to flash her gums and give him a big grin. And Scott was such a big help!! Please come back!! We don't get to see Scott very often because he's usually off roughing it in the French Riveria or Carribbean, so his visit was really special. Thanks for coming! Aren't those Slagel boys cute??? ;-) I married into a fun (and crazy!) family.

The Winning Costume........

Poor Little Maddux

Following our trip to Palm Springs, Ben, Emmy and I returned to the house around 6 and Mom and Nanny were already there with Maddux. I was so excited to see the little guy!!!! In fact, I was so eager to see him that my mom had driven all the way up from Atlanta so that I could immediately cuddle the Muppet. After dinner I took Maddux, along with Mom and Spark-e, on his evening walk. We did one of our usual routes out the back gate of the neighborhood. Along the way we encountered a large Boxer also out for his evening walk. For some reason, the dog went berserk when he saw us and jerked so hard that he snapped his collar and bolted right for Maddux. I didn't even have time to scoop Maddux up before he was in the jaws of the Boxer, being shaken like a stuffed animal. I was freaking out.....as was Mom and lady who had been walking the dog. Finally, he released Maddux and his owner got him under control. We rushed Maddux to the emergency vet and he had to undergo some surgery. Thankfully, he should make a full recovery. But I am traumatized!!!! Maddux had to have a huge incision to remove severely damaged tissue cut across his back. He has staples and drains all over the wound and is on major antibiotics and pain meds, but it could have been a lot worse. I thought for sure his neck was going to be broken when I saw the big dog shaking him. But, all his x-rays and tests indicate that he has no internal bleeding, concussion, etc. What a tough little guy! He's not moving too well at the moment and probably won't be for quite some time. The ER vets and staff were incredible. Thank God for them! I was too upset (as was Mom) to leave Maddux so they let us take him home just a few hours after surgery rather than making him stay longer for observation. A sleepless night, but I am so thankful that Maddux survived the attack. Please be careful when out and about with your babies and dogs.....you just never know how dogs will react to other dogs or kids, regardless of breed.

**UPDATE** Maddux's drains have been removed and he is acting as if nothing happened! He still has all the staples (those come out late next week), but he is going up and down the stairs, playing with Atticus and eating well again. Whew!

Palm Desert

Last week Ben and I took Emery across the country for her first trip to California and the desert. Ben and his older brother attended a Precision Metalforming Association conference at the JW Marriott in Palm Desert while Emery and I got to play with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Korey and Austin. I LOVE Palm Desert. I think I was meant to live in the desert.....hot and dry. Perfect weather! And the hotel was really nice. PMA put on some really great events for us......unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the Chairman's Dinner party, but given that we were in Palm Springs, the theme was "Hollywood" and we were supposed to come dressed as a movie character. I won the costume contest!!!! I think my mother-in-law got some pictures. I will have to post as soon as she emails them to me. Until then, I'll leave you guessing as to which movie character I portrayed.
Ben, me, Korey and Jerry on our final night.
Daddy and Emmy chillin' poolside

Mommy and Emmy testing the waters

Austin and Emery hanging out together

Cycling with Emery

In an effort to figure out activities we can do as a family, Ben and I purchased this great Chariot bike trailer/jogging stoller for Miss Emery. She loves it! Technically Emmy is supposed to be six months of age before she uses the trailer, but she has such great head control (and girth!) that we feel safe tooling around the neighborhood nice and easy with her. Now that the weather is finally cooling down, I plan on taking her for a spin every day.

Emmy and the Exersaucer

Ben and I were like ships passing in the night last week. Ben headed up to Baltimore to visit his younger brother for the weekend and then went directly to El Paso for work for the week. Meanwhile, I headed up to Notre Dame the same day that Ben came home from El Paso. All in all, Ben did not see Emery for TEN DAYS. I would die. I don't know how he did it. I mean, I miss her if I leave her for two hours! Needless to say, when Ben came home from work last night and saw Emmy for the first time since leaving town, he made a bee line for her. And she seemed just as glad to see him.

Catching up with Daddy

We put Emery in her exersaucer for the first time last night and she loved it! Ben and I were able to eat an entire meal uninterrupted while she played. And this morning I was able to fold a whole load of laundry while she entertained herself in it. What a lifesaver!

I couldn't believe how quickly Emmy caught on....she was pushing buttons and spinning wheels almost immediately. And smiling and laughing. PRECIOUS!

She's a little too short to reach the ground in it, so we had to improvise and shove some magazines under her feet. Oh well, it's not like I have much time to read anymore.....the magazines better get use somehow.

Hmmm....she took a few minutes to take it all in before she went nuts playing with everything.

Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame!

What a whirlwind weekend! Alison and I loaded up Hayes and Emery and flew to Indianapolis last Friday where we then rented a car and drove three hours north to South Bend. Whew! This was Emery's second time flying and Hayes's first. The babies were extremely well behaved on the airplane....all weekend, actually. We are so fortunate. Anyways, once on campus we met up with Mom, Dad, Nanny, Spark-e and Maddux (they drove from Atlanta so that the dogs could join us). The next morning, Alison's hubby met up with us. Seriously, I don't know how we kept track of everyone. Saturday was gorgeous.......and the Irish FINALLY beat Michigan State in our own stadium. It's been years (I think 16) since ND prevailed over the Spartans in Notre Dame Stadium. Making the victory even sweeter is that Alison and I got to spend time with our dear friend and former roomie, Liz, and her wonderful husband, Dan. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard--but in the interest of keeping this blog PG, I will refrain from repeating the story Liz shared that had all of us wetting our pants. Just know that I am still laughing about it. In addition to our college roommate, two of Dad's college dorm mates were also in attendance. Gary (Phrogg) flew up from Dallas and Dan (Mini) came in from DC to partake in the festivities. I love that my dad still keeps in touch with his college friends.....and I know that Alison and I will, too. Monica and Katie, you two had better get your rumps to a game with us next year!

Hayes and Emmy napping Sunday morning....poor little things were wiped out!

Celebrating our big win at the tailgate.

Perfect football Saturday in South Bend. How funny that South Bend has some of the worst weather in the country yet football Saturdays are almost always gorgeous.

Class of 2031!

Dad with his grandbabies and Gary/Phrogg

The Stephens family in front of Alumni Hall.

Me with Liz, Maddux and Emery.

Taking a break on "God Quad" (so named because this is the quad that houses Sacred Heart Basilica and statues of Mary and Jesus).