The end of summer

I almost wanted to say "the end of an era". It feels like this summer has been an "era" of sorts for Bryce and I. We've been living in this bubble of our two sweet baby girls, and I know this time next year they are both going to seem SO grown up. I am trying really hard not to be sad that summer is ending, but man it was a good one. Emily is JUST getting to that amazing baby age where her personality is starting to show and she is able to understand more about her world. I LOVE that eight month range where they are still babies but can crawl and move about and learn so much every day. It makes me sad to know we'll be in school while she goes through that. I want to be there to see all her "firsts"! And Charlotte. By next summer she will be almost FIVE! She's already getting to where she is a "big girl" and doesn't want help with anything. I can't even imagine how grown she'll be in a year. I have so enjoyed my daily conversations with Charlotte. That girl is a talker, and I never know what she is going to ask or say next and I love it! She truly made each and every day special, and even though I grumbled when it was time to get out of bed in the morning I always went into her room with a smile on my face because I knew she would have something new and exciting to talk about. And Emily. I looked forward to going into her room every morning when I heard her wake up because she would have the biggest grin waiting for me. Her whole body would shake when I came in like she was doing a little dance about seeing me again.
I know that life will go on and we'll do our best to spend quality time with them even during the school year, but I also know what a precious commodity time can be when we are both at work. I just have to soak up every single minute I have with them when we are home. Charlotte is moving on to "big girl school" and Emily is taking up residence at Mrs. D's house. I know it will be so good for both girls to go out, learn, and make new friends it's just the transition that makes it so hard. I love these girls so much, I will miss them every minute that we are apart!

Big girl chair

Emily has upgraded off of our table and into the high chair. She was literally leaning forward in the the bouncer on our kitchen table and trying to swipe stuff off of my plate.

Now that she's in a big girl chair she is waiting for her food so she can chow down!

Cold Play

Cold Play is a family love affair for the Fulcher's. If you ask Charlotte what her favorite band is, she'll say Cold Play. If you ask her what her favorite song is, she'll say "Fix You". It is her number one request when we are in the car, which makes Bryce and I all the more happy to comply. Bryce surprised me with Cold Play tickets and we knew it would be a good show, but we were both surprised at just how good it was.

We started off our evening at "The Spence" downtown. It is the newest restaurant of Top Chef winner Richard Blais. He also owns Flip, the burger place downtown. The Spence is very cool and urban with a strange twist to it. I can't quite put my finger on what made it so different, but there was an element of eccentricity to everything there. We started out with drinks and a pasta appetizer that was insane. Handmade pasta, bacon, chicken, cheese, and a QUAIL EGG on top that broken open when you put your fork in. Sounds strange, but it was out of this world delicious. Bryce got the pork belly (yuck, so not for me!) and I got country fried rib-eye. It was over the top good!

The pictures don't really do the show justice. Imagine if you had a checklist of everything that makes a cool concert: Confetti falling from the sky? Check. Big balls that drop down for the crowd to bounce back and forth? Check. Glowing globes that make the whole audience look ambient? Check. Bracelets for each guest to wear that light up to the beat of the song? Check. Band goes out into the crowd at another stage so people in the back get a close up? Check. But even more than that, it was belting out every single song with thousands of other people and the energy of the crowd was amazing! Seriously one of our best nights.

New Tricks

Sister teaching me how to jump in my Johnny Jump Up

I love to play in my excersaucer

I can sit up by myself now (I love to sit in sister's chair!)

Bounce, bounce, bounce

Found my feet

And now all I want to do is suck on them. All day long!

Big Sister, Little sister

5 months old

Oh my goodness how time flies! It is simply inconceivable to me that five whole months have already gone by. I truly do not know what life was like before Emily, it seems as if she has always been a part of us.

She is SUCH a happy baby. She wakes up every morning at eight and as soon as I walk in she has a huge grin waiting for me. She is so patient too. As long as I go in and say good morning she will wait for me in her crib until I can get her up and going. I usually nurse her as soon as she wakes up and then she is content while we eat breakfast. She is working on eating some foods as well, so far we have mastered rice cereal, oatmeal, apples, and peas. She is not in love with anything yet, but tolerates food from a spoon well. She has also started to drink little bits of water from a sippy cup.

She is still waking up at least once a night. She has teased me twice now by sleeping through the night without a feeding, but I am trying to remember that this is the last time I will have a little baby to take care of at night. She is so sweet when I get up with her and it is truly one of the few times that it is just us and I can snuggle her. She always goes right back to sleep too. We'll see if I can keep the positive attitude if she is still waking up when I go back to work, but for right now I'm ok with it.

Emily is still napping three times a day. I think she will be ready to drop that last nap right around the time we go back to school, but for now it coordinates with Charlotte's nap so we are holding onto it for dear life! It is one hour during the day when we can read, or watch a tv show that's not animated, or take a nap ourselves!

Between eating and napping, Emily is starting to play. She has a couple of toys that she plays with, and is constantly reaching for the next new thing. Once she thinks she has a toy figured out she is ready to move on to something else. She is content to be in anyone's arms (though she is turning into a momma's baby fast). As long as she can be near you or see you she is fine, which is great for spending some time with Charlotte and doing chores. Emily loves to babble and coo and her giggle is the most infectious sound. Even Charlotte laughs and giggles when Emily does!

Every single night before I close my eyes I thank God for these two precious girls. I love them both more than I ever imagined possible.

4th of july

So very thankful....