Emma's Nursery

Emma's room is the first room in the house that we tackled. This was mostly practical. We knew we wanted to paint, and we knew Emma needed to be away from the fumes, and we knew we were leaving town for a few days to wrap up things in Louisville. So we chose to embrace our first home improvement project ever.

When we first looked at our house there was one gigantic thing that stuck out that we didn't love...beadboard. There were two rooms in the house that had beadboard. Emma's room, and the room that is now Daniel's office. We planned to leave the beadboard in Emma's room because it was a normal height and looked pretty much ok. (The beadboard in Daniel's office was about 6 feet high and turquoise. Yikes!) The beadboard in the nursery was a little off--the beadboard was hot pink and the top of the wall was plain white. So we planned to do a little switcharoo and paint the top half a light pink color and the beadboard a cream color.

Once we got started (read once Daniel got started), we decided that the beadboard (which hadn't been very well installed) was a little bit too splintery at the bottom and that sweet Emma might cut up her tiny hands. So off came the beadboard! Which took a really long time. But my Mom, Dad, and Jennifer came over to help with the project. The result was that in a day the old beadboard was off and the walls were spackled, sanded and painted. Whew! Lots of work. I had the best job--entertaining our tiniest girl. :) I definitely got the best deal!

So...that was a really short synopsis of all of the effort that everyone put into making Emma's nursery the most darling, peaceful room in the house!

And now, what everyone has been waiting for...the before and after picture!

The top photo is from the previous owner's photos when they listed the house. The bottom photo is Emma's current room.

Emma's nursery is such a peaceful room. The light pink turned out perfectly (The color is called "Possibly Pink" by Behr.) It's the perfect little haven for our darling girl. Sometime I'll have to do a post about the different pieces of artwork in her room and how they are all so special. Until then, I think it's time for a tea party with my sweet Emma in her darling nursery!

{MSP}

A Big Blessing

For the longest time I really thought that Emma was not going to crawl. And you know how new mothers are. Constantly comparing ourselves to other mothers who have babies of similar ages. It seemed like everyone I knew--their baby could crawl. Emma could scoot around--but she couldn't crawl. Finally I asked the Lord, if she wasn't going to crawl as soon as I'd like, could He please delay it a bit longer so that we wouldn't have to "babyproof" two homes. And wouldn't you know how wonderful the Lord is...we were not in our new home for 5 minutes when we set Emma down in her new nursery...and she started crawling. The Lord hears even the smallest of His children's prayers. This little mother is immeasurably grateful for the Lord's rich blessings!

{MSP}

P.S. Now Emma crawls everywhere and pulls up on everything. She still isn't walking yet--which is probably another one of these kinds of blessings because I still haven't gotten those baby gates up! Baby steps...literally!

The New Patterson Place

As my readers know, we've recently moved to Nashville. Thus my recent hiatus from blogging! It's been quite the adventure between finding out we were moving to finding our first house to dealing with movers to getting settled in. And now we're in settling mode. Praise the Lord! We are doing lots of projects around the house, so I'll try to blog about some of those things.

When we first saw the house there were just a few things that we thought--oh, we'll fix that. We were so innocent and naive about those fixes. Who knew that tackling beadboard removal would be such a gigantic task? Painting a bathroom--no problem right? Poor Molly had no clue it was going to be so invasive! However, most of the giant projects have been tackled...and we lived through them.

In the next couple of posts I'll update about the various rooms we've redone and do a few before and after photos. Everyone loves a good before and after photo reveal! But, I'll be totally honest--home renovations are not my thing--I'm more of a crafting and baking type of gal. So maybe I'll also blog about the cake truffles and front door burlap bubble wreath I made. Hmm...lots to look forward to!

Welcome to the New Patterson Place!

Emma at Chick-Fil-A the day we closed on our house-- stylingDaddy's sunglasses

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Emma's First Birthday

Emma's Birthday party was probably one of the greatest days of my life! I felt more proud than I've ever felt before!

Emma's party was originally going to be a nursery rhyme themed party. It was going to be so darling and perfect...and then we moved right before her party and things got adjusted a little bit. Thank goodness, because everything turned out great! We decided to go simple and have a pink party. Which is perfect for our pink little flower! We just had family over which was great--as we had just moved in and not everything was "company ready" just yet.

I do not pride myself on being a great event planner, but Emma's party was one for the ages! The best part of the party was Emma. She was so sweet and darling. Now, as her mother, I know that Emma is the sweetest, cutest baby in the world. But I love sharing that! (Please note, my little Emma does have her moments, but for the most part, she is a really great baby.) Emma was a little shy at first when she awoke from her nap to find a house full of family--but she warmed up pretty quickly!

Emma had a Publix b-day cake per Aunty Amanda and Aunty Erin's suggestion--it was delicious!

I helped Emma open her gifts first.

And then Emma had her first taste of birthday cake and ice cream.

Emma got washed off in the kitchen sink in true Sills 1st birthday fashion!

All in all it was a really special day. Probably one of the best of my life. I couldn't be more proud of my darling Emma.

Dearest Emma, I love you more now than I did the day that you were born. I'll grow more in love with you every day that passes. I'm so thankful for you! Mommy and Daddy treasure your life and value you so highly! We pray that you'll come to know Jesus very soon and that you'll serve him every day of your life with joy and gratitude. We love you and and are so proud of you!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

{MSP}

P.S. We have approximately a hundred bows--it's not that I don't put bows in Emma's hair anymore, it's that she's at a stage where she's too curious to keep them in. So...until that curiosity subsides a little, we're bow-less.

11 months old!!!

Sweet Emma is 11 months old! This post comes a little late because life at Patterson Place has been a bit hectic! But, our darling girl is 11 months old. She has the kindest, most generous, loving heart in the world!

Emma loves to share. She is in a great phase where she is oh so happy to share her beloved puffs snacks, pacifier, or toys. Emma also loves to be shared with--so if you see her and she shares with you, she'll love receiving back her slobbery pacifier.

I forgot in her 10 month post, to mention that for awhile now, Emma is a wonderful kiss giver. She is so loving and excited to bestow her kisses on anyone who can keep her attention long enough to receive one!

Which bring me to say that Emma is b-u-s-y!!! Miss Emma is very mobile these days and keeps momma hopping! She loves her toys and, of course, to watch Babar with Mommy, but she likes to do it while doing about a thousand other things, more or less. (I have also introduced Emma to Full House during our lunch time, and she loves it!)

I no longer puree Emma's food. Emma eats all table food (torn into tiny pieces because baby girl still has no teeth). Some of her favorites are cheese (naturally), grilled cheese sandwiches, and blueberries!

On the horizon: Emma is trying to pull up and has a few teeth on their way in and maybe, possibly has a few curls in those strawberry-blondie-locks! AND: Emma is getting a new house!

The Pattersons are moving to Nashville! We will close on our new house tomorrow (pics to come, I couldn't bring myself to post pictures of the house while the sellers are still living there), the movers come at the end of the week, and we will be in our new Patterson Place next week! Praise the Lord!!! Daniel will be working in downtown Nashville at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. We are so excited for this next chapter--and to celebrate Emma's first birthday in our new house!

{MSP}

10 Months Old!!!

Little Emma is still so tiny. At her 9 month check up, Emma weighed in only in the 6% at 15 lbs. She's on the shorter side too at only the 9%. So, we have a petite lady, but she has a gigantic personality.

Emma has started sticking her tongue out all the time like Daddy does!

Additionally, she cannot crawl yet, but she is scooting around all over the place. She'll stick her toes down in the carpet and propel herself forward. Emma also has super human upper body strength and can kind of pivot herself around with her arms. 

We also celebrated Emma's first Easter Sunday! A dear friend of ours who is like a sister to me, Jennifer, gave us a gorgeous dress for Emma at one of my baby showers and it finally fit in time for Easter. Truthfully, it was a little big still, but it just looked darling!!! 

The day before Easter every year Louisville has an Easter parade that passes right by our house, it was really bright out that day so our darling had her sun hat on!

One of Emma's favorite hobbies these days is skyping with her cousins in Ecuador! And she has a new one! Little Mary Elle is a doll and we have loved getting to visit with her on Skype. We can't wait to meet her in person! 

Here are a few more pictures of Emma as a 10 month old! I'm so sorry this post was late and a little disjointed. I'll have to post more often so it doesn't get so behind!

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9 Months!

Sweet baby Emma is already 9 months old! How in the world can this be? It still seems like I should have a newborn in my nursery.

Emma's main mode of transportation these days is rolling around and around. She's quite the roley-poley and I love it. She can't quite crawl yet, but I'm 100% ok with that. No sense rushing time. She'll be getting married before I know it!

The sweetest new thing is that Emma will scrunch up her nose from time to time when she smiles. She mostly does it outside when it's bright or when the wind is blowing, but will do it inside sometimes too.

Emma has started mimicking a bit. Mostly she'll say "Da-da" or "yeeaaaa" if we say it. She calls everything Da-da right now.

This little girl l-o-v-e-s her pacifier! We keep a couple in her crib so she can find one in the nighttime and put it in her sweet mouth. She has a couple of glow-in-the-dark ones that especially help this process. Only problem? She's started throwing them "overboard" (over her mesh bumper), so Mommy has to crawl behind the crib every couple of days to rescue the renegades.

Our sweet Emma is flourishing and we couldn't be more proud or happier to be her parents! We love you, sweet girl!

{MSP}

Long Absence!

Please excuse the long absence! We've been busy here at Patterson Place!

The first big thing that has been dominating our household is Daniel's Comprehensive Exams for his PhD program! Thankfully we have made it through and now will await his scores! Emma and I are so proud of Daniel! It was a happy sacrifice knowing that our man will be better equipped to serve the Kingdom by adding much to the sum of his knowledge!

Another gigantic thing that has kept me from posting Emma's 9 month update is that Daniel and I were both down this weekend with a terrible bout of food poisoning. I'm still a little weak in recovering, but our valiant Daniel was so manly all weekend taking care of us and is back at work today! He's giving me the courage I need to get out of bed and take care of our Emma and run our home today. We couldn't have made it without my sweet, generous Mom who came on her day off (after having been awakened early in the morning by my desperate phone call) to take care of Emma (and us) all day! And Dad who called his friend Dr. Love who called us in a prescription that Daddy picked up for us. We are one blessed family! And now, blessedly, we are back on our feet. We "entertained" Daniel's poor family who came to visit in the midst of our sickness. They were so gracious while we were so ill and probably poor company.

I'll reward everyone's patience with my blog absence with a few darling photos of Emma from a few weeks ago when we had a little snow accumulation.

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8 months old!

Sweet baby Emma is 8 months old!!!

I recently posted about what all Emma is up to these days. Sweet petite lady is just starting to wear 6-9 month clothes and is still in a size 2 diaper. Emma does eat some solid foods. We've just begun blueberries and broccoli (but not together of course). Emma prefers veggies to fruits at this point. So, we're always more likely to get her to eat some sweet potatoes than apples. This mama is happy about that! 

Emma loves to chit chat with me all day long. She wakes up sing-song talking to herself and will let out a little "Ba" to get someone's attention with whom she wishes to "coverse". She is blowing raspberries and loves to try out new sounds and volumes. 

Emma loves to sit up and play with her playtime vanity set. I think she loves that it lights up and makes songs. Emma is just learning how to pull her bows off. Much to mommy's chagrin...but she's beautiful enough without the bows!

Please note Emma's Piggy Paint pedicure!

Still no teeth in this baby girl's smile, and no crawling yet. She can scoot around somehow though, because she can shimmy around, but no real crawling yet. I don't mind either of those things, and am so proud of our little Emma's growth, development, and accomplishments! We love our little Emma!

{MSP}

The Littlest Sous Chef

Baby Emma is the most darling Sous Chef that ever lived! My little under-chef is so helpful in the kitchen...and by that I mean she is so helpful to play with her toys at the doorway of the kitchen!

Lately we have baked a little bit of bread (sorry no photo, but you can imagine what a loaf of bread looks like). I left my loaf pans at Mom's house, so I had to use a piece of Corningware instead of two loaf pans. That's ok--who doesn't love gigantic bread? So we had chicken sandwiches with pesto and mozzarella. Yummy!

I also tried my hand at parisian macaroons! They were fabulous! This is the recipe I used. They turned out great. I put some red food coloring in half of the batter to turn it pink. For the filling in the pink macaroons I used strawberry jam. Very delicious and a big hit! For the other half of the batter I used a concoction of various food colors to yield a grayish brown and I used a chocolate ganache for the filling. Scrumptious!

Side note: for the macaroons in this photo I ground my own almonds. When I made them again I bough ground almond flour/meal from Whole Foods. Talk about a time saver! I highly recommend buying it already ground! But, if you choose not to, it's just as yummy ground in my food processor!

To be honest I wasn't sure I'd be up to the task of something like this kind of confectionary, but I was and they were delicious! Glad I had my baby sous chef for moral support!

Happy cooking!

{MSP}

Here and There

Lately things have been a little crazy at Patterson Place. Emma was down with a horrid cold, but thankfully has recovered completely (other than learning how to fake cough :) ). Daniel has been traveling a lot the past week, and Emma and I have been missing him fiercely! We did get to go stay at my parent's house, which we were so grateful for! It's nice to have a couple of extra hands around when Emma is getting more mobile.

Just the girls while Daddy was away

During Emma's illness I was reminded how much she loves to sneeze. Not just a little bit. This girl loves to sneeze. Here's a during and after shot of her sneezing while she was sick.

Mid-sneeze

The after-sneeze smile

In other developmental news, Emma is getting more chatty each passing day. She loves to chat with my mom in particular. Ever since she was a tiny thing, her favorite chatting companion has been her Nana. She has always talked the most to my mom--which of course, Nana loves! Yesterday at the grocery store, Emma was at her chattiest and the fellow shoppers loved it! She's really into bi-labial sounds (bbbb-bbb-bbb), blowing raspberries, and gaaa-gaaa-gaaa, as well as a few da-das here and there.

Emma is now excelling at independent play time. As long as someone is close by. (Nursery at church is still not going wonderfully though...) Emma can also pick up objects with both hands and play with them together. I'm working on helping her clap...but so far, she can only figure out how to clasp her hands together in the middle. It's a work in progress!

We're glad to be getting into a regular routine now that Daniel is home and school is returning to normal with the semester beginning. In just over a week sweet little Emma will turn 8 months! Tune in for an 8 month update!

P.S. I got a new video camera for Christmas, and very soon I will learn how to post some video to the blog so everyone can get excited about hearing our little chatty sweetheart!

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