One Fun-Filled Week of Walking

Emme started fully walking last Thursday, June 16th, 2011. Beforehand she would just take 5 steps at a time here or there and mostly once in a while {not every day}. But last Thursday, she spent 45 minutes of dedicated walking around the house before I realized she wasn't going back to crawling and I couldn't be happier! I love her new found freedom. She is confident and inquisitive and hilarious to watch! Her first words are being rattled off constantly and on a daily basis: 'daddy' {WOW does she know who that is!} and 'baby' {she is completely ENAMORED with other babies}! I can't believe she'll be 1 on July 2nd. I've never had a year breeze by so quickly.

Yes... I Understand That It's May

Yes...Yes...It's May and Easter was in April...
Lindt Chocolatiers not only know what they're doing with chocolate, but apparently with the gold wrapping that surrounds their signature Easter bunny. Emerson had that thing in her mouth for quite a while and no foil deteriorated or ripped off! I was impressed.

Can I Just Pay to Have the House Baby-Proofed?

I have to say... I love this age in "baby-land" but I wish I could pay someone to follow me around the house and baby-proof things as we find the weak-points in our ever-changing fortress of Emme-protection. She is such a riot! And she finds every speck of anything to put in her mouth to eat...and she likes to lick the door-jams...and lie in my arms before her nap while wielding a wooden spoon she waves around furiously in helicopter fashion until sleep begins to overpower her and her arm slowly runs out of gas {or whatever it is helicopters run on}. Emme's lips are in never-ending 'raspberry-mode' and her legs are always on the go. She is a dare-devil in true-form as Dan tosses her high in the air and catches her repeatedly or while I hold her upside down by her ankles, swinging her back and forth as she laughs hysterically. That's my little Emerson Marie. Already dreaming big!

I don't get it

So, I don't understand how moms have time to blog! I really and truly don't. Each day that passes me by, I have intentions of simply getting around to the thought... just the thought of remembering that I have a blog, let alone time to sit down in front of my computer and load pictures from our camera to the computer and then wait somewhat patiently {mostly not} while they upload to blogspot and post. All this is to introduce the montage I call-
"Cliff's Notes to Emerson's life: comprising Halloween 2010 through March 2011"

Chums for Cow

As Emerson and I were reading The Friend magazine {a publication from our church for elementary school-aged kids}, we came across another article that Emerson wanted to connect with more. The title of the article is "Buddies For Ben" from the June 2010 issue. It was a great story about how we can be the one to stand-up for what we believe in & in this case it was friendship. Ben {the main character in the story} befriends a boy at scout camp who is left out because he's different.
Emerson wanted to participate in a role-playing activity to reenact a similar situation. So, I made some phone-calls, pulled a few strings, and set it up! Without further adeu we present to you:

CHUMS FOR COW











CAST MEMBERS:
Emerson .... as Emerson, the friend who made a difference
Flat Cow ... as Flat Cow, the outcast of the group

FRIENDLY GROUP:
Ardvark .... as nice friend #1
Llama .... as nice friend #2
Pearl the Dolphin .... as nice friend #3
Rhino .... as nice friend #4
Baby Mini Mouse .... as nice friend #5
Baby Eeyore .... as nice friend #6

MEAN GROUP TURNED NICE IN THE END:
Ugly doll .... as mean turned nice #1
Fuzzy Frog .... as mean turned nice #2
Squishy Sheep .... as mean turned nice #3
Pink Bear .... as mean turned nice #4
Mermaid .... as mean turned nice #5
Piggy Bank the Ballerina .... as mean turned nice #6
Colorful Caterpillar .... as mean turned nice #7
Polka Dot-Duck .... as mean turned nice #8

THANK-YOU'S~
We would like to thank all who participated in today's play. Special thanks go out to the toys who agreed to go out of their comfort-zone to play the part of the "mean-group"- we know it was tough, but we couldn't have done it without you. Thanks to the lighting and photography crew, as well as the digital imaging department ...spectacular work. We would also like to send the biggest thanks and appreciation to our producer Dan "Dad" Lynch! Without your confidence and trust in our vision, as well as your funding, none of this would be possible!

Emerson's Fun Idea!

Last Sunday evening, Emerson mentioned that she had a fantastic idea and hoped that I would feel the same. We read "The Friend" magazine a few times each week and truely enjoy the stories and feeling the Spirit close to us. Emerson suggested that we should start doing projects together, based-upon some of the articles we read.
For our first project we were particularly inspired by a story in the September issue of "The Friend" entitled, "He Will Answer" by Jane Nickerson about how the Lord is already working to answer our prayers even before we pray {link to article: The Friend Magazine "He Will Answer"
We decided, from that article, it would be fun to make doughnuts together! We found a recipe online for "Baked Doughnuts" from 101cookbooks.com {link to recipe: 101cookbooks.com Baked Doughnuts Recipe} and we went to work with the ingredients~

THEN took a break to find our toes~

After an hour, Emerson was surprised to find the dough looked a bit different~

All of this work made Emerson tired, so she opted for a nap, which was great, however, without her there to remind me, I forgot to take a picture of the doughnuts before they went into the oven.
Finally, the finished product! They were delicious! Stay tuned for our next project!

Brought to you by the letter "E"

Emerson Marie Lynch was blessed last Sunday at church. We have a ton of family who live nearby {and some not-so nearby} who came out for the event. Emerson was wonderful and didn't cry at all during the blessing! {which was great...so I could hear it all}. The picture above is Emerson {swaddled, of course} next to her letter "E" cookies my mom baked and Mallory and I decorated for favors.
This next picture is of Dan, Emerson, and I {what a great family!}

My mom made Emerson's blessing-day dress out of my wedding dress {even down to the snaps...aren't we green!}. I made the flower sewn onto the front of the dress. {p.s.-click on any of the pictures to see them larger}...

Emerson's baby shoes {that she somewhat wore...she doesn't like things on her feet} for the day were a gift from Dan's mom, Gretchen. They belonged to Dan's grandmother Norma and were her baby shoes...yes...the handmade baby shoes Emerson wore are 96years old! It was such a wonderful tradition to hand-down.

The first place that I heard the name "Emerson" was on a website that my sister sent to me {Emersonmade.com}. The woman, Emerson, makes the most absolutely beautiful flowers from linen and wool. They are stunning! The second place I heard the name Emerson was a first grade girl at the elementary school I taught art at last year. Dan fell head-over-heels in-love with the name and it stuck! So, I thought it would be fun to purchase an Emersonmade flower clip to wear for her blessing day, that I can give to her when she gets older.

Emerson's middle name came from my sister Mallory's middle name "Marie." Mallory and I are absolute best friends! We are super-duper close and have so many inside jokes we can't remember them all. We find ourselves on many occasions dressing in almost the same outfits {color and layering options}. Dan and I agreed that Emerson's middle name needed to be one that held a family connection... and it does!

Three generations of women...

My Owens cousins have been a huge help from day one! I couldn't have made it without them and it's so much fun that we attend church in the same building. It was fun for Dan and I to sit with them in their Sacrament meeting while my mom babysat Emerson for us so we could go and take the Sacrament {before we could take her to church with us}

My Uncle Calvin flew over from Hawaii. With how busy the week was with a full house of Calvin, Mallory, my brother Matt and his wife Sarah, we only got some candid photos of Calvin with Emerson {I'll post those next time}. I have many different "replacement dads" in my life, but Calvin has been the most like a dad to me {which I don't know exactly what that relationship is supposed to be like after not having one with my biological dad, but it has been so helpful}. Calvin has given me advice over the years that has truly made an impact on choices I've made. He was the witness at my temple sealing and I felt very blessed that he would fly over from Hawaii for Emerson's blessing. I thank Heavenly Father that Emerson has so many people around her that love her... Most especially Dan. Emerson has the opportunity to have the most beautiful relationship with her dad and I am so so grateful that she will have that in her life.