Friday morning smiles

Em was all smiles before we left for work this morning. I think we're all ready for a relaxing weekend!

Arkansas Vacation

The Guidry Family gathered in Heber Springs, AR this year for a family vacation. Emerson had a great time with everyone, especially her cousins, Kaleb and Nya.

On the way down, we stopped for a little hike at the "Missouri Grand Canyon". It was a nice break, but we think it would have been a lot prettier in the fall. Once we met up with the family, we had a great time. The kids were able to play at the pool and the lake, and we had water balloon races as part of Nya's birthday celebration. It was there that we discovered Emerson's competitive streak. She was very determined to get the balloons to the other end. During adult time, we took a boat out onto the lake and did some cliff jumping. But most of all, we just enjoyed everyone's company!

FanFest

Emerson's grandparents and their best friends from Louisiana came to visit us this weekend. We had an adult night at the Fox on Friday and then a day full of fun things on Saturday. We started at the market in the neighborhood and ended with the concert under the Arch. Jeff and I participated in the All Star 5K on Sunday and then had planned to go down to the stadium to check out the clydesdales and other excitement that has been brought in for the All Star game. However, torrential rain changed our plans and we decided to go to FanFest since it was indoors. Of course, Em loves anything that involves throwing balls. She even figured out how to hit the ball off of the tee by herself. Of course, she also slam dunked the ball over the fence and kicked it out of the cage, so I'm not sure baseball is going to be her primary sport.

Rockin' Out

We went to the Sheryl Crow concert under the Arch on Saturday night with Jeff's parents and godparents from Louisiana. I made the mistake of turning the camera while recording Em dancing, but I couldn't resist putting it on here anyway! Jeff says she gets her fine dancing skills from me :)

Citygarden

Citygarden may be our new favorite place! It's a two block area just a little past Busch Stadium, so we can easily walk there from our house. There are fountains to play in and lots of things to climb on. Emerson loved all of the "bubbles"! We're definitely going to return on a sunnier day to let her splash around some more.

4th of July

We started the 4th of July by attending the parade downtown. It poured rain right up until the start and then cleared up for the whole parade. We were fortunate that the rain stopped but who would ever have thought that we would need jackets for a 4th in St Louis?

In the evening, we had a barbecue at our house. We set up lawn chairs and blankets across the street to watch the fireworks and were happy that Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Todd joined us this year. Although we didn't get any pictures of her, Emerson's littlest friend, Sara, came over too. It's hard to believe that she is now the size Em was when she was born (Sara started a little over 4 pounds). By next 4th of July, she will be joining in all of the craziness and running around with the big kids!

Happy Father's Day!

On Sunday after church, Emmy took her daddy to Chava's, one of his favorite restaurants in the neighborhood, and then to the Magic House for a day of play. We explored everything, but her favorite area was the fairy tale land, especially the beanstalk slide which she decided she could climb by herself. She also enjoyed making pizza, and we couldn't miss touching the ball that made our hair stand on end! It also brought back a lot of childhood memories for me and Jeff!

Making Dinner

Emerson has recently started spending a lot of time in her kitchen. She washes her hands and then makes us delicious meals (like the vegetables and spoon she has cooking in the oven) complete with tea or water. She is a very careful cook, putting on her oven mitt and telling us that the oven is "hot". After she is done, she washes the pans before settling in to watch Elmo ("Elmo, Elmo, Elmo, Elmo...")
Obviously, her mother spends many hours slaving away to provide nutritious, hot meals for the family. Or maybe that is Daddy...

Make Tracks for the Zoo

On Grandma's birthday last Sunday, we participated in a 5k to benefit one of our favorite places - the St Louis Zoo! After the run, we spent some time visiting the animals and then had a picnic in the park. Maybe next year, Emerson will be big enough to join Kenzie in the kids race.

I love chocolate!

Emerson has recently discovered the yummy deliciousness that we call M&M's. We were over at her great aunt and uncle's house the other night when we learned that you just can't hide chocolate from a one year old. She will climb whatever furniture is necessary to get her M&M's!