8 Months!!

Emily turned 8 months old yesterday! She is looking and acting more and more like a little girl versus a baby, although she is definitely still our sweet little baby. Kyle and I celebrated by spending lunch talking about how being parents has changed our lives. Here are a few things we talked about.
What we miss most about not being parents:
You can't just get up and go somewhere without consideration of the time.
This has really forced our day-to-day life to slow down, but I love it! I love getting up early enough to have time in the morning to eat breakfast, study my Bible and pray, and get a few things done around the house before Emily wakes up. This is something that never happened when I was working.
Our day does revolve around nap and feeding times right now, but I know that as she becomes more flexible and doesn't need so much sleep during the day, our schedule will open up more as well.
On a similar note, having Kyle at home lately has also been a blessing. He has seen so much more of Emily's everyday activity. And getting to eat all 3 meals of the day with him is pretty nice!
Biggest surprise of parenting:
Kyle and I don't agree on everything in regards to training Emily.
We have already had many discussions on what we both feel is the best strategy for training up our child. Although coming to a consensus isn't always easy, we both agree that being unified is more important than being the one who is "right."
Biggest reward of parenting:
The smiles, laughs, kisses, and now hugs!

Dallas Blooms

My parents came up from Mexia to get their Emily fix a couple of days ago, and we decided to take an afternoon trip to the Arboretum. The Dallas Blooms is going on right now, which means lots and lots of gorgeous tulips, azaleas, wisteria, and many more flowers! It was a sight to behold.

Emily got slathered from head to toe in sunscreen (her first encounter with this smelly stuff). We forgot a hat, so she also got sunscreen smeared into her hair to protect her scalp. Yum!

We had a wonderful time, and got some great photos. Thanks Pops and Nanna for coming to visit!!

Nanna, Pops, and Emily

A rare shot of Mommy (the usual photographer) with Emily.

An even rarer shot of Mommy and Daddy alone.

Stop and smell the roses! (or tulips).

A Tribute

Kyle's grandfather, Wendell E. Bennett, passed away early last Saturday, March 13th. He and his wife, Jeane, would celebrate 59 years of marriage at the end of this month.

Grandpa's life was remembered with joy at his funeral.

We thank God for the assurance that those who die with Christ will also live with Him (Rom. 6:8).

Buff Baby!

We did a little "glamour shoot" a couple of weeks ago, and I've been really excited to post a few of the pics. I'm finally getting some time to sit down and do it, so enjoy!

And then there were two...

...teeth, that is!
Emily is now sporting a toothy grin of her bottom two front teeth! I didn't think it could get any cuter than her toothless grin, but I think this just might top it.
If you click on the picture...well, you can't exactly see the teeth b/c they are still pretty short. I'll have to post a better picture when they've grown all the way up!