Merry Christmas!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

HAVE A VERY HAPPY & SAFE NEW YEAR!!!!

Happy FIRST Birthday Emerson!!!

We can hardly believe it! Emerson is 1 year old!!!! We have been reminiscing all weekend about what we were doing a year ago last weekend. Our lives have changed so much but for so much better! It is so much fun to see her change and grow. Happy Birthday to our little girl!!!!

We celebrated Em's birthday with a great birthday bash! Grandma Kehrt had a few vacation days to blow and Aunt Stacey has work to do in town so Grandma K, Aunt Stacey, Mara and Ellen arrived on Wednesday to spend some time in KC and with Emerson. Grandma K stayed home on Thursday and Friday while Bruce, Stacey, and I all worked. I think we can safely say that Grandma K worked too :) although hers was the fun kind! We were joined Friday night by Grandpa Kehrt and Uncle Noel with Uncle Chad and Aunt Rox coming on Saturday!

Saturday we had a great birthday party for Emerson at our home. Most of Emerson's Aunts, Uncles, and cousins were able to make the trip. Special thanks to The Kehrt family, Grandma and Grandpa Oberle, Aunts Bev and Amy, and Cousins Anna, Bailey, and Shyanne for coming a long way to celebrate the day with us!!!! I think we have 20-25 people come and it was GREAT! Emerson was a little hesitant to tear into her cake at first but after a little coaxing she started to get into it! She was promptly taken to the bath after her cake to get the cake out of her hair (what little hair there is:). Babysitter Syd helped with her bath while Mommy changed clothes too...yep, I was covered in cake too :) She received a bunch of new presents and believe me she has enjoyed EVERY one of them!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE who was able to join us for her special day! We truly appreciate all of the love and support!!!

Here are some fun pictures of the day!

In preparation for Thanksgiving and Birthday weekends... Sarg is overseeing my work!


Emerson's first Birthday Cake! Her little one was a single cake with a pink and Brown 1 on it.

Emerson conversing with her fans at the party

Emerson "Cheesing it" before she gets her cake!

Okay, this is getting to be a little fun!

She's going to hate me for this one in 18 years :) But now we're having a lot of fun!

Emerson with her Grandparents (couple #3 are her daycare providers Rick & Marjanne)


Just a cute picture of Em with Uncle Chad on her actual birthday (If you can't read her shirt: it says "If you think I'm cool you should meet my Uncle Chad)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Emerson and I had vacation last week which was much needed and great! The week started off with a bummer though. Emerson has her first ear infections. We made a trip to the Dr and they were able to give her some antibiotics. We feel pretty lucky to have held off her first real bout of illness and medication until 1 year. She is getting better every day!

Wednesday, Bruce took time off to so we could get some things done around the house before we left for Claflin. We spent Wednesday night through Saturday morning at Bruce's parents. Emerson had a blast as usual with Grandma and Grandpa Oberle and all the Aunts, Uncles, and many cousins. Everyone made it back and it was a lot of fun to see all the family again!

We are back to the grind this week but are gearing up for Emerson's FIRST Birthday party on Saturday. It is hard to believe that it has been 1 year already!!! She is growing so fast and is still so much fun!

The November/December Happy Birthday girls/boy!

Yeah, I don't think Em minds being the center of attention!!

Grandpa Leon & Emerson playing in Grandma Judy's toy basket!

Emerson's First Hallloween

Emerson dressed up a Belle from Beauty & The Beast for her first Halloween. I found the little dress and thought it the most perfect dress in the world! A lot of Emerson's daycare friends wanted her to be a vampire since her teeth would fit the part, but we thought for our first one, we had to be cute and beautiful! We didn't host to the neighbor kids much as we would like since we had some people to visit. We took her to the neighbors across the street- who absolutely love her! Susan took a bunch of pictures of Em. Then it was off to Rick & Marjanne's (daycare) so they could see her. That was kind of fun because Conner was visiting at the same time. Em doesn't get to see him much because he goes to school now. We also got to see Caleb, Gabriel, and Kalea. Caleb was a little bumble bee and kalea (1 month old) was a little pumpkin. It was good to see them too! After that we headed off to Uncle Mikes so the boys could see their princess before they went out for the night. It was a lot of fun...but since we weren't home to hand out candy, Bruce and I will probably give the dentist a little extra money with all the cavities we are going to get! Today we got the backyard leaves raked and bagged....just the tip of the iceburg on that deal. But we made sure we got Em in the leaves a little bit!

Emerson's new trick is to climb into the laundry basket!

Its hard to get mad at a precious one like that!

Belle is ready for her first Halloween!

Marjanne made her candy bag....now only if she could eat the candy!



Playing in the leaves!


She had fun exploring the leaves!

Just a cool pic of her with the yellow leaves on the tree!

Good Football Weekend!

We haven't been up to much the last couple weeks. Last weekend was great. We didn't do a dang thing. It was nice!!!

This weekend we took a little road trip on Saturday. Bruce and I went to Manhattan to watch the K-State v. Colorado football game. It has been quite a while since we made it to a game and we had a great time. To top it off, K-State won!!!! The Iowa State game was going on a the same time so I used quite a bit of cell phone time checking the score. After a few nervous minutes and yelling at sprint because I couldn't get my phone to refresh fast enough...I got a text from my friend in Omaha, a Nebraska fan, telling my congratulations!!! YAY ISU wins too!!!!

While we were soaking in a lot of football and revisiting some pre-Emerson hot spots, Emerson got to spend the day with Aunt Amy and her cousins Bailey & Shyanne. She had a blast....although it sounds like she was a little nervous at first without us...we were quickly forgotten! She got to play with the dogs, see the cats (didn't get too close since we don't know if she is allergic yet or not), and have a ton-o-fun with the girls! The horses were not quite as cooperative for her to see but maybe next time. She had a lot of fun and when we picked her up last night she was exhausted!!! She slept all the way home, then slept in until 8:30 am this morning, and took a 3 hour nap this afternoon!

She got some "new" toys from Aunt Amy too and is having a blast today with her new toys! She is pulling herself up to a stand and starting to "explore" more and more every day! She is a blast!

We haven't decided what next weekend will hold but we do have her halloween costume. Our little "Belle" will be cute! Not sure where we will go...Sorry Grandpa O...Mommy will only let me have chocolate in very small quantities....but we will have pictures for sure!

Family Divided!

We had a great weekend this weekend with a lot of fun and a lot of visitors...This afternoon Em took a 3 hour nap just to unwind after all the fun !

First thing first, Welcome to the World Claudia Florence Meng!!!

Born: 10.2.09 at 3:30am

8 pounds 6 oz

20" long

Mommy- Sara and baby are doing fine. Daddy- Justin, and big sister- Claire I am sure can't wait to get her home!
She is beautiful via the picture and we can't wait to meet her. Congratulations!!!

This weekend was a busy weekend for Kansas City!! The American Royal, Nascar race, The Chiefs are all in town this weekend. Of course the game of all games was the Iowa State Cyclones Vs the K-State Wildcats at Arrowhead on Saturday! Mom & Dad Kehrt and my Brother Chad and Sister in law Roxanne came down to watch the game with us. Since Mom & Dad Oberle were in town for the Nascar race, Emerson had a lot of visitors on Friday night!!! It was great to see everyone! Friday night we enjoyed the company at home for a relaxed night before the big game.

Saturday morning we got up and packed up the vehicles for the tailgating party before the game. The weather was not great but luckily there was no rain. Tailgating was pretty chilly but we had a blast with a great mix of Iowa State and K-State fans in our party. Emerson was dressed for the weather paying patronage to both K-State and Iowa State appropriately. Just as the game was starting, the clouds broke and we had beautiful weather for the game!! It was a fun game with positives and negatives for both teams. Unfortunately, K-State came out on top this time. For all you K-Staters out there...if you are a true K-State fan...you will know better than to get too cocky about winning this game ;) Emerson had a great time tailgating and at the game. You know your kid is completely awesome when she can fall sleep through the entire 2nd half of a football game amongst 40,000 screaming fans, bands playing, and the sun shining in her face and not wake up! It was a great weekend spent with family and friends! We can't wait until next year when we can do it all again!!!

Fairness prevails! I cheer for both teams!!!!

Grandma Kehrt & Em enjoying the game

Grandma & Granpa Kehrt after the game...smiling even with a loss :(

Daddy and Em cheering on the cats during the first half

Em needing a little pick-me-up during the game

Uncle Chad & Aunt Rox having fun with Emerson after the game

The Kehrt famlily looks like we just stepped out of an Alumni Association catalog!

Quiet Weekend

It is pretty quiet around here this weekend. Not much going on but football and laundry... I would be glad to have the laundry fairy come and finish it while I nap with Bruce and Emerson while watching football!!! But I won't hold my breath :)

Emerson is doing great! She has gained 3 new teeth this week. 2 on Thursday and we just found another one today! 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom now! Time to start brushing Em!!!

I am out tonight for an evening out with the girls to celebrate my friend Mindy's bachelorette party and Bruce and Em are going to a house warming party for our friend Julee. Hopefully tomorrow we will accomplish more! Have a great weekend!

Labor Day

Yes, I know that labor day weekend has come and gone...I would like to say I have an excuse for not blogging sooner but I don't.

We spent Labor day weekend in Claflin with Bruce's family. The whole family was able to come except Troy, he had to stay home and work. It was great to see everyone and we had a lot of fun. Emerson had fun with all of her cousin's, aunt's and uncle's. Grandpa Oberle gave her a little piece of chocolate for the first time, she liked it I think, she wore just as much as she ate! We didn't do much in the way of major events but it was great just to get together and enjoy everyone's company. Bruce and I did make it out to the Odin Store (a gas station/bar...yes, it is THAT cool!!) and a concert in the Hoisington baseball fields to watch his friend Kyle sing in a band. That allowed us to catch up with some of his hometown friends too.

This last week our babysitter was on vacation so Bruce stayed home on Tuesday & Wednesday and I worked from home Thursday and Friday. It is hard work trying to keep up with her and work at the same time...We both managed to get it done but it is probably good that Marjanne is back tomorrow. Friday night Bruce and I had date night for our Anniversary and my Birthday. Uncle Mike Wondra babysat Em as we went down to the Power & Light District to eat at Maker's Mark restaurant...it is a kind of expensive so we thought that would be a good way to celebrate both.

Emerson is changing every day. She is now clapping on her own and Grandpa Leon taught her how to wave while we were in Claflin...she has been able to do it off an on but they practiced hard and now she can wave back when you wave to her (and not 5 minutes later either!!). She is SLOWLY growing more hair, which looks right now to be a dirty blonde with a tinge of red. Her eye color changes on a daily basis. some days they are blue, some days brown, some days they look green, my favorite to date is one day they were blue with streaks of brown...they looked really cool!

Bailey, Brooke, and Emerson playing in the living room

Abby & Em

Grandpa Leon & Emerson getting ready to watch the Nascar race

Emerson did her best to cheer on the Cyclones Saturday but it just wasn't enough :(

We haven't been up to much the last couple of weeks but it seems like we have a lot to report.

Again in this post we need to extend a WELCOME TO THE WORLD wish to Kaylee Elizabeth Wray. Proud parents are Tom & Stacey Wray. She was born early morning on Wednesday. We were able to see her on Wednesday night and she is a beautiful little girl. Mommy & Baby are doing great and so is Daddy!! We hope to see her again soon. Emerson is getting all sorts of little girlfriends to play with!!!

We have been able to see some good friends the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, Sarah and Brice Towns came to town with their daughter Sophia. We had not met Sophia yet so it was fun to see the girls play together. They did pretty well. Sharing is a completely foreign concept for any child so it was not surprising that there were a few tiffs between the two on occasion. Emerson is younger so she did get a taste of what it would be like to have an older sister. It was good for her. She wasn't completely helpless....Sophia only has 1 pound on Emerson so they kept it pretty clean :) It was great to see Sarah & Brice again and we wish we could see them more often.

Last weekend was suppose to be a quiet weekend with no activity. My grad school friend, John Chapman AKA Chappy was in town with a friend on Saturday. I haven't seen Chappy since our wedding and even then we didn't get to talk long. Bruce was able to get tickets to the Royals game on Saturday night. The weather was beautiful and even though the Royals suck as a baseball team, it was a good time. By the 7th inning, Emerson was in such a great mood that most of our section was watching her play instead of the game.

Emerson is scooting/army crawling her way around the house. It won't be too long until it is a true crawl. We have had to invest in babygates and babyproofing supplies. Even though it is an army crawl she gets where she needs to go in a very short amount of time! Emerson also had her first tooth come in on Sunday. We noticed her gums felt "broken apart" on Saturday at the game and then Sunday afternoon, we could feel the actual tooth!!! VERY EXCITING! I can't believe she is growing so fast! Below are some pictures of course!

Sarah, Sophie, Sara, & Emerson

The girls playing with Em's exersaucer

The girls playing nice!

Chappy holds Emerson as she "woo's" the crowd!

Weekend at Home

We decided to stay at home this weekend. After all the travel we figured it was time to stay in for a weekend. We weren't lazy though!!

We first need to welcome Carlie Elizabeth Ernst to the world!! Proud Parents are John & Heidi Ernst! She decided to join us on the outside Thursday night. Good work Heidi- you did great! You too John!! We went to visit her and Mommy & Daddy in the hospital on Friday night! She has way more hair than Emerson!!! We didn't get to see big brother Joseph as he was at home with Grandma and Grandpa. WELCOME CARLIE!!!

We decided last week that after 2.5 years of living in our house it was time to do something a little different to the inside. The previous owner had the house all freshly painted prior to us moving in (that is the only nice thing I can say about the guy) so we never felt the need to paint or change anything...but the house is all the same color...inside and out. We got the advise of a friend which was a huge help and picked out colors for the livingroom and kitchen. I have to admit I did something I said I would never do. I painted part of the kitchen red! We also fit the livingroom with new curtains which was needed. The spare bathroom is the next painting project. After 4 days of painting, I think I will wait a few days!!!

Painting took up most of our weekend. We did go visit Uncle Mike and the boys a couple of nights. Bruce's friend Chad was in town for a conference so we were able to see him for a bit too. Today, Mom & Dad Kehrt and Uncle Buck were driving throught town on their way home from Missouri so we got to see them for breakfast too! Emerson and her Grandparents were VERY excited to see each other....getting to see Bruce and I is just an added bonus ;)

Trip back to Iowa

We have been traveling fools the last couple of weeks and it has been great! Last weekend we took a mini-vacation and headed back to Clear Lake, Iowa to Mom and Dad Kehrt's house. We had a blast! It was great to be back in Iowa again :) It is amazing how good home feels....yes, Iowa will always be home to me... We were able to spend 4 days there and it wasn't long enough. Thursday the girls went shopping and Bruce and Dad hit the golf course. Later in the evening we went downtown to a band that was playing on main street. We had a good time listening to the band and watching the kids and one guy, that had partaken in one (or 10) too many adult beverages, dance the night away. Emerson loves music and being outside so she had so much fun!

Friday Mom and Emerson spent some quality time together while Bruce, Dad, and I went golfing. I have golfed since I was a little kid (although after all these years, my score really hasn't changed much ...huh?!?). Bruce golfed in high school but got away from the game in college and beyond. I have tried many times to get him back in the game but with no avail. Now a couple more of his close friends are getting into the game and my dad gave him his old set of clubs. Bruce has again picked it up...which is great! EXCEPT now we have a kid and someone has to stay home with Emerson...getting Bruce back into the game really didn't work quite how I had planned! But I am excited about it all the same. I can't wait to get Emerson her own little set of clubs :) :) Anyway, I digress....after golfing we were able to get onto the lake for a little bit. This was Emerson's FIRST boat ride....she was very intriqued with it all. She had fun looking at all the water and the trees. She didn't mind her lifevest at all...in fact, it also served as her teething ring! My brother and his family joined us that evening. It was good to see them and the girls LOVED playing with Emerson and she had fun with them too. They played hard and had a lot of fun together.

Saturday the girls went down to the Art "Sail" in the park. It was fun and we were able to find a few things that will go well in the Jimmy Buffett Livingroom in our basement. We did some swimming in the pool and just hanging out. We topped off Saturday night by going back downtown to "dixiefest" which is a couple of bands playing music in the park... the kids had fun and the adults had fun watching the kids! It was such a fun weekend to see family and be at the lake. It was a great weekend and I know we wish there were more summer left so we could get back there again...not sure if it will happen. Here are some pics of the weekend.

This is not from the weeked...but it is THAT funny!

Hanging with Grandpa Kehrt

The first of MANY outings on the lake!

Listening to the bands with Grandma Kehrt!

Obviously something was VERY funny :)

The Kehrt entourage ready for the Art Sail!!!

Grandma & Grandpa's little girls!

Grandpa & Emerson after a dip in the pool!

Absolutely Beautiful!

This weekend we traveled to Sioux City, Iowa for my niece Jill & Nick's wedding. We left pretty early on Friday so we could make the rehearsal dinner. The weather was great and after 4.5 hours in the carseat, Emerson had no issues being held by everyone. Emerson got to meet her Greatgrandpa and Greatgrandma's, some more Aunt's, Uncle's, and cousin. She did well. Emerson and Cousin Nick came to an agreement this weekend...although under no circumstances will she agree to wear anything that has the University of Iowa on it...she will proudly help him represent Southern Illinois University...even though the Saluki is a little on the creepy side :)

The wedding was perfect! The weather was great. Everything went off as planned. The Bride, Jill, looked gorgeous!!! Nick, the Groom although in the beginning looked a little nervous was handsome! They held the reception next to the hotel which was overlooked the river. The venue couldn't have been better. We had a blast at the reception. Emerson LOVED dancing with everyone. Mommy & Em went to the dance floor shortly after eating to get our groove on...although that ended up with a bit of her dinner coming back up, She laughed and kicked her legs having so much fun. She and Uncle Chad spent some valuable bonding time together as well. It is so much fun to see him dote over her. We had a great time catching up with our family and friends. Emerson hung on for quite a while into the night. She took a small catnap with Uncle Buck but later woke up and was ready to PARTY!!! We let her stay up late to make sure everyone got a chance to spend time with her. When you don't see family very much, it is important to let her see them so we didn't worry about the little things. We worried about having fun and loving up on family! Here are some pictures of the family. Unfortunately, I REALLY SUCK and didn't get ANY pictures of Jill and Nick. I am hoping my sister-in-law, Roxanne can help me with that and send me some ;)

Thompson 4th Generation picture.

Kehrt 4th Generation picture

Grandpa bought her a white sox jersey so she HAD to wear it just for him

What Em is trying to say Uncle G is GO ROYALS!!!

My Brother Chad & I at the reception.

Chad & Emerson at the rehearsal dinner. She LOVES Uncle Chad!

Happy 4th of July!

We stayed in town this year for the 4th of July. Usually, we go back home to Belmond/Clear Lake. Bruce was "distraught" about missing the Belmond parade but we decided it was best to stay home this weekend. For me, it was bittersweet, I had a lot of fun but at the same time, felt like I should have been somewhere else.

The weekend started on Thursday night. Dierks Bentley (country singer) held a free concert downtown at the power and light district. My "surrogate" husband, Mike Wondra was back home in Claflin for harvest so Bruce had to go with me. It was a good time and I quickly learned that when you don't drink for more than a year, you can't do it and feel good the next day. Emerson treated me well on Friday by agreeing to take two naps with Mommy. One of my very favorite things is when Em and I lay on the couch and take a nap together. She won't do that very often anymore so it was really nice!

We went to the "Brome Road Bash" for the actual 4th of July. It was a party on Troy & Robin's street. There were several of Bruce's extended family present since Bruce & Troy's cousin lives on the same street. There didn't seem to be a recession problem with all the fireworks that were bought and shot off throughout the entire day. Emerson had a blast all day. The fireworks and tons of people didn't bother her even a little bit. She jumped a few times when the "boomer" fireworks went off but didn't cry once. We had a lot of fun!

Uncle Jim & Emerson

Look! I can sit up all on my own!!!!

Uncle Jim & Bruce enjoying a beverage.

Emerson had to take a bit of a siesta to gear up for the nighttime fireworks!