Random Snapshots from Home

I love getting together with everyone when we come home, but my favorite pictures usually end up being the most random ones from our visit. And they usually are of Emma or Max. It's only been a month since we were home, but it seems like it's been forever. So without further ado, here are some of the smaller events from our visit -

Proof that Nate still loves Emma,

even if he loves Max more.

I love that Max doesn't seem 10 years old in this one!

Emma tired the poor guy out!

Kristyn and I got to do some fun cousin bonding while I was home. We went to go visit Coco, who I haven't seen in FOREVER and saw some other barn friends. And we tortured her pups. Literally...

Hi Coco!

Isn't this guy hilarious???

I've decided. I'm getting a pony.

How cute is that little guy??

While I love being on the farm, taking the dogs to the car wash was an even better idea. It's just too bad we hadn't brought Emma with! I seriously need to find one of these in NY. Washing your dog at the pet wash is way better than washing them at home.

Squishing two dogs into the tub and washing them at the same time...

Now that's hilarious!

Our pups were NOT happy with us. 

Krissy and I loved every second of it!

And before I go back to work, a few more of my favorites from our favorite canines. 

Note to self: a measly little fence won't keep Emma out of my plants, 
especially when she gets to feel like she's hunting in the jungle. 

And her signature look - "What Mom? I'm just smelling!"

It's hard to believe it's been so long since we were home! It makes me feel just a little homesick, especially for Max. Thankfully Ithaca has lots of things to keep us busy... and hopefully will make me blog more for all of you. 

A Bed For Emma

I haven't been doing much crafting lately, but I did manage to make an awesome bed for Emma! We'd been looking around for beds, but we couldn't find anything that we really liked. So, I decided to get creative and use some fleece and foam from the store to make a very unique bed.

Dylan and I found a square piece of foam at Joann's on Black Friday,

bought some thick cotton padding,

and made a slip cover to go over the foam.

(Now I have a bed with covers that can be CLEANED!)

She absolutely loves her bed.

She doesn't even come up to sleep by our bed anymore!

Anything that is white gets dirty within a day, 

plus Amit wanted her to have a Bears bed.

I cut out pieces of fleece and sewed them into a sort of pillowcase.

(Emma loves playing on whatever fabric I'm trying to measure.

Yes, that's a tennis ball.)

Here's my cover after piecing it all together.

It actually fit perfectly!!

Here's our lovely model showing off her new bed - 

(Looks just like Daddy in pictures, her eyes are closed.)

I love it!

Comfortable and surrounded by all her toys!

I'm still a little in shock that my project actually worked out, since I haven't been doing much sewing. But the bed was so easy, I have a feeling I will be making some pillows this summer to brighten up our home! I do have some big craft projects coming up, but those will have to wait for it to be a little warmer outside...

Dog Days of Winter

Well, it's been a while since I've updated all of you on life in NY. We've been busy, spending our weekends traveling, running errands, and trying to enjoy some cold bits of nature. While we like hiking in the snow, since it is even more effective exercise than regular hiking, it would be nice for the warm weather to come back. Since we haven't done anything that I can really write about in detail, I'll share some snapshots that we've actually taken over the last few weeks... Of course, Emma is in most of them. Alright, she's in all of them.

This is her "feed me" face.

I love this photo of Max and Emma.

Max just looks annoyed that she's there. 

Emma is busy searching for something.

They did manage to get along long enough to have a nice heart-to-heart with Mom.

Then Emma met Eli.

That was crazy.

I would make the same exact face if I was stuck between Sparky and Eli.

She did NOT know what to do!

I'm so glad those two found their way home safely after their little adventure.

Emma needs another play date!

What?

There's actually a human in this one!

Watching the Puppy Bowl!
(And crying, because she couldn't play with the puppies.)

So we technically have been doing other things. I have a big sewing project that I'm wrapping up right now. I got a dehydrator for Christmas, so we've been experimenting with jerky and sweet potato chip recipes. I have a big craft project in the works. Unfortunately nothing is finished yet, but hopefully they will be soon!

It Snowed!

We have snow! Lots and lots of snow! Thanks to winter storm Euclid (Since when do they name them, anyways?), we have about 17 inches of snow on the ground right now. We left early on Christmas night so that we had plenty of time to pick up groceries and get settled before the storm hit on Wednesday afternoon/evening. The majority of the snow fell on Wednesday night, so Amit saw it before he went into work on Thursday morning.

Amit thinks that Emma gets too cold when she's outside,

so we bought her a jacket.
Wednesday's Snow

Thursday's Snow

She likes the jacket, but wasn't a fan of the deep snow.

Trying to escape the snow.

The mountain of snow from plowing.

From time to time, she would sink into the snow.
She hated that part.

When Amit came home from work, we shoveled the driveway again.
And he climbed the mountain.

The best part of her jacket is that it is reflective!

Emma also tried to figure out the snow from the inside.

She also started to lean over the snowbanks to sniff things.

Crazy dog.

Maybe there's something down there?

Time to go home!

What do we do when there's over a foot and a half of snow on the ground? Well, it's the perfect excuse to clean the house, try out some new Christmas presents, and eat some guacamole. Oh yeah, and we get to use our SKIS! We've used them twice already and it isn't even January yet. It's looking like New York will be a great state to live in, even in the winter!

2012 Annual Photo Shoot Outtakes

If you've seen our Facebook profile pictures, you've had a teaser of our this year's annual photo shoot. We had a beautiful day to take pictures, but with Emma, there are always more outtakes than perfect shots. The funny thing is, those outtakes tend to be my favorite shots, and I've started including one outtake on every Christmas card. We really aren't a perfectly-posed kind of family, we definitely have personality. Ready for some laughs?

Action Shots
AKA - "The Humans Look Ridiculous"

Emma says, "Let's go HIKING!"
(In the middle of trying to pose, btw.)

The pictures in the woods didn't turn out, 
but we bribed Emma to sit.

The humans know how to look at a camera.

This shot wasn't too bad, 
even Emma got in on the posing!

"What was that?"

Are we boring you, Emma?

I think she's done with the photo shoot.
She'd rather rest her head on my shoulder than take another picture.

We had a great time taking the pictures... and then looking at all of them! Hope you enjoyed our outtakes!