Miscellaneous

Here are a few pictures that fell through the cracks and didn't make it on the blog - until now!

These pictures go way back to August of 2012.  Emma was 14 months and just discovering the wonders of bubbles.  I love the concentration on her face as she goes after the bubbles.  I'm not sure she got any of them, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.

Check out these curls!!  Plus, who doesn't like pictures of a smiley sudsy baby?

Emma's helping me tune my guitar.  Remember the mini-mohawk that she sported for the first 14 months of her life?

Emma is turning into a great baker like her mother and a great brownie batter eater like her father.

I can't believe I haven't documented this fun little outing with Emma's little friends.  We had a sledding party at Sarah, Dan, and John's house on March 10th.  Emma was a little hesitant at first but then couldn't get enough.  She even led the charge of the kiddies on the big toboggan.  John, Colin, and Emma are quite the crew!

One of Emma's favorite past times is building and hanging out in couch forts.  She routinely requests that her mother or I "builda foet."

We are almost getting caught up!  Stay tuned for more.

With love from Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Easter (Finally!)

It's only a couple of months late, but here is a recap of our Easter weekend.

We stuck around town for the holiday and hosted my family.  My mom and dad drove up for a long weekend and brought Grandma Marge (my mom's mom) along and as a very special treat, Justin flew in from California for the weekend.  Emma loved having her Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle and Great Grandma (GG) at her disposal. Emma's daycare was closed the Friday before Easter so the crew arrived on Thursday to stay home with her on her day off. 

Saturday night, Grandma Becky, GG, Momma, and Emma colored Easter eggs.

Emma loved walking around in her Grandma's shoes and playing cards with GG.

The Easter Bunny visited our house and left behind a great Easter basket for Emma and also hid a few eggs.  Emma loved exploring her new goods, especially her choo choo train. 

No Easter is complete without an Easter dress and bonnet.  Emma was well equipped with both.

 

It was a fantastic weekend capped off with a fantastic meal complete with ham, cheesy potatoes, deviled eggs, corn, homemade crescent rolls, and Melissa's famous chocolate chip cheese cake.

The Easter baskets, bonnets, and meal are all fun, but what really made the weekend special was great family.  Melissa and I really enjoyed a wonderful weekend filled with love and great family, and nobody enjoyed having her family around more than Emma.

Happy belated Easter from Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Spring Sing

In April, Emma and her classmates treated the parents to a delightful concert.  They sang classic hits like, "Falling, Falling - Autumn Leaves are Falling" and "Shovel the Snow So, So."  Not to mention timeless tunes such as "Rain and Thunder," "Hello Mr. Turkey," and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  

Please enjoy!
Jason, Melissa and "Super Star" Emma

What does a monkey say?

I found this video while I was fiddling with iMovie earlier today.  It's a little old, from December 2012, but I still got a huge kick out of it.  While we were in Council Bluffs for Christmas we went to the zoo and Emma perfected her monkey noises, which she showcases in this video.  It's amazing to think about how much her vocabulary has grown over the past 4 months!

Oooo Oooo Aaaah Aaaah Eeeee Eeeee (translation, "With love from Minneapolis"),

Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Spring?

I don't think I'm alone when I say that I'm ready for spring to begin.  I know, I know - it officially started on March 20 (more than a month ago) but there have been little to no signs of warm weather, green grass, tulips, or baby birds and bunnies thus far this year.  We have had a few "warm" days in the 50's, and, I literally mean a few.  Four days to be exact have reached 50 degrees and there have been zero days that have reached 60.  Now would be a good time to mention that the average high temperature for this time of year is 61 degrees.  Yeesh.

Moving from average temps to record lows - this past Saturday, April 20th we broke a record low when we dipped to 21 degrees overnight.  This broke the old record by 5 degrees that was set in 1888!  Not kidding.  Moreover, it is the first record low to be set since 2004.   This year has been the 4th coldest April on record.  Double yeesh.

It gets better, or worse I guess - we've had the 3rd snowiest April on record with 17.6 inches of snow.  This also makes it the snowiest month for this extended winter season.

There is finally a little light at the end of the tunnel as it is forecast to hit 70 this upcoming weekend.  The last time we hit 70 was Oct. 21st, 2012 so if we do hit 70 on Saturday, the two seventy degree days be 186 days apart.

So, like I said at the start of the blog, we are desperate for warmer weather.  We have tried to make the best of the bad weather.  On one of the "nice" days, we bundled out and headed outside to play with Emma's Easter basket sidewalk chalk.

One of the things I'm really looking forward to this summer is riding bikes with Melissa and Emma.  Melissa finally got a new (SWEET!) bike, for Christmas Emma got a Burley bike trailer, and we all got new helmets.  It was time to ride so we took advantage of one of those four 50 degree days and took a 15 mile stroll.  It. Was. Awesome!  I can't wait for more miles with my girls this summer.

With love from a chilly Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa, and Emma