Playground

6 Months Later

Six months ago, we brought you this fun video....and now we have these hair cutting pictures to offer you.

Daddy can't resist one last big hair picture
Corban's before shot....sucker in hand
Corban after
Caden before...yikes! I rarely notice how long his hair is during the rainy season because the humidity makes his curls tighter. However, in the dry, it's just a long mess.

Caden's cute curls after (and Corban's toes)
I caught Corban sitting on this little bench all on his own and couldn't resist snapping a picture. He looks so big!
In the past, I've really missed Caden's curls when we've cut them off...but this time I really like the shorter look on him.
Brothers!

Couch Cushions

"You guys need to put ALL the cushions back on the couch before I come back in the room...or I know two little boys that will be getting spankings for not obeying" said the Momma.

After all, all I said was that the cushions had to be ON the couch.
Yes, I laughed.

Remember when Corban turned 2?

Me either. We didn't have a big celebration so it kind of just breezed by us. Our annual "Mattie the Bear" pictures and other yearly portraits did not happen until recently. That's right, our son's official two year pictures are actually of him a good month and a half into his 3rd year of life. Well, without any more complaining of what a slacker I am...here's the pics:

Taking pictures of a 2 year old on your own is a huge challenge. While I still wish I could have captured more "formal" pictures, I think these describe Corban pretty well. Love you little guy!

FAMILY...these are uploaded in large format and should be printable. Enjoy! ;)

Family Five Hundred

On March 9, 2005, we began this family blog with the announcement of our first pregnancy. Today, you are reading our 500th post. That's right 500. I've known for awhile that this post was coming and wanted to post something unique for it. I decided I would post a few pictures from New Year's Eve. I think these pictures sum up our lives together...



Here's to another 500 posts...love you Brett!

First Morning in 2010

I just wanted to remember how I spent the first morning in 2010...

I'm sitting on my porch in Togo, West Africa, wrapped up in a blanket (it's about 62 degrees) watching my 2 boys play outside with our monkey, Tiggy.

There are so many things that are not normal in the sentence....yet, this is normal...this is my life.

Last Day In 2009

Merry Christmas

2 cute little boys

Christmas Stockings

I'm sure there's some kind of Christmas stocking history out there to learn, but what do you use for your stockings?Because we use rainboots. Just kidding. We hung this mirror at the boys' level for them to play with and I decided to add a little Christmas flair to it with some stockings. The boys decided to add the rainboots. And yes, they are still there now.



I love these two pictures for several reasons....it shows the boys height/size differences, you can see their reflections in the mirror, the lighting, and just because both the boys are in it. ;)
Merry Christmas!

The Big Reveal

We wanted to create a special play area for our boys. Since their birthdays are only a month apart, we decided it would be a present for both of them. Caden's birthday came and went and we weren't finished....so Corban's birthday became the deadline. We were working into the night the evening before the big reveal.I had to include this picture....when Caden saw me in my overalls, he (on his own!) went and found a pair that he could put on to match Momma. So cute!
The next morning, we told them we had a surprise to show them. We had them hold hands and walk around the house to the back...
Here's a few shots of their reactions..
Caden's reactions were priceless. Corban...well, let's just say he didn't really get it. ;)
Here's a few individual pictures of what this new play space holds:
African village, painted by a Togolese friend
Giant Chalkboard - Caden drew the little person and Corban drew all the little sticks
Hopscotch - Corban can't actually jump, but he is super cute when he's trying. Caden can't seem to jump enough, he loves it.
Lastly, the alphabet board. We decided to paint the outlines so they could practice drawing on the insides. My mom gave me a good idea to let them paint the letters with water, the concrete will change colors but dry out...perfect, no clean up!
This last picture is also a good view of what the whole area looks like. The Village Scene is just to the left of the edge of the picture.

Happy birthday boys and may you create many childhood memories in this special place...we love you!

"Daddy, I Can See You!"

Watermelon Munchies

It's watermelon season here, and we have been taking down some serious amounts of the beautiful red fruit. Corban especially loves this Christmas time treat :)

Preview and Printing

A small preview of Christmas....
Before I show you the last picture, you must know the story. Yesterday, we captured a small gecko and put him in a jar for the boys to "play" with for a bit. They would carry the creature around and his name became "Lizard" (appropriate, right?). Then, last night Caden was writing his letters on his dry erase alphabet board when he asked me if he could write Lizard's name on the jar. I said sure, not knowing what he would write. Without any help and to my amazement, he began to slowly sound out lizard and wrote the sounds he heard. This is what he wrote:
L-I-Z-R-D
(you can see "Lizard" in the bottom right corner of the jar)

Corban's First Sentence

This puzzle piece is what prompted Corban's first sentence. We were spending some time together while Brett and Caden were on a special trip to the pool. Corban pointed to this piece and said, "ear i da cor"...translation: here (or maybe where) is the corn.
I was impressed.

Family and Fun

The Emerson Family:
2 adults in their early thirties
+a four year old
+a two year old (on Monday)
=endless amounts of fun

Where do you find rest?

Sweet brother pictures never get old.

Caden Darrel Emerson

He is four.
No words needed.

**Family, if you want a copy of any of these pictures, let me know and I'll send you a higher resolution.**

What is Hapenning Chez Nous (Our Place)

Yovo continues to try and mate with young Jolie, even though she is not ready (notice the ferocious teeth), while C2's chubby knees look on from the top of the frame. This pic totally reminds me of the fake(?) pictures of Bigfoot walking through the woods...This is a preview of April's upcoming "Caden is 4!" post. Photographing Caden is challenging at best. Great pic of my muddy, rugged, African little man, sporting his GracePointe Kids shirt. Love you C1! Little boys and puppies go hand in hand (most of the time)...

bde