18 month pictures

We had another great session with Julie Ranee! We had a handful of outfit changes for Emerson's 18-month pictures, but the ones of him in his PJs are definitely some of my favorites. The full gallery is even better! Making our purchase soon!

AHA! (the museum)

With these new education holidays I have, I try to plan fun things with Emerson that we don't usually have time for through the week. So, thanks to Presidents Washington and Lincoln, Emerson and I planned a day with Mia and Poppy at the new children's museum, AHA!, in Lancaster. It started off with cookies and coffee at Four Reasons. An excellent way to start ANY day!

Then off to AHA!, which is a lot like the kids' area at COSI, only about 1/4 the size. Still lots of fun activities!

Emerson, enjoying his cookie and excitedly watching the big trucks go by the window.

"Mom, do you see these?"

Who needs a museum when there a big picture window on Main Street?

At the museum, driving around with Poppy...

Climbing around...checking it all out.

Once he finds the water...it's all over. The rest of the place may as well not exist.

Even Poppy had fun!

Soaked, head to toe. And loving it.

No worries, we had a spare set of clothes.

Dry clothes. Now, off to mingle with the ladies at the sand table!

What a fun day! As you can imagine, he was exhausted and napped on the way home. This worked, since the 1 hour drive took almost 2 with all the snow!

Snooooooooow!

Emerson pronounces it "noooooooooooooo." Although it sounds a bit french like, "neau."

But no matter how you say it, we've got a lot of it. I think we have almost 1.5 feet of snow on the ground. Not only does Emerson's love to roll around in it, he also loves to eat it. So, after it's fresh fallen, we'll gather a little scoop of it, and bring it inside. This is the same little boy who can't get enough of the ice cubes in my water. I can't drink ice water anywhere without an insistent Emerson asking for every one of my ice cubes. Maybe this is why I couldn't get enough ice while I was pregnant.

Our Funny Valentine

"Love, and you shall be loved."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, renowned poet, philosopher, lecturer and author

"Lou dee doo" (translated loosely as "I love you")
-Emerson Rex Zielinski, renowned goofball, silly goose, stinkerpants and wildman

We're a couple days late, but catching up! Emerson had a great Valentine's Day in Toledo. We gave and received lots of love! After going to cousin Spencer's basketball game, Emerson hung out with Spencer, Macy, Kendall, Mimmy and Dzia Dzia. Jason and I had dinner in downtown Toledo. I'd never been down there, and it was great! Navy Bistro is right on the river, so great view and great food. Fun date night for Mom and Dad!

Putting together Valentines for his classmates

Super (???) bowl

We hosted a group of friends at our house for the Super Bowl, including Emerson's buddy, Teddy. Although not the outcome we wanted, we had a good time! Also a Colts fan, Teddy and Emerson had a great time!

Carpentry projects make Teddy thirsty!

"Go Colts!"

Hiding in the tent...

Look at those guns, Teddy! Guess who else HAD to have his shirt off.

Yep, this is way better.

Emerson got an early V-Day gift from Auntie Jes...a whiteboard!

Thank goodness the marker was washable since Emerson thought his belly was also a whiteboard.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Since Emerson had a bad stomach virus during the last big snow, we were very anxious to bundle up and get out in the white stuff this past Friday! Daycare let out early, and so did work, so we had some daylight to enjoy it. He had a ball!

Scarfing down a snack so he can get out there!

Part way there. We love these little snowpants. Passed down from cousin Spencer, they fit Emerson perfectly right now!

Oh wow...look at all this stuff!

Took him about 3 seconds to figure out how to eat it...

...and roll around in it.

Emerson's first snowman!

Emerson's turn to shovel while Jason takes a break!

Back inside, desperately wishing he wasn't.

Next time, buddy!

18 months!

What? Is that possible? It has been a year and a half since you were born?

People aren't lying when that say that it flies by. We enjoy every moment with Emerson and can’t believe he’s 18 months old. He’s doing so much and constantly learning.

He speaks to us now, asks questions, and mimics very closely. Although we don’t understand every word, he’s definitely “communicating.” He continues to sign for “please” and “eat” but has a large vocabulary of single words, and quite a few phrases.

He runs from room to room. A crawler at 5.5 months, a walker at 10 months, and a sprinter at 18 months. He’ll climb onto anything and jump down, regardless of what’s below. He’ll climb the staircase in just seconds.

He loves to make animal sounds, and mostly gets them right. Every once in a while, monkeys moo and dogs meow. Kramer-the-cat is one of Emerson’s best buds. They wrestle and play, but also cuddle. Sheffield-the-dog is a dog for adults. Emerson understand this most of the time, but is still very interested in dogs…Marley, Koa, and others that are big and playful, and he giggles when they lick his face.

Emerson continues to be an incredible sleeper. He goes to bed between 7:30 and 8pm and has to be woken at 7:30am to get ready for school. On the weekends, he sleeps until 9am. This is all with a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. I suppose his sprinting may have something to do with his sleeping. This little boy can throw a ball (and sometimes other things) clear across the room. An arm that makes his Dada proud. He’s insistent when he has a goal. Whether it’s wearing his “mUggs” (boots) instead of sneakers, or having another tortilla chip, Emerson is clear about his wants. He loves to look at books, but often doesn’t want to give up control in having someone read to him.

Emerson dances like no one is watching. He’ll break it down to everything – from classical to rap and has serious rhythm. Rhythm that makes his Momma proud.

He has friendships that are fascinating to watch. He loves to greet his friends at the door, and runs through the house with excitement at their arrival. At school, he’s greeted by all the ladies every morning, who seem especially interested in him.

He eats everything. And then some. I haven’t found a fruit that Emerson doesn’t love. Bananas are his favorite, likely b/c they are so much fun to eat right out of the peel. Pasta, chicken nuggets, turkey dogs, and all the usual suspects are still favorites. He’s not opposed to scarfing down some broccoli, either.

He can identify every part of his body. Hair, cheeks, eyes, teeth, fingers, toes, belly, ears. You get the point. He can even identify what's under his diaper. Front and back.

He hates socks. Unless they are under his boots. He likes to have access to his feet. Emerson is going to love a barefoot summer.


He loves the shower. And the bath. And the pool. And anything having to do with water. He’ll play in the sink while I make dinner. He’ll spend ½ hour in the shower and dump pitchers upon pitchers of water on his face and head, and crack up every time.

There’s a soft side to our little brut. He has a Brutus-doll and similar blankie that he curls up in a ball and lugs around on his shoulder. He will give hugs and kisses, and loves to make people laugh. He’ll cuddle in the evenings as we’re quieting down before bedtime.

He’s getting so big and strong. Is it possible that he’s no longer our baby, but our little boy?

We headed to Lancaster Saturday afternoon to celebrate Great Grandma Lineberger's and Great Great Aunt Norma's 80th birthdays, along with Emerson's 18-month birthday! We even got to visit with second cousins Brent and Suzie. So much fun!

He goes straight for the piano, every time.

Playing gently. For now.

Happy birthday, old ladies!

And little boy! (we celebrated with "half" mini cheesecakes) Poppy helped to blow out his candle.

Ice cream! YUM!

And now we're ready to go home...

Texting while driving. Oh, Emerson...this is no good!