The Goerlich Five.: Bit by bit...

... I'm planning on catching up on the blog, but it's probably going to take some time, so bear with me! I'll start with what we were up to in May... (by the time I get current, Emmy will probably be 18 months old & it'll be perfect time for an Emmy update!) :-)

April showers brought May flowers, and lots of outdoor play time for Emmy! Our rental home is on a pretty big property, and even though the back yard has a huge (dangerous!) slope down, the front yard is nice & flat, and now houses Emmy's picnic table, play house, climber and water table! It's like a play park out there!

Emmy loves bubbles!

In May the Goerlich family celebrated Grandma & Grandpa Goerlich's 55th Wedding Anniversary! Emmy spent the night with Grandma & Papa Smith so Dan & I could enjoy a nice dinner with the whole family!

We had to say goodbye to some good friends in May, and we did so with a play date! Tim, Kirsten & Harris came to the US (from London) 2 years ago as part of a work experience with PWC. Through Dan & Tim working together (Kirsten works for PWC too!), and Kirsten & I having babies close together, we've become good friends! We've also spent a lot of time with another PWC couple, Eric & Anne and their little girl Kirsten, who is just a month older than Emmy! It's been so much fun watching our 3 little ones grow up together, and getting to know each other. It was time for Tim, Kirsten & Harris to return home to London, so we were glad to get one last play date in!

What a gentleman, opening the door for the ladies!

He does the heavy lifting too!

Harris, Emmy & Kirsten! <3

Another group of friends & babies we spent time with in May are our Beaumont Parenting Group friends! Beaumont has this great program for first time parents, where you can join a parenting group for free with other new parents in your area, who had babies born around the same time as you. It started around Emmy turning 4 months old, and we met every other week for 6 months. After that we've stayed in touch and set up our own social & play dates! In May we met at a park to see and ride the Great Lakes Steamers Mini Trains! The first weekend of every month these mini trains are at the Starr-Jaycee Park on 13 mile (between Main & Crooks) and you can ride them for free (they appreciate donations of course!). They were pretty fun! We also brought lunch to have a picnic & Emmy had a great time running around & playing with her friends!

Checking out the trains with daddy

Hugs for Lela!

Alexander & Emmy, these two are trouble together! :-)

Emmy & Gavin

Emmy & Alexander again!

Parent group buddies!!

I got to celebrate my 2nd mother's day this year! And Emmy made me a sweet present at daycare!!

My mother's day present <3

Celebrating Mother's day with 4 Generations of Goerlich women!

Celebrating Mother's day with 4 Generations of Smith/Kroll women!

Emmy had her 15 month well visit in May, weighing in at 22lbs 4 oz and 31.5" long! She did really good overall, but she definitely realized what was going to be happening to her at the end :-( She was very cautious of the nurse & the doctor when they examined her, and despite crying for her shots, she recovered quickly! The doctor declared her beautifully healthy, and was very impressed with her vocabulary!

15 month well visit

Emmy always has fun playing with her BFF Brooke! Here's some shots from a playdate where Emmy stayed at Brooke's house while mommy & daddy met with the contractor at our house!

Puzzles!

Their faces don't show it but they love each other!

Play date turned dinner date!

Emmy has spent the year at Miss Rita's daycare this year while I was at work, and she has just loved being there! Miss Rita held an end of the year party for all the families, and it was a great celebration for the kids! It started with a show of the kids singing songs for us, and then the kids got to play in the bounce house Miss Rita had in her backyard! Of course Emmy had to be right in the middle of the bounce house with the big kids, she loved it!! After the celebration Grandma Deedee took Emmy home while Mommy & Daddy had a date night at Simply Good!

All ready for her beach party at Miss Ritas!

Emmy & her friends singing!

Emmy & Mommy <3

So much fun in the bounce house!!

Think she's having fun?

Emmy's BFF Jackson

Mamaa & Emmy

We took our first trip of the year to the zoo in May! We have an annual pass, which is good since we can usually only last an hour or two each trip! We used Emmy's wagon with the sun canopy & she loved it!

Cruisin in the wagon!

Lovin on the baby elephant

Peek-a-boo!

Pretty butterfly!

As I keep uploading pictures, I'm realizing we were busy in May!! Another fun thing we did was go to the Kensington Park Zoo! We heard from a parenting group friend that they have a pretty nice farm there, and I had a Friday off, so we went to check it out after Emmy's afternoon nap. The farm was great!! They had a barn with all of the new baby animals (pigs, goats, bunnies and chicks) inside!! Emmy loved the baby pigs!! She would ask us "I touch it?" and then the second she touched a baby pig (who was sleeping), she'd pull her hand away laughing! It was also pretty clean there for being a farm! I'd highly recommend it!!