Dear Review Committee...

Dear Review Committee,

I recognize that you get hundreds, thousands, maybe MILLIONS of applicants every year for your coveted world wide "Father of the Year" contest. However, I hope you will be able to determine from the following examples, that my husband Greg is indeed your most qualified applicant. I hope you will consider my early application, as I know most submit their requests as close to Father's Day as possible.

Every Monday evening, I attend a symphony rehearsal for nearly three hours. My husband has been entertaining our daughter Emma during this time since she was two months old. When I walked into our home last Monday, Emma was asleep (as usual) and Greg was smiling and working on the dishes (as usual). He proceeded to tell me the most endearing story. Greg was not in the mood to stick around the house after I left for rehearsal. So he packed up Emma in the hiking backpack and walked over a mile to our closest Baskin Robbins. He and Emma then picked out their favorite ice cream flavor (Emma's was BLUE! BLUE! BLUE!) to put atop a small cone. They ate their dessert in bliss and then walked the mile back home. Greg reported that Miss Emma was so happy that she sang at the top of her lungs the entire way there and the entire way home. * Please note that the attached picture is not from that night - but a separate occasion with Emma in the backpack.

In addition, Greg is constantly willing to play and dance and sing and roll on the ground with our active toddler. From the moment he walks in the door (after a VERY long/stressful day at the office) he is completely devoted to keeping Emma occupied and engaged. Emma always has a list of activities that she would like to do with Daddy. These generally involve watching horse races on "you tube", reading favorite books, dancing, and walking to the mailbox.

Greg would do anything in the world to keep Emma happy and to help her feel loved. He is still the first to hop out of bed, if she starts crying in the middle of the night, and he always gives her WAY more empathy when she needs it the most. He hates spending money on himself and encourages me to be resourceful with our finances, however, when it comes to Emma, money is no barrier and he will buy pretty much anything that she needs or wants. We know this will be curbed as she gets older, but for now, it generally involves a 25 cent sucker or 7 dollar dress from Old Navy, that she just MUST have.

If you could see the way Emma's eyes light up when Greg walks in the door, you would give him the award without even reading the other applications. If you could hear her ask EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. where her Daddy is - and then observe the painful cries when I have to tell her that he is at work - you would know that Greg is clearly and obviously your most dutiful candidate. If you could listen to the beautiful lullabies he sings to her every night when he puts her to bed, you would know that he is definitely the most qualified submission you've ever received in your office.

Thank you for reviewing my submission. I will anticipate the sought after "Father of the Year" mug and t-shirt in the mail within days.

Sincerely,
Tammy
- Wife of Applicant
- Mother of Child

What would you do? Play room help needed!

This little angel face (and her no-makeup mother, excuse the disaster) needed a place for her toys. They were starting to take over my living room, with which I was not pleased.

One very nice thing about living in a town home community, where all your friends have the same floor plan, is that you can steal ideas. This was one of those. Our neighbors have built a little "Harry Potter" closet under their stairs that they use for storage and/or a play area. Monkey see - monkey do.

Now I don't know what in the world I want to do with the space. It is so small, so I need to maximize surface area. Once done and complete, I think Emma will really love playing in a space just her size.

So here is where YOU come in. What would you do with the space? What cool gadgets or space savers or knick knacks have you seen that would work well in a SMALL children's play area?

This is the left wall. I think here I'm almost positive we will dry wall and then add shelves, so that all of her toys can have special labeled bins - organized on the shelf.

This is the cement wall that you see ahead of you as you open the door. Not sure whether we should dry wall? Maybe paint with a chalk board paint so that she can color to her heart's content? Any other ideas?

And here is the area to the right - this is the one I really struggle with. Do we dry wall the stairs off so she doesn't bonk her head? Turn it into a reading corner? AAARRRRGH!

And here is the general area on the floor. We will definitely lay down pads and carpet so that it is comfortable, but this is just to give an idea of the very small space we are working with.

Any help, ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'd really like to have this project done within the next few weeks if possible.

Injection Training

Don't be jealous.

On Thursday afternoon we get to attend an "injection training" to begin the super fun part of the Invitro Fertilization (IVF) process. After all the meds are injected the surgeries are tentatively scheduled for April 15th and 20th. One surgery to remove the eggs and a second surgery to place the fertilized embryos back.

$2200 later - Mr. Fed Ex Man delivered a HUMONGO box of meds to my door step yesterday. I just couldn't resist taking a snap shot of everything that will be put into my body over the next 3 weeks.

We really do get to have MUCH more fun than any "normal" couple trying to get pregnant. :)

And why do we do it all? For moments like the pictures below. Emma makes it so much easier to endure IVF because I can see the tangible results and can feel my heart expanding every day with love for her. I'd pay 1,000 times more money and give a million more self-injected shots for the chance at another child that I love as much as our sweet daughter.

Romans 15:13 - "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost."

Emma has not been feeling well. Last night we put her in PJ's and then she laid on my chest. After 2 minutes, Greg looked up in complete shock and said, "SHE'S ASLEEP!". We had to take a picture because the last time she did this she was THREE WEEKS OLD. No joke. Our child does not sleep on us.

Speaking of injections... Emma was injected with a healthy dose of sugar at my Aunt Sharron's bday party last Friday. She screamed for 15 minutes because she wanted to eat the cupcakes BEFORE dinner. And she couldn't have been happier when she was finally finished eating dinner and could binge on the cupcakes.

As a side note: Emma will graciously accept any birthday party invitation you extend. I wish I could say it's because she loves you, but it's really because she knows that cake or cupcakes will be there. Don't take offense when she runs right past you to see what kind of dessert has been brought as a birthday offering to her.

Ever heard the phrase, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"? I just mask my true purpose of party attendance better than a toddler.

Here she is with her second cousins: Erin and Owen Krebs. What a cute fun bunch! Happy Birthday to one of the greatest women to ever bless my life. We are so lucky to have Sharron close. She brings an unending amount of laughter and joy into our lives.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas Schmirstmas.

Our favorite time of the year is March Madness! Yes, this picture is of my bracket prominently displayed in our front entry way. GO Kentucky Wildcats!! GO BYU Cougars!! So proud of my teams this year!

But, if you MUST know, should BYU end up against Kentucky in the final game. I will most DEFINITELY cheer my wildcats on to victory. Listen folks, my testimony has not been corrupted, I just have Kentucky BLUE roots that run deep. And, you must also know that I would not be sad if BYU won either. I do support their team, I just like Kentucky more. Deal with it.

In Arizona, we welcome "normal" summer time weather in March. Therefore, the sandals bust out and chubby little toes get painted to make the sandals look even cuter. Bet you wonder how I get shoes around those bricks, huh? Me too.

Happy Basketball and Painted Toes everyone!

"Daddy - Don't Find Me"

Oh what a joy (read: half sincere/half sarcastic) it is to have a 26 month old little girl in our home. Sometimes I love her so much I want to hug her so tight I pop her eyes right out. And sometimes she drives me so nutty I want to squeeze her so tight her eyes pop right out. I really have to say that 98% of the time she is such a wonderful little person to have around our home. During the 2%, I count to 10 a lot and remember that she is just barely 2-years-old trying to exert her independence.

Her dominant personality trait is that of a "people person". Those who know Greg and I well will wonder how she came from our reserved and non-sociable genes. :) She has quite a knack for remembering faces and names and it never ceases to amaze me. We'll see people we haven't seen in months and she will remember their names and who belongs in their family.

We had the TRULY JOYOUS opportunity to spend the evening with Mima Kearl last night. Mima was in town for a conference. We were thrilled to know that she could squeeze us in for a little visit. Mima and Gary Kearl and their six amazing children lived across the street from my family in Lexington for about 20 years. They are like family to us and it was a highlight to be able to talk and laugh with Mima again. Emma has never met her. I told her on the way - we are going to meet Mima, one of Mommy's favorite people. To which she enthusiastically replied, "I remember Mima!" Below is a picture of the three of us together. Now that Mima has won her adoration and affection by presents, play time and ice cream - Emma is sure to remember her forever more. As it should be. Only sad the Kearls live so far away they can't have an impact on Emma's life like they had on mine.


This month Emma has discovered true childhood living. She has found the happiness in rain puddles and splashing around in them until she is soaking wet. Emma has learned how to blow her nose on her own - making breathing much more enjoyable. She has become a legitimate American by learning the words to "Take me out to the ballgame", her favorite part being "root, root, root" and "1, 2, 3 strikes your out". And she has found the beginning promptings of Elijah as she becomes obsessed with family "full names". She proudly boasts her name as "Emma Margaret Adams", and Greg and I are "Daddy Loyd Adams" and "Mommy Krebs Adams". She likes to adopt people into our family and frequently names others ending in "Adams". My sister is "Laura Jean Krebs Adams" and Rob is "Robbie Gardner Adams". She has also given all of her favorite toys full names such as "Doggie Margaret Adams", "Dolly Krebs Adams" and "Blanket Loyd Adams". When we walk through stores she will point to people and ask me what their full name is. It's always a scramble trying to come up with something on the fly.

Here she is at the Mesa Children's Museum. When playing with these toys she promptly attached the ball to the end and made it into a microphone. Always our little performer.
Get used to that microphone honey, that's how you're going to pay for Mommy and Daddy's retirement.


I have started taking her periodically to LA Fitness with me on Saturday mornings. One day I came to pick her up from the child care center and asked the staff how she did. The worker just looked at me and said, "she sure likes to say NO, doesn't she?" "Um. Yeah." was all I could mutter. Welcome to my life 18-year-old child care worker. Welcome to my life.

She recently found her swimsuits while I was putting away other laundry. She insisted on putting the swimsuit on immediately, which I thought would be just fine. Little did I realize that 1 hour later when we were getting dressed for the day - she would still INSIST on keeping that swimsuit on. It stayed on under her clothes for the entire day. Luckily it was a little chilly, so the extra layer was fine, until I had to change her diaper. UGH.

She is picture below with a little bag of M&M's - which she eats very happily. I literally ate my weight in M&M's while pregnant with Emma - so she comes about her addiction very genetically.

Emma and I were at our church book club last week. The host had made a bunch of really yummy cookies, which Emma continued to eat through the meeting. I would normally have stopped her, but they were keeping her happy and quiet so I obliged. On the way out the door, she stopped, looked the hostess straight in the eyes and said "I LOVE your cookies" - turned around and walked out the door. True that Emma.

She looks a little crazy faced here - but these were her art projects from the art class on "Arizona". And can't forget to tell you about the most recent art class involving HORSES. She peed her diaper FOR SURE when she saw that horses would be the focus for class.

Emma has unfortunately cut her nap down by a little this last month. She used to consistently sleep for 3 hours in the afternoon and now I'm lucky to get 2 hours. I just feel lucky that I get anything.

She still loves to color. A few nights ago she found a highlighter and took the lid off. I had pulled out paper, which I "assumed" she was using to color. When Greg got up from the couch to check on her, she cowered in the corner of our kitchen and started frantically crying, "Daddy - Don't Find Me!" "Daddy - Don't Find Me!". She had been coloring on the walls and knew that this was not OK. Unfortunately, Greg and I were laughing so hard we missed our parenting moment of discipline. Oh well - I'll get her next time! :)

Emma's two favorite things in one beautiful moment. Ride Mickey Ride!

My teaching at South Mountain Community College has concluded for the semester, so now I need to find something else to keep me out of trouble. Any ideas?

Missed it by an inch

Darn. It seems I always JUST MISS the cool promotions like this. I was literally on the website yesterday morning to find a good opportunity to serve my community (oh - and uhhhhhh, get free tickets to Disneyland).

Then I hop on their website about FOUR hours later and find this lovely message:

"The overwhelming support we received for the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." program has helped us reach our goal of inspiring one million people to volunteer a day of service to their communities. The program has now ended. Although you can no longer register and sign up for volunteer opportunities on this site to earn a free Disney Theme Park ticket, you can still continue to give back to your community by locating and signing up for volunteer opportunities through HandsOn Network."

DARN.

Don't worry Disneyland. We'll still go in September and spend obscene amounts of money to bring happiness to our daughter.

Pudding on the Paint

All the stars aligned (or unaligned) yesterday morning. We did not have choir. And there were no meetings to attend before church services. What ever should we do with THREE entire hours before church?

Finger paint with pudding of course! What else?

I made some pudding and added a little food coloring to individual bowls. Emma went to town! She played for almost an entire hour.

Of course she got tired of painting on the BORING paper after awhile and started in on body art. I knew all along that she needed to take a bath before church anyway... so I just let her have some messy fun. Pudding never hurt anyone, right?


All in all, it was a grand success. Now don't get in your crazy head that I am some awesome Mom who does daily craft projects with her toddler. Because I'm not. I generally "outsource" her art projects by attending a class through the City of Tempe. This is the FIRST time I've ever attempted anything of this nature.

Happy Pudding Paint everyone!

"The Horsey Runs Fast"

The horsey runs fast,
The horsey runs fast,
The horsey runs faaaaaast,
Run, run, run, run away.

I love my horsey,
I love to watch him run each day,
I love my horsey,
Will he win the race today?

The horsey runs fast,
The horsey runs fast,
The horsey runs faaaaaast,
Run, run, run, run away.
Ooooh - run, run, run, run away.

Lyrics and Music by: Gregory L. Adams
*********************************

My horse racing heritage must run DEEP. And by horse racing heritage, I mean Kentucky's heritage... not really MINE. Emma has fallen in love with horse racing after watching the movie "Dreamer" with my Mom and sister. She has become obsessed and consumed. A few days after watching the show, she insisted that Greg sing the "horsey song". Because we don't know any songs about horses... Greg made one up. The impressive lyrics are what you read above. Don't even think about stealing them. We've had publishers knocking down our door for weeks.

To only fuel Emma's horse obsession, I thought it would be fun to take her to a real live, in the flesh, HORSE RACE.

Oh wait. This GORGEOUS picture belongs to the incredible "Keeneland" race track in my hometown - Lexington, Kentucky. I tried to take her while I was home, but they were closed they day we went. Boo. The one we went to was in Phoenix - "Turf Paradise". Not quite Lexington, but a tad closer to our home, and Emma is not a race track snob... YET.
It cost us $4 for the entire family on Saturday and it was worth every penny. She must have screamed "woo hoo" in her darling little high pitched voice about 768 times before the races even started. You would have thought she was walking into Disneyland. And for the price difference, we may just stick with the race track.

We got to see three races and she loved every second. "Run fast Horsey, Run Fast!" The inside building was reminiscent of trashy bowling alley meets nursing home - but the outside was virtually empty and we had our pick of seats. They even have a family lawn area complete with a playground.
I know your next question - did we gamble? No friends, we did not - but about $30,000 was spent on each 90 minute race for silly folks who want to throw their money down the toilet. Hey people - if you want to waste money, why don't you give it to me so I can buy my next baby?
We really had such a fun afternoon together as a family. And seeing Emma's face through it all was so entertaining. Now, instead of Mickey Mouse cartoons on YouTube... we watch old Kentucky Derby races. No lie. She watched the 2009 race 6 times last night and it was the first thing she requested this morning when she woke up.

Maybe we have a jockey or bookie on our hands? :)

If you are just DYING to hear the tune of Greg's ingenious horse song... the video is below. Please note that Emma's pitch generally is better. I think she was distracted by her singing Mickey. We SEVERELY punish/whip/hog tie her if she is off pitch - so I think she'll learn fast that it is just not OK. :) tee hee.

Discovery Channel

We've discovered lots of things at our home this month.

#1 - I was diagnosed with Polycycstic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS (link here for more info) about four years ago. I didn't realize until recently that it could have a very real effect on my weight concerns. I've been VERY frustrated lately because I watch my calories closely and exercise daily, with ZERO results - but PCOS women are considered insulin resistant, making it very difficult to lose weight unless you are eating the RIGHT combination of foods. Lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and just a little lean protein with every meal/snack. Sound familiar? Like every diet out there, right? But this has been a wonderful discovery for me and I hope that it can help. I have checked out multiple books from the library on my condition and am now taking an active approach to dealing with it. I have control of my body. I do.

#2 - Emma is very easy to please on Valentines Day. "Cupid" came to visit with some dollar store items and a little stuffed Minnie and Donald - which she has not let out of her clutches since receiving them.

# 3 - Emma REALLY loves getting her hands in paint and smacking the crap out of her art paper. Here are some of her recent "art class" projects. Again, so glad that this messy stuff is done outside of my home. And for $1. Very nice.

#4 - Family. Isn't it about... Valentines Dinner? As V-day was on a Sunday and we wouldn't have eaten out anyway, we invited Greg's family over for some romantic fajitas and heart shaped Jell-0. Would have been nice to show the table with the smiling faces of our guests, huh? You don't really believe me that we had people over? Well we did. I just spaced the camera thing once we sat down. I was hungry and just DUG IN.

#5 - The only way to attend a Suns game is in luxurious box seats, which you free loaded off your friends. We parked about 100 steps from our seats and ate yummy food. The best part? Our very own private bathroom folks. I know. I know. Simple minds... yadda yadda. We really enjoyed ourselves last Friday! The Suns won and we had a blast. Thanks Michael and Katie!

#6 - Egg White are better than Egg Substitute. We have been using egg substitute for years - but recently I discovered liquid egg whites at Wal-Mart and we have been in heaven. There is nothing processed about them, the ingredient list says: egg whites. They come straight from eggs and just take out the yolk. Super yummy scrambled or on egg sandwiches (think Sausage Egg McMuffin without all the fat). YUM! Give them a try, if you dare.

Who needs cable when you can have the real world Discovery Channel in your very own life?

Miss Independent

Kelly Clarkson must have known Emma was coming into the world when she performed these lyrics:

Miss Independent, Miss Self-Sufficient, Miss Keep-Your-Distance, Miss Unafraid, Miss Out-Of-My-Way, Miss On Her Own, Miss Almost Grown...

She is now 25 months... and I do believe I jinxed myself by writing in our Christmas Card that we hope Emma turning 2 does not turn her "terrible". Is she truly "terrible"? Of course not. But she has certainly decided that she is her own person and has an opinion on EVERYTHING and can do ANYTHING on her own.

She insists on dressing herself, putting on her own socks and shoes, getting in and out of her car seat by herself, and pretty much any activity. We hear the phrases, "I do it I Myself" or "Mommy No Help" or "Emma do it" hundreds of times a day.

We still love her dearly and have tried to "step up" our parenting skills. Here she is with her Valentine craft projects done in her art class. I just love her precious grin.

Emma has recently begun "Mickey Mouse" and "Horse Racing" obsessions. This is one passionate child. When she likes something, she REALLY REALLY likes it. She found a few Mickey Mouse books and soon started to fixate on this adorable large eared rodent. Go figure. The horse racing ADORATION began after watching the movie "Dreamer" with Laura and my Mom. I guess it's just her Mother's Kentucky heritage shining through. She talks about horses racing all the time now and BEGS to watch the movie. She asked Greg tonight if she could have a race horse. We're thinking a 10 Million Dollar Thoroughbred would be appropriate.
She now screams. And I mean screams. "NO!" Multiple times a day. It is just so lovely and endearing. (UGH!)
When she wakes up, the first thing we hear from her crib is singing. After about 10-15 minutes of her darling refrains, we generally hear, "Mommy/Daddy where are you?" She will repeat this multiple times until we come to her room. When I knock on her door and ask, "Emma, where are you?" she will reply, "I right here!" - As if she really had any other options of where she could be. :)
For any of you "Three Amigos" fans out there, we affectionately have named her our "Singing Bush". She seriously NEVER stops singing. EVER. It is really so cute. Most of the time it is made up songs, or a medley of her favorites. If you think I'm kidding - just come over for an afternoon and you'll experience the phenomenon of continual singing. It's really quite amazing she has the fortitude to maintain the music. And for the record, Christmas never dies in our home, because Emma is still singing "Jingle Bells" and " Away in a Manger". Happy Holidays!

In the continuum of music stories, the ward choir director, must report on my little assistant. A few weeks ago after carefully watching me lead the choir for 15 minutes, she promptly walked up to my podium, hopped on, positioned her feet just like mine, and proceeded to wildly wave her arms and sing at the top of her lungs to lead the choir. I tried to make it through the piece of music, but had to stop because I was laughing/crying so hard, I couldn't see the notes. And never mind the choir members who were also laughing and having a hard time knowing who to watch. She was even singing some of the right notes and some of the right words. She will however need to learn to "follow" her choir directors for cut offs, because when I cut the rest of the choir off, she held the last note out for an extra 3-4 beats. Guess she is already wanting to audition for the choir solo. Must have gotten that from her Daddy.

We have also been told that she leads the other nursery kids in singing time and wanders around the nursery room waving her arms and singing at the top of her lungs.
She still copies most things we say. Emma will frequently turn to me and say, "Mommy, we don't say that." I also over heard her telling her dolly, "One more dolly - you've had enough." When Laura was taking a picture of her she told Emma, "Say Cheese and Look up Here" to which Emma promptly retorted, "Cheese and Look up Here!".

Emma is really starting to "take care" of her toys and stuffed animals and dolls. If you have 36 seconds, view the following video where she is "reading" to her doll. We can't understand much when she is reading to herself or others, but she is reading "Snow White" which is why she keeps saying, "Hi Ho".