Been a while! Like.....a really long while. I mean, seriously.

So, obviously we haven't been very good "bloggers" in the past.  But Dave and I have made a resolve to update our blog (if anything new has happened) every week.....we'll see how this goes. :)  Last post was in July of 2011 so what has happened since then?  Emmitt is now almost 17 months old and is doing some very funny and cute things.  He is waddling all over the place...yes, waddling.  He talks more than I do and that's hard to do.  Of course Dave and I have no idea what he is saying 95% of the time.  The best part about Emmitt talking is that we can ask him a question and he actually responds... even though we have no idea what he is saying.  Pretty darn cute if you ask me.  He does say some things that are understandable like ball, doggy, juice, garbage (yeah, figure that one out), mommy, and especially daddy.  He also signs baby, drink, milk, hat, hippopotamus (just kidding), all done and more.  It doesn't look like a lot of words when you type it out but it is great to have some level of communication with the little man.  He waves goodbye, blows kisses, and gives high fives.  All of your usual 17 month old things.  One of the best things is hugs.  Emmitt isn't a super snugly guy for those who might know him but recently he has been giving hugs.  Hugs to mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, and the best are those to his cousins, especially Grant.  Emmitt's hugs for Grant usually look like a tackle but they are very cute together.  In other news.....we are having another baby!!!!  Little Baby Batt Girl is coming September 2012 in a hospital near us (probably not you).  We are very excited to have a little girl coming into the family.  The grandkids were mostly boys at first but the girls are making a come back.  This pregnancy has been pretty good compared to Emmitt's and I am grateful for that.  We, okay, maybe just "I" am super excited for all the pink clothes and bows that are coming in the future.  Dave is more excited to have a little girl and not so much about her clothes.  We are grateful that the pregnancy has gone well thus far and that we have been blessed to have a studly little man in our family and a new little girl coming soon.  Last but not least, Dave is almost done with PA school and will be graduating August 3rd.  We are very excited to be done with school and Dave is excited to be working again.  I'm mostly excited about the income again (girl clothes, wink wink). 

The following are pictures from some of the events since July, sorry we don't have a blog for each one but we will be better in the future. (Hopefully)

Batt Family Trip to Stanley, Idaho Aug. 2011

View from hotel.  Batt Family Trip Stanley, Idaho Aug. 2011

Family pictures at the BYU-I gardens Sept. 2011

Addisyn Workman's carnival birthday party Sept. 2011

Emmitt literally throwing his head back in a grand guffaw! Wisconsin trip with mom Oct. 2011

Roar!!!  Halloween 2011

I found the wipes and there's nothing you can do about it!  What joy is found in wipes!  Nov. 2011

Happy Birthday to me!!!!  1st birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Batt's.  Dec. 2011

Grant hug/tackle!  Jan. 2012

Easter at Grandma and Grandpa Batt's with Grandma and Grandpa Gierke too!!!  April 2012

I'm so funny!  Everyone laugh at my joke.  Mwahahaha.  Easter 2012

Our little baby is no longer a little baby but a little man.  May 2012

Four Wheeling

Emmitt had his first four wheeler ride on Saturday.  We're pretty sure that he loved it!  He was trying to hold on to the gear shifts when we were sitting there taking pictures.  It was great!  There are lots more rides in his future!

Our 6 month old!!

Emmitt has grown so much!  At his 6 month check up he weighed 19 pounds 10 ounces and is in the 85% for weight.  So in other words...he's breaking my back!  He's so fun though.  It's so nice that he's sitting up all by himself and that he enjoys sitting on the living room floor.  He loves to play with his star stacking toy and his tool bench.  They both make noise and play music and he loves it!  He is a joy to be around!
A few weeks ago he started cutting his first bottom tooth and since then a second one has popped through.  He's eating all kinds of baby food and loving most of it.  For some reason bananas aren't tasting so good to him right now, or prunes.  I can't blame him for the second one! Last Saturday he tried macaroni and cheese(baby food style) and loves it. 
Another thing he enjoys is music!  When anyone (me, daddy, Aunt Suzi) sings to him his whole face lights up and he starts waving his arms and kicking his legs.  He really likes 5 little monkeys (jumping on the bed and swinging through the trees), 5 little ducks, I'm a little tea pot, and well pretty much anything I can think of to sing to him!  He also LOVES it when Dave says the Boa Constrictor poem to him and tickles him.  He starts smiling and eating his hand when Dave starts the first line...(Oh I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor). 

Well, just thought I would write about some of the things he loves and share some new pictures.

More of the "E" man

We thought we'd add some more pictures of our little cutie (oh, and us)!  These are from April and May.

"We are a happy Family."

Easter with the family!

Rice cereal for the first time.  Fun Fun.

Sweet Potatoes are yummy!  Why so concerned Mr. Emmitt?

What a cute couple.

No matter where he starts in the crib he always finds some way to wiggle his way into an awkward position.

Video - Let's see if we can get this to work!!!!

So, it's obviously been quite some time since the last post.  Emmitt is getting so big.  He will be 5 months in just one week.  How is that even possible?  He is such a blessing in our lives and we are so incredibly happy to have him around.  He has a contagious laugh and smile.  Hopefully this video will work and you can see them for yourself.  We all (Dave, Emmitt, & I) went to Salt Lake yesterday and Dave got some pretty cute footage of Emmitt laughing while I was in Subway getting our dinner.  Gotta love his giggle!!!!

That's all for now.....when I have the time I'll post some more pictures of our chunky little guy!

Christmas with the Gierke's

The whole family at Suzi's place. Billy, Dave, Joey, Mom, Suzi, Dad, Emmitt and Liz.

We always need a crazy picture!

Grandma and Grandpa with Emmitt!

This shows off his double chin!

Uncle Billy was sick- hence the mask!

Aunt Suzi and Emmitt!

Uncle Joey and Emmitt!

We were so blessed to be able to spend time with both families this Christmas due to Emmitt's birth!  Here are some pics with the Gierke's.  Oh and I'm not sure why some are small except that they came from mom in an email...so that could be the reason.  When I tried  to make them bigger, they just got blurry!

The Nativity, Batt style

Liz, Dave and Emmitt playing Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus!

Two of our angels: Alison and Becca!

Our wise men- James, Grant, William, and Tanner!  This was the best picture we got of them!

The dashing shepherds- Blake, Wayne, Tyler and Mike!

The cutest sheep ever- Mason Batt.

Alison, Becca, Heather, Brazilian friend, and Anne.

Our fearless narrator- Grandpa Batt!

Our fearless storyteller- Grandma Batt read the story and then gave each family their own copy of it! 

It's fun having a big family where everyone is excited to dress up (even friends from Brazil) and act out the best story ever told!  Since the part of baby Jesus was being played by none other than our own sweet newborn, Emmitt, Dave and I were blessed to play Joseph and Mary.  I have such a love and respect for Mary.  She traveled about 100 miles right before her due date, gave birth in a stable, and raised the Son of God!  She was truly an elect woman!  Joseph was also an extraordinary man since he knew the baby Mary was carrying wasn't his and wasn't going to have her killed for it, was visited by an angel and was the "step" father to the Savior. What a weight of responsibility he must have felt! Needless to say we were excited to have our parts to play this year, especially since we'd played them for our ward party as well-but when "baby Jesus" was still inside of me!  We'd been so excited that we decided to sew costumes ourselves.  Thats what we're wearing in our picture.  Hope you enjoy reliving Christmas near Valentines day!!