Posing Pretty

This lucky little girl named Emmalee received a beautiful dress from her Nana for Easter. She posed all pretty, smiles and all so Nana could see....

Bright eyed Angel Baby

Close up to those chubby cheeks

Heaven's precious gift

Giggles, Giggles all the time

We Love You Nana!

Food, Cooking and my Thoughts...

I have been thinking a lot about food. We need it for survival, sometimes we need it to feel better, other times we need it because it is "Oh so good". I love food... I love to eat it, taste it, cook it, smell it, you name it and I love it. I love to try new things, mess up, get the silent treatment from my Husband (Silence as in this meal is the best I have ever had) and more. I love summer because of my garden and cooking everything that I grow. I LOVE it all! I don't know how I have managed to keep up the cooking while working so many hours, but as my husband would say.... It is my sanity, my stress reliever, my happiness. I love the kitchen! Growing up Ryan and I both shared Mother's who LOVED to cook and who are both not only great cooks, but great teachers. We each had the blessing of a hot meal that was prepared by loving hands every night. It is because of this that I have not only been taught to love to cook, but really do love it. I believe that the kitchen is the heart of the home. Your day starts there and will most likely always end there. And... Most importantly your family will always be there with you. I like to joke with Ryan that because of this I think that someday in our dream home I deserve the ultimate kitchen :)

My goal this summer is not only to cook and fill the hungry bellies of my family, but to share the recipes that I have found that I love. We are so lucky today to have so many blogs, websites and cookbooks that share the same inspiration and love. So far, I have managed to not once cook a casserole for my husband since we got married. That is right ladies! No tuna casserole, chicken casserole, cheesy casserole has been served in this house! I have tried to keep it entertaining, new and exciting. Some dishes are healthy, some aren't which makes them down right delicious and some are just fun. Sorry this entry is rather long and boring and filled with no pictures, but I will be posting plenty of Beer can/cola chicken, Pork in Green Sauce, Spaghetti Carbonara, Asian lettuce wraps, Double fudge mint brownies, Chicken cordon bleu burgers, Fresh garden salsa and many more... Would you like to stay?

BTW... Emma is growing beautifully. Just about crawling, chatting away and absolutely beautiful. New pictures to come. As for Ryan, he is still waiting for work, but waiting happily and as handsome as ever. I am so lucky :)

Does this thing even exist?

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!

Splash! Splash! Emma's taking a bath!!

Don't let her fool you with those big pretty eyes...
Don't worry there is a shampoo bottle blocking her privates :)

It has been forever since I last blogged. Soo much has happened! I am a working machine! I wish I could be home with my baby, but we are still going through some lay offs! We are hoping that in the next month or two things will start picking up and Ryan will be back at work so we can switch places, ha ha. Although, he is the best stay-at-home Daddy!!! I am supposed to be training for a half marathon that I am running with my sister and my Mom. Although, I have to admit I am struggling with working so much and still having the energy to get up early and run. But, after seeing Mell's blog about the run she did I am way more motivated. Wish she was here to run with me!! Some other new things are that I have applied for financial aid and hope to get started back in school! Life is crazy, but it is so good! Busy, happy and fulfilling each and every day!

Some new and exciting things about Emma is that she is a rolling machine. And, she ends up in the weirdest of places!!! (In our office Ryan has two big boxes that he still has yet to go through and some how she managed to push them apart and get stuck in between them) She is talking up a storm. She is like the text book baby and says "Goo Goo Ga Ga" all day long! She cut her first tooth the other day and has another one about ready to pop out! That has been miserable for her, but so fun for me to feel the tooth and she is extra cuddly! She LOVES bath time which is great because she used to scream through it. I now have to hold her down in the tub because she is so excited that she either dive bombs for toys or splashes water all over me. It is the best :) She wants to crawl so bad, but still has yet to get her chubby bum moving! I just love her!

I hope everyone is doing well! Sorry it has taken me so long! I guess life has to come before my blog, ha ha!

Family Pictures!!!

The Ihnen Family 2009

We finally got our first family pictures! With the lay offs money has been tight and I wasn't sure if we would be able to do this, but thanks to Sears Photo and their great Holiday Coupons and my parents for giving us Christmas money every year... It happened!!! It was the best present ever. Emma was such a ham and apparently she loves the camera and attention in the spot light. Should I be worried? She did great and they turned out really well. I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's! We enjoyed getting our pictures done, a great pizza dinner and our friends Heather and Andrew and their two boys. We watched movies and made it to bed by 10:00pm!!! Ha Ha we are so lame!!! But, it was great and perfect!

Daddy and His Little Angel

Mommy and Angel Baby

Thank you Julie Hoyle for this dress! Amazingly it was the tightest squeeze ever for being a 6-9 mos. dress! Emma is 18 pounds and it didn't want to come on, ha ha!

Loving her smile and big blue eyes!

Happy Baby...

Look at me Mom!

Loves those toes almost as much as her thumb!

Emma's First Christmas 2009

The Entire Family Together.

Christmas 2009 was quite the treat. Ryan's family had everyone here to attend, which hasn't happened in quite a while! We played games, ate great food, watched movies and enjoyed each others company. My parents house was extremely mellow and laid back. We had a big Thanksgiving to make up for our short, but sweet Christmas afternoon of eating when and as you liked, TV and napping. I don't even think we took pictures which was kind of a bummer. I will have to check my Mom's camera to make sure. I am thinking we were all exhausted from our Christmas movie making this year. (For those who haven't checked out or seen what I am talking about you can visit www.3squaresfilmfestival.blogspot.com for some quality entertainment.) For Emma, she made out like a bandit! Santa treated her well this Christmas! Although, Santa can't wait for next year when she will understand and be more excited! =)

Here are some pictures of the Ihnen's Christmas.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Love you all!


Baby Clause and Mrs. Clause Ihnen.

Grandma and Grandpa Ihnen with Amelia and Emma
in their Christmas dresses.

Merry Christmas 2009

Grandma and Grand babies in their Christmas PJ's
given to them by the Grandparents.

Emma and Amelia. Christmas Bunnies =)

My next post will be new pictures!!! We are getting our pictures taken for the first time as a family this Thursday and I am so excited! Although Ryan's hair is shabby, it is his typical winter hairdo and it wouldn't be a "true" picture without it, haha. Once I have the pictures I will make sure to share them with you! Again, we hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Holidays!!!

It's Been Too Long...

Precious Day. Precious Angel Baby...

I don't even know where to start. It has been so long since I have updated I just can't stand it.

Let's see...

In October my Dad gave Emma her blessing and it was truly beautiful. He did a wonderful job. It was an emotional day for me, but truly special for my Dad to be able to do that for my daughter and I know she will be blessed. So, thank you Dad, I Love you...

Emma in her blessing dress. This was my dress when I was a baby and was made by my Grandma Moon.

Pumpkin girl for Halloween. My Mom made her Halloween bow. Uncle Nick is holding her.
BOO!!

Emma is growing beautifully. She is full of so much personality already. She sleeps through the night, smiles, plays, laughs, talks and coos up a storm. She is so chubby! We call her out little Michelin women. At her 4 month appointment she weighed in at 15 pounds! She is holding her toys, enjoying her new jumper (early x-mas present) and just about rolling over. This is the best stages I think.


This picture is special. Ryan had a brown velour outfit when he was a baby. It will be cute to put the pictures together of them wearing their outfits and in the same pose.


The Little Michelin Women. Ha ha.

Emma and her bouncer at Grandma and Grandpa Ihnen's. She was so happy they got her this toy as you can tell. :)


Emma with Grandpa Ihnen and his tractor before he sold it. She is wearing her John Deere onesie.

The last couple of weeks have been kind of tough. Ryan was laid off early, I went back to working almost full time and now with the Holidays in swing it is just crazy! I am not sure how much more Ryan and I can experience... It seems we hit every good and bad wind in just our first year of marriage, but I am always surprised and something new always happens. All in all, we are so blessed and still both think we have it all - A roof over our heads, a best friend and the most precious baby in the world. Love is spoken here no matter the mood or circumstance :)

During Thanksgiving my brother Josh and his wife Sarah and their two kids came from Florida. We have so much fun visiting with them, eating TOO much good food and playing games. We miss them because we hardly get to see them, so it was a special treat to see them for Turkey Day. My Aunt Terri and Uncle Tom and their kids came too and that was great as well.



Brody and my Brother Josh Hanging out.


Crazy kids playing at Nana and Papa's House.


Braden passed out from all the chaos.

Up above is recent pictures of Emma, Halloween,Thanksgiving, and the newest addition. Ryan has been wanting a second puppy. I haven't decided yet where I stand on this subject, but knew it would happen either way when you marry a hunter and dog lover. Our puppy Chevy has been so sad since we replaced her with Emma, ha ha. She cried and moped around our house for a couple weeks. The other day we took in two stray labs. We are only keeping one and will be finding a home for the other. So far this has been a lot easier then the first time. Ryan does most of the work and there has been very few accidents because they seem to follow Chevy, which is great. There is a chocolate one and a black one. We know for sure they are from the same litter, abandoned and possibly abused. So hopefully we can love them back to good health :)


Whatever puppy we keep will be named Gunner. So cute...

Some things that we have to look forward too are Christmas! Ryan's sister Jessica and our niece Amelia will be coming for two whole weeks! This will be great since we know that Jessie will most likely be deployed to Afghanistan soon. It will be fun to spend the Holidays with more family. I love Christmas, what it means and the feeling you have when you are surrounded with family and the ones you love. Happy Holidays everyone!

Christmas is Coming Soon :)

This year for Christmas my family has decided to give the gift of laughter instead of presents. This was my Sister Jenni's idea in Arizona. It will be a new family tradition that we will post videos from each family every Christmas on Youtube and win prizes for the most voted and best video. Each year will be a different theme and each year our parents do not get to choose what their video will be. It will be voted upon. I am sharing this with you because it is so funny, and because we need your votes. Below is the email that my sister sent me that explains the rules and regulations for our family. She has created a website that you can follow everything, view the videos as well as vote. The deadline is December 23rd! Vote for our video!!! Enjoy the laughter :)

http://3squaresfilmfestival.blogspot.com/

Email from Jenni:

First Annual

3 Squares Film Festival

“Because three is enough, if not, flush and begin again.”

This year marks the Rew Family’s first annual film festival. Instead of giving Christmas gifts to siblings each family is responsible to produce one film posted to YouTube due by December 23^rd.

Theme for 2009: Music Video

Each family (with exception to Janna & Howard) will produce a music video to any song they choose.

Janna & Howard’s music selection will be chosen by popular vote.

Film Rules:

Every family member must be on film.

At the beginning of each film each family must introduce themselves. Please include the year and the names and ages of each family member.

There is no time limit. If it is too short, we will call you lazy behind your back. If it is too long, Dad will grow weary of pretending its funny.

We will post the videos to YouTube and compete with each other to see who gets the most viewings and the best ratings.

The point is to be funny. Our gift to each other this year will be to have fun together.

Typical Wines:

“I don’t have a video camera”

You can borrow one from friends or use your digital camera to create a slide show.

If you live in Richland you can borrow Mom & Dad’s when you are there every day eating their food.

“We don’t have time”

You can use family home evening night to create these videos. This project replaces having to give a Rew sibling Christmas gift to any one this year. By producing this video you are saving money and shopping time. Unless of course you forgot to ever send your Christmas gift last year and then, yes, this will take more of your time than usual.