Emma's Birthday in Kansas City (warning: picture heavy post!)

Emma with her cheesecake:-)

Emma's 8th birthday was April 13th, and she requested that we go to Kansas City so she could go to the American Girl Doll store there. We invited my parents to join us for the fun, and they agreed. We fit a lot into basically 24 hours in Kansas City. When we arrived and after we checked in to our hotel, we left to go eat at Cheesecake Factory (yum--I had never been before). After eating we went to Barnes and Noble so the kids could use the gift cards they got from my sister. By the time we finished there, we went back to the hotel and went to bed. The next morning after breakfast we checked out of the hotel and got ready to go to the American Girl store:-) Emma was so excited:-) We arrived a little before the store was open, so we went into another Barnes and Noble (we apparently like books a lot) and shopped some more. Then it was time to go in. Emma ran in and started looking at everything. She had brought one of her dolls with her, so she took her over to the doll salon (these people know how to get you to spend money). We signed Julie (her doll) up for a cleaning and hairstyle and ear piercing. Emma, mom and I then went and looked around the store while the boys gladly escaped to the rest of the mall:-) I had told Emma she could have the doll of the year for her birthday, so we set about buying her and 1 outfit (Emma picked a running combo) and mom bought her another outfit and a little purse thing to carry her dolls in. When we were finished we met the boys and did a little more shopping. Then it was time for lunch! We had decided to try and eat at the T-Rex Cafe. It was at another mall near the Kansas Motor Speedway, so we headed out. It was a very neat place to eat, and of course the kids wanted to go to the Build-A-Dino store they had in the restaurant:-) ( I know it sounds like they are spoiled, but we rarely buy them things other than birthdays and Christmas, so we felt ok letting them have a few extras this trip). They each picked a dinosaur to get (except Will--he slept through most of the restaurant). After we ate, our last stop was to go to Union Station and go to the Science Museum. It was a little pricey but the kids had a lot of fun looking at the different exhibits and they loved all the hands-on stuff. We left KC and headed home, where my sweet husband stopped at Krispy Kreme donuts for all of us a few miles outside of KC. We also took a quick tour of Shon's corporate headquarters, since they are based in Kansas City. All in all, it was a great weekend and a lot of fun for all the kids. Caleb has requested to go to St. Louis for his birthday in a few weeks, so hopefully we will have a fun adventure there as well.

8 Months Old

Will, you are 8 months old today! You have finally learned to roll over from your stomach to your back (on March 19th) but have not tried the other was:) You are babbling so much the past week or so--a lot of lalala and gagaga but no true words yet. It appears you found your voice while the other kids were gone on Spring Break:) You are still enjoying baby food--you have tried all of the 2nd foods now. You will chew on a sippy cup filled with water but are surprised when you actually get a drink:) You probably weigh over 19lbs now--we go back to the doctor on Wednesday to re-measure your head circumference, so I will post the weight then. You wear 6-12 month clothing for the most part, although I did put you in some Old Navy pjs that were 12-18 months since I think they run small. You still wear a size 3 diaper. You love to take a bath and splash anyone in sight. You also are drooling like crazy and want your hands in your mouth constantly--but still no teeth. You are still not completely stable sitting up although you are much improved. You still have trouble sleeping through the night and that is the 1 thing mommy wishes would resolve before you are 9 months old:) You still light up whenever you siblings come into view--after not seeing them over Spring Break you just jabbered when you saw them for the first time. We had to travel to Texas for my grandmother's memorial service and you were such a great car rider. We rode down and back with nana and papa. Mommy calculated that we were in the car for about 30 hours total getting to and from Columbia and you were wonderful. You have started taking an interest in other people and will flirt quite a bit if someone talks to you:) Will, the time is flying by! I can't wait to see what the next month will hold. We love you!