It looks like the cold left with Christmas this Arizona year :) It has been a beautiful 70-75 degree weather lately so Em has been enjoying this....

 She is loving her sand box. A day doesn't go by now where she pounds on the back door and begs to get out there.

 She doesn't let this guy out of her sight when he comes home. Love her cheese face.

We had fun last Tuesday because this handsome guy got to spend the night with us. Em loved having a buddy around, especially one who took her down the slide so much. 

 She is in this stroller more than her dollies are.

 She has been walking by herself a lot more lately. She has been now for about 3 weeks. BUT she still prefers crawling for longer distances. She is my content babe that is for sure. 

We like to stop by and visit dad at work, plus he gives her cool hats to wear :) 

January...you've been good to us. 

A very short recap of 2013

2013 was a good year. It had ups and downs as every year does, but I'd say it was filled with mostly "ups" for us. Mostly because we have our little sunshine Emery who has been so fun to watch grow up.

So here's a little recap on our fam.

We have been figuring out how to be parents (and in a year of parenting I think we have it down pat....hahaha. Oh I am funny)  We are doing our best and learning a lot. I feel like it has really strengthened mine and Courts relationship.

Court and I decided to start a little side business as well. We bought a franchise and now own a little cleaning company. We started the end of October and already have 5 buildings. It has been...good, hard, frustrating, rewarding and another experience that makes me want to pull my hair out but has again taught a lot and strengthened our relationship. We finally are able to crew out our buildings so Court won't have to clean as much. That will be wonderful because I have missed having him around. He goes to work, then goes to clean and now is training crews to clean. So me and Em haven't been able to see him as much. I am the 'Account Manager.' I basically have to go meet all the new buildings, am in charge of monthly evaluations, paper work and am the one customers call if they have issues. I clean sometimes too. It takes up more time than I thought it would and I am not going to lie it has been a little hard for me to get used to working with a baby to take care of.  I wouldn't mind so much if I could always take her with me to buildings and stuff, but I don't like needing baby sitters. Still, I know this was a good decision for our family, so maybe I can be more like my husband and not complain :)

We have had great family vacations and times together. Rocky Point in May, 4th of July, Em's Birthday, Tyler's homecoming in November and of course, Christmas just to name a few.

Court:
Busy as ever. Works so hard all the time. There are some days he is gone from 7:30AM to 10PM at night now with the cleaning.  Sundays aren't much better with his calling as executive secretary...7AM-4PM with that one. Yet, he doesn't complain. He has stayed positive and still finds time to relax and spend time with me and Em. He is the best dad. Emery adores him and doesn't let him put her down when he comes home. He is doing wonderful at his job with Vision Makers and has really become an asset to the company. He has become a great seller. I am so proud of him. He takes good care of our family and I feel very lucky. I hope he gets to go on a dirt biking trip to Baja in March. That guy deserves it.

Carly:

I was busy learning how to be a mom this year. Again, it is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love my Em so very much. I love playing with her and am soaking up all the uninterrupted one on one time we have.  I spent a lot of time exercising and trying to run more to get back in shape...to get pregnant again haha. Our cleaning company (Building Works) has kept me very busy.  I feel like we finally have the hang of it though. I have enjoyed lots of family time, craft time and friend time this year. Can't complain. 

Emmy: 

I  am excited to do a little update on Em since I don't do monthly posts any more. She has been so fun to watch. I love her quirky personality. She makes us laugh all the time. I can't believe how much she has learned in the last month. Here are some things she is doing right now. 

-Climbing onto every piece of furniture around.

-She has a little car/bike thing that she loves to ride all over the house. We call it her cupcake car because it has little plastic cupcakes(it's like a baking car???) that she loves to play with. It has a little compartment that she loves to stash things in as well. I have found a remote in it, popcorn pieces she picked up from dad and my phone. Little mischief. 

-She loves to be chased after

-She has become quite the talker. Her vocabulary now consists of 'hot' 'hi' 'uh-oh' 'ball' 'hat' 'mom' 'nigh-nigh' 'nak' (snack) 'duck' 'no' (I don't think she really knows what this means yet..or at least pretends not to ha.)

-Still likes to read and likes to play outside and dance. She loves to wave her arms like she is leading when the congregation is singing at church.

-knows where her head, belly, eyes, nose and mouth are. 

-Still NOT walking. Little stink. She actually took 3 steps by herself today which was so fun to see! But it's like she is thinking why fall when I walk...if I can crawl. We'll see. She has until 18 months so all in her own time. 

I could go on and on because everything she does is so exciting to me haha. We love our little peanut. 

Here's a video for your enjoyment. Can't get enough!

We are so grateful for our good year and can't wait to start another all together! Here's to 2014. Can't believe we'll become a family of four :) 

Announcement time

We have an announcement to start off our 2014 year. A very happy one. One that everyone already knows, but that I need to document none the less. Baby Zulauf number 2 is on the way!

10 week ultra sound

We are so excited for this little peanut to be here! Yes, this pregnancy was on purpose. We always said we wanted our first two close together :)

 I am feeling much more excited now that I haven't felt sick. I still get a little nauseous at night and when I wait too long to eat, but the last 3 days have been wonderful. I am not as tired and sick, the head aches have gone away and I have started running again and it is so nice! Getting done with the first trimester is always nice and always calms me down as well. 

So far everything looks good with baby. I can't wait for him or her to join our little family. I love how much I love Emery and I can't wait to love another little person that much. It is the best (and most nerve racking, scary-only sometimes) feeling in the world. 

I know it will be different. I know with having an almost two year old it won't be quite like it was with Em, but this babe will be just as awed over and loved as little Em was. 

Sometimes I get nervous though. I wonder how I'll be able to give these two babes the attention they need. I know days will come where I want to sit down on the floor and cry while the littles run my house. I worry about Court and how much he is working and will we all have time together. We will. 

I worry this little baby will give me a run for my money after having a first baby who was so content, slept wonderfully and rarely fussed. 

But, somehow I'll do it. Court and I will love it even when it's hard. And like I said before...I love knowing I'll get to love another as much as I love Em. A mother's love really is even stronger than I imagined. I also have so many inspiring examples of mothers. My own mom-who raised 6 children that were all born in 6  years time and was amazing. My mother in law-8 kids for her and just knows so much. My sister Lindsay who is such a sweet mama. My sister in laws who are all amazing moms and who all have more than one child, and I watch how they take care of them and just feel like I learn so much. Of course good friends. My wonderful grandma. These examples help me to feel better when doubting feelings come. I got this. And I do love being mom. It really is the best thing I have ever experienced in my life...and that helps too. Plus, I can't wait to see Em be a big sister!