Another video and some cute pictures

Well for the past month and a half- I've been playing the piano quite frequently. I played a piano/organ duet in my ward's Christmas program. It really is a great number, but James hasn't really had a lot more time at home to take care of Emma while I played. So my solution was to pull up a chair and let her sit right along next to me. Well she never liked when I played, she wanted to play by herself. I have so many little clips of her doing this, but I wanted to share one from last week that I thought was especially humorous! I am proud to say that Emma takes after her mom in her love of music. We'll have to harness those skills into some lessons in a few years :)



And we wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Go Jaren Go!

While we were in Arizona for Thanksgiving, we got to watch 2 of Jaren's basketball games. Emma wasn't too fond of all of the yelling and loud noises, except for when they turned on the music and both teams were warming up. Here was her response :)


She's never done this before, nor has she done this since-

Break through!

Now for those of you who don't know James very well I want to inform you that James is not very opinionated when it comes to the less important things. He grew up with a brother just above him and a sister just below him for a long time before his mom had 2 more kids- so James is the typical middle child, he didn't really speak his opinions because he was the typical peacemaker. And he brought that to our marriage- many a time when we've gone shopping and I ask his opinion he doesn't really give it. I like to ask his opinion, because it's his opinion I care about most- especially when it comes to outward things. So I thought it was a miracle when last night we were just talking, and he asked if I was growing my hair out. I shrugged and told him not really I just hadn't cut it in a while. Well he said, "you should cut it, you look really cute with short hair!" My jaw practically dropped- yay for James! I was so excited! One that he took the initiative and had an opinion on my hair. And two that James likes SHORT hair! So right now I'm looking up different hair cut possibilities . . . any suggestions?

Days of Truth Challenge

Well I was a little too optimistic on how much time I was going to have on my hands right now. It's kind of a busy time for me- James and I are in the middle of teaching the marriage and family course. Emma is requiring a little bit more of my attention- the doctor thinks she has separation anxiety and has said the best way for her to get over it quickly is to make her feel like she can trust us. I guess it was bound to happen with at least one of our kids- 'cause that's how all of the Bateman kids were- some more so than others. But on top of that, my parents came out for the Carl Bloch exhibit! Wow- I don't care if you aren't an art person, it is amazing that BYU has acquired so many of his works, and everyone should see it! And next we're going to Arizona for Thanksgiving, and then Christmas in Oregon. Then this last week I've been sick and didn't really have any desire to get on and type about anything really. So I'm giving up for now, I'll start the days of truth challenge maybe when I have less interesting things going on in my life. But, with the holidays coming up on top of everything else- I just don't really have the time to blog about myself on top of everything about our family! I QUIT!

Day 2

Something you love about yourself:

James always gives me flack for this, but I am very opinionated. And I love it. It must have developed sometime during my high school years, and probably developed from being the daughter of my mother, because they raised me to think in terms of what is most important. But, I like knowing about all the local/national/global political issues. I like to know enough about them to have an opinion on them and be able to back up that opinion. I like that I grew up in a completely different cultural situation than my husband, I somewhat think that's why I have more formed opinions than he does.

Sometimes I think James wished he had known my opinions on certain things- before he married me ;)

But I do, I have formed opinions on a lot of things and there is rarely a topic of conversation that is brought up that I lack an opinion on. I like having a mind of my own- whether or not James, my mom, or my in-laws agree with me. My opinions are my own. James has said to me on several occasions that I would make a great lawyer, except for the fact that I would only choose to defend cases that I agreed with- so I probably wouldn't make that much money.

30 Days of Truth Challenge: Day 1

The 30 days of truth is basically 30 days of blog posts following this guide line:

Day 1.)Something you hate about yourself.
Day 2.)Something you love about yourself.
Day 3.)Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 4.)Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 5.)Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 6.)Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 7.)Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 8.)Someone who made your life heck, or treated you like crap.
Day 9.)Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10.)Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11.)Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12.)Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13.)A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough days. (write a letter.)
Day 14.)A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15.)Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16.)Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17.)A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18.)Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19.)What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20.)Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21.)(scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22.)Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23.)Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24.)Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25.)The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26.)Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27.)What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28.)What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29.)Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30.)A letter to yourself: tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself.


Day 1: Something I hate about myself;

Well just as about any girl is, I also fall into the category of the type of girl who scrutinizes herself way too much. I could probably make a list of things about me that I'd like to change. But, hate? It's such a strong word that I'd like to think that I don't actually HATE anything about myself. Something I really dislike about myself now is that I tend to coward off in situations where I really need to stand up and say what needs to be said. And then I get frustrated with the situation and leave thinking about all of the things I should have said and it just gets me even more frustrated. So I think starting this 30 days of truth will be good for me to openly express a little bit of me to those of you who care about reading this.

Our sweet little pumpkin!

We went to the pumpkin patch at Cornbelly's. This was the best picture I got since Emma concentrated on looking and touching the pumpkins.
This was the only picture we got with all of us, in front of Cinderella's carriage.

The cute little cousins, I don't think the cared too much for each other- for this is the best picture I got- :) They will soon though!
The family rocking chair picture . . .
Oh yeah, so for Halloween we bought Emma a penguin costume, because it was just so cute, but our ward was having a party. So we were trying to figure out costumes that would coincide with Emma's. So I'm a mama penguin, and James is the zookeeper.


There have been some really exciting new developments with Emma. TA DA! She can sit up all by herself. She's been starting to reach for mom, and been turning away from people she's uncomfortable with. She's still a mama's girl- and despite what other people may say, I'm not determined to change that. She'll come around to other people on her own time, but I don't feel the need to let her cry to satisfy the wants of other people. Which is usually quite frequent- so often she'll be held by others for maybe a couple of minutes- and then decides she wants mom again. She also gives kisses. I have a video on my phone, but it's not very good, so I keep trying to get it on camera so I can keep it, well and post it too. I know this is late 'cause she's almost 7 months now, but for her 6 month check up Emma's weight fell in the 60th percentile, her height in the 90th and head in about the 50th. She's our little ray of sunshine!

My Best Friend's Wedding

Don't you love that movie? Well this isn't actually about the movie, this is about one of my best friends who got married yesterday. This friend is very near and dear to my heart, she got baptized about 4 years ago, and so yesterday was just amazing for me, to be with her being sealed to her husband in the temple. She was a beautiful bride, and her in-laws seem like such an awesome family. I'm so excited for them!

I was so glad that James was on Fall Break so that I could go into the sealing. It was one of the most special sealings for me- because I kept thinking how different her life would be right now if she didn't get baptized. Her whole life has changed now, it was invigorating to me- I need to be sharing the gospel more often. I am so grateful for Brittany and the friendship that we shared in high school and what a great example she is to me now. Congratulations Britt!

We've been parents for a whole six months

Wow, I can't believe it. It's gone by so fast, I can't believe we've had Emma in our family for half of a year. Here's a little about Emma:

-Emma loves to laugh, and she does a lot of it
-She sits up by herself
-She likes grabbing faces and hair
-She is really trying to mobile- rolling over, turning herself around, throwing her weight- you can tell she really wants to move
-She still likes to talk- and seems to be starting to copy noises
-She is really aware of noises and where they come from, when I'm driving around with just Emma, I'll turn back and start talking to her and she'll turn her head so she can see me
-She really likes to stand, she doesn't stand by herself, but loves to stand all the time


Emma has had a couple of busy weeks, my cousin Rachel just came home from her mission, my dad, and brothers Curt and Carter came up for conference weekend, we went camping, just lots going on. Here are some pictures . . .
Emma was really good for conference, especially having her dad watch her and letting mom go to a session. But, I was really disappointed in so many of the people who came to conference. I know they have good intentions, but when on the ticket is printed, no cameras- video or picture taking, and no food or drinks, and then they ANNOUNCE IT while everyone is seated, how can you not feel guilty when the prophet comes in and you're snapping pictures away, or you're in the middle of conference and feeling like snacking so you bring out some snacks. I mean you can justify all you want, but how sad is it that you are at general conference and can't even obey the rules they have there for you? Wouldn't you just feel guilty about having a picture of the prophet that you took- when you know that they specifically told you not to take one? That's one of my pet peeve's is people who directly disobey rules. I personally think that that will be one thing we will be judged on is how well and how closely we tried to follow rules, guidelines, and commandments. Anyway, this post was really mostly about Emma, but I had to make that statement because it really is sad that people come to hear the prophets speak to us, but can't even listen to the first few rules that are presented even before conference has even started.

Joshua Bell

I read this story the other day. I want to always remember the message:

In Washington DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin started to play. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that over 1,000 people went through that station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip; a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old little boy. His mother tagged him along, hurriedly, but the child stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard and the boy continued to walk by, turning his head to watch the violinist the whole time. This action was repeated several times by other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played only 7 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk by at their normal pace. He collected $32.17 that morning for his efforts. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it, and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the finest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a 1713 Stadivarius violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Three days earlier, Joshua had played to a full house at Boston's Symphony Hall, where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

True story.

A writer for the Washington Post named Gene Weingarten set this up as "an experiment in context, perception and priorities - as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?"

This is how Weingarten described the crux of the experiment:

Each passerby had a quick choice to make,

one familiar to commuters in any urban area where the occasional

street performer is part of the cityscape:

Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt

and irritation, aware of your cupidity but annoyed

by the unbidden demand on your time and your wallet?

Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite?

Does your decision change if he's really bad? What if he's really good?

Do you have time for beauty? Shouldn't you?

What's the moral mathematics of the moment?

(The Washington Post won a Pulitzer in the feature writing category for Gene Weingarten's story about his experiment.)

Oh she's just so fun!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE our little girl! Emma is (like my title) just so much fun! She has really started to love the peek a boo game. And she does it herself! She'll pull the blanket or shirt or whatever over her head, and then when we pull it down she starts to giggle. Such a smart girl! Her hair is now at the stage where after she takes a nap we have to wet it down with water because it well basically looks like she just woke up from a nap. She still loves her jumper, but has recently been using her walker. Oh and she started scooting around on the floor. I knew she'd probably be an early mover- - she just wants to be going places. Oh and baths are still so much fun, except now rather than relaxing in them, she spends all of her time splashing. So mom has had to pin her arms down, we even tried distracting her with bath toys, but it only drew her attention for a couple of seconds and then she proceeded to splash all over and drench the entire floor.We took this picture on Sunday when we went on a drive through the Alpine Loop, the colors were starting to change and it really did look so beautiful! Here Emma is getting ready to cheer on those Cougars, who obviously needed our help! Too bad they couldn't hear us! This is the dress my mom helped me make for Emma, I think it's cute, but I had to post this picture because it shows one of Emma's favorite past times- grabbing her feet! Emma loves sitting in the Bumbo that aunt Ashley is letting us use. She is just a smiley girl! I love it. Soon that smile will have some teeth! I'll try and post some videos later! We just love what she brings to our family and house!

Someone in our house is 5 months old

Well we don't have an accurate scale, but Emma doesn't seem to have changed very much in weight. But she changed so much from birth to 4 months that her weight was bound to slow down. She is getting to a friendly stage right now and smiles all the time. She loves to laugh- and we love to laugh with her. She is all about toys right now, and loves to play with pretty much anything, but her favorite is this little crab rattle. I am ALL for babies playing with things that aren't toys too, but who would have thought the car seat would be one of those toys. I wish I had a picture, but by the time I got it out, she stopped. You know those boxes they put on the carseats that describe the warnings and rules about carseats? Well Emma loves looking at them!
She also is a proficient roller! She does not like lying on her back and if you lay her down like that she will procede instantly to roll onto her stomach!

She is the cutest little girl!

Well onto other areas in our life, James has an internship right now with Beneficial Financial Group, which he loves. Oh yeah and after 2 years in Chile, Osorno - - - CHRIS IS HOME FROM HIS MISSION!

I love this picture! My poor grandpa is shorter than all the boys except for Carter, who is 11. In our family we get our growth spurts later than most, and when James and I got married Curt was my height, but here 2 years 8 months later, Curt is practically as tall as James. This was also really fun for us, because Chris and Curt seem so alike. It's crazy my family is growing up. At least I'm still taller than Carter!

Emma at 4 months

I know she's almost five months, but I'm kind of using this to track her progress since I haven't really opened her baby book. So at Emma's 4 month doctors appointment she weighed 14 pounds 5 ounces. She was 24 inches long. She moved up from the 50th percentile in weight to about the 70th. YAY Emma, which also means those legs of hers are getting quite chunky! I have to admit that that is one of my favorite things about babies- the chunky legs! Her head size hasn't changed much. But, she is just so much more talkative and sociable. Anyway, here are some pictures- we just love her! TA DA! Look what we can do!

Happy 25th Anniversary!

A few days ago my parents reached 25 years of marriage. YAY! It's been an exciting year . . . my grandparents celebrated their 50th, my mom turned 50, and my parents celebrated their 25th. Speaking of family though, Chris gets home in 6 days! I am so excited. I can't believe its been 2 years! But, I'm really excited he's coming to Provo for this fall semester.

Okay this video actually works. . . hopefully!

Movie of Emma talking

Arizona 3.5 mos 092.MOV

I guess it's time for an update

Well Emma is getting bigger by the day, she weighs somewhere between 14 and 15 pounds, I think we'll figure out just how much at her 4 month appointment which will probably be next week. But our little girl is still our little girl. We love her so much. We love how she loves to talk to us, well mostly mommy, but the other day as we were figuring out loans and our finances for graduate school, Emma kept joining in and wanting us to listen to her. She really is quite the little talker.

We went boating and while mom and dad were tubing and being pulled behind the boat Emma was just content to be in her lifejacket. In fact we're pretty sure she liked how secure she felt in it.

She for sure loved the water, and it was such a nice day to go up to Detroit Lake.

I love this picture because we were just sitting in the car dropping my sister off for girls camp and she was just looking at her toys, and just so happy. So I needed to post this picture, it's one of my favorites.
She's quite a happy baby, she doesn't really cry unless she wants her mom or she's really hungry.
My dad used to play the piano with me on his arms, and he was teaching me how to do it, but I thought it was such a cute picture that I snapped this first before I tried it. Anyway, Emma is quite the little socialite. She loves to talk and smile at strangers. In fact the other day I was in a store, and there was a mother and her teenage daughter who were following us around, eventually when I stopped, they told me that they were just following us because Emma kept smiling at them. This was funny to me, because she really hasn't liked going to other people. She loves to bounce and thus loves her Johnny Jump Up and bouncing. But it seems like her favorite think is to just talk. I'll have to upload a video of that later.

Emma is 2 months old!

And things are just average :) Just kidding, things are amazing, but Emma's stats are around average. We went to her 2 month doctors appointment and she weighed a whopping 10 pounds 15 ounces- moving her from her 2 week appt from the 10th percentile to the 50th! YAY EMMA! She's such a good eater! Her length also jumped from the 12th percentile to just under the 50th at 22.5 inches. Her head circumference jumped from the 25th to the 38th percentile. Okay, but besides the medical stats, I love my alone time with Emma. I'm pretty sure she likes it too because we can talk for such a long time about nothing; and those are the most precious conversations I have had in such a long time. She also loves to smile, but I seldom catch those pictures on camera since she gets distracted by the camera. And lately, she has become distracted by the TV. She is such a fun baby! We love her so much! We'll be posting some pictures soon 'cause we're going to Oregon and while we're there we're going to get some family pictures done!

Emma's first trip

I guess I am getting worse at figuring this blog out because when I attach pictures they show up wherever, and then when I try and write things this is what happens, it goes wherever it decides it should go. But, I've also realized that blogs are the best way to transfer pictures, so the first couple of pictures are for my mom- they are the ones I took of my siblings in Oregon. Well and then with Maddie and my mom on the plane. The next few are also for my mom, but some of my favorites. Other than becoming a mother myself, this was the ultimate mother's day present, even though it came a week later. I got to take a 4 generation picture with my mom and grammy. I think it's also kind of neat, because I've always been told that I look like my mother and grandmother, so to be in a picture with them and our little Emma is kind of a neat opportunity. They are the best mothers I know and hope I can be half of what they are. Happy Belated Mother's Day Mom and Grammy!