Marissa made it in the special joy downs babies

We submitted Marissa to the Special Joy 2009 Down Syndrome children for Parenting magazine and here is the link to her photo.

http://www.parenting.com/gallery/Child/A-Special-Joy-2009-Kids-With-Down-Syndrome-Round-7/5/

Lindsay Branch Photography

So, as some of you may know we had a professional photographer take some pictures of our family...here is the first picture and when we get more...I will post the other ones.

This one is absolutely the greatest picture of Zach and I

Helping Hands

So today, as mommy was in the cleaning mood, Marissa decided it was time for her to help.

So she helped me fold laundry and even hid from me...here are the funny pictures.

Then to finish up the day, she watched her Strawberry Shortcake movie in her "big girl" chair.

Happy Halloween

So Happy Halloween to Everyone!

Halloween was a great day full of adventure. Marissa absolutely loved trick or treating this year, especially being dressed up as a little pumpkin. She loved walking up to new places and getting lollipops. Well, here are the pictures from our night.

Then I wanted to share with you a new view of baby, Emma Grace and her growing. I am now 19 weeks pregnant and loving that I can feel her kick now. We have a appointment Monday, November 2nd, so I can update more later.

Also, as most of you may know, on the 19th of November, we are going to see my family in Colorado. This will be a fun adventure, and we are all excited to meet all the new members of my family...Marissa can finally meet her two cousins, Kaedence and Kaley. Thank you all for checking in and there will be more pictures to come.

and the baby is......

A GIRL....we are proud to announce that we are having another princess and her name will be Emma Grace Crater.

Her are the ultrasound pictures of our princess #2

Autumn weather at the park

So we had a lot of fun the other day at the park...so I thought that you would all enjoy the pictures of our autumn princess.

Halloween is almost here...

So today, we decided to start getting ready for Halloween, by hitting the pumpkin patch and taking pictures of Marissa in her costume. So here they are for your enjoyment and we are sending Halloween cards soon.

Marissa has moves...and update

Today, Marissa thought it would be fun to dance to mommy's music, so I thought you would love to see her moves.



Marissa, has been doing great lately. She is still walking along all the furniture and getting into everything, everywhere. She is also starting to get more courage to stand up on her own, and is showing signs of standing alone soon.

She now has 7 teeth, and is not afraid to use them. She can officially wave hello and goodbye to others. Loves to read her books, like a big girl. This is everything new for her today, but later I will post her weight and height.

As for the new baby, everything is going great. I have no energy, but we can finally feel the baby move in my tummy, which makes everything that more special. I am currently almost 17 weeks and we have finally agreed on baby names. If this baby is a girl, then its Emma Grace, but if it is a boy, then Ethan Alexander. We are very proud and excited to bring home our new addition in March, and we are going in for the ultrasound to determine the sex on the 23rd of October.

Thank you all for your time and support. You are truly missed and we will see you all in December.

a video from the buddy walk

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid10363234001?bctid=42188070001

Elmo Live

So, we decided to take Marissa to her first "kid show," and took her to see When Elmo Grows Up Live with Sesame Street.

It was a lot of fun, but Marissa particularly was not very interested and was afraid of almost everything...however, there was the occasional time where she would watch it. But here are some of the pictures from there...and some recent pictures. (Marissa at the beach, Mommy 13 weeks pregnant, and Marissa's cheerio moment.)