(This is a LONG post...written for the one or two people who actually read this blog on the regular!)
Emmanuel is a lot of fun to have around (most of the time!) After seeing numerous pictures of his cousins holding Reese, Emmanuel made it very clear to me that he wanted to hold his little brother more often. And after I gave him a photo op the first time he held Reese, he now looks at me and says, "picture" expecting me to take a picture of him.
(And, yes, it looks like Reese is scared to death!)
We have also been exploring the world of art! Each day that I am with Emmanuel, I have a "focus" for that day. It ranges from art to nature to math to letters. And, well, since my mom's house is like Costco (she buys everything in bulk) and since she's taken classes on everything from cake decorating to sewing to pottery-making, I went to her to get a plethora of art supplies (she doesn't charge as much as the Michael's store).
Emmanuel's first "real" art project: a cut-out spider and a spiderweb made out of glue and glitter (thanks to a recent Barney episode).
Emmanuel had a ton of fun using the glue and glitter...and I didn't even cringe when all of the glitter ended up on my recently dirt-free, vacuumed carpet...I simply vacuumed again.
The next day he was still obsessed with glueing, so I cut out a bunch of pictures and buttons and he glued them...then he put dirt and sand on top of them.
We also baked some cookies...but these were not just any old cookies...these were chocolate chip cookies cut into shapes!
I know that people typically make shaped cookies from a batter of sugar cookies, but I am not a fan of sugar cookies, so we used chocolate chip! After making the cookies and seeing what a temptation it was to eat all of them, I realized that I should have used sugar cookies instead.
The cookies didn't bake up into the shapes quite like I expected, but they tasted awesome! 
We've also been re-potting some plants to add some much needed greenery inside of our newly-purchased. Our decor is pretty contemporary, so the greenery adds some warmth. The flowers were gifts from people after my daddy passed away. My mom has been keeping them for me for three years. It is a personal mission of mine to make sure that they live for three more years...so Emmanuel and I are going to work really hard to make sure that they live! 
The plant fell in transit and lost most of the soil...so we had a big job on our hands. I am happy to report that the plants are doing really well even though they've been through a lot of shock these last few days!
Since our house is new construction, we don't really have grass in our backyard. The contractor's planted some grass seed, and E and I planted some more. We hope to have a lush lawn really soon...well, maybe in the Spring.
And...the biggest news of this blog...Emmanuel is truly a country boy, and Eli and I are not the only ones that think so! This child loves being outside, even in 90 degree weather. We typically spend the first three hours of our day outside. He does have farming blood in him from my side of the family, but he takes farming and gardening to a whole different level.
Dawny D's mom, Granny D, lives on about 5 acres of land. She has a beautiful garden, and I have had the pleasure of eating tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers from her garden. I wanted to see her garden, but didn't know about traveling that far (an hour) with Reesie Pooh. Well, Dawny D and the kids were heading down to visit for a couple of hours, so we decided to go, also. My husband was sweet enough to come with me just in case Reese didn't like the car and I needed to pull over and nurse a hollering baby.
Well, Reese did not like riding in the car...if he starts out asleep and it is a long stretch, then we are fine...but if he's not asleep...then it is miserable. Needless to say, we had a long trip back, and we had to stop and nurse for a while. I am convinced that my babies just don't like the car...and I will be limited to 30 minute travels with Reese like I was with Lil' E...but it will hopefully only last until he is 12 months old...and I have to remember that this, too, shall pass.
Emmanuel had a blast with his cousins. They swam in the baby pool (there was also a really neat water slide).
Emmanuel thinks he's a farmer, I think, so he is always watering our flowers and our food...he found a watering can and started watering at their house, too.
And...he climbed a tree...yes, Eli put him in the tree and Emmanuel took off!
I gently yelled from the porch, as I was nursing Reese, "Emmanuel, mama says it's time to come down." 
He also walked through the garden and picked a couple of green peppers...then he began to eat the peppers. Everyone was surprised, but I thought, "well, we are supporters of eating as much local food as much as possible...you can't get more local than a family member's garden." Then I realized that they were surprised that a 2 year old was eating a green pepper...not that he was eating from the garden. Lol. The boy likes his veggies and his sweets. 
We had a lot of fun in our little visit. Eli got to play video games, which he hasn't got to that in a while, and I road on a motorcycle. I know, right...I figure I must be going through some sort of post-quarter-life, post-second baby crisis. Emmanuel loves his cousins, and boy, do they love him back. It really is a beautiful thing because we love them, too.
