Wordless Wednesday - Maestro

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's

We packed up and headed off to Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas Eve. Emma slept very little on the trip up but was happy for the most part. Seems that she is also a ketchup fiend. We stopped at McDonald's for lunch on the way up. She watched Brad and I dipping our fries into ketchup and then picked up one of her own and tapped it on the cheeseburger wrapper. We gave her some ketchup and she went to town, dipping, sucking off ketchup, and dipping again. We went to the children's Christmas Eve service and then put Emma to bed so she could be ready for a big Christmas. Christmas morning we headed to church and then home where we waited for Uncle Dale, Aunt Michelle, Thomas and Garret to arrive. It was a big feast, which Emma enjoyed very much especially the mashed potatoes. We opened presents that afternoon and Emma helped everybody quite a bit. She got a lot of nice gifts and especially loved her new doll. She was tapping her little feet as she waited anxiously for me to get her out of the box. It was too cute. Emma also had a great time with Bailey, the dog. We stayed through the weekend since we had a baby shower for Aunt Lesa on Saturday. Then it was back home and back to the old grind but only for a couple of days this week.

Christmas at Home

We kicked off Christmas last Tuesday night at home since we were heading up to Grandma and Grandpa's the next morning. Emma had quite a pile of presents; she was obviously a good little girl last year. She especially enjoyed her new ride on toy.

Uh-Oh

I will post Christmas photos but our computer and my jump drive were not happy with each other this morning. In the meantime, I will mention that Emma has become the "uh-oh" girl. She "uh-ohs" about everything and will purposely drop something on the floor just for the opportunity to say "uh-oh". We keep telling here that it doesn't count when you drop it on purpose. Last night, she was preparing to drop a magnet on the floor so she gave a preemptive "uh-oh". She is cracking us up. "Bye bye" has also made it into the repertoire but doesn't seem to be as much fun to say. I promise to get some photos posted soon.

Bruiser

Emma was off playing with the big kids today and what the big kids do, Emma must also do so she was running around and having a great time until she had an unfortunate encounter with the corner of the plastic picnic table. Looks like she may have a shiner just in time for Christmas. As they said at daycare though, "It wouldn't be Emma without a bruise".

The Damage - 5 Hours Later

We're Making Progress

Emma has done so well this week with her sippy cup. The only times that she has had a bottle since Monday have been at night and the way that is going, it won't be long before we can drop the bottle there as well. I don't know what made the difference but we'll take it.

Enough!

Emma is still in the nursery at daycare and is one of the oldest if not the oldest in the room. However, her wish is to be with the big kids and she slips away anytime she gets the chance. Yesterday she must have been at her wits end with the babies. There was one in particular who was crying and crying and crying some more. Finally Emma could take no more; she stopped what she was doing, placed both hands over her ears and let out a scream of frustration. At that point, her wish was granted and she was permitted to go hang out with the big kids. We have no idea where she picked up the putting both hands over her ears but wish we had been there to see that one. What will she think of next?

Wordless Wednesday - Ready for Winter

I'm not ready...

...for winter weather but I guess that I don't have any choice in the matter. We are getting an unanticipated day off today due to icy conditions. Technically our center is opening at noon but trying to drive 40 miles with icy conditions is not an option. Plus Emma's daycare is closed so we are going to enjoy this day off thanks to old man winter. What a relief that I bought my bread and milk the other day; I guess this weather explains the zoo at the grocery store the other morning when I went to do my usual shopping.

Bits and Pieces

It seems like forever since I have had a good Emma story to tell. She has really started to question things these days. What I mean by that is that she is pointing at everything and saying in her Emma speak what translates to "What's that?" in my mind. She is especially interested in photos and the Christmas tree of course but has really been good about staying away from it. She has 10 teeth with 2 more on the way. Hopefully after those two come in we'll get a bit of a break. The sippy cup transition is not going so well. She drinks water great out of a sippy but doesn't want anything to do with the milk. If you transfer the same milk from the sippy into the bottle, she will gulp it right down. I don't know what to do because she needs to drink but she also needs to give up the bottle. Any suggestions?

Emma made a great escape last Friday at daycare. There is a door and a gate between the nursery and the transition room. At times during the day, they open the door and only the gate stands between Emma and the big kids. The gate does not lock so if you push on it or rattle it enough (like Emma), it can be opened. At some point on Friday, she got the gate open and off she went. When they finally missed her in the nursery, they looked all around including under the crib that she likes to hide under (I am sure that is a fun game for her since we like to play "Where's Emma?" at home). She was nowhere to be found until they finally noticed Emma whooping it up in the transition room. While this is the first time she has gotten in there under her own power and unnoticed, we were told that she often just lays in wait by the gate for her opportunity to make a dash to the transition room. Not sure if it is better toys or if she just likes the big kids.

Yesterday between church service and Bible class, we were out in the common area. There is a little guy at church who was born in August. He was in his carseat over on the floor. When Emma noticed him, she made a beeline and just stood there looking at him. At one point she did think that he needed to be rocked a bit. She never touched him but just stood there watching. She is going to be a hoot to watch when her new cousin arrives in February. We were taking Emma back to the nursery while Brad and I went to Bible class. Just this week, they have moved into a larger room across the hall from the cry room, however, Emma knew just where she needed to go and headed directly to the cry room even though everybody was across the hall. It was just amazing to us that she knew where she was supposed to go even though we hadn't been there in two weeks. It would be great to know what is going on in her head.

12 Months

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

...and I declare open season on Christmas music. Not exactly wordless on this Wednesday but I don't guess that any of you will object. We put up the Christmas tree on Sunday and yes, we did put up the big tree and gasp, even have some ornaments hung right at the level that little hands can easily reach. Emma helped a bit with the decorating process but it quickly became obvious that somebody was in need of a nap so Brad and I were left to put up the finishing touches by ourselves. So far Emma has been really good about staying away from the tree although a few ornaments have been pulled down. Of course we still have a month to go so we'll see if she can restrain herself. She is certainly intrigued by the tree and loves the dancing Santa. He starts dancing and she can't help but let out a big chuckle. It's the most wonderful time of the year and would be even better if somebody else would volunteer to do my shopping. Any takers?

Emma's Birthday Weekend

Emma had a big birthday weekend. We started Wednesday night with a couple of presents and a cupcake. The celebration then continued on Friday night with a little family party. Emma got to open the rest of her gifts and dig into her panda cake that Grandma made and Uncle Dale helped to decorate. She wasn't so much into the unwrapping the presents but really liked everything once it was out of the box. Both the cupcake and the cake were a big hit although with the cake, she stuck pretty much to the icing, which was everywhere as you will see including my hair.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Happy 1st Birthday Emma!

Emma started off her birthday with a trip to the doctor for her 1 year appointment. She was scheduled for four shots but was lucky and got a bonus shot (flu shot) to bring the total to five. Nice of her Mom and Dad to schedule the appointment on her birthday. She weighed in at 19 lbs, 15 oz. and was 29 inches. She is still in the 40-50th percentile for height but has dropped a bit for weight, which is normal when they get so active. After her appointment, we headed up to Missouri to spend Thanksgiving with her Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. We plan to have a little party for her on Friday so there will be plenty of more photos to come. We hope that everybody has a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving! We are certainly thankful for our beautiful little girl.

One Year Ago

This was me one year ago today.


We spent the day trying to get the Christmas shopping done since there was no way that I wanted to do it after "Boo" arrived and then put up all of our decorations. I am sure that I also worked in a walk around the neighborhood because by this point, I was so ready to meet the little baby that had taken up residence in my belly especially since the doctor had told me two weeks earlier that it could be any day. On this day this year we are looking forward to celebrating Emma's first year in only two days. What a difference a year makes.

Wordless Wednesday - Determination

Grandma Kate & Grandpa Jerry or the Cap

As I noted yesterday, we got to visit with Grandma Kate and Grandpa Jerry last week. They were on their tour of the Midwest; first stop, Little Rock, then on to Louisville and finally ending in Logansport before heading home. They arrived Monday night and then we got to spend Tuesday with them since it was Veteran's Day. It was the first time that Emma got to meet Grandpa Jerry due to other circumstances that prevented a trip to the boat this past summer. We are sorry they couldn't stay longer but glad that we got to have a little time together.

Daddy's Girl

Emma has been saying da, da for some time now but it has never really been directed at Brad until yesterday. Emma was on the other side of the room from him yesterday afternoon and took off walking/running towards him saying, "da, da, da" with this big old grin on her face. Last night, there was another da, da right at Brad. Also last night, Brad was sitting on the floor with Emma reading her a story when she turned towards him and gave him a big old hug. She did it again about a minute later. It was the sweetest thing! I wish that I had had the camera out or the camcorder running. Speaking of cameras, I have been remiss in downloading photos from our visit with Grandma Kate and Grandpa Jerry last week but will hopefully have an update on that tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Veteran's Day!

On this Veteran's Day, we would just like to say thank you to all those who serve and who have served our country. We greatly appreciate all that you do for us.

A Discovery...

While we were driving back home the other day after having our photos taken for the church directory, I made a discovery. Emma was trying to bite my finger off and I was trying desperately to free it because it really hurt. In the process of trying to get my finger out of her mouth, I found out that she has two more teeth. Both of her first molars on the top have broken through the gum line. She was drooling like a rabid dog while we were in Louisville but I have been looking for the bottom teeth to erupt so it never occurred to me that she would be getting her molars. She is getting a little lopsided in there with six teeth on the top now and only two on bottom. She is doing great with eating but I am sure that those new molars will really help once they come in far enough.

C is for Cookie

We walked into daycare yesterday afternoon and were greeted by Miss Heather saying, "I have to tell you what your daughter did today". It seems that there was a big barrel of animal crackers that were sitting up on a little table next to the refrigerator. Emma spotted the barrel and headed over with her little friends Libby and Ella in tow. Fortunately for the girls, the lid was not screwed back on tightly the last time that they were used. Emma knocked the barrel over and out spilled animal crackers for all the girls to enjoy. Miss Ruth and Miss Heather, meanwhile, were unaware of what was going on as they were tending to the other little ones in the nursery. Finally Miss Ruth mentioned to Miss Heather that Emma, Libby, and Ella were being really quiet and that is when the caught the three munching away happily on the animal crackers. They called in Miss Colleen, the daycare director, to take and look and even had to catch it on film. Unfortunately it wasn't a digital picture but I would love to see that print when they get it back. The whole time that Miss Heather was telling this story, Emma was looking at us with this big old grin on her face. She keeps them on their toes.

I Go Out Walkin'

Last night, Emma gave us more than four or five steps. In fact, she was doing a lot of walking as long as she had something of interest to get to. We still need to help steady her out to get started unless she has been holding onto something but it won't be long until she has that part down to. Emma even had it in her head that she was going to walk down the hall to her bedroom last night. She cruised the couch over to the wall and then let go. After the first couple of steps, that didn't pan out but she had certainly thought about it. Here are a couple of short videos showing Emma stepping out. Please ignore the fashion faux pas in the background.

Saturday in the Park

We have taken advantage of the weather the past couple of weekends and headed to a local park so Emma could swing...


and climb...


and slide...



and swing some more...

Emma's First Halloween

Happy Halloween a day late! We took Emma down to the church down the street from us for Trunk-or-Treat! We didn't collect any treats but walked around and checked out all the activities. It was a very popular event. Emma was dressed up as a daisy this year. It seems as though the popular costume this year was the bumble bee maybe because of "Bee Movie". There was one little bee who couldn't have been more than a couple of months old. She was too cute! On a separate note, Emma took five steps this morning. She is getting closer and closer to being an independent walker. We hope that everybody had a safe, happy Halloween!

Daddy's Return

Emma has been missing her daddy this week and daddy has been missing Emma. For those of you who might not be aware, Brad is starting a new job down where I work. His previous position was terminated at the end of September due to lack of funding (at least he won't have to search for that elusive grant funding anymore). Thankfully he was able to find another position fairly easily. After enjoying a month off, Brad headed to Washington DC this past Sunday for a week of orientation. He will be back tonight too late to see Emma but she will have a good surprise when she wakes up tomorrow morning. Our normally happy go lucky little girl has gotten "fussy" checked on her daycare report every day this week. That is so not Emma and can only be attributed to the fact that daddy has been gone. Emma and I have had a good week together but we'll both be happy to have Brad home.

Wordless Wednesday - Bye Bye Baby Food

Louisville Part II

Friday night was Emma's coming out party. The family all came out to meet Emma and of course see Jimbo, Kristi, Brad and I. This family is always up for a party no matter what the occasion. It was great to see everybody and we really should have documented it better. We weren't quite sure how Emma would be with all the new people around but she did great as always and enjoyed herself until it was time for bed. Amazingly enough, she was able to fall asleep and stay asleep in spite of the joyous noise downstairs. We were very thankful for that! Here are a few more photos from our trip. We hope to see everybody again soon.

Gigi reading to Emma

Gigi and her great-granddaughters
Enjoying Carolyn's Tigger
Emma with Grandpa and Grandma

Emma and Auntie Marth

Emma with Auntie and Ally