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

Louisville Part I - Emma & Ally

We landed in Louisville on Thursday and were surprised by Gigi, Auntie Marth, Lauren and adorable cousin Ally. On a side note, Emma was a great flier. She had a few moments of fussiness but only because she was tired of being cooped up and was never a problem for the passengers around us. She didn't seem to have any trouble with her ears popping and as usual had everybody around her just oohing and aahing. Back to Louisville, Ally had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Emma. Unfortunately for Ally, as soon as we got there, Emma fell asleep and took a 3 hour nap. However, once both girls were rested and fed, they got to spend some time getting to know each other that afternoon. Ally was so cute giving Emma some love.

It was such a beautiful day that we got to play outside for a while. Emma got to use Ally's swing (she loved it!) while Ally was getting a wagon ride.

Emma tried to crawl up a hill and then tried to crawl down, which lead to rolling down the hill. She didn't quite know what that rolling was all about but seemed to enjoy it.

Before calling it an afternoon, we tried to corral the cousins so we could get some photos. This turned out to be not such an easy task with an 11 month old and a 19 month old. I can see why Mary Beth has trouble getting her little ducks all in a row.

On the way to the airport on Saturday, Ally and Emma held hands and Emma even gave Ally a little kiss when we were saying goodbye and I held her up to Ally. It was too cute! We can't wait to see Ally again and meet her baby sister Natalie due in December!

11 Down, 1 to Go!

Today Emma is 11 months old. I can't believe that we will be celebrating her first birthday in only a month. Emma is still cruising around and continues to be a busy little bee. She has taken two steps on two different occasions. However, both times, she thought we were holding on and the second she figured out that she was on her own, that was the end of it. It won't be long though until she is off and running; she just needs a little more confidence. Emma took her first plane trip this month. We'll have more about the trip in an upcoming blog. While there, she encountered steps for the first time in her life. I didn't know what to think about how she would handle them but she was like an old pro, which was a little bit scary for mom and dad. No more words but she sure does have a lot to say. She is constantly watching everything that is going on. The other night, cousin Ally was rolling a ball to Brad across the table and then Brad would roll it back to Ally. The whole time that this was going on, Emma was watching intently. After Ally decided that she was done with the game and left the table, Emma grabbed a ball and started rolling it to Brad or in his general vicinity. Also this month, Emma has become much more consistent with folding her hands to pray before her meals. She still needs help sometimes and sometimes she wants to clap but she definitely gets the idea. In the past week, we have really finally made the transition to table food and she loves it. She eats like a champ and seems to enjoy the table food much more than the baby food; can't blame her there. We can't wait to see what the next month will bring.

Yes, she is eating an Oreo!

Wordless Wednesday

Weekend Fun

Emma enjoyed her first Oktoberfest at Lutheran High this past weekend. She got a little doll and was so excited to chew on her head. Then she saw her little friend Charlie who is getting to be such a big boy. He'll hold up one finger if you ask him how old he is. She also saw some Irish dancers. Probably the highlight for Emma though was the funnel cake. She comes by her sweet tooth naturally. This Thursday we are off to Louisville for a couple of days to see Grandpa Jimbo, Grandma Kristi, Gigi, Great Auntie Marth, cousin Ally and all of the rest of Emma's family there. We are flying, which makes me a little nervous because Emma doesn't really get the concept of inside voice. Hopefully things will go smoothly. We didn't get any photos from Oktoberfest but here are a few more "fun in the kitchen" shots.

This is actually fairly tame for Emma

A New Hobby

Emma really gets a kick out of animals of all kinds as long as they don't get too close like the goat at the Pumpkin Patch. Whenever we go out for walks, she gets so excited to see a dog or a squirrel. She has also taken to watching the squirrels and birds out in our backyard through the sliding glass door. It is not hard to determine when Emma spots something because she makes this "Unh" that is followed by blowing the air out of her mouth and banging on the door. She gets so tickled by the animals. I think that what she is really saying is "Daddy, I need a kitty!". Brad doesn't agree with that assessment. One of Brad's projects this month while he is off is making a bird feeder for the backyard so Emma will get to enjoy even more of her friends up close.

Emma's New Job

Yesterday at daycare, Emma appointed herself the official keeper of the pacifiers. They keep all the pacifiers in a plastic storage bin in a drawer; Emma found said drawer and proceeded to remove all the pacifiers from the bin and stash them in a corner in the room. In addition to her duties as keeper and protector of the pacifiers, she passes them out to those in need. There was one little baby lounging comfortably in a boppy pillow sucking away on a pacifier. When said baby was placed in the boppy pillow, there was no pacifier involved. This little one is not mobile yet so where did said pacifier come from? Oh yes, that would be our darling little Emma (the only mobile baby in the room) who must have decided that she needed to share the wealth. I am glad to hear that she is sharing and what a big helper. The day before when Brad picked her up, she was gently rocking an imaginary baby in the swing. Nothing gets by this child.

Wordless Wednesday

They Say it's Your Birthday...

Grandpa Jimbo is 60 today and now everybody knows. This is the best we could do...

These are the outtakes...

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

We headed out to the pumpkin patch this afternoon. In addition to all the pumpkins, there were ducks, chickens, and goats. Emma loves to watch the animals but isn't so big into touching and wasn't too happy when the goats got a little close. We also got to see some pig races. Tammy Swinette won the first of three races. All the little ones get a free pumpkin so Emma got to choose her own. Her daddy said that she was displaying typical female qualities as she had trouble deciding between three different pumpkins. It was a great afternoon and Emma especially enjoyed playing in the dirt and pumpkin vines.

A Visit with Uncle Dale

Dale had to come down here on business this week so after he finished up yesterday, he came by and stayed with us last night. Unfortunately it was just a short visit since he had to get back home to celebrate somebody's 16th birthday tomorrow! Happy birthday Thomas and good luck with your debate!!! Emma had a great time with her Uncle Dale showing him all the new things that she has started doing since the fair. Dale tried as hard as he could to snap a photo of Emma with his phone to send to Michelle and the boys and found that it was difficult, if not impossible, to get our little moving target with a slow shutter speed. She has got things to do, places to be, people to see...

Emma & Uncle Dale chilling...
The crinkly nose...this just started a couple of days agoGoodnight Moon