So sorry!

Hello everyone. Sorry its been a while since my last post. We were having major internet problems and for some reason I couldn't access my blog. Anyways, here are some updates. Emma is now 8 months old. 8 MONTHS! She has 1 tooth on the bottom, sits up very well by herself, and is trying to scoot around on her tummy. She looks like she is swimming, it's pretty funny. She talks ALL the time and makes some of the funniest facial expressions. She is a sweet and friendly baby. She has recently become very excited when she sees other babies or toddlers at the store or at church. She thinks they are there to play with her. We are excited to take her back home to California for Christmas. Even though we will be missing out on a white Christmas once again, it will be fun to be with all of our family for Emma's first Christmas. Here are some recent pictures of Emma.

Details, Details!

Things have been a little crazy around here lately. Sorry for the lack of posting. I'm busy trying to coordinate our church's Thanksgiving event. We're providing baskets FULL of food for some needy families in Fort Wayne. The Pine Hills Church family has really come together and I am so excited. There is just A LOT to do in order to get all of it ready and I guess I didn't realize how many little details there would be. We are excited that families who otherwise wouldn't be participating in a Thanksgiving meal will now be able to partake in a dinner that looks somewhat like this.

We are also excited about sharing our Thanksgiving meal this year with Megan and James! It's been fun to plan our menu and talk about our day. We love having them so close!

7 Months

Sorry this update is a little late. It seems like the time is just flying by! Matt and I will often sit and talk about how lucky we are. Emma is such a fun little girl and we are so blessed by her. Here are some updates.

Emma is now 17 1/2 pounds and a little over 27 inches long. She is napping pretty regularly in the morning and afternoon. However, if we aren't home, the nap doesn't generally happen. She is a big flirt and will often smile at men she meets in the grocery store or out shopping. She is a little more hesitant with women. Uh oh... She can now sit up by herself (finally!) although she will topple over now and again. She smiles and laughs at Hudson. She makes funny little snorting sounds when she "kisses" you on the cheek. She has now tried peas, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, apple/mango, bananas, and peaches. She LOVES yogurt. I think if we would let her, she'd eat yogurt at every meal. I finally found a cute pair of sparkly pink shoes that actually fit her and it turns out that she threw one of them over the side of the stroller while we were in the mall yesterday, which I didn't realize until we got home. She still has no teeth, although the drooling continues. She has a LOT to say and frequently enjoys screeching at me about something that appears to be rather important to her. Although we are a little biased, we think she gets cuter all the time. Love you Emma C.!

Halloween

Emma still wasn't feeling very well on Halloween, but we still dressed her up briefly. Obviously she wasn't going to eat any candy, but a lot of our neighbors were eager to see her costume. As you can tell by her facial expression, she was thrilled. Some of our sweet neighbors gave her special treats (like book and Gerber puffs) instead of candy. She lasted about an hour in the costume and then was in bed and asleep by 6:30. Hopefully next year she will be a little more excited about it all.

Crunchy Granola

Yep, that's me. At least that's what my husband thinks now. It started innocently enough with an interest in cloth diapering. That's going pretty well and wasn't nearly as bad as he thought. He doesn't wash them, but he at least knows how to put them on and change them. Then it progressed into making all of Emma's food. That's right. I make all of her food (except the cereal). I love the idea that I know exactly what is in her food and can control that. So I try to buy organic fruits and vegetables as much as I can. However, in Fort Wayne, that can be extremely difficult. The last straw for Matt was a few days ago when I came home from the grocery store and announced that we are no longer a cow's milk drinking house. We now will drink only soy, rice, or almond milk. We are trying almond milk right now and it is going pretty well. Since neither Matt or I drink milk, its not too big of a deal. We mostly use it to bake/cook with or moisten our cereal. The milk thing is my sister in law Tracy's fault. I won't go into any great detail about what she told me, but I never want to drink another gallon of cow's milk in my life. I suppose when the time comes we'll have to ask Emma's doctor about what she should be drinking. Call me crazy but right now I am enjoying my new "Crunchy Granola" lifestyle.

I'm going where?

We're California bound! Emma and I are leaving in just a few hours to fly home to California for the next week. We'll be there to see friends and family, and Jeff and Mindy's wedding! We've got lots on the calendar. We'll be staying in Palm Springs until Sunday afternoon and will be at my parents from Sunday to Wednesday. If you'd like to stop by, just give us a call. Of course, we may be out eating at a number of places. In N Out, Jamba Juice, Fro Yo, and Mariachis are calling my name! See you all soon!

Pig Tails

Emma has so much hair on the top and sides that I decided to try to put it into pig tails. They were so cute! We usually do headbands, bows, or little clips but I think the pigtails are my new favorite! Check it out.

6 Months

Today Emma is 6months old ad I find myself wondering where the last 6 months went. It's hard to believe that she's only been in our family for 6 months. She's changing so quickly and developing into a funny, loving little girl. I can't wait to see the little person she will become.

My sweet girl. She weighs 16 lbs 4 oz (50%) and is 26 1/2 inches long (75%). Although by looking at her chunky thighs, you'd never guess she was only in the 50th %ile! She still sleeps very well for about 12 hours at night. She takes 2 naps per day. A short one in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon. She rolls from back to stomach but is still struggling to roll back over. Her little legs are getting stronger thanks to her Jumperoo. She loves looking in the mirror. Her most favorite place to hold onto me is by the hair on the back of my neck or by my cheeks, which she pinches into oblivion. She squeals and laughs when you get her little belly. She breaks into a big smile at the sight of her Daddy walking through the door. She loves Hudson and laughs at him. Squash is still her favorite with pears a close second. She's tried squash, peas, pears, bananas and peaches. She's not a fan of peaches and they are not a fan of her. We are so looking forward to bringing her home to California and introducing her to more family in a few weeks!

Princess blue eyes

I love this little face!

Give me that sign!

My happy girl! We love you Emma Catherine!

Veggies

At 5 months we started Emma on vegetables. I am making all of her baby food, except the cereal and it's been a great experience so far. We initially started with peas but that was a big fail. They didn't sit very well in her stomach. So we waited a few days and then started her on squash. That went over a lot better than the peas. She's eating cereal and a combo of peas and squash for dinner and she really likes it. We're currently teaching her a few signs and "eat" and "more" are the big two. She seems to understand when I sign "eat" to her. She gets really excited anyways! Initially it was really difficult to feed her because she would get so excited that she was moving around everywhere and putting a spoon in her mouth was like trying to hit a moving target. She still moves around a bit when she's eating but its a LOT less messy than it used to be. Here are a couple pictures of her eating.

Sick

Over the last week we have been battling Emma's first real cold. We took her to the doctor just to make sure that was all it was because she has been making a very odd sound at times when she inhales or exhales. Call me an over-protective first time mom, but when it come to breathing, I wanted her checked out :) Thankfully, all it seems to be is a cold and her lungs are perfectly clear. Our doctor wasn't able to give an explanation for the strange sound she is making. Our best guesses are A) she is trying to clear her throat or B) its just a new sound she has learned how to make. We have survived and it seems as though she is on the upside now. I suppose this is one more occasion to mark in the baby book and one more feather in our "parent hat"

Grandma and Papa!!

Grandma and Papa came to town during the first week of September. We had a fun time playing with them and going on adventures.

We took lots of pictures and finally got some good ones with everyone looking at the camera!

Emma was shocked to learn where she got her crazy hair from (thanks Papa!)

Grandma gave her LOTS of kisses

We had some delicious meals. This particular one was at Smokey Bones.

And took advantage of all the extra snuggles

We even ventured up to the amish town of Shipshewana where Papa carried Emma around all day!

It was great to have them here and we are counting down the days until Emma and I get to fly home to see everyone again :)

5 Months!

Where did the last 5 months go? They have flown by. Emma is getting more and more fun as she gets bigger and learns more skills. She now rolls over from her back to her stomach, babbles constantly and sits up pretty well with some support. This month she got a new Einstein Jumperoo that is helping her get stronger and learn to play more independently.

- She weighs just under 15 pounds and it feels like she is growing REALLY fast.
- She's just about 26 inches long, I believe.
- She wears a size 3-6 month or 6 month clothing.
- Her feet are FINALLY growing and into a size 1.
- She takes a long nap every afternoon when we are at home.
- She goes to sleep around 8 each night.
- We just started her on vegetables. PEAS= fail. Up next- Squash

Happy 5 months Little P! We love you!

Leavenworth, WA

This is the town of Leavenworth. It's a cute little Bavarian town about 3 hours NorthEast of Seattle, nestled in the mountains. It's got shops, restaurants and a little park. All of the buildings look like they've been plucked straight from the Swiss Alps.
Emma was ready to brave the sun and streets in her awesome sun hat and stylin shades.

We took a family picture to mark our first trip as a family of 3!

Matt and I went to an authentic German restaurant while Mema and Papa babysat. Johnny V provided us with the entertainment. He was as awesome as he looked!

Since we were in an authentic restaurant, Matt had to partake in an authentic German beer.

Emma was a real trooper on our trip. She had a hard time adjusting to the jetlag, but she was ok after a few days. We are excited to take her on our next trip.... HOME to San Diego in October!

4 Months

We had Emma's 4 month Well Baby checkup this week. She got 2 shots and she didn't even cry! She just whimpered for a second and then was all smiles again. Here are her statistics:

Weight: 14 lbs 1 oz

Length: 25 1/2 inches

Head Circumference: 16 inches

She's doing great! She sleeps for about 12 hours a night and is settling down into a great routine.

Afternoons with Emma

Just lounging in her Bumbo

"Umm, I don't think so Mom." This has got to be one of my favorite pictures of her! I think I will see a lot more of this face when she hits about 13.

"The milk you drink comes from cows? You don't say!"

"You're funny Mama"

"Please, no more questions."

Wordless Wednesday

Milestones

I know this picture has nothing to do with her rolling over, but since I didn't have the camera handy when she did, it will have to suffice. On Saturday, July 24th Emma rolled over for the first time from her back to her stomach. Sadly for her, she hates being on her stomach and has yet to figure out how to roll back the other way. Soon enough Little P, soon enough.

My girl

She is growing so fast! I love all of the facial expressions she makes and the new sounds she is making.

4th of July

We spent the 4th at a "Cook Out" with some friends. Then we watched the fireworks from the parking lot at a church down the road with our friends/neighbors. Yes, I was "that mom" that dressed her up in red, white and blue for the holiday. We took some pictures of her and Matt in the backyard. As I was editing photos, I realized that there aren't very many pictures of her and I. We are going to have to fix that!

3 Months

Emma is 3 months old today. Here are some facts about Emma right now. She weighs just under 13 lbs. She hasn't been measured in length in the last month but she should be around or over 24 inches long. She wears size 3 month clothing. She wears cloth diapers during the day and disposables at night. She is now moving up into a size 2 diaper. Currently, she sleeps from 10-10 or 11-11. We are trying to figure out how to move that up to 8-8 or 9-9. She is starting to laugh and it is the cutest thing. She can now hold her head up by herself and is enjoying spending time in her bumbo seat.

Bath Time is the Best time

This girl is certainly her mother's daughter in some areas, namely: her love of the bath tub. Once she is in the tub she is completely happy. She kicks and splashes and has a grand old time!