7 Months Old!

Emily turned seven months old and celebrated by....getting her first cold! :( She and I had taken another trip to NC (the last one before the move-- hooray!) and she woke up on Tuesday the 20th very congested and didn't seem to be feeling well. Tuesday night was TERRIBLE- she was up all night long and even me sleeping with her didn't help-- the poor thing was miserable! Paul and I think she actually has the "Perfect Storm" of allergies, teething, and maybe a little cold too. Poor baby. Every day she seems to be feeling slightly better so hopefully we'll be through this soon!

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Princeton- Paul's Granny Laura passed away on Thursday morning so we joined the rest of the family. While we were in town for a sad occasion, it was definitely uplifting to see Emily and Jack (Paul's cousin Lorrie's son) interact with each other-- Jack would give Emily hugs and kisses! Emily was very interested in his hair and also made several attempts to take his paci from him!

Emmy is growing up so quickly! She is raking small objects with her hands, rolling all over the place (maybe she'll roll instead of crawling?) and loves to babble and to play in the tub. She is now eating 3 meals a day about 3-4 days per week. She gets oatmeal in the morning, a fruit for lunch, and usually a fruit and veggie for dinner. She is still taking formula, just smaller amounts if she's already eaten a meal shortly before. We've also graduated to a sippy cup for juice...and you can just tell that she thinks she is SOO big when she uses it! Emily tried the Stage 2 Chicken the other night and was NOT pleased at all with it. I even asked Paul to get her some peaches too so we could alternate, but she ended up crying and refusing to eat either food! Of course Booker was right next to us while she was eating it because the chicken smelled exactly like his canned food...wonder why Em didn't like it? GROSS!!

A new favorite activity for Emily is having me put a bunch of toys in a basket and setting the basket next to her-- she will reach in and pull out all the toys. We're still working on cleaning these messes up...she seems to be much better at making messes than repairing the damage!

I got a jogging stroller from Craigslist.com while I was in NC the last time-- the family selling it used it just a few times. It retails for $140 and I paid $35...not bad!! :) I can't wait to use it with her- I bet she loves being in it while we're running!

The last big of big news-- I have a job for next year!! I was offered 1st grade at an elementary school about 7 miles from our new house. While I will be very sad to leave Emily, I really like our new sitter in NC- she is only going to have Emily, her own son, and up to 2 other kids. I think not having Emily in daycare will really help to ease my transition back to work!

Finally-- I am ordering a baby pool and a "pat mat"-- this is a toy that you hook up to a hose and it squirts water up in the air. I can't wait to take pictures of Emily enjoying her summer toys! We're going to the beach in late June, too, so I'll be buying her a float to use in the pool. I can't wait to see her reaction!

Sitting Up, Reaching, Mimicking, Growing Up!

Emily and I returned home from a week in North Carolina yesterday and she very proudly showed off for her Daddy- today she sat up, completely unattended, for over 5 minutes before losing her balance. She wants to sit up all the time now and can hold toys, watch TV, look around, and pet the dogs all while maintaining her balance!

For round 2 of tricks, she decided today to start reaching for us! What a Mother's Day present!! She was sitting on the couch and I stood up, turned to her, and said, "Are you ready?" and held out my arms-- she reached hers right out to me! Paul rushed over and she did the same thing for him...she melts our hearts!

For her final trick today, we were in the car coming home from dinner and she was babbling in the backseat. Paul said, "Can you say DaDa?" and instantly we heard, "dadadadadadada" from the back of the car! Then he changed it to "Mama" and she did it again- "mamamamamama". Hooray!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I am in awe of how this day feels now that I am a parent. Emily is so, so very special and loved and I am just so thankful that she is in our lives. It's funny- last year I was 14 weeks pregnant on Mother's Day and it felt a little special...but nothing compared to how it feels this year. I am as excited about Mother's Day as I was about Christmas! Raising this little girl has changed my perspective on mothers and I really respect the jobs that mothers do. Happy Mother's day everyone! :)

Playing Catch-Up!

Hi everyone!

Emily was baptized on Sunday, April 27 in Parkersburg by the priest who married Paul and me. The ceremony was lovely and we had brunch afterward. Thank you SO much to my parents for the brunch- the food was incredible and it was so nice to enjoy everyone's company. Also, thanks to my mom and Em's Auntie A for her christening dress...I LOVED it! So beautiful! Emily was given many wonderful gifts which we appreciate so much. I can't wait to get a shelf put up in NC so we can display all her pretty new treasures! (This shelf will be high on the wall to prevent unauthorized access to these pretty, shiny things!)

She has been trying new foods- we have added green beans, oatmeal with bananas, peaches, and tonight we're trying prunes. In the Gerber 1st foods line there are 5 fruits (applesauce, bananas, peaches, pears, prunes) and 5 veggies (squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, and green beans). We have tried all 5 veggies and she loves ALL of them, and seems to like the fruits too. I have started giving her one container at lunch 3-4 days per week and one container each night. I'm not sure you can tell from the photos but this girl's getting some cheeks! It seems all these additional calories are making her a plump little lady- her leg rolls are so cute! (She'll kill me one day for this, haha!)

We drove to Jeffersonville, Ohio last week to see my friend Adrianne and her daughter Wynn. The girls are 3 weeks apart (Emily is younger) and it was so neat to watch them interact!

In other exciting news, Emily is now in a "big girl" car seat! I couldn't carry all 15lbs of her and 12lbs of infant carrier so she is now sitting pretty in an Evenflo Triumph DLX. This thing is HUGE- I have a lot of room in the back of my SUV but this is putting serious constraints on my backseat area. Once she is one year old we will turn it around to forward facing. I think that will be a lot easier- right now if she drops her paci or something I have to pull over, stop the car, get out, and help her-- no more just reaching back while I'm driving. Sounds great for these long trips in the next few weeks, right?


Emily and I are going back to NC next week so there may be a slight delay in albums but don't worry...I'm always snapping pictures! :)

6 Months Old!

Hi Everyone!
Miss Emily is getting SO big-- today she turned six months old! I have been fighting the "weepies" all day thinking that every day from here out there are fewer days between her getting to age 1 and the end of Babydom...how sad! I do have to say, though, that six months old is proving to be a REALLY fun age. :)



Emily has discovered her feet and is now quite intent on getting those little toes into her mouth, a feat she has yet to accomplish but I feel she will soon. Anytime she lies on her back she flips those legs straight up and starts pulling on her toes...Paul jokes sometimes that she's going to pull one off!

She has also mastered the Roll Across the Floor technique to aid in her mobility. She goes back-front-back and front-back-front with ease. Most of the time, though, she rolls onto her back and goes right for the toes, which interrupts her progress a little.

Emmy is getting quite a lot of arm strength and has been pushing herself up a lot. We really feel like our days are numbered before she is really mobile and is causing lots of trouble! She has also begun "pre-crawling" which looks a lot like humping the floor... if she would only put some weight on her knees she would be off and going!

She had her final well-child visit with Dr. Jay last week. We have been SO very fortunate to have such a wonderful pediatrician and have truly appreciated Jay's concern for her (how many doctors call their patient's families at home to check on them?) We are very sorry to leave Dr. Jay but perhaps when we return to H-town he will be an attending (hint, hint!) Thank you for everything! :)

At her visit she tipped the scales at 15lbs 3oz and was 25 inches long. She's growing at a steady rate but is a petite baby...but since neither Paul nor I are particularly big people (height or weight-wise) we aren't worrying yet.



Another really fun aspect of daily life now is baby food! Emily has so far not met a food she didn't like, and is getting increasingly excited each night when it is time to eat. Tonight was hysterical- she slammed her right arm repeatedly onto the tray, kicked her feet non-stop underneath the tray, alternately took a bite and sucked her left thumb, smeared peas and carrots ALL over herself and the tray, and got extremely vocal and boisterous when it wasn't coming fast enough. Paul and I both see so many characteristics in her that WE had as children and had prayed she wouldn't get (stubbornness, impatience, willfulness, quick temper). God has such a sense of humor!

Emily has also decided that babbling is the cat's meow-- she is constantly saying "mama', "dada", "bla bla", "na na", "ba ba", etc. Occasionally she'll throw in a raspberry or two (or three!) along with it and that REALLY cracks her up- she thinks she is truly hilarious...and most of the time, she is!





She got to spend some time about a week ago with my good friend Melissa's little boy, Logan. Logan was born 3 weeks before Em and when I visited her in the hospital and held him she went crazy in my belly-- like she did not want me holding another baby. Today, Logan is 23lbs and (I think!) 28 inches tall....Em looked like such a shrimp next to him!

Emmy survived the move quite well and has been surprisingly resilient during the many transitions over the past 10 days or so (at one point she had slept in 3 different places in 3 days!) The new house in NC is coming along nicely- I got about 80% unpacked before we got too lonely and headed back to WV to see Paul. We'll be going back down again in a few weeks. Here in WV we are all adjusting to apartment life and life in a MUCH smaller space...we are just glad this is for a limited time, that's for sure!

Growing Up!

Hi everyone!

Things have been VERY busy the last few weeks! Sorry for the lack of posts but I've been keeping the albums flowing and I know that's what you're here for anyway! :)

Emily is growing so much every day. She is showing her personality so much more and it seems like she will be very strong-willed (read: stubborn). She is very vocal now, and will get very fussy if no one is paying attention, or occasionally if Mommy goes out of sight (thank God we don't have too many of those days!) She can blow raspberries and has started babbling. Perhaps my biggest thrill came two nights ago- Paul and I were playing on the floor with her and Paul kept saying, "Mama, Mama, Mama" to her. Em looked at us and said right back, "MMMMMMMMMMMMMama!" Of course Paul and I both started laughing, screaming, crying (ok, I was the only one crying) and then she said it again! Now I know, I know...it didn't have anything to do with me and she wasn't calling me by my name, but STILL! It was the most precious thing ever.

She is getting mobile and has also discovered her feet! I help her "practice" crawling each day by putting toys out of reach and putting her on her belly. It takes some time but she gets herself to the other side of the blanket and gets to the toys! She is also SO close to sitting independently. Cross your fingers that she is doing it before her 6 month pictures (hey, a Mommy's got to set goals, right?!) :) She is also rolling both directions but has yet to roll front to back to front or vice versa...in time, I'm sure!

We have introduced foods as well. So far the winners are (in order of preference):
sweet potatoes
squash
carrots
rice cereal
The rice cereal should probably not even be on the list because she hates it so much. She will take a little and eventually ends up blowing a raspberry with it on her tongue, which sends it flying. Nice! We have been doing one new food per week and she has yet to experience any sort of reaction or sensitivity (knock on wood). She is very funny about the food and gets quite angry if we take too long in loading the spoon. She wants it all, and she wants it yesterday! My plan is to finish sweet potatoes this week and move to peas, green beans, and mixtures of veggies (like peas and carrots, sweet potatoes and green beans, squash and peas....yuck!) before we go to sweet things like fruits. I have a very hard time fighting my sweet tooth and I want her to experience all different types of tastes before we get to the sweets, just in case she inherited that!

Thanks for checking in on our girl. We will be busy with the move for the next 2 weeks or so but I will keep the albums updated...rest assured! :)

5 Months Old!

Emily is five months old today- how time flies! She had a very eventful last week- we drove to North Carolina and picked out our new house, then traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to see Uncle Bill and Aunt Belinda and the kids (and grandkid!) Emily really enjoyed meeting little Addalynn and "teaching" her how to use the jumperoo. They were hilarious together!


Emily also visited the ocean for the first time, although it's very hard to take it all in when you're cuddled up in a baby carrier and sound asleep! We know she would never remember it, but it was so funny that we were so excited for her to see the ocean and then she was completely out of it by the time we got there!

Probably her favorite part of the trip was getting to go barefoot (it was 70-75 degrees every day- so nice!) Since she's always kicking off her socks and shoes it was a nice break for Paul and me too-- we weren't constantly pulling up her socks or looking around for where they had fallen off.

Emily tried yellow squash for the first time on 3/20/08. She LOVED it! We think her reluctance to eat rice cereal must stem from the fact that there's almost no taste. At any rate, the squash is a huge hit and she actually got angry with me when I took time to wipe her face-- she wanted the food much faster! It was so funny. We didn't get any pictures but we did take a video.

Tonight she practiced sitting up- she can do it for 5-10 seconds before falling over, but she much prefers to stand up instead. She loooooves standing! She is getting slightly better on her belly and is tolerating more time there, although she still gets very mad. We are starting to wonder whether she will be one of those kids who goes straight to walking and doesn't crawl...I really don't know when she'll practice crawling because she hates to be on her tummy so much!



Thanks for checking on our little princess. We are loving our time with her and getting to experience all the new things she does every day!

The Greatest Trick of All!

I am hesitant to write this and perhaps "jinx" us, but Emily has slept through the night the past two nights! Paul is working with a physician who specializes in behavior and development in pediatric patients. Paul asked the doctor how we could get Emily to sleep through the night (even after the transition to formula at 4 months she was still getting up at 3am and taking a bottle, and sometimes more often). Now, don't get me wrong-- getting up once was a certain improvement over the 2-3 times per night while we were still nursing, but she is almost 5 months old and had never slept longer than 5 hours in a row.

The physician suggested that we begin to cut back her 3a bottle-- from 5 oz to 4, then 3, then 2, and then stop it all together. He said we could give her her paci if she woke up but not to hold her, rock her, or give her the bottle. I started the cutting back earlier this week and Friday night we attempted to go without the 3a feeding. I gave her her last bottle at 11p like I always do (she sleeps through this feeding but takes it all the same) and expected her to be up at 3. She woke me up at 5am and I was SURE she wouldn't go back down without a meal, especially since she was already overdue. I gave her the paci and went back to bed. I could hear her in there, "talking" and doing another new trick-- she lifts her legs up in the air and SLAMS them onto the bed, making this great thump sound of which she is SOOO proud. She didn't get me up again, though, and I woke up at 7:30 to Paul putting her in the bed with us. He had awakened at 7 and rushed to make her a bottle before she woke up and figured out that she was the hungriest she's ever been.

Last night, I nervously drifted off to sleep after feeding her at 11. Imagine my complete shock and amazement when Paul nudged me and asked how she'd done during the night (he never hears her). One glance around the room, noticing the sunlight pouring in, told me she'd slept much longer this time. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the clock read 7am!

I feel terrific today- this is the first time I've slept for 8 hours uninterrupted since long before she was born (she put so much pressure on my bladder that I was up at least twice every night from about 30 weeks on). I only hope our luck continues and this sleeping through the night becomes a normal routine.

We leave this coming Friday (3/15) to drive to NC and house hunt. We are so excited to find our new home and to visit Bill and Belinda in Charleston, SC as well. I'll be sure to post pics once we're under contract.