A Beanie Boo Thank You

A special thank you to Wade and Li Ming for the Beanie Boo stuffed animal.  It was the perfect gift at this stage in Emma's development because she is very into eyes.  Emma loves looking into the gargantuan eyes of her Beanie Boo.  Beanie Boo is even helping her to learn how to crawl.  Mommy puts Beanie Boo just out of Emma's reach and Emma can't resist pushing and pulling herself forward.

Emma and Beanie Boo's first encounter

So Many Reasons to Celebrate

Emma just loves to celebrate birthdays with everyone.  Last night we celebrated Great Aunt Joan's birthday.  Emma loved being passed around to anyone that was willing to hold her.  We even got some big smiles out of her.  Great Aunt Sharon was in town for the celebration too, so Emma had a chance to meet her.  Today Aunt Sharon watched Emma while Mommy and Daddy biked around the lake and went swimming.  Mommy and Daddy loved having some time to themselves and Emma had so much fun with Aunt Sharon.

 "Mommy, How many Great Aunts do I have?"

 "I definitely could get used to being held all the time"

"Really?  I was having a hard time understanding the theory of Quantum Entanglement, but now everything is so clear to me."

Olympic Outburst

If wailing at the top of one's lungs was an Olympic sport, Emma would definitely receive a medal.  Last night Mommy and Daddy had friends over to watch the opening of the Olympic games.  Just as guests were arriving, Emma reached the point in her day where she needed a nap.  However, putting a little kiddo to bed with everyone talking downstairs was too much of a temptation.  Mommy tried to let Emma know that she was too tired to participate in the party, but Emma would have none of this talk.  She was definitely going to be part of the action

Emma proceeded to cry until Mommy finally brought her downstairs and let her get passed around to all the guests.  Emma was fascinated with all the new faces and became very excited for a short while.  Then she returned to her crabby, I need a nap disposition.  Finally after everyone left, Emma decided it was time to calm down.  At this point she was so tired that she crashed as soon as her head hit the bed.

Hey Carolyn, did you try to color coordinate with me?  I was going for "luminous being".  How about you?

Girl Talk

Yesterday was a great day for Emma.  We played outside, took a few airplane rides, smiled a lot at Seahorse and Mommy, and went for a walk.  The highlight of the day was listening to Grandma Walczynski on speaker phone.  As soon as Emma heard grandma talking, she started to coo and smile.  Mommy doesn't know how grandma gets her to smile so quickly.  She had been working all day to get some smiles out of Emma. 

Emma listening to Grandma on the phone

Mommy and Emma working on their "Legs Up, Kick, Kick, Arms Up" dance routine

Yoga Here I Come

Emma has been practicing her head movements and lifting herself up into a cobra position this past week.  She even does a bit of a Savasana in between each set.  A natural yogini at heart.

 "I could do cobra pose all day long"

 

How am I doing boss?

Up, Up and Away

Here I am taking my first flying lessons aboard the Mommy Knee Express.  Today Mommy took my toys outside and we played on the front lawn.  After lifting my plane safely off the ground, I tried both a left turn and a right turn.  The plane went up and down and we even experienced a little turbulence (which I liked greatly).  Lowering the plane was a little bit challenging but I made it safely to the ground without any crash landings.

"I am Ready for Take-off."

"Do you serve milk on this flight?"

"I guess I got a little jet lag from the long flight"

My First Haircut

Yesterday daddy gave me my first haircut!  Ok, it wasn't a full haircut, seeing that my top hair is still so short...but the hair on the back of my head is really long!  I am the world's youngest mullet wearer.  Anyhow, I had some nasty knots in the back due to my incessant squirming and moving of my head when I am laying down.  I'm sorry, but there's just too much to see for me to sit still. 

Just a few small snips, ok?  I want to keep my mullet.

Mommy suggested that some people shave their baby's heads so that their hair grows back thicker.  Well, I don't know about that.  I may get tangles but you have to admit that my blond locks are completely adorable :)

Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Flowers??

Emma and Mommy spent some time today investigating some of the flowers from the backyard garden.  Emma was particularly fond of the orange and red tiger lilly we have growing on the side of our fence.  We also enjoyed feeling the rough texture of the purple cone flower.  Mommy accidentally picked a really stinky purple plant and brought it into the house.  We had to get rid of that one quickly!

 Mommy, what the heck is that?  Don't make me touch it.

 Are you sure these are okay to touch?

 Okay, well maybe I will just touch it with my toe.  Take that scary looking flower.

The Baby Pros

Today one of Mommy's favorite families, the Barnards, stopped in to meet Emma.  Mommy had Margaret as a student her first year of teaching fourth grade at Willow, almost ten years ago (Wow, time flies...).  Mommy was so excited to have Margaret hold the baby.  Emma spent most of the time sleeping, but Alli had a heyday.

When Carol and Margaret first arrived, Alli ran out of the house over into the neighbors lawn.  Mommy was so embarrassed.  Margaret had to go chase Alli back to the house.  Then she kept bringing her disgusting, slobbery toys around in hopes of getting a bit of attention.  Thank goodness Margaret and her mom like dogs.

Besides liking dogs, Margaret and her mom are baby pros.  Mommy hopes that at some point in the near future, Margaret can watch Emma for a few hours.  And of course, from a little kid's perspective nothing is "cooler" than getting to hang out with a high schooler.  Little does Margaret know that Mommy still has the tie blanket she gave her years ago.  Emma is fascinated by all the bright colors and stares at it nonstop when she is being rocked.

 Margaret holding Emma

Would You Like to Be Friends?

Today Emma and Clare had their first get together.  Mommy and her friend Colleen got a chance to catch up while the girls used telepathy to communicate with each other.  Clare and Emma were born about a week apart and both the mommies are hoping they become good friends.  Clare was great and slept through the entire visit.  Emma decided that she wanted to cause a bit of trouble.  You can see her in the picture crying at the injustice of having to meet when it was hot outside.  Emma tried to wrap Clare into her fight for baby rights, but Clare just remained calm and quiet.  Colleen and Mommy joked that Emma might become a rabble rouser in the future.

 Emma raising Cain while Clare sleeps soundly

Once we returned home, Emma took a bath, was fed and spent some quality time relaxing next to her current best friend, Seahorse (Thank you Conrad for this amazing toy!  If anything ever happens to Seahorse Mommy and Daddy will go crazy trying to buy another one).  After some relaxation, Emma fell into a deep slumber...

 Emma back at home relaxing with Seahorse

Games, Games and More Games

I am not sure what Mommy and Daddy have been reading, but my daily activities have become kind of strange lately.  First of all, they have me batting at this shiny ball attach to a string (What do they think I am, a cat or something?) and then they blow these shimmering globes at me to see how I respond.  They keep telling me this ball on a string thing will help with hand-eye coordination.  Every time I hit the target, Mommy jumps up and down and says, "Way to go, Emma!"  I definitely want to impress them with all my skills.

My crawling has significantly improved this last week.  Even though I could move across the bed using my "Wiggly Worm" motions this past month, now I can finally get my arms and legs working together.  My head lifting is coming along nicely too.  Pretty soon, I am going to be able to support myself on my arms.  Then Mommy and Daddy better watch out because there is going to be no stop to my movement!

 Miss...Miss....a Hit!!!  I have 10 points...

These things Daddy calls bubbles are so crazy.  I can see through them and sometimes they shine pretty colors.  One minute they are there and the next minute, they are gone.

I

An "I Want My Bottle Birthday"

Today Emma and Mommy celebrated Grandma Kathy's birthday with her.  Grandpa Mark, Great Aunt Joan and Great Grandma Burrell were also there for the celebration.  Mom brought bubbles and all sorts of things to play with, but all Emma wanted to do was eat.  Emma is currently making her way through the sixth week growth spurt and is hungrier than ever!!  She has grown so much in the past week that her feet can almost touch the end of the car seat.  Could she have Mommy's long legs?...We'll have to wait and see.

 

 So hungry I am willing to chew on my hand

  

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

It's all about Perspective

There's a light at the end of the tunnel
(Who knew toilet paper tubes would become a fascinating toy)

Yesterday was another tough day for me.  I went to the doctor in the morning and all the nurses thought I was so cute that they wanted to take me home with them!  Life was good.  Then I started having some tummy troubles in the afternoon.  By the time Daddy got home from work, I was having a complete meltdown, and Mommy was thinking twice about letting the nurses have me :)

Then I ate, did some tummy time, made a present in my diaper, and had a bath.  I felt much better.  However, the tummy trouble came back, and I could not stop crying!  Mommy and Daddy tried everything, but to no avail.  Then all of a sudden, I felt better and I fell fast asleep.  I slept for 7 hours straight!  Snoozing is one of the things I do best, just like crying.

Even though I can't talk yet, I made some noises to let Mommy and Daddy know that they should just chill out and go with the flow.  I'm doing my very best to be a good baby, and someday soon my tummy won't be hurting me so much anymore.  With that perspective, we can all rest a little easier.

Hanging Around

Daddy and Emma were recently captured hanging around in the backyard hammock.  Daddy told Emma the story of the ugly, overgrown corner bush we once had that became a beautiful hammock stand.  Thank goodness the temperature has dropped a bit and everyone can get outside for some fresh air.

Girls Only Garden Party

Today Emma attended her first all girls' social event at Diane Barthel's house near Cherokee Park in St. Paul.  Attendees were asked to wear sundresses and hats.  Emma jumped at her first chance to wear a pretty dress that Grandma Jan purchased for her.  Emma ate up the attention as she was passed around the circle to many different women. Even though she looked like she was sleeping, Emma was really trying to catch up on all the lady gossip.  After the party, Emma took a walk around the cathedral area with mommy and Carolyn.  An enjoyable time was had by all.







Preparing for the Party














How hard could it be to get an infant ready?

 Listening in on the Gossip 

Award for Best Dressed

"O" is My Favorite Vowel

"O ooooooo" "O ooooooo" "O oooooooo"

Daddy and I have been working on saying my vowels.  We started with "O" last week and now we are working on "E."  I must say that "O" is the best of all the vowels.  Who couldn't love the little circle that your lips get to make when you say, "O." I am starting to catch onto that "Eh" sound but it is so much more fun to say "O oooooooooo."

What an exciting 4th of July!

Today was my very first 4th of July, and boy was it a doozy! I was very content this morning.  Grandma and Grandpa W came over and played with me.  Everything was going fine until about 1 p.m.  Around that time, I had some really bad tummy pain, and it just wouldn't go away!  I had to cry on and off all the way until 10 p.m.  I think I heard Mommy and Daddy say something about running away.

I'll have to try extra hard to be good from now on, because 9 hours of crying is just too much, even for a little baby like me.  I don't know why I get stomach pain sometimes and not others.  Mommy and Daddy are working really hard to figure it out so that they can help my tummy to feel better.

I did do one really cool thing today.  When mom raised her arms up, I raised mine.  When she lowered them, I lowered mine.  I am turning into a copycat.  I also was able to copy mom's smile and her surprised face.   I tried snapping my fingers like mom did, but I think I am going to have to work on that one.

The fireworks in the neighborhood started at around 10 pm, but I didn't mind.  There is a nice ceiling fan in my room that makes a swooshing sound, plus I was so tired from all that crying today that I couldn't help but to fall fast asleep.

My First Road Trip

This weekend Emma had a chance to meet her Great Aunt Mary and her family.  When Emma arrived late on Friday night Aunt Mary and Conrad greeted her and she was rocked to sleep.

Aunt Mary definitely has a way with babies.  Emma rested so quietly when Aunt Mary would rock her.

As soon as she woke up, the festivities began.  The day started with a visit from her second cousins.  Mom's cousin Shannon and her husband Michael came over with their daughters, Riley and Alex.  Emma had so much fun watching the girls play.  However, we were very tired after a few hours with so many people.

 

Here is Riley, Aunt Mary, Alex and Emma 

(Pretty impressive that we almost got everyone smiling and holding still for the picture)

Nap time was a struggle because we wanted to continue playing, but finally we took a break.  As soon as nap time was over, more people arrived for more fun.  Mom's cousin Karen came over with her twins, Ava and Alton.  Ava and Alton played with almost every toy in the bin and Emma decided that she wanted to do some tummy time play herself.  Mom thinks that Emma was starting to realize that these bigger kids knew some things she didn't.  When Emma pursued tummy time, she tried harder than she ever had before.  She made it across the blanket more than three times before deciding enough was enough.





Ava and Alton munchin on some Cheerios while Emma listens in on their playtime.

 

Mom's cousin Karen holding Emma while Ava takes a spin on the chair.