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.