Sweet Freedom!

2010-11-14T19:09:00.010-05:00

Baby Elijah

2010-11-14T19:07:00.000-05:00

Look Who Turned Two!

2010-09-25T14:02:00.016-04:00

Emma had a birthday party to celebrate the big t-w-o. She had a great time and REALLY enjoyed being a princess for a day. Ha Ha... Who am I kidding? She's a princess every day. This was just another wonderful day for Emma to soak up all of the love and adoration from her friends and family. AND there were "pupcakes"(as the Princess likes to call them)! She thoroughly enjoyed licking off all of the icing and letting Daddy finish the rest. How kind of her to let her public eat cake. ;)

Busch Gardens

2010-09-25T13:51:00.012-04:00

Colonial Williamsburg

2010-09-25T13:43:00.006-04:00

Emma goes old school and plays a game of "hoops" with her cousin Logan.

Gretchen makes friends with Mr. Carter and some of the local transportation.

Logan sits on watch and enjoys being a patriot.

memory problem

2010-07-04T15:15:00.003-04:00

We're having an issue with our computer. It has decided that it absolutely will not accept ONE MORE PHOTO. Apparently, we have been busy loading up our hard drive with pictures of our lovely and talented daughter for the past two years and, unfortunately, there is a limit. We purchased an external hard drive a while back with plenty of space to back up our computers, but the blasted thing froze up on us and we can't get it to turn loose of our info. That is exactly the opposite of what we bought the silly thing for. Boooo.
Ever the optomists, we purchased a new one with twice the storage space and are hoping it will not go all HAL on us and "picnap" our kid photos.
Because, we are going to need A LOT more space now that we are adding a second adorable child to our family. I can't tell you how many people have told me that we need to make sure we take as many pictures of the second child as we did the first. I can vouch for their concerns. Being the third child in my family, I can verify that the photos of young Michelle are few and far between. In fact, I can remember getting really excited many times while going through family photos, thinking I had found one and then discovering that it was actually a picture of my older brother.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am extremely thankful that there is little photographic evidence existing of "awkward Michelle"-- that gangly, buck-toothed, knock-kneed child with an unfortunate resemblance to somebody's brother. (yes, I was a tomboy). Those were painful years, and not just because of the orthodontic head-gear.
So, hopefully we will soon have room for the photos of Emma's 2nd birthday party. She had such a great time. She has absolutely none of the shyness of her mother. What a ham! She reveled in the attention in a way only a princess could. I hope she never loses her incredible joy for life.

Myrtle Beach 2010

2010-06-02T14:29:00.009-04:00

Sunday Singin'

2010-06-02T14:14:00.008-04:00

We were able to stop by and visit Robby's brother's church in St. Matthews, SC, where they were having a special service for Memorial Day Weekend. Instead of preaching, Scott and his band played and they had a good old-fashioned potluck.
I particularly enjoyed Scott's wife's homemade coconut cake. Yum!
Emma sang and danced to every song. She may not have known the words but she sure sang out with enthusiasm.

Diane sang a song for everyone.

Diana enjoyed the music too!

Scott is the one on the drums.

Strawberry Picking

2010-05-16T17:49:00.014-04:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T18:27:00.010-04:00

Eggs, Eggs, Everywhere!

2010-04-01T15:05:00.010-04:00

March Madness

2010-03-07T21:34:00.008-05:00

It's been over a month since the big blizzard and there is still some ice on the ground but the hope of spring is in the air. The daffodils are beginning to sprout and that means the tulips and the tulip eating deer cannot be far behind!
Emma is getting as stir crazy as the rest of us and can't wait for it to be warm enough to get outside again. Here she is trying out her protective gear in anticipation of future bike rides with Daddy.

Things to do when you are snowed in...

2010-02-08T22:32:00.009-05:00

Not being able to leave the house for several days with an active toddler can be quite a challenge but it is certainly not boring. We have found many things to do. Here are just a few: In this picture alone you can see ribbon, finger paints, stickers and the cover for a large collection of Veggie Tale DVD's. You can only imagine the silly songs that have been running on a continuous loop through my mind as I try to go to sleep at night. On this day we were making valentines for Daddy. Shhhh... don't tell him yet. He doesn't know.

Here we are rocking out to some great tunes on Grandma's piano. None of us knows how to play but we have a blast anyway.

I gave Emma an old day planner from 2008. It has a really cute cover and I hated to throw it out. She felt like such a big girl with her very own book to "write" in.

Emma had her very own grunge karaoke party too. Such a versatile performer!

Of course there was also the occasional eating of chocolate. Carbs are important to keeping up your energy and spirits during a snowstorm, I'm convinced of it!

And what little girl doesn't love a tea party? Emma took to her tea set so naturally that Daddy was convinced that tea parties are encoded into female DNA. She was quite the polite hostess indeed. Emma shared her tea and company with her old parents in elegant grace and style. We felt quite honored to have been invited.

I can't imagine anyone better to spent so much quality time with than my adorable daughter and my splendid husband.

Snowpocolypse 2010

2010-02-07T12:40:00.013-05:00

Shopper Stopper Storm of '09

2009-12-19T16:30:00.007-05:00

Let's just say that all of this snow was not Emma's favorite thing ever.

Record breaking amounts of snow have covered the area. People are unable to leave their homes. People are having to stay at home on this Saturday before Christmas! Retailers are despairing.

But the Wagoners are taking advantage of this beautiful sight and throwing caution to the wind! It's a good thing we didn't break our necks out there acting like fools. I'm pretty sure an ambulance would be hard pressed to make it to our house with the roads still covered with snow. The mailman hasn't even braved this snow. I thought the whole keeping of appointed rounds was their "thing". I guess they get a pass because of all the unprecedented-ness of this in the DC area.

We've already had close to 20 inches of snow and it's supposed to keep snowing for at least another six hours. I probably shouldn't say so, but I think all of this snow has something to do with what Congress is doing today and a certain angel-non-grata's residence Freezing Over!

The decorations are up

2009-12-09T23:53:00.005-05:00

And this year we have a special homage to one of our favorite shows. For those of you who are familiar with the "Greater Tuna" series, you will recognize the special ornaments -- ala Stanley's reform school license plate from "Tuna Christmas". We decided against putting up the giant blobs of tinsel this year as we have a very mobile toddler in the house who would just love the chance to get her hands on such a prize. We also decided to postpone the Carp nativity, complete with live sheep, for the very same reason. ;)

Christmas QC style!

2009-12-09T23:11:00.008-05:00

The annual Christmas meeting of the Quote Committee, the small but dedicated group of classy ladies who kept a building filled with underappreciated attorneys from collectively jumping to their deaths to simply alleviate the sheer boredom and lack of self-respect that accompanied their tedious and monotonous jobs, was held this past week. Indeed, it was a festive affair. This year we were joined by a junior member, Miss Emma, and her delightful joy for life was a perfect addition to this holiday soiree.

Within moments of arriving, Emma had already torn the place apart. Notice the floor. Somehow, she knew exactly where to go to find the measuring cups and then commenced to dispersing them throughout the house. It's amazing how quickly this happened. She is definitely in the "racoon phase" of her toddlerhood. Every drawer, every shelf, every container... MUST...BE...EXPLORED... and....

eventually destroyed.

Bless Lisa for letting us meet in her new place. She is the sweetest hostess ever. I'm sure she'll be finding pieces of tupperware in unusual places for months to come.

After the meal and melee of present opening, Emma took a moment to do some reading. Check out those wonky pigtails. They are at those angles because, during the course of the night, I'm pretty sure I put those rubber bands back in her hair at least a dozen times each. At this point I'm just happy to have two of them on her head. Direction is irrelevant.

Auntie Roshni, AKA the "ticklemonster" is always a hit with Miss E. They love to exchange fashion tips and other pop culture news stories. She's the cool aunt that knows all the secrets a girl would never tell her mother.

It is always great to see my dear friends. I honestly credit them with saving my sanity during that dark year at "The Soulless Law Firm that Shall Not Be Named". God has blessed me with such wonderful friends and I am so thankful for these special ladies. And a special shout out needs to go to our missing member and new mom, Hallie Joy. We love you and miss you! Hugs and smooches to that beautiful baby girl. :D

Go Rams!

2009-11-20T22:34:00.008-05:00

Mom sent Emma an adorable "drill team" outfit. It's so cute and Emma just loves the way it sparkles. Today we decided to enjoy some of the great weather we are having here in NoVa.

...and what better way to celebrate the fall than to put on your sparkly drill team dress and.... CHEER!

Emma also had fun dressing up in her ballerina tutu and playing her "baby grand" piano. Oh how she loves to dance!

Monkey Business!

2009-10-25T20:44:00.010-04:00

It's Halloween Y'all!

Emma had the best time trying on her Halloween costume and giving it a practice run. It was a beautiful day in NoVa so we thought we would get out and enjoy some of the sunshine and beautiful fall colors. Our little cheeky monkey, Emma, absolutely loved it.

So many people complain about how constricting it is, but I'm pretty sure little E would wear a monkey suit every day if she could.

And I had to include this photo. I mean, seriously, a literal monkey on ones back is always good cause for a blog photo right?

Who me???

2009-10-18T00:19:00.002-04:00

Look at this face. So adorable. So innocent. How could she be anything but sweet right?

Well.......

...there could be just a teeny tiny little bit of mischief behind those baby blues.

But I'm not telling on her... except to say that she has more in common with her daddy than just her good looks. ;)

It's fall again already?

2009-09-24T11:21:00.009-04:00

Oh, it has been a long, long, time since my last post. Here is where I insert my lame excuse as to why:

I've been.... um.....doing

...not a whole lot.

Well, actually, we have been traveling the past couple of weeks. We took a trip to Texas for my family reunion. And then we took a trip to South Carolina for Robby's High School reunion. I was sick the entire time and it rained almost constantly on both trips, but, other than that-- It Was Great!

Here are a few photos:

Emma and her cousin Logan

Emma imitating the elephants.

The first two photos were taken at the Fort Worth Zoo. It was a little damp but not pouring that morning. We didn't get to ride the train because of the weather but at least we got to see most of the animals and the crowds were not bad at all.

This picture was taken at one of my favorite restaurants of all time-- Edelweiss! Robby despises German food but put on a happy face for me. :D I think the little ones liked it too!

And now to the Evans reunion...

You've got to watch out for those women in the kitchen....

By the end of the day, Emma was exhausted. There were so many little ones running around and she wanted to be right in the middle of it all. Unfortunately, she is still a little too small to run with the "older" crowd. So, instead, she ran her parents in circles the whole time. Did I mention I was sick the whole time? Bless Robby. He was a trooper and even served as a comfy place to rest when the time was right. ;)

I'll try to load up a photo or two from his reunion next. Hopefully, that won't take me a month to do this time. ;)

Disco Fever

2009-08-19T11:04:00.004-04:00

What can I say.... EG loves her some disco!

Emma has always been a music lover. One of her first favorites was "This Little Light of Mine". So now, whenever she wants to hear music she starts waving her "little light" finger at us.

But now, she has discovered a whole new genre of music that she enjoys and a whole new use for her pointing finger-- you know, John Travolta style.

I should have known this would happen after she went so bananas for her birthday disco ball. Now it's only a matter of time before she converts the basement into a trendy club and probably turns the old folks down when we try to get in.

Watermelon

2009-08-11T09:11:00.011-04:00

We recently took a short trip back to Robby's mom's place in South Carolina. She was needing some work done on her car and around the house so we loaded up the tools and headed for the palmetto state.

Robby did his magic (as usual) and now the brakes are good and everything is mowed. Emma did an inspection and says that Daddy gets an "A".

While there Emma had the chance to experience the joys of watermelon. She's had it before, but this was especially special because she was able to roll around the big green stripy ball and then actually EAT it!

Here she is making the sign for "Ball".

And here she is shortly after her encounter with the watermelon. Sure was sticky, but totally worth it!

Miss Personality

2009-07-30T11:01:00.004-04:00

It has been a long time since my last post. I figured out that the reason is not because there hasn't been anything worth noting but more it has been because little Miss E has pretty much been non-stop since learning to walk. Seriously, every time I go to sit down at the computer she races to either start banging on the keys herself or to close the laptop completely. Baby girl has her own opinions about how things should go and they all seem to revolve around her play schedule.

If only she were as interested in eating. I still can't get her to sit down and eat a meal. She's been subsisting on pretty much a Pediasure diet for a while now. The pediatrician isn't too worried about it so I'm trying not to stress. She'll catch up eventually. For now though, she just doesn't seem the least bit interested in eating much of anything besides the occasional piece of cheese or cup of yogurt.
The picture above is of a hilarious moment I just happened to catch on camera. While playing out in the sunroom Emma spontaneously picked up my purse and put it over her head. She started walking around and grabbing random things to put inside it. It was so cute. I was completely impressed with how well she managed to balance with that thing on her shoulder. She's just now getting the hang of the whole walking thing and this was quite an unexpected "next step" for us.

With the summer winding down, I'm not sure how Emma is going to adjust when she is no longer able to do two of her absolute favorite things right now. Actually, I'm sure she'll do just fine, but she will miss swimming in the pool and picking vegetables from the garden for as long as her limited memory will allow. She just loves picking tomatoes the best. She thinks they are little red balls. She is a little bit obsessed with balls and will loudly blurt out "BALL" whenever she sees anything remotely round. This is "great" when we are in the store too. Did you know that both Pepsi and Coke have logos that cause my daughter to shout in the aisles? Yep. I'm pretty sure they did that on purpose.

It's a shame she won't eat any of the things she picks. She'll stick the little cherry tomatoes in her mouth and even the peas (tiny green balls) too --but look out! They won't stay in there long. She'll bite into them and then make the strangest face. Then, out they go.

When we said she was going to be a super-model we weren't expecting her to take us so seriously. ;)

Going Green!

2009-07-06T20:57:00.006-04:00

It's amazing to me that it has taken me this long to finally check out the gorgeous scenery behind the house. We've been here for more than a year and I've just now gotten around to walking down to the stream. From the deck on quiet nights, I've enjoyed the gentle sounds of the gurgling waters and always intended to go take a closer look, but there was always something keeping me from it.
When we first moved in, I was WAY pregnant with Emma. Since then, I really haven't wanted to take her down there ('fraid of snakes n such). But since Mom has been here, I've had someone to adventure with me while the hubby watches the little one.

It was really much better than I had imagined. Really cool. Lots of great rocks and shells and... no snakes (that I could see)! Yippee!
The only problem I could see was that one of my neighbors decided that the stream would be a great place to dump all of their newly cut limbs! What!!!
So, it was Super Mom to the rescue. She jumped in and saved the day-- quickly clearing the limbs which were already starting to cause some backup and yucky foamy stuff.

Yay Mom! I think she qualifies as an environmentalist, don't you?

A Weekend of Firsts

2009-06-22T23:23:00.012-04:00

This was a wonderful and exciting week filled with many important milestones. With so much crammed into one weekend, I still feel like my head is spinning. I only hope I took enough pictures to help me remember it all later on.

First, Emma's first birthday was on Saturday and therefore, so was her very first birthday party! Daddy fixed his famous "RobbyQ" with all the fixins to accompany the all important First Birthday Cake. The weather was not ideal for swimming so we kept the party indoors, but it was all good. Great food + great friends= good times!

Then, Sunday was Robby's very first Fathers' Day. It was kind of hard to put an emotional finger on the feelings he was having about the whole thing because of the whirlwind surrounding the birthday festivities. Also, between the two of us, we have lost four fathers and it makes the day kind of bittersweet. I know our dads would have just loved little Emma and I'm pretty sure she would have cracked up at Virgil's jokes, she would have loved Tom's adventurous stories, she would have coveted a spot in Jim's big ole arms for a game of patty cake and more than likely would have melted A.O.'s heart.

I have so many wonderful memories of times spent with my grandfather. Fishing, farming, hunting, and other fun outdoorsy stuff. He probably thought I wasn't paying much attention, but I was. Sure, I may have been chasing grasshoppers or picking flowers at the time, but that doesn't mean I wasn't storing it all away in my "pre-blog" brain.

I wish that Emma had those same opportunities. Her life is going to be a lot different than her parents. We both grew up in very small towns in single-parent households with very little money. She's going to have a lot more to choose from and her childhood experience is going to be so foreign to her old fogey folks. Our continued prayer is that we equip her with the tools she needs to help her navigate the craziness that is life. If she has only one thing-- the Holy Spirit of the Lord -- then we will be able to rest in the assurance that she has a wise counselor with her at all times. But that is the one thing that we cannot give to her. That is one thing that she can only accept for herself. It's a free gift of salvation from the One who paid the highest price for it. What we can do is to pray for her and to do our best to guide her.

Another huge first for this weekend is that Emma took her first steps-- On Father's Day!

I'm convinced she was waiting just for the occasion. What a wonderful gift, don't you think? She was so proud of herself too. She took two wobbly steps and then crashed safely to her diapered behind. After a brief second of shock, the applause erupted all around and lasted a good minute, I'm sure. It was hard to tell who was clapping the loudest or smiling the widest.

God is so good!

Early Birthday

2009-06-06T20:51:00.005-04:00

Emma's first birthday is not for another two weeks, but why not get a jumpstart on the most exciting birthday ever?
As expected, the QC showed up big for Emma's big day. There were decorations, there was singing, swimming, a little bit of Emma's special brand of dancing, the cutest presents you've ever seen, and, of course, there were lots of awesome stories to tell. The girls always have such a fun time when we get together and this was no exception.

It's going to be hard to top this one as far as birthdays go. Emma is off to a great start, I would say!

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-24T17:35:00.010-04:00

What a wonderful long weekend it was! Emma enjoyed her first official "swim" and her folks enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Instead of hot dogs and other traditional holiday food, Emma cooked up a nice.....

KNUCKLE SANDWICH!

What can I say... she's almost one... girl has some attitude now.

.... and lots of new teeth.

But most of all, we were happy to celebrate and honor those who have given their lives in service to our great nation. It seemed to hit especially hard this year because of those we have lost. Robby's nephew Daniel gave his life for us almost two years ago. It still seems so fresh a wound. He left behind a beautiful little girl only a few years older than Emma. I am so thankful to him for all he gave...
...so that we can be free.

2009-05-21T10:38:00.001-04:00

It's been a rough couple of weeks around here with all of us being sick at some point or other. Emma had strep throat a couple of weeks ago and then had a reaction to the antibiotics she was taking for it. I also took a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection. Then, Robby got sick and, just as he was getting better, I'm the sick one again. It's a rough cycle. And just when the weather is getting nice enough to go outside and the pool is open for the summer. Boo!

During the short blogging hiatus, Emma has gotten her top teeth and it appears she's got a few more trying to come in too. So, here's a picture. Poor thing is sick but still cute as can be!

Here she is with her "Carmen Miranda" look going. I think she's even more ready for the summer than her mother. ;)

Facebook

2009-05-06T22:26:00.002-04:00

The blog posts have slowed down a lot since I've started using FaceBook. It feels like I'm repeating myself. But there are a few folks who aren't on FB who check in on EG, so I'll do my best to keep posting until Lisa gets on Facebook. :D

Awww/Ewwww

2009-04-16T22:04:00.010-04:00

So, I debated on whether or not to tell this next story. It goes back and forth from "oh how sweet" to "oh how gross" A LOT, and I'm not exactly sure where I end up when it's all said and done. Actually, I'll go ahead and tell it and let you decide.

Here's how it starts:

Daddy buys darling daughter a pretty Easter dress.

Awwwww....

Daddy buys darling daughter another pretty Easter dress. (she's not spoiled)

Awwwww....

Daughter wears first dress for the Maundy Thursday service. Dress never makes it into the sanctuary.

Huhhh???

Just as we arrived in the parking lot at the church (pretty early, thank goodness).

Emma makes that oh so familiar face. You know. The one where she turns beet red and silent tears stream from both eyes. "That's ok", I say to myself, thinking we had plenty of time to change her before the service.

That was before.

Before I found out that the old familiar face was hiding something oh so unfamiliar. A poop the likes of which had never been seen. Uncontainable poopage.

Ewwwwww....

It was EVERYWHERE!

even more ewwwww...

It took a whole box of wipes to get her (and her carseat) cleaned off.

Luckily, we had lots of plastic bags on hand to contain everything. We put her in her extra change of clothes, packaged all the yuckiness into little blue bags and sealed them up tight. Wipes, diaper, and other trash into one bag. Her pretty poopy Easter dress into another. Robby tossed all the trash in the trashcan outside and we were still early for the Tenebrae.

All was well.

Whewwwww.

Or so we thought.

Ehhh?

Until, of course, we get home that night and I discovered that there was a little blue bag full of trash in the front seat.

????

Uh oh.

Easter dress got tossed instead of the trash.

Oh no.

So sad. And we didn't even have a picture of her wearing it. :(

Would you believe it was still there on Sunday when we arrived for Easter service?

And would you believe that Daddy fished it out of the trash can?

Uggggggggg..

AND

Would you believe he also super duper oxy cleaned it himself when we got home so his little sweetheart could have her picture taken in her Easter dress?

Awwwwww.....

In my book, Daddy is a hero. I can say this with full confidence because I inspected the dress and there was nary a stain one and not a whiff of stank to it. :D

So, here you have it. The dress that Daddy bought and saved for his little princess.

And here is the second Easter dress that Emma ended up wearing on Sunday.

No blowouts in this one! Hooray!!!

It's the Easter Bunny Y'all

2009-04-10T22:43:00.011-04:00

And I thought bunnies liked flowers...

Spring 09!

2009-04-06T15:50:00.009-04:00

Texas!!!

2009-04-04T22:50:00.008-04:00

What a great time we had in Texas! Oh, how I miss those long sunny days and those beautiful bluebonnets. Judging by how exhausted she was when we got back to VA, I'm pretty sure Emma enjoyed herself on her trip.

There are many more photos to post and stories to tell. Tomorrow we're going to see the cherry trees around the tidal basin. I'm loving this new camera. I can't wait to figure out how to actually use it properly.

Bronco Emma

2009-03-18T14:50:00.003-04:00

So Emma now has a rocking elephant. I can tell we've got a little rebel on our hands here. Just watch as she attempts to ride this ferocious beast using only one hand. Either that, or she's waving at her adoring fans. It's hard to tell.

Happy St. Pat's!

2009-03-16T20:13:00.001-04:00

From the cutest little leprechaun I know!

Big Girl

2009-03-12T14:45:00.005-04:00

Emma has her own "big girl" chair now. What a cutie. She was so excited when she first sat in it and just kept patting the armrests and calling them her "baby" like they were little pink puppies.

Unfortunately, her cute little armchair quickly turned into a....

Recliner

As with most of our society's decline....

I blame television. ;)

What a difference

2009-03-09T09:05:00.006-04:00

This time last week, we were layered up and feeling frosty. Emma had her cowboy boots and mittens on to keep from freezing her cute little toes and fingers off.

This week....

It's bare feet Baby!

Oh, and runny noses too. I guess that's what happens when you go from 8 inches of snow to 70 degrees outside in one week. The first of the daffodils bloomed yesterday and it won't be long before the Bradford pear trees are in full blossom. I just love springtime around here. Robby planted a Yoshino cherry tree in the front yard yesterday. I can't wait to see it's pretty blossoms in a couple of weeks. I should be getting back from Texas when the cherry trees are at their peak.

I'm REALLY hoping to see some of my beloved bluebonnets while we are back home for our visit. I'm pretty sure they aren't going to be out yet, but, one can hope!

Yesterday, Emma had a little Sunday morning "praise time". I'm usually taking pictures, so I rarely think to video things. I decided I had better take some time to capture on video a few of the precious moments of just every day living with the sweetest baby in the world. One of these days she's going to look back at this and say:

Why did you guys have me in a cage? ;)

8 months old

2009-02-26T13:05:00.007-05:00

"Who me???"

Emma's 8 months old now and so happy to have finally cut those pesky teeth that were making her all drooly and cranky for so long. Momma's happy too. :D

I thought I would include a nice '80's style photo for Emma. Because everyone needs an embarrassing photo of themselves with their collar turned up.

It's like, totally awesome!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T13:42:00.015-05:00

Have I mentioned that my husband is incredible? Well, he is. Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, he goes and surprises me again.
On Thursday, he had a bouquet of lovely roses delivered. On Friday, we had an awesome dinner, accompanied by our beautiful Valentine Emma. It was wonderful! Just being blessed with having the two best Valentines in the world this year was enough to make this the best Valentine's Day ever. But wait-- there's MORE!
On Saturday, I walked down the steps to see my loving husband and my beautiful daughter enjoying a nice breakfast and generally having a meaningful conversation on the pro's and con's of puppy ownership. Robby likes to kid and make me think that he and Emma are plotting to get a puppy for us as a present for every holiday. So, I didn't think much of it when he started bringing up the "Emma, did you remember to feed the puppy this morning?" talk. I started the coffee and shuffled toward the living room to check the morning email, as usual. And wouldn't you know it..... there, on the sofa, was... a PUPPY!

Ok. So it was a stuffed puppy. But it was a puppy! And not only that, but it was a stuffed puppy on top of a big box with a sewing and embroidery machine inside!!!!
Some people might think this is a strange present to give someone on Valentine's Day, but not me! It is exactly what I wanted. :D I've given Robby a list of three big items that I would want if ever there were an occasion where a big ticket item was going to be purchased. I totally didn't expect this! We had already had a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend. But wait--there's still more!
"We're going on a trip." he said.
So, we loaded up the truck and headed south. I thought for sure we were going to the Cracker Barrel for a nice morning meal, but no, we kept on driving right past the exit. We kept going until we got to Fredericksburg, VA, the location of the nearest Sonic. I have mentioned many times that it is so frustrating that we do not have a Sonic nearby and yet they continue to torture me with advertising on all the local television stations. Oh, how I love their slushies, shakes, and other yummy treats. This was a wonderful surprise indeed! I made sure to order the most "rot gut" stuff I could manage. It isn't every day I get eat at Sonic, so I had to make it count! "Put some chili on it!" was my battle cry.
After our Sonic splurge we went to a fabric story and I proceeded to buy lots of thread for my new machine. 50% off sale! Holla!

And that was my awesome, amazing, super fantastic holiday weekend!

(I'm not sure why blogger is flipping the video to its side or how to get it to play upright. Perhaps watching it with your head bent at a 90 degree angle is better for this story anyway.)

What a wonderful pair of sweethearts I have. My cuties are the best! They make every day a fun and exciting adventure.

Summer Dreamin'

2009-02-05T14:01:00.006-05:00

You may have noticed that the posts have been less frequent in the last few months. It's not because Emma has gotten any less adorable that there haven't been lots of photos posted.

Alas, it is because her momma is just not a cold weather person. It's just not as fun to post pictures of us in the same pair of fleecy pajamas every day.

So.....

I decided that today was going to be SUMMER IN FEBRUARY!

Besides, Emma has all of these cute things that she's going to have outgrown by the time the real summer gets here. Why not celebrate!

Snow Day! (updated)

2009-01-27T13:20:00.005-05:00

While there have been a few flurries this year, today is the first real snow that Emma has seen. Her mom is a big chicken this morning and, rather than going outside, preferred to enjoy the pretty scenery from the comfort of home.

There's a hill right next to our house and all of the kids are out there sledding right now. I can already tell that there won't be too many more winters where I can get away with staying inside on days like these. Emma will have me out there pulling her and her sled back up that hill I'm sure.

That's why today... it's couches and cocoa!

Update:

Originally, the plan was to stay nice and toasty inside on this snowy day. As the day progressed and the snow accumulated, I eventually changed my tune. Emma and I bundled up and joined Robby outside for a little fun in the fluffy stuff before it all turns to ice tonight.

7 Months Old

2009-01-24T21:27:00.004-05:00

What an awesome weekend we had. Emma hosted her second QC meeting at the house. Aunties Roshni and Lisa showed up with lots of presents for lavish spoiling of the sweet and adorable Emma G.

Auntie Roshni assisted in juice box duty. You can tell she's a pro, with plenty of practice from her three nephews. Just look at that form.

Aunt Lisa told lots of interesting stories about the recent inauguration. Emma predicts that Lisa's sister, who is due any day now, is going to have a girl.

And then Emma posed for her 7 month Bernie photo. Please take notice of the adorable footed sleeper she's sporting in the photo. This is one of the many awesome outfits she received on QC day. So cute!

BS and other things

2009-01-22T09:49:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine noticed that the Boon Spoon was conspicuously missing in the last blog entry concerning Emma and feeding and she wondered if perhaps we had changed our endorsement of it.
The answer is "no".
The Boon is still great. We still use it quite a bit. Especially on the more liquidy stuff like peaches and cereal. It actually ends up being more like a straw at those times because she can eat those peaches faster than we can get them to her mouth. But, since Emma seemed convinced that she wanted to try and feed herself, we thought we would give her something her little hands could handle. While the BS is wonderful for parents, it's just too big and bulky and difficult for tiny hands to hold or squeeze.
My friend also asked about Emma's bib in the photo. It's great too. It ties in the back and covers her arms really well. It's also water resistant so you can just wipe/rinse it off when you're done. I will have to say that it still doesn't entirely protect her clothes around the neck area because it's still a little big for her. I think the only way to avoid the food stains there is to feed her when she's shirtless. It's still a little too cold now for me to do that but, believe me, if it were summertime, I would have to censor her feeding photos.
We got the bib at Babies R Us. It's kind of hard to tell what it looks like from the packaging because it's folded into a square. Just look for the pink and purple flowerdy print. It's made by Koala Baby.
I also have to mention one more bit of solid feeding info that I've discovered. I call it "baby crack". Emma can't get enough of this stuff and I actually have to hide the container because she becomes transfixed and begins drooling at the mere sight of it. The brand name of this product is Gerber Graduates Finger Foods. It's the cherry puffs kind. These are star shaped puffy things that kind of melt in the baby's mouth, so no teeth are required. Technically, Emma doesn't qualify as a "graduate" according to their standards because she's not crawling yet, but, as long as I'm supervising her I feel pretty confident she's able to handle the puffs ok without choking. My neighbor is actually the one who told me about this one. I probably wouldn't have been brave enough to give them to Emma so soon but her daughter, who is only 2 days older than Emma, loves the puffs in the same babynip kind of way. She's tried the strawberry-apple and banana variety and loves them both. I might let Emma tries those as well -- that is, if I don't decide to cut her off now for her own good.

Congratulations Emma!

2009-01-20T23:07:00.003-05:00

Today you are 7 mos. old!
And to celebrate this grand occasion, we (and by "we", I mean "you") are going to have......

Yummy Green Beans!!!! And to show us all what a big girl she is, Emma decided that she was no longer content to have Mom hold the spoon. Instead, Emma decided that she would do the work herself. What a smart girl. She even dipped the spoon into the bowl to "re-load".

Can you tell she's proud of her latest accomplishment?

I'm pretty sure she's got green beans so far up her nose we won't see them again until she learns how to blow it

-- years from now.

But she got them there, and got a pretty good amount of food into her mouth, all by herself!

That's my girl!

That's the sweet smell of success, Sweetheart. Savor it. :D

Product

2009-01-19T09:17:00.005-05:00

Robby's hair was lifeless, limp, and he was altogether having a bad hair day. So, I pulled a few of my old "Texas hair" tricks out of my bag to help him out.

I tried all the old school favorites. Hot rollers, hair spray, gel. Nothing worked.

I thought that I had lost my touch.

Then, I decided to pull out some super special hair product and give it one last shot.

Now his hair has life, volume and energy.

And all because of a little moose.

2009-01-13T11:59:00.005-05:00

At the risk of speaking too soon, I'm going to say that I think we are finally getting back to "normal" around here after our "holiday" trip. Yes, it has taken almost two full weeks to get here, but we were gone for 16 days so it might even take a bit longer for us to recover.
Why so long? I have a few theories:
Theory number 1:
Sleep deprivation.
While on the road, Emma decided that she did not want to sleep in the pack-n-play we bought specifically for such. So, we ultimately just purchased a pack-n-pack. It's a good thing we brought the trailer with us.
What is a VERY tired couple to do after a long day of driving when every fiber within and without is aching for sleep? The answer: whatever it takes. For us, this meant letting Emma sleep in the bed with us. This is something WE don't like to do but that Emma LOVES. I inevitably wake dozens of times in the night just to make sure I'm not smushing her. She, on the other hand, usually sleeps like... well, a baby.
But...
Emma, who had been sleeping very well through the nights before we left, reverted to waking up 4 to 5 times each night while we were gone even though she was in the "big" bed. I put the quotes around "big" because, in our travels, we were almost always sleeping in full to queen sized beds in cold and drafty rooms. We have definitely become rotten from having such an awesome king-sized bed at home this past year. I say all of this so you will get the idea that we were getting even less sleep than our already sleep deprived selves were used to.

Theory number 2:
Germs.
Robby and I both had a pretty bad bout with Mr. Cold's bug around the end of October/ first of November time frame. It had us both on the ropes for weeks. Emma was just fine. Bless her. So, we were excited to have finally gotten back on the road to health and knew we were going to need every ounce of energy we could muster to make this drive. Well, imagine our excitement when we made it all the way to South Carolina, Birmingham, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Dublin (TX), Decatur (TX) and then back to Mineral Wells(TX) without a sniffle or cough! Yippee! The first half of the trip was a success. :D I guess my feeble mind was thinking that if we made it to Christmas that we would be in the clear.
Nope.
Despite all of our efforts to repeatedly wash our hands and feverishly clean with Clorox wipes, we still managed to pick up my little nephew's cold. And, like a multiplying white elephant gift, we managed to pass it along to Robby's mom on our way back through South Carolina. I apologize to anyone else along the way who may also have been the recipient of this lovely case. We tried to cut down our visits with folks after we realized we were sick but some people were unfortunately exposed.
Theory number three:
4,490 miles and NO RADIO. Yes, you read that right. No radio. Or CD. Or DVD.
Just....
the bouncy and delightful sounds of Emma's pull toys for TWO FULL WEEKS AND 4,490 MILES!

Take a close look at the stuffed toys behind Emma's head in this picture. When they are positioned in front of her she is able to pull on the little doohicky and it will play a song. There are only four different tunes and, after so many repetitions, each one will

HAUNT.

YOUR.

DREAMS.

......hmmmmmm. Perhaps I did speak a little too soon in saying things were getting back to normal. I think I will take those extra few days please.

The answer is....

2009-01-08T19:39:00.007-05:00

...Because she can!

Now that's what I call multi-tasking. Toes in the nose AND the mouth! Talk about talent. This girl has it in spades.

And here are the six month Bernie photos:

At her six month appointment, Emma weighed 17 and a half pounds and was 27 and a half inches. She's back on the charts now. She's in the 95% for height, 80% for weight, and 75% for head circumference. The doctor says she's healthy and that makes me happy.

No Place Like Home

2009-01-04T22:10:00.012-05:00

Emma's first Christmas was as much a blur to us as it was, I'm sure, to her. This holiday season, our little family put in over 4490 miles in just 16 days. There were only three days- including Christmas Day- that we weren't on the road. Ridiculous. I know.
Why would anyone do such a thing, you ask? Good question. The answer is...we're crazy!

Obviously.

Actually, we needed to pick up the piano my Grandmother left to me and Grandpa's rocking chair. We pulled a trailer all the way to Texas for those two things and ended up coming back to Virginia with the thing filled to the roof with stuff!

What in the world? Where did all of this junk come from? What am I going to do with it?
I have no idea. But I'm sure I'll be glad I have it once the shock wears off. I don't even know what is in half of these old boxes. I'm sure there are lots of really bad pictures of me with some really bad hair. Probably lots of doodles and old love notes and other things that occupied my teenaged brain once upon a time. I'm seriously frightened to go digging into all of that dusty stuff.
And it's not all from my mom's place either. We picked up quite a bit of stuff in South Carolina as well. Robby had boxes and added a grandmother's rocking chair of his own to the collection... and a keyboard too.

So......2009 is sure to be a "rocking" year for us all. (I'm sorry. I knew that last line was lame before I even typed it. and I typed it anyway. I blame television... and road weariness. Fatigue is a major contributing factor in this accident.).

Here are a few photos from our journey. Maybe a few adorable pics of Emma will cleanse your palate after that bad pun:

This last picture cracks me up. There they were, the men lined up, each with their own little clone sitting in their laps. Too cute.

Overall, I'm glad we made the trip. It was long and arduous. I'm tired. Sooooo tired. We're all still worn out and feeling sickly (We all got matching colds for Christmas). It will take a while for us to recover. But, we've got a lot of memories now that we've brought back that, like the extra weight I've put on over the holidays, will stay with us for a very long time.

Rope Line

2008-12-10T11:50:00.017-05:00

Recently, a good friend helped us out and got us into the White House for a special visit. I decided to write about it. Sorry, it's a little long...

Traffic was unusually onerous. An accident near the 14th St. Bridge had northbound traffic backed up for more than 15 miles. Thankfully, with little Emma in the car, we were able to hop on the HOV3 and boogie for a portion of road. We made it to the Metro stop and parked the car in the garage only a little behind schedule.

While traveling with an infant helps a person to make good time on the highway and sometimes gets you a good parking spot at places where retailers know a new parent will spend lots of money (which is just about everywhere it seems), that is all inevitably lost in the mysterious time abyss that exists between car and destination. This anomaly will suck up a minute so fast it makes our dryer’s sock monster, with his stealthy ability to break up a mated pair of stockings, look like an amateur.

Up the elevator, down the elevator, through the only turnstile large enough to accommodate a stroller, all the while navigating the morning work crowd crushing their way toward work, we made our way to the platform. Once on the train, the swaying motion of the car gently rocked our little pink bundled baby to sleep.

“What time are we supposed to meet her?” I asked.

“9:00.”, Robby replied, his face showing his disappointment that we were now having to rush. No time for coffee. He would fill the time on the train playing with his new Christmas toy-- an iphone-- and making sure no one tried to get too close to my purse or his baby.

Twenty minutes until our scheduled meeting time. We were still o.k.. Our destination was only four stops away.

“Due to a malfunction at our Rosslyn station, we are experiencing delays this morning. We apologize for any inconvenience. Have a good day.” No one on the train could really understand over all of the noise what the broadcast voice was saying but we all pretty much figured it out during the long waits at each station between stop and go.

“You call her as soon as we get off the train. Let her know we’re on our way.” Robby was already getting his game plan together. Being late is not acceptable in his world and especially not today.

Only four stops. But traffic today was unusually onerous.

“We’re going to have to exit on 18th street. The elevator is on the other side of the station.” Normally, making a couple of extra blocks is not a big deal. Sure, it was a cold morning, but we were all nice and wrapped in our heavy winter coats. Being outside a little longer wasn’t even a problem. Walking those extra blocks, however, was going to be a painful process. Thinking that I needed a little extra protection from the cold, I put on my boots…my (very) high heeled boots. Big mistake.

Five strides ahead of me, pushing our sleeping daughter in the stroller, I could hear Robby laughing at me as I muttered something about having lasting knee problems from trekking over cobbled streets in these wonky heeled shoes.

It’s amazing what that man can hear when he wants to.

“There it is, the Old Executive Office Building.” I pointed to the little gray tent Jen had told me about when I made my “on our way” call. I had seen this place so many times before, but this time it was different. I was going in.

It wasn’t very long ago that I used to seek refuge here in Lafayette Park. The long hours and miserable conditions of my old office on 15th street made it necessary to get away (often) for sanity’s sake. The entrance to the Eisenhower Building was right next to a bench where Robby and I had shared an impromptu picnic a time or two.

The park was different today in other ways too. Construction is in high gear for the upcoming Inauguration parade. Bleachers are going up where the “tent lady” used to camp. (As an aside: the tent lady is a woman who has camped out in front of the White House for years. She is in protest over something, though we’re really not sure exactly what it is. Her signage is a little bit ambiguous. I’m pretty sure she’s against nukes. I get that from the big mushroom cloud with the diagonal line through it, and I know for sure that she feels I am a terrorist because I pay taxes. I know this because she yelled it at me one day just before I told her I was on my way back to work. Anyway, the rumor is that this woman is really an incredibly wealthy heiress whose family owns one of the large buildings nearby. I always did wonder where she showered. Apparently, her husband passed away and left her all of his money and she’s spent her time since that day camped out on Pennsylvania Avenue complaining about our government and people who actually work for a living. It all makes perfect sense, right. I wonder if they will give her an honored place in those bleachers?)

Once inside, we had just enough time to shed our heavy coats and take a quick tour of a few offices before it was time to bundle up once again and make our way to the South Lawn to watch a Presidential departure. Out of the Executive Office building, across a parking lot and through the north side of the White house we went.

Suddenly, as we entered the vestibule, there was a very loud, very serious “Stop! Get Back!” Unlike the garbled message earlier in the Metro, there was absolutely no question as to what this person was saying. It was very clear. We had just passed a guard and shown him our badges, but this voice was coming from another direction and appeared to be that of a woman. But who? I looked toward the voice and saw, a group of people with stunned expressions much like my own. In front of them was a very tall, thin, woman with arms outstretched and hands in the classic crossing guard position that matched her words exactly. Between us, a way was made and made wide by several serious folks moving both quickly and deliberately.
Even though I had no clue what was going on, I knew exactly where to look as everyone else who had a view down the corridor was gazing just around the corner, frozen in place, smiling, and speechless. I still hadn’t completely figured it out until the Commander In Chief unexpectedly entered the room. There he was. I can’t exactly explain it but, I wasn’t surprised—but I was—if you know what I mean. He was supposed to be on a helicopter in just minutes. This little trip back to the residence was most likely a last minute one to pick up something he needed. I wondered what it was.

Slowing his gait in a way that clearly made those serious men around him a little more serious (if that were possible) Mr. Bush warmly greeted his dumbfounded house guests.

“How are you guys doing?” He asked, trying to put us at ease. Clearly, we were not expecting to run into him in this way, and he knew it. Nearly stopped at this point, but still moving, he turned to look at each of us. Wow! This was an actual request and not just one of those throw-away questions given out of obligation.

“Very well, Mr. President.”, we all kind of stammered together, like we were greeting our teacher on the first day of class.

“Thank you all for coming.” All I could think at this point was “Where in the world is my camera?!?” I was also wondering whether or not it would be rude to take a picture anyway if I did have it. How odd it must be to run into complete strangers in your own home.

“Thank you, sir.” What a bunch of polite people we were.

“You have a Merry Christmas now.” He made sure to wave at each of us.

“You too, Mr. President.”

And then he was gone.

Giddy. That’s the word I would use to describe the mood of the room after our encounter. The previously very serious “hall monitor” was now laughing and making jokes about how she was going to take the absolutely adorable baby (Emma) home with her. Our escorts were all looking at each other and confirming how cool the whole thing just was. Apparently, it is rare to see the President that close, even for people who work there every day.

Moving along, we stepped out the door and into the Rose Garden. There we met a few reporters for the various news organizations that cover the White House. Everyone was very friendly and, of course, wanted to look at the beautiful smiling baby girl in the pretty pink dress.

The actual rope line experience was kind of secondary at this point. I’m thankful for that because I was able to step back and enjoy it more than I probably would have otherwise. We stood behind a group of young school children who had already taken their places (along with everyone else who was not running behind). Each one was so excited to be a part of this historic happening and also short enough for us to still have an unobstructed view. ;)

The three helicopters came in and you could hear the crowd making bets as to which one would land. It was like a giant hovering shell game. I was prepared for the noise but I was not ready for all of the moving debris from the lawn that came at us as the “winning” copter moved in for its landing,

The President made his way to the helicopter, stopping many times to wave at everyone and continuing to do so from his seat inside. The children in front of us were all cheering and taking pictures—waving and smiling back.

They soon lifted off from the lawn and joined the two other escort choppers as they flew off toward their destination. The sound, wind, and flying leaves soon settled and we all went about seeking our own escorts to get us back to our stuff and our certain-to-be less exciting day.
We took a few photos here and there and then we took a short cut back through the West Wing (we could go through it this time because the Chief wasn’t there). I particularly loved all of the photos in this part of the White House-- lots of pictures of W on the ranch, hauling hay, doing chores, getting muddy, laughing and grinning. I’m sure it brings him much comfort to look at these and remember that Texas still loves a man who will work hard and is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

Through all of the starts and stops, the detours and delays, even through the difficult steps in painful shoes, I would have to say that this morning was just about perfect. God’s timing is always perfect. He knows exactly where he wants us to be, when he wants us to be there and who he wants to be with us. He’s scheduled our days and has planned lots of great appointments for us. He’s willing to escort us to these amazing places if we will just trust and follow him.

There is no rope line between us and God. Rather, our relationship with Him is much like our meeting with the President today. God cares for us, he wants to know how we are, he wants us to speak back to him, he sees us, and he wants us to celebrate the birth of his son -- Jesus. I know she won’t remember this day, but I pray Emma will someday see these pictures and will think of these things and of all the great plans that God has for her.

All I Want For Christmas

2008-12-08T01:21:00.002-05:00

I already have. :D

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T22:13:00.006-05:00

It's Turkey Day and everyone had a great day of food, fun, and fellowship. Emma tried the classic Thanksgiving treat of sweet potato for the first time and was finally able to try out the Boon Spoon that auntie Roshni gave her. It was great. Emma ate the whole jar and would have probably eaten more if we had let her.

The spoon is quite interesting and allows you to feed baby without having to "re-dip" into a jar. The food is in a compartment in the back of the spoon and squeezes out onto the spoon for easy consumption. I think it says you can put the cap back on and put the whole thing back into the refrigerator if baby doesn't eat all her food, but we didn't get the chance to try that option out yet.

We had a great meal over at our neighbors house. They have a daughter just two days older than Emma. Funny, we both went into labor at the same time. (funny, in a walking around with contractions for two days kind of way). Anyway, they are awesome neighbors and God has gifted us with great folks all around. They just love to go all out when it comes to celebrations and this Thanksgiving did not disappoint. Thanks guys!!!

So much to be thankful for!

Five Months

2008-11-26T12:54:00.007-05:00

It's been five months and Bernie is still sleeping. Emma, on the other hand, has been growing. Here's a little Bernie flashback:

Month One

Month Two

Month Three

Solid... er, sort of

2008-11-25T10:07:00.002-05:00

Emma's first experience with a spoon was a great success. This was a rice cereal test run for Thanksgiving. We're planning on letting Emma try some sweet potato on Thursday and wanted to see how she would do with the spoon.

I think she likes it!

i haz a kangaroo

2008-11-24T11:41:00.005-05:00

it haz a flavor In addition to her jumperoo, Emma has another jumping toy. It's a different kind of crazy but just as fun. It's really ol school so I'm pretty sure it's got great potential for severe bodily harm. That's why we've put it down stairs and attached it to an Ibeam.

I'm pretty sure there is an even greater danger of momma flying off the treadmill that is also down there in the basement.

We live on the edge!

Is this what they mean by...

2008-11-23T22:06:00.001-05:00

Eyes all aglow?

What do you know...

2008-11-19T10:15:00.004-05:00

It DID snow!

The first few flakes of the season fell yesterday. Just a few flurries. Nothing stuck (thank goodness).

Tonight we're getting out the Christmas decorations and putting on the holiday music. Normally, we would wait until after Thanksgiving, but, since we'll be traveling around the holidays... now is the time!

Also, a special shout-out to the Sturz for her super awesome hand knit winter wear for lil E. Here she is sporting one of her custom caps while warmly snuggling in her "bundle me"-- a gift from another C&B cohort... special shouts to you too Dora! ;) Give lots of hugs and kisses to Dorito for me!

Let it snow!

2008-11-13T20:03:00.002-05:00

The days are indeed getting cooler, but it will still be a while (I think) before we see any snow.

But Miss Emma is getting bigger every day. I had to put her into this adorable "snow" suit this week and take a picture because she has just about outgrown it. By the time it really is cold enough to wear it, she'll wouldn't be able to zip it up.
She looks like a giant yummy pink marshmallow. :D

Speaking of leaves...

2008-11-08T16:54:00.007-05:00

They don't have fields of bluebonnets up here like they do in Texas, but they do have one colorful thing in abundance that a parent just has to plop their child into for a photo...

leaves!

Grandma!

2008-11-06T16:42:00.002-05:00

Grandma came for a visit this past weekend. What a great time we had leaf peeping and dining at Mt. Vernon. The fall is really a beautiful time of year in Northern Virginia.

I voted

2008-11-05T20:23:00.000-05:00

Trick or Treat

2008-11-01T19:49:00.004-04:00

Off the Charts!

2008-10-29T09:51:00.003-04:00

At her 4 month appointment Emma was 26.6 inches long! There's not even a percentile for her-- she's "off the charts", as the pediatrician says. She's a long and lean jumping machine. In fact, I had to move her to the floor for her monthly picture with Bernie because I was afraid she would roll right off the couch.

Emma's new favorite

2008-10-23T12:35:00.007-04:00

No, it's not her cool pink leggings, although I can bet there are plenty of women out there who just wish they could still wear pink tights and get away with it.

Instead, her new favorite thing is...

Jumping!

I found this jumperoo at a consignment sale on Tuesday. Emma loves it. She bounces and bounces and bounces until she either gets sleepy or hungry... then she bounces some more. I'm thinking it was a good purchase. Especially since I was having to hold her up before because all she was wanting to do was "stand" on her feet.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-18T22:00:00.012-04:00

This weekend we took a trip to Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg, VA. The weather was brisk and fall was definitely in the air. Bundled up for her first pumpkin picking trip, Emma was ready for a Great Pumpkin day.

Still waiting on that Great Pumpkin....

Apple Festival

2008-10-12T22:30:00.009-04:00

It was apple time again as we made our second trip to Arendtsville, PA for the National Apple Harvest Festival. At this time last year, Robby and I were unaware that tiny Emma was along for the trip. This year, she was very much a part of the whole apple-y experience.

Emma took her first trip on a school bus. This event is so big they bus you to the grounds from several HUGE parking lots/cornfields around the area.

And here she is getting herself all prepared for lots of yummy festival foods. Too bad she's on an all milk diet. Maybe next year, Emma.

The trees are turning. The colors are spectacular. What beautiful day it was.

And I just realized that I didn't get even ONE picture of an apple!

Yikes.

Maybe next year.

Emma Time!

2008-10-08T05:39:00.008-04:00

This one goes out to all of you fly muthas out there who were fortunate enough to have experienced "hip hop" music in the early 90's.....

Word to Yo Mommy!

Please, Emma, Don't Hurt 'Em.

Can't Touch This!

Spotted on a minivan

2008-10-07T21:43:00.002-04:00

in Northern Virginia.

(Special thanks to Vicki for the photo :0)

Dedication

2008-10-05T20:48:00.004-04:00

Today we stood before our church family and formally dedicated Emma. We promised to raise her in a Christian home and to give her guidance and direction and to live in such a way that someday she will come to a saving understanding of Christ. This is something we've promised to do even before her birth. It is our priviledge. She is a blessing and we are required to be good stewards of God's good and wonderful gifts.

The same pastor that performed our wedding ceremony said the prayer of dedication for Emma. He was also present for our engagement (Robby proposed at the church's Valentine's banquet).

Emma charmed the whole congregation, of course. She was sweet and lovely, as usual. I will admit that I was just a little bit nervous that she would choose this exact moment to have a meltdown. I shouldn't have been concerned. She was an angel.

Now her daddy on the other hand.....

Only kidding! He was an angel too, of course. :D

Snuffy!

2008-09-29T15:31:00.007-04:00

See this face?

This is the typical expression I get the second my precious smiling baby girl spots the camera.

Stone cold.

One second she's just glowing, her whole body lighting up with her joyous smile and then the next-- it's like a snuffalupagus-- no one who looks at her believes it exists. Then I'm standing around like a big yellow bird saying, "She was just here!", "Honest!"

"Sure, sure, Big Bird. We believe you."

This presents quite a dilemma, as it would not do for an aspiring super model to have a camera aversion. Unless there are a number of reputable photographers out there willing to catch their subject completely by surprise, or make crazy goo goo faces at her, I think her daddy and I may have to re-think our early retirement plan. ;)

I'm pretty sure she gets this behavior from her father's side of the family. He's so camera shy. Bless his heart. Maybe one day we'll get him to open up and come out of his shell.

And that's how...

2008-09-26T09:16:00.003-04:00

... I got my high score on Guitar Hero!!!!

Take me out...

2008-09-21T22:33:00.009-04:00

to the ball game!

Emma took in her first baseball game this season. It was also Mommy's first trip to the new stadium, so this was an exciting night for the whole family.

Emma had her photo taken with a former president. He sure knows how to work a crowd. Something tells me he's shaken a few hands and kissed a few babies in his day.

Sporting yet another hat, Emma is prepared for her first National's baseball game.

But I'm not sure how prepared she was for her first National Anthem. The "rockets red glare" and "bombs bursting in air" were kind of unexpected.

Thank the Lord for binkys, bunnies, and Daddy kisses.

It was a fun night for all. I couldn't really tell you who won the game or any of those sorts of trivial details, but I will say that Emma looked adorable in her National's gear. And that Washington broke the tape on the President's race.

Maybe next time, Teddy!

Three Months Old

2008-09-20T22:22:00.008-04:00

Baby girl is now three months old! I feel it is about time for me to stop referring to how many weeks old she is and make the move to months. Somehow, saying she's 14 weeks old now sounds kinda weird. I guess it's still acceptable to say she's up to 24 months though. Strange, huh?

And for Amanda......

More Hats!!!

Fashion Weak

2008-09-16T19:43:00.004-04:00

Ever the style maven, Emma has made a point to keep up with the latest trends. Taking a page from the latest Thom Browne collection (seen above) Emma has decided to put a new spin on the old man pant look. Kicking it up a notch, she's infused the style with a little retro seventies inspiration. We call it the...

..."Hippie to the Nippie".

What do you think???

Fierce, right?

Make it work, Emma!

Do you think

2008-09-12T09:38:00.010-04:00

Anyone will notice my bald spot now?

National Harbor

2008-09-06T13:14:00.012-04:00

Friday was a beautiful day so we decided to head out for an adventure. Hanna was threatening to bring lots of rain and nasty weather to our area the rest of the weekend so we wanted to take advantage of the clear skies while they lasted.

We figured this would be a perfect day to go check out the National Harbor just across the Potomac. Having enjoyed ourselves so much at the Gaylord Texan when we visited a couple of years back, we wanted to see how this compared.

The whole area is new and not many of the shops are completed. It should be quite the destination once all of stores are opened and the luxury apartments are occupied.

One of the unique things is that you can catch a water taxi from the hotel over to Old Town Alexandria= more shopping!

It was nice to be able to get a look at it on such a nice day without the large crowd that I'm sure will be there by this time next year.

The fountains inside are pretty cool. They fizz and churn and mist and the middle even disappears at one point creating a sort of infinity effect. I'm sure they are even more impressive at night when all lit up.

There are a few shops inside the colonial themed atrium.

And a spa for relaxing.

They've brought over "The Awakening" statue from Haynes Point and buried him in the harbor.

Overall, the hotel itself was much smaller than its Texas counterpart. That's not much of a surprise though. :D

It's going to be great when it's all completed. By that time Emma will be old enough to participate a little in all that shopping.

For now, she's resting up.

Emma says...

2008-09-04T01:01:00.003-04:00

I can be anything I want to be.

Emma '08

2008-09-02T09:58:00.002-04:00

Everyone keeps asking me to give them my views on the upcoming Presidential election. "You're a baby of the people, Emma." they say. "You're in touch with the common infant." they cry.

While it is true that I am an expert on all of the issues effecting the recently born and have very strong feelings on which party we should have leading this country... I choose not to use this venue as a political blog. This blog is all about the pretty.

The press is still always hounding me to make my pick known. If I were approximately 17 and a half years older this November, I would definitely cast my vote for a particular party, but, you'll never know which one. Nope, I'll never tell. So I guess you'll just have to get used to not knowing and keep your eyes off the tabloids, because this girl is keeping that information very close to her heart -- and not on her sleeve.

Until next time... this is Emma G, signing off.

In Da Crib.. w/EG

2008-08-25T15:34:00.022-04:00

After a long day of eating, burping, sleeping and--let us not forget tummy time-- this is where I like to unwind.

Remember hearing about my "happy place"? Well, here it is in the upper right hand corner. It's a special place of wonderment and laughter.

I know you are giggling right now as you look upon it. How could you not?

This next place is what I like to call the music corner. This is where Mommy and I like to spend some quality time every day in Worship to our Lord. Mommy tries her best to sing on key..

Bless her heart...

I thought I would show you a few of my favorite things...

A pair of red shoes are just what a girl needs to feel sassy.

And here's my burping cloth

that's too nice to burp on....

A picture of me and my daddy, and my piggy bank that Grandma C. brought me....

My dedication dress that Granny P. bought me...

And then....

There's Doyle

Shots!

2008-08-22T12:43:00.003-04:00

Miss Emma had her two month check-up today and did splendidly. You can see the band aids above where her new vaccination boo-boos are. A few tears were shed but she soon went to sleep and, as you can see, she is now back to all smiles. Well, you might be able to see the smiles were it not for that yummy fist in the way.

Not surprisingly, Emma was doing well on her weight. As my uncle "Rabbit" would say: "She knows where the groceries are at."

In fact, Emma weighs 12 lbs. 2 oz. ! That's in the 95th percentile for her age. Thankfully, she's also awfully long (23 and 3/4 in.) and in the 90th or so percentile for height, so she's still proportional and just right.

The pediatrician said she's the perfect baby (I'm sure she doesn't say that to ALL the parents ;)and I would have to say that I agree! :D

Finger Jam!

2008-08-21T12:20:00.005-04:00

Check out those bulging biceps!

Emma is now two months old! It's so hard to believe. The time has gone by so quickly. Ol' Bernie looks like a mere pup next to little girl.

One thing I did not know about babies is that they tend to hold their hands into fists a lot. Sure, they stretch our their fingers, stare at them, and flail about a bit, but there are still a lot of times where they are perfectly content to lie about as though they are awaiting a surprise attack. They also like to use these balled-up appendages as yummy baby-flavored pacifiers. The drool is really starting to flow around the house these days and I fear it won't be long before Emma's first teeth begin to make their appearance.
I mention all of this because I have recently come across a new discovery. During bath time today, I just happened to pry apart these little hands and was surprised to find there was lint between those adorable little digits... that's right....

Finger Jam!!!

It's amazing the things I'm learning.

Does this outfit

2008-08-18T14:31:00.002-04:00

Make my bug look big?

Nirvana

2008-08-14T21:05:00.011-04:00

Most significant of the advances this week has been Miss Emma's ability to hold herself up better. It makes carrying her up and down the stairs a whole lot easier because she's not just dead weight anymore. And she's loving to look around at everything.

After our big trip to SC, Emma had her first fit of inconsolability. I think she was just tired. I can certainly understand. Being on the road is tough. I rocked her, tried to feed her, changed her, burped her.... nothing was doing the trick. Finally, I decided to pull out the Ace I had been holding and took her to her favorite place in the whole wide world. I put her on her changing table (pictured above) and instantly... she stopped crying and started smiling.

Her happy place.

If only we all had something like that. A place where we instantly forgot our troubles and burst into smile.

The Champ

2008-08-11T21:19:00.005-04:00

We've just gotten back from a short trip to South Carolina. Emma got to spend a few days with her Granny and to see some of Daddy's friends from home. She did well on her first road trip. She even had one night with a six hour sleep! Of course I got up several times to see why in the world she was so quiet for so long.

Float like a

Sting like a

I'm the greatest (sleep) fighter there ever was...

You wanna piece a me???

Piano fingers

2008-08-03T22:46:00.000-04:00

BE (Before Emma)

2008-07-31T01:20:00.008-04:00

A few photos of the happy couple a couple of weeks before our baby girl arrived. It's hard to believe how much has changed since then. I'm glad we have these pictures to remember this time. The excitement, the anticipation, and the speculation....

I was wrong on quite a few things I was thinking back then. I thought Emma would be a little chunky and have lots and lots of curly dark brown hair. Turns out she was a petite little blonde haired baby. She's starting to put on some weight now and her hair is slowly coming in (a little darker every day), but she looked nothing like what I had imagined she would.

She's just perfect! So pretty and sweet. God has blessed us so greatly. I still have trouble believing it all.

Another of the things I had wrong was thinking that I couldn't love Robby any more than I already did. My love for him has grown immensely, even though it feels like we hardly see each other these days because our attention is focused on Miss Sweetie Pie.

He and I are both sleep deprived and exhausted and running on Love (the adrenaline is long gone at this point). He's such an awesome Daddy to little Emma and such a wonderful husband to me. I can't imagine how I would manage without his love and support.

Thank you Sweetheart!

Emma and the animals

2008-07-30T10:27:00.012-04:00

G'day mates! I wanted to take you along today for one of my "outdoor" adventures. Since I don't really get out much, due to the hot sun and the being 5 weeks old thing, I try to entertain myself by observing the local wildlife. Come along with me as I explore the wilds of my nursery. Some of the things you will see can be extremely wild and vicious, so... be warned.

Here we have a harmless flying rabbit. Ah, she's a beaut. These can be found flying in packs (there are four in this group). They're really easy to find because they are always flying in circles just above my crib. Fascinating. I can stare at these guys for.... minutes (and then I remember that I'm hungry again). My favorite part about the flying rabbit is its amazing ability to sing a lullaby. Quite a musical creature.

Oh Crikey! Where did he come from???

The piglet is an altogether different creature. He's often confused with an armadillo (see photo at top of post) because of his pointy snout, pointy ears and general armadillo appearance.

Sneaky little bugger... you never know where one of these will turn up. Well, other than on a Texas highway with a Lone Star bottle in its mouth.

Shhhhhhhhh.. be very,very, quiet. I've spotted flock of wooly lambs behind me. They are easily spooked so I'm going to turn around very... slowly.... and....

See the sheep.

Emma Hunter tip: For safety, try not to look wild animals directly in the eye, it makes them nervous.

Whew! That was exhausting.

The best thing to do at the end of a long day is to snuggle up with a good Baxter.

I hope you enjoyed my Emma adventure today. I know I sure did. Please come back to visit me any time and always remember to bring chocolate for my Momma.

Editor's note: No stuffed animals were harmed in the filming of this post. Not even those vicious pigadillos.

Sweet Pea

2008-07-29T08:51:00.004-04:00

Last week was quite an exciting time. Emma grew so fast she's now too big for her newborn duds. It's crazy. Those things swallowed her when she first arrived. She's also smiling and giggling (on purpose!). It's so cute. I feel we are close to officially entering the time where Daddy is Emma's favorite person alive. I knew it was only a matter of time. And Daddy is good for infinitely more giggles than Mommy. Don't think I'm not going to keep pulling my "source of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner" card whenever possible. I'll have to wait until she's older to use the "mommy guilt" on her. Right now, I don't think any stories about how I "carried her for nine months" and "gave up Krispy Kreme" donuts for her, would do much good. ;)

One month old!

2008-07-24T09:26:00.012-04:00

It's hard to believe little Emma is already over a month old. She's already outgrown Bernie.

And she's holding her head up like a champ!

Smiling (sort of)

Doing "sign" language....

Peace out, Yo!

"One Meeellion dollars!"

And perfecting her superhero pose! "Up! Up! And Away!!!"

Our little girl is growing up so quickly. She's already over 9 lbs!!! Every morning she looks a little bit different and a LOT bigger. :D I feel myself turning into all of those "old" folks who used to talk about "putting a book on my head" to keep me from growing when I was a kid. It happens so fast.

Life is Good!

2008-07-13T17:56:00.005-04:00

We've been enjoying ourselves these bright summer days. Emma's got this livin' thing down. Eat, sleep, er.... y'know... chill. She's my hero!

Indeed, the life of Emma is awesome. Sleep all day, party all night. Mom and Dad are doing our best to keep up with this rock star lifestyle. It's exhausting.

My good friends Roshni and Lisa dropped by for a visit. Emma was finally able to meet the Quote Committee. Now if only Hallie Joy could have been there to make the meeting complete.

Of course, the day would not have been complete without a few "Daddy is crazy" pictures.

Emma has no idea how goofy her parents are. She thinks all of this nonsense is completely normal. Bless her heart!

Thank goodness we've got photographic proof to embarass her plenty when she gets older. :D

My First Fourth! (by Emma G.)

2008-07-10T10:38:00.006-04:00

While everyone else was eating hot dogs this fourth of July, I was busy enjoying my favorite holiday snack-- Emma fingers!

Of course, Daddy decided to try a few Emma toes for dessert after he saw how much I was enjoying them.

A few friends came by to visit on my first holiday, and I got lots of sugars from everyone!

It was a great 4th of July. The best I've ever seen.

Bath Time!

2008-07-08T19:58:00.007-04:00

Yes, that is a monkey on your back, baby girl.

The pediatrician gave us the green light for Emma's first tub bath. What an exciting milestone.

Use the Force, young Emma!

Overall, she did very well. I guess it makes sense that she would take to being surrounded by water. She's had 9 mos. of good practice. It still cracks me up to see some of the expressions she comes up with that make it seem as though this is the most alien thing in the world.

Precious

2008-07-03T09:52:00.006-04:00

My head is really heavy and I'm still so small. Snuzzlers are a great thing. They keep me nice and snug in my carseat.

Who turned out the lights???

Tennis anyone?

Hey, there's a bunny on my foot! It's a good thing my legs are so long, otherwise that thing might have gotten me.

2008-06-29T22:05:00.007-04:00

Emma next to her perfect pet, Bernie. Very low maintenance pup. He's only eaten 3 batteries since we got him.

Mom and baby are coordinating today.

Check out those butterfly feet!

A few photos of the local wildlife...

Mommy deer, Daddy deer and their twin fawns out for a stroll. We've also seen lots of bunnies and fireflies.

And a rare picture of the notorious baby ear eater (also know to nibble tiny fingers and toes).

2008-06-29T21:56:00.003-04:00

Daddy

2008-06-27T19:53:00.003-04:00

I am in awe. God has blessed me with the most amazing husband. Emma's daddy is a wonder. He has washed and cleaned and kept this place in tip top shape. Emma's schedule requires her to eat every two hours and Robby has been there every step of the way making sure that everything has run smoothly. I hate to think where I would be without this efficiency expert's awesome processes. He's got the assembly line running beautifully. He is the perfect match for me and my more "wholistic" approach to things. God bless this man!

Week Number One

2008-06-26T03:15:00.009-04:00

I'm surprised and the relatively few number of photos I've taken so far of this tiny girl who, with those long, lean, legs of hers will most certainly be a super model someday. I guess I'm just so much in awe and can't pull myself from staring at this amazing, less than a week old, human.

Her belly button cord fell off on Tuesday! I thought they weren't supposed to fall off for two weeks, or something like that, not four days. If this is any indication of how quickly the milestones are going to fly by, I had better prepare myself and start taking lots of pictures. So, here are just a few.

So many amazing people have come to visit little Miss Emma. She's quite the social butterfly. Her head pastor and children's pastor came to the hospital for a visit. I hate that I did not get photos. While at home, we've had three couples from the church bring food for us this week. What a blessing! Below is a picture of Emma with our friend Vanessa. She and her husband Charlie brought some good ole Baptist bird (chicken) with all the fixins, including some delicious cherry pie! Yum!

Here we are with Grandma. She's in town visiting for a few days. It's great to have her here to share in these special days. This picture was taken at Gravelly Point, just outside the airport only moments after mom's arrival. Emma had to stop and take a lunch break. I guess you could say this is her first picnic.

She's Here!!!!!

2008-06-22T19:00:00.012-04:00

Hallelujah!!!

Praise the Lord for He is GOOD!!!
6 lbs. 14 oz. and stretching the tape at 20.25 inches. Robby says she's a "wall hanger" (apparently, this is some sort of fishing analogy).

Little Emma Grace arrived at 2:58 a.m. Friday the 20th of June. She's beautiful, if I do say so myself! So sweet and wonderful. Sorry, I just can't stop going on about this precious one. :D

Here she is, cleaned and ready to go.

Emma meets her papa. Happy Birthday baby girl!

Yes, that's her Carolina tar heel. She gets that from her Daddy's side of the family.

Daddy and Daughter napping after a hard day of labor.

God has been so good to us. He has blessed us beyond anything we could have ever hoped or imagined. He continues to mercifully treat us so much better than we deserve. He has given us Grace.

Not yet

2008-06-19T03:07:00.002-04:00

Well the full moon did not bring out the baby. I thought for sure it would. I started the day at about 3 a.m. with contractions about 10 minutes apart. Surely that meant that at some point during the day she would arrive. Nope! I continued to have contractions throughout the day but they never got any closer than about 10 minutes. So frustrating! Oh well. When the time is right, things will progress. Robby took the day off to spend with me and we took the time to do all kinds of last minute shopping. I went to the Original Pancake House in Falls Church for a great big apple pancake (I only ate a little bit, 'cause of the carbs, but it was oh so good). We spent the afternoon close to the hospital, just in case, but ended up going back home when it became clear that little girl was going to be stubborn (I won't say which side of the family this trait comes from--...it's both).

So, here I am at 3 a.m. Thursday morning. Contractions are still at about 10 minutes apart. I'm trying to distract myself at this point and the computer does a wonderful job at attention stealing I think. I figure when I hit the point that I can no longer point and click... that's the time to get myself to the hospital! ;)

I hope my next post will be soon with great news and lots of photos.

Due Date?

2008-06-16T10:04:00.002-04:00

I had an ultrasound on Friday just to check on Emma's size and dimensions. The doctors wanted to take a look to make sure she wasn't too small. Well, the girl is NOT small. As it turns out, she's just planted herself so far down in my pelvis that my belly appears smaller than normal. But she's all there. In fact, they estimated her at 7 lbs. 14 oz. already. Yikes!!! Of course, it's difficult to get an accurate weight from an ultrasound this late in the game. She could be a pound lighter or a pound heavier.
Oh please not a pound heavier!
Plus, they moved up the due date to the 21st. That's the first day of summer and less than a week away! It's also my mother's birthday. And my uncle's birthday too. They are brother and sister and were born on the same day three years apart. So it's a popular day to be born in this family. Maybe that's because it's technically the longest day of the year. The odds are increased by like half a second or something. ;)
But, this Wednesday is a full moon. I hear that has quite an effect on spurring the baby birthing. I'm hoping so. At this point, sooner rather than later, is better. I'm ready to meet Emma and see her sweet little face.
I didn't get a good look at her on the ultrasound precisely because she is so far down. So it will be a surprise when she finally shows herself. The one thing the sonographer could tell about her looks was that she already has a head full of hair. Just like her momma. When I was born I had a ton of hair. The nurses tied little bows in my hair while I was still in the hospital.
I have a feeling she's going to look just like my dad. It seems all of the babies in my family look just like Virgil. Those must be some strong genes. I think it's fitting since yesterday was my first Father's Day without him. I know he would have been so excited to see his latest little granddaughter/clone.
Robby seems to think she'll have a "Wagoner nose". I'm not sure what that is, but, it must be special. I imagine she'll have big chubby cheeks (from both sides of the family). With any luck, she'll get her sense of humor from her daddy and will be completely silly-- dancing around the house to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
It won't be long before I'll be able to see if my predictions are true. I'm sure I will be surprised and completely in love with the unique and wonderful gift that God has given us. This is such an exciting and anxious time in our lives. It's so good to remember, God is always good and I trust in Him to take care of us perfectly like He always has.