Happy Two Months to Emma!!

Two month factoids:

-Emma is starting to grow out of her newborn clothes (except the Circo brand...that stuff is huge) and moving towards wearing 0-3. I don't think I will ever get used to retiring pieces of clothing because they are too small, but Joe might be worse. He was so upset when this outfit no longer fit that we had to take a picture of the last time she wore it:

(Joe's Note: ...because Ducky and Froggy are awesome and Best Friends...it says so on the outfit)

-It seems as though Emma let me know of her love of owls from the womb. The pattern on the rocking chair has become a point of interest for her. She loves to look and smile at the owls behind my shoulders. It has gotten to the point where I try to rock her without turning any lights on during a late night/early morning feeding, because if I don't she wakes right up when she sees her owl friends.

-Emma is not at the point where she is really playing with toys, but there are two objects that she loves. One is THE pig (as it is referred to in our house) that plays music. The music is magically not annoying and it calms her down quickly. We had it with us during Emma's first shot and the nurse was amazed by how much Emma loved the pig. The other toy is a monkey that came with her gym mat. She stares at it and smiles. Sometimes she even laughs at it.

-Bath time is no longer a sign of doom. They now make her happy and peaceful. Hooray!

-However, the stroller must be evil. There has only been one walk that did not result in tears. Sadly, this magical walk did not involve the stroller whatsoever because I put her in the moby wrap before even leaving the house.
-Most of the time Emma is a cheery little gal, but she knows when it is time for her to be sleeping. If try and keep her active pass 7 she gets fussy until we cave and stop playing with her.

-I did not give Emma a pacifier until after she was six weeks old. Since then we have tried a number of them and Emma is just not interested. This is a good thing and a bad thing...jury is still out on that one.
-She has the longest eyelashes I have ever seen. They are still light in color, but one day she is going to be the envy of every girl around her... including me.

-Emma is a complete cuddle bug which makes me feel like one of the luckiest moms in the world.



Note: she is wearing a newborn onesie in her two month pics.

Pictures!

These are the pictures that Katie took and edited for us. I would say a lot more, but really it is way more fun to just look at pictures. Emma is 6, going on 7, weeks old in these pictures.

I Could Not Help Myself

Emma is a blessing. Not only does she constantly amaze me with adorableness she also continues to show me how lucky we are. Emma is going to be a spoiled little girl (in the best way possible) and this becomes more apparent every time someone comes to visit. One such example was this past weekend when Katie (of pregnant belly picture fame) came over. She brought her camera equipment and spent about 90 minutes just taking pictures of Emma and holding her once she fell asleep. Who wouldn't want to hold a sleeping baby? This not only helped to spoil Emma, but also myself, Joe, and anyone else who enjoys pictures of babies.

During this photo session Katie brought out a black blanket she bought in order to take some very professional looking shots. Well, Emma wanted to show her excitement, so she peed on said blanket. We, of course, kept this blanket in order to wash it.... but, I couldn't help myself and took some pictures of my own once the blanket was clean. So, here are some unprofessional pics of Emma that I had a blast taking. You will be able to see Katie's beautifully edited shots at a later date. FYI: The camera we bought before Emma was born already has 789 pictures on it. Yep, we are going to be those parents.

What My Focus is...

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Where were you on 9/11? This is the question that has permeated the media this week.
Joe and I were both at JMU on 9/11/01. We both had classes and we both huddled around a tv trying to figure out what was going on and what it all meant.

We feel the clip above symbolizes the way our generation felt in the aftermath of that day and how far we have come in the past ten years.

This morning while watching the memorials at New York, DC, and Pennsylvania my focus was not on what was on the tv, but instead it was on the beautiful girl in my lap. I hope that she does not have to go through a "where were you" moment that negatively changes the way she views the world. My hope is that she gets to ask the question in a positive way (ex. Where were you when Israel and Palestine became united? Where were you when they announced the cure for cancer?).

It is time our country produced a generation focused on tolerance and understanding... and I can only hope that Emma will be one of many that help to form that generation.

One Month and Counting

Emma has now been in our lives for a month (as of Sept. 2nd). She is quickly becoming a little person with unique quirks. I love watching her personality being formed. It is hard to believe that soon she will be talking, reading, pretending... I can't wait (well, maybe I can wait a bit).

I thought for her 1 month birthday it would be fun to make a list of things that make Emma...Emma, at this point in her life.

-Her hair feels like duck fluff and most of the time it stands straight up like she is a little rock star.

-She is beginning to hold onto our fingers. The first time this happened I am pretty sure I melted a bit.

-When we talk to her while she is "crying" out for attention she changes her tone to this adorable coo like she knows that everything is going to be ok.

-There has only been one bath where she hasn't thought the world was going to end.

-Her current nickname is Froggy. She constantly sits like a frog with her legs tucked underneath her. It is adorable. Here is a picture of her in her froggy towel. I am pretty sure her eyes are saying, "why in the world are you taking that picture instead of holding me close and making me warm?"

-She is still wearing newborn clothes. I love this about her. Side note: she has long arms and legs, so even though she is tiny I am certain she is going to be taller than me (hooray).

-Holding her head up while on her tummy is one of her favorite things...even though it sometimes ends with a headbutt for mom and dad.

-She is starting to show her personality with her expressions. She has this way of looking at you out of the corner of her eye that seems to say, "what are you trying to make me do?" or "I think you are up to something and I am not sure that I like it." This isn't exactly the look, but it is still adorably expressive.

-She seems to always know when it is dinner time. And, understandably, that means it is time for her to eat too.

-Two words. Squirmy worm. There is really no other way to describe her... and this is why most of the pictures we tried to take yesterday turned out like this:

-I am pretty sure Emma speaks Pig Latin--if Pig Latin were a real language made up of a combination of snorts, grunts, and squeals.

-She is starting to begin smiling and it is amazing.

-It seems to be very tiring to be 1 month old.