My new MN friend, Mirabelle

We were so happy to get to see Melissa and Steven while in the midwest, and to meet their new baby girl, Mirabelle.  Emma and Mirabelle became fast friends and are already looking forward to their next playdate.

Christmas time at Grammy and Grampy D's

We were fortunate to be able to spend about 6 days in Madison over Christmas, and Emma got to see her aunt Deirdre, uncle Jeff and cousin Carter from CT.  She also enjoyed music lessions from her Grammy, and had fun trying to convince Grampy how good all her toys taste.  Grammy and Grampy also took us on a field trip to a European bakery to see a life size gingerbread house.  Carter went inside the house to enjoy some cookies, while Emma was wondering why everyone was taking so many pictures. 

Christmas morning

Emma wasn't quite sure what to think of all the gifts on Christmas morning.  She loved all her new gifts, and really enjoyed eating all the paper they were wrapped in as well.  Emma's 3 year old cousin Carter helped Emma pick out her gifts under the tree.

Artic Blast 2008

Portland got a record amount of snow this weekend.  We had drifts of snow in our driveway, and had to get reacquainted with our snow shovel again.  Emma liked to look at all the white stuff from a nice warm house, but didn't really like the way it felt on her hands.  We'll have to save snow angels and snowmen until next year.  

We also had a Christmas cookie cocktail party planned for Saturday night, and our die hard friends from the midwest and Canada didn't let a mere 8 inches of snow stop them from going out.  Luckily everyone had enough cookies earlier in the evening to provide the energy needed to dig each other out as everyone proceeded to get stuck in the snow on their way home.  Emma also has a new friend her own age to hang out with at these adult gatherings, Elias is the little guy near the fireplace.

Visiting Marge

Emma and I went to visit our neighbor Marge today, before we started getting the significant snowfall.  It was still pretty cold outside today though, so we got all bundled up to go next door.

Sleepy?...Not our Emma!

I thought the sleepy pj's might give our little one a hint as to what it was she was suppose to be doing when we put those clothes on.  This has not been the case.   Emma has learned to go to bed fairly easily, but she likes to wake up a few hours later.  After her midnight snack, she used to go straight back to bed, but somewhere along the line, she has learned that if she crys long and loud enough, mom and dad will give in, and let her sleep with them.   Emma, all 18 pounds of her, is also a little bit of a bed hog, so Ken and I rarely get much sleep after she jumps in with us.  We are hoping this is going to be a short lived phase!

Celine Dion Christmas 2008!

Just a couple of snapshots of Emma trying out for the baby Celine Dion Christmas special.  We were actually just trying to get a cute photo of her in a santa hat for our Christmas card this year...but Emma had other plans.  Apparently she does not agree with accessorizing with hats anymore.  Oh...and we are still working on getting a photo for our christmas card...It's looking more and more like we might be sending out a Valentine's Day greeting this year (or perhaps a birth announcement/"our little girl is turning 1" card).  Yep, parenthood certainly has not helped us in the procrastination department.

Kitty/Kiddo play date

Playing with Darby is lots of fun.  Now that Emma is more mobile, she likes to chase Darby around the house.  She also learned how to get Darby to dance by swinging one of her cat toys in front of her.  I'm not sure if Emma or Darby enjoyed this more.

Bath time dropsies

Rubber duckie and Emma have become acquainted, and bath time has never been more fun. Emma has developed a case of the dropsies lately, and has taken this game to the bathtub. She likes to throw duckie over board, and then crawl out of the tub to see where it has gone. Bathtime has thus become another addition to mommy and daddy's daily workout. Thanks for keeping us fit Emma!

Is that loud enough mommy?

Emma is crawling about more and more, and getting faster and faster. She seems to have a magnetic pull to the stereo, and likes to try out all the buttons, including the volume dial.

Snowball Returns

I had a dog growing up named Snowball, and he looked a little something like Emma in these photos. We took the Burley for a spin this past weekend, and it turns out this is going to come in handy this winter. We can continue to take Emma for walks in the rain, and thanks to the handy little rain flap...she stays dry. Since it was a little cooler, we decided to try out her winter jacket too (break it in for the really cold weather we will encounter in the midwest this winter). She was a little frustrated by the constraints her puffy jacket placed on her new found mobility. She couldn't even figure out how to bend her arm to get her thumb in her mouth...Not good!

Balloons = Fun!

Emma turns 8 months old this weekend, and she is getting into everything now. She has mastered crawling and pulling herself up. She is swallowing food now, rather than just smearing it all over her face. She waves hello and goodbye (AND interjects the random wave into conversation to liven things up). She also is saying Mamamamamamama, and Dadadadadadadadadada. Not sure that she really knows that those things have meaning yet...but she's definitely learning. She is flashing her two bottom teeth more now too...but doesn't show off those two top teeth that are poking through just yet.
We went to Trader Joes this weekend, and Emma got her first balloon. Balloons definitely equal fun in Emma's book. Hours of entertainment were had!

happy halloween!

Emma was our 80's dancing queen for her first halloween. She lived it up as much a seven month old can! After partying that hard all night, we were all crashed pretty hard. The real treat was emma let us all sleep all night to boot! Thanks Dancing Queen!

A beautiful Fall day...

This past weekend we had beautiful weather here. We walked down to the park, and got some great views of Mt. Hood on the way (you can see the mountain if you click on the photo to make it bigger). I'm not sure who had more fun at the park, Emma or us. It was so great watching her giggle as she was swinging high on the swings. I think we have a thrill seeker on our hands.

ken's favorite picture

Just wanted to post this- its my favorite picture so far i think. We took it on Emma's first teeter totter ride at the park- she also really loved the swings.

Baby Swim 101

Emma really enjoys her swim class- and her favorite toy even made an appearance- ball! The swim teacher even dunked her under water which kinda took her by surprise, but she took it all in stride

Fall fun on the Fruit Loop

This weekend we drove to Hood River with friends and went apple and pumpkin picking. Emma had a wonderful time, and enjoyed spending time with the gang. She had her first test drive on a John Deere, and wants to be sure Grandpa T. knows that she will be ready for the real thing on her next visit to MN.

My mommy just likes these pictures of me!

Just a few of my favorite things...

Emma in action doing some of her favorite things...Playing with her beach ball, having a day of beauty by giving herself an oatmeal mask at dinner, doing her sitting dance (not so easily captured in a still photo--but she bounces herself to pretty much anything that has a beat), and lastly practicing her crawling stance!