Camping is AWESOME!!!

Emma experienced her first camping trip yesterday. We traveled to the backyard for some outdoor fun under our Doug Fir tree. Emma was mesmerized by the campfire, and then fell asleep blissfully in our tent. We let Darby in the tent around 4:30, as she was pretty vocal about not being included in the backyard camping experience. Emma woke up and must have thought she was in heaven by the smile on her face...sleeping outside between mama and papa, AND Darby! She was rolling back and forth to look at Ken and I with the biggest smile on her face. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep...but it was sure fun.

I feel drowsy...but I still want to play with kitty

Just a few more photos of Emma. She and Darby are becoming fast friends. Darby doesn't even seem to mind the "not so gentle petting/grabbing" that Emma likes to do.

As for an update on Ken and I, we are both doing well. We are both very busy with work, and taking care of Emma in the evenings. We are having a lot of fun watching Emma learn new things---which is great. We are still wondering when all this spitting up business is going to taper off though...doing laundry is a pretty significant part of our daily lives.

We have been trying to stay as active as possible while we have the nice weather. I am pretty much back to normal mobility now, so it has been so great getting out of the house on hikes or even walking down to the grocery store. We have been going on some bike rides too which Emma seems to enjoy...or at least she usually gets some quality napping done during the ride. Ken has managed to get up some pretty big hills with the bike trailer in tow, which is quite impressive, given that I usually have to get off my bike and walk up the last 1/2 of the hill.

Ken has also been busy putting plans together for our basement remodel as well. Everything is pretty much set, and hopefully the contractor will be able to start working in the next few weeks.

That's about it for now. We have some video to share of Emma too....but that might be awhile before I figure out how to post that.

Derby racing and berry pickin'

Man, where has the summer gone. We are not quite ready for the rainy season to start just yet...so hopefully we will have a nice long fall. I thought I'd share a sampling of photos from our summer. We have Ken and some of his co-workers posing for a picture in their soap box derby car. Ken had a lot of fun riding, but it was also fun to watch the races as well. We also made a trip up to Mt. Adams in Washington last weekend to pick some huckleberries. Yum!!! We actually got there early enough this year, and were able to find a ton of berries. Emma enjoyed herself too, and I know she is looking forward to next year when she can pick her own. Emma has learned to sit up all by herself now too. She is pretty proud of herself, and likes the view she gets from sitting up. She is still taking full advantage of rolling all over the house though too. I'm afraid to see how far she can get once she starts crawling.

5 month birthday celebration at the community pool!

Emma celebrated her big day by sleeping in 'til 9am (with only one 3am snack to tide her over), going to Yoga class with mama, and then going swimming for the first time at the community pool. She really enjoyed herself, and made friends at yoga class and at the pool. Emma is quite the little socialite, and holds hands with pretty much any baby that gets close enough to grab. Mama and Papa had a great time at the pool too. Emma seemed to like papa swimming under water, and popping up right in front of her the best.

Emma modeling the fads of today

Emma is already pushing the fashion limit (note the diaper peaking out just above her lowridin' pants). She must have learned this fad from the older daycare kids. Emma is in constant motion nowadays, so it has been quite difficult to get a snapshot of her...hence the blurry photos.

Emma's first hike

Emma is now officially rolling over. She is mastering this, and well as shuffling herself around in a circle on the floor. Yikes...she is mobile! She entertains herself quite easily playing with her toys, or looking at herself in a mirror. She loves going outside. We go for a walk around the neighborhood every night, and she loves looking around at everything. Emma went on her first hike in Forest Park for Ken's birthday this week. She didn't seem too happy at first, but warmed up to the idea of hiking by the end of the trail. She seems to really enjoy her new carrier as well. She is getting to big to carry around in her carseat now, so Ken and I are very glad she enjoys the carrier.
She has started making the raspberry noises again, after a brief hiatus. It's cute...but a little messy given that she is also drooling quite a bit now. No teeth yet though.
She likes to pretend read too. She looks like she is reading a book or the newspaper for a few seconds, and then gradually brings everything to her mouth for a little taste!