Bumbo

Time to say goodbye to the bumbo chair...

Apples!

We had a fun low-key weekend. Friday Jake didn't have to work (he actually got home from work at 7:30am on Friday after working all through the night Thursday) so he slept until early afternoon. While he was sleeping we went to Lowe's to buy blinds and then over to Rebekah's house to "play" so that Jake could get uninterrupted sleep.

I don't really have anything really exciting to write about so here's a few random thoughts:

• Emelyn is a rolling machine. We've found she likes to be under things too... the couch, bed, chair etc.. and if she can't roll under anything she'll put pillows on her head, or put her burp cloth over her face. So funny!
• When she naps she rolls over and scoots into the corner and somehow wedges her head in as far as she can to sleep. This makes me so nervous and is yet another reason why I love our video monitor!
• A few nights lately she's started getting fussy around 7 but since she just had supper at 6 I try to hold her off until 8ish to feed her her bedtime bottle. Being in her highchair always seems to distract her so I've fed her a little rice cereal. Not sure what it is, but each night that we've given her cereal she sleeps until 8:00am or later - 12+ hours! Either we just need to put her to bed earlier on those nights or the rice cereal holds her over for an extra hour or so. Who knows!
• Speaking of food, today we made apple puree. She loved it. I videotaped it, but it is quite boring. She takes a bite, and as soon as she's done opens her mouth again and starts snorting/fussing until I get her another bite.
• I'm trying out a recipe for crock-pot lasagna tonight and it smells amazing! I hope it's as good as it smells!
• This weekend we're taking Emelyn to her first ever PNO (Parent's Night Out.) Jake and I will be attending a Murder Mystery Party - 1985 Class Reunion style so I've been trying to figure out what to wear to fit my part. I figure as long as I have shoulder pads in and big hair I can't go wrong.

Jake feeding Emelyn Friday afternoon - notice how her mouth is open!
Yummy squash!

Rolling under the bed to hide!

Helping mom make apple puree

I love those cute teeth. I (quite embarrassingly) had never used my steamer that I received as a wedding gift until today. It was so easy to use so I'm sure I'll use it a lot from now on!

Video Diary

As promised, here are some pictures of Emelyn! I decided to take pictures throughout her day.

Emelyn woke up around 7:30; ate and then played with toys while I ate and cleaned up the kitchen. Around 8:30 she started to get tired so she moved to our bedroom where she laid on the bed and calmed down while I got ready for the day. By 9:00 she was ready for a nap and I laid her in her crib with her paci for a 30 minute snooze.

After she woke up I dressed her for the day.
Such a long girl!
On the list to do today: 1) Go to the DMV and pay taxes/tags for the new van

2) run by the store on the way home to buy some squash for her next new veggie

"Yum mom! The deli smells great!"

"I suppose this squash will do since it's the only kind the store has."

Putting away groceries.

After we got home 1) I realized yellow squash aren't suppose to be eaten until 8 months since the skin and seeds are hard to digest and 2) Jake called to say he'd be working late. Since it was lunch time, we decided to pick Jake up and take him to a local diner for lunch and then run to another grocery store to find different squash. It was Emelyn's nap time again during lunch ...

...she had time for a few smiles and laughs with dad...

Then quickly fell asleep afterwards. Dad got to sit in the back of the van for the first time on the way to the store and decided mom has to drive from now on. :)

After Emelyn's nap she ate and then helped mom cook the NEW squash she bought - Butternut Squash.

While the squash was cooking, Emelyn had fun playing with her sippy cup

Once the squash was cooked she had to inspect

And then taste it for the first time

After all that cooking and eating, Emelyn was ready for an afternoon nap. Once she woke up 30 minutes later and ate, she was ready to play. But first, she had to watch to make sure the ceiling fan was still up there.

Practicing sitting up by herself

And then chew on her feet.

It's close to 5:00 now and she's ready for her last nap of the day. I figured this is enough pictures for one day. :)

Midweek blues

Sorry - yet another post without pictures of Emelyn. I'll be sure to post some soon! I'm not sure what it is, but all three of us seem to be having a rough week. Emelyn has been fussy since having her shots and just wants to be held all the time. Jake hasn't been feeling the greatest and is super super tired and I just got back from a really long, painful dentist appointment. Yuck.

On the bright side though 1) Today was beautiful. The three of us went for a walk tonight and spent some time talking with our neighbors which was fun. 2) We've been homesick a little and will be able to see some family in May - and it's almost the end of April!! I also had a long overdue chat with one of my sisters this morning which always boosts my spirits. 3) We received confirmation this week that Jake has been accepted to the Mayo Clinic and so we'll be going to Rochester in 3 weeks for 3-5 days of tests and treatment. We're so thankful that he was accepted AND that we get to go so soon. Also, two of our good friends that use to be in our Sunday School class that have moved away live along the way to Rochester SO we're making plans to visit them while we're in the vicinity.

6 Month Check Up

Friday Emelyn and I went to see her Pediatrician for her 6 month check up. Somehow Jake always ends up missing her appointments where shots are involved and today was no exception. Jake was getting a blood transfusion at the time of her appointment and I'm sure he would've rathered been with us! Anyways, here's a summary of Emelyn at 6 months:

• 16 pounds, 6 ounces and 25.75 inches long... such a big girl to us!
• She has two teeth
• She loves eating with a spoon! So far she's tried rice cereal, oatmeal and sweet potatoes. The first time she tried sweet potatoes she ate the first 3-4 bites like a pro, but then the next bite brought shudders and fake gagging. So dramatic! I have a video of it but it's a little long... still hilarious though! The next day I mixed a little rice cereal in the potatoes and she ate them all. Now she eats them by themselves without a problem. This week we'll move on to another veggie... maybe squash.
• She can sit by herself for a few seconds, then plops over... I'm sure it won't be long before she's sitting solo!
• Her favorite toys right now are her tower of colorful rings, musical ball and anything small enough for her to put in her mouth to chew on.
• She still eats 6 times a day and is now taking 3-4 naps a day.
• She's starting to grab at everything... phone, remote, plates, glasses... you name it! She also has learned to roll over until she can get close to what she wants. If she still can't reach the toy, she's learned to grab onto her blanket and pull the toy close enough to grab at it.
• She's such a joy and her laugh is contagious!

What we really do...

...at home while Jake's at work.

(On a side note - as I'm sure you can tell, I taped this not planning on posting it - Emelyn usually isn't as energetic in the evenings when Jake is home so I tape some of our funny moments for him to watch at night. I love her laugh in this though and wanted you all to hear it hense the reason I've posted this crazy home video. :)

Easter Smiles & Sewing project

Today was the second time I've put Emelyn in a dress so I thought I better post a picture of this momentous event. :) I just can't bring myself to put her in tights (I can't stand wearing them and doubt she'd like them either) so I simply avoid dresses most of the time. However, I was afraid she'd outgrow this dress before she got to wear it if I didn't put her in it... what better day than Easter (and her 6 month birthday!)

This picture is a little blurry but I wanted to show you all her new teeth.

Also, this weekend I dusted off my sewing machine to make a few burp clothes to give as a gift. Someone gave me some homemade burp clothes and I loved them so I thought I'd try to make some myself. Here are the results.. I think they turned out great and they were super easy!! The new dad works for John Deere and they had a girl hence the reason I picked the fabric I did.

Easter Egg Hunt at the Park

Today we went to a Community Easter Egg Hunt / Barbecue that our church put on. Even though Emelyn isn't old enough to walk, let alone hunt for eggs, we went to enjoy the nice weather and to watch our friend's kiddos hunt. Here are some pictures of us enjoying the sun.

We have some friends that just returned from Guatemala and they brought this hat back for Emelyn... isn't it cute?!?!

In full bloom

This morning Jake and I went outside before Emelyn woke up and saw a beautiful display of purple irises. I know today is the day to remember Christ's horrific death but I couldn't help but to share the purple rainbow in our flower bed. These will look perfect on our Easter dinner table as we celebrate our Lord's Resurection!

There is a lilac bush mixed in with some irises and they are close to blooming as well.

And to go with the purple theme - here's a recent picture of our little girl being silly. :)

Always learning...

Pushing buttons makes music...

And it lights up!

Distracted by dad and the camera...

Contemplating... "Okay, I get it now..."

Baby birds!

Emelyn and I saw movement in our front door nest this afternoon. As we looked closer, we were able to witness a little bird crack out of it's egg. So sweet! A beautiful reminder just in time for Easter. I hope you can get a glance of the new baby in these pictures - it was hard to capture on the camera.

Fun Friday

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this amazing little girl?!?! Today I was thinking about the fact that she'll soon be six months old and I can't beleive how fast the time has gone by and also how much she's changed. Here's a picture from the first time I held her... And here we are now...


I am so blessed that I have been with her for almost every waking moment she has ever had (Thank you for making this possible, Jake!) I feel like we both know each other really well at this point and she is such a JOY. Oh how I love that little girl!!! Lately she has been super snuggly and cuddly with me and wants to lay her head on my shoulder a lot. I love it and cherish these precious times. Before I know it, her teeth won't hurt anymore and she'll be back to her normal self.

Below is a video of one of her most recent quirks... she makes this awful grunting noise all the time now... not because she's straining but because it's just fun to make weird noises that scare mom. :) Also, if you listen close enough, you can hear her scraping her tounge on her new teeth. Every time she wakes up from a nap the first thing she does (after smiling at me - another moment I cherish! :) is stick her tounge out to make sure the teeth are still there.



Today we also met some friends for lunch... here's Byron who is soon to be a big brother..

...and Caleb with Caleb's mom, Christy. Caleb thought Emelyn was funny (he's laughing, not crying!) and loved rubbing her head. So sweet! These two boys were so much fun to watch at lunch. Before I know it, Emelyn will be their age!

Have a good weekend!

Midweek News!

No, we're not pregnant.
Now that that's out of the way, I am an official member of the "goober-mobile" club. That's right, we traded my car for a minivan. I know our car wasn't really out of room, but it seemed hard to manuver around in it - especially on our long drives to Kansas so we decided to see what was out there. SUV's, as cool as they are, seemed just like our car inside except a little higher up. So we glanced at the *van*. Needless to say, I never dreamed at the ripe old age of 24 I'd be excited about automatic opening doors and stow n' go as a mother of one. But I am. :) *Sigh*

On to other news... I have a lot of Irises that will be blooming anyday now! A beautiful sign that warmer weather is almost here. In fact, it's suppose to be 68 today so after Emelyn's afternoon nap I think we'll go for a walk.

And some big news with Emelyn... teeth! After about two weeks of her wanting to snuggle and gnaw on everything it looks like her two middle bottom teeth have finally broken through.
Chewing on her thumb... then taking a brief break to look at the camera.

Finally, a little something that tickled my funnybone this morning: I bought a new Glade candle and just noticed that the outside lable claims that the candle is 92.4% natural. Have you ever seen that percentage as a marketing ploy before?!?