Back to Basics

Now that Em is sitting up, it is time for new toys! She loves the ring stacker, and also enjoyed a pot and spoon I gave her on Monday night.

Splash Time...Oh, Nevermind.

As you might be able to tell from the pictures, our church had a little water night for the kids. The flyer said "birth to twelve," so we lathered Emmy up in sunscreen, and put her mermaid swimsuit on. The little wading pool was not happening, (I think the water was too cold!) but she did enjoy sitting in my lap loving on her duck. Emmeline also got to taste her first ever watermelon. She definitely liked it until I snatched it away from her because she was able to gum off a chunk large enough to choke on. Which she promptly did.

She also got to have her first meal in a restaurant on Sunday night - I don't count nursing while I eat. We went to Tequila Grande in Vienna, and she sat in her big girl high chair and ate broccoli and cereal. Once she had that experience, there's no holding her back. She got to eat out again on Monday for Uncle Alex's birthday dinner. Having a big girl dinner with Grammy, Grampy, Uncle Alex, Aunt Katie, Blake and Sebastian was SO exciting.

Truly, though, it is this picture that captures the weekend, and her attitude generally. This was taken at Wegman's; she's so cool. So casual. So grown up. My silly monkey and her baby doll.

A Bris!

We attended our first ever bris this weekend, of little Jeffrey Schneibolk! He made it through just fine, as you can see below: Mercifully, Emmeline napped through it, so we didn't have two screaming infants. I'm not sure how psyched I am to attend another one, however.

After the bris, we went to lunch with Grandpa Tom. Emmeline loved sharing his salad - Grandpa kindly donated a slice or two of avocado to the "Keep Emmeline Entertained While In Public" fund. It was lovely. We didn't do anything too exciting for the Fourth, since babies like to go to sleep well before fireworks begin. We all had a nice dinner over at the Blomases before the fatigue hit.

In other news, our hungry hungry hippo is eating like a champ! She's had so many foods, and so far really likes....eating, mostly. She doesn't care too much for peaches, but has decided that everything else is a go. We're going to start going a little further afield, with pearled barley and millet in the next few weeks (both have lots of protein, a surprise to me). She's sitting up so well we put her in the grocery cart tonight. Although, by sitting up, I mean propped. Not solo. That is not in her repertoire just yet.

Next weekend, we have water night at church - I'll be sure to post pictures!

Our Weekend

Emmeline has had a pretty packed weekend. (Don't they all seem to be?) We got our weekend off to an early start since Shawn left work at 4! Shawn and I spent Friday night moving lumber that idiot lumber delivery men had left ON OUR STREET, not in our backyard, as requested. By the way, when I say "Shawn and I," I mean Shawn, Andrew and our neighbor Mike. I tried to help, but honestly, they were very heavy pieces of wood. Saturday morning, Shawn, Andrew and Dave began building our deck!!!! YEA!!! She also met Dave's dog, Pibber. Turns out, Emmy LOVES doggy kisses. She was laughing and laughing when Pibber kissed her.

After Em's morning nap, we headed over to Erin and Gracie's house. Then we went swimming with them. Man, funny how much more Emmeline enjoyed swimming when Daddy wasn't dunking her in the pool. She had a great time, thanks in no small part to Grace's benevolent sharing of a very chewy dolphin. We came back, took another nap, and then headed to the Blomases for a patio warming party. She dined on broccoli, and then went to bed.

This morning, we went to church, where she enjoyed the nursery. It's amazing how much more Shawn and I are able to enjoy church now that we're not shushing her, bouncing her, and walking her throughout the service. And, she gets to move and talk as much as she wants, which is how it should be.

In the most important news, our good friends Craig and Jessica welcomed their first baby boy on this weekend! Weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz, Jeffrey Andrew Schneibolk was born Friday night. Shawn and I are going up to Maryland this afternoon to meet him and give our love to the newly expanded Schneibolk family. Emmeline will be hanging out with some great girls from our church.

5 Months Old???

In reflecting on my daughter today, I decided to do a 5 month old update, a la Erin. I'm so impressed by all the skills Emmeline has developed in the last few months. She's really growing up. Rolling from her belly to back is old hat - she's been doing that for a few months. It's been in the last month that she mastered rolling back to belly. And that's where she prefers to be now. Unlike the early days, she prefers to spend her time on her belly, so she can watch people (and cats and rabbits), and grasp at things easier. She loves to grasp onto anything, including but not limited to my hair, my keys, any toys that might be close, and the sleeve of my shirt as I carry her anywhere. What she does not care to grasp is the expensive musina toy lent to us by Erin - you see, she can't bring those toys down to her mouth. In Emmeline's world, something is only worth grabbing hold of if it then makes its way to her mouth. I know babies explore the world orally. I work with babies. This is not new information. THIS KID IS EXCESSIVELY ORALLY FIXATED. Even her teachers at school have commented on how oral she is. It's not just me. Given this oral fixation, I feel that we introduced food at a good time. So far, she has sampled egg yolk, broccoli, avocado, green beans, mango, peaches and sweet potato. She's starting carrots tomorrow. Em has no problem letting you know if she doesn't like something or if she's done eating. She just turns her head and purses her lips. Very clear communication. She's also clear about when she is excited: her new movement is to flap her arms and grin. Of course, I can't help but crack up, she looks so ridiculous. It's quite endearing. She's been holding her own bottle, although I don't know how long she's been able to do that, since she only gets about one bottle a week. We discovered this when Shawn put her to bed solo the other night. I'm sure that's not hugely ahead of developmental expectations, it was just a surprise since she doesn't have a lot of bottles. Bedtime itself is a whole other experience now too. Our bedtime routine is so wonderful. Quick bath, pjs, eat, read two books, lights out, and Shawn and I leave the room. She cries about one night out of ten, and then for less than two minutes. Most nights we either hear nothing, or a little baby chatter then silence. Glorious. Tonight was the first night she rolled herself in bed, so despite being put to bed on her back, I guess from now on, my big girl can choose to sleep on her belly if she likes. (I can only sleep on my belly, I certainly can't blame her)

Long story short, I think if I blink, she'll be graduating high school. She's like a real baby now, not my little defenseless newborn anymore. She has an attitude, can be a little drama queen, and knows how to bat her eyelashes to get what she wants. How did this happen?

Raleigh!

She's thinking...peaches? Are you people nuts? These are awful!

Clearly a little worried about this whole "swimming" business. Still cute in a bathing suit though. Since that's what matters and all.

Road Trip!

We took our first ever road trip with Emmeline this past weekend. We drove down to Raleigh to visit Merissa and Luke. It was a packed weekend, with a trip to the Farmer's Market, a dip in the pool, new food, and waaaaay too much time in her carseat. Em liked the Farmer's Market about as much as she likes the one here. She was absolutely not a fan of the pool. This may have been because her bathing suit was too small. This may have been because it wasn't incredibly hot outside. This may have been because Shawn thought it was necessary to dunk her in the water. In any case, she did not like the pool too much. Unfortunately, she also didn't care for the peaches we made for her either. She did love watching Clemson, Merissa and Luke's cat. And she did love cuddling with Luke and Merissa who were hoping I might accidentally leave her behind. She pretty much hated being in her carseat for 6 hours on Sunday, driving back. Pictures will follow.