ANOTHER SNOW DAY

So if I hadn't already realized how much my life has changed, I realized it this week. I have always loved the snow and as a teacher really loved it when it produced snow days. For the past four days the schools in the area have been out because of the snow and I could not be more ready for it to go away. I have been stuck in the house with Emma for the past five days and AM READY TO GET OUT. I want the snow to melt and the storm that is forecasted for next week to disappear. I have, of course, enjoyed the time with Emma and it has minimized our exposure to more germs, but there is nothing left to do in our little apartment but lose my mind.

While I was laying on the floor last night while playing with Emma, she rolled over to the right side. Until now she has only rolled to the left, so we were very excited (I know, I need to get out of the house). We got it on video of her rolling both ways although she has yet to figure out how to string it all together with flipping from her tummy to her back. I am sure that will come soon enough and then she will be all over the place. Enjoy the video.

A New Thumb Sucker

Emma has discovered her thumb and has started sucking it regularly. It is the cutest thing, especially when it is making a sucking noise. She gets duck in her hand and rubs the satin while sucking it to go to sleep. Here are some pictures and video of her new trick.

FIrst Snowstorm

Cincinnati got a blast of winter weather over the past 36 hours and Emma had the opportunity to experience falling snow. We were so excited to bundle her up and take her out to the yard to see the snow falling from the sky. We were sorely disappointed by her reaction. Emma is usually so expressive and interactive but with the snow she just looked at us like she was saying "it is cold and why are we out here again?". Enjoy the pictures and video. She looked SOOO precious in her snowsuit and hat and mittens.

As a side note, we were very glad to have electricity today. The storm dumped 8 inches of snow with 1/2 inch of ice sandwiched in between and out electricity went out at 6am and we began to panic a little as to how we would keep Emma warm in 20 degree weather without heat. We laid in bed and talked about the many ways things could be worse and prayed and an hour later the electricity came back on...that was even more amazing considering the situation in September when it took a week for the power to come back on in many parts of the city. We are so thankful for the Lord's provision and safety even when we feel so vulnerable. Emma and I also enjoyed having Mike home the past two days...I guess it is God's way of preparing us for him being home with us indefinitely starting Monday.



Emma's first encounter with falling snow


Emma was staring at the snow falling out the window. It was very sweet. She was mesmerized by it until she gagged herself.

Cereal

Emma had her first taste of cereal this evening. We captured it on video and with a few pictures...enjoy! (She had shots today and has been fighting a cold so her eyes are glazed over and she is just not herself.)

Doctor Visit

Emma went to the doctor this morning and she is now 15 lbs 5 oz (75th percentile) and 27 in long (off the charts) and her head is 42 cm (75th percentile). She got her next round of shots and charmed the office staff with her smiles and impressed them with her strength. We will start her on cereal tonight and I will post a video this weekend! We are SO blessed to have a healthy and thriving daughter!

This picture was taken last night. I was cleaning up from dinner and walked out to get the rest of the dishes and saw Mike laying on the floor reading The Rainbow Fish to Emma. It was so sweet!

The video clip is of Emma trying to go to sleep in her crib. All I could see down the hall was her grabbing her feet in the air so I tried to get that on video but instead caught her with Duck on her head and loving on George. The best part is in the beginning I just don't know how to edit out the end yet!

Four Months Old

Happy Four Month Birthday, Emma! Here are some pictures to show Emma's size and growth now that she is four months old. She was so squirmy and I was not able to get the pictures I had hoped for but these are very cute! I tell more about the drama of taking these pictures in the video at the end of this post. (Her eyes are blue although you cannot tell with the dark backdrop.)





Emma turned four months old today. It is amazing how fast those four months have gone. We celebrated the day with Emma's first cold (thankfully it is not a bad one). I am loving being home with her each and every day and am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with this opportunity. With that said, this has been so hard and we are going through some great challenges with Emma right now with sleep and crying fits and mood. She is not what you would consider an "easy baby"...not even close. That is especially tough for me as I work through those challenges day in and day out and we have regressed far more than we have grown in so many areas. I am anxious to hear the pediatrician's advice on Thursday. Mike and I are continually amazed at how much we love her and cherish her. She is such a joy and blessing to us!

At four months old Emma is...

...rolling over all the time from her back to her tummy. She is just now figuring out that she can also do that in the crib.

...sleeping with her face against the bumper pad with Curious George's foot in one hand and duck in the other.

...playing with her feet all the time.

...playing in the megasaucer.

...picking up toys and putting them in her mouth.

...giggling (and coughing out of excitement) all the time.

...sucking on her fingers (and pacifier...yes, I did say pacifier...it made a comeback after two weeks without it) all day long.

I will post an update on Thursday after we go to the doctor and officially know how much she has grown.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Mike and I are trying to remember and record some of our favorite things Emma does. We find ourselves saying "You know what Emma hasn't done in a while..." and we realize that behavior is gone and replaced with a new one. So, I am trying to keep a list of her cute behaviors so I can always remember them. Here are just three of my favorites right now...

1. When she gets excited she coughs...it is a short dry cough but she does it every time she is excited.
2. When she is playing with a toy she likes she puts it up to her mouth and pulls her legs up to her chest (this often results in her rolling over as well).
3. When Emma gets a hold of a stuffed animal, she coughs and then bites it to show her excitement.

I got a video clip (see below) of her doing these things (except the cough...we will work to capture that)...

Here are some pictures from the past few days...enjoy!

Emma learning to sit up in the Bumbo seat.

We have been pacifier free for 10 days. Emma gave the cues that she didn't "need" it anymore and after over a week of watching her cues, she is doing really well without it and doing better sleeping at night.

Playing with Mommy...

Its Emma's Way or No Way

This is the lesson we are learning about our precious daughter. She does things in her timing and when she is ready, not a minute sooner. She is hilarious and her independent personality makes us laugh (and also scares us a little to think of what is in store). We, of course, have been watching all of the milestones that Emma is achieving and realized that she had NO interest in rolling over. As some of our friends with babies her age started to roll over we wondered when Emma would choose to do so. We knew as soon as she decided to she would do it. Over Christmas Poppa and I worked with her on playing on her side and helping her roll over and she finally started to roll to her side. I just figured that was the first step and she would do that for a while. Yesterday she stayed with Aunt Amy so I could go to an appointment and when I got back she was playing on the floor with Londy and the next thing I knew she rolled right over. I thought I must have imagined it but she did it three more times. It was so exciting! Amy was quick enough to get the camera and capture the moment and the boys enjoyed seeing her do it for the first time. The best part of the story is the fact that Emma rolled from her back to stomach. Most babies do it in the other order and it takes till closer to five months to go from the back to stomach. Again...she does things her own way! She still has NO interest in going from her stomach to back although she hates to be on her stomach. We will see what happens next...enjoy the video!

Since this morning when I started this post, Emma rolled over the other way. We also managed to capture that and her giggling on video.

Emma Rolling Over Back to Front



Emma Giggling

Emma Rolling Back to Front



I had to add this picture b/c I think William could be Becky and Mike's son....at least he gets to be their godson. (from Amy)

Christmas at Grammy and Poppa's

There is so much to share that I don't know where to start. We had a great trip to Grammy and Poppa's for Christmas. We were able to be there for a full week and Emma did great, although we started to see the effects of her being out of her routine and surroundings by the end of the week. While we were there she started talking nonstop and is now rolling onto her sides and scooting around in circles while lying on her back. She was so sweet and I just wish I could capture it all and share it with you. I did try to get some video of her but she is so distracted by the camera that she does nothing but stare at it. I got one video of her in the car on the way home as she was playing with her toys, talking, yawning and chewing on her hands. We also took lots of pictures (surprise!). The only downside to the trip was that Emma decided to experience life at all hours of the night. I spent many hours with her and now that we are home we are going to try and straighten that out. Enjoy the video and the pictures.

Christmas at Grammy and Poppa's