Visiting Sam...Finally

Emma and Aunt Abby

Aunt Becky and Sam

Emma liked to pet Sam's hair.

Cousin Meg and Sam

Aunt Sue...aka the Mentor...and Emma Kate

Sam jumps and flails his arms while squealing in his saucer.

Waking up in the morning to see each other

We tried and tried for a good picture of both...this one is pretty sweet.

Abby spoiled me with great food. This is the stromboli she made for lunch on Saturday. YUM!

We were able to go visit Sam, Aunt Abby and Uncle Andrew last weekend. We secluded ourselves for the week prior to the visit so that we would be healthy and able to see them. It was wonderful to spend time with Sam. He is the most joyful baby I have ever seen. He loves to jump and squeal and smiles all day long. Uncle Andrew, Uncle Ben and Mike went to the Rooke's cabin in central PA for a guys weekend while Aunt Abby and I stayed with the little ones at the house. Sam's grandparents, Pampee and Grandma Susie, came to visit as well as Aunt Sue and Cousin Meg. It was a very busy visit and Abby and I were exhaused after all of the business of visitors and the typical demands of a day with two five month olds.

It was so fun to get to spend time with Sam and get to know him a little bit. I am so much in love with him and it was so very hard to leave him. We sure do wish we lived closer. Emma loved Sam. As you will see in the pictures, she found his hair and liked to pet him. They did not get to be close to each other except for pictures to limit the germ chances. We got on the webcam with Sam the other day and Emma just squealed and tried grabbing at the screen for Sam's face...it was precious. I posted a few pictures but have also included a link to the entire album of pictures we took...we took about 150 pictures while trying to get both kids to cooperate and some of them are super cute. Enjoy!

Visiting Sam

Five Months Old

Having fun playing on her tummy and showing how strong she is getting

Emma always has to know what is going on all around her.

Five months old and getting taller by the day!

That is how mommy touched her tummy when Emma was inside...it is kinda looking like there is something in there. :)

Emma can't get enough of her feet. They are in her mouth all day long.

Sucking her thumb!!!

She has such a precious smile!

Grammy sent Emma this dress for Valentine's Day.

Today was Emma's five month birthday. I don't know exactly how much she weighs although I can guess it is about 16 1/2 pounds. She is growing quickly and changing even faster. Here are just a few of Emma's changes we have seen this month...

1. Emma now prefers to play on her tummy and has learned how to turn herself around in circles and scoot backwards.

2. She is a happy baby!!! There were weeks that we never thought we would be able to say that! She is easy and joyful with lots of smiles and giggles each day.

3. Emma wakes up from her naps and in the morning talking in her crib instead of screaming. This is a very welcomed change as she has learned to let us know she is there and then she waits instead of demanding immediate attention.

4. When Emma cries, it is for a reason. Gone are the days of crying without an identifiable reason. Another very welcomed change.

5. Emma has returned to sleeping through the night. After a 2 1/2 month run of horrible nights with the pacifier, Emma now wakes up and sucks her thumb! Independence is wonderful!

6. As I mentioned, Emma now exclusively sucks her thumb. It is very sweet.

7. The stroller and car seat are some of Emma's favorite places to be.

8. Emma now reaches for our faces while we are playing with her, feeding her or reading to her. She gently touches our faces and smiles at us.

9. "The Wheels on the Bus" is Emma's favorite song. She will stop crying instantly when we sing it to her. I have to admit that we are getting very tired of it, but it works!

10. Emma giggles and laughs frequently, which makes us laugh as well.

Growing and Changing

While I was waiting for the other pictures to post in the first entry, I was looking through all of the pictures and could not believe how much Emma has changed. If I didn't know better, I would not know the newborn pictures were Emma. Most of all, I noticed how much dark hair Emma had to start out and now how light it is as it is growing back. The difference isn't as dramatic here as it was in IPhoto, but if you double click on the pictures to make them bigger you will see the hair even better. I chose this current picture just because I think it is hilarious!

Finally Some Sunshine

Emma and I took advantage of the sunshine today to go for a walk. It was chilly out and a little windy but warm enough to venture out of our house. I took a before and after picture. It was her first walk sitting up in the stroller instead of laying in her car seat. She stayed awake and looked around for the entire 30 minutes. It was wonderful! Here are some other pictures from the past two days of Emma playing.

"Grammy and Poppa, come home soon. I miss you!"

She concentrates so hard on her toys and her expressions are priceless.

All bundled up and ready to go!

What fun! Emma enjoyed the walk!

Thanks, Sam

Emma received a Valentine's Day gift from Sam yesterday. He sent her a Taggie blanket and Emma loves it. She is mesmerized by the tags and just sat there playing with them. She was holding it when she went down for a nap and so I captures a tiny bit of her putting herself to sleep while holding it. Thank you Sam, Aunt Abby and Uncle Andrew! We love you too!

Nashville

Emma Kate made her first trip to Nashville last week. We took advantage of Uncle Ben and Daddy being out of work to go for a quick trip. We had a great time and Emma LOVED her time with Uncle Ben and Aunt Erin. She loved being held and kissed and adored the entire time (and Mommy enjoyed the break).

It was actually warm enough for us to go for a walk along the river with Uncle Ben. It was WONDERFUL!



Aunt Erin and Emma played together on the floor lots and Emma enjoyed some of Aunt Erin's singing.
Emma spent a lot of time playing with and cuddling with Uncle Ben.

Emma Kate made a visit to Aunt Erin's school and met her class and got to see what Aunt Erin does each day. The crazy secretary even grabbed Emma away from Mommy...which Emma did NOT like.

Thanks for a great time Aunt Erin and Uncle Ben!!!

More of Emma's Daily Life

We have officially survived the past two weeks of snow as this morning the last of the snow in our yard finally washed away. We are so thankful for that! Here are just a few pictures from last week to enjoy.

Emma has gone from being a motionless dinner compainion to grabbing everything in sight with all of her might. For the first part of dinner Emma sits in the megasaucer next to the table and plays, but by the end of the meal she is ready to be held and sit on mommy's lap. Here are some pictures of her grabbing for the plate. I know I mention it frequently, but she is very strong. She swoops in and grabs the plate and pulls it towards her so quickly and with so much determination. We took the pictures to capture the look on her face but it just doesn't do it justice.



This is how I found her after her nap the other day. It was very sweet. She had pulled up her blanket and was just talking to it and feeling it. Notice that George and Duck are never far away.Mike took this picture of Emma and I as we played on the floor in our FREEZING apartment during the snow days. We had to stay in our bedroom so we could capture the heat from the space heater in one place. Notice we even had to cover up with a blanket to keep warm. We have very much enjoyed the warmer temperatures this week.

Bows

Emma obviously does not have much hair, so I have not been able to put bows in her hair until today! Londy passed on some bows this afternoon that Emma can wear! Here is the pink bow. She is playing in her megasaucer and enjoying her playtime and looking girlie! She is also wearing her outfit great Grandma got her for Christmas. It is very cute!

Superbowl

Little Cheerleader

So fun to share this day with Emma!

Watching the Game

Emma and I had a great time watching the Steelers win last night. She wore her cheerleader outfit from Aunt Sue and we sat on the sofa together cheering for the Steelers. Mike was a good sport although very dismayed by Emma's outfit. We even got a phone call from the Saxby boys earlier in the day letting us know that they were very disappointed that Emma was wearing a Steelers outfit and cheering for the Steelers.

Another Saturday

We had a great day with Emma yesterday. Enjoy the pics and video. Tonight is the big game and we will take pictures for sure! Go STEELERS!

Emma is now starting to sit up on her own. The pediatrician could not believe that she was doing that this early. She is very strong. She doesn't stay up on her own for long but she is working on it. Also in this picture you can see the Webkinz. Emma was given that in September and of course we had no idea what to do with it but yesterday Emma's friend Matthew was here with his Webkinz and showed us all of the stuff to do on the computer with it. I was amazed at his knowledge and ease with the computer at only 6 years old and it was fun to see how excited he was that Emma had a Webkinz and it turns out that Will has the same one only bigger. We let Matty name the lizzard. I am sure Matty will help "clue us in" again!

Emma loves to blow spit out of her mouth. This is especially delightful when she has a mouthful of spit up or cereal.

Emma is so smily and we love her giggles and sweetness that is developing!

I took this picture and just love how it captures her features. She is so precious.

This is how I found Emma after her nap the other day. Emma has finally graduated from waking up from every nap screaming to waking up and talking and cooing. I went in to get her and she was just cooing and rubbing duck in one hand and clinging to George in the other. It just melted my heart. I cannot say it enough...she is precious.

Along those same lines, here is a video that Mike took later in the day of her at the end of her nap as she was waking up. I appologize ahead of time for the tour of our house on the way into her room. Mike didn't want to distract her with the noise the camera makes when you start recording. She just loves to feel her bumper pad and loves George so much!