Christmas!!

We had a blast for Christmas! Great gifts mixed with fabulous family and friends.. . .you really can't beat it!



Courtney was able to come down and spend a couple days with us before leaving for South Africa. . .which made Em's 1st "real" Christmas even more special. Emma loved all of her gifts and really got into tearing open the packages open. I was suprised how long she lasted before getting completely overwhelmed.

Hanging with Courtney before the package opening extravaganza!

Emma was obsessed with her Santa stocking. I'm not sure if it was facination or fear. . but she couldn't turn away.

Pre-opening smile.
Books, books, books!

Post Christmas smile!

True love! . . .. Na-na and Em.

Smiling on command!

Thanks to everyone for making our Christmas so special!

Next American Idol

Em's got talent. . . .

and boy did we laugh. . .

The cat keyboard has a crappy microphone.. .. and apparently Em likes to hear herself screetch.

That Christmas Present

For all of you with kids, I'm sure you know that one gift that someone gets your child that makes you want to scoop it up and take it out with the trash.

The one that makes your spine crawl, your head burst, and challenges your senses. . . .

Here is "that" present.

The cat keyboard.

Emma LOVES it.

I hate it.

Thanks Grammy Judy!

words, words, and more words

And so it begins

Emma thinks walking is over rated and instead of learning to toddle she has been hard at work building her vocabulary. Its amazing how many words she can identify and I'm even more stunned by how many she says. . . it feels like she has a new word or sound almost everyday.

One of her favorite activities is identifying my facial structures. I honestly think she could spend hours poking me in the eye yelling, "AAAYYYYEEE" or jabbing her dirty fingers into my mouth stating, "Moww". Both are usually followed by a cheesy little giggle which I find extremely endearing. Without the giggle. . . . I don't think I'd put up with it as long as I do, ha!

Of all of her words and sounds my two favorites are her animal impressions. Apparently a cow goes, "Muhhh" and a monkey goes "Ehh Ehh Ehh" complete with bobbing head.

Today she surprised me by moving beyond just words and into communication.

I was sitting at the counter while Emma was "napping" (she was actually talking to herself instead of sleeping) and all of a sudden I hear her yell "Da Di Da Di Da Di." I go back to her crib and tell her it's time to nap and she says, "Da Di." I then asked, "Do you need a new Diaper?" She says, "Yeah" followed with a big fat grin. I changed her and she was right. . .she was in the need of a new diaper.

I wonder what's next??

Christmas Cheer

or is it Christmas fear?

Panda wrestling.

Pam sent Em a giant panda for her birthday. The panda, Barney, has quickly become one of Em's favorite toys. He now goes to and from work with us, and is close to replacing the coveted "puppy" as the favorite toy.

From the first second Em laid eyes on him, I knew we were in for hours of entertainment. Em loves to play with Barney. . . well not really play. . . more like wrestle.

Here she is sizing up the competition.

He's got nothing on me! I'm taking that panda DOWN!

Bwahahhahhaaa!

shake hands

go to your corners

and lets have a clean fight

Em breaks the rules by giving him a hug.

Em gets Barney in a headlock and first match goes to Emma!

and well. . . you be the judge. . . . I think Barney won this one.

Barney knocked her right out of her clothes!

Mom's visit

My mom flew in from CT for Em's first birthday. It was great to spend some quality time with her and even better to have someone to help me with the baby maniac! I was able to shower alone for three days in a row! I also got some work done while mom and Em went on adventures. Ahh. . . it is definitely the little things.

Em and mom hit it off and mom got to experience the quirkiness of her first grandchild.

Quirky, who you calling quirky?

Here are some photos of Mom's last day here. Em was eager to pose for the camera!

We had a fabulous visit and can't wait for mom to come back!

Thanksgiving and Birthdays

We had a really busy holiday weekend. . .complete with roast duck and birthday cake.

We had our friends Michelle and David over for Thanksgiving and had our first non-traditional Thanksgiving feast. Because of Em's food allergies I did Thanksgiving a little differently. For the first time in years our menu lacked many of my favorite Thanksgiving regulars. No mashed potatoes. Nogreen bean casserole. No infamous buttery sweet potato casserole heaven. Instead we had roast duck, cranberry/orange chutney, parnsip puree and collard greens. I also cooked a small turkey. . just because.

Em and her Thanksgiving feast. Complete with feet on the table.

My mom arrived on Friday and Sunday was Em's first birthday.

Here she is opening presents on Sunday morning.

Em got her first baby doll. .. .and to my dismay. . she LOVES it!

We met friends at Salty's for Em's birthday dinner. It was a fabulous party. We had the corner to ourselves, the kids could stretch their legs, and the parents were able to relax and chat.

The great birthday debacle became Em's birthday cake. Because of her food allergies she couldn't have dairy, eggs, or soy. I surfed the net and found a couple recipes that looked good. Well if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. The cake was super dense. . . and in my opinion, barely edible.

This expression says everything.

Gram suggesting that Em just eat the icing. .. . (you can't go wrong with confectioners sugar and water)


Em scraping off the icing. . .. she figured out the icing is where it's at!

This is what Em thought of her birthday cake. . . it needed a good beating!

Em's boys

Our two boys, Tucker and Truman, definitely have different feelings about Emma.
Truman can't get enough of her. Tucker can't get away fast enough. I decided it was time to address this issue and today we had a major breakthrough. . . . with the help of Venison treats.



I think its only a matter of time before Tucker lets Em get close enough for some lovin.

Tucker

Truman

Hey, you got anymore treats???

Miss Independent

Hey lady, wanna read a book???

This is book is called, "Maisy's Favorite Animals."
We have a Mazie. . .but our Mazie is a dog. This Maisy is a mouse.

Maisy has a goldfish. We don't have goldfish. . we have Buhfish. Poor Maisy. . goldfish are so boring.

Hey Em, do you know your book is upside down? Maybe you should turn it around??

You know what .. . if you're going to criticize the way I read my book. . then I'm taking my book and I'm outta here!

C-ya!

Hey Em, "if you want to read your book upside down, that's okay with me. . ""

Whew, I'm glad. . I was just getting to the good part and I didn't want you to miss it! Wow!! Did you see that?

Wasn't that a good story?? Mom, I told you sometimes you have to step outside of the box and read your books upside down. .. . . and most importantly. . .smile!

Mmmmmm. . . . .

Hey guys. Here I am at Brick and Fi's for Fiona's birthday extravaganza. I got plopped in the kitchen with crackers.

Mmmm crackers.

Those crackers were so good that I started signing for more!

Bring on the cracker love! After my hour long cracker snack, I decided to explore.

Hey. . .what's that?

There's a baby in there! and it looks a lot like me!
Is that what all this cracker eatin is about. . fatten up your main course?

Um, I think I'll pass on dinner!

Baby Blotchy Face

Emma got sick last Wednesday. . . runny nose, cough, fever. . nothing alarming. Thursday night her face started to get red and blotchy, and by Saturday night her face was over 60% rashy; eyes were bloodshot, feet and hands were beet red, and her lips swollen. Given her dairy allergy, we figured it was a food reaction and I called the nurse. She was concerned and advised we take her to Urgent Care. After 2 1/2 hours of waiting we were told that "maybe" Em had Roseola or Kawasaki's disease. . . the former pretty common and harmless the latter pretty nasty. . . .we were escorted out with "please contact your primary care provider on Monday if her tongue turns red, she has trouble breathing or she still has a fever" . . . um . . okay. . . . . .

Em in the tub while I was on the phone with the GH nurse.

Don't I look good all red and blotchy?

Red is the color this season. . .. .. trust me!!

Of course I freaked out . . . assumed the worst . .. and read everything about Kawasaki's disease that I could. We had two of the toughest nights since Em came home. . .but last night things took a turn for the better and Em seems to be feeling a bit better. She slept for most of the night and this morning she woke up relatively rash free. I talked with her PCP and it was more than likely Roseola or just a bad "virus".

Em today 90% rash free.

The only positive about Em being sick is I stayed home from work and we all got to hang out as a family. Em had bursts of energy and I was also able to capture a few of her new "tricks" on video.



This video is a three for one.

Waving.

Giving Five.

and my personal favorite. . .giving knuckles.




Emma now brushes her teeth.

A family that brushes together, stays together. . .

Big developmental milestone. . she's finally figured out her ball slide . . . .