Fun in the sun!

We met the bump lunch crew today at the Colman pool in West Seattle. The weather was fabulous! Em got to swim, soak up some rays, and flirt with all the boys. . . a perfect day.

Emma, the Snake Charmer

When Em first came home each dog had their opinion of her.

Tucker was her protector.

Truman was indifferent.

Mazie was petrified.

Anytime we'd bring Em into a room, Mazie would leave. She didn't want anything to do with her. . .

This morning I sat Em up in bed and Mazie decided that she'd check her out. Well, checking her out quickly became using Em as her pillow.

Em going in for the pet. . ..

Mazie doesn't seem to mind. I just missed the kiss. Mazie licked Em's face.
Em checking out Mazie's collar.
Em--Mom, I think Mazie needs a new one, don't you?

Oooh, she's soft!

Help, I have a giant head holding my foot down!

Checking out Mazie's ears.

Here she is giving Mazie some pets.

You can see these two have come a LONG WAY!

Fishing for Crab

Emma has been working REALLY hard at mastering the pincer grasp. She'll sit for hours. . .okay not really .. . . .very long minutes. . . and point with her index finger then scoop with her thumb. She's gotten pretty proficient at feeding herself O's with this method.

She's also taken this skill a little bit further. . .she apparently likes to goes "fishing."

This morning I put her in her crib so I could take a shower. All was quiet when I got out, so I assumed she was asleep. I went into her room and there she was, on her belly, arm stretched out through the crib bars, fishing clothes out of her laundry basket. At that second she had a dress that she was trying to reel in through the bars. In her crib she had a onesie, a shirt, a pair of shorts, and two wash clothes. All I could do was laugh. I think its time to start baby proofing. . don't you?

Another thing she's getting good at is drinking out of a bottle. She is very happy to kick back and partake in prune juice as long as she can hold the bottle and I allow her to chew on it. I'm not exactly sure how much she consumes vs how much she wears. . . .all I know is the juice is working. . wink wink. She's also started taking bottles from sitters. . .. which has allowed Brian and I to go out on Emma free dates.

Time to clean up!

Em has her very own corner in the store where she can hang out and play. It often looks like I'm running a daycare instead of a pet supply store . . . .and we have to clean up the toy explosion.

Me: Hey Em--it's time to put your toys away. . . .

Em: Nah! I'm not going to let you!

Me: Okay fine, I'll put you away with the toys then.

Em: Oh My, she really did it. Do you see this? I'm in a box. A freakin box. Are you kidding me??

Em: You're going to let me out, right??

Me: Nope. You get to stay in the toy box.

Em: I'm afraid. . .really really afraid. . . .
Me: Just teasing.
Em: I knew it! Mom's such a jokester!

Em: Whew, I'm out of the box where it's safe!

Too big and too little. . . .

We have a major dilemma.

Em is too big for her infant tub but too little for our bathtub. What's a giant baby to do?

Bath sessions now consist on her soaking the kitchen just for fun. I need to purchase one of those ring contraptions for our tub, so she can bathe and actually have room to play. . .mostly I want this contraption so I don't have to mop the kitchen after every bath!

I think she's going to be a back stroker!

A typical day at work

Hey Em, tell us what you did all day!!

Well, you see, I've got it really hard.

I don't know if you want to hear about how exhausting my job is. .. I don't want mom to get arrested for breaking the child labor laws. . .

I guess if you insist. . .

My day usually starts by picking out a toy. If you notice my selection is slim. . I don't have near enough toys. . . a girl should have three times her age in months in toys. . . . which I obviously don't have!

Since my selection is so slim. . . I guess I'll play with this wooden block.
Yep, tastes like a block!

Blech. . .I thought it was going to be cherry flavored! Who actually has wood flavored blocks. Come on mom, it's the 21st century. . . how archaic!

Next its onto the ring-catcher.

Off comes the ring!
On goes the ring. (it took me about 20 minutes to get it back on. . but who's counting?)
Then mom asks, what do you want to do now?

I dunno! How about a photo shoot!

I pose pretty with my golden ring!
Then a smug smile to show my favorite piece of artwork.

Mom says she's going to buy this one for me. . . 30 years from now I can use this as evidence that she did in fact make me the crazy cat lady!

Working it for the camera!
Then my work day ends with a good giggle. . . .

a laugh and a raspberry session. ...

and I only get paid minimum wage. Sheesh.

Friends for life

Em here. . .

I want to explain my morning ritual. It starts with mom plopping me in my chair and handing over some O's.

No matter what time it is, Truman comes a running.

He and I share. . . sort of!

First I make him sit and wait, while I pick just the right O.
While I'm looking for the perfect nibble, he usually gets antsy and tries to sneak attack.
So I have to put him in his place,
"Truman. . stay back. . I'm not ready!"
As you can see he doesn't listen. . .I think he may have a hearing problem.

Once I found the perfect one, I show him the O.

"ooh doesn't this look good?"

"don't you wish you had opposable thumbs, Truman?"

Then I let him sniff.
"MMmmm Sniffs good doesn't it?" Then I. . . .

CHOMP.
BWahahahahaaa. . . . .

Mom doesn't think this is very nice, and usually tells me to stop teasing the dog.

"What, we were just playing"

So I toss a few on the floor to make mom happy.

I think I have a friend for life, what do you think??

O's and Toes

Em has two favorite things to eat

Multigrain O's

And her Toes

Fun with Friends

Yesterday we had our monthly bump lunch. It's amazing how quickly our little ones are growing up. . . I can't believe it!!

Em and Ari

Em and Grace
Girl Pinwheel

Four of the five attending babies.

Nate is 9 months, Em 6 months, and Grace and Ari are 5 months. . .not pictured is Justin who is 2 months.

Girl talk. . . Telling us how it is!

We went swimming and Ari had the cutest wet suit!

Splashing!!

Baby in the mirror

Emma loves to chat with herself in the mirror. She'll do this for several minutes. . . I sure wish I spoke Emma, cause I'd love to know what she's saying.

Em won't say hi and wave at the camera, but she'll do it for the baby in the mirror. Figures!

6 month stats

Here are our 6 months stats:

Weight 17.4 lbs. 72nd percentile

Length 28.2 inches. 99th percentile

Head 88th percentile

We've got one BIG baby. Obviously she's thriving. . .and is as happy as ever.

Taking a break at work. . .mom, can you get me a water? I'm exhausted.

Post lunch smile. . . complete with lunch on her dress. Lovely! Hey lady, make yourself useful. . . fetch me my monkey. . . .

Mmmm. . . monkey!!

Distinguished Young Lady

Everyday Emma and I spend hours working on her manners. Yes ma'am. No ma'am. Napkin in the lap before eating. You know all of the manners a 6 month old needs. Lets see how she's doing. . . .

Apparently she's mastered flashing .. . .


blowing raspberries . . . .


Playing with her feet . . . .

and sucking on her toes

Looks like we've got a long way to go .. . the only thing she's missing was the window shattering burp and a giant fart. . . . .

Distinguished. . . . . not so much.

Makes me laugh. . .definitely.