More Christmas celebrations!

We'll, we're back home again- we spent the last several days in Ashland at MiMi and PopPop's house, we got to visit again with all the family, plus Emma got to meet her cousin Adam for the first time, as well as see MiMi's office and meet her coworkers, who were anxious to see her in person!  Emma was given the "Your Baby Can Read" program from MiMi and PopPop, and she's enjoyed watching the videos so far- she smiles and actually pays attention to them very closely for anywhere from 5-15 minutes in a sitting!  She also got a very special cup that was handmade and glazed by Emma's Auntie Kimberly.

Emma enjoyed all the visiting- some days she hardly took a nap, and others, she shared the joy of napping with others!  Two of the nights she slept longer than she ever has- from about 9:30 until 4 or 4:30am!  Unfortunately, Mommy ended up coming down with the cold the day before leaving home, so she didn't really get to enjoy the long sleep... it was interrupted with lots of coughs, sneezes, tissues, and restlessness... which means Daddy probably didn't get to enjoy the long sleep either... :)  It's not happened again since then- she has reverted back to one span of 3-3 1/2 hours, followed by 2hour stints, but we're hoping it becomes part of her routine before too long!

We're looking forward to our next visit, coming up soon!  MiMi and PopPop are coming out to our place late tonight to stay for several days- a visit plus a barn project work-visit!  We're having horrendous winds again- last night and all day today, wind gusts of easily up to 60mph are beating at the house... good thing we're not trying to work on the barn today!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing gets blown off or away!  Hopefully our power won't go out either...  we'll see how we hold up!

We all wish everyone a happy new year- please be safe tonight, and stay warm!

Here's Emma's wishes for everyone for the holiday season... we're just a little late getting it up for her!  Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and we'll get pictures up next!

Emma's growth tracker

Miss Emma had another well-baby check Friday the 19th, and she's currently 8lbs 6oz, 21in long, and 14.5in around her head!  Dr. Bradford has been pleased by her development, and before we know it, she will have doubled in weight- just one more pound to go! Emma K is currently taking a much needed snooze with Daddy upstairs to the wonderful sound of rain falling on the roof... her favorite!  Plus, it drowns out the sound of the wind attempting to blow the house down...

Sean bear blowing Emma a kiss goodbye

Sean bear blowing Emma a kiss goodbye

Emma Free Running

Here is a link to a video Emma posted on youtube.  She likes to exercise in the house when the weather is bad outside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8rW3O7P4HY

Big Time Traveling

We are back from our trip to NOVA!  We visited *lots* of people!  Here are some pictures of me with some of them...

We visited with lots of family at Grmapa and Abuelita's house- Daddy's uncle Steve and Aunt Val, their kids Kira and Luke, Daddy's grandma Liza, friend of the family Sister Carmen, Maria's (Abuelita's) mother Teresa and sister Monica, and Daddy's sis Alexa.

This is me with Abuelita, Teresa, and Monica:

Here's Alexa holding me:

Here's me with my Abuelita and Grmapa, they gave me a great fluffy warm snow suit!

I got to meet one of my great-grandmothers, Liza- she gave me some cute purple things!

And here's Val- she and her family gave me some adorable ladybug things!

One evening we got to go to dinner with some of Mommy and Daddy's friends from college- Amy and Brian, and their little boy Jay.  We got to eat at the Silver Diner and even got to see a magician perform some great tricks!

Then we ventured out to go to Nana's house- I got to meet Nana and Tutz for the first time, as well my Aunts Heather, Lindsay, and Kelly, my cousins Natalie, Athea, Aiden, and Sean, as well as Daddy's great-Aunt Nettie.

I was lovin' life at Nana's... she got me a nice high chair and some cute toys and clothes too! Mommy, Daddy, and the rest of the folks enjoyed some yummy sugar cookies and got to take home Nana's very own Apricot Rings!

I got to meet my... great... GREAT Aunt Nettie!  She gave me a contribution to my savings!

Here's Nana with all the grandkids

And this is me and my cousin Natalie at Nana's house-

It was fun to visit with everyone, and I am very thankful for all the generous gifts!  We had a long trip home- there was an accident on the highway and we were stuck in traffic for a long long time...  and I don't like sitting still!  The ipod charge was about to run out (it plays white noise that makes me happy!) and thankfully we got moving just in time!  We've been relaxing since coming back home- Daddy managed to come home with a cold, and Mommy and I are trying extra hard not to get it!  The weather here has been very mild but dreary... they've already ruled out a white Christmas though... We're looking forward to another visit with Mommy's side of the family right after Christmas, and then maybe some time working on the barn with Pop Pop!

Christmas Party at AVS

We had the Appalachian Veterinary Services Christmas party last night. I got held by lots of people and mommy and daddy enjoyed eating dinner together.  They did forget their camera so the pictures will be coming from my friend Pam and her family.  We'll get those up when we can. Pam's husband Randy had a good time with me and I liked him holding me.    Today, we have to get packed to travel, take a bath, and load up the car.  Big day tomorrow!

Big day of baking!

This is my new bouncy chair- sometimes it's good for sleeping instead of bouncing...

And sometimes it's fun to bounce in while Mommy bakes!  (Thank goodness she has good balance!) Let's see, we made fudge, peanut brittle, fudge chews, congo bars, and reindeer cookies!  This morning we made pumpkin pie for Mommy's office party tonight.  We haven't posted much lately because we've been so busy- Mommy had to go to work Monday and Tuesday, so we hung out at the office with the ladies there.  Both days, Mommy only had to do one call, so we didn't have to break out the bottle- I'm doing better again with breastfeeding now that I've been "off the bottle" for a week, thank goodness!   The ladies at the office had fun taking care of me while Mommy worked on her truck and office a little too.

Joe and Amanda gave us this wrap that we can use in all different kinds of ways, it comes in handy for cooking too, we're going to experiment with different ways to tie it on Mommy and Daddy to carry me around.

And finally, here I am in my new winter duds, ready to go out in the world!  I've got a little room to grow into the suit, so hopefully it will last me a few months! 

Daddy found us a great Christmas tree, and we're almost finished with the decorations- we'll post a picture when it's done.  

Now to finish up a good nap so I'm ready to party tonight!!

Another interview

See how this works...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1n2fhuMu64

This is some more of Emma talking.   If you have trouble with the link, go to youtube.com and search for MVI 1309.  There are a few items under that title, just look for Emma!

Emma "talking"

This is Emma talking to Robyn.  She likes to talk when she gets her diaper changed.  She is saying "it's good."   We have some more on film but couldn't get our video camera to talk to our new computer.  This is from our still camera.  We got a live Christmas tree today.  When the holiday is over, we'll put the tree in the field for a windbreak for the horses.  We'll be leaving for northern Virginia on Monday to visit Daddy's family.  Mommy made lots of Christmas goodies today.   I was able to hang in the kitchen for a little while and learn how to do things.  

Ok, so not quite on schedule...

Well, it's not "tomorrow" any more, but we've have some excitement here!  MiMi and Pop Pop came to visit again and got here late Wednesday night.  While Mommy and MiMi have been hanging out with me, Daddy and Pop Pop have been working on the barn/playhouse (finally!).  They are making great progress and the Hemlock siding going on looks beautiful!  Mommy and Daddy say when it's done I can claim part of the big loft as my playhouse...  It's been really cold and sort of dreary here, with a little sprinkle of rain and some flurries, but nothing really significant. 

Friday MiMi and Mommy took me out into town for some errands and we got to go shopping a little- I got a few cute little outfits and a nice fluffy soft winter suit.  They also found me a nice little pink bouncer chair that plays music- I like it.... so long as someone bounces it!  It has pretty butterflies on it and vibrates too, hopefully it will grow on me, for Mommy's sake! We got a nice visit with Mommy's cousin Ben this afternoon- they made some chicken soup that smelled really good!  I think I'll take milk instead though...

We took a bath last night and mommy and daddy are hoping to be able to post a short video on the blog.  They have to look up how to do it so don't hold your breaths!  The curtains are up in the new bathroom upstairs.  Mommy worked hard on them and they turned out really neat.  We also got a different way to be held in the sling our neighbors Joe and Amanda gave us.  Mommy will be putting those pictures up as well.  Today we got the siding for the barn/Emma's clubhouse.  Daddy and Grandpa Avery are going to work on putting up some of the siding this weekend.  We'll post some tomorrow. Peace out...

Yesterday Mommy and I went to the doctor for a quick check- mommy has had some persistent pain in the left feeder, and combined with some other issues going on, she wanted to cover the bases and get treated for thrush.  I'm not showing any signs yet, but they're giving me this yummy stuff several times a day to rinse around my mouth, that way Mommy and I don't pass it back and forth, if we do indeed have it, that is...  while we were there, I found out that I'm officially an eight-pounder!  Mommy and Daddy were glad to see that, since I've been acting a little fussy at meal times for several weeks (*sigh*).  

Today Mommy and I went to a La Leche League meeting in the morning- we got to see several other new moms and even reconnect with one of the moms we met in our prepared childbirth class- she had her little boy about a month after I was born!   After hanging out for a little while, we met Daddy for lunch at Subway.  After that we got to sit and visit with Santa- there wasn't even a line.  We did a walk-by the other day in the mall but today I got to sit on his lap and take some pictures.   I had a cute little hat with reindeer horns on it that Nana gave me to go with the rest of my outfit, but it shrunk a little in the wash and was a bit of a tight fit- so I started to get upset when they tried to squeeze my melon into it!  I decided the bare-head look was just fine.  Then mommy went to the dentist and daddy took me to get the oil changed in the car.   A long day out but I did really good.  Now we are at home and napping.  These are some pictures from today- We can get copies of them for whoever would like one, just let Mommy or Daddy know!  (By the way, you can see a blown up image of any pictures on this site by clicking on them).

Emma K, passed out on the bed after some good eatin' Thanksgiving morning!
Emma and Daddy at the fire station in Hollins
Together for the afternoon!
Emma's first Thanksgiving- Daddy had to work, so Emma and Mommy spent the afternoon with him at the fire station.  A local church does "Operation Turkey Drop" to provide all the Roanoke Fire stations with a t-giving meal- it was a lot of really good, homemade food!  We had a great afternoon and Miss Em enjoyed visiting with the other firefighters.
A little playtime on the mat- Emma especially likes the big flower and the mirror- who is that cute baby in there?!?!
Trying out veggies- a cold, wet carrot is fun to play with at least!  She did briefly sample it, but didn't want to pose again once we had the camera out...  She had a pretty good day today with some nice naps and a little time outside taking care of the animals- it was in the low 50s today with no wind at all, so she was comfy in the carrier under Mommy's coat!  It puts her to sleep almost instantly usually.  Emma had a fun time afterwards dancing around the kitchen to Jack Johnson, now we're about ready to start settling down for bedtime, since Daddy has to work again tomorrow after picking up an extra shift today as well to help out... we'll see what Emma K has to say about it... :)

We had a great day today- We went into town to get breakfast at Cracker Barrel- Emma slept through most of the meal, and just when we thought Emma was getting fussy, she seemed to calm back down again.  After a quick trip through a few stores, we went to the mall where Daddy carried a sleeping Emma K around in the carrier- she had a brief glimpse of Santa!  She did really great- she seemed to enjoy the walking.  Meanwhile, Mommy was finally getting her hair cut- it was long overdue, and "in the holiday spirit" she decided to chop it off and donate it to Locks Of Love.  Mommy says she feels at least a pound lighter! :)

After coming home and having a little nap and some milk, Emma napped again...  She had a wonderful bath (I guess it was just right this time!) and got all nice and clean, pj's on, and just hung out for a little while.  Emma K even let Mommy and Daddy eat their dinner with two hands, and start a movie before she remembered it was her duty to keep us on our feet and bouncing!

Hopefully we have a good night ahead of us, filled with lots of sleeping!

What the.... ????

Emma K has definitely decided that she likes daytime better than nighttime...  We had a *very* rough night last night... Miss Emma was due for a bath, but had just fallen asleep when we were finally ready for the bath, so we waited a little while.  She enjoyed the bath for a few minutes but then started fussing, Daddy thinks the water may not have been as warm as she wanted.  We'll try to do better next time!  So things started out a little rocky.  She ate a bedtime snack, then crawled into bed with Mommy and Daddy and slept for a little while before deciding to get up again.  From about midnight until 3:45am, there was very little resting and an awful lot of fussing!  We tried burping, nursing, diaper changes, bouncing, swaddling, etc to no avail.  She is still very hot/cold with the pacifier, and won't ever take it when she's riled up already.  Mommy and Daddy tried to take turns snuggling/cuddling/bouncing/shushing little Em until she finally decided she was tired around 3:45 and stayed asleep in her swing as long as it was moving...  Finally some peace and quiet, Mommy and Daddy were soooo grateful!

Needless to say there was major sleeping late and napping going on.

Emma has had a pretty good day today- much less fussing, but I think she's still pretty tired from last night!  We tried her afternoon bottle of breastmilk and she took it pretty well, all in all she had about 2 1/2 ounces from it over about a 45 minute period, and after that, of course she wanted to top it off right from the tap!  We're relieved that she seems to be taking to it a little better, and glad we started working with the bottle a few weeks ago, as it has been very rocky.  Mommy has to work two days in early December to help out while 2 doctors go to a conference, and Emma will be hanging out with the office staff for those days.  Unless it's really slow, if Emma wants to eat, it will have to be from a bottle on those days!  (Argh)

The white noise CD from Dr. Karp's "Happiest Baby on the Block" program has really come in handy- we've got it on the iPod and try to keep it ready at hand when she's really inconsolable- she really responds to the noise of the hairdrier and the rainstorm sounds.  

It's been a dreary and drizzly day here, so no trips outside for Emma K, but we're hoping to get into town Wednesday to get some shelves to organize more of her baby stuff and maybe to get Mommy a *long* overdue haircut!  

Out and about in town

So yesterday we went out to Christiansburg.  We stopped by mommies office and visited with Pam.  Then we went to some other stores like Target and Home Depot and slept while mommy and daddy had lunch at a pizza restaurant.  At Target, we got a new bottle and slower nipples so that feedings can go a little easier.  The other nipple may have let milk out too fast.  I overheard several times that I was a good baby.   I slept with daddy while the Hokies were on beating Duke. Now, I'm swinging while mommy tries to get some more sleep.   Until later, I'm Emma bean and I say "peace out."    Go Hokies.

Emma is currently out of the office...

Emma is sleeping in the sling, so I thought I'd post a little update with some pictures from the visit at Grandma and Grandpa's house recently.  We had a great time, got to visit with a lot of people for the first time, and got to share the fun of a sink-bath with Grandma and Auntie Kimberly.  We've had a bit of excitement here, as I think Emma is starting to figure out how to smile- she and I were making faces at each other this morning, and I saw a glimpse of a true smile! It was so great.  Then she started making new sounds too- "Ah-roooo"  it was too cute.  I can't wait until she starts making more little noises and trying to talk.  We're still working on introducing a bottle of milk (so she's used to it when I go back to work) and while it worked like a charm the first two times, recently it has been much harder- she has a hard time when she wants to sit and take a break but milk keeps dripping out of the bottle... I think she gets frustrated and sometimes tries to choke on it- scary.  I think we'll try to find some slower-flow options if there are any...  

The first two pictures are here at home a while ago, I caught Daddy snoozing with little Emma K and thought it was priceless.  The next picture at the top is actually Emma K in the swing bundled in Grandma's blanket- can you find the baby?  :D

Sleeping in is a good thing

Mommy and I had a good morning, we slept in a little to make up for some lost sleep overnight. After some good ole naked time on the play mat, I'm dressed again and taking a little cat nap in the sling.  Today was my first day seeing snow outside!  Big flakes flurrying around, some stuck to the grass overnight, but not enough to play in.  It's been a cold day here, and I'm starting to understand how blustery it can be here!  Thank goodness the sun is coming out to warm things up to 29 degrees!  We're cuddling to stay warm.

Night owl Emma K

Mommy and I are sitting on the couch, trying to go to sleep... I look like I'm asleep, but as soon as Mommy goes to move me or put me to bed, I'll wake up!   This is a fun game I like to play, until I get tired... around 1 or 2am.  We went to a special class tonight called "The happiest baby on the block" at the hospital were I was born.  It was a good class, but mommy and daddy had cheated- they had already seen the video, and already knew the information!  Plus, I was the only baby there, everyone else was still inside, including a couple of twins I sat next to.  They sent us home with a DVD and a "white noise" CD to try, as well as a nice swaddling blanket.  Maybe I'll like to be swaddled in that one... I don't really like it in any of the other blankets... just trying to keep mommy and daddy on their toes!  Hmmm, I really am tired... maybe I'll stay asleep this time... we'll see...    ....   ......    .........

Hello to everyone

Our first post.  Emma is away visiting mommies family in Ashland this weekend.  Daddy is at home painting and working on the staircase.  All the animals are good.  Jack is sleeping beside Greg on the couch while we wait for paint to dry.   It is about 50 outside, windy and occasionally sprinkles.  In Ashland, Emma and mommy have visited with Grandma and Grandpa Avery as well as Great-grandma and great-grandpa Avery, Alta, Auntie Jamie, Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Chris, Uncle Maffis and Chelsea.  They are due home on Sunday.