Raspberries!

We were out for a nice walk this evening when Emma started practicing blowing raspberries!  We've been doing them for a while now, which makes her laugh and smile, and just tonight she was trying it herself!  It made quite the slobbery spittle mess, but it was too cute- she was working really hard on it, getting a little red around the eyes!  I'm sure once she masters it we'll see it all the time... :)  

Right now Emma is asleep while our neighbors shoot off their 4th of July fireworks display a week early!  They're pretty impressive... definitely not legal here...  but fun to watch!

THE TEETH ARE COMING!

Ok, we've wondered for weeks when these little boogers were going to arrive, and they are well on their way!  For the last week or so, we were suspicious... but hesitant to blame increased fussiness on teething again and be wrong... again...  but there was a definite change in contour on her gums, and in the last few days, I think you can actually see the little buds coming through her gums on the bottom!  I guess they are her 9mo birthday presents!!  As far as Mommy is concerned, they can take their sweet time erupting... we're in *absolutely* no hurry... :)

Mommy and Daddy's 10th anniversary!

Friday we celebrated our 10th anniversary by enjoying a family night on Tech's campus listening to some live music.  We stopped along the way to get some food to take as a picnic and spread out a big blanket on the drillfield.  It was perfect weather, and there was a big crowd of families there having fun- Emma enjoyed pulling at the grass and clover on the ground, and watching some of the other kids running and playing.  After the music was over, we walked around the drillfield and reminisced a bit, and took this picture so that someday we can tell Emma that she was on campus when there was actually grass on the drillfield- we can only imagine that in a matter of a few years, there will be buildings there too- that place continues to grow like a weed!  Good thing they have good architects that design really cool looking buildings...

New moves!

So Mommy's sitting here oooh-ing over the cute pictures, and Emma is playing on her mat on the floor.  She's gotten better about not flopping over onto her face- she usually does it more gracefully now, getting over onto her belly without a face-plant.  Anyway, she just did it and was laying there on her belly pushing up in front, and after about 5 seconds, she pushed herself back up into a sitting position!  We were both very excited!!  She did it like she's been doing it for years!  Now she's gumming the potato masher... fun toys! :)

Daddy's first Father's Day!

We had a wonderful Father's Day together on Sunday- after a relaxing morning and short afternoon nap for Emma, we went into town for an early dinner at Kabuki, where we were invited to share a Father's Day cake with another family.  After dinner, we went on to the Duck Pond at Virginia Tech- we walked around and watched the ducks and got some great pictures!  It was such a wonderful day, everyone enjoyed the trip out, and we must have just worn Emma out- she fell asleep so quietly after just about 5 minutes in the car going home!

Ok, more pictures of Miss Emma Kate!

Weight check-in

Well, Emma had her 9mo checkup today (a little early... she's 8mo, 2 weeks, and 5 days... ) and she weighed in at 14lbs 4oz.  No wonder she feels so heavy! ;D  She got a finger stick to check her iron levels and checking for lead, and it must have hurt!!  I know I *hate* finger sticks!!!  Everything checks out well, and she continues along the same growth curve as before.  No heart murmurs, and her lungs sound good.  We'll be going in every month or so just for a few vaccines, since we're selectively vaccinating and spreading things out, and our next checkup will be right around 12 months... which seems like it's just around the corner!  Amazing how fast time flies...

That's one HYSTERICAL dog!!!

This one's for Auntie Kermely, who gave me all these cool bath toys!  Boon!

 We're getting so close to crawling- Emma is getting really good at pushing up, and will sometimes scoot backwards.  She's now trying to get her belly up off the floor, and she will tip over onto her tippy-toes to reach toys!  She's still doing great with her meals, and just this morning tried pears for the first time- she didn't turn them down but it made her screw up her face and shake her body when she ate them- it was CUTE!!! :)  We've been enjoying another visit from Mimi and Pop Pop, and some gorgeous weather!

Cantaloupe in my cool mesh bag- great for sucking all the yummy juice out without choking!

Emma and the butternut squash

Join us for a dinner experience!  (Short, but she's doing so well with her butternut squash!)

New food!

Well, the real sweet potatoes have been going well for a while now, Emma has been taking some every evening, as well as a brunch of banana milkshake.  Tonight we tried butternut squash, which was delicious!  She liked it pretty well right off the bat, but got fussy about midway through.  Luckily it was time for a bath, since she managed to get orange all over her face!  Mommy and Daddy have been reminiscing with the old videos- we can't believe how far she has come!

Weekend visitors

Emma is helping pull the grass from daddy's hair after he was weedeating.

Mommy's cousin Heather came up for a visit and went out on calls with mommy since she was on call.  Heather just graduated from Auburn as a Vet also.

We had another special visit from our dear friend Jody Carton.  Her husband, Dave, and Jody are traveling from the Northeast to Texas to relocate.  What an adventure and it was awesome seeing her!

Emma helping in the garden while mommy and daddy weeded.  The strawberries are here and in great numbers!