Ok, so the camera has been in hiding out in the car since last weekend... Here's the picture from last Saturday's "Guns-n-Hoses" hockey game, where Emma had such a great time running around the civic center! We got the picture way before the game started- the seats are starting to fill up... they raised $18,500 for MDA and over 4000 people came to watch the game- it was a record turnout!

It's been a heck of a day, so we'll leave it at that! We'll get some new pictures and video this weekend!

Start holding your breath...

We'll get some stuff up this evening. Promise.

Such a good helper!

Ok, I * swear* I have a new picture of Emma Kate, but it's in the camera, out in the car, and it's raining.... so it will get posted later!

We had a great weekend- Although Daddy was tied up with a class for part of the day on Saturday, we got to go to the annual "Guns-N-Hoses" ice hockey game for a little while to help sell tickets and get people in the door. The whole time we were there, Emma was constantly on the move- she was just running every time I put her down, and got hard to hold onto- she wanted DOWN! :D She was shy with some people, and very outgoing with others, it was really cute. We enjoyed a really nice dinner out with some friends afterwards, and had a safe trip back home.

Today Emma has been so much fun- she's started doing a lot of "organizing" on her own- Mimi says she takes after her Auntie Kimberly! She had her reading cards out on the floor, and on her own, she started gathering them together in a pile- I usually have her bring them to me and I stack them up, but she was doing it on her own! She's also been doing her shape/color sorting ball all by herself- for about a week or so, she's been able to get all 8 pieces into the ball correctly- it's so cute to see her pick up a piece and turn the ball over and over until she recognizes the right spot, and she'll put it in! She was such a great little girl all day long, until I got dinner together, and she suddenly got extremely upset... The only thing I could figure out that pacified her was nursing, and she started to fall asleep, so she got a quick bath and a very early bedtime! She went right to sleep!

Good eyesight can be a blessing and a curse

It's hard having an eagle eye daughter. It's time to vacuum when she takes forever going up the stairs because she is handing you dirt flecks she finds!

Christmas and visiting

Ok, so this catches us up on photos to date... at least for the moment!

Here's Emma playing "collapse" with a little extra padding from the pillow. She started flipping the pillow end-for-end like the guys do with the massive tires on "world's strongest man." She's a pretty strong little baby.... hehehe

Getting ready to smoosh Pop pop with the pillow! Emma's getting ready for Valentine's Day with her cozy little Valahearts shirt
A serious rider... Contemplating her next move...
She's a silly girl sometimes! I can't remember exactly what was going on in this picture... it's just cute though!
Cuddling up with Pop pop and learning her colors
Just today we were in the kitchen, and suddenly Emma disappeared! Soon I found out that she had emptied her favorite cabinet and crawled in! It didn't take her long to do it again for the camera!
Once she masters closing the door when she's inside we'll be in real trouble!

Ok, so yet again we have been delinquent with photos... Here we are almost midway into January, and we haven't yet posted pictures from Christmas and family visiting! I've only had time to put pictures up now without comments, Emma is demanding we go out for a walk since we've hit a heat wave- it's 45 degrees in the sun! And no wind!! We're going to get bundled up and head out for a walk. I'll post comments on the pictures tonight!

Here's Emma by our little Christmas tree- we left certain ornaments low enough that she could play with them and still be safe. She also really liked the little colorful lights- she would point to each one and Daddy would tell her what color it was. She also liked the green rope light!

Here's a cutie patootie making prank phone calls... someday we'll get caught for it I'm sure!
Emma likes to play with her swing, and she will sometimes put this bear in it (she got it from Aunt Judy this Christmas!) and she'll push it, I'm sure the bear is having a great time! :D
Studying the little cloth angel ornament- she could point out the eyes, nose, ears, and hair on the angel when we asked her to!
Just playin' around by the tree!
Reaching into the tree for a light I think... this cute little outfit was a gift from Aunt Kathy- too cute!
The little santa ornament was another favorite... it managed to escape the ornament box when we were packing things up again for next year...
Just another cute pose!
Emma getting her pug-love on while she has the chance
Showing off her Hokies cheerleading uniform- we tried to get her to pose with her arms up in front of the tv while the game was playing... to make it look like she was doing "touchdown!!" but it never panned out.... precious little getup though, given to her by some Hokie friends earlier this year!
Aaaahhhh, the velvet flaps... Emma and Mommy just can't ever get enough of them.
Apparently Emma tastes really good! We had to fend off lots of pug kisses!
Emma doing a new puzzle she got for Christmas- she's still a big fan!
An awesome singing purse- she loves it! We've long since memorized all her little songs... it's so cute. She loves packing the little items into it and pulling them out. The bracelet goes on her wrist, she kisses the mirror, and shakes the keys just about every time. This will be a long-term favorite I am sure!
Emma was a big fan of the wrapping paper- she would pull off a piece at a time and hand it off to someone... she likes to keep things tidy I guess.
I think here she's opening a cool Tag Jr toy that helps her to read books- she's figured out the on/off button and the volume button- and she's getting the hang of placing it properly on the books, but still needs a little guidance! It was out of the box and in use before I knew what was going on! I think that's what that box was.... :P
Another awesome puzzle- she loves the animals!
A precious picture of Emma with Mimi at Oddfella's Cantina, a Christmas celebration as well as Pop pop's birthday dinner!
The whole little family... by the "republic of Floyd"
Emma showing off her sweet moves on the dance floor...
Stretching her legs after dinner- she got all around the restaurant and loved dancing to the music!
Riding on Daddy's shoulders! Such a great night.

A good day

Emma and daddy had a good day. We went for a nap at 1130 and Emma went down with just a little fussing. She has stopped using her pacifier and drifts off on her own although daddy likes to smooth her hair for her and rub her face and feet. After that, we met mommy for lunch at an Italian buffet that was new to us. Daddy got a 8 cup measuring bowl to keep the sourdough starter we have been growing and making for about 3 weeks now. We went to Lowes and Emma walked the store. She was bouncing from side of the aisles to the other as something was always catching her attention. She follows well and never really wandered a lot. She did appreciate all the things down at kid height to play with. She had such an awesome smile on her face all the time and everyone liked talking to her. We then stopped by Southern States for a mineral block for the horses and this years seed catalog for our fields. On the way home, Emma looked through the seed catalog and made lots of comments. I'll have to see what she was interested in for our fields. We're back at home and have gone through (torn up) the mail and put away everything we picked up.

Emma went to the doctor

Emma went to the doctor today for her 15 month checkup. She is 17 pounds 2 oz and 28.5 inches long. She is still growing along her own curve so the doctor isn't worried about it. She is actually in the 10 percentile now for her height to weight ratio. She got a vaccine for PCV and took it well for a shot the nurse said hurts the kids. We're back home now and she's doing well.

Dancing at Oddfellas

Emma was walking around Oddfellas in Floyd. As she was walking, you could ask her to dance and she'd hunker down once or twice. There was a band there she liked listening to. They played the guitar much better than daddy does. There were times when she was running but it may have been her feet trying to keep up with her upper body. What an awesome baby! (Mommy apologizes for holding the camera sideways again... argh)

Emma saying "Bread"

She will ask us for bread. Sometimes she doesn't finish saying the word but usually she is good about it. This was at Oddfellas in Floyd. A fabulous restaurant with good bands.