It's Gonna be a Good Day

I knew today was going to be a good day from the way it started out. I usually start my day off by dropping Emma off at daycare late and then as I leave the room, she cries for me, says momma, and reaches her arms out to me. Breaks a mother's heart! First of all, neither Emma nor I are morning girls, so we're always running late. It never mattered what time we dropped her off in the Infant I class but in the Infant II class they have to be there by 8:10 or else they won't have time to feed them breakfast. And if there is anything that would upset my baby, it's missing a meal! And may I add that it's harder than it sounds to get there on time? No matter how hard we try to get things together the night before it never fails that something will happen to throw us off. So, to continue the story, not only did we make it early to daycare this morning, but there were no tears. Happy Day!! I walked out of the daycare thinking, "This HAS to be a good day." I was correct. Everything went right today from missing all the red lights to clients actually cooperating with me. I was even able to leave work a little early so that I could pick up that shining little face of Emma's from daycare. She's always so happy to see me or Josh when we arrive. I call out her name, she whips around, she spots me, smiles really big and then waves. Most of the time she also leans her head over to the side. I'm still not sure why she does it, but it's her thing and it couldn't be cuter!

She also sported jeans for the first time today on which she got many complements. She was so excited playing with her Tigger that she wouldn't hold still...hence the blurred picture. But you get the idea.


Another item to add to the list of things going well today is that we received the Dedication photos from the church photographer. Here are just a few of them (Emma's age at the time was 6 months):

This is of me trying to occupy Emma's attention as my mom pins her dress to get her ready for the big day. I see that not only does Emma have Tigger again, but I now realize how much newer & colorful he looks here. I'm pretty sure it's her favorite toy!


This is of us tying the bows and putting finishing touches on.


This is Josh keeping Emma happy before the group picture session begins. He's always in charge of that because he does such a good job of it!


Here is a shot of Emma and the proud parents.


And a picture of the whole gang.


This is Pastor Bill presenting her to the congregation.


We were planning to take Emma to the nursery after the ceremony was over. But she loved the music so much that we let her stay with us in church. During this song, she fell asleep and didn't wake back up until the Pastor was on his last statement.


Today was a great day...I hope tomorrow can top it!

Happy Baby

Here is a video of Emma from last night. She thought this game was hilarious!! Her little laugh is so precious...it fills her whole body up. It makes me smile every time I hear it.

Reflections

This weekend we went to the grocery store. While we were putting Emma in her carseat, she quickly saw her chance to grab the receipt. She held on to it the whole ride home. The picture below is one that I took of her from the front seat with her in the mirror. It reflects 100% of her personality. Just hanging out, happy as can be, with the receipt up on her head and no cares in the world. Why does she do that? I don't know. Sometimes when she's tired, she rests whatever she is holding on her head. Possibly strange, but definitely cute! What's funny is that she never tries to put receipt paper in her mouth. It's like she knows it might be dirty. Alissa would be very happy to know that Emma is already aware of things like that. It's because of Alissa that I don't hold on to any escalator railings. Do you KNOW how many germs are on that thing?! Just something to think about the next time you're on one!

Time Flies

I think the saying "Time flies when you're having fun" is appropriate after looking at some old pictures of Emma last night. It's hard to believe that a 7.5 month old baby can already have "old" photos...but, she does! I got nostalgic last night after I took a picture of Emma in her Princess rocking chair. I wanted to compare it to the first picture we took of her in it when she was about 2.5 months old. It made me realize just how fast time is already flying by. And I can happily say that it is due to us having so much fun with our little girl. I am attaching the pictures so you can see for yourselves:





Of course I couldn't just stop looking at pictures once I started. I felt compelled to look at them ALL! Since I started this blog after so many great moments were captured, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorites.

This is of Emma snoozing while our cat, Nala, watches her. This was within the first few weeks of her life, so Nala was still trying to figure Emma out at this point:


Here is a picture of me and my baby girl. She had been a little fussy and by this time we knew that the easiest way to calm her down was to simply walk outside with her. You can see from this picture that it worked!


These next two are from when it snowed. She had just turned two months old. What a lucky girl to already experience snow that young!




The next two are from Easter when Emma was about 3.5 months old. The first one is of her and Josh and the second one is of my mom (Emma's Mimi) and my nephew, Jay, who was about 14 months old at this time.




This is from my first Mother's Day and I love it because it has both my girls in it. Emma is about 4.5 months old here.


To add an updated one to the list, this is from just a few weeks ago. Thank you to Uncle Teddy & Aunt Susan for the adorable outfit...CUTE!!

Sippy Cup and a Little Guitar

We tried the sippy cup out this weekend and it caught on surprisingly well. At first she was frustrated and just wanted it to flow as easily as the bottle. We decided to take the valve out and show her that it actually does come out of the spout. Then, we put the valve back in and put it back to her lips and she took it immediately. Yay! We took it to daycare today and the teachers said she did okay with it, but quickly turned it into a toy/teething ring instead of a sippy cup. We're pretty sure she's teething again, so I wasn't surprised. We'll keep trying though.

Emma versus the Sippy Cup - Round 1:


Emma versus the Sippy Cup - Round 2:


Josh also played a little guitar for her tonight as I was feeding her. She got so excited that we put her down next to it for a closer look. She loved it. Here is a short video of her and Josh playing a little guitar:

All the Proof I Need...

Well folks, this is all the proof I need...I am officially saying that Emma's first word is 'Momma' and that it happened on August 13, 2009! Please watch and let me know if you agree...



I am attaching a picture of Emma in her shoes because she is so cute in them...this is from her first day in the Infant II room (8/3/09) where they have to wear shoes. Her teachers told us that she is the only child who keeps her shoes on all day long. She's already into fashion and knows that you have to wear shoes in order to finish the look!



Her teachers also told us that she is the best eater in the class. Like we didn't see that coming...look at her parents, we LOVE to eat! We like to think it also has to do with the fact that we make her baby food. What we make must taste so much better than that store bought baby food. She much prefers the solid food to her bottle now. Her favorites right now are bananas, squash, carrots and zucchini. We've also tried the sippy cup a few times and she's done alright with it. On the suggestion of another mother, we are going to get the harder tip sippy cups because apparently it is easier for them and their little won't bite through it. All important information. I am going to get a new sippy cup tonight and try her out on it this weekend.

Attitude, Anxiety & Anticipation

It seems that for Emma, 7 months is when an attitude rears its ugly head. They aren't full blown tantrums or anything yet, but I can see into the future and it gives me a little headache to think about it. She has decided that she likes paper. Before you ask, no, we have no idea why or where this fascination came from. She sees paper, she WANTS the paper. If she doesn't get the paper or if you take away the paper, she lets you know she is less than pleased. She pouts her little lips out and begins the crocodile tears. If you give the paper back, the tears magically disappear and the frown turns into a huge smile. Alissa and JR have seen this first hand at a Chinese restaurant. She saw the chopstick wrapper that is made of paper and her eyes lit up. She grabbed the paper and then after a few minutes she began to want to put it in her mouth. Well, clearly I can't have my baby eating paper, so I had to take it away. WOW - She was so mad! Who knew this would be the thing that pushed her to have an attitude?? My apologies to the Armstrongs for having to witness this attitude outburst in public. I ended up not giving the paper back but instead distracting her with a spoon. She wasn't totally satisfied with that, but it kept her busy until we finished eating.

She has also started having some separation anxiety. When we drop her off at daycare or if I leave the room she gets sad. It's so pitiful. When she sees me again she immediately puts her little arms up as if to say "Momma, you came back for me...pick me up and hug me!" She is always putting those arms up now for me to pick her up. She loves to cuddle and gives the biggest hugs. I'm so glad she got that from me! Although Josh doesn't agree, Emma has started saying 'Momma.' I have many witnesses that agree with me but for some reason Josh seems to think it doesn't count unless she repeats it after we say it to her. Ummm NO. He's just jealous that she isn't saying 'Dada.' Josh was out tonight so it was just the girls tonight. At one point, I came back in the room from getting her bottle and she looked up at me, put up her arms and said Mama Mama. IT COUNTS!!

I am in much anticipation for what is to come in the next few months. Each day she does something else and her personality changes a little bit. She'll be crawling any day now. She already holds her own bottle and takes the spoon from me to feed herself. My little girl is growing up...already.

Here is a video of Emma conquering the bottle:

Numbers

Since Emma is already 7 months old, I'm a little behind on her updates. Here are some numbers and dates of the highlights so far...

Month One: 7 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches long
Month Two: 9 lbs 13 oz, 21.5 inches long
Month Three: 11 lbs 0 oz, 22 1/4 inches long
Month Four: 13 lbs 2 oz, 23 1/2 inches long
Month Five: 15 lbs 4 oz, 23 3/4 inches long
Month Six: 17 lbs 0 oz, 24 1/2 inches long
Month Seven: 18 lbs 2 oz, 25 1/2 inches long

Slept through the night: 3/23/09 6.5 hrs, 3/26/09 9.5 hrs
Ate first baby food: 4/10/09 (rice cereal)
Found her feet: 4/28/09
Ate solid food: 5/24/09 (sweet potatoes)
First day at daycare: 6/1/09
Baby Dedication: 6/28/09
Started sitting up really well: July 1, 2009
Held own bottle: 07/14/09
Started Waiving: 07/30/09
Rolling Over continuously: 07/30/09

Her favorite game is Peek-a-Boo. See this short video that has Emma playing Peek-a-boo with Josh and my Dad. This makes me smile every time I watch it:


Here is a photo of her with us on the day of her dedication looking cute as usual in a gown and bonnet that my mother handmade:

Meet the Family

Josh and I have been together for 10 years now. Our lives changed on December 30, 2008 when we went from a family of two to a family of three. On that day at 2:17 pm, we welcomed Emma Grace Durr into the world. She weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 inches long. She is 7 months old now and each day that goes by she gets a little more personality. I feel like time is already flying by and that's why I decided to start this blog. I am taking a cue from Rhonda who had the great idea to chronicle her little girl's life through a blog so that she could some day look back and know everything about her life. You can keep a baby book and you can tell stories, but a lot of the little memories would be lost...so, here I am...a blogger!