All About Emma

18-month check-up

2008-09-17T18:03:00.001-07:00

I had a good check-up today. I am 32.75 in tall and 24 lbs 4 oz. I'm nearly the same weight as 6 months ago, but I'm definitely taller. The doctor said that is perfectly normal. I know 14 words, and the average is 10-15 for my age. I also got two shots, the last HIB and the first MMR. That should be all the shots I'll get for quite a while. I'll like that!

2/18/08

2008-09-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

2/2/08

2008-09-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

1/24/08

2008-09-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

Silly Super Milk Face!

12/21/08 part 2

2008-09-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

I love my dolls!

1/21/08

2008-09-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

Playing with my new dolls from Christmas.

1/12/08

2008-09-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

12/31/07

2008-09-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

I love my Christmas coat from Uncle Kory. And I also had a great New Year's Eve at my friend Logan's house.

12/27/08

2008-09-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

Christmas with the Herricks and enjoying my Christmas toys.

12/26/07

2008-09-06T12:21:00.001-07:00

I had a great Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Brudevold.

12/25/07

2008-09-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Opening my Christmas stocking.

12/24/07

2008-09-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

A wonderful Christmas Eve with the Brudevolds. I sure love wrapping paper!

12/23/07

2008-09-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Fun with cups and Grandma Brudevold

12/22/07

2008-09-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

Visiting with Great-Grandma Brudevold

12/20/07--Darth Emma!!

2008-09-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

12/18/07

2008-09-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

Action series of me crawling!

Dec 16, 2007

2008-09-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

I sure love helping with the dishes!

Christmas with the Herricks

2008-09-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

First Christmas Tree

2008-09-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

More drinking pictures

2008-05-23T18:21:00.001-07:00

Here are more pictures from the first time I drank from a glass.

Emma drinking from a glass

2008-05-23T18:19:00.001-07:00

This video is from a while ago. It is of my drinking from a glass for the first time. I am much better at it now!

Emma reading

2008-05-23T18:17:00.001-07:00

I love to read. It's one of my favorite things and has been ever since I could remember. I just sit and quietly go through books by myself, or I bring them to Mama and Papa and they read to me.

Loving Mama Again

2008-05-21T17:42:00.001-07:00

For a while, I wasn't being very nice to Mama. I wouldn't let her hold me or comfort me at all. Only Papa would do! But now I am happy to let Mama take care of me again. I even get excited when she comes home from work at night. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer Papa right now. But Mama's definitely great also.

Here are our Christmas photos. They turned out so well!

Kissing

2008-05-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

I learned how to kiss on Saturday. I'm getting really great at it! I especially love kissing Mama.

On Friday we went to my friend Sri's house. She has a brand new baby brother, Prithvi. We all ate yummy Indian food for dinner. I loved it!

Saturday we went to the plant store for some flowers to spruce up our yard. On Sunday Mama planted them.

It was very hot this weekend, but has cooled down now. I have decided that I don't like the heat very much. I'm just like my Papa.

Here I am crawling up the stairs naked! So cute!!

Walking like a Champ!

2008-05-16T13:33:00.001-07:00

I am walking like such a big girl now. All through April I was practicing taking a step or two. By the beginning of May I was walking 6-7 feet before falling and then crawling on my way. But at the end of last week I graduated to full-fledged walker. Now I walk everywhere, and when I fall down, I stand back up and keep walking. No more crawling for me! Even if I'm sitting down and I only want to go 2 feet away, I'll still stand up and walk there.

Yesterday and today have been really beautiful, sunny days. So when Mama came home yesterday, we went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was my first real walk. No stroller, no Bjorn, no Moby, just walking! Of course, Mama did carry me from time to time. I like to stop and touch the grass and pet the flowers and explore the cracks in the sidewalk, and I really don't understand Mama and Papa's fascination with walking in one direction all the time. I like to go here and there and turn around as the mood strikes me. So sometimes Mama picked me up and carried me for a bit.

We stopped by the pool and I put my feet in and watched the big kids play. I hope I get to take swimming lessons soon. And then we stopped by the play gym and I walked along the bridge with Mama for a while.

I fell a few times on our walk. But I didn't cry at all! Papa saw that my knee is a little scraped up today. I'm such a big girl now! Yesterday sure was a day full of firsts!

Here are some more pictures from Thanksgiving time. These are from Thanksgiving at the Herricks and also me playing the drums with Sequoia.

Great time in Texas

2008-04-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our trip to Texas. We were in Dallas for a whole week for my aunt Karen's wedding. It was so much fun, and so wonderful. When Papa gets the pictures downloaded, I'll post them.

We went to the aquarium, the arboretum, the zoo, and three art museums. All of those were firsts for me! The aquarium was definitely my favorite. I can't wait to go to one again!

I got to see lots of Mama's family. I especially had fun playing with my cousins. Two of my cousins are close to my age, 2 and 3, and we had a great time playing together! I hope we get to see them often.

Here are some pictures of our Vegan Harvest Festival from last year. It was so much fun, with such wonderful food. Both of my friends from birth class were there and we had a great time. I can't wait until this year!

2nd Easter

2008-03-27T17:22:00.002-07:00

We had a great Easter this year. We spent the day before Easter with my new friend Samuel and his family. It was so much fun playing with him outside. He is 3 and loves to run around. Papa and I ran around with him playing Billie Goat's Gruff. I giggled and giggled and giggled! For Easter we just had a family day at home, but it was nice. I had a cute new Easter outfit and I opened my Easter basket, all from Grandma Herrick. Thanks Grandma! My basket had lots of rubber duckies, easter eggs, a ball, and a singing card. I love to open and close the card to make it sing all day long. It's fun to dance to!

Easter basket

2008-03-27T17:22:00.001-07:00

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Dancing to my Easter card

2008-03-27T17:20:00.002-07:00

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Crawling down the stairs

2008-03-27T17:20:00.001-07:00

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Pouting with Mama

2008-03-27T17:19:00.001-07:00

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Walking with Mama

2008-03-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

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Pushing my car

2008-03-24T17:18:00.001-07:00

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Arr! I'm a pirate!

2008-03-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

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Birthday slide

2008-03-24T17:13:00.002-07:00

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stacking toys

2008-03-24T17:10:00.001-07:00

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Finally sleeping!

2008-03-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

When I went for my checkup last week, the doctor said I should stop drinking milk at night because it would hurt my teeth. So Mama and Papa have only been giving me water when I wake up at night. I was very upset about this for a few nights, but not I'm sleeping through the night! I'm up to 7 hours sleep in a row now. Before, I was sleeping only about 3 hours in a row. Everyone in the family is much happier now. Mama and Papa wish they had thought of this 6 months ago!

The next post will be a video of me playing with my toys. I'm very advanced for my age to be able to play this well.

Well baby -- 12 months

2008-03-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

I had my well-baby checkup today. I'm 23.2 lbs (80th %tile) and 30.5 inches (90th %tile). Even though I'm pretty tall, I still fit in the same 12 month pants I've had for nearly 6 months! Guess my little legs are still a little short compared to the rest of me. But I fit into 18 month shirts. That makes shopping a challenge for Mama. I'm finally into my 6-12 month sized Robeez that I've had since October but couldn't wear yet. My feet are so cute and tiny!

My checkup went well. I've been pretty angry lately, and it seems to be my teeth. I have three new teeth coming in right now! That's enough to make anyone mad. I have six right now, plus three more will make 9. That will be 7 top teeth and only 2 bottom teeth! :) Though I'm sure my bottom teeth won't be far behind.

I'm drinking cow's milk now, and I really like it. I like nearly all foods, except for eggs. Since I still really like pureed foods, Mama's going to try and sneak some eggs into the food processor with the next batch of my food. But I bet I'll notice!

Here are some pictures from today. I'm wearing a St. Patrick's Day shirt from Grandma Herrick. The T-shirt really makes me look like a big kid instead of a baby. That makes Mama and Papa just a little sad!

Look what I can do!

2008-03-14T16:24:00.001-07:00

Check out what I learned to do yesterday! I'm growing up so quickly!!

4 x 4

2008-01-22T17:04:00.001-08:00

I am a 4x4 machine. I can crawl over anything in my path. I can also navigate my way over blankets and such when I'm cruising along the edge of the couch. Every now and again I let go of my support while I'm standing and I can stay standing for a few seconds. Every day I get stronger and improve my balance!

Here's a picture of Papa and me getting ready for a walk. I sure love walks! And also some pictures of Sequoia and her parents (and Mama) when they came to visit over Thanksgiving weekend. These pictures are from the day they arrived, which was the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Stairmaster

2008-01-17T12:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Papa told me to go up the stairs to get the kitty and I did! I just effortlessly went right up the stairs. I am Master of the Stairs. And, as that story shows, I'm picking up quite a bit of language now. Mama and Papa are still signing some words to me, but I don't sign back yet. I bet I will do it soon though.

These are pictures from November when I was just learning to crawl and also to lunge. You can tell that I often got stuck against a wall because I would go backwards, and I often got one of my legs stuck underneath me. But I'm brilliant at crawling now!

Learning to squat

2008-01-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

I am learning to squat. I hold onto a piece of furniture for balance, and then squat down on my haunches and hang out for a while until I fall over. It's very endearing. Mama hopes that I will keep doing it because she thinks it's so darn cute.

Here I am playing with my toys in the livingroom (the empty Kitchen Aid box is nearly my favorite toy!), and showing off my bottom two teeth. Can't wait for tooth #3 to pop through. Maybe tonight will be the night...

Teething woes

2008-01-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well, my tooth is being very stubborn! I have a big white bump on my gum but the tooth still hasn't broken through. Yesterday was the worst day of all. All day long I was crying. Even while I was laughing, I had tears. It broke Mama and Papa's hearts.

I have great new skills. I can dance to music and videos, I can bend over and pick something up and then stand up again if I have a good grip on the couch or chair or whatever, and I can gently lower myself to the floor from a standing position. I also do this cute froggy rock when I'm crawling and I get excited. I am very, very cute.

Here are some pictures of Grandma and Grandpa visiting me. Do you see my great rattle? It's a Tupperware Shape-O rattle. The little shapes inside rattle around, but don't come out like the full sized toy. It's one of my favorite toys!

rough night

2008-01-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

I sure had a rough night last night. I just couldn't stay asleep. I sure hope my tooth pops through today. You can really see the bump it's making, so it's sure to come in very soon. It's my upper right central incisor: E.

Here are pictures from my first professional sporting event. We went to a Trailblazers basketballs game when they played (and beat!) the Pistons. But it was way too noisy for me and I screamed the entire time. I was so scared! Every time the crowd cheered I thought they were all trying to kill me! It was better when the Pistons were ahead. People were much quieter. I guess that makes me a Pistons fan. :) Mama and Papa will think long and hard before they try that again.

Formula baby

2008-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

Mama hasn't been feeling too well lately, and on Friday her doctor said she should cut down on breastfeeding me to only twice a day. She was very worried about me, but she shouldn't have been. I barely noticed the change at all. I like the formula just fine and I'm sleeping a lot better, too. I only wake up once a night now. Now that Mama's getting much more sleep and has gained some weight, she's feeling a lot better.

Here are pictures of me standing up with my favorite toy. Mama's friend Subha lent it to us. I love all of the buttons and noises. I push it around the livingroom all day long.

Cutting a new tooth

2008-01-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

I seem to be cutting a top front tooth today. Mama could feel something last night, and today I've been very sleepy and not very hungry, so that's probably the reason. I'm sure it will pop through very soon and I'll feel a lot better. It will be my third tooth! I'm such a big girl!

Here is a picture of me in my new Christmas coat from Uncle Kory and Aunt Sandra. As you can tell by my smile, I really love it.

Here are also some pictures of a visit with Grandma and Grandpa Brudevold. We had a really great time together, as always.

Wonderful Christmas and New Year

2008-01-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

I had a really great first Solstice, Christmas, and New Year's. We drove up to Seattle and spent a week with Grandma, Grandpa and Great-grandma Brudevold, Aunt Karen, Uncle Jeff, and Cousin Andrea. It was my first time meeting Great-grandma and Uncle Jeff. They loved me, of course. I loved them too. It snowed on Christmas morning, which was really exciting, but not enough for me to play in it. I really liked that everyone kept giving me paper and ribbons and bows and boxes. That was so thoughtful of them! How did they know that is just what I love to play with?

After Seattle, we went to Salem to see more Grandparents and Uncle Kory and Aunt Sandra. More bows and boxes! I really like this Christmas thing.

On New Year's Eve we went to my friend Logan's house. He was born in November, so he wasn't too excited about the holidays. The grown-ups all played board games. It looked like lots of fun, but no one wanted me to join in and eat the pieces! They are just so mean sometimes.

Here are some pictures from when we went to a celebration of an Indian festival at Madhura's house. I loved sitting on my friend Sri's lap and playing with her mom Subha. Doesn't Mama look nice in her Indian Salwar Kameez? Madhura is in the pink Sari , along with her mom, dad, and husband.

I have a new outfit that makes me look like a teddy-bear, don't you think? It's soft and cozy.

Here is our wreath. And here Papa and I are in front of it on our walk. Papa keeps me nice and bundled inside his coat.

Getting exited for Christmas

2007-12-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

The house is all decorated, presents are all bought, and we're all packed for Christmas! It's my first Christmas, so I'm very exited about everything. I love all the shiny decorations and blinking lights. And ribbons and bows are just wonderful! We're driving up to Seattle today so we can spend Christmas with Great-Grandma Brudevold and her family. Grandma and Grandpa Brudevold and Aunt Karen and her family are coming too, so it's going to be a wonderful holiday. Everyone is going to pay so much attention to me!

Here is Mama's favorite picture of me. She thinks she's all artsy because she took it. And also a picture with our friend Akiko. We had a great time at the tatami mat room in the Japanese restaurant. She recently moved back to Japan, so we miss her a lot.

boo yoghurt, yay cheerios!

2007-12-19T13:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I didn't like yoghurt, but I loved Cheerios! Every day I like different foods. It's just one of the many things that makes me so interesting!

Today I learned that if I make Papa laugh, he stops trying to put food in my mouth. I'm quite clever. I just have to do something really cute, like lean over to the side and smile, and he laughs and laughs, and puts the spoon down! It's much more fun than pouting.

Here are pictures of me in my Halloween t-shirt that Grandma bought me. I'm playing with my first rubber ducky. It's also Halloween themed and from Grandma.

New food--yoghurt

2007-12-18T11:59:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm older than 9 months, I can have whole-milk dairy products like yoghurt and cheeses. Last night I tried yoghurt for the first time. It was pear flavored. I LOVED it! I ate about a tablespoon full. That's about all I ever eat at one sitting, so that's pretty good for a first try.

Here I am playing with one of my absolute favorite toys. It's a table toy that I stand at and push around the livingroom. It doesn't have wheels or anything, but I love to push it around all the same. In these pictures, it's sitting on the floor, but it's usually on it's own stand that's just my height.

9 month well baby checkup

2007-12-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

Today was my 9 month well baby checkup and I am doing exceptionally well, of course. I weigh 20 lbs and 13 oz and measure 27.75 inches long. I am in the 50th %ile for height and 85th %ile for weight. That's funny because my percentiles were exactly the opposite at my first 2 month doctor's appointment. I guess I'm due for a growth spurt!

It's a good thing Mama and Papa bought me a new car seat. I had only 1 lb to spare on the last one! I now have a Recaro Signo in Midnight Desert. It was pretty expensive, but it will last until I weigh 70 lbs, which would be between the ages of 7 and 12. So that's quite a while!

Also, I learned how to climb the stairs yesterday! I got up about 6 stairs before I got too tired to continue. Everyone was cheering me on and it was great fun. I can't wait to practice again today!

The doctor thinks I don't sleep enough at night, so she told Papa to try to feed me more solid foods during the day. I really like food, but I just don't eat very much of it, so I don't know if this will work for me. She says I wake up so I can be with Mama because I miss her and her yummy milk. Maybe if I eat more during the day I'll be able to sleep longer. But I'll still miss Mama! Mama and Papa are going to try, but I wonder if it will really help. They are going to try for 3 weeks and then call the doctor back if this doesn't solve it. So I'll keep you updated!

Here's me with Grandma in another dress. I really like this one because it's cozy and has a matching hat. Grandma always has a new book for me every time I see her. I love books so much! It's really fun to get to read them with her.

Climbing

2007-12-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

I'm getting so good at crawling. I have mastered the "cross-crawl", moving opposite limbs together, and it's made a great difference in my speed and grace. I can easily go from laying to crawling to sitting. There are so many great things to explore! I'm now working on climbing up to a standing position. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but I'm probably close to a 75% success rate.

My pincher grasp is really coming along. I practice with Cheerios. I take it all very slowly and steadily, concentrating on the task at hand. I think it really shows off my personality.

Here is a series of me in a dress! I was getting ready to go to a friend's wedding reception. Mama and I went without Papa. When we arrived, I realized that there were soooo many strangers, and Papa wasn't there! I screamed and screamed until Mama finally took me home so I could be with Papa. It was the first and the last time we'll ever go anywhere without him, I made sure of that!

I CAN crawl!

2007-11-29T16:17:00.001-08:00

It's been a frustrating couple of weeks for me, but it's all better now. On Nov 17 I started to crawl, but I could only go backwards, and that's not the direction in which I wanted to go. I would see a toy I wanted, try to get to it, but end up moving farther away from it! I cried a lot about that. But the last day or two I finally figured it out. I don't even really have to concentrate that hard about it any more. I just see something I want and crawl right to it! One leg straightens out and pushes me forward, and I move my other knee in, and off I go! Mama and Papa seem to have this strange, frightened look in their eyes all of the time now...

Here are some pictures from Mama and Papa's 10th Wedding Anniversary. We spent the whole day on the Portland Spirit going up and down the Willamette and Columbia rivers. I loved every moment of it, especially yelling at the wake in the water.

Why can't I crawl?!?

2007-11-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

Oh, I'm just so very frustrated! I know I want to crawl, but I just get stuck every time. I either end up in the splits, or with one foot stuck underneath me in a half-cross-legged position, or flat on my stomach. And when I get really excited, I push myself backwards instead of pulling myself forwards. And that makes me very, very angry!

I tried oatmeal last night for the first time. It's yummy! But then I tried to crawl towards the bowl and I got frustrated again! I have a hard time concentrating on food right now. It's more interesting to practice moving around.

Here's a picture of my bandage from my first shot. It hurt a bit, but Mama immediately comforted me in my favorite way, and that made everything all better.

Removing diaper

2007-11-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

I have just discovered the most wonderful thing! I can take off my diaper! It's great. All I have to do is undo one Velcro tab and Mama and Papa start screaming and jumping up and down. It's so simple! I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner.

Here are pictures of the first time I tried solid food. My first food was rice porridge. I didn't like it at all! But now I do. I also like applesauce, peaches, apricots, mangoes, avocados, sweet potatoes, squash, and bananas. I'm going to try oatmeal next. Maybe tonight!

Clapping

2007-11-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

Mama saw another baby's blog, where the baby wrote all of the posts, and she thought that was super cute, so from now on, I'll be doing the writing for Mama!

My latest trick is clapping. I've been clasping my hands together for quite some time, but now I've figured out how to truly clap my hands together and make noise. I love making noise!

I had a great weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Brudevold came to visit. Grandma made me a great winter coat and matching hat. I especially like the ribbons on the hat. They fascinate me so!

I am trying very hard to crawl, but every time I try I fall on my belly or head. It's so frustrating! Soon. Very soon. Then I can get that floofy kitty that's always running away from me!

Biting Mama & Halloween

2007-11-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from Emma's 6 month birthday, and from her first Halloween.

Last Thursday was a momentous day. Emma bit me for the first time while nursing. I screamed and she promptly let go. She hasn't done that since (knock on wood). And she made the first motions toward crawling. While we were getting ready for bed, she was playing on her tummy and kept trying to get into the hands and knees position. She'd pick her rear up for a second or two before she'd fall back into an arched back. Every day she's getting a bit stronger, getting more and more mobile by scooting and rolling and turning in circles. I think our cat will be her strongest motivator. She wants to chase him around the house so badly!

Tuesday her second tooth started to break through. It's tooth P. So O and P are in (the bottom front teeth). I found out that the baby teeth are lettered; it's only the permanent teeth that are numbered.

Yesterday was Halloween, and Emma and I dressed in matching baby dresses. We went to a fun party with the Darlin's. They were dressed as Bonnie and Clyde and their baby was their fat sack of cash! Too cute!

Another tooth already?

2007-10-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

Looks like her second tooth is already fixing to make an appearance. If last night's sleep was anything to go by, at least. She's a poor thing. (And so am I!) From poking around in her mouth, it looks like its the other bottom-front tooth that's coming in. And her top-left-front tooth isn't too far behind, by the feel of things. But, at least I'm up for the challenge! This last weekend I got a wonderful present. Dustin fed the baby all Saturday night and I got 10 hours of sleep! The first full-night's sleep since last December. So wondrous! Now I just have to get through what's sure to be a crazy week of teething.

This last weekend was really nice. We went to our friend's house and had smoky macaroni and cheese and stir fry. It was great to see them and their super cute tiny doggies! We also saw one of Emma's friends to celebrate her mommy's birthday.

Sleeping better

2007-10-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

As of Wednesday, Emma's first tooth (tooth #24 to be exact) has broken through and is visible. What that means for me is that she's starting to sleep better, thank goodness. Last week she was waking up every one to two hours to nurse a little and then either fitfully sleep, or be awake and want to play. I didn't take kindly to that kind of behavior. Now she's back to her regular cycle of waking up two or three times a night to properly nurse and then going straight back to sleep.

Here are some pictures from Great-uncle Bobby's memorial service. It was a beautiful and powerful service in the mountains of Utah. Emma was very respectful.

Tooth a-hoy!

2007-10-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Emma's first tooth is well on it's way now. On Saturday, you could see a small break in her gum, and on Sunday you could feel the top of the tooth if you let her chomp down on your finger (not something I'd recommend doing often). You can't see the tooth yet, or feel it without her biting you, so it's still just at gumline. I'm a bit sad, because it feels like the first step to her not being a baby anymore!!

Here are some pictures of Emma sitting on her baby quilt that Grandma Brudevold (my mom) made for her. Each square was embroidered by a different member of the family, as is our tradition. It's very special and beautiful. I am very thankful that Uncle Bobby was able to make his before he passed on. The other pictures are from the same visit with Grandpa Brudevold and Great-Grandma Castledine at the Hillsboro Farmer's Market. We love going there as often as we can.

Emma eating apple sauce

2007-09-25T09:47:00.005-07:00

Emma eating apple sauce for the first time

Emma Rice

2007-09-25T09:47:00.003-07:00

Emma eating rice for the first time

Emma's first food

2007-09-25T09:47:00.001-07:00

Emma eating rice porridge.

Not ready to teethe just yet

2007-09-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

So I've been really worried that she's been in pain from teething, but the doctor assured us that her first tooth is only just starting to come and it will be weeks or even months before it comes through. Guess I was just looking for problems! Also, she had no reaction at all to her shot, so that's a big relief. She didn't even really cry when she got it. By the time she knew something was wrong it was over and I was feeding her. She calmed right down and was fine for the rest of the day.

The doctor asked whether she has been having "conversations" with us. We haven't really noticed that yet. So Dustin has been thinking up conversation games to play with her. Last night I came home to Emma finishing Dustin's sentence. He'd go "Um, um, um, squeal", then he'd go "Um, um, um?" and she'd go "Squeal!" Well, it makes more sense in real life. Suffice to say, it's really cute. Her squeal is much cuter and more under control than it has been, too.

Well baby -- 6 months

2007-09-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

It was a busy weekend for us. On Saturday, Emma tried rice porridge mixed with breastmilk. She clearly liked the flavor better, but still balked at the texture, coughing and gagging as she swallowed. Then we tried mashed bananas. Same reaction. We spent the afternoon at the Andaluz Waterbirth Center family picnic. It was great to see some of our midwives and all of the beautiful babies. Everyone agreed that Emma was the cutest of them all. They didn't say it out loud, but I could tell they were thinking it.

On Sunday, Emma tried applesauce. It was much more successful. She ate about a 1/2 teaspoon full. Which seemed like a lot at a half-pea-sized bit at a time. I think we'll continue to feed her applesauce for the next few days to get her used to the concept of food. Then maybe we'll try squash. In the afternoon we met our friends the Darlings at Chapman Elementary School to watch the Swifts. Every year during this time of year the swifts stop by the school on their migration route. At dusk they all swarm together in a great mass, growing larger and larger, until they all funnel into the large chimney at the school. It was really amazing. Emma actually watched the birds. I was very surprised that she was interested. After the birds, we went out to Japanese food at Yuki on 23rd. It was excellent. I highly recommend the mango maki. I know it sounds crazy, but it was fabulous.

Today I worked from home and we had lunch with a friend. Mexican food. It was a place to which we hadn't previously been. I was happily surprised. After lunch we went to Emma's six-month well-baby checkup. She's doing very well. 17 pounds and 26.5 inches. She also received her first Hib shot. :( She took it better than we did. No adverse reactions so far.

Teething woes

2007-09-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

Emma had a rough night last night. We had to give her a dose of acetaminophen before bed, and then another at 2:30 am. Poor thing. I hope the tooth pops through soon. I hate to think that it might take another couple of weeks or something.

yelling at trees

2007-09-11T17:02:00.001-07:00

emma yelling at the backyard

Bunny slippers

2007-09-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Check out Emma's super cute bunny slippers! They almost don't fit anymore. :(

Her teeth didn't hurt too bad last night, so we didn't have to give her any medicine. But she latched on strangely during the night, so I think she is still in some pain, just not enough to cry.

Emma's first food

2007-09-10T16:22:00.001-07:00

Emma "ate" her first solid food yesterday. She had rice porridge. She pretty much hated it, though she did swallow it. She didn't seem to understand why there was gooey stuff sticking to the roof of her mouth. We caught it all on "film" and we'll try to get a clip of it up soon.

We'll try it again tonight. Maybe I'll mix in a little breastmilk to thin it. She might like that better.

We'll keep giving her bites of rice porridge each day for another couple weeks before we try the next food (probably mashed banana).

Poor thing is teething. Her bottom front gum is really swollen. She's sleeping and eating rather poorly because of it. We might have to give her some acetaminophen tonight. The Baby Book said that Orajel isn't recommended because they haven't done any reliable safety trials of it, and to use acetaminophen instead. Scary!

Emma

2007-09-10T14:10:00.001-07:00

emma at play

2007-09-06T17:10:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures from our baby picnic at Silver Falls State Park. It was so beautiful, and the company was wonderful. The babies really loved all the nature and the wonderful water falls. And of course spending time together!

Emma is getting ever so close to properly sitting up. This morning we sat up together for the entire time Papa was in the shower and the only time she fell over was when she reached too far for a toy. She couldn't even do that yesterday! It's really amazing. But she should be getting stronger! Last night she ate for over 6 hours of the 8 hours we were in bed. I think by this weekend she'll be sitting up well enough that we will try feeding her rice for the first time. (The doctor said to wait on solid food until she can sit up on her own.) I'm all a-buzz with excitement!

6 months old!

2007-09-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a series of her rolling over onto her tummy. Notice all of her toys are a perfect arm's distance away from her. That's cause she's really good at pushing her toys away instead of grabbing them. It's too cute.

I can't even believe it, Emma turned 6 months old yesterday. She's quite good at rolling from her back to her front now, though she seems to have forgotten that she can go the other way, so she gets upset after being on her tummy for a while. Silly girl! She's working hard on sitting up on her own. It won't be long, now.

Grabbing faces

2007-08-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the Kisters with Emma. They are from April.

Emma is now very interested in faces. She loves to watch and grab your mouth while you talk, and also touch your face. It's very fun to get so much attention from her.

Rolling over like she means it!

2007-08-26T21:52:00.001-07:00

This is Emma's cute onesie from Idaho, "I'm just a little Tater Tot". Look at her legs! She's getting so thick. It's the best.

I just can't believe how quickly she changes. Today she seemed to figure out that rolling over could get her places. Right around 1 pm she started rolling over again and again to get toys that she had moved out of her reach. It was just all-of-a-sudden. She's been able to roll over for quite a while, but she just didn't really do it in a purposeful way. Now she is, though, so we better watch out! Little Emma is on the move!

Loving the playmats

2007-08-24T07:56:00.001-07:00

Emma really loves her playmats. She uses them everyday. Yesterday I noticed that she is grabbing her feet more during diaper changes. It's really cute. She's also developing really strong arm and chest muscles. When she's on her stomach now, she will straighten her arms to push her entire chest off of the floor.

Just can't pick one!

2007-08-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

This is such a great series of photos, I just had to post them all. She's been paying a lot of attention to her hands and feet lately. She grabs things well, and with both hands. Her aim at putting things in her mouth is really improving. And she's getting ever better at sitting up. Once she's really able to sit up well, we will start introducing finger foods into her diet. I can't wait!

This last week has been really tough on the whole family. Emma's Great-uncle died and we went to Salt Lake City to attend the memorial service. The onesie she's wearing in these pictures is from him. The entire family was there and we had a wonderful celebration of his life. There was music and dancing, laughter and tears. I'm sure he was pleased by it all. Emma was such a good girl during the ceremony. We were up in the mountains, and of course she loved it, especially the nearby stream. She also did very well on the plane down and back.

Chewing feet

2007-08-16T10:38:00.001-07:00

Emma's really started playing with toys lately. It's so cute! She stares at them, shakes them, sticks them in her mouth. And yesterday was the first time I've seen her chew on her feet. Such a classic baby thing to do! She's getting better at rolling over from her back to her front. She mainly rolls over onto her side, but sometimes she'll roll over all the way to grab a toy, then pop back onto her back. Such a silly baby. Today she's spending the day with Grandma H. It's been a while since she's seen her, so that's nice.

Holding hands

2007-08-14T16:54:00.001-07:00

Emma and Sequoia are such good friends. They love holding hands. They met in birth class and have been close ever since. :) Sequoia is moving away to go live with her namesakes very soon. We will all miss her and her family very much.

Monkey noises!!

2007-08-08T16:45:00.001-07:00

2007-08-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from a couple of months ago. It shows that she doesn't even fit on our tummies any more! I can't believe it.

Last night was pretty rough. She fell asleep around 9:30, and ate at 11:30, 1:00, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, and 7:00. She must be going through a growth spurt. Again. I'm pretty dead right now. But on the plus side, Great-grandma Castledine is coming into town tonight. Emma is very excited to meet her!

Differences

2007-08-02T16:22:00.001-07:00

What a difference 4 months makes! The first picture was taken when Emma was 6 days old, and the second picture was taken when she was 4 and a half months old. She's in the same shirt. You can't really tell in the picture, but we could only get one snap fastened this last time! (She grew out of the matching pants over a month ago) She's growing so quickly! Wahh!

Enjoyed San Diego

2007-08-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had to go down to San Diego for business so I brought the family along with me. We spent the whole week there. Emma's first plane ride and business trip went very well. She slept almost the entire way down and was very good. The plane ride back was a little harder, but it could have been much worse. We all had a nice time in San Diego. Emma loved looking at and talking to all the new types of trees down there. She especially loved Balboa park. The rental Prius was nice too.

Fun with Aunt Karen and Cousin Andrea

2007-07-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago my sister and niece came through the area to look at colleges. Emma had a wonderful time meeting them and touring colleges in our area. That week she also had her 4 month check-up. She was 14 lbs and 25 inches. She has doubled her birth weight already! And Papa reports that she was trying to roll over from her back to her front yesterday. She succeeded in only scooting herself in a circle, but she's working on it!

Trip to Sunriver, OR

2007-07-24T17:12:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago Emma went to her first family reunion. It was in Sunriver, OR. She had a nice time with her Great-grandma, Great-grandpa, Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles, and her cousin. She especially loved the lava cave we explored. She seems to really love it when it's cold. Mama and Papa also had a nice time. We went on walks, bike rides, horse rides, went hot-tubbing, and played tennis.

Can it be the same girl??

2007-06-22T17:25:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of Emma at 7 days old, and then again in the same outfit at 3 and a half months. She barely looks like the same baby! It's truly amazing.

Standing! (with a little help)

2007-06-21T17:41:00.001-07:00

It's amazing. She's getting so strong!

Sunday and Monday night she only woke up once, and I started to get really excited. But it takes three points to make a pattern, and Tuesday and last night she ran us ragged. She didn't sleep at all after 2:30 AM Tuesday night (first time she's ever done that). And last night she wouldn't eat unless I nursed her while I paced around the room. We think it's the vegetarian taco meat I had for dinner for the last couple of nights. Something in it must bother her. Guess we're not eating that brand again!

First Father's Day

2007-06-20T16:44:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Father's Day this last weekend. Papa took it easy (well, as easy as he ever takes it), and Emma got to visit with Grandma and Grandpa. She was a bit testy all day, so Grandma and Grandpa didn't get a chance to see how she can play with her toys now. Hopefully the next visit will be better.

Emma loves to go on walks! Any time she is outside, she is a very happy baby. Isn't she cute in her new sunhat?!

Emma loves Annelise!

2007-06-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

Emma's friend Annelise came over the weekend before last for a vegan feast. We had a great time and watched I heart Huckabees. What a great movie!

The girls spent a lot of time watching each other. They really get along so well!

Don't let this picture fool you

2007-06-11T17:03:00.001-07:00

This is a great picture of Emma's increasing fatness! I love it! This last week she's doubled how much she eats at each sitting. I was really excited, because I thought that it might mean she would also double how long she slept at a stretch. Silly rabbit! Tricks are for kids! TM.

Alas, it wasn't to be. But as long as her fatness keeps rolling along (haha!) I'll be happy. Sleepy, but happy! :)

Monkey noises

2007-06-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

Emma's been making the cutest monkey noises lately! It goes something like, "hoo hoo hoo hoo". We're going to try and get a video of it. Stay tuned!

Leisure Suit

2007-06-07T14:49:00.001-07:00

Emma has the cutest little leisure suit, as seen here. It's a Pooh Bear zip-up suit with a collar. Papa likes to call her Buck Rogers when she wears it. But she's not the only one with cool clothes. Notice Mama's awesome Ministry shirt!

Buck Roger's clip

Shrinky Dinking

2007-06-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend! We went to Emma's friend's house and had a fun Shrinky Dink party. These are pictures of Emma's friend Annelise falling out of her chair and being comforted by her daddy. In the group picture, you can see Emma crashed out on the couch.

We had a really great time. I made 3 pairs of earrings and a necklace. It was a hoot! Here's hoping for many more Shrinky Dink nights!

Roly Poly!

2007-06-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

Just minutes after Grandma told me that Emma needs to be on her belly more or she'll never get stronger, Emma rolled over for the first time! She's a smart alec already! Haha! The official time was 7:30 pm on June 4th. She's rolled over several more times since. Always pushing off with her left hand. I wonder if that means she'll be left-handed? She doesn't seem to be doing it on purpose yet. When you put her down on her stomach, she'll roll over right away. But if you try to get her to do it again, she'll just stay on her stomach until she gets upset and starts crying. So if you want her to do her trick again, you have to pick her up for a while between each roll. Oh, it's so exciting! She's growing up so fast!!

Memorial Day

2007-06-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

We had a really great Memorial Day weekend. I took an extra day off from work so we would have enough time to drive over to see my mom and step-dad. It was Emma's first big road trip! She did really well for about 5 hours, but the last 2 hours were tough on her. By the last half-hour she was done being in that car seat! It was the same on the way home, too. We'll definitely wait until she's older before we go on such a long car ride again.

While at Grandma and Grandpa's, Emma enjoyed sitting on the tractor, the four-wheeler, and the Harley. Well, she was screaming on the Harley, but it was still very cute! Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed baby-sitting while Mama and Papa took some time off. Papa climbed a big hill through the woods, and Mama took a nice, long bath.

In love

2007-05-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. We are completely in love with our little Princess Poopy Pants. She's just so fantastic!

Getting excited

2007-05-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

She's getting good at holding her head up. Such a strong baby!

Emma's latest trick is getting excited when food is coming. When Papa is bringing her a bottle, she kicks and coos and gets all worked up. Pretty cute! She doesn't really do the same when Mama is about to feed her yet, though.

She's settled into somewhat of a daily feeding schedule. She eats about every 2-3 hours from about 4 am to 4 or 5 pm. And then from 4 or 5 pm to 4 am she sleeps a lot more and eats maybe every 4 hours. If we could only shift that schedule forward about 4 hours, we'd really be in business!

Beautiful Midwives

2007-05-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of all of our beautiful midwives. They are some of the most important and special people in our lives and we seriously don't know how we could have done it all without them.

2007-05-21T17:58:00.001-07:00

Birth Class Reunion

2007-05-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

We had a really great weekend. Friday we went to a friend's house and hung out. Emma was a bit fussy, but we eventually got her calmed down. She watched her first movie, Equilibrium. Saturday we went to one of our midwife's house for a vegetarian BBQ and our two favorite families were there, plus almost all of our midwives and tons of really cool new friends. It was really wonderful. It was a great big baby party! Definitely the best time we've had in years. Honestly, years! Emma loves making friends!! On Sunday we went down to Salem to see Grandma and Grandpa. Emma was pretty fussy when we got home and ate all night long. But she was really good today, so tonight will probably go well.

2007-05-18T16:45:00.001-07:00

Here is Tallia and Derrick holding Emma when she was only a week old. Tallia's shirt says "Epidural Shmepidural." I love it!

Last night was pretty rough. Emma wouldn't go back to sleep after her 4 o'clock feeding. She's never really done that before. I hope it's not a new trend. It wasn't pleasant.