Bedtime Rituals

We tend to have the same bedtime routine every night. Jammies & fresh diaper, bottle, read a book or two, lots of hugs & kisses and bed. Emmy loves reading her books, and especially enjoys the books with something fun to touch (current fave is "That's Not My Bear!", with all the fuzzy bear parts to rub...thanks Jen!) Tonight, Keith was doing the bottle & book, as I was putting a clean sheet on the crib. They were so cute, I decided to take a couple photos. The last photo is of Keith "paying tribute" to the King, with a pseudo-Elvis-sneer. He had been jiggling Emmy to get a burp out, and singing "All Shook Up!". Enjoy!

Saturday....ahh, weekend!

It's been a long week here. We've all been nursing colds, and out of the three of us, Emmy seems to be doing the best. She's been blowing snot-bubbles all week, but still acts happy, eats well, and takes good naps. We only had one night time scream-fest, and that was the evening her cold started. I think she was ticked off that her little nose was stuffy! She's not run a fever or acted like her ears hurt, so I haven't taken her to the doctor. I had a cold all last week, and thought I was getting rid of it when Emmy caught hers. Then, mine came back with a vengeance! (and now Keith has it...much to my dismay!)

Anyway, we'd scheduled an appointment at JC Penney's to get Emmy's 6 month pictures taken. Since her cold is clearing up, and she wasn't a total snot-monster, we took her. She was a very big girl, although she wasn't so sure she should smile at the photographer. All three adults were about standing on our heads to get this kid to grin, even a little bit! It was ridiculous, but we did end up with several nice photos. I really wanted at least one photo that showed off her 2 teeth, and it looked like we got ONE. I bought her a cute little sundress, and pretty much none of the pics of her wearing that turned out. In one, she grabbed the hem and flashed us, just as he snapped the pic. Such a lady!

This week, a new Dream Dinners opened up closer to where we live. I had been going to one in Durham, which was about 30 minutes away. This one is about 10-15 minutes closer. The same couple owns both stores, and I read that they won an award for highest sales in the country last year! They are always busy, but the workers are always very nice and helpful. In case you haven't heard of Dream Dinners, I encourage you to check them out. It's a real blessing for a family like ours, who really want to eat at home, but don't always have time to make meals from scratch. We're eating frozen pizza no more!!

Last week, we decided to change bath tubs for Emmy. She'd been using a plastic baby tub, and really had outgrown it. She was as long as the tub, and kept kicking the end of it. We had received an inflatable tub as a shower gift, but didn't want to use it until Emmy could sit well. Since she has now mastered that skill, we tried out the new tub. She LOVES it! She has a couple bath toys, and really enjoys splashing around.

Check out those Chompers!

Back from Ohio

Emmy and I had a great trip to Ohio to visit family. I was a bit nervous about flying solo with Em, but she acted as though airports, planes, and crowds were second nature. This kid is so easy-going! She sprouted another tooth the morning we left, and smiled at anyone and everyone who looked her way to show it off. She charmed every flight attendant, and everyone sitting around us. I was a little stressed, as they cancelled our flight to Columbus, but we were able to get on another plane (routed through Chicago) whiched arrived in Ohio a couple hours later than we originally planned. I was amazed my suitcase didn't get lost in the shuffle.

My Mom and brother picked us up from the airport, and it took about 2 hours to drive to Findlay. We stayed at my Uncle Tim/Aunt Bev's house, which is where my Gram lives now. They were in Atlanta, visiting their first granddaughter, so Emmy didn't get to meet them. My Uncle Mike/Aunt Carolyn were staying with Gram that week, so we got to visit with them as well. It was really nice to just hang out with everyone for a few days. Emmy provided the entertainment, and we just chilled. I got a cute video of Josh reading a book to Emmy...check it out here: Video

We sure missed Keith while we were gone, although he was home with a headcold and made the most of a quiet house. (I have a headcold now, and hope Em doesn't catch it!)

Great News!

About 3 weeks ago, Keith got a call out of the blue from two of his former coworkers from the State who left to go to work at Blue Cross & Blue Shield. They told him about a job opening, and encouraged him to send his resume. He did, and interviewed. He was pretty excited about the details of the job, and especially excited about the location...Chapel Hill, about 15 minutes from home (as opposed to the 45 minute commute to Raleigh each way he has now). He got a call from BCBS today and they offered him the job! We are thrilled! He starts in 2 weeks, on the 20th. A nice perk of this job is they offer emergency daycare. So, if our daycare provider gets sick, or takes a vacation, we have FREE backup daycare! Yippee! Keith wasn't even looking for a different job, this opportunity just sort of fell into his lap.

Miss Snaggletooth

Daycare Drama

Emmy's first day of daycare was Wednesday, and evidently (much to her guilt-stricken mother's horror) she cried the entire day. Actually, so did the other 3 kids in her daycare...poor daycare lady! (Jeffrey's her name) There was another little girl who started the same day Em did, and she wasn't enjoying herself very much. Jeffrey said she had a pretty LOUD cry, and this started a chain reaction. Em hasn't been around other kids much, so being around a very unhappy, loud baby was just more than she could take. Emmy was utterly exhausted when she got home that night. I put her to bed, and she let out one pitiful, half-hearted, "whaaa", and promptly fell asleep. She did great the rest of the week, and was a totally happy, smiling kid each day when I picked her up. Jeffrey said she wishes Em's happy disposition was contagious!