Thursday, November 5, 2009

to transition or not to transition??

that is the question...

wondering what i am talking about? well, as you all know, emerson sleeps in an amby baby hammock. i have loved the hammock and all that it has to offer in the year that we have used it. emerson has always slept so well in it and its really been great. however, eventually she needs to sleep in her crib. by eventually, i mean BEFORE newbaby is born!

i feel bad making her transition out of it and honestly, i am afraid that she wont sleep as well in the crib as she does in the hammock. she cant possibly sleep in the hammock forever though (even though the spring will hold up to 45lbs!)

so....i keep procrastinating. i was going to transition her after i went back home with her in october. however, when i got back, i realized that her room was in shambles and there was a ton of stuff piled in her crib. so i have been working on this and trying to get things organized. i guess i could have just tossed everything on the floor and put her in the crib, but i am procrastinating... hehe..

so now its november. and i plan to go home for thanksgiving. so now i am thinking that maybe i should just wait until after thanksgiving to transition her to the crib. that way she can sleep in the hammock while i am home. its familiar to her and she doesnt sleep as well back at my parents house as she does in her own room...so i hate to transition her to a crib and then make her sleep in the pack and play (which she HATES). i think she wouldnt sleep at all in gloucester.

so i think i might have just made up my mind. i think i am going to procrastinate further and transition her after thanksgiving. of course, that is cutting it a little close. i am hoping that the transition doesnt take longer than a week or two. it cant possibly take a month right?

well.....if need be, i know i can always borrow another amby baby hammock from a friend for newbaby! hehe..

Saturday, October 31, 2009

one year old!!!

well...over a year has passed since emerson was born...and i cant believe it! it went by so quickly and it was so amazing to watch her grow and change over the past year. this time last year she was a cute, teeny little baby blob. today she is a silly, excitable, walking little girl. its amazing. she says lots of words and is a snuggle bug. she loves her momma :) ...maybe a little too much. she is awfully attached but i dont mind most of the time. hehe.

anyway, she had her one year appointment. just to compare, here are her newborn stats:
length: 19.25 inches
weight: 6lbs 11oz
head:14 inches

now for her one year stats!
length: 29 inches (50th percentile)
weight: 19lbs (13th percentile)
head: 19 inches (97th percentile)

yep...she has a BIG noggin!! haha. takes after her dad and his big noggin!

her birthday party went great and almost everyone showed up. she loved her cupcake. she was a little weirded out at first but got into the swing of things eventually. after eating and opening her presents, we all went outside and the kids played in the leaves.

anyway, here are some pics, in reverse chronological order since i never remember that this blog posts things opposite....
on her actual birthday we got her ears pierced and got her some cold stone creamery ice cream!
playing in the leaves at her bday party
birthday cupcake face!
first bite of the cupcake...examining the situation
emerson's halloween and bday costume...a little devil, just like her auntie ashley!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

updates a plenty..

well, after a crazy month that left me with not much time and very unmotivated to do much of anything (hey, i am pregnant after all!!), i am back! sorry it has taken so long to update again and i know people were sitting around anxiously awaiting my next post!

a few things i wanted to touch on before i get to the "what emerson is up to these days" part. first, i doubt i will post videos on this blog anymore. sorry. it is wayyy too much of a pain to do it. i have to download the videos and then convert them to an online format and then upload them onto this site. the whole process takes over a half hour for a 30 second video....much longer for a long video. so, if you want to see videos, check my facebook because its much quicker there (and i have 2 videos to post tonight).

also, i am linking up with my friend kim for a new site that she is running www.mamaneedsthis.com . i am helping to write reviews on products for the site. its a cool site, though still in the beginner stages but we are working on adding content. its a neat site and will be loaded with reviews of great products that moms could really use. you should go check out the site and see what is up there. i wrote 2 of the reviews already, and hope/plan to do more. i am in the process of contacting companies to get products to review, but in the meantime i reviewed some kick butt products that moms need (and i so happen to already own!). anyway, in addition to checking out that site, you should go check out her other site, which is mainly for green related baby products and cloth diapering. she does lots of giveaways and stuff... its www.dirtydiaperlaundry.com (see link in my sidebar)

so...emersons 1st birthday is approaching soon!!! i dont know if i should be jumping up and down with excitement or if i should crawl into a ball and cry :( i cant believe its been almost a year!!! and newbaby's birthdate isnt too much further past that! (Still no name yet in case you are wondering!) i am excited about emersons birthday party, which is next weekend. its gonna be pretty small, but then again, my house is tiny...haha. it couldnt be a big party if i wanted it to be! its halloween themed...and every party from now until she can protest will be halloween themed. haha! so grandparents (and everyone else), get your costumes ready! emerson is going to be something super cute for halloween, but i wont say yet..i will post pics eventually though.

i also should probably update a little on this pregnancy. i feel like i should start a new blog after the new baby is born, but i hate to leave this one behind. i wish i had come up with a more neutral web address since it is obviously emerson-specific. is it unfair to newbaby to just include her on this website?? well, regardless, i will post updates on the pregnancy here and there on this site for now and figure it out later. anyway, all that being said, as i mentioned above, newbaby doesnt have a name yet. we are still in discussions regarding it and are having a hard time agreeing on names. i think our top favorites now are: eli, tessa and amalie. i am not sure which one is my absolute favorite but brads favorite is eli. i have a feeling that eli might be the name to win out, but maybe we will just wait and see what she looks like and go from there. we have had the middle name picked out since we started talking names. well, there are technically 2 middle names we know we are using.....not sure if we will pick one of the 2 or if we will use both and have newbaby have 2 middle names like emerson does. it will depend on which first name we go with i guess, since one of the 2 names doesnt flow well with most names. its a secret though so dont bother trying to get it out of me!! (hey, gotta have some sort of secrets since you all know its another girl and i am sharing first names. i knew i couldnt keep either a secret but i can keep the middle name a secret a lot easier).

on my end, pregnancy is going well. tired as usual and feeling kinda round, but i guess both are to be expected. haha. its hard having enough motivation and energy for emerson. mom, i dont know how you did it....especially since michael was hellbaby. props to you. just in case anyone was wondering, i do plan to have a vbac (vaginal birth after cesarean) this time. well, i hope to anyway. i found a doctor/midwife team that is very supportive and i feel really confident that they will help me achieve my goal. i am also working on seeing if i can get a doula but finances might make it impossible. i am hoping that i can have the natural childbirth that i wanted last time, this time. :) cross your fingers for me!

lastly, emerson updates! she is "talking" up a storm, having conversations with everyone and everything. she doesnt make much sense but does say certain "real" words. in addition to mama and dada, she says cat, kitty, doggie, dante (one of our cats names), tickle tickle tickle (she never says it just once...haha) and some other words i probably am forgetting. she will say words once sometimes and then wont say it again. she is also walking, or at least on the brink of walking. i decided that saying your kid can walk is subjective. she takes many steps in a row, but isnt walking full time. she will prefer to walk over crawl though...she will only crawl if she cant stand up first or after she falls from walking and is still trying to get somewhere. i think within the next few weeks she is going to be walking full time. she also claps for herself and others and is making the funniest face ever when she eats. i will have to have brad get a video of it because it is seriously the most funny and cutest thing ever.

okay...so this is seriously long!! lots to catch up on though. i will try to upload some pics soon, but until then, go watch some videos of her on facebook!!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

at the state fair.. and a video or two

so we went to the state fair on wednesday with our friends. it was a good, but long day! here are some pics from the day and a few videos at the end so you can see how big and grown up emerson is getting. hehe. i miss her being a baby blob!
she actually found a 4 leaf clover! but she ripped it apart before i could grab it and save it!
i get sooo many compliments on this dress. thanks auntie ashley!

at her first african drum circle... she loves to drum!

check it out! i have 2 teefers!
funny face...











Tuesday, September 1, 2009

birthday ideas...

okay...as i mentioned before, some people are asking what to get emerson for her birthday. we are obviously open to any ideas or gifts that you would want to get and even if you dont want to get any, thats fine too. but i did want to make a list of things in case people wanted ideas for her birthday, or even for christmas. some stuff is cheap, and others are probably something that people would pitch in if interested. her birthday is going to be the sunday of columbus day weekend, which i think is oct 11th or something.

anyway, her friend has a kitchen set and i think it would be cool for her to have one too. she liked to play with it and it would be nice for both her and new baby to play with as they get older. i did some research on different ones and wasnt so interested in the cheapie plastic ones since they crack and break and generally dont last as long....so here is the one i found (i love the color and that its a retro kitchen:
http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-53156-Red-Vintage-Kitchen/dp/B001FP3WZO/ref=pd_sbs_t_5

and to go along with the kitchen, some pots and pans:
http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Toys-Super-Cooking-Set/dp/B000F3S0B8/ref=pd_sim_t_2
or
http://www.constplay.com/cgi-bin/constplay_cgi.sh/WService=constplay/constplay.com/family/product.htm?stateInfo=?&dept_id=26&pf_id=CHN-20L&utm_source=shopzilla.com&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=CHN-20L&utm_campaign=WEB+20090827
or
http://www.amazon.com/Junior-Chef-Cookware-11-PC/dp/B0001V3QUE/ref=pd_sbs_t_1

some food would be good too. i dont have any specific one chosen, although i like the wooden food more than plastic food with those cheapie cardboard boxes that last all of 5 seconds. i looked around on amazon but i didnt want to post a link because this is probably something that you could buy in a store, like a toy store or target, and not pay shipping. also, it would be good to see it in person and figure out whether its a choking hazard. since i couldnt see the sizes online i am not going to link to anything...but playfood is good.

this coat for winter...i love that it has built in mittens! she probably would be between 12 and 18 months so i would prolly go with 18 to be safe:
http://www.columbia.com/baby-jackets/kids-baby-jackets,default,sc.html?sz=1&start=1

emerson loves musical instruments, so age appropriate musical instruments are always good...things like maracas, tamborine, etc.

winter clothes in 12-18 month sizes. stuff like pants, sweaters, sweatshirts, long sleeved shirts, etc.

developmentally appropriate toys. toys that take brain power to figure out how they work.

please dont buy elmo or dora or any other "character" type stuff. we are trying to keep media exposure to a minimum. hehe. plus she doesnt care for any of those characters and we kind of want to keep it that way!

so...obviously there are a million other things that would be great for her as well but those are some suggestions if you cant think of anything. we appreciate anything you would choose to buy.

we plan to get her balls to make a ball pit out of her pack and play or her blow up swimming pool. she loves balls and the ballpit at the ymca so i think she will like it. i also might take her to build a bear so she can make her own teddy, although i have no idea how much that costs so i might skip that. hehe.

if you are coming to her bday party....and you are all invited, make sure you are thinking of what your costume is going to be! its a halloween party!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

a peaceful moment...

ahhhhh.....all it at peace. hehe.. i woke emerson up bright and early today (8am..she usually sleeps till 9-930am) and got her all dressed and ready and we jetted out of the house to go meet with a certified car seat technician. did you know you are supposed to get your car seat checked? yeah, well apparently most people dont and up to 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly!! so anyway, i wanted to double check on her carseat and make sure we were all up to par and safe. so off we went to the police station for our 830am appt. turns out i had things pretty much okay...phew. there was one adjustment...instead of using the seatbelt clip to lock the seatbelt, the tech took it off and did some fancy tightening with the seatbelt that i wasnt able to master, so the carseat is now tighter than i could get it. she also mentioned that i should get rid of that mirror to see emerson in the backseat and also the side window shades. i kind of ignored that though. i cant NOT watch her in the mirror. it might be an addiction, and i knew those things arent supposed to be used. i wonder why they are allowed to make and sell them if they arent safe during a crash? i am super obsessed with carseats and carseat safety (so you would think i would take out the mirror...hehe) and i might look up what it takes to get certified myself. not sure if i can or what i would do with that certification but it seems like a good thing to get certified in.

anyway, we got home and i walked emerson over to starbucks for a little java fix....for me, not her! hehe. when e got back i figured it would be cheerios time but emerson decided that she had wnough of being awake this early and wanted to go back to bed. and who am i to stop a tired baby from sleeping so that i can have a hour or so of time to myself??? exactly....so i put her to bed and now have a few moments to breathe and chill...and enjoy my peppermint mocha from starbucks. not only that but since emerson hasnt been up long today, there isnt a mess in the livingroom prompting me to clean it. yay!! (granted there are dishes to wash but i am selectively ignoring them. hehe)

onto other news...i am now 21 weeks preggo. i am starting to get a little belly and its soo weird being pregnant again. i kind of keep forgetting and then the baby moves and reminds me. sometimes i am really excited about the idea of having another baby, since i never wanted emerson to be an only child, but other times i am just really stressed about the whole thing...especially money. luckily i still have most of the stuff for emerson, and there are some things i stupidly got rid of because i wasnt planning to have another so soon, and we had no where to store stuff. so i gave away some clothes, but luckily kept the stuff i really loved. i will probably need to get the stuff i stored down from the attic and see what we need. i know i gave away most of the onesies and the winter sleep sacks, so i will probably need to buy those again. all the other big stuff i can use again, although i hate the bouncer i have for emerson. its my own fault, since i registered for it, but you never really know what is good until you have a baby in it. i hated it and i want to sell it or something and get a papasan one that will actually bounce.

i already bought a double stroller, used off craigslist. i love it and used it with emerson and her buddy fletcher. it steers so nice but i know that it will be a pain to store since when its folded it takes up the whole back part of my car. i wish i could wake up one day and have my honda element back or another suv. i would consider trading my car in if i actually had a job. something tells me that they wont let me buy a car with no job. hehe. plus, thanks to working at whitesboro, my car has like 70,000 miles or something on it...and its a 2008!! i doubt i would get much for trading it in, even though a lot of people like honda fits cuz they are good on gas.

hmmm..what else?? oh, i am buying another dresser for the new baby's clothes to go in. i found it already on craigslist (someday i will be rich and actually be able to buy things NEW...and things that MATCH. hehe). its a baby armoire that has 3 drawers, 2 shelves and a part to hang clothes. so it will be nice to have....even though its white and totally doesnt match anything in the room (and you cant paint it cuz its got like that plastic veneer or whatever on it). i figure if i get stuff gradually then it wont seem as overwhelming of an expense.

anyway, this post is waayyy long. hope someone is still reading! hehe. in the coming weeks i am planning emersons bday party...to be held in ny (sorry massachusetts people! but if you want to come to ny, you are invited! let me know if you want to come and i will send you an invite, but otherwise, i am going to assume that ma people wont come unless they are family...). it is going to be a costume halloween party and i am keeping emersons costume a secret!! she is going to look adorable though and it has been really hard to not make her be yoda this year. while that would be awesomely hilarious, i figure i have to at least vary the ridiculous (lobster) with something a little more "normal"...although it is different and super cute!

also, people have been asking me what they should buy emerson for her birthday. i dont know how kosher it is to do this, but since people are asking, i am eventually going to make a post of bday gift suggestions for her. so if you are interested, that will be coming in the next few weeks, once i figure some more things out. i know a few things..and i know what i want to get her, but i want to make sure of some other things before i go suggesting it as a gift for those who need suggestions. (this by no means is implying that people buy her gifts!! this is just for those who plan to buy something anyway and are at a loss for what to get her)...

well, i probably should go tend to those dishes or maybe some laundry! hope you enjoyed my majorly long post!!

Friday, August 21, 2009

blogging protest!!

blogging protest!!

i'm not blogging anymore until i get some comments people! i need encouragement that people are reading this and i'm not wasting my time.....

but i will give you an update on emerson. she had her 9 month dr appt last week...just a few days shy of 10 months. she is now 28 inches tall (50th%), 18lbs 3oz (23rd%) and has a big ol noggin that put her in the 89th%! she is doing well and is hitting appropriate milestones. we are waiting for her to say more words and walk and stand on her own soon. she is eating us out of house and home...the girl likes to eat! you wouldnt know it by her weight but she will eat just about anything. yesterday she feasted on some hummus and pita bread with her mommy :) we both enjoyed it.

anyway, there is your update. i had some good posts recently and havent heard from anyone so comment away!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

beach house and cat

it has been hot. like H.O.T, hot lately. actually, it hasnt been too bad outside but if you have been in my house lately, its like an oven....which is funny because we cant actually USE our oven. a little ironic. anyway, as most of you know, our central ac had to be disconnected because it was being crazy and stealing power from the rest of the house. well, it has been a mild summer, so i havent bothered to waste money to fix it. the result? it eventually got hot and we are dying. literally. yesterday i spent almost an hour laying on the floor with a fan pointed towards me and emerson crawling all over me. i didnt move for an hour. it was too hot. then i got a grand idea to walk to starbucks cuz it 1. has air conditioning and 2. has tasty frappucinos. it was a great idea....but i didnt want to leave.

anyway, i decided to beat the heat and visit my friend robin at her beach house on lake ontario. it was a multi-purposed trip. i got to get out of my hot house, go to the beach, let emerson play in the water and sand, see robin and one of the best things was i got to see her teeny baby ryan again! he is a super cutie and emerson loved his feet. hehe. anyway, the day was great, minus emerson being a crabby butt because she was on napping strike today (though once i got into the car to come back home, she passed out before we even left robin's driveway!)

here are pics from the day:

yo, what up moms?
one second before she put her sandy hand in her mouth
playing with her sand shovel
taking the sand out of her bucket
trying to cuddle with oscar
so..in addition to going to the beach today, when we got home tonight, emerson looked right at ophelia and said "cat!". i was unsure of what i heard so i said, "emerson, say cat!" and she did. i kept saying it and went to show brad, and told her to say it again and she did. sometimes she pronounces it a little better than others but she definitely is saying cat. and she looks for dante or ophelia when she is saying it. it isnt her first word but is her first noun that she is appropriately associating with the object. she says mama and dada but doesnt do it correctly to the right person and sometimes still just babbles the sounds. she has also said "stop" a few times and we are pretty sure she says "sh*t". hmm...not sure where she learned that. i wondered if she was saying that but doubted it, then a friend asked if thats what she said...so if other people are noticing it, i think she is saying it. hehe.
anyway, yay for beaches, babies and cats!

Friday, August 7, 2009

video of you know who!

rough housing with emerson. she loves it!

houston, we have teeth!

well, to be honest, there is only one teeny tip that poked through but there is more to come! i know the other bottom one will break through soon as well and they will get taller. the only way you can tell is to feel inside her mouth. as soon as you can see it i will take pics...

now, in addition to that, i believe we have an official first word. "stop" hehe. funny first word but she has said it a few times....when brad was tickling her and when i have been changing her. she does sometimes sound like she says hi or hey, and babbles mama and dada, among other things but hasnt differentiated between us. so i am officially calling "stop" her first word. hehe

now...regarding posting the pic of her in the crib and a new video. i havent uploaded the pic yet and i cant get the video to post. so i will keep working on that and post it as soon as i can...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

transition from hammock to crib...

well, as i type, emerson is sleeping for the first time in her crib! woot woot! it was more out of necessity because i am washing her hammock and i knew it was nappy time, so i put her in the crib and figured she would scream. to my surprise, she didnt! i had a few stuffed toys in there so she was playing with them for a few and after about 5-10 minutes i went in adn she was holding onto a teddy bear, sleeping on it. it was so cute! i even have a picture of it...i will upload it soon and post it. i also have a funny video from yesterday that i need to upload...

so...now that i know it is possible to get to sleep in the crib, i am slowly going to transition her over. i dont want her in there until bradley leaves but i might put her in for some naps and see how things go. that way she gets used to the idea and we can eventually pack away the hammock. my goal had been to keep her in the hammock for 9 months..and she is 9 months old. if she has trouble with the transition then i guess i will take more time for the transition but i think its about time. i just hope she sleeps as well in the crib as she does in the hammock.

well...she just woke up screaming. totally different from waking up in the hammock and bouncing herself. i think she was freaked cuz she has never slept anywhere but her hammock or in bed with me. all in all it was an okay nap...about 45 minutes....kinda shorter than normal but thats to be expected.

in other news, for those who didnt know, emerson is going to be a big sister in january. thats right....we are expecting another little munchkin. weird. heh. we find out the sex next week and maybe i will update you all. hehe...

Monday, July 20, 2009

giveaways and i'm going away

first, my friend kim has a pretty cool blog. there is a link to it on the side of my site, but i also wanted to tell you about it. she does all sorts of stuff on it (not just writing about her kid, which is what i do). she does reviews of products and has all sorts of free give aways. she tests out different cloth diapers and different "green" products. this week she is doing tons of give aways. you should go check out her site at www.dirtydiaperlaundry.com and enter yourself in one of her giveaways! i know i am!! who doesn't love free stuff and winning things?!?!

also, we are headed back to gloucester tomorrow. we are picking up brads mom at logan airport and spending a few days in gloucester with her, showing her all the sites and taking her on a boat tour and other neat things. she has never been to the north east before, so it will be cool to show her around. also, i think she will get along well with my parents, though the accent difference will be interesting! it will also be her first time getting to meet emerson and bradley. she is going to be beside herself...especially with emerson! this is her only grand daughter....out of 9 (soon to be 10!) grandkids! so...although i would love to get together with other massachusetts peeps, this vacation is going to be pretty much strictly family. weird. hehe.

it also should be interested driving back to ny for 6-7 hours with me, brad, brads mom, bradley and emerson in my tiny honda fit....along with all of our stuff and her luggage. i should take pictures of us in the car...because i am sure its going to look like a clown car!

anyway, go check out kim's site for the giveaways...and also check out some cute pics of her son fletcher. there are even pics of emerson and fletcher on her site. they are gonna get married someday! hehe...

Friday, July 10, 2009

catching up..

its been a while. i know. well, here is the skinny on what has been going on lately. i haven't actually read my own blog in a while so if i repeat myself, deal with it. hehe. okay, to update on the height issue with emerson...she grew 1.5 inches, so i guess we are all good. she was just holding out on us!

we just got back from a weeklong visit in gloucester. the next post has lots of pics. while i was home, i let emerson break the news that brad and i are expecting again. emerson had a cute shirt she was wearing when they came home...it said on the front "guess what a little birdie told me" and on the back it said "i'm going to be a big sister!" it took my family a long time to catch on, and ashley finally had to help tip them off. it was pretty funny.

but anyway, the visit went well. better than expected. obviously there was some apprehension with how the family would deal with my news, and also with having a 6 year old constantly around. although they could have been a little quicker to pick up on my news, they dealt really well with brads son, which was great. also, for most of the trip, bradley had really good behavior.

of course, that all went out the window today once we were home. haha. today we dealt with him wanting to watch tv all day (it was beautiful outside!) and asking numerous times if he can play video games. we also dealt with tantrums at target and the grocery store (most 6 year olds dont like running errands, but hey..they have to deal with it or we will never have food or household supplies!) we did go to the park today. it was hilarious. bradley was afraid to climb any of the climbing parts of the playground. there was a pirate ship that he had fun in, and he went down the slide a few times. i convinced him to come swing with me and emerson and it turns out he doesnt know how to swing. i tried teaching him but he didnt quite get that you had to lean your body back to go up. he would just look up to the sky. he was too afraid to lean back. brad came over and gave him a good push....which resulted in bradley crying and screaming because i guess he is too afraid to actually swing. its funny because it is totally the opposite of how brad and i were as kids. we are trying so hard to let him have fun and try to expose him to new things, but are shocked time and time again by the results. i hope that some of it soaks in and he can appreciate that we arent just trying to be "mean" by not letting him play video games and watch tv all day. i hope that he will see that we were trying to help him by making him be more active and also hopefully help him to fit in better with other kids once he goes home so they dont make fun of him as much. my mother had a good idea to write in a book..i think that brad is going to make a scrapbook of pictures and short stories of this summer so bradley can take it home with him. that way he can remember what he did this summer and also remember fun times with his dad and sister.

anyway, on to emerson. she is doing the army crawl and is probably days from crawling. i need a baby proofing fairy to come to my house. i also need a magical fairy to make me a basement to put all the extra crap in my house. she is starting to pull up on things and is super funny. she blows kisses but doesnt get the right motion, so she sucks in her lip instead. it makes the same noise but looks hilarious.

anyway, this post and the following picture post has taken me about 2 hours. i am done. heh. happy robin?? haha

photo craziness...

okay...here are lots of pics and some descriptions to go with them!
bradley and emerson's first train ride...into boston!
emerson loves to hold onto poles. notice a theme in the pics. hehe.
excited on the pole
here is a bubble pole at the childrens museum..and emerson standing on her own!

making her "mad" face...hahaha
i think brad liked the bubble room as much as bradley!
bradley under the turtle tank
butterflies landing on brad
emerson's first subway (T) ride. she knew exactly what to do so she wouldnt fall!
auntie kia (chocolate auntie) with baby camden and us!
brad and emerson looking out into the ocean in gloucester..
letting emerson get her feet wet.
bradley and emerson getting to see boats go through the bridge for the first time.
emerson riding a squirrel at stage fort park
emerson and daddy on the squirrel
emerson loved swinging!
emerson likes sean's box better! at sean's 1st birthday party!
emerson sitting in the sand at stage fort
me and emerson on the 4th of july! she is a party animal!
emerson and cousin hayley in the pool
playing in her baby pool on the 4th of july

Monday, June 22, 2009

busy busy bee

i know i have been neglecting the blog and many have mentioned the lack of posts lately. i have had a hard time finding time to blog. anyway, school is almost done and with that comes.....SUMMER! woot woot! i am excited to get to spend the summer with emerson and also do fun things with bradley and brad as well. its gonna be a busy last few days, and bittersweet as well, since i wont be returning to teach at the same school for next year. i have applied at so many schools but havent heard anything. i could be living in ny or maybe massachusetts, rhode island or even texas! we will see! of course, i might end up sitting on my tushie collecting unemployment if i cant find a job, but we will make it work.

anyway, to those of you have havent seen emerson lately, you are missing out big time! she is sooo funny! she still screams for fun and blows rasberries at you, but she makes her "mad" face all the time. i dont know if she is actually mad or not. she is picking up little puff baby food and getting it into her mouth.

she pulled herself up to standing on 6/16 when i was giving her a bath. she just pulled right up on the edge of the tub and grabbed a shampoo bottle and threw it on the ground. and so the destruction begins! i need to hire someone to come to my house and get rid of the junk and organize things.... MOM??? seriously, if you havent met my mom, she is possibly the most organized, neat, clean-obsessed person in the world. i, however, did not inherit that trait. that becomes obvious the moment you walk into my house. hello clutter city! it probably doesnt help that my house is only a measly 864 square feet. yeah....its tiny. without a basement. not sure how to even begin to de-clutter and organize this place to make it crawl-safe! hehe.

anyway, moving on.....to bed. well, i might sneak a few bites of my ben and jerry's first, but then off to bed. 3 more days of school left!! (and i think i am bringing emerson on wednesday!)

Saturday, June 13, 2009

here ya go!

the past few weeks have been so crazy so i havent been able to find the time to post. and now probably isnt the best time since i am tired and its late and my brain is fried. but if nothing else, you get some new pics of the cutest baby in the world. hehe. she is doing well and has recently decided that 3 steps away from her is too far and she will cry. extreme seperation anxiety i guess. emerson is definitely extreme. hehe. she also says dada, nana, mama (though not often) and baba, which she just added yesterday. tonight she was talking to a horton the who stuffed animal (thanks robin!) and having a whole conversation and was actually mixing up the different sounds...it sounded like she was having a gibberish conversation and she sounded mad and was yelling at horton. i'm not sure what horton did wrong but if he understood her, i'm sure he will never do it again. she just discovered today that she likes him. i think because he has an elephant trunk, which fits perfectly in emersons mouth to chomp on. also he has a fuzzy tail, which i think makes emerson think of the cats tails, which she sooooo loves to grab. i think by the time she learns not to rip out dante and ophelias fur, the cats wont have any left. also, horton has fuzzy eyebrows, which emerson likes to touch and occasionally licks (weird kid!)

anyway, here are some pics...first pic is of emerson on the new couches! yay! thanks mom and dad! i get to try out the sleeper part tomorrow night because brads son is coming tomorrow. i'll let you guys know how comfy it is!

see how happy she is that she has new couches??
going out for a walk in a cute outfit that aunt ashley bought her. the hat almost doesnt fit cuz emerson has such a big head!
emerson and daddy reading together...
her first biter biscuit. and possibly her last. it was MESSY!
okay...now i am going to bed! one of these days i am going to start posting more (probably when school is out for the summer!)

Saturday, May 30, 2009

randomness and the infamous nerd bangs

nerd bangs after cutting them! i should have left them alone!

the bangs the day before...looking scraggely
looking cute in her bathing suit.
eating prunes
me with a sleepy emerson
i was told that i needed to update the blog...and so, here i am! lets see...what has gone on lately? well, in the biggest news of all, (not really emerson related), brad's long lost 6 year old son is coming to live with us for the summer. a little crazy and boy is life gonna be different (i might have to actually cook and stuff!) but i am really happy that brad is getting the opportunity to see his son again and bond with him.

emerson is doing well. she is getting better at sitting and not tipping over. she rolls everywhere and can change directions to get what she wants but has no desire to get up on all fours and make an attempt at crawlin....which is fine with me for now anyway. she says da-da and na-na all the time. so far no ma-ma :(
we got her this alligator xylophone the other day at target and its her new favorite toy. apparently we need to get more interactive toys instead of the boring handheld toys. i want to get her something so she can stand up holding onto something. my house is starting to become over run with toys! hehe











Saturday, May 16, 2009

video time

first she had her 6 month dr appt the other day. she is almost 7 months though. here are some stats:

weight: 16.6lbs (43rd percentile)

length: 25 inches...same as at her 4 month appt. (12th percentile)

head 17.3 (79th percentile)

thats right! she is a bobble head! hehe its amazing she can sit up and balance that noggin!

anyway, here are some cute videos from the past week.

emerson has a new face that she makes...she has anger issue..hehe.

this is emerson and i at her 2nd swim class. shes a natural! ps...pay no attention to my cleavage.

this is a video of emerson sort of enjoying the swings/holding on for dear life. hehe

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

if the house is messy, its emersons fault!

yesterday the house needed vacuuming....so what did i do? i vacuumed! and what did emerson do? go ahead and guess.

she screamed. like, "i'm about to get murdered by this giant machine" scream. up until now, she has been neutral to the vacuum cleaner, never really caring about it one way or another. however, she decided that she is now DEATHLY afraid of it, making housework that much more difficult. i mean, i am not really a domestic kind of person, so when i get the motivation to do stuff around the house, no one should stop me. so this is a bad thing. knowing that she is going to freak out is definitely a big deterrent to doing vacuuming.

so anyway, if you come to my house from here on in and my carpet is covered with a few inches of cat fur and ants trapped in the cat fur, dont blame it on me or think i am gross. its all emersons fault and i am just trying to be a good mom. :)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

my first mothers day

i know you all want pictures, but you arent getting any. not in this post anyway. i have been working on building a digital portfolio presentation and so i have been bringing my camera to school to take pictures of my students work...and forgot it there. so no pics in prolly the last week. bleh...

anyway, on to mothers day...which is almost over and i am totally going to bed as soon as i am done posting this. emerson didnt care that it was mothers day. dont get me wrong...she did get me a present. she got me a flash drive, so i can put all my stuff on the 4 that i have, onto one drive. she is very practical. and then brad got me peach rings, which i indulge in on rare occasion and love. but aside from the gift, emerson was a very miserable baby today. that kid better be teething or something to act the way she did today.

we went to ithaca today to get a great cloth diaper deal and to shop around. she cried part of the way down...and then passed out the rest of the ride. and then she was okay while there. she fussed and cried while we were trying to eat but not too too bad. then she screamed almost the entire way home. like, ear shattering, i'm being murdered, kind of crying. she was changed and fed...she was just pissed that she was stuck in the car. not fun. then we got home and she screamed more. she would not let me put her down to play, and there were a million things i needed to get done around the house. ughh...crazy baby. she even screamed forever after i put her into bed tonight, which she rarely does.

hopefully she will be better behaved tomorrow. brad was going nuts as well today and i have a dentist appt tomorrow, so i hope she is good during the day. and then we are having dinner at our friends house so hopefully she is good there.

anyway, all in all, it wasnt a bad first mothers day, but i think emerson could have been a little more chill and the day would have gone a lot nicer! hehe

okay...bedtime for me...

Friday, May 1, 2009

video killed the radio star

Here are a few cute videos in the past few days. apparently emerson has decided to say dada...although she has said mama before but neither of them really mean anything to her yet..except that she really likes to say dada.

enjoy!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

beach baby and other beautiful days...

today was hot. and sunny...and overall a beautiful day. so we took emerson to the beach. now, i was raised on a "island"...i guess it really is an island but since it's connected by 2 bridges, it doesn't quite seem like one. anyway, point being, there are obviously beaches there. i grew up going to the beach, as my mother might have been the original "beach bum". so i felt like it was important to start emerson's life out right and take her to the beach.

now those of you who know central ny, know that there is no ocean...in fact, i would consider the definition of "beach" to be interpreted very loosely. i took her to green lakes state park today, where there is a large section of dirt connected to the beautiful lake. the water at green lakes looks like it's in the carribean. the sand at the "beach" couldn't be anything further. trust me...it's dirt. anyway, true new yorkers really think this is a beach, and as a result, it was packed today with lots of scantily clad girls and guys showing off their bodies.......oh yeah, and us. heh.

anyway, we brought lunch and a sheet to sit on and ate right next to the water. emerson wasn't really caring about the sand or being on the sheet, so she got to sit in her carseat under the shade and play with her toys... for all she cared, we could have been sitting at home.

once we were done eating, i decided to liven things up a bit and take emerson into the water. you'll see the pic below...i still havent really mastered getting these pictures to post in any good order, so the pictures are posted most recent first and oldest last. after playing in the water, we decided it was time for some shade, so we went walking around green lakes. brad carried emerson in the backpack carrier, which she loves. she even fell asleep in it...leaving me with some time to sit on the edge of a ledge and dip my feet in the water. it was great.

we spent a few hours there, then came home to feed her, chill out (aka do dishes so that ants dont overtake the house) and head back out to return the baby swing to my friend who let us borrow it, and then visit her at work. after that, we did some quick shopping at wegmans (oh wegmans, how do i love thee...let me count the ways....) and headed home right in time to get her to bed.

phew...what a full day! and tomorrow is supposed to be nice too! this is turning out to be a great weekend. friday we had gone to onondaga lake park and walked around for 3 hours. that was awesome too! if we move away for a job, there are definitely things i am going to miss about this place!

anyway, pics...
emerson asleep in the backpack
making silly faces

emerson and daddy


happy to be going for a walk
piggies in the water
more piggy time in the water
emerson's first day at the beach!

beach baby


getting some experience with the sippy cup
emerson's first up close experience with seeing waves. she loved watching them!
me and emerson at onondaga lake park on the dock
brad and emerson outside the bathroom at onondaga lake park waiting for me!
emerson before heading out to onondaga lake park...just had a shower with her dad and was lookin cute!


before the shower...where she was discovering her feet...and i was discovering that her feet were smelly....hence the shower!

being cute with the blanky..
the end!