Emily and Eli

Emily spent all day with a little boy named Eli. They were pretty cute together as they were both stealing each others toys, always wanting what they other had. Pretty typical. I watched the two of them in the morning and Eli's dad watched them in the afternoon. (Thanks Jonathan!!) Emily liked having a playmate around, it kept her busy and moving the whole time she was awake. She absolutely fell in love with Jonathan though! She thought he was they best thing ever and was a little upset when he and Eli had to leave to go home. I am glad she had a good day and am looking forward to our next baby swap day!!

Labor Day

Since Nate had to work today, Emily and I celebrated Labor Day by going to the park. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy of our outing. For those of you that don't believe my precious little girl is a dirt-loving tomboy, I have have attached a picture to prove it. :)

I hope everyone has a fun Labor Day!!

Taste of the Mountains

We recently visited Madison and Nate parents and were there during the annual Taste of the Mountains event. I always like going because there is so much to look at, so many vendors. This year the Kemper Mansion was also open. As I had never been in it before and love anything with a history to it, we went inside and looked around. (For those not from Madison, it's an old historic home in the Town of Madison that was once home to a governor among other notables.) We also went into the Feed Store Antiques shop since I always wondered what the inside looked like. It happens to look like something the guys from American Pickers would drool over and I hear what's in the store in only a small portion of the total. Stuff is literally piled everywhere and not everything is actually for sale. Emily seemed to enjoy all that she saw.

Some of Nate's family also came into town so we all got to catch up and they got to meet Emily.

Emily was really good, as always, except for her sleeping habits. Normally when we go out of town she sleeps in the room with us, but I think we are going to have to change that in the future. She would sleep great until we decided to go to bed and then she would cry about every 20 minutes. We ended up sleeping in the living room for part of the night and as soon as we left the room she stopped waking up and crying. Don't know what that was about, but I haven't felt that tired since she was a newborn.

Other than that it was a fun few days!

Cape Charles '11

(Emily chillin at the beach)

We recently took a vacation to Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore with my mother, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. Despite the fact that we felt the earthquake and the vacation was cut short by Irene, we had a really good time and got some much needed relaxation in.

(Uncle Matt and Emily relaxing with a book)

We went to a local winery one afternoon and decided we liked it enough to camp out for a while with glasses of wine and a cheese & cracker tray.

(Uncle Matt, Jude, and Emily at the winery)

We went to the beach everyday where my little tomboy dug in the sand and chased the the seagulls yelling "bird, bird!" The beach there is perfect for her because it is on the Chesapeake Bay side so the waves are itty bitty. Emily thought they were fun. She also got onto a raft for the first time and loved it right away! I didn't think she would stay on it, but she didn't want to get off of it!

(Emily digging in the sand)

We went out to eat one night and had a seafood extravaganza on another night. We strolled down their main street and went into shops. We went and got ice cream from their drug store.

(Nana, Jude, and Emily just before our seafood feast)

It was a great vacation and I can't wait until we go again next year!!

(Emily and I playing in the water)

July Happenings

The pictures in the post are all from the 4th of July as they are currently the only pictures I have transferred to my computer from this month at this point. We had a great time at my mom's house. We took Emily to the little Children's Parade they held in Olde Town Portsmouth. The children got to decorate their bikes or stroller in Emily's case. They could get patriotic tattoos, which Emily did.
It rained in the afternoon so our cookout, became an indoor event, but it was still nice. We almost missed the fireworks, but made it just in time. (They decided to set them off early since more rain was headed our way.) Emily was fascinated by them and the bright colors. They sound didn't seem to bother her, but it did get her attention.
More recently, we took Emily to Madison to see their annual Fireman's Parade. She actually sat still for it. Now, she knew how to wave before this parade, but didn't do it very often. She watched so many people wave that she actually started waving back. Now she waves every time she sees a car go by! Oh, and her Grandpa taught her how to say truck :)

So far, it's been a great month!

Big Girl Seat

We recently got Emily her "big girl" car seat. I don't think she likes it quite as much as her infant seat, but she was getting ready to outgrow that one. We went with a Safety First seat because of their side impact coverage. It was a little bit of a pain to get into the car rear facing, but I think we have it figured out now.
She went for her first ride in it about 3 days ago. I thought she would like the switch a lot because she can see out of the windows a little better now, but, while she does enjoy that, I think it is the sitting upright a little more than she is used to that seems to get on her nerves. Oh well, she will get used to it I guess.

Crash Test Videos

Here are some videos of crash tests...










It is amazing the difference between a forward facing seat and a rear facing one.