Two Firsts

Two weeks ago we went hiking at Graves Mill in Madison Co. Nate's dad went with us and we took Emily along for her first hike. She did really well and was really only fussy when she became hungry. She loves being outside and looking around at all of the bright colors. Once we turned around and started back to the car, Emily fell asleep. She slept soundly on my back until right before we got back to the car. It ended up being a really nice day.

Her other first was trying a little bit of rice cereal the other day. She doesn't know what to do with the spoon. It's pretty funny to watch. She tries to suck on it like a bottle and of course it doesn't work. I know she will eventually figure it out though. She isn't eating much yet. In fact I don't know that any of it is actually going down her throat :) but that is ok. It's just another activity to do in between feeding times.

On a completely separate note, I have to leave Emily tomorrow! I am already missing her and I have not even left yet. I know she will be in good hands with her dad, but he has never spent so much time alone with her. They will probably get a little frustrated with each other but it will give him a little dose of what it is like to be home with her all of the time. I am sure he will be as ready for me to come home on Sunday and I will be to get home.

I guess, technically, the title to this post should be 3 firsts, because this will be the first time that I will not be with Emily overnight. I am freaking out, but I know it will all be ok. :D

I Can't Believe She is 4 Months Old!

Time just goes by so quickly. She has changed so much in such a short time. She is sucking her thumb now (which she has been trying to do four a couple of months). She is trying to crawl, but hasn't quite figured out all of the logistics of that yet. She is really recognizing and responding to Nate and I. She has discovered her feet and is always pulling on them and trying to put them in her mouth. Oh, and she finally rolled over for me at the end of last week! She finally let me see her do it!!
Yesterday, we went to our Bradly Class Reunion. All of the families were there and it was wonderful to see everyone. We got there around 1 pm and stayed until 5. I didn't think we had been there so long. It was just wonderful to talk to parents, and moms in particular, who are currently going through many of the same things I am going through.

All of the babies were so cute together. Emily is the 2nd oldest (the oldest was born on the same day as Emily, just a few hours before) of the group. The babies range from 4 months to 2 months. Even though she is older than most, she was not the biggest. There were a few babies that were already wearing 6 month clothes!

We had a great time though and I am looking forward to getting to meet up with them again.

Emily's Semi-Laugh

Sorry this video is a little shaky. I was blowing on her belly trying to get her to laugh at the park yesterday and it was working. So I tried to get it on video. She never does anything quite as well when you try to capture it, because she gets distracted by the camera I guess. Anyway, trying to get her to laugh and hold a camera still at the same time doesn't really work.


Um, so this video does have sound. I am not sure what happened to it. After I originally posted the video I played it back just to double check it and there was no sound. For some reason, I can't get it to upload the sound with the video. Sorry about that, but I hope you enjoy the video anyway!

Four Month Appointment!

We went to the pediatricians for Emily's 4 month check-up this morning. Dr. Tull said that everything looked really good with her and that we were doing a wonderful job. She looked happy and healthy!

She got all of her measurements done and her height is 23 and 3/4 inches (30th percentile). Her weight is 13 lbs. 1 oz. (45th percentile). And her head measured 16 and 1/4 inches (50th percentile). Her weight gain was very good this month which is good to off set the bad weight gain she had last month.

She is still on the monitor, for those of you that I know are wondering about this.

We don't go back again until the end of October. I will be very anxious to know her new measurement by then.

We went to the park after her appointment was over to take advantage of the cooler weather today. Well, the not blazing so hot that I sweat just from opening my front door weather. It was overcast and breezy so it made for a pleasant enough day. We strolled around Crump Park and then found a nice spot under a tree to rest and snack and read. We spend about two hours there today and it was wonderful just to be spending some time outside!

(This picture was taken at the park today. She was smiling right when I hit the button on my phone to take the picture and by the time it snapped this is the face I got. Still cute though.)

So Many Changes

I don't think I have mentioned that Emily actually rolled over when we were at the beach a few weeks ago. I didn't get to see it, but my mom and Nate did. More than once!

I was in another room from the rest of them and they had her on her tummy. She apparently rolled over 5 different times. By the time I got to the room she wouldn't do it anymore. Nate has seen her do it since then, but this little milestone seems to still elude me. It's like she just doesn't want me to see her do it.

She has also laughed out loud. She has been smiling and doing something that is supposed to be a laugh (but really isn't) and then out of the blue early last week she just up and laughed. I mean a big, loud, ha ha funny laugh. All we were doing was eating dinner. She was watching us and she started laughing. Neither of us were looking at her and we weren't sure she had done it. We kinda giggled a bit because she was still smiling and she laughed again. Which in turn made us laugh, which made her laugh more, and so on. This laughing episode lasted for a few minutes. She hasn't done it again since then, but she has come really close on a couple of different occasions. I can't wait til she does it again!

I also love my little hugs. They aren't really hugs, but I like pretending that they are. When I pick her up, sometimes one arm ends up on one side of my neck and one arm ends up on the other. Right now she is in a stages where anything that ends up between her hands or arms ends up being pulled to her chest or mouth. So this is what she does to my neck. I love it though! It always makes me smile.

Her 4 month doctors appointment is tomorrow so I will have new information to share!

Visiting with Bridget!!

Last week was my long overdue reunion with my very good friend from college, Bridget. I was so happy to see her again and to meet her son, Michael, as well as have her meet Emily. It was a very happy time for me. Of course, having the kiddos around all of the time made it stressful as well.

On Tuesday morning Chloe, Bridget, and I meet up at Maymont so that Emma (Chloe's daughter) could see the animals at the petting zoo and to show Bridget around. We went in the morning to try to avoid some of the heat, but it was still hot!! We basically made it through the petting zoo part and then found a nice shade tree to park it under. We stayed there until we left around noon (when Emily started crying very loudly because she was tired) so unfortunately B did not see much of the park. It was still a good time though.

On Wednesday, we meet up again at Short Pump Town Center for lunch and a stroll. This time accompanied by Melissa, who came up to see all of the little ones! It was another hot day, but at least we were eating inside. After lunch we strolled around and let the little ones play in the fountain.

I wish she could have been here longer, but am already looking forward to our next visit and I am so happy that she got to meet Emily!!

Emily's First Beach Vacation

We went to Cape Charles for a few days at the end of July and had a very relaxing time. Well most of it was relaxing, but that is another story. Anyway, Emily did really well at the beach. We put her feet in the sand and she seemed memorized by the feel of it. We sat with her in the water and she kicked at it and seemed very content. It was perfect because the beach is what I call a "little beach." I call it this because there really aren't waves being that the beach is on the bay side of the Eastern Shore. Mom was with us and Matt and Lauren came up for a day. We strolled around town a bit and now Mom is set on finding a place of her own in the town. She is in love with it as a vacation spot. She is determined that Emily is going to be a beach girl like we are, and that is ok by me!