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.

Car Seat Safety: Part Two

So the article from yesterday from CPSafety is a little long. I split it into two and here is the rest of the article. This section has the common reasons why parents turn their children around before they should and the reasons why they should remain rear-facing.

Enjoy...

Won't my child be uncomfortable? Where do his legs go?

Many parents have the misconception that children are uncomfortable or at risk for leg injury by having their legs up on the vehicle seat or bent when kept rear-facing. These concepts are completely incorrect. First, children are more flexible than adults so what we perceive as uncomfortable is not for children. Think about how your child sits in everyday play. Do they sit with their legs straight out in front of them? When they sit on the couch, do they purposely sit so their legs dangle out over the edge? No. In real, everyday life, toddlers and preschoolers CHOSE to sit with their legs folded up - that IS comfort to them.

Second, there is not a single documented case of children's legs, hips, etc. breaking or being injured in a crash due to longer rear-facing. There are plenty of cases of head and neck injury in forward-facing children that could have been prevented if the child had remained rear-facing. However, even if a leg or hip were broken or injured, it can be fixed. A damaged spinal cord (from forward-facing too soon) cannot be repaired and subjects the child to lifelong disability or death.

What if I am hit from behind? Won't my child be safer facing forward?

Frontal and side impacts are the most common type of crashes. They account for 96% of all crashes. They are also the most deadly type of crashes (especially side impacts) and rear-facing children have MUCH more protection in both types of crashes than forward-facing. In the 4% of rear impact crashes that a rear-facing child would be in, they have at least the same amount of protection that a FF child would have in a frontal impact, with the added benefit of less crash energy being transferred to them, and the fact that the rear impact is usually not as severe.

The forces in a rear impact crash are much different from the forces in a frontal impact crash. In a frontal impact, the forces are much greater because the vehicles are usually traveling in opposite directions. Experts suggest that a frontal crash is the same as hitting a concrete barrier � the vehicle and all occupants come to a dead stop within less than 1 second.

When you are struck in a rear impact, the vehicles involved are traveling in the same direction, and the vehicle that is hit in the back has room to move forward. The crash force on the occupants is much less than in a frontal impact. The movement of the impacted vehicle, in addition to the crush zone, absorbs a lot of the crash energy, so it is not transferred to the child. Additionally, the majority of rear impacts are at low speeds.

In short, if your child is rear-facing, he has optimal protection in the types of crashes you are most likely to be in. If he is forward-facing, he may have optimal protection in a rear-end crash, but statistically, that is the least likely to happen and he is 60% more likely to be injured or killed in the types of crashes (frontal, side impact) you are most likely to be in.

You can learn more about the physics of rear-facing at http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

Here is a link to the original article from CPSafety.com.

Car Seat Safety

I know I usually post just about Emily, but this has to do with her. We have been looking for a new car seat for Emily and we have had a lot of people tell when they turned their child around to face front, why they did it, and so forth. A lot of the excuses that people used were similar. We happened to stumble across this article from CPSafety when we were researching and felt I should share it. It is a bit long but a great article so please take the time to read it, especially if you have young children.

Here ya go...

Rear-facing - Unmatched Safety

Rear-facing is the safest position the child can ride in. It is strongly recommended that all children stay rear-facing beyond the minimum requirements of 1 year and 20 lbs. Children should not be turned forward-facing until they reach the maximum rear-facing limits of a convertible seat (that allows rear-facing to at least 30 lbs). These limits are either the maximum rear-facing weight limit or when the top of their head is within one inch of the top of the seat shell, whichever comes first. While most parents are aware that they must keep their children rear-facing "until they are AT LEAST 1 year old AND 20 lbs", very few are told that there are significant safety benefits when a child remains rear-facing as long as the seat allows. For most children, rear-facing can and should continue well into the second year of life.

Aaron, still happily rear-facing at 3 years old (36 months)

Why should my child rear-face past 1 year and 20 lbs?

Every milestone in a child's life is exciting! First steps, first word, first day of school. Even car seat milestones seem exciting. The truth is, they should be looked at with a certain sense of dread, not longing. Every step in car seat "advancement" is actually a step down in your child's protection.

Rear-facing is much, much safer than forward-facing. Child safety seats: Rear-face until at least one year discusses the reasons why children should remain rear-facing for a FULL year and 20 lbs. In it, Kathleen Weber states, "In the research and accident review that I did a few years ago, the data seemed to break at about 12 months between severe consequences and more moderate consequences..." This does not mean that there are NO consequences. The consequences may no longer be death from a completely severed spinal cord, but simply life-long injury, including complete paralysis. Research studies suggest that until children are at least four, they are incapable of withstanding crash forces as well as adults - and should remain rear-facing.

In a crash, life-threatening or fatal injuries are generally limited to the head and neck, assuming a child is in a harnessed seat.

When a child is in a forward-facing seat, there is tremendous stress put on the child's neck, which must hold the large head back. The mass of the head of a small child is about 25% of the body mass whereas the mass of the adult head is only 6%! A small child's neck sustains massive amounts of force in a crash. The body is held back by the straps while the head is thrown forward - stressing, stretching or even breaking the spinal cord. The child's head is at greater risk in a forward-facing seat as well. In a crash, the head is thrown outside the confines of the seat and can make dangerous contact with other occupants, vehicle structures, and even intruding objects, like trees or other vehicles.

Rear-facing seats do a phenomenal job of protecting children because there is little or no force applied to the head, neck and spine. When a child is in a rear-facing seat, the head, neck and spine are all kept fully aligned and the child is allowed to "ride down" the crash while the back of the child restraint absorbs the bulk of the crash force. The head is contained within the restraint, and the child is much less likely to come into contact with anything that might cause head injury.

Notice the difference in stress on the child's body in the two crash test photos below.

Courtesy of University of Michigan Child Passenger Protection

Side by side comparison

I will post the rest of the article tomorrow, but here is a link to the original article on CPSafety.com.

Smith Mountain Lake

My youngest cousin graduated from high school this year. He lives in Salem so we decided to make a vacation out of the trip.

We decided to go to Smith Mountain Lake to the State Park there. We took Emily hiking and to the little beach that they have built up. She played in the sand, only trying to eat it once. She floated in the water and made some friends too. We cooked out a couple of nights and made smores on one of them. Needless to say they were a BIG hit with Emily :)

The day of Seth's graduation we rode to Salem and spent the day there. My uncle got to meet Emily for the first time and they hit it off immediately. I think he would have kept her if I had let him.

My other cousin, Drew, took us to see his new bike shop, 3 Peaks, in downtown Salem. If you are in the Roanoke area and need running, cycling, or swimming gear you should check out his shop!

It was a great vacation and I hope we go back again next year!

Hey Jude...

Here is a video of Emily's sweet cousin, Jude. He is 1 year, 1 month, and 1 day younger than her.

Born: May 24, 2011
Time: 3:55 pm
Weight: 9lb 8oz
Height: 20.5 in

He is in the NICU and in the video you see him in an incubator, but, rest assured, he is doing well.

1 Year Check-Up

I took Emily for her one year check-up today, even though she is closer to 13 months now. She, of course, is doing perfectly. She is tiny though. Her weight is 19 lb 3 oz (15th percentile) and her height is 28 1/8 in (15th percentile). Her big ole head, on the other hand, is a whopping 55th percentile. We can blame Nate for that. :)

Her doctor kept asking if she was doing this or that yet and I kept saying that she was or that she was doing even more than whatever it was she was asking about. She asked about words; Emily can say mama, dada, moo, hi, no, cat, and dog. Dr. Tull told me that she was about where a 15 month old would be! Yay Emily!!

Walking Along

Here is a video of Emily walking. She has now been walking a little more everyday since her birthday. That was 9 days ago. She is getting pretty good at it!

Playing with Presents

Emily's 1st birthday was a blast! She seemed to have so much fun and everyone was so kind with the gifts they brought her. Here are a couple of pictures of her playing with them the next day.



Thanks everyone for the wonderful gifts!!

Emily's First Birthday!

Emily's first birthday was today! I am in denial. I can't believe a year has already passed. It seems like just yesterday I was in denial about being in labor, but then again it seems like forever ago.

We decided to have some friends and family over for bubbles, and egg hunt, and a cookout. We are so happy that so many people were able to make it to her party and share the day with us. We all had fun and on an even brighter note, Emily walked for the first time today!!! She has taken a step or two here or there before but never really walked. We were out on the back deck and she was holding Nate's hand to walk across it, when she just decided to let go and keep on walking. She made it another 10 to 12 steps on her own. I was so excited!! Of course, she wouldn't do it again. In the video below we are trying to get her walking on video, but she was having none of it. Oh well, I will capture it another time.

Enjoy!

Emily just being Emily

Just a cute video of my little monkey!

Emily and Bailey

I was recently looking through pictures of Emily and found some that I forgot we had of her and Bailey together. I was really happy to find them. It was so hard on both Nate and I when we had to put her down and these made me smile. They were taken last year on Halloween. Almost a month later we had to put Bailey down.

We still really miss her and, I am sure, always will, but we have adopted a new German Shepherd named Berekely. He is 6 1/2 years old and huge, but Emily loves him and he tolerates her pretty well. I was hesitant to open my heart to him, but he has fit into our family very easily and it is hard not to care for something that Emily loves so much.

(Emily & Berkeley; aren't they sweet!)

We're Motoring Now!

Turning 11 Months

Emily turned 11 months old today. As of about a week ago she is able to stand unsupported (now she also claps while standing.) As of two days ago she took her first step. Ok, so it was just one step but hey, it counts! And, as of today she has FINALLY gotten her top two front teeth bringing her total to 6. She can say hi, mama, and dada and she tries to say cat, dog, and baby.
Today we spent the afternoon at the park swinging and strolling. It was a perfect day for it! It is amazing to me that in one short month she will be a whole year old.

CAT

In addition recognizing the cat, which you see in the picture I posted earlier this month, Emily now also recognizes the word cat.
Earlier today the cat was laying on the bed out of Emily's line of sight. She was playing quietly on the floor and I said, "Emily, do you want to see the cat?" She immediately became very excited and started crawling very quickly towards the door, where she thought the cat was. It took some convincing to get her to crawl towards me instead; she was absolutely convinced the cat was on the other side of the door. It was an amazing moment for me though because it was the first time that I knew for sure that she understood what the word CAT means the other thing living in her house. I don't think she gets it means all cats but oh well, it made me happy!

Emily Loves Animals

Emily is completely obsessed with our cat, Butler. She goes crazy every time he comes around. Of course, Butler wants nothing to do with Emily, but that does not seem to dissuade her from thinking he really wants to play with her.

Emily's Masterpiece

This is Emily's very first masterpiece. It was created with the help of Miss Chloe at the Children's Museum in Short Pump.

Spaghetti

Just a little video from dinner tonight. As you can see we had spaghetti. I think she thought it was a toy until we showed her she was supposed to eat it.
Towards the end of the clip she starts clicking her tongue. After, I showed this to Nate and Emily could hear herself clicking on the video. She started clicking in response. It was really cute!

Enjoy!

9 Month Appointment

Today Emily had her 9 month check-up. Everything went really well. She weighs 17 lb 9 oz (25th percentile), is 27 in long (25th percentile), and her head is 17 1/2 in (big ole' 50th percentile). The rest of the appointment was nice and boring, just the way I want it. She gave us enough excitement during her first few months so a nice, boring appointment is perfect.
She also got one shot today, so that brings her total vaccines to two and total shots given to a whopping 3. She doesn't go back for a check-up until after she is a year old. She will be so different by then. I look forward to all the changes, but I dread them too. I don't want her growing up too quickly, but I know I can't stop it, so I am just trying to enjoy the time while I have it.

Madison

(Picture of Emily with Seth and Zach)
We went to Madison last weekend to visit with Nate's family and with some of our friends. We stopped at the Bike stop on our way there and picked up our new B.O.B. stroller. I LOVE it!! Emily got to visit with her uncles again and she was soaking up all of their attention. We ended up not getting to do much on Saturday because it was rainy and cold out, but we did have dinner with Nathan and Kara, Rick, Sam and Cathy and their kids. Emily had a wonderful time with them. She really liked Jacob and Leah (the youngest of Sam and Cathy's kids). She would try and crawl after Leah, who is much faster than Emily, and she would try and hang onto Jacob, who would sit very still when she was around. He is shy and I am not sure he knew what to make of this very outgoing little girl. She was tuckered out after that big night though! (Picture of Emily with Cathy and Jacob.)

Pictures!

Ok, here are some pictures from the last couple of months! Enjoy!! (Emily having fun on Christmas Day!)

(She decided she wanted the camera. Guess she didn't want anymore blackmail bath time pictures taken of her (: )
(Making a complete mess and having fun doing it!)

It's Cruising Time

Emily started cruising this week. Now she is really into everything! For the few that may not know what cruising is, she is pulling herself up and walking around using furniture and other objects around the house to balance herself. She can now make it around the entire perimeter of our loft. She starts in one corner and uses the end table to pull herself up then starts moving towards the love seat. Then she is around the corner and on to the couch. Once she makes it to the end of that she turns the corner again and cruises along the pack and play to the other love seat we have. Then she gets upset because there is no where else for her to go after that. She is quick too and gets quicker everyday. Her balance is improving daily as well. Today she let go of the end table and, without wobbling, stood there for about 30 seconds before slowly putting her hands back on the end table.
She has not pushed anymore teeth through. She still looks like a little vampire. I keep trying to get a picture of her teeth right now, but she won't let me. She just throws a little fit every time I try.
She also made it through Nate's recent flu without catching it. We both lucked out there, but Nate pretty much quarantined himself in our bedroom in an effort to keep us from getting sick. It must have worked because we came through unscathed.

And now it's getting late. More updates soon! (Hopefully some pictures too!!)

Thanksgiving and Christmas

Emily's first official Thanksgiving was in Madison this year. Nate's whole immediate family was there. We barely had enough room for everyone around the table! Most everyone pitched in and contributed to the food for the day. Emily had a blast getting so much attention from her uncles. She just loved them getting on the floor and playing with her!
Next up was Christmas which we held at our house this year. Unfortunately, I had a cold but we still had a good holiday. My mother came up on Christmas Eve and spent the night with us. She was there in the morning to have our traditional cinnamon buns for breakfast and to open presents with Emily.
Nate had to work but was allowed to go in late, so instead of having to be on duty by 6 am he had to mark on at 9 am. That let him be around for the present opening as well.
Nate's parents and brothers showed up a little after noon, and there were more presents to open. My mom left for my brother's house shortly after and my dad and his girlfriend, Annie, arrived around 4. And then there were more presents to open. Emily was completely spoiled! Who needs Santa when you have grandparents!!
Emily slept through the actual Christmas dinner, but was awake by the time we had dessert. Oh, and it snowed! It started in the afternoon but you really couldn't see it. In the evening it really started to come down, bit it actually snowed on Christmas! I don't think I have ever seen it snow on Christmas. Too bad Emily is too young to remember it.

I know, I know...

Ok, so I know it has been over a month since I have posted an update. Sorry about that, but with Thanksgiving, having to put my sweet Bailey down, turning 30, and Christmas it just hasn't happened. I keep thinking that I need to and then my next thought is the pictures and videos that I want to post and I put it off. It's not hard but it takes some time.

So much has happened with Emily too. She is changing so much. For example, she is crawling forward now, she can pull herself up (sometimes just to her knees and sometimes all the way up to her feet), she likes walking around the room using my fingers to balance her, she is eating a few real foods, and she has cut two more teeth. They aren't the two that she was supposed to cut next according to everything I have read, but who says she has to do it like everyone else, right? Oh, and she now weights 16 lb 10oz.

I will post more details, pictures, and videos soon. And, I will try to be better about posting as things happen. ;)