A Day In The Life...

Sometimes it's hard being a baby with long hair, especially after a long nap and mommy decides to take pictures of your wild hair...


You wonder what she's thinking...


And then realize the camera is pointed at you!


So you try to reach out and grab it...


But instead head butt it...


And try to figure out how to eat it...


Instead feel yourself slipping...


And falling off mommy's lap!


Don't worry, I caught her :)

Going To The Drive-In

On Friday, May 22, we took Emily to see her first movie at the drive-in in Newton, Iowa. We had to pick up milk anyway, so we decided that it would be fun to see a movie also.

The movie was Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian (Rated PG) and the second feature that night was X-Men Origins:Wolverine (Rated PG-13). Since Emily was so little, we decided that it would not be appropriate for her to watch a PG-13 movie and went home after the first movie.

Actually, she fell asleep during Night at the Museum and I almost fell asleep on the way home. Not good when you're the driver.

If you ever get a chance to go to the drive in, it's a lot of fun. The prices are not too bad and there are no bad seats, unless you forget your seats at home. A reminder for next time: bring lawn chairs!

Check out the website: www.valledrive-in.com. It's a great place and kids under 11 are free!

Princess Dresses

My friend, Heather, who used to work with me but is currently laid off, is a wonderful seamstress (even though she denies it). She saw a blog on how to make these t-shirt dresses and I said she should do it. With some encouragement (and the fact that I went and bought the fabric) and some peer pressure, Heather made these adorable dresses for Taylor, Jessica and Emily. But that's not all, Heather was also pressured into making dresses for her two daughters and two of our co-worker's daughters, all in the name of a cute picture!

Not such a good picture because Emily is crying. She was happy at first but then tipped over and was extremely mad.


This is a better picture because one of the adults picked Emily up, scooted the girls closer together and plopped her in the middle.


Then Taylor and Jessica decided they wanted to model how beautiful thier new princess dresses looked.
Aren't they adorable? Oh, and the dresses look great also!

Check out Heather's blog at http://chezhez.blogspot.com. Since she's unemployed, she should have a lot of time to make everyone something super cute!! ;)

Emily's First Swimming Lesson

Since this was the first time that Emily met her cousins and aunt and uncle we decided to make it an extra special trip. Aunt Jenn is a swim coach. She is making nice with Emily in this picture before she takes her swimming.


This is the totally adorable swimsuit that Aunt Jenn bought for Emily's first swimming lesson. Isn't it cute? Isn't Emily cute?


Here are Aunt Jenn and Emily swimming.



Overall, Emily loved swimming and we loved watching her swim. Luckily there weren't any other kids in the pool, except for two wild little girls (Taylor and Jessica - who are wonderful swimmers for being only 5 years old)! Aunt Jenn was hesitant to put Emily's head underwater, even though she would have been fine. Aunt Jenn didn't want to be remembered as the one who dunked the baby.

Visiting Milwaukee and Westby

Last weekend we went to Milwaukee for my Aunt Alice's enternment ceremony. It was sad but nice to see family and promise to see each other more often than we have in the past.

Here are some pictures from Milwaukee:


Emily just woke up by Cousin Sheri.

Emily not so happy about being held by Taylor.

So Grandma helps....

And everything seems good.

Then Jessica gets in on the action!

Grandma and Grandpa and their girls.

Taylor, Grandma, Uncle Andy, Aunt Jenn, Daddy, Emily, Mommy, Grandpa, Jessica in Westby.

Emily's New Shoes

My friend, Shannon, found a great website for baby shoes: http://www.babysoftshoes.com/. Check it out. They are handmade by a Home Engineer (stay at home mom) who is very creative and very handy with a sewing machine.

Shannon found this website before Emily was born and before we knew if she was a girl or boy. Shannon and Kendra wanted to order some shoes and so did I. Turns out Julie found out what the sex of the baby was but was not going to tell. I let her tell Shannon and Kendra. Then I picked out a couple different boys and girls styles and let Shannon and Kendra pick out what shoes the baby would get. When we checked into the hotel in Des Moines, the shoes were waiting for us, though we didn't open the package until after Emily was born and the little pink Mary Janes were adorable!. You can see a picture of them on one of my first blogs.

We were told by the daycare provider, Jen, that Emily LOVES to watch Dora. So, of course, I got her some Dora shoes. The first time I put them on her, she smiled and babbled and cooed and just loved her feet. That was also the first time she discovered her feet. Now she gets so excited when you put the Dora shoes on her feet. I have to admit, it's aDORAble!

Mic's Graduation

After a long day partying at Cousin Micaela's graduation, we finally made it to the hotel. Why I didn't take more pictures at the graduation party, I do not know. But here are the pictures of two excited partiers taken by one exhausted mommy.




I'm not sure if it's spit up or slobber on daddy's shirt, but it was gross!


Emily was having fun making faces at the camera.


Just about an hour later they were both fast asleep...

My First Mother's Day

The day after Mic's graduation was Mother's Day - my first mother's day. I was not looking forward to the long drive home but I was excited to see Emily that morning.

I had spent the week before passively hinting to Kevin about what I wanted for Mother's Day. He didn't understand why it was such a big deal since I wasn't his mother. After explaining his relationship to his daughter and her age, I guess he understood.

Mother's Day morning, I was presented with a nicely wrapped gift. "Happy Mother's Day from Emily" said the grumpy, hung over husband.



It is a beautiful necklace of a mother and child. I have wanted one of these necklaces for as long as I can recall.



Everytime I look at that necklace, I will be able to remember my first Mother's Day with my husband and daughter, no matter what shape either of them were in.

Fun Foto Friday ... On Thursday

Trying To Get The Perfect Shot

Willow

This is another one of Emily's best friends. Willow grooms Emily to keep her clean, especially where the extra milk has fallen that we don't see. Willow also likes to keep the Boppy warm for Emily. She's not always very happy to get out of the Boppy when her turn is done.

About a week ago, Willow showed us something else she can do to help with Emily. She started bringing the clean bottle nipples out to us from the kitchen to the living room. Unfortunately, the dogs also like to chew on the nipples, so we had to quickly get the nipples away from Willow and now they are hidden in a cupboard.



Sometimes the animals are smarter than the humans.....

B double E double R U N Beer Run

So, Emily is way too young for a Beer Run (thank goodness!), but since she was born we have been going on weekly trips to Newton (about half way between us and Julie) to pick up milk. This weekend, our friends Lisa and Gary, along with their adorable daughter, Chloe, brought the milk to us since they had to come to Iowa City anyway. What a time saver! Thanks so much!!

In the picture are Gary, Chloe, Emily and Lisa. Chloe is 26 days older than Emily and we hope that they will be good friends like Lisa and I are.

And, if you're wondering about the title of this post, it is a fun song by Todd Snider called Beer Run. You might have heard it on the Bob and Tom Show, but if not, check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SS-uCkn_Uw.