Solid Food

Emily is now 14.3 lbs and 25 inches long. The doctor said she had the head control of a six month old and she was definitely ready for rice cereal. After getting her shots, we decided to wait a day before starting something new. So last night, I rudely woke her up from her nap because I was so excited to feed her cereal. She looked groggy for a little bit but woke up and gave a big smile. I swear that she knows when it's time for us to eat because she makes little chewing motions as we are eating...and she salivates like the dogs!

We stripped her down, put a bib on her and put her in the Bumbo chair. I had the rice cereal/milk mixture ready to go in her mouth and down her belly. Little did I realize that most of the mixture would go down the outside of her belly. With a lot of laughing from all of us, Emily took her first bites of rice cereal. Success! The baby was eating! Sort of. While most of it went down the front of her bib, some actually made it into her mouth. She made funny little faces and stuck her tongue out a lot which caused more of the mixture to go down the front of her bib. Daisy really tried hard to keep up with what was spilled and to keep the baby clean. What a good dog.

About halfway through the mixture, Emily decided to let out a horrifying scream. Her eyes were red and puffy and she had a very distressed look on her face. She had decided she was done with this stuff and ready for a bottle. After a few more tries with the spoon, we gave into her demands and got a bottle.

I'm so proud that we were able to get at least a little to stay in her mouth and she was able to try semi-solid food for the first time. And we'll try again tonight and tomorrow and the next day, etc.

Some fun pictures:

Getting ready to eat. LOVE the Bumbo!

There it is...

Open wide!

This is funny.

Another bite?

Hey! What's Daisy doing?

Daisy always helps clean up after dinner...

Happy First Father's Day, Daddy!

Technically, this was Kevin's second Father's Day. Last year on Father's Day, Kevin became the proud father of 22 zygotes of which 8 continued to become embryos and 2 became Emily. So this was the first Father's Day that Emily could spent with Daddy.

Here's Kevin and Emily with the present that she got him. It's a picture of her on a (nonbreakable) ornament from Sportraits.


Here's a closer picture of her ornament. Isn't it awesome? Jay from Sportraits does such a great job on everything he does. Check out the website on my main page and tell him that Kris send you and wants to know when she gets her discount. Anyway, there's your plug, Jay. Back to Father's Day.

After a long day in the sun at the Homestead (Iowa) Tractor Parade and Show, Kevin decided the best thing to do for Father's Day is take a nap.

Note the neat-o sunburn. :)

Emily's Baptism

Today Emily got baptized. She did really good - no crying, peeing or pooping.

Here are some pictures:

Daddy and Emily hanging out before the baptism

Father Ed Fitzpatrick, Mommy, Emily, Daddy, Godfather Bob, Godmother Sue

Emily thought the whole process was hilarious!

Father Ed getting ready to baptism Emily

Grandma splashing cold water on Emily's head

The special (and created at the last minute by Mommy) candles

Emily's special candle, Mommy's baptism candle, and the candle recognizing those who are no longer with us but are in our hearts forever

Grandma and Mommy struggling to dress Emily in the baptismal gown that has been in the family for 104 years. Four people present (Great Grandma, Great Aunt Carol, Grandma and Mommy) wore the dress before Emily. Dress is FINALLY on!
Godfather Bob, Mommy, Emily, Daddy, Godmother Sue
Godfather Bob and Emily
Father Ed, Godmother Sue and Emily
Four generation picture
Grandpa and Grandma with Emily
Daddy and Mommy with Emily
Thank you to all who were able to celebrate with us. We appreciate everything you do for us!

Exciting Times in Manning, Part 2

The next day we went to see Uncle Bob and work on the tractor.

Emily was quite happy to see Uncle Bob.

Soon after we arrived, our friend, Eric, and his daughter, Kyrsten, arrived to hang out with us. Eric visited us at the hospital when Emily was born and wanted to steal her. He still loves her. :)

Don't these two look alike?

Kyrsten took right to Emily and Emily took right to her. Kyrsten was really a very good helper and I was fortunate to have her to help. I got a terrible headache and had to lay down for a couple of hours. Kyrsten took over baby cares and I got to rest.

While the guys were outside working on the tractor, Kyrsten and Emily bonded quite a bit. I think they're BFFA now.

After the work was done, Kyrsten and Emilly chilled out on Bob's hammock. Good picture of two cute girls. I think they both took a nap while we adults were catching up.

We had a lot of fun that weekend and hope to be able to get together with everyone again sometime soon. Hopefully Eric's other daughter, Paige, will be able to visit with us also next time.

Exciting Times in Manning, Part 1

On Friday, June 12, we traveled to Kevin's hometown to Manning to see friends and relatives and pick up tractor #3 because of a tractor show we are going to be in this Sunday. We spent the night with Kent and Kathy and their children, Austin and Cassidy. It was a lot of fun, especially since they had not seen Emily before. They were supposed to visit at the hospital when Emily was born, but MRSA was going around their daycare, so they wisely stayed home.

Austin is three years old. He's a riot. He's so darned cute and seemed to warm up to use faster than in the past.

Cassidy is 8 1/2 months old and weighs 35 pounds! She's a little brute. I think she will be the first female football player for Manning. She is also adorable and warmed up to us quickly.

Of course, she was interested in Emily, but really didn't want to have her picture taken with Em.

Cassidy in her bouncer. She bounces so much her mom has to put the bouncer back together all the time!
Austin and Cassidy posing in front of the bouncer.

Austin wanted to hold Emily so we compromised and put her next to him in the chair and then quickly snapped pictures before either of them decided to jump out of the chair!
Then it was Cassidy's turn but she didn't seem very thrilled.
Lastly, Daddy has his little girl and at least one of them is smiling!
It was a fun night.

Emily's Three Months Old

I can't believe Emily is three months old already. Time has sure flown fast. Not only is she three months old, she's also tired, cranky and does not want to pose for any pictures! But she does love her pacifer and her daddy.

What We Learned About Pacifiers

The other night, we lost Emily's favorite pink pacifier. We thought "No big deal. We have other pacifiers."

After a long day at work and grocery shopping and a headache I thought would never end, we got home, fed Emily and got her ready for bed. A little while later she started to wail and we frantically searched for the pacifier to stick in her cute little screaming mouth. Of course, couldn't find the favorite pink one. I grabbed a cheap one out of the cupboard and stuck it in her mouth. She hated it before but I crossed my fingers that she would like it now. Naturally, she hated it. We both tried to comfort her in any way possible.

Desperate and ready to run to the store in my pajamas to buy a new pacifier, I thought I would try a bottle nipple and Good Golly Miss Molly it worked! I couldn't believe it. I was patting myself on the back and congratulating myself when my husband told me not to get too cocky because she's not asleep yet.

She did finally fall asleep and everything was good. The next day I went to the store fully clothed and purchased some more Soothie Newborn pacifiers.



Once we got home, I noticed one of the dogs chewing up the nipple that I had used the night before as a pacifier. Cursing under my breath I threw away what was left of the nearly new nipple and wondered just where the pink pacifier went to.

We have also learned that the dogs and the cat love these pacifiers almost as much as Emily does!