Happy Baby

Why is Emily so happy?

Is is because she just spit up on her clean outfit?

No...

Is it because she just let out a really loud fluffer?

No...

Is is because she sees her bottle?

No...

Scroll down.....

She's getting her first tooth

and she LOVES my finger in her mouth!

After dinner Emily and Daddy practice their identical smiles.

First Barette

I was so happy when Emily was born with hair because I think baby girls with bows in their hair are so cute. However, Emily has really fine, sparse hair, so regular baby barettes don't work out so well. So I decided to make my own. I found instructions on the internet and modified them for me. This is my first attempt.
It took about 2 minutes to make the barette....
and about 10 minutes to get a picture....
then she noticed me....
and thought it was hilarious.

I will try again.

Emily's First Campfire

Last Friday, July 17, 2009, we met friends Shannon and family at the campgrounds in Central City for some fun and a campfire. Lynn rode up with us and thankfully helped keep me awake on the ride home. Shannon's family was staying the night at the campgrounds, but we were just there to party.

Unfortunately, it was very cold out. Since it is July, we didn't think we would ever need a snowsuit for Emily. So we bundled her up.Lynn said "Hey, we match!" We didn't do that on purpose.

Lynn trying to get Emily to wave to the camera.

Shannon, her daughter, Katelyn and her stepson, Dalton.

Katelyn and Shannon's son, Shaun, with Emily.

Katelyn said she wanted a baby sister and Shaun didn't know what to say!

Emily and Her Best Friend

Emily has really taken notice to all of the dogs and she loves watching them. They are her puppies. She giggles at everything they do and they all LOVE helping clean her up after eating or spitting up. Emily's puppies are Daisy, miniature pinscher, 8 years old; Molly, lab mix, 5 years old, and Killannie, greyhound, 5 years old.

Killannie was adopted from Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption, which we are members of. I can't remember her racing name but through old records on the National Greyhound website, we found that Killannie was a distant relative of our precious Marsha who died a year ago of bone cancer. That was one of the many reasons we decided to adopt Killannie. I wasn't too thrilled with the spelling of her name, but I figured there must be a reason for it. In doing some research, I found that the spelling "Kalani" means Heaven in Hawaiian. I loved this as she is our little bit of Heaven. Kevin only liked it. He didn't want to change the spelling of her name and now calls her "Killer Killannie", though we pronounce it "Kalani".

Killannie is a little skittish around everyone. She's skittish around us and around new people; skittish around the cat and skittish around her shadow. If we raise our voice even a little she runs and hides. It is sometimes an inconvenience but we've tried to be patient with her because we love her.

In setting up this picture, I was trying not to be nervous as animals can tell when you're nervous. Here I was putting my four month old down next to a dog that might jump up and run away at any second. And I was going to get a picture of it.

Killannie was so relaxed with Emily leaning on her. It was a beautiful sight.
BFFA

Three Month Pictures

Emily had some really great pictures done when she was 3 months old by Erin Morrison of Nature's Grace Photography. Unfortunately when I try to post them here, they turn out to be really small and you can't see any details. If you would like to see the pictures, email me and I will send you a link to them. Sigh....you gotta love technology....

Emily is 4 Months Old!

It's hard to believe Emily is four months old already. It seems like she's been in our lives forever.

This cute little outfit is from Shannon and Katelyn. When Shannon told me I could have it for Emily to wear, I was so happy because it is adorable. Shannon has given us lots of very cute outfits as hand-me-downs from Katelyn and to, as Shannon puts it, "To get them out of my house!" So, when I saw this outfit, I was especially excited because it is so darned cute. Then Shannon said, "But I want it back for Katelyn's memory quilt." My first thought was damn it. I don't want to give it back. It's too cute. My next thought was what a great idea. After all, what do you do with all of those too cute to give away baby clothes when your baby is all done with them. A memory quilt, of course.

Emily is still not really thrilled about sitting up on the couch to have her picture taking, so here she is kind of slouching while I'm trying to get a good shot of the dress to compare with Katelyn in the dress.

So, I put her in the bouncy chair (which she loves) hoping to elicit a smile. No such luck.

More like, she's going to eat the dress. No worries, Shannon, I've got the dress in the laundry! :)

Emily was still not thrilled when Daddy picked her up but I liked that their outfits matched.

Fourth of July 2009

July 4, 2009 - Coralville, Iowa - Rainy and Cold!

Needless to say, we did not participate in the Coralville Fourth of July Parade with the greyhounds. Instead, Emily went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a little fun with a new friend:

Emily had such a good time watching and playing with toys. We were amazed at how well she held her head up at just four months of age.

When we got home, Emily had to pose in her Fourth of July bib from Aunt Jenn and her adorable dress. It looks like she's waving, but I don't think so.


Soon after we were done playing dress up, Emily fell fast asleep in her favorite spot - the Boppy.

And when the fireworks started, we didn't hear a thing. Emily's first Fourth of July was spent playing with toys and trying on new clothes. She missed out on the best parade and fireworks. Oh well, there's always next year!

Fun Foto Friday Baptism Pictures

If you think it's easy to get a 3 month old into a 104 year old gown that was made for a newborn, go ahead and try it.....