Company!!

Living 1-2 hours away from family and having your friends scattered across the Southeast does not provide for very many vistors. But today this guy stopped by:


He had to check out all of Emmy's stuff and make sure it was comfy enough for her.

He gave Emmy lots of kisses! It was so so sweet!





He is getting to be such a big boy! We love him! and his mom and dad too.

Why do we buy toys?

Why do we buy toys when we have eight exceedingly interesting Schnauzer feet hanging around for Emmy's entertainment?

No Schnauzers were harmed in the creation of this blog post.

An Update

I haven't posted in a while. For a couple of days I didn't have much to say. Then I was at my parents' house with dial-up Internet (no drug on earth would give me the patience to deal with that!). Then, I was at home recovering from days without the Internet and had little to say.

I'm pretty sure that none of the above has to do with my unhealthy obsession with Confessions of a Pioneer Woman.

So, here is a pictorial update.

I can't be bothered

I can't be bothered by blogging tonight. I am much too busy being obsessed by this Web site: http://thepioneerwoman.com/ and plotting how I can become Ree Drummond when I grow up.



My obsessive reading of the Pioneer Woman got started because Emmy was having a rough day and I have spent the majority of mine on the couch with her:



Yep, I held a sleeping baby. If you fought with her to get to sleep as many times as I have today, you'd hold her as well. Poor Charles, if Emmy has it her way he'll never have a home cooked meal or clean underwear again.



Anyway, my hours on the couch with a sleeping baby also gave me ample opportunity to take pictures of her precious little feet:



I'm obsessed with her feet. I could probably make an album of pictures of her feet. They are soo soo soft, too. Amazing how soft little feet that have never been walked on are. When I took this picture I was thinking about a blog with just pictures of her feet. Maybe another day...





She finally conked out for good (I hope) and now the other end of the couch looks like this:



They leave very little room for Charles and me, huh? I think we need to get another couch so that the humans in the house have somewhere to sit.

sleep...since when is sleeping so complicated?

The past two nights have been tough! Emmy has only slept in her bed for short periods of time. I would walk into her room and she would be on her belly and MAD! I rolled her over, gave her a pacifier and a pat. She would grin and kick her legs. So, I think, "no way is she going to sleep" and I pick her up. Almost instantly she would fall back to sleep. I hold her for 10 -15 minutes, lay her back down and those little eyes blink open. This goes on for hours. Both nights I finally threw in the towel and slept with her in the recliner. It probably wasn't the smartest of moves, but Mama has to sleep. I have no idea how parents with babies that don't sleep make it, especially those that go to work. I would be a terrible mess. Who am I kidding, I am a terrible mess with sleep! (or at least my house is!)

Taking my child into public places is always an adventure. Today we have been to Walmart and to the high school for a fundraiser dinner. She smiles. She coos. She kicks and waves her arms. Basically, she flirts and charms every person she sees that will look at her. It is a lot of fun, but it does make it difficult to get things done.

Another new favorite at our house is the Jumperoo. (I think I've already mentioned this) Emmy is so short that we have to put a pillow underneath it so that she can reach to jump. But boy when she gets going she is wild! She jumps with her whole body, arms thrown up, head back and both legs goin'. Maybe I should get some video to post...

Chattanooga Shopping Trip/Cousins

Caroline gives today's blog a "thumb's up".


Today Emmy and I trekked to Chattanooga to meet my cousin Dana and her daughter Caroline at the largest shopping mall in Tennessee. It was a great day. Emmy was excellent in the car (an hour each way) and a total sweetie in the mall. I hope she is always this good of a shopper! While there she got her first bathing suit, er suit(s), and her first pair of sunglasses. Stay tuned for photos!


The best part of the trip was seeing Emmy and Caroline together. Dana and I are first cousins. Our babies were born two days apart. Crazy, huh? People see us together with our babies and say, "Oh, the two of you must of planned it." Nope. Not even close. It was totally unplanned but very cool. At any rate, the girls are finally old enough to notice each other and were adorable together. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of them being adorable. I do, however, have pictures of them being tired and cranky. You know you are cute if you can be cute while being tired and cranky.


I have multiple motives for posting these pictures from today. First, because they are cute. But second, to show how my tiny Emmy girl is movin' on up! Check out these earlier photos of the girls together. I think Emmy is gonna catch up with Caroline!

Emmy was born 11/16/09 and Caroline was born 11/18/09

First meeting: December 13, 2009

Second meeting: February 18, 2010

They grow in their sleep!

I've heard older people talk about children growing in their sleep. I've always thought that was just one of those things that old people say. Since Emmy, I've decided that they really do grow up in their sleep. Today Emmy woke up a little less baby and a little more big kid. She played in her Jumperoo and on a blanket on the floor happily all day. She seems like such a "big kid" in her Jumperoo. The Jumperoo is a seat suspended by springs and surrounded by toys that plays music when the baby jumps. When Charles came in this evening he realized that she knows how to operate it. I thought she was just wiggling and bouncing at will. He figured out that she was waiting to until the music stopped and then jumping to make it start back. She is so stinkin' smart. We better get to work on that college savings account!

Amazingly, Emmy and I didn't take any pictures today.

The Whirlwind of Easter!

Phew! The whirlwind of the Easter weekend is over and we survived! It started with a crazy Friday night. Emmy decided that sleeping is for sissys and she was having none of it! You should know that Emmy has slept through the night or nearly through the night for most of her life. Charles and I are used to sleeping!! For whatever reason, every time we put her down that night, she would sleep 10-15 minutes and wake up right away. Luckily it was a Friday and we could take turns with her. At 2:00 a.m. I heard the front door open and close and the truck start. Charles decided that a truck ride to sleep was worth a shot. He says that for a long while she sat back there and jabbered and sucked on her fingers. Finally, after driving around town for 30 minutes she got quiet and he thought he had her. He pulled into the driveway, opened the back door of the truck and she SMILED AT HIM!

Saturday we dragged ourselves from the bed (I am terrible under sleep deprivation) and went to Centre to visit with the Proctor family. Emmy had never met the Adams gang and was due for a Gramma/Kelly/Claire visit anyway. She had a blast being passed from family member to family member! She got lots of squeezes and snuggles for one day!

(above)Gramma and Emmy had so much fun!
(below) Great Aunt Kelly and Emmy with Charles in the background.

(below that) Kelly, Caroline and Emmy on a blanket in Papa and Gramma's front yard

We didn't get home until 9:00 pm Saturday night. Emmy was asleep in her carseat, so we let took the collars off of the dogs and just left her in it in our room to sleep. She awoke at 11:00 but after a snack slept through the night in her own bed. Charles and I have never appreciated sleep so much!

Sunday morning went off without a hitch. We made it to church for the second week in a row!! Emmy was a sweet girl in the nursery and was the only baby that wasn't crying when we went to get her after the service. (The week before Miss Tammy had to come get me before church was over!) Here is a picture our sweet neighbor Stephanie took of us after church.

After church we loaded back up and drove to Mama Pat's for a few hours of family, food, and fun. Again, Emmy had a blast being passed around from person to person and got lots of hugs and kisses. Her favorite part of the day was Claire. She LOVES my cousin Eric's almost 4 year old daughter Claire!! Claire would make silly faces and Emmy would smile and giggle no matter her current mood. It was sooo cute! Amazing. It was like Emmy knew that Claire was a little girl like her. Additional good news, Claire is going to have a baby SISTER in July that will be a perfect playmate for Emmy for many years to come.

(top) Tracy and Claire entertain Emmy.

(bottom two) Meme and Aunt Stacy tickle Emmy's toes while Great Great Aunt Diann watches.

All in all, after hours in the car from one corner of the state to the other (and then back!) it was a wonderful Easter weekend. Emmy has so many wonderful family members that love her. For that I am grateful!

Getting Started

As each day with Emmy passes I realize that all of her milestones, adventures, home photo sessions and other "important" comings and goings become less important and foggy in my memory. So, on this Thursday of Holy Week 2010 I start my blog. It might not always be witty or interesting (or even grammatically correct!), but it will always be about us. I should warn you, once I start writing or talking I can tend to be long-winded. Quit reading now if you know what is good for you!!

If you don't know us already, I am Leah, wife to Charles. Charles and I have been together for 11 years this year and will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary on July 26 this year. We (um, I) postponed the having babies as long as I possibly thought I could. Charles and I have traveled and enjoyed life without kids to the fullest. Almost exactly a year ago we found out that we would be welcoming a new member into our family and that whole "life without kids" thing would go out the window. I'll try to tell you about that part of our adventure at some later date...

Today was a wonderfully warm Spring day. Emmy and I snuggled in and slept late as we try to do once or twice a week. As soon as she got up from her mommy nap I changed her into an Auburn t-shirt I've been meaning to put on her and we had one of our at home photo sessions. We had a normal day of feeding Emmy, entertaining Emmy, conning Emmy into naps, etc. Late afternoon I decided that I had been inside on a beautiful day for long enough and I spread out a blanket under the shade of our cherry tree. Emmy LOVED it. We watched the bees buzz by, smelled the cherry blossoms, and felt the grass beneath our toes. Finally, Spring is here!

Here are some photos from our mid-morning session: