Softball with Daddy

We are enjoying the weather today! Jereme had softball practice and Emma Grace and I were close by so we decided to drop in. Jereme is the team manager this year, so we feel like the first lady and daughter! I took this picture with my phone, but it shows part of EG's head and her daddy in the background.


She had the best time. We are looking forward to a winning season!

When Mommy is away...

Daddy and baby will play!

While I had a night out recently, Emma Grace and Daddy had lots of fun! Sometimes, I don't even know what goes on until I look at the camera. Here are some pictures I found from their play time right before her bath. Play time with Daddy is the best!

Bath time fun

Have you ever played the game "what's wrong with this picture?" Let's give it a try...

During a recent bath time, Charlie brought his tennis ball to Emma Grace.

I'm pretty sure he immediately regretted his decision to drop the ball in the tub, because Emma Grace wasn't throwing it for him, nor could he get it back.

Or so we thought.

Yup, we think he's pretty silly.

Ma ma

I need to document that Emma Grace said "ma ma" for the first time last night! Granted, she has no idea what she's saying, but it's still exciting to hear. Especially since we've heard "ba ba" non-stop for several weeks now. I may or may not have thrown my hands in the air and yelled "YES!"

So, her repertoire now includes "ba ba" and "ma ma" and Jereme is actively working on "da da" to be phrase number 3!

Weekend in Jacksonville

We spent last weekend with our family in Jacksonville. Dad and Jereme fished in the morning and the entire clan (both sets of grandparents) went out for seafood that night.

In honor of her first (of many) seafood dinners, Emma Grace wore her crab shirt.

Despite that "no shellfish" rule, Emma Grace got a little taste or two of seafood and seemed to like it. She also had her first lemon...

We all loved watching her face. She kept going back for more!

I've also discovered a trick that you won't find in any parenting book. Give a child a straw and you might get 10 minutes (or more) of fun! She loves to chew on straws. I find myself getting extra straws at restaurants just so I can keep a stash.

Happy 9 Month Birthday!

Dear Emma Grace,

You finally hit the mark. You have been with us longer than I carried you in my belly. (That seemed like forever, so you must be getting old!)

You had your check up this morning and did wonderful. You didn't even cry when you got a shot. The nurse said those chubby legs are good for that! The doctor was happy with your development and, although you aren't crawling yet, he anticipates that you will start soon. That is if you don't go straight to walking. He said you are a strong and healthy baby. We are so grateful.

You are eating finger foods 100% and doing great. We are both enjoying that you can feed yourself now. You love to keep an extra green bean or carrot in one hand while you feed yourself with the other. You have tried a variety of fruits and veggies and don't seem to be too picky about what I put in front of you. I will remind you of this when you are 7 and try to tell me that you don't like carrots.

You still sleep all through the night (about 11-12 hours) and take two naps a day (1-2 hours each). If it's a particularly long day, you might take a cat nap before bedtime. You enjoy bath time each night. I think you were a born diva, because you seem to love the idea of breakfast in bed. As soon as you wake up, you are ready for your bottle. It can't come soon enough.

You have two pearly whites on your bottom gums. They make your smile 100 times cuter. You are such a happy baby. You smile at everyone and you love to be heard. Your favorite thing to say is "ba ba ba" over and over again. We've heard "gee gee" and "dee dee" but you don't say them very often. You are trying so hard to crawl, it's just not happening yet. You scoot backwards and get on all fours and rock. You love to stand if you have something to hold on to and you are pulling up a lot.

Now that the weather is warming up, you enjoy being outside and love taking walks. You love Charlie and you let him lick you all over. You like to pat him on his face a lot and he is sweet and lets you get away with it. You still prefer Mommy when you are upset, but you have the most fun with Daddy.

We broke down and upgraded you to a new carseat. It will be rear facing for now, and can turn around once you are ready for that. I know you're going to love having more room and being able to sit up like a big girl (you try to sit up so often in your old carseat). I'm sad to see the old one go. That is what we brought you home from the hospital in. But it's just another step toward the big girl that you are becoming.

We love you so much, Emma Grace. Happy Birthday!

9 month stats:

Height: 28 1/2 inches (80th percentile)

Weight: 20 1/2 pounds (80th percentile)

Head: 18 inches (95th percentile)

On the move

I sat Emma Grace on the floor yesterday so I could snap some pictures of her. I got...

1 picture

2 pictures

and 3 pictures before it was all over.

The rest of the pictures, all 11 of them, were like this...

You just can't stop a little girl who has places to go!!

(Still no real crawling yet. But the girl sure is trying!)

I think these two might love each other

What do you think?

Two reasons I love having a girl

Weekend Recap

It has been a long but good weekend. We went to Virginia for Papaw's funeral (Jereme's grandfather). It was hard for Jereme, but I know he enjoyed being with his family. I enjoyed learning more about Papaw's early days.

This was the first time we visited Mamaw and Papaw with the baby. It was early August and Emma Grace wasn't even 2 months old yet.

Here are Emma Grace and Mamaw after the funeral.

We got home really late from Virginia, then lost an hour due to the time change. (Do they even consider the mothers in this country with this time change business? How am I supposed to explain this to a baby?) So we missed church, but we all got some much needed sleep. By the time we got up and moving around, it was lunch time. We had a coupon for Cafe Carolina in Cameron Village, so we loaded up the pooch and the babe and headed out for a lunch outside. The weather was beautiful!

I did something I rarely do and planned our meals for the week. It saves us money and me a headache, but I just never make the time to do it. Anyway, we visited the new two-story Harris Teeter at North Hills. I'm glad we've done it, but it stressed me out. Too many people shopping, a line to get on the elevators, and I think HT is overpriced anyway. BUT, our week is planned and I came home and baked this beauty.

It was Jereme's idea - he knows I love the confetti icing - which is funny considering he doesn't even like cake (only God could have brought a non-cake eating man into my life!). Now we're curled up on the sofa, watching TV, eating cake, and trying to hear the TV over EG's squeals (it's not yet bedtime in her world!). Monday will come all too soon!

It's been a while...

Grandparents are getting anxious, I am sure. It has been over a week. No posts. No pictures. It's enough to send said grandparents into a tizzy.

It's been a crazy week in every way. Without going into too many details, our house was broken into (I use that term very loosely, because there wasn't any "breaking" to be done. Just a simple turn of the doorknob.) Many things were taken, some special and some not so special. The hard thing to get through was knowing someone had been inside and gone through our things. It's invasion of privacy in the worst way. I am so grateful that Emma Grace and I were not home. Others in our neighborhood haven't been so lucky. It's been a reminder that "stuff" doesn't matter. They can be replaced, or not, but they have no eternal value. My husband and daughter cannot be replaced.

Ok, moving on.

So, it's been a busy week. Would you like a recap? Of course you would!

-Never thought Jereme and I would take our daughter with us to shop for engagement rings! But in light of the recent event mentioned above, and the fact that I left the house without my engagement and wedding bands (I have a matching band that I often wear when I'm doing housework or running errands), it was necessary. I felt the need to make sure everyone in the store heard that we were shopping for REPLACEMENT rings. As if they cared. But I did.

-Jackson and Charlie had been on extended vacation with my parents, which we really appreciated. But Jereme and I decided we would be more comfortable to have one of the dogs back with us. Jackson is SO good with Emma Grace. So gentle. But he is hyper and has a little problem the veterinarian likes to call SEPARATION ANXIETY. Our drywall can confirm this diagnosis. We decided this would be a good time for Charlie to get used to Emma Grace again (he hasn't spent a lot of time with her since she was a wee babe). We are so glad to have Charlie with us. He has been patient with Emma Grace's hands grabbing him and her squeals. He walks away when he's had enough. Perfection. We look forward to having our Jackie Buddy back with us when we move to the next house. But for now, Charlie Bear is keeping us protected and entertained.

-The tooth has arrived. It seems like another one might be coming. Pray for me. (You have no idea how difficult it was to take this picture. I needed 5 hands: one to hold the camera steady, one to hold down EG's lip, one to keep her head from turning, and two to keep her hands from grabbing my hair and the camera. It's a miracle that you're even seeing this).

-We replaced our camera (did you think I could go longer than a week without taking a picture of Emma Grace?). I'm loving the new one. There are functions that I don't even know about. I'm just happy to be able to snap a picture of a scene before the scene is over (which often happens with a baby). It's so fast and the pictures are really crisp. I feel like a photographer. Shoulder strap and all. Basically, I've been taking pictures of Emma Grace left and right as I try to figure things out. She's been so gracious to pose for me each time.

-Still no crawling. Just getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. And the backwards scooting. She's enjoying standing up (if she's got something to hold on to). I'm wondering if she'll just walk and skip the entire crawling business. Funny thing: if I put her on her tummy to play, she gets so upset. But if I put her on her back, she almost always rolls over to her tummy. And she only wants to sleep on her tummy (although I still put her on her back and make her roll over on her own). It's gotta be on her terms!

-I PUT A BOW IN EMMA GRACE'S HAIR. NOT A HEADBAND WITH A BOW. NOT A BOW THAT STICKS TO HER HEAD. AN ACTUAL BOW THAT CLIPS TO HER HAIR. AND IT STAYED PUT. NOT ONLY DOES SHE LOOK CUTE, BUT I CAN TELL THAT SHE FEELS CUTE.

-Charlie thinks Emma Grace is hiding bones in her diaper and he has claimed it as his mission to recover them.

-Emma Grace is exclusively eating finger food now (along with her bottle). She does a great job at picking up her food and getting it into her mouth. I'm a little concerned at the particular rate in which she shovels the food in her mouth. Once one hand gets a fist-full in there, the other hand is right behind.

-Charlie sits next to the high chair at every meal. I never said he was a dumb dog.

-We have spent a lot of time outside lately. The weather has been so nice. It makes us all a little happier to get outside a bit each day. We've enjoyed walks and picnics in the yard.

So, there's your recap. I'll be back soon with more pictures, I'm sure!