All Done

Well, Daddy is finally done with the Bar Exam and since he is mentally drained and tired, mommy is doing the post tonight. Emmie has been fussier than usual and we are afraid that she might be teething already. You have to be careful around her right now because she will bite down on anything you put near her mouth... including your fingers, your dinner, and the cat's tail (sorry about that Tabby). We haven't done anything fun recently, so I give you a family picture we took last week....enjoy!

Yes, we are all wearing blue; No, it was not intentional

The dangers of falling asleep in Mommy's lap...

With Daddy being so busy lately studying for the bar exam, little Emmie has had to spend most of her day with Mommy. This means two things: (1) Emmie is extra-excited when she gets to spend time with Daddy [yay!]; and (2) Mommy starts to get a little 'loopy' from having to hold the baby all day. In her defense, you can really only read the same 5-page book so many times in one day before it starts to get to you. I think we all have the "Who are you, baby kangaroo?" book memorized at this point. [Spoiler alert - he's a joey!] Here's a prime example of what happens if you should fall asleep in the wrong hands:

Unfortunately, this classy look didn't last too long after Emmie woke up, but at least we got a few pics, and laughs, in before the fun ended. On a slightly unrelated note, Emmie's getting better at sitting up in the Bumbo, although she still tends to slump forward or to the sides after a minute or so... Thanks Russ and Lauren for the Bumbo, we're looking forward to using it more and more!

Inside peek of the Council of Babies

Most people think that important decisions are made by our government (or by a shadow government of evil corporations / Swiss banking financiers), but in actuality they are often first discussed by the "Council of Babies." This secretive group of elite babies has never been filmed together, until today. Our investigative reporter, who shall remain nameless, was able to procure the following picture:

As you can see, the Council meets under the guise of Gymboree class, but once the door closes, the mood quickly turns serious. Here the babies are considering making the wearing of headbands mandatory; the discussions have apparently reached an impasse, with only half the babies in favor. The Council also voted on which colors would be "in" for the Fall: light blue is "in", yellow is "out."


[For any fellow alumni who should be studying for the Bar instead of reading this: I'm sure you're thinking about whether the Council must follow the Indiana Administrative Orders and Procedures Act. You're thinking "This would seem to be an Executive Session, but I don't know if the F.I.N.S. requirements have been met." STOP. Breath. Let it go. Only one week to go.]

Bar Exam Blues

Well, we haven't posted in awhile because Daddy has been busy studying for the Bar Exam, so Mommy decided that she would do the post for today. I apologize for not having any witty things to say, but here is a picture of Emmie looking over all the material Daddy has to learn for his test on Tuesday...

The Laughing Child...

Now, Emmie has been making plenty of squealing noises and other audible indications of happiness, but we haven't been able to get a real belly laugh out of her. The funny thing is that we know she's able to do it, as we've heard her bust out a laugh or two while she's sleeping. Finally today Daddy was able to make Emmie laugh! Not by making funny faces, silly noises, or even really paying attention to her. Instead, Daddy bounced a beach ball around over Emmie's head. Apparently the mix of danger and excitement was simply unbearable for little Emerson. Making matters even better, we were able to catch it on film. Please enjoy Emmie's first 'real' laughs:

Walking around the Neighborhood

Although the weather is starting to get hot and humid again, we had a couple of nicer days last week, so we took Emmie around our neighborhood. Please to enjoy:












Here's a picture of the gazebo and the little "lake" down the street from our house.


















I think this might be the first time Emmie has felt grass on her feet... She's also about to feel the sun blind her face if Mommy lifts her up an inch or so, hehe...
















Here's a video of Emmie swinging on Daddy's lap:

For those of you with questions, I've prepared a few answers:

1. No, I normally don't swing my legs like that when I'm on a swing. You try swinging a 11-pound, wobbly-necked infant.

2. Yes, I realize I have pasty-white chicken legs. No, they don't have a medical procedure to fix it.

Little Miss Bonnet

Emmie received a package today from Grandma Smith with a cute yellow dress and this adorable bonnet. I wouldn't of thought of dressing Emmie up like a little Amish girl, but it's the cutest thing ever! Now I'm thinking of getting her a little horse and buggy to complete the look :)



As you can see, Emmie's getting pretty good at her tummy time - hopefully she'll be able to keep up with her Gymboree classes!




This picture brought to you by Babies 'R' Us and the fine manufacturer of the brown purse on the right...

Emmie & Gymboree

Today we checked out Gymboree, a kid's place that offers various classes for babies of all ages. We signed up for the 0-6 month class and had a great time. Obviously little ones can't do a whole lot at this age, but we did tummy time, played with a beach ball, and sang a bunch of songs. Emmie also got some infant massage and enjoyed looking at all the other babies. Here are some pictures of the fun:

"Please don't drop that on me, Mommy!"

Here's Emmie hanging out with her new friend Brody.
He was the only boy in the class, so he sure got a lot of attention from the ladies...

Book Review: "first words"

As you can see, things are backed up a bit at the Peabody Book Review Company... Emmie's been doing the best she can, but it takes a while to get her to give us her thoughts. This week we take a look at "first words", a gripping tale of nouns and, well, more nouns...







Rating:(4 out of 5 rattles)


Emmie's Review:

Although I couldn't understand the words underneath the pictures, I did enjoy the sharp contrast the letters made against the colored backgrounds. I also enjoyed the bright pictures, particularly the banana and the airplane! I've been told that this book is marketed to the hip 1-2 year old crowd, and I'm sure they'd enjoy it as well. I thought the corners of the book were pretty tasty, and I found kicking the book to be quite entertaining as well. All in all a pretty quick read, but my short attention span and lack of long-term memory kept me coming back!



(ed. note - Emmie enjoyed the airplane even more than the hot pink teddy bear on the opposite page; one wonders if this will have any bearing on Emmie's future career path...)

Hanging out...

After yesterday's fun-filled evening, we decided to stay inside today and watch a couple of movies. Emmie enjoyed hanging out with us at home, and had lots of fun on her jungle gym. She's starting to get a little bit bigger, and she's finally starting to wear 3-6 month clothes. (Which is good, since we didn't anticipate her being so small!) Here's a shot of Emmie on the couch, wearing an adorable dress from John and Marla:

It's a good thing this comes with bloomers, as Emmie likes to lift her dress up ;)

Lil' Miss Firecracker

Hope all of you out there have a wonderful 4th of July... We've had rain for a good part of today, but tonight's forecast is looking great. (Of course, some of us are not going to be able to stay awake late enough to enjoy the festivities, but there's always next year, hehe...) It stayed clear long enough earlier today for us to go out and enjoy downtown Indy:

Here's Emmie in her new red, white, and blue shirt!

Even Mommy and Daddy stuck to the required three color ensemble!

Tummy Time!

Emmie has never been a big fan of tummy time, especially since for a long time she couldn't really hold her head up very well. Now that her neck muscles are getting stronger, she's enjoying tummy time more and more. One key discovery was that Emmie liked laying on a ramp, either because it was easier on her back, or because she has some fondness for simple machines (maybe I should try hooking her up to a pulley or lever...). In either event, we've been able to lay her down and have her actually pull her head up and play with us. Here are some picture documenting all the fun:




Here's Emmie giving Mommy a big smile; Daddy's holding onto her just to make sure she doesn't try and fall off the board. (Not that she's tried to do that the instant Daddy takes his hand off to scratch his nose or anything...)











Here's another shot of Emmie; this time she's rocking the 80's headband. While she seems a little pouty here, she actually gave us quite a few cute smiles too ;)