happy 7 months, Emily!

We had a lot of holiday fun as Emily's 7 month birthday came around and I realized how much more we're learning about our little girl. Here's a list of new (or maybe not so new) fun facts about Em:

• Emily loves, absolutely LOVES oatmeal. (We really need to post a video of her downing it!) She can't gobble it up fast enough.
• The higher, the better. Em loves to be lifted high into the sky--and even enjoys riding on mama's shoulders from time to time.
• Hair's coming in, slowly but surely. The exact color is tbd.
• Emily is still an an outdoor gal. She loves going on walks, exploring the backyard, and hanging out on our deck. Daddy just bought her a swing to hang from a tree branch, which will combine her love of the outdoors and heights. Perfect match!
• Emily is still an amazing sleeper.
• When we are on a shopping outing and Em's at her crankiest, Matt's still able to get a giggle out of her by steering her stroller into something (a wall, a display case, a cart) and saying "Whoops, sorry!" This always elicits a hearty laugh from Emily - crazy Daddy!

houston, we have a tooth

See that white little bump on the right side of Emily's lower gum?

visitors

So. Last night around 1am we had some new friends pay us a visit. Amy and I woke up to hear a weird scraping sound outside. Adrenaline kicks in and we are suddenly fully awake and turning the deck light on. Four raccoons are all taking turns grabbing sunflower seeds from our bird feeder which is now laying on the deck. While three of them are fighting to grab the next seeds, one is wandering around our herb gardens looking for bugs or other tasty items. Knocking on the window got their attention but only for a short time; fearing a crazier situation if I opened the door and tried to swat at them with something, I stood there watching until they lost interest and went down the steps to terrorize another neighbor.

It was a little difficult to fall asleep afterwards.

-M

oatmeal

Emily loves oatmeal.

I think she gets it from her Mom.

Before her 1pm nap, we feed her a little bit of baby oatmeal mixed with milk and she can't get enough. In contrast to the rice cereal, we can't feed her fast enough. It is very cute and we're ecstatic that she's taking to "solid" food quite well. Recommendations on the next food we have her try? We're thinking sweet potatos or avocado.

-M

ready for winter

time to get up

one of Emily's favorite ways to wake up after a nap.

our new front porch roof

This fall has served as our first foray into the world of home repair involving contractors. We hired a local contractor to replace our severely rotted out front porch roof. Here are a couple pictures of during and after. What's not shown in the bottom picture is a nice ceiling that was added with ventilation.

Next up? New gutters. Our original wooden 1940's gutters are all rotted out. Hopefully we'll get them taken care of before the rainy season really gets into full swing.

Then we can paint everything in one shot.

-M

happy 6 months, Emily!

Hard to believe that we've had this little girl for six months. Time flies way too fast. We're glad that Emily let us double up on Thanksgiving pie and birthday pie. Sweet potato birthday pie was delicious!

rice cereal

Emily got to celebrate Thanksgiving with her first encounter with rice cereal. I think she still prefers drinking milk. Rather than eat it, she was more interested in toucing it and the cute little orange spoon.

Thanksgiving

Sorry my folks haven't written in a while--we've been pretty busy. Last month Mommy went back to work, Grammy Peterson came out to visit, Aunt Becky started babysitting me, and Daddy did lots of projects around the house. I'll remind them to share more pictures with you later this week. Bye bye!

back to work

Grandma Peterson stayed with us for the first two weeks of Amy going back to work. Thanks so much, Grandma! You made the transition a lot easier for us.

Our little Emily will be heading to day care for two days a week beginning in January. We think we've found a wonderful home-based day care and are feeling a lot less stressed about the situation. For what's remaining of November and December, Amy, Becky, and I will all split up the week. Thanks, Becky!!

annie visits!

Before attending a week long conference in San Francisco, Annie visited with us! We had a wonderful time and grilled in the backyard. Afterwards, we went down to Cortland Ave to get some very large Maggie Mudd's ice cream shakes. Thanks for stopping by, Annie!

bird sighting

Amy saw a new bird at our feeder the other day! We think it's a chestnut-backed chickadee.

happy halloween!

 

Go Blue!

orchid bloom

One of my orchids mounted on bark in our bathroom has two flowers! Woo!

happy 5 months, Emily!

the birthday desserts appear to be getting smaller with each passing month. hopefully something big will show up at 6 months!

caught after the act

coats

This girl's wardrobe is bigger than Amy's. You should see her mountain of onesies!



getting ready!

We had a great time carving pumpkins with Becky and Glenn.

The finished result

The crew after a long day of carving.

chris & erica visit

Emily had a wonderful time meeting her Uncle Chris and Aunt Erica!

flower market

Emily's first trip to the flower market was a success! She especially loved being in the flower cooler.