9 months!

Oh, how I love those cheeks!!  This past week we had another well baby check-up for Emma - 9 months!  I was actually looking forward to this one because there are no shots.  Here are Emma's stats:
Weight: 18 lb 8 oz - 44th percentile
Length: 27 1/2 inches - 49th percentile (I think it's hilarious that her MD note says she's 2' 3.5" tall)
Weight for length - 57th percentile
Head Circumference: 18 inches - 90th percentile

My two favorite ladies

Emma was very excited to have her Auntie Megan as a play date all week long.  Officially, Megan was in the Twin Cities to visit metro schools for work.  Unofficially, she was here to play with Emma.  I'm afraid that Emma finds her parents boring now that Megan has left.  Here is a picture of the BFFs.

She keeps growing and learning new tricks (Emma, not Megan).  No crawling yet but she is beginning to show interest.  If she wants to get around the room, she rolls and shimmies all over the place.  Her newest trick is that she has learned to clap.  I've seen other kids clap and didn't think that much of it, but for some reason now that it's my daughter, I'm pretty sure it's the cutest thing I've ever seen.  She loves to clap clap clap with a big ol grin on her face!  Here is a video showcasing her talent.

I've been meaning to post this next video for about a month now.  There's something adorable about a baby wearing nothin' but a diaper sitting on the floor making cute baby noises.  Be sure to turn your volume up.

A lot of this blog (okay, like all of it) is dedicated to Emma.  For a change and for some grown up news, I'm excited to report that this past week we had the annual Twins Ticket Coalition draft to split up the season tickets.  Highlights for the season include: Opening Day (3 for 3 at the new stadium), Yankees and Cubs games, and tickets to the home finale.  This is the 4th year we've had a part in the season ticket group and have really enjoyed hosting the draft at our house each year.  It's a great group and Melissa and I really look forward to getting together with everyone to catch up after the long winter and get ready for some Twins baseball.  Believe it or not, the first home game is April 6th!

 The Crew

The Goods

It's a good thing Emma is a Twins fan.  We'll look for you at the ball park.  

Love from Minneapolis,

Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Our little lady

Emma loves exploring new places, and this box is no exception.  She was also quite thrilled the other day when she got to chill in the laundry basket...exciting!

What a beautiful week it has been!  A couple of days in the 70s and today hitting 81 is such a treat for mid-March.  Shoot, I'd be happy with that weather in April.  We certainly didn't let it go to waste.  So, Emma was loaded into the stroller and out we went for runs and walks around the neighborhood lake - which still has ice on it (I expect it to be gone after a couple more days in the 70s this weekend).  This also marked the first time that Emma rode facing forward in her running stroller.  Usually she is strapped into her car seat that clicks into an adaptor on the stroller.  The first couple times we took her out she tolerated it, but wasn't quite sure it was what she wanted to do.  At any given time she had at least one hand on the side of the stroller, just to keep tabs.  She is definitely a cautious soul.  Today, however, she showed signs of warming up to her new ride and was back to jibber jabbering and playing with her toys.

The sunglasses last an average of 5 seconds before she pulls them off and sticks them in her mouth.   She was clearly posing for this picture because as soon as I took it, the glasses were off and slobbery.

Despite her propensity for producing large volumes of slobber and snot, it is clear to see that Emma is turning into quite a little lady.  How do we know this?  Well, one Emma's "ism" that we've noticed and grown to adore is that she loves to cross her feet.  On the floor, nursing with her mother, chilling on a lap, asleep in her crib - it doesn't matter, chances are her feet are crossed.  It's flat out adorable and very lady like. :)  Here are some pictures of her favorite places to hook her hooves.

Chillin on Daddy's lap

Playing on the floor

Hangin with friends

Eating puffs

Out for a jog in the stroller

Sound asleep at nap time

We love our little lady!  Good night from Minneapolis,

Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Child of God

This was a big weekend for Miss Emma!  On Sunday March 11th she was baptized at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church.  We had a great weekend with lots of friends and family in town.  Emma was in a fancy new dress and her hair popped up in her usual mohawk for the big day.  In attendance from out of town were both of our parents and maternal grandmothers, Megan and Kevin, and Jon, who flew in from Chicago just for the day (very nice of him).  Emma is blessed to have 2 sets of god parents - her Aunt Megan and Uncle Kevin and my Uncle Larry and Aunt Julie.  Following the ceremony we had a luncheon with friends and family back at our house.  Thankfully it was a beautiful day so we had tables and chairs set up outside.  We counted 25 adults - many of them acting as chauffeurs for Emma's friends, including Cole, John William, and Kya.  Here is a video and some pictures from the big day.

The god parents - Kevin and Megan on the left and Julie and Larry on the right

Daddy's 4 Generation photo

Mommy's 4 generation photo

All the girls

 Uncle Jon

Auntie Megan

Sunday was a wonderful day, full of blessings, love, and amazing family and friends. We are thrilled to have our Emma baptized and welcomed into the church. She truly is a Child of God, and a blessing we are thankful for every single day!

Funny story - to feed 25 people we prepared LOTS of pulled pork.  Melissa had done her homework and researched a number of online forums, most of which suggested that we should plan on 3/4 lb of pulled pork per person (Editor's note - in my defense, my online research was consistent in recommendations for as much as 1 lb per person of raw meat to allow for waste, i.e. bone, fat, etc., and I, unfortunately, went with the research instead of common sense!).  Apparently, what she didn't realize was that these formulas were for giants.  We started with 17lbs of pork shoulder cooking in four crock pots.  When it was cooked down and shredded, we were left with two full-to-the-brim pots.  We probably ate half of it, which means there are lots of yummy left overs for the week. :)  So, giants may eat 3/4 lb of pulled pork, but for future reference, if you're having parties with normal sized people plan on 1/2 lb per head.

I thought I'd leave you with a great picture of Emma's head feather.  I call it that because it tickles my nose every time I kiss her on the head :)  I love it!!

From Minneapolis with love,

Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Sweet Emma

I will let Jason catch you up on our latest adventures with Emma (stay tuned for a post about Emma's first ride in her sweet sled, as well as some good video clips), but in the meantime, I wanted to post some pictures of our sweet baby. These first photos might be the only evidence I have to prove I am not the only one who naps with Emma on the couch!

Half of the team is out . . .  

not for long!

Emma is sitting up like a champ these days. We are almost past needing to have a hand or pillow behind Emma when she is sitting.  However, her inner curiosity sometimes gets the best of her and she tries to reach just a little too far, often leaving her stuck.

Although I think we are quite a ways from walking, Emma is starting to bear weight on her legs. The pink boots help. 

And finally, just a few cute photos of our Emma.

With love from Minneapolis,
Melissa, Jason, and Emma

8 Months

Boy how time flies!  It's almost impossible to fathom that our little darling is 8 months old.  I find that Melissa and I are commenting more and more lately about the incredible things that Emma can do, like sit up and play with toys, pass them hand to hand, show different expressions and emotions on her face, roll like crazy, jibber jabber, HOLD ONTO A SIPPY CUP!  I mean seriously, where did the little baby go that had just learned to smile, discover her feet, gave up on tummy time to lick the play mat, shuddered at her first bite of food, and stayed put wherever you lay her down.  It just doesn't seem like that long ago.  It seems that 2 months ago I remember saying, can you believe how much she's changed over the last 2 months?  And here I am saying it again.  It's hard to believe what the next 2 month will bring - crawling? walking? first words?  Stay tuned!

Enough of my daddy rhetoric.  Here are some facts of what went down in the life of Emma and her 'rents over the past couple of weeks.

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to the Minnesota Zoo with Emma's friend John Karlgaard and his parents.  We had a great time checking out the aquarium, saw a dolphin show, watched monkeys, and took a stroll through the rain forest. 

 This yellow sweater is one that Melissa's great-aunt knitted for Melissa as a baby.

The following weekend my parents came up for a visit.  It was wonderful having them here. It was the first time in a long time that it was just the 5 of us, allowing them some uninterrupted Emma time.  On Sunday morning Mom took Emma and sent us back to bed for a couple more hours of sleep.  I thought she was doing this as a favor to us so we could catch up on sleep, but I found out that this was actually a cunning grandmother ploy to isolate the baby for some one-on-one time.  Very cleaver...we certainly didn't mind.

 Emma loved lounging on Grandpa

So my father apparently doesn't care for avocados.  This was apparent as he gave Emma all of her carrots but no avocados because clearly she shouldn't like them either...

Other than that it has been pretty quiet around here.  Just a whole lot of baby cuteness to try to capture on picture and video.  I have some adorable videos of Emma that I need to post but they are going to require so editing.  Look for them soon (this is what they call a tease in the advertising business)!

 I have been trying to play my guitar more lately and Emma loves it!  A jam session usually breaks out on Daddy Day Care days - me on the guitar and Emma on the stacking cups and vocals. 

 What you'll find on our couch any given Saturday or Sunday morning around 10 a.m.

 One of Emma's fun tricks that she is beginning to perfect is to push down the flaps when they open. 

Emma made a new friend the other day in the mirror.  I don't know why we didn't think to sit her in front of it before but she loved it!  It was a solid 30 minutes of entertainment for her.

 We finally got some snow to show Emma.  I think she was impressed :)  Now, if we could just get it to stick around long enough to take her out to play in it or for a ride in her sweet sled!

A sweet picture to say goodnight.  I have to admit I got lucky with the lighting on this photo but I think it really helps to captures the sweet bond and unfiltered love between mother and child.   

With love,

Jason, Melissa, and Emma