Our Little Helper

Lately Emma loves to be whereever we are and doing whatever we are doing.  She has become quite the little helper.  Here are a couple of videos, the first is of Emma helping Melissa rake leaves.  In the second, she is happily loading the dryer for me :)  She also loves to help us unload the dishwasher, she will grab a couple spoons and forks from the dishwasher and walk them over and hand them to us so we can put them away in the drawer.

And for being 17 months old, she does a very good job of cleaning up after herself.  If her sippy cup spills a little milk she will walk over to the paper towels and grab one then head back to the floor and wipe up her mess.  Well, she has learned that if she holds her tippy cup upside down and bangs the opening against the floor a little milk will come out.  So she will spill, clean, spill, clean, repeat.  Where she may be very good at cleaning up her milk, she is not so good at pulling off just one or two paper towels!  It only took 3 or 4 times for her to come running out the kitchen door with a ribbon of paper towels flying behind her for us to figure out that we need to take the roll off the holder and put it up where she can't reach it anymore. :)

Here is the video of Emma helping Mommy rake.

And one of Emma helping with the laundry:

She also is very helpful when it comes to search and rescue missions for lost and tossed pacifiers:

A nook has been positively identified.

I'm going in!!

That last photo cracks me up!  Her arms can barely reach over her head yet she still digs right in :)  What a joy.

With love from Minneapolis,

Jason, Melissa, and our little helper - Emma.  

Video Archive

I was going through my phone to clear out some photos and videos to make space for more of the same and found this gem.  It's a video of Emma shot on June 29th, 2012, which makes Emma just past a year old, in which she tries to eat everything (including her mothers finger) except for the yumminess that she's holding in both hands.  You have to see it for yourself to appreciate her persistence to get food in her mouth without using her hands despite all ten of her fingers being wrapped around delicious banana bread :)

Enjoy!
Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Halloween 2012

Another Halloween is in the books!  Last year as you may recall, Emma was an adorable cow.  This year we tried to stick with the barnyard theme so we decided a duck would be fitting.  Some of you may be saying, "Jason, a duck is not a barnyard animal."  Well I, along with Old MacDonald, disagree. ;)

Before Emma donned her duck costume we needed to take care of some pumpkin business.  In case you've never carved a pumpkin before, there are certain steps you need to take.

Step 1: Pick your pumpkin.

Step 2: Clean out the innards.

Step 3: Mark out your plan.

Step 4: Cut it out and enjoy the end result!

Step 5: Set them out for display.

Step 6: Light 'em!

Once the pumpkins were set out and ready for the night it was time to get Emma suited up for her ducky debut.  We loaded her in the wagon and took a stroll around the block stopping to say hi to our neighbor friends.  Emma loved it!  She was very curious to know what the heck all the people were doing out and about and why we were going for a wagon ride after dark.

One of my favorite Emma pictures of all time is from Halloween 2011.  It is a picture of Emma in her cow cos...well here it is:

I posted it in the blog with a caption that read, "moo bitches".  Well, Emma took that same sass and channeled it into her duck portrayal this year.  So I give you Emma's impression of Diva Duck:

Quack Bitches!

Happy Halloween :) 

Jason, Melissa, and Emma

p.s. There was a problem with a video on my last post, "A September to Remember".  That has been fixed so please click this link to go back and check it out.

A September to Remember

This is one of Emma's favorite new places to play and hang out.  

Has anyone else asked themselves, "where did September go?"  A very wise man once told me that "time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana."  Well, that's certainly true because this past month absolutely flew by!  I enjoyed going through the pictures from September, and if it weren't for them I would have sworn we went straight from August to October.  I guess this is what happens when there is a lot of excitement and activity.  We had visitors, play dates, apple orchards (Fall Time is the Best Time), baseball games, more visitors, trips out of town (Labor Day 2012), trips to the park, and on and on.  It was fantastic but fast!

This past month, Emma really started taking a liking to books.  She has a step stool that sits next to her book shelf that she will climb on, pull down a book, then bring it to you and plop on your lap while you read.  Often times we can only get through the first couple of pages before she grabs the book and starts flipping pages herself or gets up to get another one.  If she doesn't bring them to you, she will use her step stool as a desk and sit there to flip through the pages.  Very cute!

 This is a great picture of Melissa reading to Emma one morning before work...my girls :)

One of the highlights of September was a weekend visit and babysitting gig by Grandpa John and Grandma Roz.  They came up to watch Emma on a Saturday while Melissa and I spent the day at a golf outing with friends.  It is so fun to watch Emma beam when she sees them because she knows she's in for an entertaining weekend.  Although sometimes it's hard to tell who was entertaining who.

Its no secret that Emma loves electronics and she loves to play with Grandma Roz's phone.  One of the favorite games of the weekend was to call her phone and have it ring while Emma was holding it.  Almost always, she would make an astonished face and say "oooooh".  So funny!

Thanks for a great weekend, Grandma and Grandpa!

Emma also had a couple play dates this month.  One was with her old friend Colin.  Colin and his parents Julie and Aaron came over to our place and we took a walk to the local park.  The kids had fun swinging, digging, teeter tottering, and just plane hanging out.

Emma also made a new friend, Whitney.  She is the daughter of one of my friends, JD.  They came over for a few hours during Daddy Daycare Wednesday.  It has been in the works for a long time and I'm glad it finally worked out -- we all had a blast. 

We also had a visitor from Emma's past.  One of our favorite teachers and former go-to babysitters Sarah, moved back home to Illinois at the end of the summer but returned for a weekend in Minneapolis.  She was kind enough to take time away from her busy schedule to have dinner with us and hang out with Emma for a while.  I think both enjoyed it very much.

 Thanks to everyone who made September a month to remember!  Although it went by at a frantic pace, we enjoyed every minute.

With love from Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa and Emma

Daddy Daycare

Wednesday's are sacred to me.  It's a day that I get Emma all to myself and I absolutely love it.  It hit me especially hard today, just how fortunate I am to be able to have this time and this day with her.  A lot of things need to happen in order for this to be an option.  For one, I need a job that will allow me to work part time - check.  Second, we need a day care that will allow us to take Emma part time - check. Third, and most importantly I need a wife who understands the value of this time who has faith that I won't do irreversible damage to our daughter while she's not around - check and check.  I am so, SO fortunate that Melissa has given me this opportunity which is just one of a millions reasons why I love her to death and confirms that she is the best partner in the world!

Today was an especially fun day.  We played, we napped, we played some more.  I even managed to get tome work done around the house.  The weather forecast is turning colder but today was beautiful - 75 and sunny!  We took advantage and spent most of the afternoon outside with a run around the lake some solid playground time.  To top it off we went for an ice cream run after dinner.  Does it get any better?

Tennis balls make for a great toy.

 You can toss 'em.

 Put'em in a can.

Dump'em out.  And repeat.

This is what tortellini and red sauce looks like in the hands of a 15 month old. 

A special thank you to my wife, partner and best friend.  Thank you for being so understanding and supportive of Daddy Daycare Wednesday.  I love my days with Emma and it wouldn't happen without your love and support!  Emma and I love you very much :)

With love from Minneapolis,

Jason and Emma :)

p.s.   Also, now that they've posted it on Facebook, I can now share some exciting news from this past weekend.  Emma has a new friend!!  Vera Mae Eliason, daughter of Peter and Ana, was born on Sunday, September 30th.  I visited them at home on Tuesday night and got to hold the precious peanut!   All are doing well.  I'm so happy for them and can't wait to spend more time with Vera and watch her grow :)

Fall time is the best time

I love all of the seasons, but I think Fall may be my favorite.  What's so great about this time of year you ask?  Let me give you my top 5 reasons why this time of year rocks:

1) The weather!  The entire month of September seems to have been 75 degrees, sunny, low humidity, and dry.  Perfect for getting outside.
2) Apple orchards.  Read on.
3) Sports.  Baseball is in the midst of the pennant race, there is still some golf on TV, and oh yeah - football.
4) Yard work.  It has been nice that I haven't had to mow in the past month (see number 1) but I do look forward to raking and bagging leaves.   Especially this year, since Emma will be able to jump into heaping piles of them.
5) Fall food!  That's another list all on its own (quick top 5: chili, lasagna, chicken pot pies, soups/stews, and anything apple - pie, cider, sauce...yum!).

One of my favorite yearly traditions is our Fall pilgrimage to a local apple orchard.  This year we went to Minnetonka Orchards in Minnetrista, MN.  It was a bit of a drive, about 40 minutes, but it was well worth it.  This place had it all: pick your own apples, pumpkins, petting zoo, live music, cinnamon-sugar topped apple donuts, other delicious apple goodies, and beautiful wooded walking trails.  Not to mention it was once again 75 and sunny with a negligible breeze.  Here are some pics from the picture perfect day.

The best part of 'pick your own' is having a few as a treat along the way.  This one kept her busy for quite a while :)

I love her little legs hanging down in this picture.

My girls :)

 She so badly wanted to pick up a pumpkin.  

Remnants of the afore mentioned cinnamon-sugar apple donut.

I think she was pointing out a cheerio that she had tossed to the ground.

Thanks for a great day, Minnetonka Orchards!  See you next year!!

Jason, Melissa, and Emma