Christmas

We managed to save some presents for Emma to open on Christmas, and boy did she have fun! We went to mom's house and celebrated Christmas with us, Mom, Sam and Larry. It was nice to have family around this year. We put Emma's presents in a circle around her and let her dive in. Uncle Larry helped when Emma got stuck, but for the most part Emma opened her presents herself. I'll try to remember Emma's presents as best I can.

Graham Cracker: Jammies
Grammy and Papa: Sort and Spin Blender, Playskool stacking blocks, walker
Auntie Sam and Uncle Larry: Bird nightlight
Mommy and Daddy: Rattles / teethers, Nursery Rhyme Book, Talking ball (?)
Grandma and Grandpa Hancock: Poodle skirt and Crawl and Cruise Jungle
Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kisa: Fish rattle and gift card
Uncle Norman and Aunt Kristie: Teddy bear with a blankie

I am sure I am forget some of her presents, but that's all I can remember for now. Santa brought Emma some green beans, peas and puffs for her stocking. All of which are Emma's FAVORITES!

Around this time, Emma started crawling on her hands and knees finally, and she is really working on standing. Emma has mastered waving and clapping, but once she figured out how to do both, she moved on to other things. She pretty much only waves at herself in the mirror now!

Thanksgiving

This was our first real holiday with Emma, and it was fantastic! My sister and her boyfriend were able to come up to Mom's house and join us, which was an improbability until the week before. Paul and I made sure to test Emma on foods she may try before hand, just to make sure we wouldn't have any allergic reaction scares. Emma sat at the table with us and had some turkey and sweet potato baby food. After that, she had some of my roll, some steamed sweet potatoes, some baby cheese doodles, steamed pears and steamed apples. My little lady was a piggy and just kept on eating.

We had a video camera set up on the table to record Emma, We all agree it will be fun to listen to the background conversations in a few years! It was amazing to think about what Paul and I were doing this time last year. I guess the setting was similar, except that Dad was able to join us. The biggest difference was that Emma was still in my belly. It was a bit surreal to sit there next to her, watching her feed herself and listen to her "talking". I realized my life has changed forever and that it has only changed for the better. I have a fierce protectiveness toward my little girl and a love for her that makes all things bearable... as long as I still have Emma.

We got started on Christmas a little early this year. Actually, it may have been a little too early for Emma at first. She has been listening to Christmas music with me and with her sitter. On Wednesday morning (the day before Thanksgiving), I went in to get Emma when she woke up in the morning. I said, "good morning, Emma!" And she says..."BAH HA BAH!" Shocked, I asked her, "did you just say bah humbug to me?" With crinkled forehead, Emma says in her angriest voice, "BAH HA BAH!!!!!" Needless to say, we took a break from all things Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Never before and not since has Emma said anything even remotely close to bah humbug...!

Had Emma known what was in store for her, she would have asked for Christmas to come even earlier. The girls all hit the Black Friday sales, and Emma got jammies GALORE! She also got some shirts, warm socks and jeans. I couldn't find any good sales on toys, and I was pretty bummed about that. Fortunately, I found some fun stuff online. I ordered a Baby Einstein tunnel (SUPER AWESOME!!!!!!) and a Leap Frog table. We went ahead and gave Emma her presents, because I just couldn't wait. I love the tunnel way more than she does, but Mom and Paul agree that she will love it as she gets older. Emma is fascinated to no end with the table. It plays music and talks in English and Spanish. She will stand at the table for up to an hour playing with all the instruments. I am glad we were able to find some toys in the end. It has helped put me in the Christmas spirit.

Lastly, things are moving along with the sale of our house. Paul had to make a last minute trip today to Colorado to dewinterize the house for inspections. Hopefully all goes well with everything. Hopefully we get an offer soon! After Paul is done in Colorado, he is headed to New Mexico for a training. Emma and I are spending some time with my Mom so I can have some company. I love Emma to pieces, but sometimes I need to be around some one who can actually understand me and and hold a conversation with me. Emma was pretty grumpy pants tonight. Hopefully she will perk up tomorrow or Mom is going to send up home!

P.S. I saw that I have a new follower! Hooray and thanks for reading my blog!

Better things to do...

This is just a quick little post about our impatient Emma. She decided (after much biting on her side and pain on my side) that she prefers a bottle to old fashion nursing. I am still able to nurse Emma in the middle of the night. During the day, however, when there are better things to do, Emma prefers to chug-a-lug a bottle and get back to playing. I guess I was just too slow and she had to work too hard.

I cried a lot when I realized what was happening, but I am okay with it now. Not happy. Okay. I am not able to pump enough milk for Emma, so I am having to mix a little bit of formula with her milk, but she has no complaints. She guzzles 5-7 oz in about 5 minutes, pushes her bottle away and demands to be entertained. So even if I am not, Emma seems perfectly content with the way things are now.

Emma is pushing her walker around more and more every day. She is eating all sorts of "big people" food. After gagging and making a production out of rejecting her pureed baby foods, Emma showed us that she prefers to feed herself. Now, I give her cereal, some nasty-horrible-mommy-is-awful pureed baby fruit or veggies and some steamed, cubed whole fruits or veggies and puffs that Emma can pick up and eat by herself.

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and all the fun foods Emma will get to try. She had some Vanilla Wafers last night and daintily nibbled them with her tiny teeth before gumming them to a nasty paste. It is amazing to think that she was snug in my tummy this time last year, and now she is playing games, chewing cookies and cruising around with her walker. She is truly the most amazing thing in the world!

How could I forget?!

Emma is trying to talk. she was saying 'ba ba" the other day, so i tried teaching her "ma ma". She loves to say "ma ma' now, but she has no idea what it means. She calls all of her toys ma ma. Now, when she's upset or angry, she yells out "MA MA". I figure if I keep acknowledging her when she says it, she'll figure out ma ma is not an all purpose word. She has also amended it recently to "mom mom" She is a silly one! I love to hear her trying to say words now!

Our Little Lamb

We went to our first seasonal party as a family. A Halloween party! Fun times. Emma was a lamb, and Paul and I were sheep farmers. Emma did very well and only fussed a couple of times. We got all dressed up again on Saturday to hand out candy, but we had no trick-or-treaters! Oh well. More candy for us! Emma and I danced to Halloween songs... until she threw up... oops!

We went to Phoenix to visit Sam and Larry and go to a friend's graduation. The highlight of the trip was going to the zoo. Emma loved the aquarium. She loved it so much she slept through most of the rest. Emma showed off her army crawl and her awesome set of lungs. She sure loves to hear herself yell!

Emma is army crawling a lot, crawling a little and standing all the time. She even uses her walker to walk around a little. She would do that all day long if she could. We had a doctor's appointment today, because Emma's eye has been bothering her. She apparently has a blocked tear duct. No big deal. I just have to massage it.

This week, Emma and I are on our own while Paul is in Phoenix. The upside is that Paul will be home shortly before Thanksgiving! Time is flying by! I can't type much more. Emma is in my lap and very unhappy that I am blogging and not playing with her. I will post more updates after next week's dinner and BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING! I am sooooooo excited that Sam will be here to go. It will be fun times for the girls... but not for Emma. She gets to hang out with Daddy and Larry! They will have their own fun!

Growing up

We had Emm'a six moth check up on the 9th. She is still long and skinny. 14 pounds and 26 inches. Emma is sitting like a champ now. She even leaned forward onto her knees today to reach something but collapsed when she reached to grab. Yesterday we noticed Emma cut TWO teeth! I knew she had been working on it, but I didn't expect for two to cut through at the same time. She tries to chew her spoon with her little teeth. It is so amazing! On top of all of this, Emma has learned that she can be LOUD! She just screams at the top of her lungs while she plays, and when she is mad... everyone within a mile radius know all about it! Fun for Emma... she is going through all her Stage 1 foods to see if she has allergies. After that, we move on to yummy Stage 2 combos. Like Strawberry Banana. Mmmmmm!

Paul and I are both enjoying our jobs. Emma is doing a good with her baby sitter, and her sitter LOVES her. I had to go by to pick up Emma's left over milk, and I left Emma in the car with Paul. Patricia (the sitter) said, "Oh! Is Emma in the car. I'll go out so I can see her". I told Paul that is how I know Patricia doesn't just like Emma. She loves her. That makes me feel really good. It is still hard for me to leave Emma, but at least it's only twice a week. I will work more hours if I have to, but I am not going to just volunteer to for the heck of it.

We are very much looking forward to the holiday season. At least I know I am! We are also planning on having a family portrait taken. It will be fun for Emma to be able to celebrate her first Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas on the outside! Especially since I really feel she will be mobile within the next few weeks. I am just so happy that we are able to be so close to family, and I know they are just as happy to have us near by!

That's all I have for now. I may not post again until Halloween, unless Emma decides to crawl before then. Keep your fingers crossed that we sell our house for a very good amount, so I can get a computer and internet soon! Then I can post more often, especially as Emma starts learning things faster. So far, we are at a mile stone a week. I can't imagine more than that!

Williams so far...

We have had an interesting first month in Williams. Even though Emma and I have been here longer, I am not counting the weeks we were here without Paul. The Monday of Paul's second week at work, we were informed of a tragedy affecting a friend of ours. I will not share what happened, but it broke our hearts. That weekend, Emma had her first experience with a body of water larger than her tub. We went to Fossil Creek (a "happy place" for Paul and me), but it was unfortunately late in the afternoon. The sun was down, and it was a bit chilly. Needless to say, Emma was more happy watching the water than playing in it. We were happy to back to Fossil Creek, and Mom came with us.

This past Thursday, there was a forest fire right outside of Williams. I don't know the official story. All I know is, we were coming home from Flagstaff, and the sign that previously said "Prescribed Burn Ahead" was changed to "Wildfire Ahead". There was a bright orange glow on Bill Williams mountain, and Paul kept saying, "Oh Shit oh shit oh shit!" While Paul went to go and see what he could do to help out the next morning, Mom, Emma and I went to Kingman to help me get my mind off of the fire, and so Emma could meet some of her cousins.

Today, I went back to work for the first time. Emma had a great day. My day SUCKED! I was half an hour late for work. Luckily I work in an office where this was not a big deal. They understood that my first day back was going to be a little hectic. They even gave me lots of hugs and encouraging words when I cried. It's hard to leave my little girl after six months. I am just thankful to be in an office where my feelings matter. When I got settled in, I realized I forgot my insulated bag to keep my milk in on my way home from work. Not a huge deal, but not a good thing either. Mom called to tell me she checked in on Emma, and Emma was having a good time. This made me feel much better. As I was leaving the office at the end of the day, I remembered I needed gas. Of course the pump I chose had air in the lines, so I had to barely squeeze the trigger or else the gas wouldn't come out. While standing around waiting for my gas to trickle in and fill my tank, I noticed one of my tires was flat. I proceeded to the air tank and attempted to fill up a tire for the first time. By the time my money ran out the second time, I realized I could hear air leaking out of my tire. Off to Discount Tire I go...

On my way to the tire store, I hit EVERY red light along the way. While praying for my tire to make it, a nice man comes up and knocks on my window to tell me he can hear the air leaking out of my tire. CRAP! I finally get to the tire place, and the guy notices a big hole in my sidewall. New tire for me. I call Paul, who is already on his way to pick up Emma for me, and I break into tears. I am tired, I miss my baby and I want to go home. Paul stays on the phone with me until he gets to Emma and I have calmed down.

Emma did well with her sitter. She is not taking a bottle very well, but she only has two bottles while she is away from me, so I'm not too worried. The whole way home (20 minutes), Emma yells at me, and I acquire a horrendous headache. Luckily, Emma and I were soon on our way to visit my sister and Larry, so I only had to sit back and relax, finally!

Friday, I go back to work, and Paul will have Emma for the day. We also have Emma's 6 month appointment, so I will have updates soon after. Emma still seems to be a long, skinny little thing. Cute as a little button! She decided last week that she was ready to sit all by herself, and it reinforces how grown up she is getting. She is pulling herself up on her hands and knees, so we think "inch worming" will be happening soon. Still no teeth, but all things in good time.

Paul and I are both enjoying our new jobs, and we are both enjoying being back around civilization. We dearly miss our friends in South Fork and hope to see them again before too long. For now, here's to hopeing our next month is nice and mellow and full of nice firsts for Emma!