Big Steps!!

Emilia took her first two steps at the Little Gym last Friday!! Many of the other kids were walking around, and Emilia felt left out. She promptly turned from the piece of equipment that she was standing against and took two full step to me. Such a big girl!!!

We went to the Penn State game this past weekend. It was such a great trip and we got to use our camper for the first time! Emilia did so well with the disruption in her routine. Mammaw stayed at the campground with her while Pappaw, Lauren, Brian and I went to the game. They later met us in State College and we walked around and went shopping.

We also got delicious ice cream from the Creamery...it's not a PSU trip without it! Emilia thought it was pretty delicious, too. She had a little taste of just about everyone's, but her favorite was daddy's cone which she managed to chomp with her two little biters!!

The two days of activity definitely took their toll on our little one. She kept a smile on her face the whole time, but she sooooooooo sleepy. She slept almost the entire way home!


On Monday evening we went to the Caps game. We invited Megan, Paul, and Levi to come along. The babies were so well behaved that we got a couple of compliments from the people sitting around us! They had a great time and Emilia was "rockin' the red" for the home team. Despite the cutest cheerleader of all time, they lost in a shoot out to the Devils.

10 months (almost)

I've fallen behind once again with my posts. Since Emilia is going to be 10-months-old on Sunday we'll just consider this her 10 month post. We've been having a blast lately!! Emilia is on the verge of walking. She is soooooooo close! She is standing independently for longer and longer periods of time. She was even able to squat and recover without holding on to anything. Unfortunately with the new-found success comes lots of falls and bumps. She is constantly falling and sometimes I'm not right there to catch her. She really doesn't like being in her jumper or exersaucer anymore because she can't go. Her new favorite toy is the dog's water bowl (she would probably also love the food dish if there was every anything left in it)...I've got to get more gates!! Soon our whole house will be gated!

Her first official word is "hi" (she says it with an enthusiatic wave)...not "mommy", not "daddy", not "ball". I guess that just proves what a social butterfly she is! She's been saying it for a couple of weeks now and we've realized that it's not just a noise. She is very appropriate with it. When we go to the playground she says "hi" to all the other kids. Brian was able to come with us to the playground last Saturday (a rare day home from work). He and Emilia had a blast on the swings and the slides.



I've been trying to get her outside everyday to burn off some energy, even if it's only in the front yard. She doesn't really like the texture of the grass on her hands, but as you all know we'll work on it until she does!
We were invited to "bring your friend to the Little Gym day" by Levi. Emilia had a great time popping bubbles, crawling all over the equipment, doing forward rolls, playing with the balls, and walking on the balance beam. Here she is thanking Levi for the great playdate!

These are some of the 9-month pictures that we got done a couple of weeks ago. She was having a pretty grumpy day so I'm glad that we ended up with some good ones!

9 months (cont'd)

Wow...9 months!! I can't believe it! She's so big...yet so little at the same time. We went to the doctor yesterday for her 9-month well-check. She's a healthy 16 lb. 8 1/2 oz. (jumped up to the 10th percentile), 26 1/2" long, and continues to have a head circumference in the 50th percentile (must be the giant brain). We haven't gotten any real words yet but lots of Emilia language. She babbles all the time.

This is what I see when I go to get her out of her crib after nap and in the mornings. What more could I ask for!?!


Her favorite place to be is right here, standing at the coffee table. It's the perfect height for pulling up and cruising. These are the best little sock/shoes for chilly mornings when her piggies get cold on the hardwood floors.

Here are Emi's new earrings!! She got them done on the same day as her finger stick and 2 shots at the doctor, and she's still smiling!!



Emilia showed off her stuff the other day when she climbed all the way to the top of the stairs (and then crawled down the hallway)!!

9 months old!!

Emilia is 9 months old today!! Holy cow!! Lots of stuff is going on in our house...mainly Emilia-proofing. There are things I didn't even realize I had that she has gotten into. She loves the dog's crate so that has to stay locked, and she can make it up several stairs very quickly. However, her favorite thing to do is to practice standing. She'll pull up on just about anything, and then she likes to see if she can let go. She's even stood straight up from the floor twice so far. She can stand independently for a couple of seconds at a time and is getting much more daring with cruising. She can make it all the way around the coffee table and will let go to hold onto the couch, a toy, or someone who is sitting close by. Needless to say she's had a few tumbles and bumps.

She still isn't creeping on hands and knees consistently. She can, but she resorts to her belly crawl when she needs to get somewhere quickly or when she's on the slippery wood floor. No rest for the weary in this house!!



Yes, those are her bunny slippers that she's wearing.

Uh Oh!!!

It seems like Emilia gains new skills every minute these days. It also appears that my fear has been realized...this girl does not want to crawl! I keep trying to encourage it, but all she wants to do is pull up to stand and try to walk. She really doesn't want to cruise either...she just wants to get up and go!!! I really have to get the gate for the bottom of the stairs. She hasn't completely mastered getting all the way onto the step, but she's done it a couple of times and then she's headed for the rest of the stairs. Yesterday morning she did pull up to stand at the coffee table (time to get rid of the chess board) to get the remote. She also stood all by herself for about a second without holding on to anything! Like it said in the title of this post...UH OH!!!

This was a couple of days ago when she was beginning to get the hang of pulling up.



Now she's a pro!

Mobile Mabel !!

Emilia and I took a trip up to PA for a couple of days. We stopped by Jessica's mom's house for Jess's bridal shower. We are so happy for Matt and her...can't wait 'til September!!

We stayed for a couple of days with Mammaw and Pappaw. Emilia had a great time getting spoiled rotten!! Aidan had stayed over on Saturday night and was there when we arrived on Sunday. He kept Emilia very entertained. I think he's prepping for his baby sister!!

Emi got a bath from Mammaw and a dry from Pappaw...the best of both worlds!!


We went to the auction on Tuesday to watch Dad call. That was the first time that I had seen him in action!! Then while they finished the auction Emilia and I spent the evening with Nan and Pop and had dinner at their house.

It was so nice to spend time with Nanny and Poppa, and Emilia learned a new skill while at their house!! She pulled herself over the threshold into the kitchen and then up two steps toward the attic...uh oh!!!



That was just the beginning apparently! Lauren said that she pulled herself up onto the landing of the stairs yesterday while I was at work. Then this morning when I went in to get her out of her crib, I found her pulling herself up onto her knees. If given a bit more time she probably would have made it to fully standing. Today she decided that she would give creeping on hands and knees the old college try. This is her first attempt...



...and this is the real deal!!



In other news...Nicole and Chris had a healthy baby boy on August 18! Paul Christopher was born at 5:55 pm on Tuesday weighing in at 6 lb. 12 oz. Everyone is doing well (and very excited)!

Bouncing baby boy,
happy (and tired) parents,


proud Grump E,


and curious big brothers!!

NJ trip

We took a trip to the Jersey shore this past weekend to see Brian's family. Everyone was super excited to see Emilia and we couldn't wait to get her back on the beach.

Aunt Jacky was gracious enough to let us take over her house for five days. It was wonderful to stay there since we don't often get to see her and Jeff. She had never met Emilia before and she was looking forward to seeing her.


Our first adventure of the vacation was a trip to Ocean City, NJ's boardwalk. Emilia had her first ever carousel ride. She wasn't sure what to think at first but liked it once it got going.

We went to little Jacky's pool one day when it was really hot...much better idea than sitting on the beach in the heat. She absolutely loves the pool! She was kicking around in her pool float and "jumping in" from the side of the pool. She'll even go under the water a little.


Her new thing is to "jump" in from the side of the pool. We learned this trick from Levi when we went to the pool with him a couple of weeks ago. She thinks it's pretty awesome. We will be starting swim classes in November at the rec center and I think she'll like them a lot!!



We spent a couple of days at the beach. Emilia liked the ocean better than she did the last time we went, and she still loves to play in the sand. She tasted it again but realized that she didn't really like to eat it (again!). He favorite part was standing in the surf and letting the wet sand wash over her feet!We played in the waves and she giggled and kicked her feet each time a wave broke or we jumped over one.



The first day we were at the beach Emilia had so much fun that she just couldn't handle it. She was so tired that she fell asleep in my arms!!

We all had a great time with the Jersey crew!!