Thanksgiving Trip 08'

This year we spent Thanksgiving with my mom and her husband Mike in Virginia.  The drive is shorter than the one to Dan's parents so it was our "practice trip" with Emma.  She did great and only got impatient the last hour or two.  We learned that for every 3-4 hours of driving we spend another 40 minutes at a rest stop with Emma :)  We have so much to be thankful for this year!  Here are just a couple pictures of our trip.  Thanks to my mom for cooking!! 

Dan & Emma

Awww!!

Bath Time in the Sink

so serious!

"wash my back nanny"

Emma and cousin Isabelle

DoEs ThIs DiApEr MaKe Me LoOk FaT?

I can't tell you how much I laughed when I took these pictures!  Our little girl loves to eat!

Defense Day Pictures

Me, Dan, Emma and Dr. Klinge (thanks to Dr. Klinge for the picture!)

Phew! (and some Emma updates)

My dissertation defense went well and I am officially not a graduate student anymore!  Yeah!!  I'm excited to start a post-doc Dec 8th.  I will be going into a lab that does different techniques so it will be a great learning experience.  The new lab is in the next building so I am not moving that far out of my comfort range!  Overall, I just feel relieved!  I got the best sleep last night.  Emma even decided to sleep from 11pm to 3:30am.  It was wonderful!  Dan wasn't able to attend my defense because Emma was scheduled for her RSV shot at the same time.  He did clean the house and bought flowers and a card (best husband ever!)  

Emma update:  Emma is up to 13.3 pounds!  Dan and I have to be very strict on her about sleeping on her left side and working on building tone in her neck this month.  She prefers to see the world from her right side and thus she has a flat head.  (maybe a republican?).  If we can't make progress this month MissE might be in for some physical therapy and the dreaded helmet.  Some new things our little girl is doing recently include sucking on her fists (she has gotten her thumb a couple times), perfecting her "Elvis lip", starting to coo, lots of eye contact, loves to be naked, really enjoys her wipe warmer and still enjoys french kissing the dog.  

Playtime Pictures!

"D" day is on the way!

Defense day, that is!  I am excited to be finally defending.  Maybe I'll get some rest once this is over and we get MissE into a daycare!  I'm dying to get a routine back into our lives!!!  Hopefully I'll pass!!

Did I do that??

I've been trying to get Emma to play more in her baby gym.  She needs lots and lots of tummy time to help "work out" her flat spot.  She got pretty frustrated after 15 min so I flipped her over so she could play sitting up.  I tried to hang plenty of toys to keep her attention.  She was a little bored when all of a sudden she swung her arm up and the toys moved!  In all fairness, I'm pretty sure it wasn't deliberate but she looks so pleased I have to give her credit.  We just love her little gym!  Thanks cousin Emily!

In other news, Daisy is doing much better since she started the steroids.  She is bouncing around crazy as ever.  This is a video of her chasing a bug that found its way into the house. Daisy thought it was playing with her when it was really just running for its life.  She was very sad when it died and could no longer "play" with her. And yes, that is peoples court on the tv :)

Best Buds!

Dan and I worried how our hyper and overly friendly dog would do with a fragile little baby.  I must say that I am pleasantly surprised!

Pals that play together......

(why do I feel like I just caught them doing something wrong?)

Nap together.......

Angry Cat

I found this on YouTube.  Hilarious!  Some days I feel exactly the same way!

  

Tagged!

I was tagged by my friend Anne to go into the 6th photo folder and post the 6th picture so here it is!!

This is my niece Isabelle, and flower girl extraordinaire, at our wedding. She was about 3 1/2 at the time. She was such a handful pitching a monster fit right before walking down the aisle, running down the dock by the lake, hiding under the tables and dragging her finger through the icing on our cake! She is pouting in this picture after getting into trouble.  Hey, the girl just wants to have fun!  She is funniest kid I know!!  Here are some more of her shinning moments from that day...

on the dock..

sitting for the girl pic

flower girl layin' down on the job!

my personal favorite...licking the icing off her fingers!

So I'm going to tag the Beasleys!  Let's see it!

wednesday pics

Doggie "hopped" up on pain meds...

"Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon"

Jammin' out on her "air guitar"

Oh my poor furbaby!

My poor Daisy has hurt herself.  She was outside running around like a crazy girl Sunday afternoon with Dan and next thing we knew, she was limping around the house (she has been known to run fast, lose coordination and fall down).  We had her checked out today and she has a sore hip.  She has a week of steroids to see if it is something minor.  We are hoping it isn't hip dysplasia which both labs and standard poodles are notorious for.  This is a clip of her "war wound." She is the best dog ever!  She is so sweet and doesn't have a mean bone in her body.  Emma on the other hand, bares her toothless gums and snarls at me daily :)

And this is the "peeping tom" poking her nose into the shower...every morning 

A daily conversation:

Emma: "ah"

Daisy: "EMMA!  I LOVE YOU EMMA! Do you love me, DO YOU?  DO YOU?"

Emma:  "eeeh"

Daisy:  "I want to lick your face,  your cute chubby face, I WANT TO LICK YOUR FACE!"

Daisy:  "Is mom watching?  Is she?  Do you think she'll see?  I can't see her in my peripherals!"

Emma:  "haaa"

Daisy:  "NO?  Are you sure Emma.  I feel like she's watching??  Okay!  I'M GOING FOR IT!"

What a nice surprise!

Last night Emma went to sleep at 11 pm.  I woke up this morning and realized she was still sleeping at 4 am!  All I can say is WOW!  Then the best husband on the planet stayed up with her until he went to work at 7:30 so I could sleep another couple of hours.  Best day EVER!

Videos!

These are a few recent videos our girl!

Emma finally notices the fish!  I'm so glad Dan got this video.

I tell you I love this thing!  look at the big belly! 

Emma has recently discovered her hands and I was trying to get a video of her sucking her fingers.  I didn't expect her to start licking her blanket!  She is a hungry girl!

Just a smile clip.  I can't get enough of those chubby cheek grins!

Sunday Pics

on our way to church

nothing better than a baby cuddle!

Sunday "new parent" lesson learned: ALWAYS have a spare outfit in the diaper bag to prevent bringing home a naked baby due to the world famous "diaper explosion"  :)  

Half the dog Daisy used to be..

Fur-bunnies are no longer calling the Riggs' house their home! Daisy had a spa day starting at 7am today.  The girl that took care of her said she loved every second of it.  It's amazing what an attention starved doggy will do for a little love.  I just love when her fur is short and clean even if it makes her look like the sissy that she is. Here is the little diva modeling her new look.

Look at that happy face!!

I call this look "half squirrel, half deer"