29 behind me and 71 more to go!

I'm officially enjoying my last year of my 20s!  According to Oprah, 50 is the new 40, 40 is the new 30 etc.... so that means I'm really just a teenager :)  As my birthday present, my husband gave me a book (he is probably taking bets on whether I will actually read it!), and my daughter gave me her virus complete with fever, chills, body aches and every other flu like symptom.  Seriously, could this be swine flu?  Who can I sue if it is :)      

Mother's Intuition?

I knew the instant the "projectile vomit virus" entered my sweet baby.  Last Wednesday I witnessed my little angel commit a cold blooded paci-jacking at daycare.  I sat her down next to one of her buddies (who is constantly sick).  Before I knew it, Emma had reached over, plucked the paci (pacifier) out of "friend's" mouth, and with the speed of a cheetah placed it in her own mouth! (stupid teething!).  I nearly got sick thinking about that snot covered paci.  It bothered me all day long.  I even called Dan to inform him of our daughter's greed and my disgust.  So there you have it.  Paci stealing is not only mean, it's dangerous!      

Recovering with dad

First Trip to the ER: a rite of passage?

One thing I have learned is that you should never tempt fate with a statement or thought like "I'm so lucky that "this" never happens."  This is because as soon as the words leave your mouth fate has a way of sucker punching you square in the nose!  I had such a thought about Emma's health the other day.  Without fail, our girl spiked a stubborn fever last night and projectile vomited on her momma 2x.  After a long night and a fever of 103.4 it was time to go to the children's hospital. It seems our vomit machine has stomach bug.  We also learned that the tube in her left ear has apparently fallen out (but no ear infection).  Emma is on the mend and feeling a little better.  She totally rocked the baby hospital gown she had to wear, and of course she charmed everyone in there.  

Needing a "pick me up"

It is pretty difficult to get ready and out the door on time these days.   Emma has a bad case of the "momma pick me ups!" Not to mention this is usually before coffee so momma could use a pick me up too!   Emma has been trying to sprout a tooth for a while now and this morning I caught a glimpse of it.   I tried to get a picture.....but that required me to put her down. This is what ensued....

Ummm..did you just put me down??  

Haven't we talked about this momma?

Look how sad you made me mom!  Don't you feel

sorry?  Please pick me up!

You are a terrible mom!  You better pick me up!

I can't believe how mean you are mom.

Wheres dad?  I'm telling him.

Round 2: "stepping it up a notch"

PICK ME UPPPPPP!!!!

and in the midst of this I "almost" got a picture of 

the elusive and baby possessing tooth.

(her bottom left incisor)

Not to worry.  I picked up the "boss" and she was instantly happy.  That is, until she had to get strapped into her car seat.  Those pictures are too graphic for our  younger viewing audience :)  

Happy Birthday Grandma Riggs!!!!

Happy, happy birthday!!!   

OH!  If I was a brave girl I would post the video I took when we surprised Dan's momma this weekend.....but I like staying at her house, I like it when she takes care of Emma, and I love her cooking.  So I just can't do it, but believe me.  It's a good one!  I wish I had a picture of the birthday girl, we miss you already!

3 days, 1400 miles and still alive to talk about it!

On Friday we embarked on a serious road trip!  We drove up to Rochester for a friends wedding and then headed over to Syracuse to surprise Grama Riggs for her birthday!  Boy was she surprised!  The next day there was a picnic with lots of family and friends.  It was so much fun and we were sad to leave Monday morning.  Here are some pictures from our fun.

Emma playing with her cousin Mackenzie

This is our new niece Gretchan.  She is 2 months old and 

makes the funniest faces!  Dan lovingly refers to 

her as "Benjamin Button," but that is just because 

he is jealous of her hair

This is blurry but it captures the stuffed dog that

haunts Emma's nightmares.  She is terrified of cats

and small dogs....and apparently small stuff dogs as well.

Emma could not bring herself to even look at it.

Now that I look at him, he does seem quite menacing...

Emma and Mackenzie playing.

Mackenzie was teaching Emma how to crawl..

And yes, she is this beautiful in person too!

Emma tries but her big ol' butt weighs her down.

Soon enough Emma!

Cousin Pete.  He likes long walks on the beach and sunsets.....

Cousin Sam (possibly Emma's favorite).  She

loves to just stare at him and he is so great with her!

Emma and cousin Carley.  Emma outweighs her little

cousin (who is older by 10 days) by almost 10 pounds ;)

leg comparison.

Dear Emma, I'm sorry you got your 

momma's legs and cankles.  I also blame my 

momma for those too.

cousin Dominic

and cousin Bradley.  These two could possibly be

the most polite little guys on the planet (and they

happen to love ice cream!

Applause!

Finally, the response my stand up routine deserves!  :-)  This is Emma loving mommies jokes and giving her the round of applause I deserved.  Now if only I could get that standing ovation!  

Emma and her Mohawk

My little blue eyes
                                               the only thing bigger than Emma's thighs is 

                                                        her all natural mile high mohawk!
                                                                  mommy's little ham...

Emma and her girlfriends

One of Emma's teachers sent this picture as part of the Early Learning Center's Bitty Bumblebee class newsletter. Emma loves hangin' with her girls.

Mother's Day 2009

Today I celebrated my very first Mother's Day with my sweet baby Emma.  Marching in the March for Dimes just yesterday really makes me appreciate all of my blessings today.  "Emma" a.k.a "daddy" surprised me with sleeping in, breakfast and a beautiful engraved locket.   Being a mom is nothing less than Emmalicious!   

As a mom I have gained bionic hearing, a blood hound's sense of smell (I can sniff out a poopy diaper from a mile away), and a hint of ESP.  I have survived sleep deprivation and the demands of a screaming baby.  I can go for a week without doing laundry, showering or brushing my hair.  Yes, it is true.  Even the Marines have nothing on me.  I have learned valuable lessons like not biting my nails after changing a diaper, the consequences of running out of formula or baby's spare outfit.  I literally know what it is like to be "up to your elbows in "it."  I can be in the midst of full out meltdown (see the elbow remark) and still answer the phone like June Cleaver.  And just when I start to get a big head about all of these "accomplishments"-scratch that-"survival skills," I realize that all mom's are doing the same!   So I am proud for my induction into this new sorority of motherhood, even if it comes with some pretty severe forms of hazing. 

Happy Mother's Day to all mommies!!!!!! 

"teacher" and "student"

(right before "teacher" tries to eat camera)

Back from our march...

We did the March for Dimes march for babies this morning. We raised over $100 !! Thanks to everyone who donated! It was a lot of fun and surprisingly emotional.  I think everything happened so fast that we didn't have time to really digest how stressful it was or how very luck we are to have our Emma!  Speaking of Emma, she LOVED the 4 mile walk.  Of course I forgot my camera in the mad rush to get there by 8am.  When we got home I tried to get Emma to pose with her very first March of Dimes T-shirt.  Well....as you can see...ummm...it doesn't fit anymore :)  She was the fattest preemie at the walk, that's all I'll say.  I'm so thankful she is so healthy and plump!  We can't wait for next year's walk!

A zoo trip

Here are some pictures of our recent zoo trip! Emma really enjoyed herself so we purchases a family membership so we can go back as much as our little wild animal desires!

Team Emma!

Team Emma is marching for March of Dimes March for Babies.  Our family, and those we can recruit, will march on May 9th at Bowman Field.  Among many things, The March of Dimes provides support to families with premature babies.  Emma still has her "Every baby has a story" t-shirt, although she can't squeeze into it anymore (much like how mommy can't squeeze into her pre-Emma clothes!).  I guess we can use the exercise!  If you would like to march with us, make a donation, or see more information visit the TeamEmmaR page. 

Emma on her birthday