Emrey has her first rice cereal!

So after the doctors visit on friday, we got the green light to start Emrey on rice cereal! Exciting...not really. Most of it ended up on her bib, that was the first few bites, before she started making horrible faces and refusing to let us put the spoon in her mouth. As you can see from the pictures below, attempt number two was much better and she seemed to really like it. I think we might have had the consistency too thick the first time...live and learn.

First attempt at rice cereal 5/16/09...

Busted...no I do not make my own pie crusts from scratch!

Helping mom while sucking on anything she can get her hands on.

Attempt #2 was much more successful and fun for everyone involved!

Emrey, enjoying life, in her bumpo seat....wish I could figure out a better way to arrange these pictures (side by side?) feel free to let me know if you have any knowledge on this subject?

Emrey is almost 5 months!

Okay, so I needed to give a longer update on Emrey, as I was selfish with the last post and barely mentioned her. Emrey is almost 5 months and growing like a weed. Last time I weighed her on our scale, she weighed almost 14 pounds. She has rolled several times on her own and is almost sitting up on her own. She's also really developing her fine motor skills, and is grabbing at anything she can get her hands on, using her little pinchers to explore the world. Most things go into her mouth, but she is also beginning to explore our faces, hair and other objects by just feeling them and taking it all in. She loves to feel different textures. In terms of eating, I think we may start her on some rice cereal in the near future, as she has become very distracted while eating. It is hard to get a full feeding in without her wanting to have a conversation in between. We are going to the doctors on friday for her 4 month checkup ( a little late) and shots :(, so we will ask her about it when we go. Emrey has finally noticed Bailey, and laughs spontaneously when she runs around with her ball. As for sleeping...traveling definitely messed with her sleeping through the night. She has been getting up once a night and is inconsolable unless I feed her. Hopefully the cereal will help to tide her appetite once we start that.

Helping mom with a sandwich

Hanging out with dad while he eats breakfast.

Goobye 19 Cypress Rd.....

We just returned from a very full trip to Boston. The trip was originally planned to visit family and friends, but ended up being more about closing the door to a chapter of my life. My parents are moving....after twenty some odd years of living in Natick, it is time to move, time to say goodbye to the home where most of my childhood memories lay. There is no longer the need for a pool in the summer, no one to make late night trips jumping over the fence to Burger King, no one to leave the lights on and forget to lock the doors, it is time to move on. While we were there, I was able to help my mom with a yard sale, which was an adventure! Yard sales always remind me that we don't really "need" all that stuff we like to buy...because one day soon, it will be neglected and other things will become more important. Still, it was fun to reminisce about prom dresses, beat up chairs, camp stoves and grandma's old china...each with a story of their own. And as I
wrestled with the sadness of saying goodbye to this house, I was reminded by my very wise mother, that these physical structures we call homes are really just temporary structures. They are places that protect us from the elements and in some way make us feel safe. I was reminded that we cannot cling too tightly to these structures, and this scripture came to mind.

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" 2 Corinthians 4:18 - 5:1

Along with packing and putting the yard sale together, we had some great time with friends and family. We were able to visit Grandma Macleod, which was very special. It was so fun to see Emrey with Nanna, Pappo and Aunt Sarah, and very nice to have a little break from being the sole source of entertainment! We also made it up to New Hampshire, where we got a few days of rest and relaxation at the cabin.

Aunt Sarah

Visiting Great Grandma

Four Generations

With Pappo in New Hampshire

Good friends

On the plane home, way past her bed time...

Before heading up to Boston, we went to Ellis' cousins wedding in Philly. We had a blast and Emrey was able to meet many of her great aunts and uncles, along with the bride and groom! She is a real trooper when it comes to traveling and did great on all the plane rides. For now, we're back in Houston, trying to get used to 90 degree weather with 95% humidity in May! It's still good to be "home", even if it is just temporary.

Aunt Gerallyn

Philadelphia

Uncle Jessy

Rain, rain go away....

This Saturday, we got dumped on. I was planning to head out with a friend, when she called to say we were under a tornado warning and a flood watch! At first, I thought it just looked like a little rain...whats the big deal, but several minutes after we decided not to venture out, we looked outside our front door to see that our street had become a river!

This recycling container collected about a foot and a half of water in an hour!

You can see the water creeping up, about to get that car in the driveway!

Ellis, up to his knees in the middle of our street!

Ellis got some great father-daughter bonding time, while we were housebound, waiting to venture out. When we finally did make it out, Ellis surprised me by taking me to buy a jogging stroller, something I said I had wanted.

Following the directions, not one of my talents...

Sunday, was the complete opposite of Saturday's weather. It was sunny and gorgeous, still not too hot. So, we took the stroller out for a run. Emrey seemed to enjoy it. I have accepted that my body is never going to go back to "normal" :), but regardless, it is time to start exercising again. The run was a bit painful for me...but it always is when you haven't been doing anything!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!!

We celebrated a soggy, humid Easter here in Houston, but celebrated none the less! Emrey was willing to pose for a few more pictures this morning. We have so many dresses...but this one was given to us just last night by some friends. We really love our church and the community that we have been blessed to know here. We attended church this morning and it's official, Emrey is a girl and LOVES to talk! This week Emrey has started gabbing so much that it's hard to keep her in church with us! Today, she was all smiles, flirting with everyone around, but especially with her buddy Rowan, sitting a few rows back.

Here are a few shots of Emrey in her Easter dress, and working hard with dad at the office and on the lap top.

This was the only smile we could get

Mesmerized by the fan

How do you work this thing?

Emrey and dad, hard a work...