Uncle Kenny is here!

Uncle Kenny (Brian's and Melissa's friend and Brian's roommate from grad school) is visiting for a few days. Melissa left us alone with Emma all night, and we had to resort to the Baby Bjorn. Kenny decided to model it for us.

Emma's new talent

Emma has a new talent - if you give her the spoon for her oatmeal, she can actually put it in her mouth!

Going for a ride!

Yeehaw!

Kelleher Christmas party

Daddy didn't remember to take many pictures at the Kelleher Christmas party. Oops! Here's the only one that turned out - Emma and her Aunt Janet:


If anybody has any Christmas Day pics from the Kelleher part, please send them to us and we'll put them up!

Christmas morning

Here are some (belated) pictures from Christmas morning!

Alexis on her new stuffed elephant:


Dave with a new dump truck/hammer toy. He loves it:


Emma with a little windmill that attaches to the tray of her Bumbo seat. It turns out she knows how to spin things now!


Dave giving Emma a Christmas poke in the nose:


And, finally, all of the grandkids on Grandpa O'Shea's new picnic table:

Christmas Eve with the O'Shea Family

We spent Christmas Eve with the O'Shea family. Emma was a little bit cranky, but we had a lot of fun. Santa stopped by to visit, and we took a few pictures with him!

=


Emma's a little young to appreciate Santa, but she didn't cry when she sat in Santa's lap (which is more than can be said for some of her cousins... and her daddy). We also managed to get a few shots of Emma with the family. Here she is with Aunt Ginny:


and Kim:


and our cousin Maura, who just got married!

In Chicago for Christmas!

We just arrived in Chicago for Christmas, and are staying with Grandma and Grandpa O'Shea. Grandpa loves feeding the babies - here's a picture of him feeding Emma her oatmeal!

4 month doctor visit, eating solid food

Emma went to the doctor today for her four month checkup and immunizations. She is 13 pounds, 5 ounces (between the 25th and 50th percentile), 22.75 inches long (10th percentile), and her head is 16.25 inches around (50th percentile).

The doctor said we can start giving her real food, so we gave her a mixture of formula and oatmeal. She seemed to like it a lot. Click here to see a video of her taking her first bites of 'real' food. And, of course, here's the aftermath:



She's a pretty sloppy eater, hmm?

Rough day

Wow, have I had a rough day. I am TIRED.

Our affectionate little girl

I caught this picture when Melissa was feeding Emma. Emma appears to be giving Melissa a kiss on the chin:


Alternately, she decided that baby formula isn't quite what she's looking for, and that she really wants something a little heartier. Melissa is leaning toward the kiss theory. I'm going to keep an eye on her, though - if she goes for the A-1, I'm outta here.

Emma's new hobby

Emma's new hobby is trying to see how many fingers she can chew on simultaneously.


She is VERY serious about this hobby.


Her new hobby might have to do with the fact that she suddenly seems to be teething. Or, she just really likes the taste of her hand. Who can say, really? She's certainly not admitting to anything yet!

At the command center

I am the boss of this house. Here I am in my throne!

Taking a nap

Emma conked out on the couch last night. Too bad Mommy was trapped, then!

I've fallen and I can't get up!

Seriously. I can't get up.

Putting up the Christmas Tree!

We put up our Christmas tree today. Emma helped out through the entire process. She put up lights:


and garland:


She even helped us put up her stocking, though she wanted to try it on for size first. It turns out that it fit, though it was pretty snug:


And here she is next to it after we hung it up:


And then she helped Grandma and Papa put up some ornaments that were given to us by other people. This one is from Aunt Stephanie:


And this ornament is from Grandma Jean:


And here's the whole family in front of the Christmas tree, after all of the ornaments are up. The dogs were not that interested in participating, but we tried our best to convince them that it was worthwhile:

Emma and Daddy having fun

Emma is now really interactive, and loves to smile and giggle. We were playing with her last night, and managed to get a video of her laughing.



Her other hobby seems to be stealing peoples' glasses and grabbing their hair. Since Daddy doesn't have much hair to grab, she has to make do with his glasses.

Happy Chanukah!

Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Mike came to visit for Thanksgiving. While they were in town, we also celebrated Chanukah (a bit early - it doesn't really start until December 11th). We all really enjoyed it! Here are Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Mike with Emma:


Everybody gave Emma lots of gifts. Here she is, on top of Present Mountain:


And here's Papa holding Emma on her new rocking horse:


Finally, here's Emma wrestling with the Chanukah Bear, who sings the Dreidel song:

Visiting the Tillemans!

When we were in Chicago last weekend, we visited the Tillemans. They didn't get to see Emma when we were in Chicago a couple of months ago, so it was a lot of fun for her to get to meet them! Unfortunately, Emma was a bit grouchy, but we all soldiered on. Here she is with our cousin Patty:


And then with our cousin Katy:


And, finally, we took a picture of Emma on the Thanksgiving platter. This is an O'Shea family tradition that's been going on for a very long time. Emma didn't particularly enjoy the experience, though!

Hanging out with Grandpa Tim

Mommy, Grandma, and Granny are all at a craft fair. Daddy and Grandpa are keeping an eye on Emma. Grandpa is doing most of the work (though Daddy still has to do the diaper-changing... go figure). Here's Emma, hanging out on Grandpa after being fed:


And here is Emma with Grandpa. They're "watching golf." Daddy wonders how they can do that with their eyes closed, but apparently it's possible!

Alexis' birthday party!

Emma's cousin Alexis turns 4 this December 21st. Aunt Christie and Uncle Cort wanted to have her birthday party a bit early this year, since the holidays are always so busy! We are in Chicago this weekend for Alexis' party and to visit with a bunch of relatives on the O'Shea side.

Here's Emma with Grandma and Grandpa, and also her cousins Dave and Alexis:


Just the grandkids (and also Grandma's arm):


Cousin Dave, right before he tackled Emma:


Uncle Scott with both of his nieces and his nephew:


Granny with all of her great-grandkids:


Here's the whole family - Grandma insisted we take a portrait:


The birthday girl and her presents!


And, finally, Alexis' cake. She helped to make it!

What the heck is mommy doing?

I think she's lost her mind!

Dinner with the kids

Emma had some friends come over last night - Nolan and Clara (and their parents). Nolan is nine months old, and Clara is six months old. Here they are for a group portrait.



Here's Emma afterward, getting ready for bed. Daddy thinks she looks like Buddha.

Conked out

It's a baby's life.