The rudest restaurant guest ever

We've started to feed Emma 'grown-up' food (which is to say, food that hasn't been pureed). We also just started giving her milk, which she really loves. Unfortunately, she really hasn't figured out table manners yet.



She also gets a little upset when there's no milk left in her cup!



Needless to say, she's not going to get invited to any formal dinner parties any time soon.

One year doctor visit

Emma went for her one year check-up today and is doing great (she even took her shots like a trooper). She is 27.5 inches tall (5th percentile), weighs 19 lbs 7.5 oz (25th percentile), and her head is 17.9 inches (50th percentile). She also has 2 new teeth coming in, with 2 more likely coming in the next couple of weeks. Mommy and Daddy just can't wait for that!

Hamming it up

Emma has really turned into a real ham. She loves the camera!

Emma using her fork

We've been giving Emma more and more grown-up food (in other words, food that hasn't been blended into paste). She seems to really enjoy it, and has been very interested in trying to use a fork and spoon, just like Mommy and Daddy. She's been getting pretty good at it, too! Here she is, using her fork (well, spork) to eat some of our grown-up dinner.

Note that there are lots of carrots sitting on her plate, which she had zero interest in after getting ahold of our pasta.

Emma hanging out

Emma has had a lot of time to hang out with her friends lately! We were at our friends' house last night, and Emma spent some time practicing duets on the piano with their daughter Clara:


And here she's working on a trio with Nolan and Clara. They all have little arms, so it takes all three of them to play all of the parts!


This morning, Emma and Melissa went to visit our friend Gwen and her daughter, Maria. Here they are, hanging out.


And, finally, here's Emma double-fisting her cereal. She really enjoys eating this way, though it's not really polite!

Chinese Emma?

Emma discovered chopsticks today (okay, so Grammy gave them to her). She loved eating rice with them and now thinks she is ready for her first trip to Asia!

Emma going down the stairs

Emma has been able to go up stairs for a while now, but couldn't figure out how to get back down. Melissa has been working hard in the last couple of weeks to teach Emma how to get down once she's gone up. She finally seems to have mastered it!

Emma's first birthday!

Emma has had a VERY busy first birthday. First, she helped Papa put together her new car:

She even read the directions!


At dinner, she drank from a big-girl glass (with some help from Mommy, of course)


And then... Well, we're not sure what she's doing with the top of her sippy cup...


We sang "Happy Birthday" to her, though she wasn't really paying any attention


And then she played tug-of-war with Cassidy!

All things considered, Emma has had a VERY fun first birthday. Thanks to everybody who called, emailed, and sent birthday wishes on Facebook!

The birthday princess

Uncle Scott borrowed Emma's birthday hat, which she refused to wear. He really is a pretty birthday princess, isn't he?


Needless to say, he got to keep all of the cupcakes!

Emma DID try out the birthday hat, but wore it under protest!

Emma working

Emma has picked up some bad habits recently. Here she is working on the computer while she eats:



Here she is working as a hot dog vendor driving her route:

Emma's first birthday

Emma's first birthday is on August 19th. We had her first birthday party yesterday, and lots of family came in for it. Here's Emma with her great-uncle Marc and great-aunt Ellen:


Here's Emma on Present Mountain (note: she has a spotter):


Emma opened some of her presents, with some help from her cousin Alexis



The birthday girl didn't seem to mind wearing some of her bows


And, despite all of the presents, her favorite toy still seems to be a cell phone. She LOVES papa's blackberry!


We also had a lot of awesome desserts. Grandma Jean brought two cakes for Emma:



Aunt Stephanie made cupcakes!


Emma really enjoyed eating her dessert, though she ended up wearing a lot of it.


Alexis sure enjoyed HER cupcake!


And, finally, we tried to get a picture of Emma and her cousins. Alexis is very good at sitting still, but her little brother Dave and Emma are not very cooperative. Still, Grandma Jean is willing to try!


Thank you everybody for coming, and for all of the wonderful gifts. We all had a great time!

Emma walking!

Emma's been on the way to walking for a while, and today she took more than one step in a row!

Our little monkey

Emma will climb on just about anything, and she is very enterprising at getting where she wants to go.

Emma Snoring

Emma has spent to much time sleeping in the same room with daddy; she knows how to snore!

Our little Homer Simpson

These are the things that happen when Mommy leaves us at home alone!

Emma throwing her pacifier

This is one of Emma's newest activities. She's been throwing things on the floor for a long time, but she has been very diligent in practicing her aim and trying to throw things further. In fact, she's fond of waking us up in the morning by pelting us with her pacifier. She's very lucky she's so cute!

Oh no!