Pictures

The Shutterfly pictures didn't seem to work too well, so here are some of them:

Fernwood botanical gardens--the golden dome

End of Summer

It feels like the end of my summer vacation. I start back to work on Monday. I knew it would be hard to go back to work, but I never realized just how difficult it would be. I used to think I'd go stir crazy if I was home, but that has been far from the truth for these past 12 weeks. Even though Andrew will be with her in the daytime, I wish I could stay at home with her to enjoy her morning smiles, and I don't want to miss any of her first moments. When I get home, she'll be heading into her evening cranky mode, and her 30 minute scream session every evening that starts around 7:30pm. I worry about her and Andrew adjusting to bottles in the daytime as we have had a hard time getting her to like them since she was only 3 or 4 weeks old. And now when I'm at work I'll have to figure out the logistics of pumping every day. I'm sure we will all adjust, but it will take a few days...ok, maybe a couple weeks for me. And soon I'll hardly see Andrew since he'll be working crazy hours trying to get his business going.

We've tried to enjoy my last couple of weeks off. We babysat for a friend's eight-year-old, Kyle, for a couple days and took him to the botanical gardens--where you'll see the miniature of the golden dome, and we took him to the beach. It was a cool enough day at the shoreline that I mostly kept Emma covered and she had her first snooze on the sand. Andrew actually got into the water for the first time that I can remember. I had to get pictures of that. =)

We went to Four Winds casino today to have the buffet. We haven't been there since it first opened about 4 or 5 years ago. It was filled with retired people, and we couldn't get two steps anywhere without being stopped so someone could admire the baby. Admittedly it probably is rare to see an infant there, and of course we weren't there to gamble. The food is really good! Andrew carried Emma in what we call her kangaroo pouch so that she would stay quiet. She loves to ride around in her pouch, and she enjoyed the attention.

Emma had her two month appointment on Tuesday. Her stats: length 25 inches, 98% (though the doctor thinks she wiggled so much that she isn't truly that long); weight 11 lbs 6 ounces, 43%; and her head is 15.25 inches 29%.

At night, we're down to one feeding. She tends to sleep from about 9pm until 4am, although she went until 6am one night last week. Even though she was sleeping, I woke up on time and then I couldn't get back to sleep after checking to make sure she was ok, because I was waiting for her to wake up! I am enjoying my sleep!

Because our only choice of "fast" internet out where we live is the satellite variety, I upload a few pictures a day to Shutterfly. And by that I mean I set the computer to upload them, then walk away while it slowly uploads. So I'm trying to show some of them through Shutterfly on here, so hopefully it works. Perhaps one positive about being back at work is that I can do more with our pictures during my lunch hour. :) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Snoozing on the beach.

Not too eager to see the sights.

A Note on Child Safety Seats

Andrew just completed training to become a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, though he now refers to himself as a child seat nazi. A couple things he wants me to share with everyone---children should be kept in a rear facing position for as long as possible. A rear facing seat protects them from neck and spinal injuries in the event of an accident. I guess while an adult may experience whiplash, a front facing seat could cause serious injuries or even paralysis for a young child. This means poor Emma, who for now hates her car seat and car rides in general, will be watching where we come from rather than where we're going for many years to come. Our infant seat should last for her first year, but then I guess there are convertible seats that can keep her rear facing after she outgrows this seat.

On the other end of it, he says children need to be in booster seats until they are 4'9" and 100 pounds. Remember, the back seat is the safest place for children to travel.

I just wanted to leave that quick note for him. I will try to post more pictures of Emma in the next day or two.

Memorial Weekend

We took Emma to her first wedding this past weekend. Our friends, Kari and Scott, had a beautiful outdoor wedding. The weather was gorgeous, and Emma did so well until the reception, but then she couldn't cause as much of a ruckus!

Kevin did a great job!

Congrats Kari and Scott, it was a beautiful ceremony and day!

I was so good, the worst of my noise was a few snores.

All dressed up.

Family photo

Mommy & me

Then on Sunday we decided to head over to Silver Beach in St. Joseph. They have a new water fountain/playground and carousel. Emma slept through this, but I can't wait until she's old enough to enjoy it!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend, and thanks to all of our military members past & present for your service!