Random bits

Lately, Emily is really, really active during her diaper changes. She is all over the place. She can flip over in an instant on her changing table. Try to change her on the floor and you are chasing after her bare bottom as she crawls away. She is so fidgety and kicks those legs so fast! A lot of times she will cry when you lie her down for a diaper change, but miraculously if you give her a pair of socks, she is happy again. Of all of her toys and rattles, she prefers a sock. I told Jeremy that her sock is probably going to become her "lovey," We keep a pair of her tiny socks right beside the diaper wipes and when she starts to cry, we're like, "Here's your sock." Then she stops crying. Babies are so funny!

Emily loves to play with her own hair as she falls asleep. Sometimes while I'm feeding her, she runs her fingers through her hair and I've noticed her doing that as she tries to settle herself to sleep. I like that she does this because unlike a pacifier which can fall out, her hair isn't going anywhere!

We also have noticed that Emily likes to take things out of their containers. She loves taking her socks out of her drawer and she loves taking her toys out of her cube. We pack it full of all kinds of toys and laugh as she figures out how to open the cube and take every last item out.

First Zoo Experience

Everyone loved my hat!

Dad and Emily and the stinky camels.

Reissy Cup Family

Aunt Laura, Hunter, Mom, and Emily

Emily and Hunter at the Louisville Zoo

Morning Play Time

Why did you put us on this itchy grass?

Laura and the babies

Baby Swing Time

Our precious!

Strollin' in style

Sharing Toys

The Reiss family hosted the Burnham family for a couple of nights last week. Will had a Christian conference he was attending at the downtown Louisville convention center. It was the perfect reason for everyone to come up for a mid-week visit. Laura and I took the kiddos to the park one day for stroller and swing time. On Thursday, we all made a trip to the zoo. I was surprised at how long the babies lasted. They were very content in their strollers or being held while we watched the animals. However, sometimes I just had to laugh at their immaturity. While stopping to look at the elephants, Emily was not paying a bit of attention to the "elephant in the room" but she couldn't take her eyes and hands off of the wooden fence right in front of her!

Having Hunter in our house is like getting a glimpse into the future at what Emily will be doing next. He is only seven weeks older and he is a very good "cruiser." He could cruise around our kitchen, open cabinets, pull down plant stands, etc. He is very active and I can see I'm going to be even more busy in a few weeks. He is also starting to walk a few feet without holding on. I think both Emily and Hunter will be walking before their first birthdays! Here are a few photos from last week.

Spring Time

Easter is such a blessing! It is one of my favorite holidays for so many reasons. The resurrection of our Savior is the most important belief of the Christian faith. I am so thankful for the salvation I have in Jesus and how that one blessed day has changed the course of not only my life, but changed history! Also, Easter is perfectly situated at the start of spring when everything is beautiful and coming to life again. This year we have new life in Emily. I enjoyed buying Emily her first little Easter dress. The dilemma was which one to wear? So many precious dresses and so little time in which to wear them before she grows up another size! Emily was spoiled by us, her grandmothers, and Aunt Jen. We bought her some new toys and new Gerber finger foods. Lately, she is making quite a mess with her Wagon Wheels as she gums them to death.

Emily has also met new milestones this spring. She got her first tooth March 20th and a few days later, another one started to show (She has the two center bottom teeth.) Then, she really started to crawl March 26th. At 8 months old, she is quite a proficient crawler! She pulled herself to stand on March 30th. It took her a little while to learn to sit down and not be afraid to let go. We had a rough couple of nights when Emily learned how to stand up in her crib, but couldn't sit down and would cry for us. No sooner would we lay her down and she would crawl and stand up again. Jeremy was worried sick that we were headed back to the newborn nights of waking up all the time, but luckily she figured it out although I had to let her cry for awhile until she did. On April 5th, she learned how to go from a crawling position to sitting. On April 13th, she started waving "hi" and "bye." At first, I really thought she was doing it indiscriminately, but lately, she is right on time! Today when I walked in from work, she waved to me! She waves good night to her Daddy. It is really the sweetest thing and makes me so happy that she is learning and growing. (How did she learn that? Did Poppy work with her on it? I don't think I have ever sat down with her and practiced waving, but yet somehow she is doing it now.) Today I've had fun watching her plop down on her bottom when she gets tired of cruising and standing. I guess you could say she also started cruising this month! She has been busy! I've seen her take steps around the sides of her crib and she took three or four steps along the coffee table and ottoman today on April 17th. She doesn't cruise very much yet, mostly she just stands in the same place and reaches for whatever she can get her hands on!

Emily Can Crawl!

After weeks of practice on hands and knees and rocking back and forth, our little baby is now mobile! Watch out! We love how she crawls just far enough to get what she wants and then lays out and lunges on her belly for the last few inches!