Ramblings

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.... what? what? Did I miss something??? Sorry, I just haven't been getting much sleep lately. The wee one has taken to waking up at 3 a.m. wanting to eat, play or whatever. She is clearly getting another tooth or teeth, which I now know disturbs her sleep. Because my sleep has also been disturbed, I feel like I don't have a clear thought in my head. Even some casual blogging seems to require the mental energy of splitting atoms, but there have been a few thoughts rolling around in my head and there are events to be recorded.

This weekend was Emmy's 7 month birthday, and she decided to suddenly start crawling like she has been doing it all of her life. She is also starting to talk, I swear. She calls G "Da Da," rather than just randomly making the sounds. She also refers to her bottle ("baba") properly. This morning I said, "say bye bye, Bob-Bob" in reference to our dog, and Em said "by by Bob Bob." Crazy! She has also said "hi" and "bye" sounding noises to her daycare gals, whom she loves. They are my witnesses, which I know I need since I am clearly an overly proud mama! I guess I am not surprised that the kid is trying to talk. Anyone who knows us knows that G and I talk to the girl and each other probably way too much, so I'm sure she is just trying to get a word in edgewise. Also, I think she has a pretty strong Southern accent. Awesome!

On another note, we have two more weeks of swimming left in this session. Last week went well again, though she was a little sleepy from fighting a cold. The best part was that Em had a whole crowd cheering her on, and she loved that! Daddy, Granny, Papa, Katie and Sienna all came to watch, and she couldn't take her eyes off of them. I have the sweetest family. Also, we are getting ready for some fall traveling, which is very exciting! The one thing about being pregnant and having a newborn is that I have traveled less this year and a half or so than ever in my adult life. It has been killing me! I cannot wait to go on these little mini-trips, and I am really excited to experience them with Emmy. We are just going to the Breaks with G for some outdoor rec this weekend (We got Emmy a super-cool, Euro backpack carrier for hiking and city walking. She loves it!). Then, on Wednesday we leave for Chicago for 5 days. G has meetings during the day, so Mama and baby will cruise the city together. I plan to take her to the Shedd Aquarium (I think she will like looking at the big fish), and I plan to take me to the Art Institute. She may not enjoy this as much, but it will be good for her to be surrounded by all the fabulous art nonetheless. We are very excited! Pictures and hopefully good stories to come....

Growing Up

BG is now 7 months old. It is hard to believe that 7 months have already passed, yet it also seems like she has been with us forever. I have said many times how it pains me to watch her growing so fast, but it is also a delight. She becomes more fun every day, and I know that each phase brings new accomplishments and experiences. Papa said to me the other night that he wished we could keep her this little forever and I agreed, but I don't think either of us really meant it. We know we will love her more and more as time goes on. I really do want to see her fly!

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg." C.S. Lewis

Our Little Goldfish

Emmy love, loved swim class. We had so much fun that I cannot wait to take her back next week! I wish I had pictures. G should be able to stop by on his way home from work next time, so perhaps he can be our sports photographer. She had no fear, kicked and used her arms like Michael Phelps, jumped in and out of the pool like a cliff diver, and splashed herself silly! At one point, I took a pool toy away from her that she was trying to put in her mouth (of course), and she stuck her head under the water to go find it. Didn't seem to bother her one bit! This kid is so much fun...

So, last night G and I took our first trip out of town (though just for the evening), and left Emmy behind at Granny and Papa's. By all accounts, she did great and seemed delighted to be there. She couldn't quit smiling at Granny and Papa, even when I woke her up in the middle of the night to take her home. Too sweet!

Another major first will occur this weekend. I will be home alone with the baby all weekend while G is out of town kayaking. I must be ready for this now because I'm not even anxious about it. When he suggested going out of town in June and leaving me to be a single parent for one night, I nearly had a panic attack. All good things come in time. Now I actually feel sorry for G that he will miss her all weekend. I know he will (and she will miss him, too!), but he will have a great time. He really deserves it. I know some great daddies out there (my own dad, my brother, many friends), but I have to say that G is definitely one of the best! He does it all, never complains and he shows Em so much love. She adores him. So do I. But cheers to our first girls weekend! Keep your fingers crossed for us, and I'll let you know how it goes...

Some More Firsts

This girl of ours just keeps on suprising us! This week was as eventful as the last. Emmy decided she would crawl this week. She has been on the verge for a few weeks now, but has largely been pulling herself along with arms only. This week, however, she incorporated the use of knees in order to assemble a legitimate crawl. God bless her, she does not look like the smoothest or most coordinated crawler just yet, but she gets it done and is fairly fast. I may never sit down again! She had me hopping all weekend to keep her from crawling over and rewiring the tv or taste testing dust bunnies under the table. I have to play man-man defense now to keep her safely contained to her blanket or whatever play area I have designated. Good times! While it is great to see her so mobile and independent, it kind of breaks my heart. The snuggly, newborn days are officially over for this little girl! She is so excited to explore the world that she just can't sit still or stop looking around her for the next new discovery. It is pretty awesome.

Other events of note... We took Em for a big hike yesterday at Raven Run. It was the biggest hike we have done there, and really only the second legitimate hike of her life. We have a little infant carrier that she still fits into, but we really need a hiking backpack if we are going to do anything more extensive (G, get to work on finding this apparatus! Fall is here and we have hiking to do!!). She loved it!!! Most of our family and friends know that Emmy is a little tree-hugger at heart. That girl has loved trees, both looking at them and touching them, since day one. She seems to feel quite at home in a forest. She and her dad stopped to inspect half the trees on the red trail, and Emmy talked and sang to them with a look of pure delight on her face! Well, yesterday G introduced her to creeks, and she seems to love them as well. He is trying to train her to be his future boating partner. Of course, before she can become a kayaker like her dad, she must become a good swimmer. Em starts swim lessons at the YMCA tomorrow, and I can't wait to see how she does. I will keep you posted!

Additional events of the weekend... Emmy can now count to one! G has been counting with her and she will raise her finger up to show "number one" on cue. It is adorable! She unfortunately did not get to show off her "we're number one!" skills this weekend while watching the UK game. We were terrible and she passed out during the first quarter. It was too miserable to watch!

A Weekend of Firsts

Emmy's first concert... Tony Rice and Peter Rowan. It was lovely. She and our friend's baby were starting to get a little fussy, but when Uncle Pete started singing they quieted right down! Thank God the girl seems to love music!

Emmy's first family reunion... Cox family. Good people, good food, good times. She was all smiles! Thank God the girl seems to love a party!

Emmy's first UK/UofL game and glimpse of what it does to our neighborhood...We won. Hallelujah! She seemed pretty surprised at all the commotion around here. We were supposed to take her tailgating but I stayed out too late with friends the night before and the game started at noon. We plan to tailgate before the Florida game next weekend. Go Cats! She seems to have the C-A-T-S arm motions down already!

Emmy's first flu shot... made her sick. She ran a low grade fever all weekend, but still had a good time. Thank God our girl is a trooper!

Emmy's first utterances of "dadadada" and "mamamama"...Too cool! She is trying to talk, love her little heart. Such a sweetie! At some point, every day, I'll be holding her and stop and look over at G and say softly, "I love this baby." He just shakes his head, laughs, and says "I know babe... I know." I can't help but be taken aback by some of her sweet little ways. Hearing her voice more and more is like music to my soul. One of our sweet neighbor friends gave us this awesome card that says, "A baby's laugh is the heart set to music." I feel that her laughter, which I also thankfully hear all the time, as well as her happy little babbling noises are just that. The heart set to music. Mmm.. love it!

Thank God she is our girl! I mean it... Thank you, God.

Moving and Shaking

"For the first six months or so, your opponent has been unable to escape. Alas, the rules are about to change drastically... The enemy is now mobile." Peter Mayle

Oh my goodness! Just when I thought I had a handle on things, BG has become another creature entirely and the rules have certainly changed. She had lulled me into a sense of calm over the past few months of sitting, rocking, and putting her in her swing or bouncy seat when I needed to do something. Forget all of that! Those activities are long gone. Now we are busy, busy, busy! We play, we walk, she rolls, she writhes, she screams, and I just try to keep up. Today, I changed a diaper upside down for the first time. Every time I lay her down to change her diaper anymore, she immediately rolls onto her tummy. So I had no choice but to change the diaper with her in "tummy time." She is wild! She is also even more fun than I ever imagined. BG is much more interactive, and strong and into physical play. She loves, strangely enough, for us to swing her in the air and pretend we are going to throw her out into the street like a little orphan child. Twisted, I know, but she loves it. She has also gotten so smart. BG has begun imitating me (Lord, help us all!). If I snap my fingers, she tries to snap her little fingers. If I dance, then she dances. It is too precious! Guess I better start watching how I act and what I say. Little eyes are watching! I need to start inventing some alternative curse words....

Emmy-bear is so smart...

Emmy-bear is so smart she can even do this! She can even make a sound like a gold fish kiss! Seriously. She can. Sounds just like one. Pip!

*N.B. Reference Dr. Seuss' Book of Wonderful Noises, Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? It is a family favorite, for sure.