My finger is a bit shorter!

I have a bandaid on my finger. I have a bandaid on my finger because, in my attempt to make some nicer meals for my family, I sliced a big hunk off my finger while trying to slide potatoes using my Pampered Chef slicing tool.

Boy it hurts. Not a candidate for stitches - I think I'll just have a hole there.

Do you think I can sue?!

Emma is "ready" to walk - but not quite yet

However, the skill that she has now mastered is "standing freely". She can actually stand herself up, sometimes using something to help her stand up, and then she will let go. And she just stands there. I just watched her stand up using a box of blocks as a prop. She then let go and just stood there looking at me!!

Walking is not far behind, I'm sure!

And its all downhill from there!!

I was attempting to "force feed" Emma some applesauce today. She used to love it but now she fights me when I try to feed it to her. But, I was going to "force" her to eat it because - well - her bowel challenges could use some help. So, I had given her some applesauce before I even gave her any of the ham I intended her to have for lunch because I knew at that point, she would only eat the ham. So, I gave her the ham, but then continued to try to feed her applesauce. Feeding her applesauce involves getting the applesauce on the spoon with one hand, and then grabbing and holding both of her hands with my other hand while I feed her the applesauce - all while she is trying to wave her hands "no" and shake her head violently "no" at me.

I was doing pretty well - until one time when she still had a piece of ham in her hand. I had applesauce on the spoon and was headed towards her mouth - she got a hand free and was waving it no, and then, the piece of ham went flying out of her hand onto the floor beside her. Well, that's fine - except then she turned her head to look for the ham, and where did the applesauce go - but in her HAIR!! And, then of course, she doesn't like applesauce because its in her hair - and its all downhill from there!!

Samantha is a busy girl!!

Its quite easy to brag on the baby - it seems like they do something new and cute every day. Its harder to remember to brag on the older kids.

One thing that I'm pretty proud of with Samantha is that she sticks with things. I really like that she's willing and interested in continuing with activities, when there are so many that just bounce around and never stick with an activity to see what they can really do with it, or the other kids who just don't really get into activities.

She started dancing right after she turned 4 - she is now in her 6th year of dance, is a charter member of her dance studio, and earned her 5 year trophy last year. She is in a competition group - by choice - and continues to try out for it each season


She also plays soccer. In the league of 27 girls, she has the 3rd highest years of experience with 6 seasons.

Each year I ask her if she wants to drop either and she wants to keep doing both.



This is in addition to her being in her second year of piano lessons. She is doing very well with her new teacher and we are looking forward to her next piano recital in May.

The world exists in "bite-sized" pieces

At least that is how it feels when you live with an infant / toddler. Everything has to be cut into really little pieces for Emma because she can't yet discern how much to chew before swallowing, much less chew very well with her 3 little teeth.

Imagine turkey and cheese cut into little, teeny bite-sized pieces. And a Nutri-Grain bar.

But I have decided that the most valuable utensil in the kitchen right now is my Pampered Chef Pizza Cutter - it can cut anything!!

Emma can dance to almost anything!

Emma loves to hear music. She has a "radio" in her playyard that will play a song each time she pushes the blue button - she pushes the blue button a lot. Then she shakes her body - and her booty - to the music. She loves to dance.

But today took the cake - she was dancing to Michael's scales on the piano. It was really funny to watch but she was having the best time!!

This place is a ZOO!!

Literally. We went to the zoo last week on what was possibly the coldest and windiest day I had felt in a LONG time. It had been 85 degrees a mere 2 days earlier; yet the day we planned to go the zoo, we woke up to a chilly 35 degrees with 30 mile per hour winds.

We wanted to see the baby Panda. The baby panda was born in July and I had been wanting to find a chance to go. Having Emily come into town with Marshall and Morgan for their Spring Break gave us a perfect opportunity. So, the kids stayed home from school on Wednesday and we trekked into Washington, DC to the National Zoo.

The Pandas did not disappoint. Both Momma and Daddy panda were in their yard, chomping on delicious bamboo. The baby had precariously perched herself on the branch of a tree that looked much smaller than the baby - and she was asleep up there!! She moved a few times as she settled in and got comfortable. Momma was never too far away from keeping an eye on her little one. So many times I have been there and the pandas weren't available for viewing, so this was a wonderful treat.

After seeing the pandas, we took the loop of the zoo. We saw the elephants put on a show during their bath, and saw a variety of small mammals (I think my favorite). We spent some time in the reptile house (a favorite of the boys, but not for
Emily and me). After a nice lunch at the restaurant at the BOTTOM of the hill, we check out the lions and tigers. The lioness put on quite a vocal show for us - the Tigers just slept right through it.


Then, on the way back up we checked out the beavers (who had made their own dam) and otters (who swam and put on a show under the water for us). Then we got a chance to see the majestic bald eagle (this photo was taken by Emily).

All in all we had a great, albeit cold, time. We took the long way back out of the city so that Emily and the boys could see a few of the sights, and then headed home!

And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn't share this very cute photo of Emma all bundled up for the trip!!

Something the human vacuum cleaner won't eat - Jello

For Emma's snack yesterday, I thought I'd give her some jello. Thought she would like it. And, she fell in love with Teddy Grahams last week and has had them for snack almost every day, so I wanted to give her some variety. She did ok for the first few bites, but then I think she actually realized what she was eating. After struggling to feed her the next couple of bites - she actually cried - real tears, out loud, mouth open, crying about the jello. She pulled it out of her mouth and threw it on the floor. AND she would not take another bite.

So the baby who will eat almost anything won't eat Jello!

The car we WANT to get

So our poor Acura Legend is on its last legs (or wheels). It has been a good car. We bought it in September of 1994, not too long after we got married. It was a LOT of money for a car - but we wanted to know that we wouldn't be looking for a new car the minute we finished paying the car off. We wanted to know that it would be reliable. It has been reliable - we have driven 120K miles in that vehicle. It was our road vehicle for a long time until we bought our minivan - it was then relegated to commuter and errand status. Now, it goes to and from the office with Mike, but otherwise, it sits quietly in the garage for fear of parts beginning to fall off while driving down the road.

We know what we want to get to replace the Legend - we try not to discuss it too loud around the Legend for fear she become jealous.

Yesterday, a dealership in Maryland received their first 2007 Toyota Camry. We drove to the dealership in order to drive this vehicle. It has beautiful lines and its a pretty comfortable ride. The vehicle that we drove is not the car we ultimately want.

What we want is the 2007 Camry Hybrid.

Through my numerous phone calls to dealerships throughout the area, (the benefit of living in the suburbs of a large city) I have received predictions from March to October for delivery of the Camry Hybrid (I honestly think when I ask the question, they shake their Magic 8 ball and receive the answer du jour from it). Toyota doesn't know when they are going to release the Hybrid Camry - but we seem to be honing in on the late Spring, early Summer.

That would be good timing because we will HAVE to put the Legend out to pasture before then.

Emma is a French Fry Fiend!!

We can no longer eat French Fries in the presence of Emma.

Her favorite food right now is Ravioli - and the good news is Gerber Graduates has a TON of varieties. She will eat it as fast as I can cut it in half and put it in her plate.

But, she had her favorite ravioli at lunch today and what did she scream about - that I was eating French Fries in front of her and she didn't have any. So, I had to feed her four or five french fries, broken into small pieces, to keep the noise level down long enough for me to eat.

So, we can no longer eat french fries in front of her without making sure she has her own!!

Grandfathers

My kids are lucky to have 4 grandparents. Well, not completely fortunate because Mike's mother died when he was young, but his dad has married a wonderful person and she is a wonderful grandmother, or Oma, to the kids.

But, the bad thing is that the grandparents don't live close - one set lives 4 hours in one direction and the other set lives 4 hours in the other direction. So, we see them as much as we can, but it isn't often that we see them all at the same time.

We had the opportunity to see all four grandparents for Emma's first birthday! It was a nice day and we celebrated her birthday with cake and presents and we had a nice dinner together.

Between myself and Heidi (Oma), we took a good number of pictures that day. One of my favorites is one that Oma captured of Emma before she went to bed. Its not a great one of Emma because you see mostly her back, and not even a great one of my father, but you get to see Emma with both of her grandfathers. That doesn't happen very ofen!

Baby Fish Mouth

If you ask Mike and me to pick one movie as our favorite (together), it would be "When Harry Met Sally". Not sure why, but we both love this movie and love to watch it together whenever it is on.

There is a scene in this movie where the Sally character (Meg Ryan) is drawing pictures for a "pictionary" game. It is supposed to be a "phrase" and she is drawing what is "supposed" to be "Baby Talk". Well, in the series of guesses, someone says "Baby Fish Mouth" - and everyone looks at him. What is Baby Fish Mouth, they ask? Well, now I can show you.

This is Baby Fish Mouth!!

Is she asleep?

Of course not!!!!

At this point, I give up - if she goes to sleep now, its a waste because I have to get her up in 30 minutes to get Michael from school. And, from the squeeking I'm hearing from her room, I doubt she's even close!!

Willful at One!!

We have driven Mike to work the past 3 mornings due to car trouble (I'll elaborate later in another post). Emma has always been quiet (and a little tired) on the drive back home because we typically hear her talking in her bed about 6am each morning. Well, this morning she actually fell asleep in the car on the way home. Of course, when I drive into the garage and open the car door, she wakes up. I took her immediately to her bed and laid her down to go to sleep (this was an entire hour ago). Of course, has she gone back to sleep - NO. I just went into her room and she was laying in the bed playing with stuffed animals. I looked at her, gave her her blanket, and told her to go to sleep.

She laughed at me and shook her head NO! (a new trick of hers)

Boy do I have my work cut out for me in the future!

Oh, what a beautiful morning!!

It's snowing here. They were saying "a little precipitation may blow through" but there is a good 1 1/2" on the grass. It isn't sticking on the road, and its coming down nice and slowly so its a very beautiful scene this morning.

Happy 1st Birthday Emma!

Emma celebrated her first birthday on Thursday. Thursday was a low-key day because we had been sick in the house most of the week, and its not like Emma knew it was her birthday, but we did. I completed the "Year with the Bear" photos to show her growth - I'll put up a photo of the 12 monthly shots a little bit later, but this is Emma with her Birthday Bear!

This weekend, Emma got to celebrate her birthday with BOTH sets of Grandparents. Granny and Granddaddy Gwaltney came up from Roanoke and Oma and Opa came down from Williamsport with an extra special gift - Great Gram. What a nice way to spend your birthday. Emma had birthday cake - and she started out eating it very carefully, with her finger, but then decided that fist fulls would be a bit better. She definitely enjoyed it though, which is all that mattered.


Granny and Granddaddy gave her a little baby doll - she reached into the little bag and pulled out that baby and talked to that baby for a LONG time - she really liked it. Then, Oma and Opa gave her an elephant shaped pillow, which she liked well enough, but then she saw that they gave her some BOOKS!! Yay Books!! She has been "reading" the two books they gave her over and over ever since!!

Mommy and Daddy gave Emma some Spring clothes that we can hardly wait for her to enjoy in warmer weather - although she paid more attention to the tags on the clothes than the clothes themselves.

Where has the time gone?

This has multiple meanings for me at this moment.

Why haven't I posted recently. I don't know - I'm trying to figure out where ALL of the time between Samantha's birthday and Emma's birthday WENT - all of a sudden, its February 18th. That period of time last year I a) went on bedrest and started 2 pregnancy appointments a week; b) went into the hospital for 4 days - got out of the hospital; and then c) went to the hospital EVERY DAY for testing until we all decided that d) Emma was ready to be born on February 16th.

Which is my second "Where has the time gone?" My baby is one year old. She turned one year old on February 16th. I'll post a picture and a post tomorrow, but I'm trying to figure out where this year went. Do you think it went faster because we know she is our last one? Do you cherish things more when you know its the last time you'll see a first smile? first laugh? first hug? First crawl? Emma's first year has flown by - I just don't know where the days, hours, and minutes have gone. My 6 lb, 12 ounce bundle of cuddle is now a 24 pound strong baby with equally strong lungs and a dozen different looks for you at any one time!

Go hug your kids!

One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed

I have been calling Emma "little monkey" recently because when she stands up and holds onto the railing, she actually bounces up and down on the crib mattress. I guess she thinks that if she pulls hard enough on the railing she'll get out of the bed. But, last week, Emma was standing up in her bed with her hands on the railing - shaking it thinking she can get out of the bed. I went in to get her out, and when I put the rail down, she did a full-gainer front flip over the railing and landed smack on her back on the floor. She wasn't hurt - and was only scared for a second. She was more excited to be out of the bed. She LOVES to get out of the bed and always has the biggest smile on her face as I carry her downstairs.

So, for the past week or so, she has started "Cruising" the crib. Either she's looking for a part of the railing that may be "weak" and she can escape, or she's trying to get away from that "mean railing" that made her flip out of the bed.

Either way, the minute I put the railing down, she grabs my shirt and arm like there is NO TOMORROW - there is no way she's flipping out of the bed again.

But, until I put down the railing - its "One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed" and hopefully NOT "One fell off and cracked her head!"

This is what happens when your husband carries a camera around!

I asked Mike for the camera because I knew he had taken some photos at Samantha's ice skating party. Well, I downloaded the camera this afternoon and not only are there birthday photos, there are photos from Christmas. While I have printed my Christmas photos, I haven't done the pages in my album yet, so I'm lucky. But, I thought I'd share two GREAT photos that I didn't know I had!!

Happy Birthday Samantha!

My little girl is 9 years old today. 9 years ago I had stayed home from work because I had the flu. I had been working lots of hours, but Samantha wasn't due for another 2 1/2 weeks, so I had a few little things to wrap up. But, the flu got the better of me so I stayed home for the 2nd full day to rest. We had had our office "Holiday Party in January" over the weekend and I felt like a big green pea in my green velvet maternity dress. By the end of the party, I was so uncomfortable, but when you are basically 9 months pregnant, you are uncomfortable all of the time.

So, its Wednesday January 22nd and I spend the day at home trying to get over the flu. I had gotten permission to take Sudafed for 24 hours to clear my sinuses. My 24 hours was long since past around 10pm that night, but my sinuses were still completely clogged. So, I spent some time hanging UPSIDE DOWN with my head hanging over the side of the bed, trying to clear my sinuses. All of a sudden, I felt Samantha kick (we didn't know it was Samantha yet, we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl) and then a pop. What was that, I thought? Well, it turns out it was my water breaking - I think more precisely, Samantha kicking and breaking my water. Well, that certainly jumpstarted my labor. I think I scared Mike half to death when I went down into the basement of the townhouse where he was doing laundry to tell him that I think my water broke. But, off to the hospital we were, after a quick stop at the office (of course)for the radio that we believed we would want in the delivery room - I of course expecting a long labor.

Once we get to the hospital, they check me into a room and want to check the progress of my labor. Lo and Behold the nurse said that the baby was breech. I actually argued with her because the baby hadn't been breech at my Drs appointment the previous week. They brought in a sonogram to show that indeed Samantha was feet down - no wonder I lost so much water when my water broke!! And, the reason I was so uncomfortable at the office Holiday Party is that Samantha chose that time to turn over and be breech - my mother says she was born a "princess"!! So, all of a sudden we were preparing for a C-section. Well, they were preparing - I was in awe because I WASN'T prepared for a C-section. But, they got me ready and wheeled me into the operating room and a short time later, at 1:48am on Thursday, January 23rd, Samantha Collier Stopper was born. She was the 8th baby born on January 23rd (yes, only 1 hour and 48 minutes into the day) and the 800th or so baby born since the beginning of the year.

But, she was all ours and still is.

But now she's 9 years old - we are still trying to find those 9 years.

She had her birthday party at the Ashburn Ice House yesterday with friends from school and the neighborhood. We had a great time!!

Happy Birthday Samantha.