3-month update

Three months
Weight:  13 pounds 13 ounces
Length:  23.75 inches

What he's up to:
This little guy is as bright eyed as ever!  He catches everyone's attention and always receives comments on how alert he is.  He is a nearly constant drooler, and isn't shameful about spitting up on the ones who love him most.  He loves chomping and sucking on his fingers--sometimes one, sometimes two or three or four and sometimes his whole fist!  In fact, if his hands get too close to his mouth while he's nursing, he often starts sucking on them instead!  He plays happily on the ground and has started grabbing a hold of the little toys that hang from his play mat.  He's not quite rolling over but he does manage to move about, pivoting like a clock.  We recently got out the jumper, and he's starting to get the hang of it.  He often sleeps through the night and gives momma his best giggles when he is stripped down right before bath time.  Also, he's moved up another diaper size and which has solved the problem of having blowouts every day--thank goodness!  He is happy, smiley boy and everyone loves him.

What I'm loving:  
I'm a sucker for Emmett's little baby bottom.  I always have to stop and look at the cute thing in the mirror as I'm getting him in his bath.  I love putting lotion on his thick, strong legs and growing tummy.  One of my favorite moments of the day is laying him down for his nap (and not just because I can get a few things done while he sleeps); I love getting him swaddled, holding him close and watching his heavy eyelids start to droop.  His giggles bring joy to my heart, and I can still watch him for hours on end.  I recently started teaching again in the mornings, and I love that Emmett gets to spend some one-on-one time with his daddy.  He is such a good and fun little baby and is really only naughty when he spits up all over his parents!

Clark being baptized into the world of parenting.

It's been fun to look through pictures and see how much he has grown and changed from his first week of life and yet how some things are still the same:

This little gown use to drown him!

He used to have skinny bird legs.  I love how they have thickened up!

He still gets to model his cute clothes.

Still working on those fingers...

He has nearly outgrown his sweet cradle.

Bath time is much more fun (and wet) now. 

Here are a few little videos for those of you who don't get to see him very often!  (Who are we kidding, we see this kid all the time and still love to watch videos of him!)

 Getting the hang of his jumper.

Playing (and drooling) with Dad

Almost giggles.

Being vocal.

Going batty

Halloween this year was a little batty...okay, that was a bad pun, but our little bat was pretty much the cutest thing ever.  Even when he cried the first 45 minutes of being in his costume I thought it was adorable.  Thank you, ROSS, for his $5.99 costume!  Overall, I would say Emmett wasn't super impressed; we didn't manage to get a single smiling bat picture to entire night!

Bull City

 We had one morning and afternoon with my family and Clark's dad to show them the best of Durham.  It turned out to be a glorious day to wrap up our trip--which was welcomed after the other cold, windy, rainy days we'd had in New York and Pennsylvania!  Scratch is closed on Mondays (we were reminded of that as we walked up to their door--sad!), but we filled our day with Duke campus, Wimpy's burgers, the Tobacco District, Pelican Snoballs and cornhole.  We had a great time hanging out together and were sad to send them off to the airport that evening.  What a treat it was to have a 5 whole days of bonding time with them!

Blessing Day

On Sunday, October 23, the day after we returned from our exciting road trip, we had little Emmett's baby blessing.  Clark's dad, Spencer, plus Vaughn and Margaret came to town Saturday evening, and everyone pitched in to help get things ready.  It was a late night with little sleep, but the next day turned out to be a lovely Sunday with family and friends. 

Emmett wore a sweet little outfit made with love by his Grandma Moulton.  Here are pictures from his big day.

Lots of yummy brunch food--Mom's amazing sugar cookies were the centerpiece!

We are so lucky to have Emmett in our family!

Gettysburg

 Our last stop was Gettysburg.  My dad is a history buff and has done lots of reading on the Civil War.  Last year I read the book, The Killer Angels, which provided me with at least some foundation on different leaders and battle events.  Nate finished reading the book the night before we got to Gettysburg, so he was all refreshed and informed for the days events.  

 This is the only place we could convince my dad to take a solo picture.  He loves Abe. 

On to sweeter things: Hershey, PA

 After seeing the Sky Walk, we jumped back in the car for a 4-hour drive to Chocolate World!

At Chocolate World, we went on the little factory tour, explored the gift shop and happily enjoyed some decent hot chocolate.  Some of us were a little tempted to check out the amusement park which opened later in the evening for a few hours.  Though the rides were enticing, the wind chill and price were not...

Conquering our Fears in High Places

After spending the most of the day in Palmyra (a bit longer than we'd originally planned), we hurried West for two hours to try to see Niagara Falls before it was too dark.  I had never been before, and I couldn't justify being in the near vicinity and not seeing it.
   We got there just before dusk.  The visitor's center was already closed, so we bundled up (it was pretty chilly) and walked to the lookout (just the American side--we didn't all have passports).  Our pictures aren't great, but they do document that we were there--even if was just for 10 minutes!  Clark here.  Visiting Niagara Falls was a special accomplishment for me.  I used to have nightmares about falling over the guard rails there and down into the billowing waters.  I was a strange kid and had many fears.  One was masks.  Another was heights and falling in general.  One time I heard that people fell off the Niagara Falls in a barrell and I was territfied.  So, the bottom line is that I came, and I saw, and I didn't fall into the falls, like I always suspected I would.  I have really grown up.

The mega-road trip continues: Palmyra, NY

View from the Hill Cumorah

   When my parents were planning their trip to come out for Emmett's blessing, they decided they wanted to take advantage of being on the East coast and see some of the LDS church history sites up in Palmyra.  Wanting to maximize time with my family and never wanting to miss out on a good road trip, Clark and I decided we'd just extend our Pennsylvania trip up to New York.  Yes, it meant lots of combined hours in the car, but with a power adapter and a breast pump, we were really able to minimize stops and travel and with happy baby.  

   Wednesday evening we left York, PA and drove 5 hours North through some small towns and winding roads (it was probably quite scenic, but it was dark most of the time) to Palmyra, NY.  My parents and 3 youngest siblings arrived late that night.  We stayed in a comfortable house within walking distance to many of the church history sites, and my Dad and two of my brothers finally got to meet Emmett.  

October's mega-road trip, part 1: York, PA

   Clark (Whose comments are in fall orange) had all of October off of work thanks to his paternity leave.  In addition to Clark changing a lot of diapers, we took advantage of his free schedule to do a lot of traveling.  Our first step on this particular road trip was to York, Pennsylvania to visit our good friends, the Weekes.  It ended up taking us about 8 hours to get there due to D.C. traffic; but Emmett was a trooper, and we all arrived in one piece. I was a trooper too.  I got all the way to Pennsylvania while only making one stop for soda and treats at the gas station.

   Pennsylvania is full of rolling hills and farmland.  It was really picturesque--especially with all the fall colors.  Jared and Janae have a beautiful house outside the city.  This is the view from one of the windows.  So lovely!
   Jared is a nurse anesthetist, and Clark was able to spend some time shadowing him, while Janae and I explored a local farmer's market, Roots.

 

   We wandered through aisles of yummy baked goods and both fresh and interesting produce.  My wonderful wife also bought me one of my favorite treats at the market: beef jerky.

   All of the veggies looked so tasty.  I was especially amazed by the stunningly red radishes.  Seriously, beautiful!

Emmett's 2-month mark

Two month stats:
Weight:  11 pounds 13 ounces (still average)
Length:  23.5 inches (still a bit above average)
Head: 41.5 inches (now just barely above the curve)

This growing bundle is full of smiles--especially after feedings.  He loves to lie on the floor and kick his legs.  He has discovered his voice and makes lots of adorable coo-ing sounds and is always surprising us with new noises.  While his mouth makes lots of endearing smiles and sounds, it also produces a pretty consistent supply of drool which mostly accounts for his permanently damp clothes.  Speaking of his mouth, he can practically stick his entire fist inside of it.  He still likes to suck/gnaw on his fingers and often gags himself from sticking his fingers too far down his throat. He has forgotten how to sleep through the night, but his overall cuteness makes it much too difficult for his momma to get mad at him.  He often sleeps with his eyes open, which is both impressive and creepy.  He is thickening up, starting to get rolls on his little thighs; and his growing double chin is making it increasingly difficult for me to get his neck clean.  

Love A Fair

 This year Clark, Emmett and I ventured out to the NC State Fair on opening day.  We were extra prepared with an annotated map of all the must-see exhibits and, most importantly, food stands prepared by my friend and fair expert, Ruth.  The weather was perfect for wandering through the fair grounds.  I love looking at the gardens, the livestock and the produce.  The people-watching is fun, too.

The food is probably the most central part of the fair, and we didn't hold back this year.  Here are the tasty, deep-fried treats we tried:
• Texas Fried Frito Pie--Our favorite of the night.  Fritos with a scoop of chili, topped with cheese, battered and fried, then served with salsa and sour cream.  Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.
• Hand-dipped corn dog--Also one of our favorites.  A tasty classic.
• Fried Mac & Cheese--Came in little triangle shapes with a spicy dipping sauce.  They were alright.  Worth trying once.
• Deep-fried cookie dough--Pretty tasty.  Also, worth trying once.  
• Mini doughnuts--Covered in cinnamon and powdered sugar.  Yummy but not super new or unusual.
• Lime Fizz--Tart but tasty.  Kind of like a fresh lime.
• Ham biscuit--A little salty, but a true southern staple. 
• Apple slush--You can't go wrong with a slushy apple cider.  Very appropriate for nice fall weather.

 In addition to the food and traditional exhibits, you have to appreciate the randomness that the fair brings.  Clark got to check out the human oddities booth (we were willing to fork out $2, not $4, to see what mysterious things laid behind the curtains).  I would be glad to tell you what I saw behind the curtain, but I was sworn to secrecy by a one-eyed midget who was half goat man and could breath fire  and he seemed pretty serious about it.

This crazy vine lady was also a new feature we hadn't seen before.  You'll have to enlarge the picture to see the detail of her camouflage--it was impressive.  The way she moved was both captivating and creepy.  Check out the short video clip below.

Did you notice the man in the white shirt?  He is her bodyguard.

 Another classic fair adventure was the pig racing, which happens to also include a duck race and a goat race.

Emmett was a trooper during the fair.  There was so much to look at; and with those big eyes of his, he was sure to take it all in.  Whether he was bright-eyed or zonked out (like in the picture above), he sure got a lot of admiration from fellow fair-goers.  Being the proud parents that we are, we happily accepted all compliments.  Side note:  Our babe has become quite the drooler in the last couple of weeks--thus, the bib.  By the looks of this picture our baby has passed out from the lack of oxygen flow to his brain, but I promise that the carrier doesn't strangle him.  It looks scary though.

Just as we were walking to the car, the firework show began.  Emmett was quite enthralled with bright bursts of light and didn't seem to be bothered by the noise.  

 

And so ended a perfectly lovely evening at the fair.  Amy needs to work on spicing up her endings a bit.  Give her suggestions on how to end this post in the comments.

Emerald Isle in October

 October is the perfect time to go to the beach in North Carolina.  At least it was a perfect weekend when we went.  The second weekend in October we drove out to Emerald Isle to stay for a couple of days.  Charles was kind enough to let us use his beach house, which is less than a ten-minute walk from the beach.  The temperature was in the 70s, and the skies were clear.  There were no crowds and you could spend the whole day sitting on the beach without breaking a sweat.  Like I said, the perfect time to go to the beach.