The unbelievable happens: Emmett Man is 6 months old

Weight: 16 lbs 13 oz  (pretty average)
Length: 26.5 inches  (a little above average)
Noggin: 46 cm (still rocking the top of the charts)

This kid is so stinkin' adorable.  He's learning at a rapid pace--sitting, rolling, laughing.  He's starting to know where his momma is at all times.  His hair is getting long and thick enough to have some darling bed-head.  His eyes are still dark, but I think they are more often blue than brown.  He's started to rub his eyes when he's sleepy, which is so adorable.  His little social personality shines through more each day.  He loves when we sing to him, and he gives voracious kisses.  Honestly, he is such a happy, smiley boy the large majority of the time.  He is a near perfect baby. 

Near perfect.  I suppose no baby can be 100% perfect...that just wouldn't be fair.  As of late, he's been a rather terrible sleeper (too much traveling?).  He's developed a shrill, angry cry which he prefers to use between the hours of 12 a.m. and 3 a.m.  Also, he's still rather pukey.  I was hoping $70 and two visits to the pediatric chiropractor might do the trick, but, alas, I'm still spending lots of time stain-treating both his and my clothing.  Turns out that baby food spit up of shades of green and orange are much tougher to remove! 

At the end of the day though, I'd still give my baby a 95% perfection rate.  His adorableness far outweighs his naughtiness. 

 His giggles are easy and contagious.  The night we took this picture, he thought that everything his mommy did was absolutely hilarious.  It was so much fun.  If you look closely, you can see one of his little bottom teeth peaking through his smile. 

 He's discovered his toes, which are often in his mouth. 

 Lately he's been sucking in his bottom lip, which is so darling. 

A real charmer.

 His legs are constantly moving, whether he's in the tub, on his tummy, in the jumper or in my arms.  I love his perfectly swirly belly button.

He loves meal time (now 2x a day) and is rapidly expanding the variety of food he eats.

 His little lizard tongue is out more than in!  Goofy boy!

Emmett Man, Lizard Boy, Memmett, Stinky Pete...we love you through and through!

New Beginnings 2012--Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Being a bit exhausted by the busyness of the end of the year, we told ourselves that for this year's New Beginnings, we would keep things low-key.  

Turns out that we don't do low-key very well.  

Here's a summary of our "Oh, the places you'll go!" New Beginnings 2012: 

Cute Seuss-y invites.  You can download a Dr Seuss font from fontspace.com.

The young women and their parents started out in "Whoville."  We decorated the room pretty simply with lots of Dr. Seuss books and an "Oh, the places you'll go poster" purchased from Amazon.

The night started with a welcome from our president, The Cat in the Hat.  We incorporated a little rhyme at the start and end of all of our parts and used parts of the "Oh, the Places You'll Go" book as well. 

Next, our secretary, dressed as a Who with fantastic Who hair, had a travel bag full of things the girls will need as they go through the YW program.  She had the girls recite the theme and then talked about the different values and as well as seminary, scripture study, For the Strength of Youth, church attendance, etc. 

Going along with our theme for the night, we had the young women and their parents "go" from room to room.  Foot prints led the way.

Our next stop was The Jungle of Nool, decorated with truffula trees made from foam noodles and tissue pompoms.  To give the trees more structure, it worked to stick bamboo sticks or something similar inside the noodle.  We couldn't bear to throw the trees away afterward, so we ended up donating them to the local library for their Dr. Seuss corner!

In this room the 2nd counselor and Beehive adviser introduced the current and incoming Beehives and gave them their true Dr. Seuss names.  The 2nd counselor then talked about doing Personal Progress experiences. 

Our next stop was One Fish, Two Fish Pond, decorated with streamers and Seuss fish cut-outs.

The first counselor and Miamaid adviser introduced the current Miamaids, gave them their Dr. Seuss names and then talked about Personal Progress projects.  Everyone was given a packet of additional project ideas.

We then moved back to Whoville.  We brought in the truffula trees and the balloons to spice up the original decor.  In this room, the Laurels were introduced and the YW president wrapped up with how Personal Progress and the Young Womens program will help the girls really get where they want to go in life.  The Bishop gave closing remarks, and we gave each of the girls a balloon tied with an "Oh, the Places You'll Go" bookmark.  We got the mylar balloons at the dollar store and the bookmarks on Amazon. 

For refreshments we had Thing 1 cupcakes.  If I were redoing these, I would either do a yellow cake or double cup the red cupcake liners.  The dark cake took away from the color of the original liner.  Also, the cotton candy melts pretty quickly, so the blue hair has to be done pretty last minute.  

This is what the cupcakes start to look like after 5-10 minutes...

We also has some gummy fish and rainbow goldfish to snack on.

It is a wonderful thing to work with fantastic young women and equally fantastic leaders--especially when they aren't afraid of a little dress up!

Running into the new year

  After spending a week in Utah, celebrating Christmas and spending a week in Charlotte in December, I was kind of hoping that January would bring a chance to catch my breath...
Well, it was a nice thought, I suppose, but 2012 rolled in with parties to attend and plan and host!

Our early New Year countdown (so the kids could go to bed)

 Sweet friends with whom to ring in the New Year.  We had an exciting night with lots of Bunko and prizes!

 A well-deserved baby shower for Lisa and her babe-to-be.

  My favorite part of a party is always the food.  I discovered (thank you, mom!) a new favorite salad recipe and tried my hand at onesie sugar cookies.

 Pinterest is both wonderful and evil when it comes to planning parties.  It inspires tons of cute ideas, but makes to-do lists (or want-to-do lists) very long.  Thankfully, there were others to help pull the whole thing off!

School began on Jan 2, so I jumped right back into teaching (my last day is Feb 10).  Between work and Young Womens (watch for the New Beginnings post) and the babe, my days and weeks have been plenty full.  There is always time for a good book, though.  January's book club book was Unbroken, a really great, powerful read.

We finally photo-documented one of our monthly book club meetings.  These ladies are all so great!  The combined awesomeness makes for great discussions and lots of laughter.  :)

It doesn't look like February is going to slow down much.  I'll wrap up my substitute teaching, then we are packing the bags and taking of to play with family and friends for the rest of the month!

More than darling

 This post is a few months overdue, but back in September when the babe was just 1 month old, the amazing Rebecca with Darling Art Photography took these breathtaking shots of my sweet little boy.  There really isn't much else to say except, "Enjoy!"

5 months (I've got to hurry before it's 6!)

Unofficial 5-month stats:

16.6 pounds

25 inches 

(the yardstick I used was clearly not accurate, since he was longer than that at his 4-month dr visit)

What he's up to:
• He is becoming more and more vocal with lots of squeals and giggles and other noises.
• He's discovered his hands and fingers and watches them ponderously.
• He can grab toys and play with them (if play means shake and stick in mouth).
• He rolls over from back to tummy.
• He loves mirrors.
• He cut his first tooth!
• Since his tooth appeared, he's been sticking out his tongue all the time--a new sensory thing to feel a first tooth, I'm guessing...
• His hair is filling in and he can even get "bed head" a.k.a. "duck fuzz" when he wakes up from naps.
• He's more of a nuzzler than a snuggler, but it's still very sweet.
• He's a drooler and a spitter.  He seriously spits up so much.  I can only wear pajama pants when I am home with him.  He's like a time bomb for anyone holding him (or standing near him)!
• He's got quite the grip--which can be painful if he grabs your arm or the back of your neck.
• He's been practicing his "raspberries."
• He's been eating his first solid foods, which he generally likes.  So far he eats rice cereal, sweet potatoes, avocado, peas and bananas. 
• He has great core strength.  He holds himself up very well and sits up with assistance.
• He had a rough stretch at the end of Dec/beginning of January, but lately he's been a much better sleeper and generally gives me from 9:00 p.m to 6:30 a.m.
• I swear his eyes and smiles get bigger every day.
• His arms and legs are constantly moving; his jumper is his best friend.
• He officially sleeps in his crib rather than his cradle.
• He has the best stretches in the morning when we take him out of his straight-jacket--I mean velcro swaddling blanket.  :)
• He is quite the distraction in church as he makes eyes at the people in the rows behind us.
• He loves being naked--or at least stripped down to his diaper.
• He is getting much better at tummy time.

Lounging with daddy

There's the tongue!

 He's still just a wee thing in his high chair.

 He can find a way to put just about anything in his mouth.

 He tolerates "playing" with friends.

There's his daddy's grin!

  We really do love this little guy more and more each day.  He is at such a fun, interactive age.  He is happy and active and can win the heart of anyone who sees that big grin of his.

Here's a little video of his giggle/squeals and energizer bunny-like jumping.