mug shot

After feeling lousy for a couple of days, an afternoon bath seemed to hit the spot today.

rollercoaster

What a ride.

matchy matchy

We drove to Park City for the afternoon with our fun friend Donna.
During lunch when Emery was sitting next to Nathan, we realized both the boys were sporting their favorite track suit jackets.



Although adorable, I assure you this was not planned.

what?!?

So I know that most of my friends have children that are years older than Emery, but I do feel like he's getting WAY too big, even though I can still count his age in weeks (33 next Tuesday).

Yesterday at lunch, he sat in a high chair and ate mashed potatoes off my plate. WHAT?!?



At dinner, he sucked on a pickle for quite awhile, before screeching when his grandma pulled it away.





Maybe he IS ready for Mt. Dew now.

oh my

today we went to the zoo.
we made a lunch stop at harmons, where:

bangless B smiled


little E waited patiently for lunch


baby J sat quietly


and zany Z wanted only to be with her favorite friend.


the sun was shining and the little boys enjoyed being outside




with our new stroller and its' adjustable handles,
emery got a great view of his favorite 9 year old throughout the afternoon




brooklyn luckily survived a big bite


little chickies














it wasn't until the last leg of the journey that emery needed a break from the stroller
and mommy needed some kisses




the carousel ride was a fabulous way to end the day,
even if susannah did start screaming the second it stopped that she didn't want to go home.




thanks for a fun trip, ladies!

field trip

We were lucky enough to get to pick up Brooklyn from school today.



Thanks to Susannah, who made the trip a little more bearable for Emery.



Erin and I can't wait to show them that their love for each other bloomed from the start.

succulent doesn't even begin to describe it.

Nate's been working long hours, so Emery and I have been trying to meet him for lunch occasionally so that father and son can spend a little quality time together. They sure do like each other.



Trying to stretch our dollar, I saw an ad for a new $5 menu at Sizzler. I'm not sure now what I was thinking. Granted, we haven't stepped foot inside that restaurant since the 90's, so my memory was a little fuzzy.

Upon entering, we thought we were in Disneyland waiting in line for a ride. There were TV screens playing looped videos of steak and shrimp, shrimp and shrimp, shrimp and steak, and so on.



Succulent, I'm sure.


Realizing how lame the budget conscious menu was (grilled cheese for $5?), we ordered our regularly priced meals and were told that Emery could eat from the salad bar for free. Given he's fond of only the bottle, I said thanks and was about to move on when the cashier asked me what kind of soda I'd like to order for him. Soda? For a 7 month old? That's what's wrong with our country. Nate initially answered "coke". She asked if pepsi was ok. Nate asked if they had mountain dew instead. She looked a bit put out and said, "for him?"-- she apparently wasn't bothered by the request for coke, but mountain dew put her over the edge.

Wow. We're amazing parents.

After being seated, our waitress came with the obligatory cheese bread, two waters, and a mountain dew in a kid's cup. Nate, I mean Emery, really enjoyed the soda.

dazed and confused

A strong 7 month old with arms of steel and a high pitched scream is enough to get me changing.

When we hopped onto the sleep train in December, it was all about baby steps. Initially, I was focused on getting him to sleep on his own long enough for me to watch Oprah without interruption (who are we kidding- I hate Oprah. I'm all about The Bachelor.) and with success came the sweet reward of a more regulated schedule and a full night's sleep. I admit I've been somewhat dreading the next step, which entails him going into his crib before he's totally knocked out. But after being strong-armed while trying to rock him to sleep last night, I realized it was time. At his 4am feeding in the wee hours this morning, he ate and then I rocked him into a mellow mood. Mellow until he started fighting to get out of my arms and squealing like a piglet. So I told him I loved him and put him into his crib. And I went to bed. 45 minutes later, so did Emery. He awoke around 8 a happy little camper and I felt the stars had aligned. An hour later, we tried it again for his morning nap. Rocking, a little love, and a kiss. That was it. 6 minutes later, he was asleep. For two and a half hours! He hasn't slept that long during the day since he was a month old. Pure delight. He awoke and looked like this:



But after some cuddles, he warmed up.





and I got a blurry smile.



P.S. Tonight, he lulled himself to sleep with screams (such horror for a sad mom). But it only lasted a half hour and he's now been sleeping for several hours. Yipee!