Ohio State vs. Penn State weekend

First off...Emerson has a beautiful belly button. It's healing nicely!

Below are some funny pics I took last night. Auntie Jess came over for a visit, and we were cracking up b/c Emerson LOVES the TV! I know, a terrible habit to start. We've found that if there is a TV on in the room, Emerson finds it, and becomes obsessed! He will strain and practically turn upside down in order to see the TV. I am sure all the lights and movement are fascinating to him. To counteract this, I've popped in a couple Baby Bach and Baby Beethoven videos once or twice a week. Nobody worry, I won't let him become a couch potato.

Sitting on Jessica, and "watching" Extreme Home Makeover

Pre-sneeze...too funny! "Mom, I can't take my eyes off it!"He also loves standing right now. Standing, and watching TV."Oh, hi Mom."

Thanks to Jason's parents coming in to watch Emerson, we had a fun adult night out! We had tickets to the game, and tailgated before. Unfortunately, the result of the game stunk, but we still had fun!

Here's Emerson with Mimmy (Grandma Z) at Rusty Bucket before they headed out of town. I think he was mad we interrupted him watching college football.

Jason and I at the game...all smiles...we must have been up at this point.

Script Ohio...incredible stuff. Pre-gaming at the tailgate...good times!

Today, Emerson and I stopped at the daycare (Oxford School of Dublin) to drop off some sheets, diapers, wipes, etc. All the essentials of day-to-day Emerson care. We met Miss Sylvia and Miss Beth, the teachers in his room. He got to meet a few of the other little ones, and will have plenty of girls to charm. There is only one other boy. I am spending every minute possible with him, and holding him extra-close while he sleeps. Thursday morning is RAPIDLY approaching! I will probably have to get up at 5 to get us both ready (wink). Jason and I are trying to identify who does what in the mornings. Jason will likely feed him while I get ready, and then I can dress Emerson while Jason gets ready. We've already determined Jason will do the morning drop-off, and I will do the pick-ups. This way, I can fool myself into thinking I am just leaving him with Jason. Right? RIGHT!?!?!?! Kidding. His teachers are great, and he'll have lots of love and attention while Momma and Daddy work hard to send him to college.

A visit to Children's Hospital

So it's my last full week before my maternity leave ends, and it's been a busy one. I posted on Tuesday following the Lancaster playgroup, but it's been busy even since then!

Emerson turned 11 weeks this Wednesday, and looks like he's 11 months! He weighed in today at 15 lbs. 14 oz. No joke. Is this why my back aches at the end of the day? He's also rolling over (stomach to back only) nearly every time he's on his stomach. I had him laughing the other night with silly faces...and it was by far the most wonderful sound I've EVER heard!

The reason I have the updated weight is because we spent the entire morning at Children's Hospital. Emerson had a scheduled visit with urology there, since his belly button hadn't healed and was producing some drainage. He had a small granuloma sticking out of it...Jason and I describe it to people as a pimiento. There was a possibility that there was an open tract from his belly button to his bladder and that was causing the drainage and preventing it from healing. After an ultrasound a few weeks ago, they asked for more testing. We started at radiology this morning at 8, and our brave little man had a catheter inserted so that they could fill his bladder with dye to be able to view any open tracts. He was wonderful during this procedure, and barely made a fuss. When he did, a little bit of their "sweet soothe" (read: sugar water) on his pacifier settled him right down. Following radiology, we headed to urology to meet with Dr. Jayantha. He was incredible. He had the best bedside manner, and was very kind to our little boy. Because they were unable to see any open tracts (good news!) he felt they could just snip it up, and with a few stitches, be done with it! This was great news...and meant we would not have to come back. The toughest part for me and Jason, is that we were unable to go into the procedure with him. Our nurse was great, and took excellent care of him. I knew he had been crying though, b/c his face was sticky from sugar water and he was exhausted when he landed back in my arms (tears on the keyboard).

A little infant Tylenol and neosporin over the next few days, and Emerson will be good as new, with a normal belly button! We are so thankful that a minor procedure was all he needed. Visiting Children's Hospital is a great way to realize how lucky we are that Emerson is healthy, happy, and has only the occasional sniffle or funky belly button to deal with. It broke our hearts to see all those mothers, fathers, and children working their way through the hallways like it was their own home. Thank heaven for health.

Before we went back to radiology

Pumpkin Show, Playgroup, and more cereal

On Friday night, Jason and I met up with Terra and Andrew at the Circleville Pumpkin Show. For those of you who aren't from around here, it's a whole lot of pumpkin-flavored-anything, additional fair food, and some really big pumpkins. Good times! You can see the "king" and "queen" pumpkins behind us. Emerson was great...we watched the parade and pigged out!

We had the Lancaster playgroup today, and have one more time we can go before I head back to work! It's so fun to see the little ones interact with the even littler ones. Emerson just watches everyone around him. He actually DID have clothes on, but I stripped him to his onesie after a bit. He stays cooler that way, and looks awfully cute too!

Andrew Boyden with his momma

Sara (our host) and her kiddies, Grace and AndrewAndrew, trying to get Emerson to play with him
Emerson with Henry Hanson (Todd and Leslee's son), who is a few weeks older than Emerson

Andrew, Emerson and Henry

Emerson not taking his eyes off Grace's sucker

Again, with the sucker, and Sara protecting Emerson from "Steve", Andrew's crazy alter-ego

Emerson is really enjoying his cereal! As you can imagine, the boy takes his food quite seriously. He is doing really well in the high chair, and it keeps his interest for 7 or 8 bites!

Cereal!!!

Emerson had his two month check up this week (10 weeks old) and had a great report! He weighed in at 14 lbs. 7 oz., and measured 24.5 inches long. He's still in the high 90s on the growth chart, and eating like a horse. He actually rolled from stomach to back on the exam table at the doc's office! She laughed! He's done this a handful of times, beginning at 6 weeks. I swear people think I'm lying most of the time, so I was so glad he did it in front of his pediatrician.

As formula doesn't seem to be completely satisfying the baby giant anymore, I started giving him a little bit of cereal following his bottle. Yes, I know, some people INSIST on waiting until they are 4 months old, but based on abilities, Emerson is physically ready for the next step in nourishment. He took it from a spoon like a champ!

This was just a cute pic I got of him today. He is soooo busy physically, and a chatterbox most of the day. He is clearly communicating and responding to me, I love every little noise!
Here's Emerson at 9 weeks, and again at 10 weeks. I realize it's difficult to see the chalkboard, so I stole an idea from a fellow blogging mom on the blocks (thanks Janelle!). You can see Emerson's twin band-aids in the 10 week pic. He hardly made a fuss when he got his shots. I swear, this baby is a dream.

We had an overnight at Mia and Poppy's (gma and gpa Lineberger) last weekend. We watched the game, had a yummy steak dinner, and spent the night. The next day Emerson and Jason had a morning nap together. This is one of Jason's favorite things to do with Emerson on the weekends. Jason soaks up every minute of Emerson in the evenings through the week, and really cherishes every second with him on the weekends. I imagine we'll both be stealing minutes with him once I go back to work in 2 weeks. Luckily, his daycare is 2 minutes from Jason's office, and 5 minutes from mine. We'll probably be over there during our lunches most days of the week!
I couldn't resist this one. Emerson has another outfit for Beggars' Night, but this was a costume borrowed from Auntie Mel. He's just too darn cute!
We had a bonfire last night with some of Jason's coworkers so Emerson was bundled in his fleece bear suit! Ears and all! He'll be in this at the pumpkin show tonight, so I'll probably have another update before the weekend is through!

A day at the fair!

Emerson started the week off NOT so great, with a cold. Yes, 9 weeks old and he got a cold! Daycare is going to be a treat in a few weeks! On Monday night, he had a fever and was very restless. I took him to the doc on Tuesday morning, and they told me to continue with the baby Tylenol, but that he'd likely be better in a couple days. We had a couple rough nights, but even for being sick, this baby has an incredible demeanor. He's a trooper, and would muster laughs and smiles, but you could just see in his eyes he wasn't quite himself. By Thursday, he was feeling SO much better, that we made a trip to Lancaster for the fair. We hadn't really planned to go, but my Dad had a horse racing, and the food was TOO tempting!

Believe it or not, he's SICK here!

He crashed
In the cow barn...Emerson LOVES the baby bjorn!Come on...this is weird. Even for my Dad!

The horse won, which made it more fun! We got a pic with Emerson in the winners' circle.

This was my view of him...from the bjorn.

Sheppard Baby Party and Pumpkin Farm

A busy weekend for all! Jason, Andrew, Terra and I hosted a couples baby party for Donald and Beth at our house with about 15 of our closest friends. It wasn't allowed (per Donald) to be called a "shower". We expect to meet Teddy Sheppard in just 4 weeks! So Auntie Jessie asked if she could keep Emerson overnight, and they had a great time! As did we! Jason and I both missed Emerson very much, but it was also nice to have an adult evening.

As you can see, we have a very eco-conscious son!

Before they left for their slumber party!

Enjoying our new patio with the girlsGuests of honor, Donald and BethLove these girls! Beth, Terra, me and Leah Recovery on Sunday! (I kid, no recovery needed...just lounging.)

On Sunday, we went to a local pumpkin patch with Michael, Hollie and Cameron. Although Emerson slept for most of it, we had a great time. It makes me realize how much fun he'll be next year!