Snowed in...and loving it.

We've been spending a lot of time at home evenings and weekends due to some major snow and ice. This is totally fine with us, and Emerson. The boy LOVES his bouncer right now. There's a video in an earlier blog which shows his first time really getting into it. He bounces like a maniac in it now. He also is a wildman in his highchair. Straps were invented b/c of babies like Emerson. He has definitely gone from baby to little boy. He's army-crawling, bouncing around, and talking/singing non-stop. He laughs and smiles most of the time, and is a dreamy little man. He sleeps like a prince (11-12 hours straight through the night), goes down for naps without a struggle, and eats like it's going out of style. His current foods include oat cereal, bananas, applesauce, pears, peaches, apricots, squash (a fave), carrots, and sweet potatoes (another fave). He devours his bottle, and opens his mouth for a bite as soon as we sit him in the highchair. For dinner a few nights ago he had an 8oz bottle, oat cereal, applesauce, and a double container of squash.

I am home with him today, and every Friday, and cherish this day. We lead very busy lives, so it's nice to slow down for a day and just soak up Emerson.

Jason turned 32 yesterday, and we had a low-key family celebration. We enjoyed Chipotle and brownies (Jason's requests), and listened to some of Jason's new "Oldies but Goodies" ten-CD-set. Tonight, Emerson gets to hang out with Auntie Jessi while Jason and I go to dinner and the Blue Jackets' game. Some people ask us if we're dying for an adult night. Jason and I adore every second with Em, and with his awesome sleeping habits, we do get a lot of alone time. It will be nice to have a night out, but I would be ok just staying home with my boys, too.

Totally ornery.

" Here, mom...I'll do it."
This cracks me up!Snow...snow...snow.

Last weekend with Mimmy and Dzia Dzia

"Hi, Sheff."

With 5:45am workouts M-Th, I sometimes need a nap after work. I love this time with Em.

Everyone needs a little naked time.

Emerson is crawling!

So it happened! I've been saying for a couple weeks that crawling was just around the corner, and sure enough, Emerson took off last night! Just under 6 months, this baby boy has learned how to get from one side of his mat to the other. He sees a toy he wants, and he moves! The three of us were hanging out in the family room last night, and Emerson starting moving forward. Jason and I quickly sprung into action. He recorded with the video camera, and I got a quick clip on my phone. The video below is low quality, but you get the idea. Within an hour, he was moving all over the place. We put all of his toys on one corner of the mat, and him on the other, and he crawled over to them! It's amazing how proud these milestones make us!

A blog about Emerson...no, Jason...no, Emerson...no, Jason

I hear on a very regular basis how much Emerson looks like Jason. I see it, mostly. But maybe it's not as striking to me as it is to others. I just see Emerson. Every once in a while, he'll make a face that I realize is a face Jason or I make. We're fairly animated people, so no surprise that Em would pick up on our goofy faces.

I am in the middle of a big photo archiving project, and came across a picture of Jason that made me stop in my tracks. I looked at it and realized I had seen that face. Somewhere. Where was it? I had seen it, I quickly realized, in many of Emerson's pictures!

It started in the hospital after Emerson was born when, on my laptop, I pulled up Jason's hospital photo when he was a newborn. My mom and sister commented that we had gotten Emerson's photos back really quickly.

Ah well, let's hope that platinum blonde hair curls as it grows in!

Bounce with me, bounce with me...

The quality isn't great (taken with my phone) but here's a fun video of Emerson in the jumper. It's perfect for his age right now. He is soooo busy, and is constantly moving. He adores the jumper, and you can't even walk by it without him reaching out for it. He'll bounce in this forever, and has now taken to bouncing when you're holding him, bouncing in the exersaucer, and bouncing in his highchair.

He's still getting his butt up into the air, on all fours, but hasn't taken off crawling yet. I give it a couple weeks.

I have lots of pics from the weekend, and will post soon. Emerson hung out with Auntie Jessi and had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Z. Good times had by all!

Make new friends...but keep the old...

Emerson, finally healthy, had a great weekend! We started Friday night with dinner and a slumber party with Auntie Jessi. We had a yummy dinner of wedge salads and homemade macaroni and cheese, followed with wine and some taboo for the adults! It was nice to relax after a busy week of a sick baby, trip to Chicago, and bitter temperatures. Saturday morning was met with french toast and coffee...a perfect start to the day!

Today, Emerson got to meet some old friends of ours. Stacy and Jeff have been great friends of ours for years. They were definitely our happy-hour, let's-grab-dinner, how-about-a-cook-out, casual go-to friends for the longest time. It was great to catch up on what's been going on, and introduce them to the love of our lives, Emerson. Of course, Emerson was a dreamboat, flirting with Stacy, and listening intently to everything Jeff had to say. I think they were smitten.

Snuggs.

Chillin with my momma. "Sup, homey."

"Yes, Jeff...I agree. Obama rocks."

Lovebirds.

And some old pics...

Jason took this last week while I was gone...the boy actually fell asleep during a meal!

He eats everything in reach.

Somebody got new PJs! Since everything under 12 months in size is too small. Jason got these, and another adorable pair. Let's hope these fit for a while!

Here kitty, kitty, kitty

Emerson has been grabbing onto any four-legged creature that is dumb enough to walk too close to him. Sheffield (dog) stays far away from Emerson, and is currently indifferent to him. Kramer (cat) is too curious (pun intended) to stay away. He walks right over to Emerson and loves it that he "pets" him. Em just reaches out and grabs onto Kramer's hair, or wraps him arm around him and pulls him down.

And since Emerson likes to put everything he can get his hands onto into his mouth...he gets a mouth full of cat hair. Yum yum.

I think Emerson finally rounded the corner on this cold. He is feeling MUCH better today, and has no fever. His appetite is up...so I think this baby boy is on the road to recovery!

Applesauce adventures

Emerson is home today, sick. He started with a cough on Sunday, and woke up with a fever Monday morning. I've been home since, tending to this goofy little baby. Even amidst the illness, he's as ornery and cute as ever. We went to the doc, but they can't really do anything at this age. Just wait it out. The coughing is tolerable, but the diapers aren't! Never, have I ever, smelled such a funk coming from something so small. Apparently, the soy formula should help. We'll see. The really sad part of this, is I have to leave this afternoon for a Chicago meeting, and get back late tomorrow night. Jason and Emerson will be fine, but I don't know if I will be. No, I really will be. I just hate to be away from Em, especially when he's under the weather. Below are a couple pics of Emerson yesterday morning. Watching Noggin. Yes, watching Noggin. What baby wants, baby gets. Especially when he's sick.Onto happier things...I am including a sequence of pictures of Emerson eating applesauce. He started on squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots a few weeks ago, so we are now starting to introduce a few fruits. Applesauce has been the MOST hilarious. The larger pics are my fave.

And the absolute funniest picture...

Stay tuned...Next post will be all about Emerson's new friend...Kramer the cat. I am convinced that as soon as Emerson gets some traction, he's going straight for both of this four-legged friends.