First Day of School - 1st Grade

Emma was thrilled to go back to school today. She has the same teacher as last year, and she's in the same classroom, so it was very familiar and comfortable for her.

Brian took her this morning, and he said she walked right in and went to put her bag in her cubby. I guess it's a good thing she's got the same cubby as last year!!!

The Night Before School Starts

This is how I found Emma the night before the start of school. You can't tell in the picture, because of the flash, but it was late and her room was dark. She is sound asleep, surrounded by every single book that is in her room.

I love this picture because it reminds me of one taken of me when I was little. I'm sitting on my bed and I'm surrounded by my books.

Dr. Emma

Emma has recently become quite fond of playing with her doctor's kit. There is a Max & Ruby episode where Ruby is "Nurse Ruby" and her friend is "Doctor Louise". They wear hats and give little Max a check up. (Emma calls it a 'ketchup').

So, when Emma decides it is time to play, you'd better be prepared to play her way. You will be required to wear hats. You will become Nurse Mommy, or Doctor Papa, etc. And you will have your ears checked, your heartbeat, your throat etc.

Mom & Dad were here for the weekend and Emma insisted that both of them join her and Jennifer in her room to play. You'll see their 'hats' and the various 'examinations'.

Of course, since Emma is spoiled rotten, everyone went along with whatever she wanted to do!

More of James - I told you there would be more...

Mommy's Little Monster!!

James is 6 months old today!

It's so hard to believe - but he really is 6 months old. My dear friend Ginger took these pictures yesterday. Aren't they great?! We have too many to choose from - more to come....

March Madness

More to come...no, really...you don't believe me, do you? :-)

Merry Christmas to all

3 Month Old Today!

James is 3 months old today!! He's such a good baby. He is cooing and kicking and squirming and generally being quite charming. He's still spitting up a lot, but it does seem to be getting a little bit better. He usually sleep about 7 hours a night and we've had a few nights where he slept 9 hours!!! He's a little chunk - he's outgrowing all his clothes at a very rapid rate!!

"I'm not so sure about this"

"Still with the pictures - the things I put up with"

And now, some video...it's a little hard to tell, but he was kicking his feet like crazy...you can hear it, but you can't really see it.

Swing Time

I looked outside and what did I see? Our little bug was swinging away. Now, Emma loves to swing. LOVES to swing. But, up until now, she has only been "pushing" with her arms. She hasn't quite mastered pumping with her legs. It must have clicked, because she nailed it. Now, when I went to video her...well...you can watch for yourself...

So, we tried on another swing...

And, eventually gave up and shot a little on her favorite swing...

Emma's First School Program

If you look VERY closely, you can see Emma right in the middle of this picture. Emma had her first school program on Monday, December 8th. The kindergarten class sang Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer as part of the Christmas Concert. It was about 1000 degrees, totally packed (I'm pretty sure we violated the fire code occupancy requirements) and we were there 30 minutes early and still had to stand the entire time. I have some video, but haven't figured out how to get it on the computer yet. When I do, I'll post it on YouTube.

I was so proud of Emma that I could have exploded. She marched in with her class, mostly sat still (as far as I could tell) and sang and did the motions. She knows every word. She was so cute - she would turn around every now and then during the song, almost like she was checking to be sure that everyone else was doing what they were supposed to do. We are so happy with her class and her progress this year.

I really missed Gary on this night. Gary would have been all over this. If you were blessed to know Gary, you can totally picture this, can't you? Gary, with video camera in one hand and digital camera in the other, or in his shirt pocket. Gary, insisting on photos before we left the house, while we were at the school, in the classroom and then when it was over. Gary, not caring that the place was packed, and maneuvering around to get the best possible video position. While we have about 5 minutes of video, Gary would have had about 30 minutes!! Gary, showing off the photos and videos to everyone who was lucky enough to run in to him over the next few days. While we have pictures, Gary would have had LOTS of pictures!! We miss him!!!

Emma's reindeer shirt.

The video is of Emma saying reindeer - she wouldn't sing...

Jack Henry

Jordan, Seth, Jack & James (don't know where Emma was!)

James & Jack (& Mrs. Thompson)

We went to visit Jack Henry Pracht a few weeks ago. Jack is one month and one day younger than James. He's bigger than James already, but he was almost 2 pounds bigger at birth, so it's to be expected. He is so cute and so strong. You should see him on his tummy - he's practically doing push ups already. Given that Sara & I have been friends since kindergarten, we hope this is the start of a beautiful friendship - how cool would it be to be able to say "we've been friends since before we were born"?!!

More Thanksgiving

After we got home from Hendersonville, Sandra, Brad, Melanie, Anna, Ashlyn & Ethan all came over for Thanksgiving dinner at our house. We had way too much food and really enjoyed just being together as a family.

Thanksgiving continued...We are Family (think the song)

This is a shot of all my cousins (minus 1 - missed you Michelle!), and my cousin's kids, and my sister and Granny's great niece & nephew ( I have no idea what that makes us - some kind of cousins I guess) - anyway - we had a crowd and it has been a long time since we were all together.

What a catch!

Everyone plays if they want to - no one is too small. The smaller you are, the better for the sneak attack!!

Thanksgiving

Important Note: My camera is broken. I have NO NEW PHOTOS of my own, but plan to remedy this siutuation within a few days.

We had a great day on Thanksgiving. First, we got up and made a mad dash to Hendersonville to visit with my dad's side of the family. We only got to stay a few hours, but it was awesome to get to be there with everybody. Plus, everyone wanted to see James - I'm not living under any illusions - I know they don't really want to see me - it's Emma & James they are interested in!!

Dad & Granny

The family!

Jennifer & Emma

Emma with her Papa (who was not supposed to be lifting more than 5 pounds - you can see how well that went).

Granny & James - she claimed him right off the bat and didn't seem to be even slightly worried that she might be covered in spit!!

Emma & James

Emma - holding "her baby" - so sweet!

Me & James - I'm usually the one taking the pictures so these are rare!

Sandra's Birthday

We went to Mimi's Japanese Steakhouse for Sandra's birthday. It started out tough - we were 20 minutes late for our reservation because of horrible traffic (big wreck). But, we got settled in & had a great meal. Our server left a lot to be desired, but our chef was great. In attendance...Mike, Cindy, Holly & Kyle Perry...Jennifer Huggins...Brad, Anna, Ashlyn, Ethan, Brian, Lynn, Emma, James & Sandra Blackburn. They made Sandra get up and had the whole restaurant sing to her!! It was great!! Then, we went back to our house for cake & presents.

Ashlyn really wanted to use her chopsticks - and she did GREAT!!!

First we get the shrimp with the chopsticks...

Then, we carefully bring it to our mouth...

Success!!!

Best Buds

Emma & James "watching" Barney - here's hoping they are still best buds 20 years from now!!

The Many Faces...

All these were taken within just a few minutes of each other!