Saturday, November 05, 2005
Her first word
One thing that I haven't been very vocal about is that despite being ahead of the game with the walking and some of the motor skills, Emma had no words. There was no word that came out of her mouth signifying anything in particular. She would make a woof/grunting sound for the dogs, but it wasn't a word. So her first word is...balloon. Of course her version is more like one syllable. After her birthday party we left the balloons hanging in the kitchen. We have a grouping of three than hangs down over the kitchen table. She'll look up at those and stare and stare. Every time she'd look I'd also look and point and say "balloon." And then she said it. M. was even there to witness it. It was the first distinct word to come from her. Finally...whew!
Scenes from a country walk
I finally got off my expanding butt and took a two mile walk today. We walk a mile up the road and turn around and come back.

Emma is sporting her Minnie Mouse cap for the first time:



Here is a shot of our home from the end of the driveway:


Scenes from the road:

This is our turnaround point exactly one mile from the end of our driveway:
Friday, November 04, 2005
Remote Control
M. took Emma into the living room after supper to play. Usually they play Peek-a-Blocks train. This time Emma walked up to her chair and removed the pillow that keeps the cat off. She climbed in her chair and sat down. She picked up her personal remote (with no batteries) and pointed it at the television. When nothing happened she hollered. So Daddy got Elmo going for her.

I was in the kitchen for all of this and I was wondering what the heck he was doing turning on the TV when they were supposed to be playing. I was going to hold my tongue though. Now I'm glad I did. Emma sat there and watched Elmo for longer than she'd ever sit.

Foliage again
Here's the scene you know...

And here's a little to the left.

And here's a totally new one for you.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
We have some hair
It's funny though, it's getting thicker and longer, but it doesn't grow past the hairline she's had since birth anywhere except over her ears.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005
How much is your blog worth?
This is what my blog is worth. When do I get paid?


My blog is worth $3,387.24.
How much is your blog worth?



Inspired by Tristan Louis's research into the value of each link to Weblogs Inc, Dane Carlson created this "service" using Technorati's API which computes and displays your blog's worth using the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal.
The Dress
This dress was purchased by my grandmother, presumably circa 1969-70, for me. Unfortunately I outgrew it before my Mom got it on me. So it has been Noni's quest to see it on each of her granddaughters. I know she succeeded with #1, not sure about #2, and now we have #3. Which couldn't exactly be called a success. It happens that the moment I picked to attempt the photo was the moment Emma decided she was REALLY attached to her pacifier. As soon as I set her down and removed the paci she lost it...


Now we have real tears...


Now the eyes are open...


At peace again, with paci in place...


So Mommy thinks, "hey, maybe she's happier now. If I take out the paci again maybe she'll give me a smile"...

So technically, we have The Dress picture, right?
It's amazing every day
...watching this little person, who used to be a blob who did nothing at all, pick up new skills every day. Today she's walking around her bedroom picking up wooden puzzle pieces and putting them into a box she's carrying. Unfortunately she doesn't know about carrying the box level so the pieces fall out again pretty quickly.

She also has learned that if she's having difficulty with something and she brings it to me, I will help. So far there are two different toys that are in boxes that she needs help with. She brings them to me to open. Which beats that other thing she does where she stands and points at something and grunts/complains.

Another thing she is doing is initiating the "chase me" game. She comes up to me where I'm sitting on the couch and makes eye contact and "runs" away giggling. I'm supposed to sneak up behind her and chase her. She always heads for the same corner. When you catch her she laughs her butt off and collapses to the floor.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Fun book set - Disney chicks
This set concentrates on all the heroines of the Disney movies, plus some locales. It's been our experience that these tiny books for little hands are actually harder for Emma to manipulate than larger books. For now she plays with them by unloading them from the box.

Video Night!
Here Emma is playing with her books and then finally actually "reading" one...

Practice makes perfect
Up until today Emma wouldn't stand for having a necklace around her neck. Today I dropped her beads over her head and she was able to remove them by herself. Then she tried to put them back on. Here she is practicing, practicing:

Monday, October 31, 2005
Cruising, Crayons and a 10 year-old
Today I was talking to a friend and she mentioned that when she was a child, because of her dad's line of business, the family car bore a sign on the side of it featuring a pig. I speculated that she probably wanted to die rather than ride in the car. Then I told her about my memory along those lines...

The first time I ever had the opportunity to cruise the beach at Daytona Beach my Dad insisted on trailering along the pop-up camper. I was only ten years old, but I knew that we were hopelessly uncool...

Of course, from my adult perspective I now realize that there was really no option. Where were we going to leave it so we would look "cooler?"

Here's the rest of that story...We were staying at Daytona Beach for one night on our way to Walt Disney World. That day was my 10th birthday. We had awoken in a campground that morning in North Carolina and had struck camp and eaten breakfast at South of the Border. I had french toast, my favorite. I think I got my meal free when they found out it was my birthday. I had a few gifts to open that morning. One of the gifts was a 64 count box of crayons and a coloring book. For a 10 year-old. Can you imagine? Well imagine this, I was completely and absurdly pleased with that gift. To this day I love sets of colors. Many of you will recall my pen obsession.

We drove the rest of the day and ended up in Daytona that night. I remember a Slurpee in there somewhere, and we actually stayed in a hotel that night. The next day we were off to Walt Disney World and the vacation of a young lifetime.

So there you have it, I was a 10 year-old who thought she was too cool to cruise with a trailer attached, but wasn't too cool to color in coloring books.
We trick or treated after all...
We had no plans to go out tonight because Emma has been out late for Halloween festivities two out of the last three nights. We were eating our supper and the phone rang. It was a 13 year-old boy that lives a couple of miles down the road. He said "If you'll bring Emma to trick or treat, I have a bag of candy for her." Well...obviously it's not the candy that we went for. It's the mere fact that a 13 year-old boy was bold enough to call us to solicit trick or treaters. So we went.

He had an elaborate set-up to greet trick or treaters. Unfortunately, like us, he lives in the boonies and no one was stopping by. They all drive right on past to go to town to trick or treat. Emma got a juice box, some smarties and two pieces of chocolate. But I feel like showing up was worth a whole lot more than that.
Looky! Looky!
Today I received one of the single most exciting things I've ever gotten in the mail. A fellow Billy Idol fan, who I met on the mommy board and who checks in here occasionally, sent this to me.



I cannot begin to convey how thrilled I was when I opened it (and still am!) Not only that, but her lovely daughter passed on to Emma the rockinest Billy Idol t-shirt. I just love it. It's a bit big for now, but Emma will grow into it. Meanwhile I'll be schooling her on the joys of Billy Idol and his music ;)

I cannot believe how nice these ladies were to reach out to us in the name of Billy Idol fandom. What they don't know is that I've been thinking about them a lot lately. As November 2 approaches Emma's t-shirt benefactor is getting ready for some important surgery. I've been thinking about that and wondering how she's doing and hoping that everything will go exactly as they hope it will. You all are so kind to be thinking of Emma and me. Please know that you'll be on my mind Wednesday and I'll be praying that everything goes well.

Allison and Hayley, Thank you so, so much for your gifts!
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Train Dance
Emma is dancing on the floor, or something. She likes her train.

The wonders of Google
Someone found this blog by Googling highlandgal. I know it's not a unique handle because often it's already taken when I try to sign up for something new. The search turns up several highlandgals around the world. FYI, I am NOT the 43 year-old woman seeking couples. Thank you.
Shoes
You can see the Not-Robeez in the pics below. Since 80% of Emma's clothes are pink we had to go with the pink ones.
Daddy's new game
Kids can find the toy in just about everything:

Braggin' on my baby
She can stack the rings on her stacking toy. She learned to poke her finger through the hole so she can feel for the post. Woo hoo! Fine motor skills...you're in trouble now!

Sunday is Daddy Day
It's so good having Daddy around all day. He does interesting things:


Daddy is finishing the wall anchors for his woodstove fence, Emma is checking his work:


Story time: