Wrapping up Summer

Sunset on Lake Norman

   It's hard to believe that summer has come and gone so quickly! I feel like it was just last week I was franticly shopping for new tank tops that fit my post pregnancy body. Now I'm going through all my fall things that haven't seen the light of day in over a year! (I feel a new shopping spree is needed, necessary really.)

This summer was filled with so many wonderful memories.  As mentioned in our previous posts, first family vacation, a new nephew, a flock of chickens. This last month of summer has been sweet as well. Ray and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! We went to a quiet dinner at a fancy place called Dressler's and ate ourselves sick...it was wonderful. We had to force ourselves to take our time eating and enjoy some good long conversation. A baby quickly trains you to scarf down your food and have quick, get to the point conversations about life. I'm sure that anniversaries are something to be celebrated with parties and long day/weekend vacations and presents. Ours was quiet, no fluff, no gifts and dinner on a Wednesday night. This, however, seemed perfect for our lives at this moment. Here we are right before leaving the house. This is the nicest we've looked in some time. It felt good to put product in my hair and wear eyeliner and lip gloss. Ah, the simple joys of life. It was a blessing to spend quality time together. I love this man. He keeps me grounded, makes me laugh and is the best daddy to our daughter. 

First pony tail with a bow

Other very exciting news, a least from a girl's perspective, and no I didn't win a $10,000 shopping spree at Pottery Barn (so sad), BUT, something almost as great! I can now put bows in Emma Kate's hair. Everyone said her hair would fall out but the Lord was merciful and it just kept getting longer and thicker. One night at dinner I decided to try out a bow. The head bands are adorable and I love them and all but there is something in a woman, something that her heart anticipates, that is to put her daughter's hair in a pony tail. Why this is I'm not sure, we are fearfully and wonderfully made with a desire for cuteness. I twisted up the locks on her head and was able to put a bow right on top of her head to make a cute, tiny, 3 inch pony tail. I was SO excited! Ray, however, could not, for the life of him, understand my excitement. He actually tried to tell me to cut her hair!!! He said she has a mullet. After I regained my composure I told him that was complete blasphemy and we would NEVER cut her hair. Ok, so I over exaggerated a little. Needless to say, I'm happy to adorn our sweet little one with small bows in her hair. A milestone for babyhood. She will never be mistaken for a boy again. Now, to go shopping for more! :)  

Another first this month was real food! I wasn't planning on starting solids until she was six months old. But, after doing some research I realized that it can't hurt to introduce solid food just so she can become familiar with it. Her first taste of food was avocado. I placed two slices on her tray and let her go at it. Eating it, surprisingly, was not the first thing she did even though that's the first thing she does with everything else. She smashed and smeared it everywhere. Finally she managed, with my help, to get a piece in her mouth and began to lick and suck. We watched for a reaction as it fell out of her mouth...she leaned forward for more! Success! Most the avocado ended up on her bib or face but she did get down a few chunks.  It was so neat to she her experiment and try new things. It made me realize how interesting and wonderful food is. Babies help you see things in a new light. We haven't tried anything else since except for a few sucks of a plum and a chunk of banana, all she seemed to like. Her first real meal will come in another month or so once she learns to swallow a little better without gagging. 

What is this?

Not that bad!

The same day as our anniversary Emma Kate turned 20 weeks/ 5 months old. She is growing up so fast and developing quiet the silly personality. She smiles at everyone, is extremely curious and kicks and moves every moment of the day. She's working hard on sitting up but still hasn't mastered it. She also cannot roll over yet, she really doesn't try too hard though and when she does she gets stuck on her side. I'm pretty sure her big ol' belly is preventing her from executing the perfect roll. Also, she has found her feet and LOVE them. She assumes a wonderful position, what Ray calls the bug pose...on her back, feet up in the air and her hands reaching for them. It's the cutest thing to watch but they do distract her from sleep sometimes. We also learned this month that she has quite the intolerance to mosquito bites. The past week we've been battling blisters, rashes and swelling from those little boogers. Good news is she stayed pretty happy through it all. She seemed more irritated over the medicines then anything. The pictures below are her five month pictures. She had been sitting up but flopped over at the last minute, it ended up being more cute this way I think. Her signature is the tongue, seen below. It is sticking out of her mouth all the time! It's hilarious. 

Five Months Old

Our little doll

Below are some more pictures from this month. Mostly her first experience with all.

She loves her jumparoo/ baby space ship. We introduced it to her this month.

Emma Kate had her first boat ride on Lake Norman with mommy and the other racing wives. She loved the wind. 

This month she met her new cousin! Pop, Nina, Timothy and Emma Kate (and Gloria Magic Face, her unicorn)

Emma Kate is quite advanced, she can already read.

One of her favorite things is to ride in carrier with daddy and watch the chickens.