Emma Victoria: 5 Months!

We have had a lot doctor appointments and tests for Emma's cough, swallowing, and reflux in the past few months; thankfully, this month was smooth. :)  We only had one appointment, and that was a well baby visit!  Our tiny princess is 11 pounds, 12 ounces and 24 1/2 inches long. 

At 5 months, Emma is rolling over all the time, both back to tummy and tummy to back.  Yesterday was the first time she did a full 360 roll without stopping! 

Isaac loves when  Emma rolls over and claps & cheers for her each time. 

He usually says yells something like, "Yay Baby Emma--you roll over!  Good job!" 

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this month!



Sitting up by herself in the stroller at the airport! 
Emma had her first airplane trip this month when she & I flew to Minnesota!



Singing with Great-Grandma Dolores



Two sweethearts--Aunt EmEm & Emma

Emma with her sweet little friend, Liv!

 

Emma is all smiles with her big brother!



Our Week in Minnesota

My last trip to Minnesota very happily did not go as planned as I left early due to Emma's birth in Missouri!  This visit to Minnesota was much more calm...though I wouldn't trade leaving in the middle of the night last time for anything!  :) 

Thanks to lots of extra help from my mom & dad who watched Isaac while David was working, I was able to take Emma to Minnesota for a week to spend time with my sister Emily and my Grandma Dolores. 

Emma was a great traveler!  We had a layover each way in St. Louis, though we didn't have to switch planes.  Emma spent most of the flights sleeping in the Moby Wrap. 

 Our visit was wonderful!  Here are my favorite pictures!

Fresh off the plane!  Emma with Emily!

It was so special for me to have my Grandma Dolores meet Emma. 

My Grandma's mother was also named Emma Victoria, and I love how my grandma always refers to Emma by her full name.  My Grandma has prayed for children for our family for many years. It was such a miracle to me when my Grandma Dolores was nearly 90 years old and met Isaac for the first time.  Now, two years later, it was more than I could have imagined to have my Grandma meet my daughter.  I really did treasure this special time.

My Grandma and I spent a lot of time looking at her photo albums and playing a few games of Scrabble. She may be 92, but she is still one clever Scrabble player!  :) 

We also went out for lunch one afternoon, but mostly my grandma spent a lot of time rocking and singing to Emma.

 

I also had so much fun with my sister Emily.  Her wedding is in less than 2 months, so we spent a lot of our time together working on plans for her wedding!  One evening, Emily's future mother-in-law and sisters-in-law came over to her apartment for an evening of wedding crafting.  All I can say is...stay tuned for pictures in September of the most colorful and creative wedding imaginable!  My sister is one amazing bride-to-be!

Emily and I also spent a day at the Mall of America shopping for Isaac's ring bearer outfit...and we managed to squeeze in some other shopping, too.

(Read: no sales tax on clothes in Minnesota)  :) 

The next day, Emily had her first wedding dress fitting.  Of course, I can't post any of the pictures I took of my sister in her gorgeous gown.  From the moment she stepped out in her wedding dress, I cried and cried.  (I'm sure you're not surprised.)  I just can't believe my little sister is getting married!  I am so happy for her and couldn't love her fiancee, Caleb, more than I already do! 

We made the day of Emily's dress fitting into an entire girl's day, complete with pedicures and Caribou Coffee!

Sunday, July 1 was my Grandma's 92nd Birthday! 

My cousin Karen and I organized a family birthday party for our Grandma.

Grandma & Anna

Grandma with more granddaughters

Minnesota family meeting Emma!

Opening gifts!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!  Emily made this amazing chocolate birthday cake!

Three generations!  Thankful again for my visit to Minnesota!

Full Circle Shirts

I spent hours making these big brother, little brother, & little sister shirts in the spring of 2011. 

After we lost both adoptions last year, I stuffed them in the back of Isaac's closet. 

When Emma came home, I found the little sister & big brother shirts again, & I squeezed Isaac into his shirt for pictures with Emma.

I have this picture of me with Isaac and Emma in their big brother & little sister shirts on my bedside table.  It is a reminder to me that my God is faithful and answered the cry of my heart.  I am so thankful that my sweet boy now has a sibling that he just adores! 

When I was in Minnesota a few weeks ago, I bought big brother & little sister shirts that actually fit.  :) 

I can't say enough how much I love these two precious children.

"O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."

Isaiah 25:1

Our Fourth of July!

We had a fun time celebrating the Fourth of July--and a big part of the fun was having David home for a day in the middle of the week.  :) 

Water coloring fireworks

We had so much fun at the fireworks in Roanoke last year that we decided it's a tradition! Roanoke had their fireworks on Tuesday night, so we headed up there as soon as David got home from work.

All dressed up & ready to go to her first fireworks show! 
Thank you, Erin Morris, for this outfit!  ;)

Isaac loves making Emma laugh!

Can you tell **how excited** these kiddos were about their glow sticks? 
Isaac's are still hanging on his closet door so he can look at them at night! 



Watching fireworks! 
After the show, Isaac said, "The fireworks went boom boom right into my eyes!" 
That's because we were apparently in the fall-out zone! 
It was pretty windy, and by the end of the evening, we all had ash on our clothes and in our hair!  There were even several large (fist size) pieces in the grass around us.  Even so, it was still a great night! 

On Wednesday morning, our neighborhood had a Fourth of July parade for walkers, bikers, and anyone else who wanted to join!  :)  The parade started at the north end of our neighborhood.  Since we got home so late the night before from fireworks, we opted to just wait for the parade to pass our house and then join in!  :)

It seemed a little surreal to me to be a parent at a neighborhood Fourth of July parade...growing up, my neighborhood also had a parade every Fourth of July.  Usually, my sister & I would walk our bassett hound in it.  :)

Waiting for the parade!

A firetruck led the parade!

Riding in the parade--Isaac thought it was pretty great to ride right down the middle of the street!

The parade ended near our neighborhood greenbelt, where there were several large water bounce houses set up.  The HOA also grilled hot dogs.  We had a fun time meeting some more new neighbors and watching Isaac on the water slide!

Isaac was determined to keep up with the big kids.

I think late-night fireworks & going down the water slide over and over wore Isaac out--and apparently David, too!  :) 

After Isaac woke up from his nap, we went swimming and grilled with my parents.  I don't have any pictures, but it was a lot of fun!

We hope your Fourth was wonderful, too!

Fireworks in a Jar

*Fireworks in a Jar* was an idea I saw on I Can Teach My Child.

It was one of the items on our Summer Bucket List.  We did this activity a few weekends ago, but I'm posting it now in celebration of the Fourth of July tomorrow! 

 1.  Fill a large jar, or in our case a vase, with warm water.

2.  Cover a plate with 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

3.  Drop separate drops of food coloring into the oil.  We used three different colors.

(Apparently, in this picture I was ready to take the food coloring away from Isaac in case he started to put it anywhere other than the plate!)  :)

 4.  Using a fork, mix the food coloring in the oil. 

 5.  Pour the oil and food coloring mixture into the warm water...

 ...and watch the "fireworks" burst!  :)

 Isaac kept giggling and saying, "It's so beautiful!  It's so beautiful!"

Then, David had an idea that we should start with a clean vase of warm water and pour the vegetable oil into the vase.  The oil stayed on top of the water, and then we dropped the food coloring into the oil.  We thought the colors would sink through the oil and immediately start "bursting" once they hit the water, but we had to use a fork to sink the food coloring through the oil and into the water.  :) 

Thanks, Jenae at I Can Teach My Child, for a fun activity! 

And now we can't WAIT to see real fireworks tonight!  :) 

Happy Fourth of July!