Emma has a hat!

Each night before dinner Emma is in her "giggle" mood. She will play with anything she can get her hands on and laugh at anything Dad, Mom, or even "kitty" do. A few nights ago, she grabbed a cup on the kitchen counter and lifted it up so high that it was almost on her head.

I, being the brilliant father I am, decided to help her out and put the cup on her head.


She loved it and thought it was funny. Now we put everything on her head


and she laughs, laughs, laughs.


Oh Emma, daddy is going to buy you some pretty hats someday.

Old Man Winter

Our Minnesota souvenir is ready for winter.

Her coat is on the coat rack.


And her Uggs are in the shoe pile.


She sure does make a cute winter babe, doesn't she?

Wordless Friday

The Chillin-With-The-Parents Edition

A Different Kind of Birth

I birthed two things this year: Emma and my first first-authored journal article. First authors are given complementary issues of the journals in which their articles appear. Mine came in the mail on Tuesday.


Emma is by far my greater accomplishment, but it is neat to be published.

I must say, over the last 6 months, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what it means to be a researcher and a mom.

As a researcher, what you do is publish. You publish in hopes that your work will be read, understood, built upon in some way by others, and used at some point to positively affect others. Along the way, you may teach classes and advise students, and you hope they feel inspired and go on to do great things. It's a ton of work and really competitive. As a result, many female academics choose not to have kids.

I'm not one.

As a mom, you nurture. You wake up each morning and commit to making the best possible decisions for your kids because they are worthy of them and because they are yours. You love them like crazy, don't sleep restfully...ever, and cry at their accomplishments because you're proud but also because it means they are growing up. It's the hardest job there is. If your kids grow up to be capable of love and self-sufficient, you've done well.

As for combining academia and motherhood? I'm learning the two aren't a match made in heaven by any stretch of the imagination. If you dropped by our house any day of the week, you might find me playing peek-a-boo, my head popping up and over a research article. And when singing a silly song, it might be to the tune of an e-mail headed to a researcher I work with. I'm ok with that so long as Emma always comes first.

I'm sure one day when I'm finished with school and enjoying a slower paced life with my hubby, I'll look back on my life at this very moment and wonder 'How on earth did you do it?'

And my answer? (I hope)

'Easy. Because it's what you had to do, and because you were privileged enough to do both.'


***P.S. You can view yesterday's video now. I had it set to private. Sorry!***

Lots O' Laughs

Because we can't get over the sound of our baby girl's laugh, here's some more laughing for your listening pleasure. We took this video after dinner this week. Sorry about it turning sideways midway through!!



What made her laugh so hard?

TB stretching.

We love that she's so easily amused ;)

Oh, and here are a few still shots. She's mid-laugh in the first one.

Halloween, At Last

This post about Halloween is long overdue but, you see, I've been waiting for a handful of pictures to complete it, and they just came (they're the ones at the bottom)!

All in all, Halloween was really fun. We spent the two days prior in Des Moines celebrating both my sister's birthday and Halloween with family that live in town. In Des Moines, Halloween is referred to as Beggars' Night and is celebrated the night before Halloween. While that in and of itself sounds sort of strange, kids are also supposed to tell a joke in exchange for their candy. The jokes are usually corny, like this one:

Why didn't the skeleton cross the road?
He didn't have any guts.

Wild, huh? It's definitely a different Halloween experience than most are used to, but it's fun.

We celebrated Kristen's birthday on Friday night. Emma very kindly stayed up past her bedtime to help open presents.


On Saturday we hung out at my Grandma's in the morning and Emma played with all sorts of family - Grandma & Grandpa, Great Grandma, Great Aunt Sue, Great Great (lots of "Greats" in the family these days!) Aunt Jane, and Third Cousin Leah.




Then, we went out for a girls' lunch and shopping in the afternoon. We stopped in the occasional mothers' room (thank you, department stores) so Emma could eat, and because she was in the Bjorn, she fell asleep whenever she got tired.


That evening, we transformed Emma from pumpkin into ladybug! My sister, Ginger, and her daughter and grandkids live in town, so we trick-or-treated there and at my Great Aunt Jane's.






Emma was pooped by the end of the day!

Halloween weekend was TB's last long weekend of work at the golf course, so Emma and I made the trip down ourselves with help from family (you may recall Emma doesn't do so hot in the car). TB rescued us on Halloween day close to Albert Lea. When we came home, we attended her first Halloween party with friends ;) Remember these guys? They're some of the babes from our birth class! They've grown so much.




Unlike her baby friends, Emma could think of many a thing more fun than being dressed in a hot costume and crammed onto a couch.


Poor sweet girl. Good thing Halloween only comes around once a year!

Hope you enjoyed your Halloween!

Winter Wonderland

It's a winter wonderland up this way!

Emma and I (it was TB's morning to sleep in) woke up on Saturday to this.


We probably received 8 inches total. It was kind of expected but kind of not.

I always love the first snow of the season. Even though it gets old fast, there's something really magical about it. It signals the start of the holiday season and a slower pace.

People who live around us were pretty excited, too. A family built a 6 or 7 foot tall snowman. And I snapped some pictures of a mama and son in the middle of a snowball fight (see the two snowballs?).


This first snow was especially fun for us because it was Emma's first. I tried to catch her first look at it for you but didn't do a very good job because I was holding her at the same time. She grinned really big. Then she banged on the storm door and looked back at me every few seconds with a look that said 'mama, can you believe this stuff!?!'




Despite the weather, we went out as a family and ran a bunch of errands. We realized it was the first Saturday (weekend, really) that we've spent together since we lived in Manhattan. Yeah, I know, long time. We spent it at the MOA (Mall of America), IKEA, and out to lunch. Before we left to run errands, we took these pics of us with our lovely Emma B.

Breaking News

All you parents and current or former child care providers out there understand the whole 'poop change' that happens when a baby transitions from breast milk/formula to solids.

I, on the other hand, did not fully understand this change.

Until tonight.

I get it now. Oh, yes, I do.

And may I just say...

HOLY CRAP! (pun intended)

I guess I just thought that babies being, you know, babies and all, could not produce poop that is smelly. Or adult-like. Or anything else that gross.

I stand corrected.

Tomorrow, I will be running to the store to buy one of these.


I anticipate it will be one of the better investments we make as parents.

Thanks for tuning in. Back to regular, clean Emma broadcasting ;)

Ducky Tub

Emma's graduated to a big girl bathtub!

We found it over Labor Day weekend at a baby sale. It even quacks! I love it.

And I love her in it.


Here's a far away shot so you can get an idea of how big she is in it. I bought her that little pink ducky for Christmas but decided to make it an early gift. What's a bath in a big duck without a little duck to play with?


And for all you baby roll loving blog readers out there (me included), here's the best picture I took all evening.

Late Night

Emma usually goes to bed around 6:30pm, wakes up to eat a little an hour later, and then goes back to bed for the night. It's nice.

Tonight, when I went in to feed her at 7:30pm, she was wide awake. It happens every week or so. Apparently she doesn't want to miss out on all the fun that happens at night.

So, we jumped in the jumper.

We read some books.

We watched TV.

We cuddled.

We tried to go back to bed.

We had some tummy time.

We patted Maggie.

We put in a load of laundry.

We rocked.

We looked for the Chritmas PJs that we bought last week.

We tried to go back to bed.

We hung upside down.

We played super baby.

We sang.

We sent e-mail.

We ate carrots.

We took a picture.


We made a goofy video.



And when 11:15pm rolled around and she still wasn't sleepy, Daddy loaded her up and took her for a car ride.

It's how we do our late nights with Emma B.

Half Birthday

Dear Emma,

Today was your half birthday.

We can't believe how fast the time has gone.

Or how much we love you.

Look how you've grown!




At six months, you are sweet, busy, curious, happy, easy-going, and content.

You love your family, "patting" Maggie, being sung to, splashing in the bathtub, jumping in your jumper, bright colored toys that make any kind of noise (your Elmo, piano, ball, teethers, and Sophie are favorites), smiling at yourself in the mirror, reading books (you now like to turn the pages yourself), hanging out in the Baby Bjorn, being outside, and playing peek-a-boo.

You can sit up almost completely on your own without falling over, roll over both ways, smile and laugh with the best of 'em, stand up with our help for minutes at a time, and eat like a champ. You still get most of your nutrition nursing, but you now eat rice cereal, bananas, prunes, carrots, and sweet potatoes. We're not sure which one is your favorite, but lately you've been extra happy about carrots and prunes.

I stepped on the scale with you this morning and you weigh over 17 pounds. Probably half of it is in your cheeks ;) We think you're long. You have beautiful eyes to match Daddy's - blue on the outside and green on the inside. Your hair makes us think of Fall and we're crossing our fingers it never changes.

You have the most amazing family, Emma. We live far away from most of them but it doesn't feel that way because every month (and sometimes more) you've been able to see and interact with people who love you a lot: grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, first cousins, second cousins, great aunts, and friends near and far. And we talk a lot about those you haven't been able to see much. It makes living far away a little easier.

We can't imagine life without you in it.

You are, without a doubt, the perfect answer to thousands of prayers.

Happy half birthday!

Love,
Mom & Dad

*Thanks, family and friends, for the e-mails, texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages wishing Emma a happy half birthday. We were blown away that you remembered!! We feel the love and so does our baby girl.

Lambeau 2010

For the third year in a row, my Dad and I (TB) attended a game at Lambeau to watch the Dallas Cowboys play. Unfortunately, the game didn't turn out very well, but as always, we had a great time.


We tailgated with the Romo family. His aunt gave us autographed pictures of Romo and Witten. She took a few pictures of Dad and I with our Green Bay buddies for his personal scrapbook.


Here we are with my Dad's longtime friend and his son.


It was a great experience. Too bad we can't look forward to going back again next year (there will not be a game in Green Bay for several years)!

Family Day

It has been the best having TB home over the last few days. I presented at a conference yesterday and will again tomorrow but today was a family day. It was AWESOME. We made a big pot of chili, cleaned the house, did some laundry, and played with Emma. It felt good to be a family at home with nowhere to be and nothing to do.

TB is meeting his Daddio in Green Bay tomorrow to watch the Cowboys play the Packers. It sounds like they are going to freeze their tails off in the evenings. They are coming back to the Cities on Monday. My sister will be here while TB is away so that I can present at and attend a few sessions at my conference. The conference is in the heart of Minneapolis only a block away from Nicolett Mall (the scene of Mary Tyler Moore's iconic hat toss if you ever watched the show!).

Anyway, back on topic. Today I took some pictures of our Emma B on her tummy. I wanted you to see how strong she is! She flips onto her belly all the time, sits up pretty well on her own,


and is starting to think about crawling. Not too much longer and we'll have a mobile baby on our hands.






In this last picture she is showing us her "I'm about done on my tummy" look! She loves flipping onto her belly but doesn't really like flipping back.

Wordless Wednesday

The Someday-I-Will-Get-Over-These-Cheeks (ok, who am I kidding, I never will) Edition

Room Service

Our little family decided to be spontaneous the other day and spend the night at a hotel. It had nothing at all to do with the fact that our baby hates her car seat and was traveling from Des Moines to St. Paul. Nothing at all ;) What's great is that we could actually do it because TB didn't have to go to work the next morning!! It was a first and clearly meant to be because he won $220 at the attached casino while I was putting Emma to sleep for the night.

Emma was excited about staying in her first hotel room. It was probably the huge bed and getting to sleep between Mom and Dad the whole night that put her over the edge. Or perhaps it was the yummy buffet? Fresh chocolate chip cookies at the front desk? Room service? Pay-per-view movies? Who knows for sure, but she was one happy baby.

Let's Eat

We entered a new world late last week and over the weekend: that of solid food! Emma was showing huge interest in everything we were eating and we finally looked at each other and said, 'Ready to do this?' And off we went. No looking back.


It is at this point I feel compelled to tell you that there are so many choices when it comes to starting a baby on solids. Holy whoa, it's overwhelming. There's the Baby Led Weaning approach, which we're a fan of because research is showing it's a good method. There's also the traditional method of starting with cereal mixed with milk followed by purees in the order of fruits, veggies, and meats (or veggies, fruits, then meats). We decided to go with a hybrid of the two methods and to introduce cereal first because it's super easy on the tummy and only a small step away from the milk she so loves. Have you spent any quality time in the baby food aisle lately? There's rice cereal, barley cereal, and oat cereal. And in the rice cereal category alone, there is single grain, multigrain, and brown. There is an organic version of each. And, some cereal is plain while others have bananas or apples in them. Why, oh why?? Thank God for my Mom. She helped me sort through the 1,000 choices in just a few minutes and Emma and I made it home safely with her first box of big girl cereal.

Feeding her was the easy part. Here she is wearing her special handmade bib from a family friend.


Emma ate like a champ! At first she gave an 'I'm not so sure about this, Mama' face, but after a few bites, it was clear she thought food might be pretty cool. Here she is enjoying her first bites. I fed her the first half of the bowl and TB fed her the second half.




Over the weekend, she tried bananas. They were a hit. And on the menu for this week is avocados and sweet potatoes. We'll probably make most of her food ourselves, which should be fun. She's growing up!

And speaking of growing up, our little lady(bug) celebrated her first Halloween! We'll write all about it tomorrow night but here's a teaser. There are no words for a 5 month old in a costume, are there?