Meeting the 04 Girls

This past weekend was Emily's first '04 reunion. (Well, a mini-reunion since many friends were missing.) Here she is with Annabel (home from overseas for a brief and all-too-rare visit!!) and Katie (who just moved to Philly from OH -- hoorayyyyy!). Juanita and Jackie C. also came to town, but my camera battery died before they got here. :( I'll post more pictures in our July picasa album once I have them. This weekend we also both met Jackie C's fiance, Brendan, who was just as great as Jackie promised.

On Saturday we did all the standard Philly stuff: visited Independence Hall (mini Baker Tower!) and Benjamin Franklin's house, and ate soft pretzels, water ice, and cheesesteaks! Sunday (after everyone else went to Spirit & Truth church with the Leanders and Emily and I caught up on some sleep) we spent the afternoon walking around Valley Forge. It's a beautiful park, and I can't believe we've lived less than 30 minutes away for three years and never been!

I don't know what I'd do without these women who have been there through so much since we first became friends 9 years ago, and I'm glad Emi will grow up knowing them!

Baby's First Ball Game

Aunt Becky and I took Emily to her first baseball game last night! We had tickets to the Coventry suite from a rainout back in April, so we all donned our Phillies shirts and braved the scary storm clouds and traffic. It rained (and Emily cried) most of the way there, but by the time we parked both had stopped, and we were able to enjoy watching the game. "Uncle Cole" pitched a great game, and Emily got a certificate from the ballpark to commemorate her first game.

Arranged Marraige?

Quite a few of our close friends have had baby boys in the past year, so we are contemplating the possibilities of an arranged marraige for Emily. Here she is making eyes with Jake Hunt, so he seems to have a head start on the others. She's also met Boaz Sironi and we are looking forward to seeing what she thinks of Sam Rice, Elliott Wilson, and baby Pruszinski (who I believe might be in the process of being born as I type)! And of course, if Baby Larsen or Baby Hanauer turns out to be a boy, we really will have our hands full with good options! :)

One Month-day Cupcakes

Granny Groves took time out of her busy schedule to bake cupcakes for her Hebrew class on July 14, to celebrate Emily being one month old!

We are so thankful for a family so supportive of us and so excited about Emi.

Cloth Diapers

I love cloth diapers! Emi is just barely big enough now to fit into the "one size fits all" BumGenius ones, so with those and the small FuzziBunz (love the names...), we have just enough to do laundry every two days. It makes me happy to hang the diapers out in the sun to dry in the morning, to feel how soft they are on her skin, to see the fun colors, and to think of the money we are saving! It's only been a couple of weeks so far, but I'm calling this experiment a success! Now to figure out reusable wipes...

Missing Grandpa Groves

It makes our hearts ache that Emily won't grow up with her Grandpa Groves, and so it's important to us that she know him through our stories and memories. We took Emily to this place of remembering for the first time last Sunday (4 weeks old). I can't help but believe he looks down on her from Heaven and smiles.

Cousins!

Growing up with cousins was such a fun part of my childhood (and adulthood!), and I am so glad that Emily has a cousin her age. At five months to Emily's one, right now Rosalie seems SO much older, but soon enough they will be having fun together. In the meantime, Emily is enjoying borrowing the clothes Rosalie has outgrown!