Nose Gnawing

I don't have a picture to go along with this*, but it's been making us laugh so I wanted to record it. Lately, Emily has wanted to put everything in her mouth, including us. She's not crazy about her pacifier unless she's really sleepy, but she'll suck or chew on our fingers. When I put her up to my shoulder to burp her, she's started grabbing the hair on both sides of my head and pulling it around so that she can gnaw desperately on my nose. It makes me laugh every time. Last night she was taking awhile to settle down for bed, wouldn't nurse or take the pacifier, but was happy sucking on my chin!

(*I finally uploaded a picture.)

Wooster

We made our longest trip yet this weekend -- out to Ohio to visit Eowyn for family weekend at the College of Wooster. So fun to see her in her element on this beautiful campus and meet some of the great friends she has made so far. Luckily, we were able to stay in a hotel within walking distance of campus, so Emily could take naps but still join in some of the fun. I wish I had a picture of Eowyn in her marching band uniform (she plays the cymbals & wears a bright yellow kilt). We watched her perform at the football game on Saturday, and had dinner with a bunch of her friends & their families that night. Here is the one picture I managed to get on our camera.


One the way out, we were able to stop & have dinner with our good friends the Mosers, who led our small group for the first few years we were in Philly and live right near Wooster. We miss their friendship & board-gaming skills! Their youngest, Mary, is almost 3 and was very excited about playing with Emily. I thought this picture looked old fashioned since they were both so serious.

Jackie C's Wedding

I took Emily to her first wedding this past weekend. Katie & I drove up to MA together, where Jua joined us to spend the weekend at my parents' house & to attend Jackie & Brendan's wedding. It was so nice to have K&J to help me with Emily since Alasdair couldn't come! The church was beautiful, the ceremony was sweet, and the reception was a fun time of catching up with a lot of people I hadn't seen in awhile (including Laura who flew home early from Europe to be there, and her boyfriend Paris who I hadn't had a chance to meet yet!) . Good combination! Emily was quiet through the whole ceremony and did a good job meeting lots of new people in a noisy place. She stayed with me at the reception for a little while, until Grampy & Grammy Ware came to pick her up & take her to visit GG & Great Grampy T. (She is quite the social butterfly.) Overall I think it was one of Emily's best weekends of traveling, despite the fact that she barely slept both nights! We are hoping for better things in that department as we head to OH next weekend. In the meantime we've been working on getting her on a better schedule.

I didn't take a single picture this weekend, but here are a few from other people...

Juanita & Emily


Emily & I with Laurie Wadsworth, a friend of my in-laws from their Dartmouth Christian Fellowship days


Dartmouth girls with the Bride

Another Crazy Weekend

Our schedule was supposed to get less crazy after baby arrived, wasn't it? Oh well, despite some exhaustion (my wonderful sleeping baby has had a cold this week, and not slept much more than a couple hours at a time at night!), we had a fun weekend. On Saturday we participated in the Dartmouth Outing Club's attempt to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in one day. Along with some other good friends & Dartmouth alums, we hiked the last 7 miles of the Pennsylvania AT. It was a pretty easy hike, but perfect for our first time hiking with Emily and a perfect way to catch up with friends (Stu & Sarah have recently moved back to the East Coast after spending a couple years in Rwanda, so there is lots to catch up on!). The weather even cooperated and we got some great views.

That night we got home just in time to shower before my cousin Angie & her new husband Rand came over for dinner. They were in Philly for the weekend and we really enjoyed getting to spend some time with just them outside of a chaotic family gathering.

Sunday Alasdair went to an Eagles game with Alden, Becky & a good family friend who takes them every year. Such a fun tradition. I stayed home and listened to the Sox lose a heartbreaking game 3 to the Angels. :( Later Mike & Heather (more college friends who now live in UT & were on the East Coast visiting family) and the Leanders came over for dinner. It's amazing how spending time with Dartmouth people just sort of feels like home!

She rolled over!

While doing tummy time this morning, suddenly Emily seemed to be tilting to the side and then she slowly tipped over onto her back. It looked very unintentional, but when she saw my big smile she gave a huge grin. I couldn't coax her into repeating the feat for Daddy, but I was proud of her! Here's a picture of yesterday's tummy time. Emily loves the baby in the mirror, so setting this little mirror up in front of her seems to keep her happier longer in that position. Also, here's a picture of the stylish outfit she wore to book club last night. Thanks to Grammy for the cardigan & great Auntie Cindy for the shoes!

This time last year

I remember being pregnant and often thinking "At this time next year, I'll have a baby!" and not really being able to imagine it. Every now and then something reminds me of what I was doing at this time last year.

I thought about writing this post back in August, but never got to it. At that point had been exactly one year since Alasdair & I took our fantastic cross country road trip (the Badlands, Yellowstone, Glacier, Seattle, Victoria BC, Oregon...). Two weeks of great weather, great hikes, and total freedom. Ahhh. Wonderful memories.

One year ago on September 27, we were at Citizen's Bank Park with my coworkers to see the Phillies clinch the NL East. We climbed down to the front row behind the dugout to watch the on-field champagne celebration. Good times. That was also the night we found out for sure that I was pregnant. This year on September 27, we had Emily baptized. :)

About a year ago this week, I accomplished my goal of running the 8.5 mile (Falls Bridge/Art Museum) loop along the Schuylkill River where we spent many 2008 summer evenings biking. I also completed the Philly Women's Triathlon with my cousing Dianna that summer (such a great time, but I'll spare you the pictures of us in spandex!). This year, I am thrilled to have finally broken the 20-minute mark on my current 2 mile running route. I don't think I've ridden a bike outside of the gym in almost a year. I have a ways to go to get ready for that same triathlon next July, but I know a lot can change in a year!

Enjoying October

I spend plenty of time complaining about the weather in Philadelphia (too hot in the summer, not enough snow in the winter...), but during springtime and fall it really is spectacular. Now that I am not working full time, I'm determined to get outside and enjoy this fall as much as possible. Yesterday was almost 70 degrees with bright sunshine & blue skies, so I set out for a walk with Emily by the Schuylkill ['Skoo-kul'] River. It's about a 15 minute drive from our house to the parking lot by Boathouse Row, and there is a great walking/biking trail along the river. With her still getting over a cold, I may not have done this if I knew how ridiculously windy it was going to be! There were whitecaps on the river and I was glad to have my sunglasses on to protect my eyes from the wind-whipped leaves & sticks. Luckily she is pretty protected in her tank of a stroller, and the day was just too perfect to resist. I got a good workout pushing said not-very-aerodynamic stroller into the wind. (I can't wait until Emily is sturdy enough to ride in the awesome jogging stroller that is waiting in my basement!) It was one of those days where you just want to go and go, but I finally made myself turn around after about half an hour. I sat for a few minutes near this spot (I didn't bring my camera, but this was the closest picture I could find online) and read until Emily woke up from her nap. One of these days I'm going to make a list of the things I will miss most about Philadelphia and the Schuylkill River trail/Boathouse Row area will be one of them!

Another week, another baby consecration

Rosalie Grace was dedicated this Sunday at Mike & Bekah's church in NY. It was beautiful. They are such sweet parents and I'm glad that they have the support of a wonderful church family in raising Rosalie. (Sidenote: I tried not to be too distracted by the fact that their pastor could be a stand-in for Richard on Lost.)

Apparently we should have skipped the up close photo shoots though, since Emily came home with Rosalie's cold. Oops! :( I guess she was bound to get sick at some point. We've had a couple long nights with coughs & sniffles. I wonder if she might be teething too... I think I can feel a tooth or two under the surface and chewing on a frozen teething toy seems to calm her down sometimes. It makes me so sad to see her uncomfortable and not be able to do much about it. (Anyone have suggestions on how to make a congested & possibly teething baby more comfortable?) She seemed happier this morning, and I just heard from Granny Groves (she watches Emily on Tuesdays) that Emi took a much needed super long nap. Hopefully that's a good sign?