Katie at 4 months

Katie has been a joy! I can't believe she is already over 4 months old....She is sleeping through the night most nights, and is generally a very pleasant little girl. To compare her stats with Emma's at 4 months, she is about the same weight and a little shorter. For anyone who has seen the measuring process at the pediatrician, though, you know that it isn't an exact science!!! She rolled over for the first time about a week ago and is working now on trying to sit up by herself. Emma has been (for the most part) a good big sister, and was so excited to see Katie in the swing yesterday and was just dying to give her a "big one" (which means a big push). We made sure that this didn't happen!!!!

AFC Championship game

Pittsburgh is going to the Super Bowl!!!! We had Terri in town and my parents and the Greggs came over to watch the game with us. Emma put on her princess dress and immediately was down with the idea of cheering for the Steelers. "Go Steelers!!!!"

Katie slept in her basket right next to us as we all screamed and cheered. She is quite the good sleeper!!!

Katie Jane Spiess

We had Katie Jane on Jan. 7th at 8:09 in the morning. She weighed 8 lbs, 5 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long. So, a little heavier and a little shorter than Emma. It is amazing to me that she was a little bigger than Emma since I can't remember Emma ever being that small!! I've had to lay low for the past few weeks since I had a c-section, but we are all doing great.

Katie is much quieter than Emma was at this point, which has made our first few weeks with her fairly easy. Emma is doing wonderfully with it all, and was great when I was away at the hospital for a few days. Apparently her major concerns were not where I was, but rather where my car and computer had disappeared to......"uh, oh......where'd mama's car go?" and "uh, oh....where's mama's computer?" were the two questions she had for my mom that first day that I was gone.

More to come in the next few weeks....

Hilton Head

We returned on Saturday from a trip to Hilton Head. All in all, the trip was a smashing success. Despite some of the inconveniences that come with traveling with a toddler and all of their "stuff", it was really a great week. Emma had never been to the beach before, and she absolutely loved it. We could see dolphins from the beach every day--and looking for them was one of her favorite activities. Nan was with us for the first half of the trip, and Emma loved having her there and playing "footsy" with her in bed. She also developed a fondness for showering, which has not abated since returning home. Every night she takes about a half hour shower now instead of her bath, which is very interesting. On our trip we had the good fortune of having one of Emma's favorite friends from home staying at the same complex as us, and she and Margaret had just a fabulous time with each other at the beach every day. I will post some more pics when I download a few more...

The Butterfly

We are starting to test ideas for Halloween around here. Emma wanted to wear these wings for hours today, so I am guessing that if we go with "butterfly" that she will be fairly happy....

New Swingset

We bought Emma a swingset a few weeks ago. We thought we didn't need one, since everyone in our neighborhood seems to have one. However, miss Emma was taking it upon herself to just take off to whatever neighbor's swingset(usually the lellow slide) she wanted to visit by her self, so we figured that we had better get something for our yard to keep her from wandering so much...

Summer Fun

We are having a very nice summer. Finally we have had some consistently good weather so we have been able to spend lots of time at the pool and doing our other favorite outdoor activities! One of her favorite things this past week is making her own bubbles with the "bubble pig". Notice the concentration in the photos......it is all very serious business. She is also not to be held back by a little rain now and then. The other day when it was sprinkling out, she immediately went and put on her rainboots and raincoat and just went about her business as usual!! Other things of note are that she recently had her two-year appointment, and she is still in the 95% percentile for height and is in about the 60th for weight.

Birthday Girl

We had a small celebration for Emma's birthday this week. After much deliberation about what sort of party we would have, we decided to go for the all-family affair. Alex has been so busy in the past few weeks that we were lucky to even have him around for a few short hours! We learned this birthday that Emma loves presents, loves corn on the cob, and that she feels that her birthday cake is all for her. Next year she will be presented with one piece, and I will keep most of the cake far away from her after she blows out the candles!

Drama Queen

Several days ago, Emma fell down ONE stair on our stairway. She was quite scared for a minute, and then (after realizing that she was fine) wanted to discuss and reenact the scene over and over again. After several run throughs, we decided that we should photo-document it. As you can see, she was uninjured, and quite pleased with herself.

Stay tuned for pics from her birthday.....

Bubbles!

Emma, and all other kids I know love bubbles. "More bubbles" is a phrase heard multiple times a day at our house. We need to start buying the gallon containers of them the way we have been going through our bubbles....

Mother's Day Brunch

Spring is here!

I can't believe that we haven't posted anything since march. Is that possible? I think I tried to publish some zoo pics at some point but they kept appearing upside down. I will have to get back to those at some point, as we go to the zoo at least once a week so it should be documented! Everything is great with us. We are having a blast being outside a ton, going for walks (I can get Emma into her stroller in about 3 seconds if I give her a "yi-pop"), going to the zoo, gardening, etc! Alex is incredibly busy after not working for three months, but that was expected and it was great having him around so much for so long.

The Pianist

Emma spent about an hour at the piano today. She always loves it in little doses, but today she really got serious about it! I don't want to get too ambitious, but I like what I am seeing so far. The singing that was going along with the playing could use a little work, however!!!

Emma loves Fifi

Emma just loves her cats. Hannah is too quick for her to pose with, but Fife (fifi, to her)is a little larger and slower, so he gets lots of the love. Notice how please he looks. I can't say that I blame the guy, as several minutes after this picture was taken she was "showing" (trying to hit him with) a toy truck, which was quickly taken away from her. Someday I'm sure she will learn to show her love a little more gently. For now he might need to get a little quicker on his feet!

Sunday Brunch

Today we took Emma to sunday brunch. She has been a bit under the weather, but was a trooper. She really seemed to enjoy the blueberry pancakes! Daddy had a bit too much of the omelet bar...

Super Bowl Sunday

We had a little gathering for Super Bowl Sunday. A few neighborhood friends/kids came over. Emma was holding court, as usual. All in all, we enjoyed a great game, and the kids enjoyed their Robin Hood video...