July 4th Week in NJ

Emily and I took the train up to NJ on July 1, to spend some vacation time with Grammy before Daddy joined up with us for the 4th.

Thursday, we went to Abma's farm. They had a petting z00.



Emily enjoyed petting the pony. It didn't bite her, even though the sign said it might.



Then we walked over to see the pigs. Emily stood SCREECHING "PIGGIE!" at them.





On Friday, we went to the duck pond to meet up with Mommy's friend and her daughter, Emily.

"The two Emilys" weren't sure what to think of each other. Plus, my Emily was distracted by the ducks.

Emily P is way mellower than Emily O.




We went to feed the ducks. Both mommies didn't realize you are no longer allowed to feed the ducks, because 30 years ago when we were taken there, that's exactly what we did.

The girls weren't quite sure what to do with the bread.

Emily O was more interested in feeding the bread to herself than to the ducks.


But she enjoyed how close they all got to her.


Then the girls had a ride on the swings before we left. Dueling "WHEE!"


On the 4th, we went to Grumpy's funeral home to watch the parade, since it's on the route. This is where I watched the parade as a kid. I put Emily in front of the big flag to recreate the picture the local paper took of me 30 years ago.



Emily wasn't all that interested in the parade aka "1001 firetrucks". She liked the balloons. She wasn't really bothered by all the sirens. She LOVED the bagpipes.





After a few short naps at home, we went back to the funeral home for a BBQ and fireworks.


First slice of REAL NJ pizza with Grammy!


Emily and her cousin, Kayden. Neither were really interested in sitting for pictures.



Again, Kayden was more interested in grabbing and hugging and kissing Emily. Just like last September!


Once it got dark, the fireworks started. Emily was mesmorized by them!!

"YAY!"

Chairs and Stairs

We're into climbing everything. We love to climb on and off our new Emily-sized chair!

Thanks for the great early birthday gift, Grammy! She loves it!




This makes Mommy VERY nervous - the STANDING on the arms of the squishy chair. She does it to torment Marty in the backyard who is barking at her through the glass door.


T






Here we are giving pizza to her baby doll. We got a great kitchen set with dishes and pretend food from our friends and Emily just loves playing with it.




We can climb on and off the chair for HOURS. She loves exploring this.



And here we are going up the stairs. We go up like a champ. Often when I can't find her and I see someone (usually Big Sister) has left the baby gate open, I can find her upstairs in the bathroom trying to climb in the tub. Haven't learned how to go down the stairs yet. That will be scary, I'm sure.

New Years and Fun with Food

For New Year's Eve, our friends and their kids came to celebrate. We ate, danced for hours, played the Wii, and almost everyone made it to midnight (the two boys didn't).

Photos from the dance party:

Emily just kind of watched. She occasionally bounced around in her exersaucer, but she mostly just watched the big girls dance.



Bumbo seats are NOT made for 5 year old boys.



We've been having fun exploring solid foods. Emily still loves to sit in her high chair and eat.

This day, we had prunes! She goes "num num num num" as she eats something she likes. She will get excited and motion with her hands when she wants more.




Here, she's laughing at Sadie trying to lick the baby food off her hands, and eventually her face.
And when we get tired of waiting for Mommy to bring the spoon to her, she will suck on the side of the high chair. I guess it feels good on her gums?



Here she is enjoying dinner.


Making a total mess, and getting tired.
But look who is feeding her!!! As Emily is getting older, and more interactive, Christina is taking a little more interest in her sister. So the other night, as I was trying to feed Emily and get our dinner made, Christina offered to feed the baby. And notice, she's SMILING while feeding Emily!!!


Also note, the dogs are hovering. Circling Emily like vultures. They sit and wait for Emily to lean over the side, smile and put out her hand to pet the dogs, then they lick all the food off her little fingers. If she leans over too far, they hop up and get the food on her face too. It's a nightmare!