Thanksgiving Break 2017

It's back to the grind after five wonderful days with family and friends. It was hard waking up to an alarm again this morning, but the promise of Christmas break in just a few weeks is keeping my spirits up. The Thanksgiving break started for me on Wednesday, and Emmy and I had the day together while Boomer worked a Teacher Workday. Grammy came over in the morning while I got in a run with Megan, and then we worked on a hand-print ornament for each of our trees. That evening, we got together with the Houstons and Williamses. Even though we had pizza instead of the traditional turkey meal, we still called it a "Friendsgiving." The kiddos ran around the living room while the adults supervised and tried to hold conversations. Emmy and Laurel were matching, so we attempted a twin picture, with not too much success. Emmy wasn't too interested in posing for pictures, as you can see! We headed home early to finish packing and to get ready for our trip to Virginia. 

 On Thursday morning, we left around 8:30AM to make the annual trip up to Woodstock. We got about 3 hours into the trip, with Emmy sleeping most of the way, and then we made a pit stop. Funny enough, we stopped at the same truck stop from last year. 

All throughout the trip, we found ourselves making comparisons to last year's trip with a 2-week-old. It was our first big trip as a family of 3. There was so much to bring, and we stopped almost every hour to check on Emmy and to feed or change her. One year later, the packing hasn't changed too much -- there is still a lot to bring! But there were other things that were much easier this year. The feeding isn't as constant, so there is more time to do other things. Also, there aren't too many blowouts these days, so every diaper change doesn't require a total outfit change, too. After the truck stop, we had just a little bit further to go to Harrisonburg, where we had lunch with Granny's brother and his family. The Wakemans had seen Emmy over the summer when they came to visit at the lake, but they were surprised by all the changes since then. After lunch, we made the final drive to Woodstock and checked into the hotel. We relaxed in the lobby and ordered Cracker Barrel take-out for dinner. Emmy was a little low on energy. Luckily Granny had a thermometer, so we were able to take her temperature. 102.1! I had packed the infant Tylenol, so after giving her some of that, we put her down to bed and quietly watched TV until we too feel asleep. 

On Friday, we got together with the whole Kennedy clan at the barn on Boomer's grandparents' property. It is such a beautiful area, and I know it means a lot to Boomer to go back there each year. 

There are probably close to 40 people all together, with the number growing each year. Just before the big meal, we take some group photos. 

Boomer's grandparents are both getting older, and I know it is hard for Boomer and the other grandkids to see them aging. His grandmother is battling dementia and has recently needed assistance with getting dressed and other daily chores. We hope to continue to go to Virginia for as many years as we can, but we know there will come a time that the tradition will end. For now, it was certainly a special time to be together with family. We didn't stay too late, knowing Emmy would need to get some rest. After getting Emmy ready for bed, I stayed at the hotel with her while Boomer went to a local brewery with some of his cousins. 

Saturday morning it was back on the road again. Emmy slept most of the way. When she woke up towards the end of the trip, Boomer kept her entertained!

We arrived back to Kernersville around 3PM, with just about an hour to spare before dinner with my family. On our way to Megan and Zack's house, we were not more than a mile from our house when there was a weird thumping noise from the car. We made it to the elementary school parking lot and discovered we had a flat tire! The tire light had been on during our trip, but it's typical this time of year for the cold weather to trip the sensor, and I had assumed that was why it was on. I just know angels were watching over us! It could have been so much worse if it had happened along our 500-mile trip when we were going 60+ mph. After calling my dad and AAA, we were all back at Megan and Zack's, eating dinner just an hour after we had planned. Whew, just another thing to be thankful for this weekend!

And a few comparisons between last year and this year!

On Sunday after church, we all rested a bit. Boomer even got in a little bit of writing for his dissertation. The week ahead is a full one. Boomer has evening activities 3 out of the 5 nights. I also have one evening of gate duty for a basketball game. We are all hanging in there for Christmas break. Even though it is a busy time, I try to pause to remember all of our blessings: family, friends, health, safety. It is not just the lights and gifts that make this the 'most wonderful time of the year.' It is being with loved ones and being thankful for God's gifts not just during December, but all throughout the year.  

Sippy Cups and Shoes

With Emmy's birthday last week and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we've enjoyed a little bit of 'downtime' between the celebrations. There hasn't been too much to report. My poison ivy is finally gone - yay! That was an unpleasant side effect of doing yardwork a couple of weeks ago. As for work, I'm continuing to settle in to my new job. It is hard to believe it has been over 3 months already! I have mostly survived the busy panic that comes with the college application deadlines and the registration for the spring's community college classes. We are going on a field trip to UNC Charlotte next Friday, and I am looking forward to that. I always love an opportunity to be back on a college campus. Boomer has had a short break from evening activities with the changing of the sports seasons. Football, cross country, soccer, tennis, and golf have all ended. Soon enough, things will pick back up again with the winter sports of basketball and wrestling, but it has been nice to have him home in the evenings for a few days. Today kicks off a 5-day break, and we are excited for the time with family. 

In other news, Emmy has officially discovered the stairs, and she is also getting better at using her sippy cup. Just this week, we stopped sending bottles of breastmilk to the daycare. She is now drinking whole milk or water during the day from a sippy cup. We also attempted shoes...but that was short-lived and only lasted one day. After noticing all the other babies in her class still wearing their socks, I decided we will do the same for a little while longer. No need to rush things! :) 

Here are a few pictures from the past week!

 

We got our first fridge artwork from school today. It was so sweet to see what Emmy and her teachers had made. I am thankful for these teachers who take care of our girl during the day and who plan fun activities. Oh, and we decorated for Christmas already! I wanted to have our tree up for when we return from our Thanksgiving travels, and Boomer was nice enough to oblige me. We decorated last Friday evening, with Christmas music (and the Green Lantern) playing in the background. It's all about compromise, right? :) Emmy loved looking at the lights and has surprisingly left the tree mostly alone. Seeing her play with the lights has me even more convinced that this really is the best time of the year! 



To Our Birthday Girl

Dear Emmy -

A year ago today, you became a part of our family and forever changed our world. It is hard to believe that 365 days have passed since you were first placed in my arms. There were so many things that I didn't know about being a mother, but you have been the most patient teacher. Your fun personality and contagious smile brighten my days, and I can hardly believe that you are mine. Your Daddy and I love you so much!

Now that you are a year old, you are showing us more and more of who you are. You love to play with any toy that makes a noise, and you bounce and bob along to the music. You especially like carrying around the remote control, so we have several old clickers that we let you play with. You often like to crawl around the house with one of these clickers or another toy in your hand. Sometimes you even crawl like a bear, with your legs straight and your knees off the floor. It will probably only be a matter of weeks until you are walking. When you are sitting on your bottom, you like to reach up high to make yourself tall. You continue to pull up on furniture, and you like to open anything with a door. You especially like opening the cabinet in your nursery and taking all of the books off of the shelf. You show such concentration when you are playing with your toys or books. I hope that one day you will be interested in actually reading -- right now, you don't often like to sit still. You smile the biggest for Daddy, and you get upset when he leaves the room. He gets the best laughs from you when he makes silly noises and funny faces. You both enjoy the time together in the mornings when he takes you to school. I think it will be even more special when we turn your car seat around and you can 'talk' more. Right now, you say "mama" and "dada", but perhaps your favorite word is "Hi!" You love greeting people and also making faces (and staring) at strangers in restaurants or at the store. Your newest trick is giving high-five. You picked up on it so quickly; you are just a little sponge, so smart and observant. You also like when we cheer for you; you like clapping and hearing "yay". You certainly don't like hearing "no." We have to be careful when we are scolding Sox, Grammy and Grandpa's dog. You have such a tender heart, and when we shout at him, your face will scrunch up and big tears will fall down your cheeks. It certainly makes it hard to think of disciplining you, which I am sure will come in the months ahead. In addition to the word 'no', you also don't like napping at daycare or bath time. During baths, you hold on to the side of the tub, standing up and crying almost the whole time. I hope that changes soon! I think you would like bathtime if you gave it a chance.

You are wearing size 12-month clothes and size 3 diapers. We go to the doctor on Monday to see just how much you have grown in the last few months. We just introduced whole milk, so we are cutting down on the amount of breastmilk you are getting. I love the time that we have in the morning, just you and me in your nursery. I am only nursing now in the morning, and soon I will stop doing that, too. Just another sign that you are getting bigger. You are getting more adventurous with foods, trying chicken, peanut butter, eggs, and cake!

It has been a fun but fast year! The highs have greatly outweighed the lows. What an adventure it was to travel with you this summer; how hard it was to take you to daycare; it was so special to have you dedicated at church; the highlight of each day is when we are together. We hope you continue to grow to be big and healthy. We thank God for the blessing that you are to our lives and the rest of your family. We look forward to more adventures and memories with you in the year ahead.

We love you, girl girl! 

Mommy & Daddy

The difference a year makes!

I couldn't help but pull out this momento from November 8th of last year. With the election results on the tv in the background, Boomer and I were recording my contractions. It would still be another day before our little blessing arrived -- November 10th at 1:57AM. 

Since Emmy's birthday is so close to Veteran's Day, Boomer and I both had the day off to celebrate with the birthday girl! Our morning started with breakfast at Fitz on Main and then a stop at Cake & All Things Yummy. We visited the teachers at Emmy's school and also stopped by Arbor Ridge to see Great Gma and Great Gpa. We ended the evening with dinner at The Loop with Grammy, Uncle Zack, Aunt Megan, Zander, and Maddox.



Practicing high-fives!

Update: At our doctor's appointment, Emmy weighed in at 19 lbs 4 oz (41st percentile) and measured 29.75 inches long (71st percentile). She is starting to follow a more average growth curve -- she may not be as tall as we originally suspected. It's still possible that she could be taller than me though! She was a good sport to be poked and prodded. She received the flu vaccine and three other shots, plus a finger stick to draw blood. We've noticed that Emmy has been tugging on her ears, and the doctor said that some of that could be because of teething (her molars are coming in!) He did see some 'old fluid' in one of her ears, which suggests that she had an ear infection at some point in the last few weeks but that her body has been fighting it off. He said that that was a good sign and that it helps to build up immunity without the need for prescription drugs. Even so, I feel bad that we left it untreated! Overall, he was very reassuring about her development at this stage. Emmy loved crawling around on the examination tab and playing with the crinkly paper. I was very thankful that Grammy came along to keep our busy little bee entertained! We resorted to puffs at the very end to keep her still. We will go back again at 15 months. Hopefully we can make it through the winter with no major sickness!

Our Little Pumpkin turns One!

We had the most fun weekend celebrating our sweet Emerson Leigh! Just like the whole rest of the year, Saturday passed all too quickly. I had started planning Emmy's party about a little over a month ago. With some help from Meg and Mom, I came up with a pumpkin theme, fitting with her fall birthday and the fact that last year, I looked like I was smuggling a pumpkin under my shirt! The party went by in a blink, and I am so thankful for the photos to remember it all. 

We had family and friends from near and far come to celebrate our little girl: Charlotte, Morganton, Winston-Salem, Star, Asheboro, and even Florida. It seemed our house was overflowing with babies, toddlers, and grown-ups, too! Emmy didn't quite know what to think about all these people in her house, but she didn't mind being passed around and posing for photos. 

Coley (a.k.a. Aunt CoCo) made the most beautiful two-tiered vanilla cake, plus a special smaller cake just for Emmy. Both cakes were absolutely perfect for the occasion. Aunt CoCo is so talented, and we are so thankful that she shares this talent with us. Her cakes are certainly made with a lot of love. In addition to the cake, we had other brunch foods. I also decorated with a banner that had each of Emmy's monthly photos. I love how her personality comes out more and more with each passing month. 

 

All of Emmy's cousins joined in when it was time to open presents. They showed her how to rip open the packages and pull out the tissue paper. One very special present was a handmade dress from Grammy with a tiny rose pattern and a matching set of undies. My mom used to sew dresses for Meg and me when we were younger. The last thing I remember her making was the long red dress we each wore for concert band in high school -- that was quite a few years ago! I know that Emmy's dress will be something I keep forever and pass on to her when she has children of her own. 

When it was time for cake, Emmy's cousins helped again and showed her how to blow out (and not grab!) the candles. We sang twice -- naturally, since there were two cakes and lots of willing helpers.

Emmy was all tuckered out from being the life of the party. Granny put her down for a nap, while the last of the party-goers headed home.

All too soon, I'll be saying Emmy's age in years instead of months; I'll have a 'toddler' instead of a 'baby.' It is bittersweet to celebrate these special moments, without feeling sad for the moments that have already passed by. I plan to cherish these last few days with my 11-month-old before she officially turns 1 on Friday.