Back at it

In my last post, I wrote about how we were out of the groove because of two-hour delays and school closings. Now, we are back to the 8-10 hour workdays and full five-day weeks. This past week was hard adjusting to a regular schedule again. It was the first full week since Christmas break, and whew, I was feeling it by Friday evening! Emmy must have been feeling tired too, because for the first time, she dozed off in her high chair during lunch on Saturday. (Shortly after this photo, I moved her to her crib!) 

Mostly, Emmy is alert and excited for meal time, so it was pretty unusual that she would fall asleep in her high chair. She continues to love apples, Cheerios, and most of the baby food pouches. She is on a banana kick right now and also loves grilled cheese. We are struggling to find ways to get meat into her diet; we just don't always have meals with protein that she can easily digest. She loved the lasagna at Grammy's house last week, and she would eat the pieces of hamburger, no problem. She also loves Grammy's chicken pot pie. We've tried some of the pouches that are 'complete meals' like 'Harvest Vegetables and Turkey" and "Chicken and Brown Rice" - yum! (ha ha) After a few skeptical swallows, she generally won't eat any more of it, and we end up throwing those pouches away. Some days, she will eat deli meat (either turkey, ham, or rotisserie chicken), but other days she will put the small shredded pieces into her mouth and then let them fall down her chin. At daycare, the children have their snacks and lunch around a low table, with each child sitting in a small chair. It is hard to imagine her doing this, when at home we still have her in a high chair (and will continue to do so for quite a long time!) They have been allowing the children to play and experiment with spoons and have asked that we reinforce that at home. We are still feeding Emmy for now, but then when the meal is over, I will give her the spoon to hold. She likes lifting it up to her mouth and licking off anything that is left. 

One night this past week, Daddy had to work late, and we fit in a stroll downtown. The weather was in the 60s, and it was so nice to be outside for a bit. 

That night, I was solo for bath time, and Emmy was very cooperative. It seems we have turned a new leaf and that she now likes bath time again. Yay! We went through a phase where she would start to cry even just entering the bathroom. When he is home, Boomer usually takes the lead with bath - he is so careful to find just the right temperature, and he will let Emmy splash and play, unlike Mommy who is always in a rush to get things done. I tried to be more like Daddy that night, but we both missed him, as we always do when he has to stay at school late. 

Emmy is still standing a lot and practicing her walking. 

We've had to find creative ways to keep her still during diaper changes. She is very wiggly and squirmy most of the time. 

We are all trying to stay healthy, but there is certainly a lot of germs and sickness going around. The flu has been especially bad this year, and with Emmy in daycare, I have been so worried that she will pick it up from one of the other kids. Like a typical overprotective mom of a first child, I have been taking her temperature for no reason at all, just to make sure it is normal. We have also been careful to wash hands and wipe down anything that Emmy puts into her mouth. Last Sunday, Mom and I visited Grandpa at the hospital. He was taken there on Saturday after a fall, and just to take precautions, they were monitoring him for a stroke and also a gastro-intestinal virus. With the flu already hitting the Houston household and with Dad recovering from his knee replacement surgery, Mom and I may have looked silly, but we didn't want to risk catching anything! 

Emmy's newest trick is playing peek-a-boo! She plays with Daddy, either hiding behind clothing during a diaper change or using a toy to cover her face. Last night, after dinner while she was still in her high chair and completely unprompted, she covered her eyes and started playing peek-a-boo with Grammy and me. It was so cute! I want to teach her how to blow kisses...hopefully just in time for Valentine's Day!

This week, Boomer has several more late nights. Zack is also out of town for work, so Meg and I were solo this evening with the kiddos. We met up for dinner at Chick-Fil-A, and after getting stuffed full of nuggets and waffle fries, the three cousins played in the helicopter. Zander and Maddox showed Emmy how to spin the steering wheel, but as you can see, she was much happier when she had the helicopter all to herself. She is such a ham!