GO GAMECOCKS!

Well, things have been quite exciting in Columbia this past week courtesy of the Gamecock baseball team.  Two wins over Clemson, advancing to the CWS championship game, winning Monday night and then winning the national championship last night.  WOO HOO!  I definitely stayed up waaaaaaaaaaay too late last night watching the game and the post-game press conference but it was DEFINITELY worth it!  This was such an awesome win for the baseball team and all the Carolina fans...can it be that the chicken curse has been broken?
Emmie and I were also getting in the spirit of the games and yesterday and today we sported our Gamecock gear!

Franklin was so excited about Carolina winning that he wanted to be in the picture too!

(her shirt says "I eat tiger...and veggies too"...thanks katie page!)

This is also a win in memory of a sweet boy who's family went out to Omaha for the championship games and only made it there in time because of the generosity of a Gamecock fan who heard their story and arranged and paid for a chartered flight after their original flight was cancelled. 

What a day!

Today has been one of THOSE days!  You know, the day that no one really wants to hear about but that you have to share.
It started out pretty good.  Emmie got up, ate, played for a few minutes and then played for a few minutes and then sat in her bumbo chair and played while I got a shower (a big change from yesterday when she pitched a fit the second I put her in the bumbo...she's going through a slightly clingy phase...not sure if she's just at that age or if it's becuase she's teething and doesn't feel 100%).  After my shower Emmie and I (and Franklin) played for a few minutes and then Emmie and I headed out for my doctor's appointment.  Now I thought my appointment was at the perfect time...10:00 - naptime!  It would work out perfect...I'd put her in the car, she'd promptly fall asleep, we'd get to the doctor where I would pop the carrier in the stroller, head in to my appointment and then head home about the time she was waking up.  Now I know all you moms out there are laughing at me (especially my mom) thinking "haha...silly first time mom...that plan is NEVER going to work...she's NOT going to take a nap!"  Well, I'll have you know she held up her end of the bargin quite well...I put her in the car, she fell asleep, I put the carrier in the stroller, got in the doctor's office where she did wake up but was quite content.  Now...this is where things started to fall apart...and it sure wasn't Emmie's fault.  Nope...remember how my appointment was at 10?  What time did I FINALLY see the doctor?  10:50!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Ridiculous!  Emmie was so content to sit in her stroller until about 10:40 at which point she started fussing...this was a quick appointment so even if it had started 10 or 15 minutes late she would have been fine in the stroller!  Oh, and did I mention the paper gown?  Oh yes, Emmie didn't start fussing until the paper gown was on (of course).  So now I'm holding and baby while wearing a paper gown that she's trying to eat/shred...oh and she had also spit up some bananas on the gown as soon as I picked her up but I couldn't really get off the table and across the room to the paper towels while holding a baby and a paper gown...so I just used the paper gown to wipe up her face!  The upside to the whole adventure was that I was so busy entertaining Emmie that I didn't get as aggravated as I normally would have about the fact my appointment was an hour late starting.  (Also, I was very glad my appointment was at 10 and not any later in the day...imagine how far behind the doctor would have been by then!)  So we FINALLY left the doctor's office and she promptly fell back asleep for the trip home and the day seemed to be back on track...until 2:00 naptime...
Paul put Emmie down for her 2:00 nap and instead of her normal "sleepy song" (the noises she makes right before she goes to sleep) we got shrieking...and by me I mean me and Franklin..Paul was off to work by this point.  After a few minutes I went and got her which usually stops the shrieking but poor baby was sooo upset...anyway...at 3:30 she finally fell asleep in my arms...I felt so bad for her.  She has a tooth coming in and you could tell she was miserable.  She wouldn't take the teething ring and she wouldn't stop crying long enough to take the tylenol.  Anyway she ended up sleeping on the couch with me for 2 hours ( I sure wasn't going to put her down after she finally went to sleep!) and she did not move an inch for those 2 hours.  I have to say that it was nice to cuddle with her...we've been working so hard on getting her in the crib for naps that it's been a really long time since I held her while she slept...I just wish it had been under happy circumstances for her! 
She woke up soooo happy from her nap and ate dinner and we had great playtime and sang lots of silly songs and then took Franklin on a walk and had great bathtime.  Look at this happy baby ready for bed!

I fed her and she was still awake afterwards but that's ok...she sometimes is but she still goes down in her crib just fine.  Not tonight though.  I laid her down and she started out ok...just a little fussiness but nothing unusual...unfortunately fussiness turned into an all out fit.  She was so cute though...I went in and picked her up and sat in the glider and she cuddled up with me and went right to sleep...little stinker!  When I was sure she was asleep I put her down and she opened up her eyes and looked at me and curled on her side and went right back to sleep

After our adventures today we will be staying home tomorrow to have a nice, normal day!!!

Sunday Style Section

Love the pink and green!  My future Delta Zeta ;)

It's summertime so we have to have a pool picture!

6 months (and 6 days)

I am 6 months old! 

• I'm 15lb11oz and 25 3/4 in.  I am in the 42nd percentile for weight and the 47th percentile for height.
• When mommy was my age she was 26.5in and 14lb12oz and when my daddy was my age he was 26.5in and 14lb15oz.
• I sleep about 12 hours at night.
• I take 2 good naps during the day (one at 10 and one at 2) and have finally, competely graduated to the crib for naptime (I used to take naps in the swing).
• I was baptized May 23rd at First Presbyterian Church.

• I can sit in a grocery cart by myself.
• I don't mind going to the grocery store anymore.
• I like to sleep on my tummy.
• I can sit up all by myself and rarely fall over.
• This month I went to the pool for the first time AND had my first trip to the beach (sand and salt water taste good).

• I love the water and I especially like splashing!
• I like to wear big bows in my hair!

• I'm starting to get some teeth.
• I can stand up for a few seconds if I'm holding on to something.
• I have lots of toys I like to play with.
• I like to study new things and try to figure out how they work.
• I LOVE my puppy and I love when I actually get to pet him.  I also like it when he gives me kisses!
• I LOVE stuffed animals...my favorites are a dalmation puppy, a mouse, and a little rabbit that recites "now i lay me down to sleep".
• I've graduated out of my swing and my playgym.
• Sometimes I take a bath in the big girl bathtub and sometimes I still use my little baby bathtub...but not in the sink anymore..I splash too much!
• I'm still very obsessed with my "giant" (aka Uncle Ben)

• I like to flirt :)
• I reach out for people to hold me.
• I had a 1/2 birthday party while I was at the beach and had lots of fun opening my presents and playing with my new toys!

The Brave Little Toaster

 (aka Franklin)

Everyone who knows Franklin (our maltipoo) knows that he's slightly neurotic and has slight seperation anxiety (and by slight I mean severe).  So when we went to the beach we almost always took him with us to the ocean (see this post to see the pitifulness when we didn't take him to the ocean).  The first day he would walk up to the water and stand as close to the water as he could get without it touching him.

At the beginning of the week we were sitting right at the edge of the water so Franklin was ok with the slight seperation.  However, Emmie really liked to be deep enough to splash so we started setting up our chairs further out in the water.  WELL, Franklin was NOT going to put up with him mommy and his baby being that far away from him (and by far away I mean 3 feet MAX) aso we ventured out into the big, scary, wet ocean!  What a brave and loyal dog (actually he just has crazy seperation anxiety)!  So he came out in the ocean and sat with me in my chair. 

In order to give him more room I sat in the ocean and let him have the chair.  Well, that was TOO FAR AWAY...yep that's right...he crawled into my lap IN THE OCEAN!

He was so brave all week and would come out in the ocean whenever we were out there.  He was even brave enough to sit on the surfboard thingy with all the boys!

 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our life!  We've got some great ones!

Emmie with Papa Coach (Paul's dad)

Emmie with Grandaddy (my dad)

Emmie with her daddy!

Sunday Style Section

Emmie spent a lot of this week in a bathing suit and I love this picture!

Paul's family came one night for dinner and we celebrated my birthday and Emmie's 1/2 birthday!  This was her 1/2 birthday dress.

My mom made this dress and I think it's adorable!  It's light pink with white polka dots and the lining and the bloomers are white with light pink polka dots!   I'm going to have Christa monogram it with an "E". 

Fun in the Pool

On Saturday Emmie, Franklin, and I went to Summerville to spend the night with Paul's parents before heading to Kiawah.  We were planning on going to the pool on Saturday evening but it was closed when we go there.  We ended up stopping at Rite Aid and buying a little blowup pool for the backyard.  Paul's mom picked it out and it was a winner!  You could hook the hose up to the pool and it would spray water out of the top of the pool...Emmie had such a great time trying to "catch" the water. 

She really liked when her Papa Coach got in the pool with her!  Emmie was such a trooper...the water was quite chilly and she just played and played until I noticed her chin was quivering and got her out...yeah her lips were a little purple...but she was happy!  She took a nice warm bath after that!

Little Puppy

This morning when we went to the beach we didn't take Franklin (he went twice with  us yesterday and had to have 2 baths!).  Anyone that knows Franklin knows he has SLIGHT seperation anxiety...so when we left to go the beach he was looking out of the window at us and when we got back this is what we saw...

The poor puppy HAD NOT MOVED the entire time we were at the beach!  How pitiful is that? 

PS.  He's going with us to the beach tonight!

Emmie's First Beach Trip

This week we're at Kiawah with my family and this is Emmie AND Franklin's first beach trip!  These pictures are from Sunday night...our first trip down to the ocean!  Emmie had sooo much fun in the water and playing in the sand.  She also loved the ocean breeze on her face.  Franklin wasn't so sure about the whole water thing (he's not such a fan of water..it makes his ears itch) but he seemed to enjoy the sand.  Today when we went Franklin was brave enough to venture a few feet into the ocean...far enough to hop up on the beach chair with me...and then we had to carry him back to the beach...silly puppy!  I'll have pictures of him at the ocean after we go tonight.

First time in the sand...loving the breeze on her face!

Digging in the sand with Grandaddy.

Emmie loves the way it feels when the waves go back out!

She thinks the salt water on her thumb tastes yummy and look at all the sand on her face!  Yesterday we went the beach in the morning and the pool in the evening and I was laying her on her back in the pool and saw that she still had sand in her ears from that morning at the beach...oops!

Sunday Style Section

This is a short Sunday Style Section.  We had such a crazy week with trying to get everything packed to go to the beach and then work and traveling and I guess I just forgot to take pictures!  Oh well...

Look how happy she is to have a big bow on her head!  This is one of the few red things she has.

I know what you're thinking...what a cute outfit...but wait for it...

it gets even cuter...

how stinkin' cute is that hat?!?

Emmie's new bathing suit...my mom wanted to know if she had one with ruffles to cover up her belly...haha!

Now for the BEST picture of the week...I'm pretty sure this is going to be Emmie's new style...

LOVE IT!  HAHA!

China Pattern

One of the blogs I read on a regular basis is Kelly's Korner Blog.  One of the girls at work got me started reading it and now I'm such a fan!  She has a little girl who has the most adorable clothes and bows and she always has neat things on her blog.  Anyway..every Friday her post is "show us your life" and she has a different topic that people post about.  In the past she's done things such as favorite childhood book, nursery pictures, kitchen pictures, organization tips, etc.  I keep meaning to participate but I work every Friday so sometimes it's hard to find time to blog...this week the topic is china patterns and I have some extra time so yay!

When we got married I already had everyday dishes so we didn't need to register for those so I registered for fine china and for Christmas china (since we got married in December).  My fine china is the Lenox Solitare Platinum and I LOVE this china...it is so classic and it's also the same china my mom has.  I did end up getting the square salad plate instead of the regular one and I really like the way it looks.

For my Christmas china I got the Lenox Holiday Platinum which my mom also has except she has it in gold not platinum.  I also got the mugs instaed of the tea cups because I think mugs are so great in winter! 

One thing I really like about my china is that the base color is the same (off white) so if I use the regular pieces with the holiday pieces they coordinate!

Haircut

No, not for Emmie...for Franklin!  I've been "groommer hopping" for a few months now, ever since our normal girl at Pet Smart moved.  I'm so excited becuase I finally found someone who's FABULOUS!  Her name is Amanda and she works out of her home (which is 4min. away from our house).  She was recommended by a patient's mother and I'm so glad we found her!  She cut Franklin's hair just the right length in preparation for our beach trip...not long enough to get matted but long enough to keep him looking cute!  The best part?  He got a bandana!

Teething

Emmie is currently getting quite a few teeth and so far she's been quite good natured about the whole thing.  Every once in a while she acts like their bothering her but it's nothing that can't be fixed with a nice cold teething ring or her little mesh teething thingy.  I don't know what these are called but I got one at a shower and I have been told by everyone that they're great...and it's true!  You can put frozen melon or carrots or grapes, etc in them but right now I'm just sticking an ice cube in it and she loves it!  It gets Emmie and everything around her pretty wet but it's so hot outside that we just walk outside and after a few minutes she's mostly dry (ok so it's not quite that hot yet but sometimes it feels like it).  I can't remember who gave us the mesh teething thingy but THANK YOU!  Emmie sees me pull it out and she opens her mouth.  Franklin also enjoys it...the other day they were both sucking on it at the same time...by the time I finished laughing and went to get my camera Franklin had moved on to other things!

Sunday Style Section

We started off the week with a casual look...I got this jean skirt the other day at the consignment shop and I think it looks soo cute on her!  If she was leaning up you could see that the smudge on the top of her head is a little bow...hanging on by a hair of course!

We got this as a gift and I love many things about it: 1)ladybugs! 2)ruffles! 3)matching monogrammed bib!

This is the dress Emmie wore to church this week.  When I pulled it out of her closet I noticed that it looked the same size as her other dresses where a few weeks before it had looked so much bigger than everything else she had!  You can tell by the look on her face that she loves the dress her Gran made and she loves her big bow!

So we got this outfit as a gift awhile back and when I got it I thought "yeah that's cute" but I didn't realize just how cute it was until I put it on her!  It ties in the back and has an open back which was perfect for our 95 degree day yesterday!  I also love the color on her and the frilly yet casual look of the outfit!  (Sorry I didn't get a great shot of the outfit...she was being a bit of a wiggle worm)

On another note...don't you LOVE the big bow?  I know I do!  I found some really cute, big bows at the consignment shop (Daff-a-deals...my absolute favorite!) and I found the headbands at wal-mart! Paul cringes a little when he sees her with a big bow or flower but he's just a silly boy...he has no idea what he's gotten himself into!

This is one of my favorite outfits of the week.  I LOVE THIS!  (plus she can wear her hot pink bow with it!)  I love all the ribbons on the outfit (you know I'm a sucker for ribbons) and the ribbons on the top tie in the back...so cute.  I also love the ribbons on the bottom of the capris!  I've been waiting for a day that wasn't crazy hot and I lucked out this week...we had a nice cool 85 degree overcast day.

Also, I love that she crosses her ankles...what a little lady!  She does this a lot and I think it's soo cute!