Thanksgiving Preparations and Name Practicing

We are in high gear today. We have what feels like half of the Great State of Texas flying in for Thanksgiving, and we have a house to clean. Emmie with her little broom will no doubt be putting things back where she wants them after we clean up, or as she sings "CleannnnnnnNUP!"

In advance of the arrivals, we have been practicing names. She has these down:
-Nana
-Papa
-Didi
-Pops
-Gigi

The rest are a bit more difficult:
-Saffren = frasen
-Uncle G = Ug
-Aunt Randi = ra
-Uncle Todd = unc toh
-Aunt Jen = gen

Now, as for other things she says, well, let's just say that last night she was stuck, and yelled loudly "SUCK!" After she caught us laughing, which we tried to hide, suddenly she was "stuck" more often.

Oh well, it could get worse.

Of to CleannnnnnnnnNUP!

We're Back!

I (Cody) am going to make an effort to revive this blog, as Emmie Reed deserves for the world to know how great she is, and because it is a forced journal, a gift we can all give Emmie.

Since the last post, which I believe was her birthday, Emmie has grown. Not so much is height as in sheer brilliance. She is talking and running and...wait for it...going peepee on the potty!

Anyway, I will write more later, but I wanted to share a photo from yesterday. She helped me plant fall flowers. By plant, I mean that she would pick the blooms off of the pansies and then stick them in the dirt. She was so proud. After all that, she helped me sweep the porch.


Most everything Emmie can hold becomes a phone. She will carry a dental floss container around saying "cheeeeesssse." We call that the floss phone, because she also has conversations with whomever may have the power to listen in. Lately, when we say cheese while holding an actual camera, she strikes a pose. Heart melting, indeed!

The Antics and Joys of Emmie Reed.

Just wanted to update you on our growing little Imp. She is bringing us great joy and we daily laugh at her antics. I think she may be paying me back for calling her "bulldog" a reference in part to the way she crawls and in another part to the way she bounces back from a challenge.

Sunday she decided that the protective plugs in the electrical outlets were unnecessary, so started to remove them. Coincidentally she also learned what a spanking felt like.

That same day she decided to conquor the cabinet locks. What took me 2 days to laboriously install and test she had beaten in a mere five minutes. We also introduced time outs that afternoon.

That night she laid in my arms, drank her bottle, and did a crib dive (no doubt exhausted by a day of world conquering, she cannot wait to get into her crib and sleep) but not before looking at me, smiling, and saying "dada" with a kiss. Transgressions of the day forgotten.

Monday she demonstrated that a genious can get out of a highchair regardless of restraint. This was not made clear until she landed in my lap during dinner. This was a good time to introduce the notion of no more dinner once you leave the table. (kidding aside, we did let her eat more, just not right then)

Finally, today she decided that gates were no obstacle. Kara sent me a photo. She pushed her new toy car over to the gate and climbed atop, ready to make the final leap to the other side, where she could make her way upstairs, a feat she mastered weeks ago. In all seriousness, this is fun. I am loving the action packed life we now lead. Please remember that she is only 9 months old. When you just cannot cram anything else into your head, please remember there is an infant in NC who is walking and wreaking havoc and two parents who are trying to stay one step ahead of the constant learning.

Happy New Year!

First Christmas

We had a great first Christmas. Although she will never remember, Emmie loved being spoiled with so many clothes and toys that we had to purge to make room. She hardly noticed the trees or lights, even though we kind of wanted her to at least stare in awe.

Hand Family Thanksgiving

Emmie's first Thanksgiving was also our first without my dad. We missed him so much at dinner. We had the cranberry sauce out of the can just for him. He is never far from my thoughts but we did our best to introduce Emmie to the holiday right. She was a blast. She sampled her first green bean casserole, sweet potatoes (with the marshmellows), mashed potatoes and gravy, and her new favorite a soft roll.


Here is Emmie showing the Hand Family Pride

Give us a smile Lady!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The clean plate club

Gnome-- here she is.....

Happy Halloween from Emmie, herself the ...gnome

Emmie is wearing an outfit a la Aunt Anne. It says "So cute its Scary" which is a true statement. We watched her first parade, Cary Band Day, in the morning and went trick or treating that evening.

Frankenbaby

Even with bolts she is adorable!

Fall Fun with Emmie

She is the best "punkin" we picked from the Farmer's Market. This fall Emmie learned about pumpkins, costumes, and cold weather. She is growing by leaps and bounds, literally! She is crawling up a storm, pulling up, and trying to stand. There have been an appearance of four teeth-- which I cannot get a picture of and there are gentle (yeah right) sounds of da da, ba ba, llllll, hi, and MA! when she is mad. All in all we are thrilled with our little punkin.

Sideways Cowgirl

Here is a bit of a taste of Emmie...only sideways because we haven't learned the art of rotating video yet. Her DiDi bought her boots long before she was born, and her Pops and Gigi bought her the onzie in Dallas. They all work together, so here, resting on its side, is a video of the munchkin modelling for you.

Baptism Weekend

Emmie's Baptism Celebration

Family portrait of Emmie and her Rents

Emmie and Saffren and their rents

Emmie and Saffren playing together

Emmie's baptism was great.

Emmie and Saffren host the innaugural Hand Family Cousin's Reunion

This is Emmie, playing for the first time with her cousin Saffren, who is a mere month younger and even a bit bigger. They have, so far, had a big time. Emmie just looks at her and belly laughs. When Saffren laughs, so does Emmie. When Saffren has to have an aspirator to the nose, Emmie hides her face in sympathetic pain. She....just....can't....watch!

Uncle G, Aunt Jen, Saffren, Pops, GiGi, and soon DiDi have all come to town for the baptism on Sunday and we are hosting quite the baby showdown. Emmie is cuter by all accounts, but they do have fun together. Aunt Kara, Uncle Cody and Emmie are enjoying playing host.

Uncle G took a moment to pose with the cousins, Emmie got a little tickled.

More photos soon. Pops brought the official reunion onzies and the photo shoot went well. Stay tuned!

Peaches for Emmie

Breakfast........I have tried sweet potato (ok) I have tried peas (yuck)
What has mom got for me now?

Movin' to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches

Millions of peaches, Peaches for free

Millions of peaches, Peaches for ME!

Emmie Playing

We promise to post some photos and video from last weekend, Emmie was a rockstar for the camera.

Just to let her fans know, Emmie's baptism has been rescheduled for August 16 at 8:25 am at the First United Methodist Church.

Stay tuned for photos...

2 First Father's Days

It was a sad irony that my first Father's Day as a Father was Kara's first without her's. The wounds of his very recent death are still very fresh, so I was unsure how today would go. I wanted to celebrate my first, but did not want to impose my joy on those who weren't ready.

But Kara made today very special for me. I awoke to her talking and laughing with my very talkative daughter in the nursery. I love baby monitors on these days. As Emmie becomes more "vocal" it is easy to get lost in conversation with someone whose vocabulary consists of coos and squeals. Beginning my day with the sounds of mother and daughter having a ball is, well, indescribably awesome. Kara had a stack of presents for me at the bottom of the stairs when I came down to the smell of coffee and home made monte cristo sandwiches. My favorite was this photo in a frame:

We went to target to buy some supplies for Emmie's first time in the pool. We bought an itty bitty swimsuit, a giant floaty boat, and some baby sunscreen.

We had some folks over for a cookout and then tried out the pool. Emmie LOVED it. Just for your enjoyment, here are some photos:

The later is post swimming in a tube top that her Aunt Jill (one of Kara's fellow Chi Omegas) made for her. Not that I want her in sorority garb just yet, but she did seem to like wearing the thing.

Children, especially perfect ones, can bring joy in the midst of sorrow. Check this out. Yesterday I let Emmie try out her Jenny Jumpup. She could not get enough. She is by far too small, but has enjoyed every minute (and taste) of it. Here is a video for your viewing pleasure:

We miss Papa Jack and each day we try to remember the good parts of a great life and not the tragedy of his death. Today, Father's Day, I remember what an amazing job he did raising my wife and strive to give some guy, some day (in other words...60 or so years from now) the gift of a well grounded and brilliant woman who knows what she wants and how to get it, just like he gave to me.

To all the dads out there, especially Papa Jack, Uncle Garrett, Pops, and Daddy Bob, happy Father's Day.

Papa Jack

As many of you may know my father was killed last Tuesday June 9, 2009. It is a very hard time in my life but Emmie is helping in ways that I can't even describe. She makes me get out of bed in the morning and see a little piece of God's goodness everyday. I have posted the one of the only pictures I will ever had of these two together but I thank God that my dad got to know her and she for a short time knew him. He loved her and was so excited about her...I am going to have a big job describing him to her. Emmie has gotten off of her routine because of all the people and all the commotion but luckily her Pops and GG were her to give her a constant. Thank you to you both for helping us in such an awful time. Please pray for my mother, Cody, and I that we can endeavor to keep Papa Jack alive for my little girl who he loved.