Trip to SA

The whole family got together to celebrate my mom's birthday and Mary Clare's graduation from high school. We're pretty excited because Mary will be going to UD next year! Eli flew back to go back to work so Emily and I hung out for a few more days and got to visit more with Nona, Jacquie and the boys, and Claire Wickersham.

Walking the stage

Our cheers were probably the loudest!

Chillin with the Fagan beauties

Emily looooved Grandaddy and Nana's pool!

Uncle Will and my sweet Godson Charlie

Emily had her 9 month checkup and she's progressing well. Weighing 13 lbs. she can pretty much sit up for a few minutes all by herself! We're still having some trouble getting her to sleep, probably because her nervous system developed in a loud NICU environment rather than in the calm and dark womb (meaning she's a little insecure and nervous to be in a crib alone). Eli is so wonderful and is taking over the bedtime shift. We need lots of prayers and I'm sure Emily would be grateful if she didn't cry for 2 hours before each nap!

We had our last play date with Matthew Kane today and it was so cute to see them actually interact--Matty was gnawing on Emily's toes and she thought it was hysterical!

We received news that Teresa is in labor with her first boy...we are so excited and will post pictures as soon as we can!

Here's Emily's first taste of bananas...classic.

Supper Club and Mother's Day

Last week we hosted supper club at our house for the Kanes, Alexanders and McBrides. Emily was just a peach the majority of the day when I was getting the house ready, but she definitely needed some attention right around the time when dinner needed to be cooked. Eli's Aunt Joan gave me the Danze family spaghetti and meatball recipe, so I made a double batch with a huge pot. I let it simmer the whole day and eventually it looked like my stove had exploded. There were red splashes all over the cooktop! The dinner was great and we were able to celebrate Calah's birthday at the end of the night.
Mother's Day was wonderful. Eli made me delicious pancakes and washed all the dishes too. I was sick as a dog with a horrible cold but it was nice to have Eli help take care of Emily--he even gave her a bottle and put her to bed for me! As my mom always said, I wish everyday was mother's day.
Emily is coming along in her development. She's working on learning how to sit and can probably sit unassisted for 30 seconds! She is just dying to move and gets quite frustrated if she cant reach something. Everytime we pass a light switch she loves to reach out and flip the switch. We've heard some babbling lately, and maybe even a dada. We started adding solids to her diet but realized quickly that she's allergic to just about everything we've given her--she breaks out in hives all over! Another great achievement is that she's more efficient at nursing and can go 2 to 3 hours without eating after only eating for 20-30 minutes. This is a great relief and we both have more time to play!
We're headed out to Austin tonight and San Antonio tomorrow for my mom's birthday and Mary's graduation!

Mallapalooza

Eli and I have been very blessed to have met at a university which is so kid friendly. This past weekend UD had an all day concert on the mall on campus known as Mallapalooza. Meaghan made Emily an adorable onesie that had the Mallapalooza logo on the back with the band Kinch on the front. We had so much fun and we were even lucky enough that Emily fell asleep in her stroller so we could stay late!

On Sunday we had the privilege to hear Eli's cousin Joseph perform at Cistercian's music recital. We couldn't believe the talent those boys have with all different instruments--simply amazing! Joseph played a beautiful piece on the piano, and we celebrated afterwards by going out to eat with the Raff family.

This week we started interviewing real estate agents and lenders to possibly look into moving in the next 6 months. We've decided that Dallas is the best area for our family for the next 5 years or so.

Emily is doing well and keeping moving. Her physical therapy is becoming more intense but she is really benefiting from the sessions. She recently found her feet and likes to reach out to the light switches. Oh and she can almost keep her balance to sit up on her own! Yesterday we mixed some mashed banana in with her cereal and she gave us quite an reaction. Needless to say we wont be trying that for awhile!

Helping mom with the laundry

A serious conversation

Emily's going to miss her Matty!