Quick Update

Trav and I went to Las Vegas for 4 days for a mini vacation. We stayed at Mandalay Bay---which was beautiful and had 4 fantastic pool/beach areas. We spent most of our days relaxing by the pools---me reading and T playing in the wave pool or floating the lazy river. We went and saw Mystere, a Cirque du Soleil show. It was very entertaining and well worth the money. T surprised me with a spa day, so I got to get even more relaxed as I got a facial, pedicure and 1hr massage. I really enjoyed the spa facilities and hung out relaxing by their hot baths---again, reading. T also set up a massage and facial for himself. While he enjoyed the treatments, he did not find the hot bath area as relaxing as I did...apparently men are less modest than women. He said they were all walking around with "everything hanging out"...and to Trav, that just is not the setting that he wants to relax in. It made me laugh hysterically. As far as gambling goes, we spent a pretty penny of the money we brought and quickly spent the money we made---so...we came home with our wallets a bit lighter. I was soooo bummed after our first hour of just giving our hard earned money away and T had to remind me that it is all entertainment. The last day I started playing Blackjack. I LOVED it and wish I would have played the whole time---our money lasted a lot longer, and it was fun to play sitting next to each other and talking a bit of trash. It was a nice break from mommyhood, but I was soooooooooo excited when we were finally headed home. It took everything in me not to reach into Em's crib when we got home at 1am. I missed her terribly!

Cast members from Mystere

Trav sitting in the pharoh's lap at the LUXOR. This picture reminds me a bit of the Lincoln Memorial.

This pic was from the night of the show. Trav forgot his dress shoes and socks...very unlike him. This is what I came out to see. I nixed the flip flops with dress pants and picked out a more flip flop friendly outfit---shorts and button down.

Losing money. I swear I was only stopping at the machines that were sending me a good vibe :)

Water show at Bellagio. It was fantastic---I really enjoyed watching it and was amazed at how high the water shot up and how in sync it was with the music.

The volcano show at Mirage. Not as good as the water show, but free and it took up 30 minutes of our time where we were NOT spending money :)

View of our hotel from my lounge chair at the pool.

Trav's favorite part of the trip---the wave pool. He was like a kid...lining up at the blue line waiting for a wave to come, then he dove in and rode the wave to the shore. It was funny to watch---it was obvious that he was having a good time.

Ok...remember T's dress outfit with flip flops, well this is T's attempt to dress Emma. She is wearing a romper (not meant to be worn with shorts) and he picked out the perfect shorts and the perfect bow to go with it. Notice the romper peeking out from the shorts. I had to take a picture. At least she was dressed and he certainly made an effort to do it right.

My aunt came to visit from NC. We took a family pic with my sister, parents, and my grandparents. We thought it was funny that we were all color coordinated, but did not plan it. It turned out to be a nice family picture.

Great Grandparents with their great granddaughters. Notice Mia fluffing her hair prepping for the picture.

Hmmmm....

Em munching on a teething cookie---it was kinda messy!

Ok...so I keep looking at my blog thinking that I should update it, then I start...get distracted...stop...go on vacation...get distracted again...think something else is more pressing (like reading my fantastic books) and it has been almost a month and it is still not updated. I thought I would do a quick post just to make myself feel better with the intentions of coming back soon and putting more exciting things on our blog.



Coming soon...

Emma is going to be 9 months old on the 5th---WOW!

T and I spent 4 days in Vegas

Visits from family

8 Months Old

Emma is 8 months old today. I cannot believe it--time is flying by way tooooo quickly!!! I wish I could post a million videos of Em in this stage of her life. I think she is HILARIOUS---especially when she is exploring and is in her own little world. She is very curious and likes to crawl around the house--working her way down the hallway, into rooms and back again. She is also really quick about getting around---it is funny to see how fast those knees and arms can move in unison. She likes to make noises and "sing" with tags in her mouth. She will flip any stuffed animal over to find its tag and then immediately puts the tag in her mouth and starts humming (really any tag, on anything will do the trick). She pulls up on ANYTHING and EVERYTHING---this has resulted in many bumps and bruises and one bloody nose. She is going to learn sooner or later that the coffee table, chairs, and the floor are much harder than her head. Em's tongue always seems to be out...this is funny b/c if you pull out my pics from when I was younger (and some older) you will find that my tongue was also always out---genetics or just a coincidence? I think it helps us concentrate :) We just love her to pieces and both T and I have enjoyed our time off with her this summer---I think she may be getting a bit spoiled having us both here all day long, but it has been fabulous.

Red, White, and Blue

We went to Georgetown to spend the 4th of July with my family. We ate yummy BBQ cooked by my brother in law, Davin. Mia, my niece, helped my dad make homemade ice cream and we devoured sweet watermelon. Minus the ridiculous heat, we had a wonderful time catching up, watching the girls---who proved to be quite entertaining, and ending with a wonderful fireworks show. Emma Grace...All dressed up for America's Big Day :)

T and Em...I LOVE this pic. Before we know it, she will be too big to ride on Daddy's shoulders!


Family pic on the 4th--This time last year, Emma was kicking around in my belly---a reaction to the popping and booming of the fireworks.


Mia watching Emma to make sure she is not going to put the grass in her mouth. Em REALLY likes the grass and seems to think it may be tasty.


Em is at an age where taking a posed picture is getting a bit difficult. I am glad we got one where Em and Mia were both looking at the camera---it just happened to be the wrong one :)


Somebody is getting TIRED---Em had a long day, with a couple of short naps. We ended up having to leave the fireworks show (a 5 min walk from my parents' house) because Em was NOT a happy camper---sooo tired. We parked the car next to where my family was sitting and we left the AC on and let Emma sleep. T and I just stood outside of the car to watch the aerial action.

Em playing with Papa's Mustache--Papa did not get the memo to wear red, white and blue :)

Ready to Roll :)

Cam and Em

After we came home from my parents' house, we noticed that our neighborhood was having a grand old time with the fireworks. I sat in our driveway on T's tailgate and got to see quite a show--fireworks to my left, fireworks to my right, and I could even see the fireworks behind us being reflected in my neighbors windows across the street. Can't beat those seats! Good to know for next year. I did not think that anybody would believe how close the fireworks were, so I pulled out my camera so I could video it. This video is showing one of the grand finales.

Great Show!!!

Happy Father's Day

This is where it all began 7 1/2 months ago! Trav has been a WONDERFUL father to Emma G! I cannot put into words how I feel when I see them together--giggling, cuddling, learning, smiling. T has always been a very hands on father (minus poopie diapers), but he has been even more involved as Emma grows up and starts to interact more. I can see that he truly enjoys being a dad and gets a kick out of Emma's antics :)

Yesterday we were able to visit with Trav's mom, aunt and uncle. We had a great time catching up and they had a fantastic time playing with Em and seeing her new tricks. Today we had my parents, grandparents, and sister's family over for lunch. We got to celebrate a full house of fathers. Here are some pics from T's first Father's Day.

Lela, Mia and Emma makin' a train. Emma obviously did not grasp the idea of the train, but did have fun being rocked back and forth by my mom and Mia.

Emma's closet has turned into a secondary playroom. She has a couple of toys and books in her closet b/c of space, I have a vision to paint the walls with windows, flowers, etc and make this Em's special place. I have a friend who's daughter has a closet in her grandma's house and it makes for the BEST hiding place/special play area. So...I am working on it for Em. As you can see...Em and Mia already enjoy hanging out in her closet. It is soooo strange to watch them interact and play with one another---my baby is growing up and is wanting to play side by side with Mia. Em is lucky to have a cousin that is so loving and caring.
Em's schedule has been WAY off the last couple of days---late nights running errands, guests, etc.---so her naps and feeding times have been a bit messed up. I knew Em was tired today (around lunch) but wanted to try and get a meal in there before she fell asleep. Well, she got through 1/2 a bottle and 4 or 5 spoonfuls before I saw the signs that sleep was right around the corner. Before I knew it, Emma's eyes were closed and she was out.

The reason that we had to lower Em's mattress in her crib. Thank goodness she did not think to flop over the edge.

New hair do---Em and I wanted to show off her new rocker do :) Trav was not impressed with the mohawk. I was just trying to see how long her hair is getting and after a couple of styles, this one stuck. We had to rewet it to get it to go back down. Em has been able to wear clip on bows---finally!!!!

We love you Trav! Thanks for such a great daddy to Em! It has been a joy to watch you in this new role over the last 7 months!