The Great Eight of 2008

The Write Stuff

Scott continues to write during his free time. His short stories appear monthly in News and Views for the Young at Heart. This year Scott made appearances at Illinois State University’s Milner Library, Peoria Civic Center, and Bloomington Junior High School to talk about his experiences as an author. His fourth book will be released in the spring. Visit his website at http://www.scottwilliamfoley.com/ to keep up on all of his writings.

Kristen's Consulting

After leading numerous technology workshops for her school and district, Kristen began sharing her knowledge with other local educators. As a professional development consultant, she has led several SMART Technology workshops for local teachers K-12 through the Regional Office of Education. In addition, this past spring she designed and presented a workshop on guided reading for intermediate level teachers in the area. You can check out Kristen’s classroom website at www.district87.org/staff/foleyk.

Mr. Mom

As you know, Scott took a year leave of absence from teaching to be a stay-at-home dad. He enjoys his time with Emma immensely and calls it the best job in the world. Together they take walks to the park, explore fun toys, exercise, read books, and much more. Emma is quickly becoming a little daddy’s girl!

Brothers and Others

Scott’s brother, Larry, his wife, Missy, and their daughter, Sydney, continue to do well in Gastonia, North Carolina. Sydney turned four this summer and is excited about the arrival of her new cousin, Emma. Kristen’s brother, Chad, lives in downtown Chicago and works for Deutsche Bank. He continues to train for and race in triathlons and tackled the Chicago Marathon again this year. His girlfriend, Stephanie, is a gem!

Amendment - Chad and Stephanie are engaged!

The Grandparents

Connie and Ross have been dabbling in many hobbies during their retirement. Connie recently became a licensed real estate agent. She also keeps busy with quilting and shopping. Ross can’t say no to a school bus assignment or transporting cars for the local dealership. He loves traveling to car shows and working on his own classics. Mike is still enjoying retirement and has most of the home improvements completed. He also spends a lot of time volunteering for Jill at Dennis School. Jill is counting the days until retirement in 2010 when she and Mike can spend more time with their first grandbaby. All four grandparents are thrilled about the arrival of darling Emma and love her to pieces.

Fun with the Foleys

In January, Kristen began documenting our journey to parenthood through a blog. It is a wonderful way for us to share updates with friends and family. Perhaps you found out that we were having a girl, saw Kristen’s tummy grow, or watched a video of our precious babe on this website. Check out all of the fun at http://www.funwiththefoleys.blogspot.com/.

Beautiful Baptism

Emma was baptized on Sunday, November 30, amidst the love of family and six inches of fresh snow. We were so happy that her godparents, Chad, Larry, and Missy, were able to be a part of this special occasion. While it may have been the first big snowfall of the season, it will go down in history as the day our angel was given a new life in Jesus Christ.

Emma's Arrival

The birth of Emma Claire ranks far above all of the other tops for 2008. She was born on July 9 at 12:01 P.M. by C-section. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and measured 20 inches. Emmy’s cheerful disposition brings us so many smiles. We feel blessed and honored to be the parents of a beautiful, healthy, and inquisitive baby girl.

Holiday Montage

Here's our holiday slideshow with pictures of Emma's first Christmas. She loved opening her presents. It's amazing how a 5 1/2 month old can tear paper and pull tissue out of bags. While the wrapping was very interesting to her, Emma was good about exploring the gifts. She was showered with toys, books, clothes, and keepsakes galore!

Jump, Jump

Uncle Larry, Aunt Missy, and Cousin Sydney bought Emma a Baby Einstein jumper for Christmas. This was her first time exploring it, and we'd say she likes it quite a bit. What a fun way to play and exercise!

Merry Christmas!

The Foleys send Christmas wishes to all of their friends and family! Thanks for being such loyal visitors and sharing in our joy! And it is so true . . . good things do come in small packages!

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

Emma posed for quite a few pictures last week in hopes of selecting the perfect photo for a Christmas card. There were so many great ones to choose from.

Peas, Please!

Emma has been eating rice cereal for a while now. We tried peas for the first time earlier this month. We captured our endeavor in eight minutes of video and share the final minute with you here.

Celebrating a Christening

Here is a slideshow of pictures from Emma's baptism on Thanksgiving weekend. We enjoy looking at these pictures again and again, remembering the special day.

Five Months Old

My, oh my, how times flies! Emma can now roll over from her tummy to back and her back to her tummy, had dabbled in solid foods, and is on her way to sitting unassisted. She is a wonder!

Beautiful Smile

"Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."
~Mother Teresa

Good Buddies

There's nothing like the combination of a bath, bottle, bunny PJs, and buddies! Ah, what a great night!

Keep Your Eye On the Ball

Scott looked over the other day and saw Emma learning a new skill for the first time! Luckily, he had the video camera nearby, so daddy caught her in action.

Uncle Chad and Aunt Steph

Uncle Chad and Aunt Steph shared some laughs with Emma after her baptism. They had a swell time together! Look for more fun pictures with family when we post her 5-month slideshow soon!

Good Morning, Sunshine!

What a joy it is to see this smiling face in the mornings!

Baby Girl's Baptism

Emma was baptized on Sunday, November 30 with a sanctuary filled with loved ones and six inches of fresh snow. It was quite a day for her!

A Tradition of Giving

We wanted to start a tradition of donating gifts to needy children in Emma's name every Christmas. This year our church was sponsoring Operation Christmas Child. These school supplies, toys, and toiletries will be sent to a girl in Columbia. Emma helped mommy and daddy package it up and deliver it to church. As she gets older, we'd like her to choose a gift to wrap and donate. We hope it will be one of many holiday traditions.

Look At Me!

Look at me! I have decided that I LOVE tummy time! No more tears when daddy puts me on my tummy. We have a great time practicing rolling over.

Emma and Mama

Emma, Mama, and Daddy share so many laughs together. She is a very happy baby and loves to blow bubbles, razz her lips, giggle, and "talk" to us. We are a happy family!

Little Pilgrim

Emma's excited to celebrate her 1st Thanksgiving. But we'll have to wait until next year to let her experience the good eats!

Pacifier Pals

Emma and Ruby took a snooze while their mommies and daddies visited last weekend. Mostly we talked about our sweet baby girls. Ruby is 7 weeks old here compared with Emma's 4 months and 1 week.

Rice Cereal

Emma's doctor recommended that we start giving her one spoonful of rice cereal daily and gradually work our way up to green vegetables in the coming weeks. Well, here's our gal grabbing the spoon to feed herself. Some days she detests the texture/taste, and other days she is willing to take a few nibbles.

Tea Anyone?

Daddy put together Emmy's "1-2-3 Tea for Me" exersaucer last week, and she was quite impressed with all of the gagets as you saw in her earlier video. It was so fun to watch her curiously manuver the add-ons. She has been exploring it a few times a day since this picture was taken on her trial run. She loves it a ton!

Swaddle Me

So, Emma's brilliant parents abandoned the swaddle wrap after she didn't seem to like it as a newborn. We thought she preferred to keep her hands tucked by her head. Well, advice from a fellow mom led us to try swaddling again . . . and . . . it appeared to be working. Emma slept for 9-12 hours consecutively on a few nights! The Kidopodamus swaddle wrap prevented her from stirring in the night and waking herself up. But it didn't always stop those middle-of-the-night feedings. As of late, she has returned to demanding a bottle every 5 hours. Here she is waking up around 7:30 A.M. with a good morning smile for mommy after a night of 11:00 P.M. and 4:00 A.M. feedings.

Four Months Old

Emma turned four months old last weekend. She is such a joy! It is our privilege to be her parents. Here are some photos of her from the last few weeks.

Emma's Exersaucer

Hip, hip, hooray for our 100th post on Fun With the Foleys! This is Emma's first time in her exersaucer. Notice we had to stuff a blanket between her and and the seat to give her a bit more stability. She can't get enough of it!

Upcoming Christening

Emma will be baptized on Thanksgiving weekend. Many family members are coming to town to be a part of her special day. Her grandparents have already made some preparations by picking out her gown and creating a baptismal cloth.

Lovin' Lola

Emma and Lola like to pal around. Maybe you'll be able to watch one of their conversations in a future post. Let's just say that Lola loves Emma a whole lot!

Finding Her Feet

Emma has discovered her feet and gets a huge "kick" out them! The song "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" makes more sense to her now. You remember that one, don't you? Go on, sing it to yourself. It brings back memories for us all. It may be a few more months before she can do the movements for herself, but she is in training.

A New Friend

Emma is just 14 days older than her friend, Morgan. They met for the first time last month. The mommies and daddies had a great time comparing notes on feeding, sleeping, playing, etc.

Happy Halloween!

Emma wanted to get a few of her friends together and wish you all a happy Halloween!

Nighttime Routine

Scott and I have a nighttime routine that we try to follow to help Emma fall into a more regular eating and sleeping schedule. Well, a schedule isn't developing as we had hoped, but we are successful in lulling her to sleep. All she needs is a full tummy, a bath, lotion, warm jammies, and her pacifer. On this night she fell asleep before we could pick her up to cuddle.

Favorite Toy

Emma can't help but smile when her "Twisty Bug" rattle is around. She adores the various sounds and flashing lights. They are best buds! We highly recommend this toy for the sheer joy it brings Emma and the sheer joy it brings us to watch her coo and smile.

Funny Girl

Emma loves to laugh and coo when her mommy and daddy sing silly songs or make goofy faces. Play time is so much fun with our funny girl!

Wonderful Sounds

Emma loves to chat with her butterfly friend. We hope you smile at all of her new sounds!

Three Months Old

Emma turned three months old yesterday. That’s ¼ of a year! Here are some precious photos of her from the past few weeks. While some of them have been posted in previous blog entries, we've sprinkled in a few new ones.

Safety Town Tour

We all took a walk to Carden Park near our house and toured “Safety Town” this week. We’re sure this will become one of our favorite family spots in the coming years when Emma is coordinated enough to ride her bike on the little tike roads. There is a Normal fire station adjacent to the park that allows tours, too. Emma will just love it!

Rip Van Winkle

Emma slept for 6 hours straight one night last week! Yes, you read correctly, SIX hours! It had been 8 hours since she had last eaten, so this was a huge stretch for her and for us! Too bad I kept waking up every so often anticipating her need to feed.

Reaching Out

Emma is achieving so many development milestones! Here she is grabbing for her Lucky Ducky and learning to interact with him.

Pumpkin

Don’t you just love the pumpkin we picked up at the pumpkin patch! She’s a keeper!

Working Mom

I went back to work for half days during the first few weeks of the school year, but have now returned to full time. While it’s difficult to leave Emma and Scott each morning, I know that they are having a swell time together. They sure are great motivation to pack up and head home after the bell!

Zest for Life

This weekend Scott will be featured as a guest speaker at Peoria’s “Zest for Life” Expo at the Peoria Civic Center. This two-day event targets retirees. Stop by his booth on Friday, September 26 or Saturday, September 27. All of the details are below.

Zest for Life Retirement Expo ‘08

Peoria Civic Center

September 26: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

September 27: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Scott's Motivational Talk:

September 26: 6:00 p.m.

September 27: 11:30 a.m.

Website: http://www.zesteez.com/

ISU Panel Discussion

This Tuesday, September 23, Scott will be part of a panel discussion on publishing at Illinois State University’s Milner Library. He and two other published authors will be speaking about their personal experiences writing and publishing as well as selling and signing their books. The event is free and open to the public.

"A Conversation With Newly Published Authors"
September 23, 2008

2:00-3:00 p.m.

Milner Library - Main Floor

Illinois State University

Emma Tries Tummy Time

This video is only a few weeks old and already outdated! At the time, Emma really struggled with her tummy time, but she now can lift herself up with no problems at all! We'll get new video of Emma mastering tummy time up soon.

GO BEARS!

Daddy and Emma geared up for the first official game of the season last Sunday. Emma is swimming in her Bears’ cheerleader outfit, but it was purchased for a six-month-old. Perhaps we had high hopes of the team making it to January’s playoffs.

Rock-a-bye Baby

Emma experienced her crib for the first time last week. We attempted a nap with her flat on her back, but as you will see, she was far too mesmerized by her mobile!

Stay-at-home Daddy

Most of you already know that Scott has taken a one-year leave of absence from his position at the high school to stay at home with Emma. He is thrilled with this opportunity and looking forward to play time, walks, singing songs, reading books, rocking/dancing, and all of the other joys of taking care of a baby. With three weeks under his belt, Scott is getting into a groove and even finding a little time to work on his writing.

P.S. The books are age appropriate . . . for Emma.

A Swingin' Good Time!

Today Emma enjoyed a little time on her swing ... and hiccups.

Four Generations of Females

With Kristen’s grandmother in town from Arizona, it was the perfect time for four generations to get together and enjoy baby Emma. Great-Grandma Carole (Nan), Grandma Jill, Kristen, and Emma posed for the camera over a Labor Day visit.

Savoring the Swing

So far so good . . . Emma seems to like her swing. She is amazed by the mobile and enjoys the nature sounds and music. It’s a great spot for a little entertaining or a short nap.

Kickin' It Old School

Yeah . . . we’re just chillin’ at the crib!

Emma At Play

Emma's been with us for six weeks as of today, so we thought we'd celebrate by getting some serious playtime in!

Enjoy!

Bath Time

Newborns are typically given “sponge baths” during their first days. It isn’t until a baby’s cord falls off that he/she can transition to the baby tub. This usually happens in 7-21 days. Well, our five-week old has yet to part with hers. Nonetheless, we opted for a shallow tub bath this week. Emma seemed to like the warm water at first, but got chilly quickly. In a few days we will give it another go.

Out For A Walk

Emma, Mommy, and Daddy took their first walk around the neighborhood this week. Luckily we had a beautiful evening with cooler temperatures and a very light breeze. We think Emma enjoyed her outdoor adventure – she slept the entire time.

Sleeping Beauty

Newborns sleep for approximately 16 hours a day, usually in 2-3 hour increments. Here are some great poses of our sleeping beauty. While most babies like to be swaddled, she prefers to stretch out. What a funny girl!

Beardstown Bond

Scott and his best bud, Drew, have known each other since the age of three. They grew up together in Beardstown and were roommates while attending ISU. Even though Drew and his family live out of state, these boys still maintain a great friendship. Now that they are both daddies, they have a lot more in common. Here is a recent photo of us with Drew, Heather, and three-month-old Jack. Olivia, who just turned two, was back home during this trip with her grandparents.

Hand Crafted With Love

Emma has been fortunate enough to receive several beautiful gifts including blankets, clothing, and décor for the nursery from her talented friends and family. Thanks to Grandma Connie, Great-Aunt Barb, Great-Aunt Dixie, Janenne, Leslie, Nadine, Judy, Linda, Karen, and Gina for putting so much time and energy into such special gifts. Quilted, crocheted, stitched, or painted, they will be well used and loved.

Dare to Compare

People are often interested in comparing newborn photos of the parents to a new baby. Who does the baby look more like? Does she have mom's nose and ears? Does she have dad's coloring? Well, you decide.