Posing at the Park

Scott will sometimes take Emma to the nearby park for an hour or more of playtime while I'm home with the baby.  Here she is on a chilly day with her bike and on a warmer day chillin' on the climbing wall.

Happy Girl!

Emma is such a happy girl!  She smiles and laughs all day long.  It is such a joy to be her parents.  Here she is on her babysitter's outdoor play set.  We are sent many pictures of her grinning from ear to ear as she has fun with her friends each day.

Splinter Paste

How many kids enjoy the process of removing a splinter?  Uh, none!  Even adults cringe at extracting those wooden devils with tweezers!  Here is a recipe for splinter paste that I found online last year.  In a small dish, mix hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and water.  Adjust the ingredients until you have a liquid paste.  Coat the splinter with a dab of paste and cover with a band-aid.  Repeat several times throughout the day.  The baking soda will make the skin swell and push the splinter out.  We've used this magical paste on three different occasions with Emma.  The first two times the splinter was visibly working its way out and I was able to use tweeters to delicately finish the job.  Most recently, it took 3 days of splinter paste covered by a band-aid because Emma refused to let me near her with the tweezers.  But it finally popped out on its own in the warm water of her bath on day three.  I hope all of you moms and dads find this concoction helpful when your little ones get those summer splinters!

Ecuador Donation

One of Emma's Easter gifts was a $10 bill from Grandma Connie and Papa Ross.  It was given to her as a donation to a charity of Emma's choice.  Our church was collecting items for an Ecuador mission trip in late July.  Soccer balls were listed as a suggested donation along with school supplies, hygiene items, and clothing.  Emma went to Toys R Us with us one afternoon and picked it out.  She even paid for it at the checkout before dropping it off at one of the collection sites in the church lobby.

Emma Sings To Lauren

 

Emma started singing to Lauren almost from the start.  On the eighth day, we caught it on video.  Have you ever seen something so adorable?

Lauren's First Photo Shoot

Lauren is now 2 weeks old, and this was the first opportunity I had to take some photos.  There are two main reasons I was able to get such beautiful shots.  First, my mom assisted me.  Second, newborns sleep a lot.  I'm usually not a fan of giant hair bows and flowers on babies, but I suppose it does look cute on Lauren.  I doubt we'll be able to use them much as she gets older.  Emma was always pulling hair accessories out of her sparse locks as an infant and toddlers.  I'm sure the stretchy headbands and clip-ons do feel odd to a baby.  They don't yet realize the price of beauty . . . no "pain," no gain.