Freezing in the 40's!

Emma definitely had cabin fever yesterday, so I promised her (and myself) that no matter what, we were going for a walk today. So out we went in the 40 degree weather, braving a windchill that felt like 20!

Where's Emma???

There she is...my little snuggle bug!

It is definitely Fall!

Thawing out after our walk

Emma tries to eat the bird on this toy- she smacks her lips together, opens her mouth and tries to sit up as she pulls the bird towards her mouth. I know it is plastic....but there is something about this birdie that makes me feel bad for it when she tries to eat him! Good thing she can't reach!!!!

......caught red-handed!

Gourmet Chef on a Budget!!!

I am proud of myself for sticking to a grocery budget each week- I actually have fun going to the grocery store and challenging myself to stick to my budget! WELL.... this weekend while in NY I got an unexpected parking ticket, so instead of getting annoyed about having to pay it I decided to cut out the part of the cost in my expenses the following week....therefore I decided not to buy groceries this week.
We can absolutely afford to buy groceries, but I thought it would be an interesting challenge to try to make meals with whatever I had in the house instead...and so far, I have been successful (thank goodness my husband eats whatever I give him without complaining!)

Last night I made my very own recipe for tomato soup! It was so good in fact, Felix and I both had it for lunch the next day! Here is what I put in it: A can of chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, some white wine, olive oil, water, ramen noodle soup chicken seasoning packets (saved the noodles for a chinese salad recipe), lots of basil, salt & pepper, brown sugar splenda, half & half mixed with cornstarch. I wasn't sure what the heck it would taste like- but it was actually good! Not sure if it really NEEDED all these weird ingredients, but hey, stick with what works, right?!!!!

Then- today, I really wanted a sweet treat- so I melted some chocolate chips on a fajita wrap, and it was actually good. I call it my "chocolate crepe"!

Chocolate "Crepe"!!

It has been fun getting creative in the kitchen. Tonight we had fat free franks & beans with a side of broccoli & potatoes. Tomorrow..... eggplant parm with zucchini. Only the weekend to go and I will reach my goal!!!!!

Wish me luck!!!

Our Travel Filled Weekend

Me and little Ems had quite the weekend!

We left Friday afternoon for NYC to visit my Aunt Audrey& Uncle in the city and a quick visit with my friend Michelle for dinner. The next morning we got up bright and early for an extremely quick (30min) visit with my friend Gina- who just happened to be visiting NY that weekend with 2month old baby Ruby. Then, me & Ems headed out to New Jersey to watch Felix's games where my Aunt Fern, Uncle David, and cousin Jaime from Long Island came to join me. After watching a morning game, having lunch with the team, and watching an evening game- I drove back to LI with my cousin and spent the evening with them. We got to enjoy the next day together and decided we really should see each other more often since we live so close!
It was great to be able to see Felix and spend some time together while he had a weekend tournament. I hate it when he leaves us alone for the weekend- we get lonely at home without him!

It was an exhausting, but wonderful trip. Emma stayed up way past her bedtime each night- yet was still able to sleep through the night and was not cranky the next day...let's hope she is the same when we visit FL in Dec!!!

We all had a great time, and Emma was an absolute angel- she slept well, enjoyed playing, and seemed to enjoy traveling in the car too!!! And I learned how to get creative while on the road with a 4 month old!!!!!

At the Princeton Pool after playing Bucknell. You would never guess he just lost a game- Felix is still all smiles when he sees his little girl.

And here we are just one year ago at Queens college in NY... practicing with 6 month old Baby Sable for the above photo shoot I guess!!!

At lunch with the team after the first game of the day. Look at my exhausted little baby- and how calm she is in her Daddy's arms :)

We have so few pix of me & Ems together... I take what I can get! We are having dinner in the city with Michelle. I have also become very skilled at eating my meals with one hand!

Michelle & Emma eating pizza in NYC. It was delicious, and we were very lucky to pass a gelato place on our walk home- how lucky can a girl get... pizza and gelato in one evening!!!!

Fun with the camera while packing for our trip.

Emma was a little surprised when I used the "red eye reduction" flash that uses 3 flashes in a row....

It's Getting Cold Out Here!!!

Emma and I like to get out at least once a day. Today we went to the outlet shops, so we spent a lot of the time outside in the bitter cold (I know..... winter hasn't even hit yet, we are in for a big surprise!). Emma was nice and cozy in her stroller.

But we are prepared! Here she is trying on her new Brown University fleece bodysuit she got as a gift - complete with cuffs for both her hands and her feet(only has one hand in the cuff in this pix)! No frostbite for this little one!


I'm working on finding little Emma some friends she can play with indoors so I don't have to drag her around town running errands just to get out of the house!

She Did It!!!!

Emma rolled over today! From her back to her tummy. We were so proud!!!!!

Here she is practicing with Daddy last night.... but she didn't roll over. Daddy was teaching her the tricks.



This morning I put her down on the play gym, and shortly after....


....she was on her tummy!!!


So proud!

Emma's first aerobics class!

Well, I did it... I joined a parent's group for our town. While it is a bit out of my comfort zone to go out and meet new people, I must admit- I had a great time and am looking forward to some more get togethers!!!!

The group has a lot of different events where moms and their babies get together, and Emma and I attended our first one this morning- baby yoga!

I think Emma really enjoyed it, we did leg stretches and exercises and some swinging. It was fun and we got to meet other mamas and babies!!

Emma is on the right, all in pink. The little girl she is head to head with is actually 4 months older than her, and the other little girl next to her is 11mos old. I'm not sure how little Ems is measuring up.....she may not be such a little peanut anymore!

The Zoo

Today was such a beautiful day outside, and Felix was off work so we decided to make the best of it! We took Emma to the Capron Park Zoo- a very small local zoo, but it has a great park right behind it that I'm sure we will frequent when little Ems is a bit older.

She enjoyed watching the llamas come close as people were feeding them.

4 Months Old Already!

We had a little trouble sitting still this photo session!!!

I MISS YOU NANA!

I hope you feel better soon Nana!

I wish we could have seen you in FL- but we have been thinking about you and hope you are all better so we can play in December!!

Becoming Friends!

It seems Matti & Emma are slowly starting to be friends! She tugs at his fur and tries to catch his tongue in her hand- and he likes her because she smells like milk!!

She also likes her new toy one of my friends gave us. I didn't think I would need another exersaucer since she has the jumparoo, but it has been added to her "rotation" on the toy carpet and she just loves it! Currently, the rotation goes from active toys where she stands/jumps to resting toys where she is on her back.... bouncy seat, then jumparoo, then playgym, then exersaucer, then kickin' gym.

So Many Changes in Just One Week!!!!

We came back home after visiting in FL with family for a week.... and boy oh boy did I notice a change in our little girl! While she was a complete disaster during our visit (apparently, she does not like being in new environments or having changes to her routines!!) she seemed to fall right back into her regular happy self when we returned home. Phew!!!

Here is Mamare & Saba playing with baby Ems while we were home in FL


Today while we were driving home from the grocery store, I noticed Emma sucking her thumb for the first time!!!! Trust me- her thumb was in there, I lifted her little fingers to check. I am SOOOO EXCITED that she found her thumb! Hopefully the nights of popping in binky's will soon be over!

Changes I noticed in addition to the thumb sucking - her size 1 diapers we were using at home seem too small on her after using size 2 during our FL vacation, and she is now much more aware of the toys on her jumparoo. She was reaching for the flashing lights and the plastic toys on there! Check out all the action in the video below! (you can also see matti's tail wagging as we are playing fetch)




Another cute thing I noticed tonight- after I give her a bath, I always go over to the mirror so she can see herself. Tonight, I did the same thing and she had the biggest smile on her face- as I walked over I felt like she was actually waiting to see her little buddy in the mirror, as if she knew what she was about to see. SOOO CUTE! Oh I just love this little one!
..... It's a bit funny how we get so excited when she does the littlest things!

Cheer Up Dad!!!

It seems being away from Daddy is hard on all of us! Pictures simply won't do..... so here is another video of sweet little Ems. Enjoy Daddy! We'll be home soon!!!

We Miss You Daddy!