Non-stop action!

Walking with Daddy. This is what we do, 'round and 'round and 'round the house. All day.

She now squirms out of our arms when we are holding her and just grabs at our pants until she can reach our fingers. Walking and walking and walking. (her feet are hanging out in the PJ's picture-her Daddy doesn't have the patience to snap her legs back in the footed part after her diaper change)

Well- it happened. Emma beat me to the doggie bowl this morning and stuck a piece of kibble in her mouth. Luckily I swooped it right out, but for now, the doggie food is being moved out of her reach when Matti isn't eating. Here she is looking for crumbs. She just kept crawling back there- no matter where I put her down, she was right back there within seconds. We had a very busy day today.

You would think I starve my child! I brought her to the park today, and of course, she wanted to walk around. So as we were walking on the mulch near the playground, she reached down and grabbed a handful. I was thinking it was great that she was exploring textures- never even imagined she would shove the whole thing in her mouth!!!! Gah-ross! Again, mommy to the rescue scooping dirt out of her mouth. Then making her rinse with water. Yuck.

Yet another example of our VERY BUSY DAY today. Thank goodness she has not yet discovered that she can fit through that doggie door!


......dreaming of freedom

Emma is a big fan of kissing her picture/reflection. It is more like "licking" her reflection- but still cute!

She is just a ball of energy. Wow. I thought this would happen gradually, but I feel like it happened overnight! Time for me to get moving!!

Just Because I Love Her

I thought I'd post some pictures from today, she is just too darn cute not to! For some reason I decided to get her all dressed up, but I stayed in my PJ's all day. Just couldn't muster up the energy to get out and do anything productive for the day.

Matti found himself a new doggie bed.

I think she looks like she is ready for aerobics here. It must be the black spandex pants with the headband. This outfit wasn't as cute on her as it was on the hanger. Plus, I found out why kids don't usually wear black.... it shows EVERY little bit of dirt they pick up from playing around on the floor. Also, note to self, a dress isn't really ideal for a crawling baby!

Can't get enough of that face!!!

Almost There!!!!!

We are almost there... Felix will be home in just 2 short days. Our busy week has come to an end, with a wonderful playdate this afternoon. It was Emma's first big playdate that we hosted and we had a lot of fun. I even set out snacks for the kiddows... a bowl mixed with mini goldfish, cheerios, and puffs!There were 3 boys and 3 girls. How cute. The babies seemed to be more interested in playing with the toys than each other, but they had fun and so did the mamas.

So just humor me here as I list our activities we did all week since Felix left. It amazes me how a task that used to be a quick 10 minute thing after work is now something that takes an entire day.

Thursday: Went to the mall to play in the kidzone, met a new friend, and Emma & I enjoyed dinner together in the food court.

Friday: Taught aerobics w/Emma in tow, went on a walk with a new moms group.

Saturday: Went on a walk around the neighborhood with some friends, played in the backyard, went grocery shopping.

Sunday: Raked a bazillion weeds out of the backyard and then with the help of some friends and their truck, picked up some new chairs for our dining room table. Matti even got some time to play with our friends doggie in our backyard.

Monday: Killed a gigantic spider in the morning. No exaggeration. Gigantic. Then- lunch with Kristy in Providence, then Emma crawled all over her apartment for the rest of the day. Bought (the wrong) paint for the playroom wall at Home Depot. I primed the playroom wall that evening and painted our dining room chairs.

Tuesday: Gardening. Emma watched outside and then we played on our picnic blanket for as long as the sun was shining! Returned the wrong paint to Home Depot and bought the correct one. Did Emmas laundry that evening.

Wednesday: Emma had her professional 9 month pix taken, a playdate at the mall kidzone with our new friend from last week, then I painted the playroom wall, 2 coats, and was exhausted.

Thursday: Walked to lunch on our little downtown street with a former co-worker of mine. Tried a new place that was really good- and Emma sat in her stroller for an entire hour during lunch without whining at all! Cleaned the floors and bathrooms that evening and cleaned all of Emmas toys with disinfectant.

Friday: Taught aerobics w/Emma in tow (and a perfect angel might I add). Then hosted the playdate this afternoon. So fun.

Tomorrow I think we will do some more gardening and play outside to take advantage of the beautiful day. We do need to go pick up a few things at the store. Then on Sunday we are having lunch with a friend and bringing Matti to his playdate. And Monday morning... Emma gets to wake up to her DADDY!!! YEAY!!!

Uh Oh....

8 Nights Down, 3 More To Go!!

Counting down the days until we get our Daddy back!

Emma was not excited about taking her morning nap on Saturday. She stood up in the crib after I put her down and refused to lie back down. As I was watching her on the monitor- she cried for about 20 minutes and then sat down, pulled the blankets up between her legs, leaned forward, and fell asleep! Here is a picture I took of her through the monitor. She was actually snoring. (I was not willing to snap a photo in her room incase I woke her up!)
can you see her in the pic? She is sitting on her tush- towards the lower left of the photo, her back is towards us, and she is leaning over with her face down, so that is the back of her head. Her blanket is scrunched up in front of her.

Tired. Tired. Tired.

That about explains it! Felix has been working hard out in California with the team for the past week, and Emma and I have been alone at home without him, trying to make the best of it.

I thought it would be a good idea to really pack our days full of stuff to do while Felix was away so we wouldn't have time to realize how lonely we are at home without him! Wow am I exhausted. It has been great though, because Emma is exhausted as well.

I am thinking there is something in Emma's sippy cup water since Felix left, because this little girl of ours suddenly developed "super speed powers"! And a crazy need to explore everything in sight.

Sneaking over to munch on the computer wire.

I am loving watching her learn new things about the world around her. I am also getting quite the workout myself following her everywhere and diving in to catch her before a major injury occurs! This morning- she crawled over to the kitchen table, pulled herself up using the chair, then reached up to hold on to the tabletop while lifting her feet off the ground. She was about to fall flat on her face, but I caught her just in time.

Why the blurry picture? Because I had to throw the camera down as the photo took since she was trying to take the laundry basket off the couch and was about to lose that slippery battle! However- she does have a very strong grip!! I picked her up to move her away from the chaise....and she held on to the basket the entire time as I brought her (and the basket) to safely play on the carpet.

Oh, Felix my love. We can't wait to see your smiling face again. And for "your mornings" to get Emma out of the crib :)

You Decide

I think she is throwing the ball. I was showing her how to do it, and then this video followed. Others may feel as though she just has "butter fingers"....or as we say out here "buttah fingahs".

Either way, I'm happy. This is the first toy she has actually played with, without trying to eat it first. Why did it have to be the dog's toy?!!!

I called Felix to tell him she throws the ball, and what do you think his first question was? "Which arm does she use?". Thats what you get when your daddy is a coach!

Warning: You may want to mute your computer. My voice is even annoying to me!

Doesn't Matti seem like we have him trained really well?!!! We don't. I was actually surprised he didn't fight her for that ball. Maybe EMMA has him trained well!!!

"Match Day"

For those doctors out there, you know what I am talking about.
My very own cousin, Brian Eule, wrote the book "Match Day". I am just starting the book and it is really quite interesting. I'm sure anyone who reads it has either experienced this themselves, or knows someone who has. Personally, I am nosy and like to see inside the lives of others, so this book is just perfect for me! As is the world of blogging!!

Two of my friends just recently went through Match Day, and although I knew I should be rooting for them, and excited for the phone call when they told me what program accepted them- I had no idea what it actually entailed.

So interesting to learn and read, and might I say, I am very proud of Brian, what an accomplishment (you too Steph!! ha)! I am definitely not qualified to write a review for the book, so I will not try (as a favor to Bri), but I wanted to share with all of you.

Although I used to think Brian & I would have a career together as a news reporter (him) and film crew(me), I still take comfort in knowing I had just the teeniest bit to do with this "other" career choice of his, and have since forgiven him for leaving me hanging in the wind. I am happy to announce that I did host his visit to the Boston area while he did some research for the book (I'm pretty sure it was for this book.... hmm...details, details.). During his first visit, he actually spent the night in my studio apartment on a deflated air mattress ( I didnt know I was supposed to charge the pump in advance!!), snuggling with Matti Watkins. And on his 2nd visit to my next apartment where Felix & I lived, although he did have his own bedroom this time, along with an INflated air mattress, I almost made him miss his train ride home by assuring him that I could drop him off at a different station to catch the same train. I was wrong.

Talk about commitment to the job!

Congrats Brian, job well done. And Felix wants you to know, he is YOUR biggest fan!

I too, will always need my mommy.

This is my life. She is my wonderful, beautiful life. I would do anything for her, as any mother would for their child, and because of that, I am more committed than ever to take good care of myself! No longer is my fitness goal solely focused on being able to run (i use this term loosely!), fitting into my smallest jeans, or eliminating my best buddy, Mr.Lovehandle.
I realized today, that the most important thing I can do for my daughter is to be healthy myself. I need to have a healthy mind, heart, and body to do good by her. I need to be there to listen to her and guide her, play with her, hug her, cheer for her, and help her to be happy and confident. I am her mother. And she will need me to be there for her, for the rest of her life.

So Thank You to my mommy, who I will always need to be there for me for the rest of MY life.

Emma's New Kicks!

Not walking yet... but very close! She now takes her toy walker and goes all over the house by herself. And, the weather is perfect for taking her in the stroller outside now, so we felt it was about time to get her a pair of shoes to keep her toes nice & warm!
Good thing we tried the shoes on at the store, because little miss Emma has feet that I affectionately call... "double wide"! We had a gift certificate for Baby Gap and they happen to sell Robeez there...so we thought we would spoil her and get the real thing. We couldn't even squeeze her feet in the original style that has the tongue of the shoe that goes all the way to the ankle. But we weren't upset- these little mary janes were too cute to pass up!!

9 Months Old.... and Very Busy!

Wow! My little Emma Grace turned 9 months old.
Milestones so far? Well, she has 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom), she can push and walk with her walker toy, holds her arms out for us to pick her up and give her lots and lots of hugs, pulls up and stands without holding onto anything for a few seconds, signs "more" every once in a while, and she knows where her belly is when we ask (every now and then), eats anything and everything- whether it is food or not, climbs onto and over and under anything, dances when Sid the Science Kid comes on PBS, laughs and squeals, and really interacts with us.....she has become quite my little buddy- and she just LOVES it when her Daddy comes home and dances for her!
And she officially bit me while nursing today! She stopped drinking, looked up at me and CHOMP...with a little smile. Oh boy. In an attempt not to panic and have her bite even harder I looked at her and calmly said "no" and sat her up and told her she was "all done". woohoo- that could have gone a lot worse!
And she is ON THE MOVE!

Climbing up on anything and everything. Walls included (although no pic of that)! We are really going to have to keep an eye on this little one. All of these pictures were taken this evening in about 20 minutes- she was all over the place.

Extremely interested in the details...... she really likes to take her time and examine things very carefully.....then usually tries to eat it.



Speaking of eating- that has become quite difficult in the Mercado household! Felix & I can't eat anything without Emma climbing on us to have some herself. Gone are the days when Felix could sit on the couch with his cup of coffee and breakfast and watch Sports Center in peace & quiet!

Felix gave in and is feeding her some crumbs.

Emma has a very brave mommy!!!!!

Last week, we were spoiled with 2 warm days filled with sunshine so I really wanted to take advantage of the weather and hang Emma's new swing outside. Felix was out of town, so I had to do this all on my own. My plan was to take an old leash of Matti's and try to throw it around the tree branches and then attach the swing to it.

Look at how high the tree is! You can't even see the top of it in this picture. So clearly, my throwing skills were not good enough. But I couldn't let my little girl down..... look at this smile...

So I actually got out our huge ladder, climbed up and, without looking down- threw the leash around the tree (since I STILL couldnt reach it) and successfully attached the swing. It was very high and very scary, I think I was shaking the entire time- but boy was it worth it!!! I liked that I was able to do it myself.

Next up..... I am going to attempt to grow peppers in my garden. I'll keep you posted on that one!!

Look at her go!

How my life has changed!

It is interesting to step back and take a look at my life now, versus how I always imagined it would be.

When I was very little, all I wanted to do was be a teacher. My poor little sister was always forced to be my fake student and I would actually make her complete fake school assignments or I would send her to the fake principals office. I even had a chalkboard and teacher editions of school books. Very serious.

Then somewhere along the way I lost all interest/tolerance for kids and decided teaching was not for me.

At 13, I had extensive knee surgery followed by months of physical therapy. I decided at that point I was going to be a physical therapist. This stayed with me through college, until I realized I really get grossed out having to touch strangers, especially having to see/handle blood, scars, pain, etc. and was very bored during my internships while I was helping elderly patients with ice packs or heating pads.

I considered becoming an Athletic Trainer, but ugh, having to go to all those sporting events would drive me insane.

I then thought I would pursue a career in biomedical engineering. Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.

As a sophomore in college, I started teaching aerobics and working as a personal trainer, and in the end, using my stellar organizational skills coupled with my math & science brain, and passion for health & fitness, I decided to enter the world of exercise physiology and sports management.

My thoughts exactly!

However. Look at me now. My career led me to work at the fitness center at MIT where I met the love of my life, who happens to be from my home state. So visiting "home" is never complicated! In addition, my skills as an aerobics instructor have come in quite handy as I get to teach a couple hours a week and still enjoy being a stay at home mom! And my husband's career has me in the 1st row of the bleachers cheering him on every game I can get to. Yeay for sporting events.

And who knew...I would LOVE kids and hope to have 4 kids of my own one day , and deal with some of the most disgusting bodily fluids ever- a runny nose is nothin'!!

So, at 28 years old, married to an amazing husband and incredible father, and getting to stay at home with a baby & a dog- I would say life is pretty darn good!

Of course, I definitely have days where I long for a brand new house with a garage, a jacuzzi tub, and gigantic kitchen. I certainly miss my family and friends back home in Florida A TON. And I wouldn't mind a few palm trees, central air, and sunshine 365 days/year.

But- I have grown so much this past year. While I have always been pretty shy and way out of my comfort zone when I am alone in a strange environment - I have found that as a new mom in a new town, I have been forcing myself to get out for playdates, etc. and now, 8 months later, I realized that I have become quite comfortable striking up a conversation with a complete stranger!!

I have also found that I would much rather spend my time being with Emma then spending hours at the gym. I enjoy a walk with Emma much more than I enjoy watching TV while on an elliptical machine.

Another new thing motherhood has changed about me is that I now think twice before going on my shopping sprees that I used to do weekly, before motherhood! Now, a trip to the mall basically means enjoying some lunch with Emma and spending an hour in the childrens play area with the other little kids, making sure Emma doesn't get trampled on.

Emma enjoying her first taste of Arby's in the mall.

And I have come to really love our old, character-filled home! Sometimes I feel like we live on the set of the movie Sweet Home Alabama, or Man on the Moon. I never realized how much I really love small town style living. While it is not REALLY small town, it is definitely a lot smaller than Boston and West Palm. Everything is relative I guess!
As an outsider looking in, my impression of the town felt very different than it does now that we have lived here over a year. When I first drove by and looked at our house, there were chickens walking around in my front yard!!!!!
There were no subdivisions with grand entrance signs and palm trees, no gated communities, and nothing really felt like a "neighborhood" to me.

There is definitely the small town feel, with the tree lined "downtown" street and mom & pop shops. In fact, I just read that our town was rated one of safest places to live! The farm fences surrounding some beautiful gardens in some of the homes, I just love walking around my neighborhood. Yes, I realized there can still be a neighborhood without the entrance sign! And I love that I can walk 20 minutes from my house to the store for some "penny candy" or hot cocoa, indulge in Shirley's homemade chocolates, meet some friends at a delicious sandwhich shop, visit our local friendly butcher (who unfortunately sells so much fish the place is a bit too smelly for me) or go and get my hair done. Yet, if I get in the car and drive a bit further, I have our grocery store and miles of strip malls filled with entertainment, dining, and shopping.

The elementary school is a short walk away from our house, behind the Town Hall, and they have a great field and little playground to play in. A pool that is open to the community, and lots of community/recreational events are held there.

The homes have history. Some are absolutely beautiful, and some..... well, they are a work in progress. But they are all unique- no cookie cutter homes here! And the pond, just a short walk behind our house- reminds me of the movie "man on the moon". I can't wait for summer to watch all the kids playing in the water on little canoes or blow up boats.

Emma & Matti looking out the front window together. We are getting excited because it has been over 30deg. lately!

And motherhood just gets better and better by the day (which is hard to imagine!). Our little munchkin is ON THE MOVE! No walking yet, but she can crawl and climb like a champ. She likes to climb on us and give a quick little hug before lunging for the nearest toy that catches her eye. And those little hugs are just the best.

Each day Emma grows she learns more and more, and communicates to us in so many different ways. It is truly amazing the way I can tell if she needs help sitting down, or is hungry, or tired, or wants a toy (or our food)- just by watching her body language or the difference in her cries. Such a little miracle she is. Felix & I are truly enjoying our little Emma- and we look forward to each and every day with her.