Building a Cushion Fort with Dad

Ben had a great time building a cushion fort with E. Emerson's favorite part was destroying it, and as you can tell by his face, it was serious business.

Little E at the Park

He LOVES the slide. He can't help but smile on the way down.

I like that he looks like the bear on his shirt

My big boy on the swing

He still has the same arms hooked around the swing as a few months ago but he looks bigger!

We've had some nice springlike days around here the past while, so E and I have made lots of trips to the little park in our neighborhood. It's so much fun! I love that he's getting big enough to play. I think it's just going to get better, too. He just loves being outside.

Baby Einstein

Baby Einstein and I have a love/hate relationship. But let me back up. I'm blogging right now at 8:04 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and I've been up since 6:30 when my child awoke screaming. He cried on and off for about an hour and screamed bloody murder when I put him in his bed because I mistakenly thought he had calmed down enough to fall back asleep by himself. Silly me. I finally decided to come downstairs and give him some breakfast which consisted of rice cereal and some banana. (His new thing is taking bites off the banana while I hold it. That's much cooler than picking up diced pieces of banana off the tray.) Lately he's been downing bananas like mad. He cries whenever he's done.
So back to Baby Einstein. I turned it on for Emerson after breakfast so I could do stuff. This is the main reason for even owning Baby Einstein. I have no idea whether it makes kids smarter or dumber, but it keeps them occupied...whatever. I love the fact that his face lights up and he makes excited babbles when the music comes on and the caterpillar crawls across the screen. And I think it's adorable that he sits down and folds his little hands in his lap and pays careful attention to all the puppets and toys they show. I like that they have some mesmerizing things on there to watch as well. I especially like the tornado thing on Baby Mozart. It's really cool. I'm also a fan of Baby MacDonald. There are a few things I can't stand though. I get tired of the same ones over and over. The main lady's voice grates on my nerves. When I'm in the other room doing something and I hear her stupid voice saying over and over "Get up" or "Stand up" in time with the music I want to tear my hair out and scream. Another annoying thing is the hand model on all the movies. For those of you who have never experienced Baby Einstein, let me explain. There is a disembodied hand that demonstrates a lot of the toys while the music plays. The female hand is all stiff and unnatural. It just looks so robotic and weird. And it bugs me. My favorite was when she had a scabbed-over gash on her hand and you couldn't help staring at it while she was showing some mesmerizing toy. (Ok so maybe gash is a little much, but it was a visible wound.) Anyway...I like it and I don't. I think I'm going to have to try Elmo's World pretty soon as my friend suggested so I don't go all the way crazy.

Friend Sippy Cup

This is where the friends spend most of their time. They push each other down, play with the spring doorstopper, suck on highlighters, and play peekaboo with the curtain.

The little men

Emerson figuring out the sippy cup. Notice all the milk spatters around his eye.

So I've been trying to get Emerson to catch on to the sippy cup. He refuses to take a bottle, and I don't want to go through the process of weaning him from the bottle anyway...But he hasn't been real friendly to the sippy until he was really thirsty. And until he saw that Tucker had a cool milk container as well. Genius. I just let Emerson watch Tucker drink from his cool milk holder for a minute and then handed him his, and boom he layed down and away he went on the formula. I'm really excited to be done with breastfeeding, but there's a small part of me that's sad too. My little boy won't need me anymore and I'm not going to be special. :( Don't worry, I'll survive. Especially when I don't have to strategically plan my outfits for church to give easy access. *Wink* Goodbye skirts, hello dresses. Although, it is fun to give and receive a good flash here every now and then in the Mothers' lounge when you realize either your dress top won't pull down quite far enough or you have to retuck your camisole at the end. It's always a party.

Trip to Virginia

Uncle Tim and E in their matching shirts

Just chillin'

E and Dad at Manassas Battlefield

Little E and Kennedy...Family resemblance?

E and Alli in their snazzy jammies

Alli and Emerson watching Baby Einstein together

Kens and E swaddled up with their daddies

Kennedy and Emerson playing

The Little Christensens in Washington D.C.

Ben at the Jefferson Memorial

Ben at the FDR Memorial

Wind and FDR

Uncle Ben reading a story

Last weekend we took a little trip to Virginia to visit Tim, Brooke, Alli, and Kennedy before they move to Peru. It was a 7 hour drive, but Emerson was very good. He was very entertained by his new big boy carseat, a variety of snacks, and a few hours' worth of peekaboo. We had a great time watching Emerson play with his cousins, going into D.C., going to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, rollin' in the Pilot, playing games, and just hanging out. Thanks for all the fun! We're sad you're going to be moving so far away.

11 Months Old!

It was a toss up of which picture I should use to document Emerson's 11 month mark. They all demonstrate his funny little personality. At 11 months Emerson:
*Gets excited when the Baby Einstein caterpillar thing crawls across the tv screen.
*Cries when mom leaves home without him. (With Ben watching him of course.)
*Can clap his hands and wave! (The biggest, most awaited accomplishment.)
*Is getting dangerously close to saying "Hi" "Mom" and "Dad"
*Occasionally toddles around when he wants to
*Crawls at the speed of light to the dishwasher to "help" mommy.
*Smashes his fingers in doors because he loves to open and shut them.
*Stops playing to look at his truck book all by himself.
*Does all the activities in his Pat the Bunny book, including turning the pages.
*Drops things off his high chair tray and then tries to look over the side at where they went.
*Has figured out how to put a blanket over his eyes to play peekaboo.
*Refuses to stay still while having his diaper changed.
*Has discovered that the DVDs come off the shelf...and loves pulling them off and throwing them.
*Has started eating table food and hates mashed potatoes.
*Has begun the weaning process. (Hooray!!)

Emerson Walking For Real

Ok Grandma and Grandpa. Here is Emerson walking for real. This is the best we could do with our silly boy. Only 29 days until you come visit! Hooray! (Sorry the video is so dark. I'm not sure why...)