Fun with Photo Booth

Emery and I don't have too many good pictures together, and I'd like to do something to remedy that.

Since it's just the two of us for most of the day, with nary a photographer in sight, I thought we'd have some fun with the Photo Booth program on our MacBook.

Looks like only one of us was really having fun, though ... smile already, would you Emery?!

What we've been up to

It's been one of those stretches where everything and nothing seems all that blogworthy, so I've taken the easy way out and not made a peep. However, now it's been a little too long with no post, so here's a snapshot of what we've been up to, with photos and a video sprinkled throughout:

• Decorating - and I shouldn't exactly be included in "we" because our dear friend Shannon and my mom are really the only ones who have put forth real effort in getting Emery's room looking girly, tasteful and original. Curtains are still being hung, but when everything is put together, I'll post again with pics that include look at Shannon's coffee filter hydrangea wall art!
• Reuniting - after three weeks in Germany for work, Matt was more than ready to come home and also a little relieved that Emery wasn't as big in person as she looked on Skype ... yet, she still grew a lot while he was gone and I'm happy to report that it was a wonderful reunion and Emery hasn't missed a beat in giving her daddy plenty of smiles and rapt attention whenever he's nearby.

Matt's trip also afforded us a reunion with Henny and Papa, one of Emery's namesakes, her uncle Austin Emery, Aunt Jackie and cousin Tucker.

Cooking and eating - We are loving the fruits of summer. Local peaches are everywhere I turn, blueberries cropping up for cereal and pancakes, and cantaloupes just starting to make an affordable appearance at the supermarket.
Here are a few recipes we've been enjoying:

Pasta with Peas, Prosciutto and Lettuce - it might sound strange or possibly bland to you, but trust me, it's absolutely delicious, simple to make and best of all, doesn't even require you making a salad on the side!

Shaved Asparagus Pizza - also extremely simple and a wonderful combination of flavors for an unusual pizza that's worth making over and over again ... also doesn't require a salad on the side (catching a theme here? i love salads but get tired of making them!) Today for lunch, there was only one small slice left, so I made it more substantial, and even more delicious, by topping my slice with two fried eggs.

And for dessert, Salted Caramel Brownies. Need I say more?

A report on napping in dresses

Well, since last Tuesday, Emery has napped, or attempted to nap, in a wide array of dresses. Sleeveless sundresses like the one pictured above don't hinder her from snoozing, provided her vigorous kicking to the mobile song doesn't lift her frock over her head ... however, she failed to nap in her Sunday best, also pictured above, leaving me to conclude that many, but not all, dresses are made for napping.

Are dresses made for sleeping?

My mom has been giving me a very hard time for not putting Emery in dresses often enough. In my defense, most of the dresses she currently owns would look like wedding gowns on her and we're just waiting until she gets a little bigger to don them.

And don't get me wrong - I love every single dress she owns and can't wait to see her in each one of them. Pink, white, frills, smocking, bring it on!

However, since Emery is still taking three or four naps a day, I'm trying to put myself in her shoes - would I want to nap in my Sunday dress? I don't think so. Something about smocking and snuggling up for a nap just doesn't seem right to me. So should I change her every time she goes down for a nap? Just as she's getting nice and sleepy, strip her down, change her clothes and get her all alert and as well as a little irritated for the rude interruption on her way to dreamland? That doesn't seem right either.

My mom insists that she'll be fine sleeping in dresses, and in her defense, yesterday Emery went down for a nap just fine in a pretty blue dress (it was, however, a soft comfy cotton with no lace or frills to interfere with good sleeping). I think a fancier dress is on the docket for Thursday, though, so we might just do a trial run of a nap in that dress and see what happens!

Emery's favorite places

Most of Emery's favorite places are pictured above - her changing table, crib and floor gym. Today, and most days, she prefers the changing table and crib to anything else, even the floor gym. I'm really trying to figure out what it is about the changing table she likes so much. We often put a singing stuffed giraffe near her head to entertain her as we deal with messy diapers, but even without the company of giraffe she's perfectly content and it seems could happily stay there much longer than necessary!

She's also getting very comfortable with "independent play" in her crib. Numerous times I've put her down for a nap, only to peek in 20 or 30 minutes later to see her staring at her mobile and amusing herself with kicking, flailing and cooing. For a while I felt guilty whenever I saw this, thinking oh no, maybe she wasn't ready for a nap and here I've left her in her crib all this time so I could talk on the phone!

But then the obvious hit me - she's happy in her crib. This is a good thing! All the times I've beat myself up for letting her cry in her crib, and now I'm upset that she's happy in her crib? I must be crazy!

The video below is several minutes of kicking. So if you're not one of our close relatives who might be able to spend much more than several minutes watching Emery do everything from kick to sleep, feel free to watch as much or as little as you like. You'll get the gist of it pretty quickly!

From fried pickles to hand-dipped ricotta

Thanks to our parents' visits this month, Matt and I have been able to enjoy two dates made possible by free babysitting. The first was to Public House Chattanooga, which "plays to the comforts of good, solid food, while applying the principles of premium food products to a more casual setting." (their words, not mine, but nicely put, I think!)

We went there in December, actually, but just ordered dessert while our friends ordered dinner and a starter of fried pickles accompanied by bruschetta and housemade pimiento cheese. At the time I was pregnant, and what pregnant woman can resist a pickle, let alone one that's fried?! This dish has been on my mind ever since, so of course I ordered it on our date and since then have been mildly obsessed with the fried pickle as well as concerned that if the restaurant ever closes or takes this off the menu, what in the world will I do?

Lo and behold, on my way to the grocery store this weekend I happened to notice a restaurant much more casual than Public House, more like a diner, and it actually has a drive thru ... as well as a sign out front indicating they serve fried dill pickles.

You can imagine my relief and elation in learning that I could indulge myself without even getting out of the car (a true bonus with a baby) on an outing I make at least once a week?! God bless the South and its deep fryers.

Just this past weekend we dined at Alleia, one of Chattanooga's most popular new restaurants. An Italian restaurant, it has a very urban, yet rustic feel to it. Beautiful inside. And the appetizer we had there has gotten my mind off fried pickles on bruschetta (for the meantime), and onto hand-dipped ricotta on bruschetta with local honey and fresh thyme. Amazing. All I want to do is recreate this, as I have thyme growing like crazy outside, but I hesitate to do so with my Walmart honey and Publix ricotta that's verging on expiration.

Not sure hand-dipped ricotta (whatever that really is!) is in the grocery budget this month, but a fried dill pickle at the drive-thru? That I can spring for. Whew!

Miscellaneous

I've been putting off blogging recently because I'm just not sure what to blog about ... I feel so scattered these days. For example, twice now in the last week or so I've had a pot on the stove and forgotten all about it, only to return later and find all the water evaporated! Perhaps this is what having a baby will do to you?

Here's some of what's been going on:

• Sleeping (Emery that is, not really me) - of all the baby books I've read, my favorite has been "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. The best thing I've taken away so far is that up till about four months old, infants can't tolerate being awake more than two hours at a time. This little fact has taken all the guesswork out of understanding Emery's meltdowns! It also means I have to become a sleep nazi, which isn't always fun ... however, having a well rested, contented child is a ton of fun, so sleep nazi I will be! Dr. Weissbluth also says that sleep begets sleep - this is very reassuring, especially on days when Emery seems to barely be awake and I start to get nervous about what that means for the night ahead.
• Talking- I've heard that it's good to talk to your baby a lot, so I'm trying to do that, but I must confess, it's not always easy. Right now, even though she's getting more interactive, it's usually like talking to a wall. Sometimes I feel a little ridiculous giving her a play-by-play of what I'm up to, what we're going to do next, etc. when I often don't even get a coo in response! Her stuffed singing giraffe gets more of a response out of her than her own mother! But I will not give up. I will not be bested by a stuffed animal.
  
• One errand a day - In my endeavor to respect Emery's need to sleep, I try to limit us to one errand/outing a day. This requires a lot of willpower since we're in a new town and there's a lot I'd like to see and do, and a lot I need to buy and do, too. Now I realize how much I took for granted the ability to run out and do whatever I wanted pre-motherhood, because no matter how hard I try, it always seems like we end up at Walmart or the grocery store! In all honesty, though, I'm thrilled that I'm able to go to both of these places, that Emery is so easy to take out, and that one of these days I'll be able to squeeze in a trip to the dry cleaners, too!