Emery's haven

First, let it be said that I am no perfectionist and did not go to great lengths to stage perfect shots of Emery's nursery. If I had, well, this post would still be a long time coming! Also, do not be concerned that giraffe is suffocating Emery. She feels that he makes for an excellent eye mask to block out the sun.

I wish I had a picture

of the look on Emery's face when we took her to the church nursery for the first time today. Dumbfounded might be the best way to describe it, for I don't think she had ever been that close to so many other children, most of whom were mildly to majorly in distress for much of the time.

Fortunately, since she has just woken up from a nap and didn't have an empty stomach, Emery remained calm and low-maintenance and didn't require the loving arms of the nursery workers busily occupied with tearful babies. When I went into the nursery midway through the service to feed Emery, I found her sitting in a swing just staring at the chaos, not really appearing like she needed to get out of there, but not entirely enthralled with the whole situation either. Just tolerant.

As I fed Emery and watched the crawlers eating Cheerios off the carpet and one boy sucking on the wrong bottle, I was reminded, yet again, that my germophobia will soon rear its ugly head in the very near future. I immediately began making mental lists with items like "don't bring bottle or cup to nursery, try to make sure she's full and hydrated beforehand; give Emery her own Cheerio cup that keeps them from falling out and try to teach her to only eat from it, etc." all the while knowing the absolute absurdity in my scheming.

Then, feeling half-guilty for then abandoning her again in all the commotion, and half-relieved to return to the calm and order of the church service, I departed ... and returned 30 minutes later to the same dumbfounded stare. Gratefully, I rescued her from the chaos, showered her with many congratulations and kisses and we proudly departed, I wondering how I'd muster up the courage to return again and Emery likely wondering what in the world was that all about?!

Going, going, gone!

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!