Wisconsin memories, Pt. 2

After we landed in Wisconsin, we started the trek to Lacrosse with a shopping detour and some lunch on the way. We also took a side trip to the Wisconsin state capital building which was pretty astounding as far as capital buildings go.

After that little detour and beautiful drive we headed to meet Dan's family at a pizza place near their town. It was so great meeting his family and letting them meet Emma. Dan's cousin's daughter, Cassie, was a great friend to Emma during dinner and the reunion the next day. We also found out that we're related to a family at our church through Dan's cousin's wife, Sandy. Our family just keeps expanding.

We spent the next morning with Dan's cousin, Kevin, and Kevin's wife Vicky, and they took us on a tour of the town then to an area with a great view.

From there, we headed to Grandma Edna's 95th birthday party/Sumner family reunion.

Wisconsin memories, Pt. 1

We had planned a trip to Wisconsin and North Carolina in June to visit Dan's family. His Grandma Edna was turning 95, so there was a family reunion in Wisconsin to celebrate, and from there we figured we might as well visit his sisters and their families in North Carolina since we had never been there.

What a trip it was. It started on June 11 with a call at 6:30am that our flight had been cancelled. That caused some angst in coordinating our other arrangements for a rental car and accommodations, but we worked it out and were on our way. We got to the airport and our flight was slightly delayed, but we made it through security relatively unscathed (and with all of Emma's stuff that was no small feat) and made it to our gate.

Emma was very excited to be on her first plane ride.

We got to our layover in Dallas with time for dinner, and that turned into a plane delay, and another delay, and another. It got to the point where we weren't even going to arrive in Wisconsin until 2ish in the morning with a two hour drive to our final destination (and we wouldn't have even been able to get our rental car that late/early). We took the airline up on their offer to put us up in a hotel for the night, and book us on a flight for the next morning. Well, that meant getting to the hotel at 11pm, to sleep at midnight, and up at 4am to catch the 4:30am shuttle for a 6:30am flight. Emma was a trooper through it all but I think this picture shows how we were all feeling by that point.

If that weren't enough, when we got to the airport the next morning, we realized that they hadn't printed Emma's boarding pass the night before when they rebooked us so we had to wait until the ticketing agents started working to get her ticket. But, at least our plane left on time and she slept the entire time (from before takeoff to after landing), and we landed in Wisconsin ready for an adventure.

13 months come and gone

Just kidding!! This is just a semi-combined 6 month and 7 month letter to my sweet girl on her 7 month birthday.

Here's us celebrating your 6 month birthday at Wahoo's, which was also your first outing at 3 days old.

And here is my joy-filled sweetheart so excited to be all growed up at 7 months old, sitting up on your own and teaching your toy who's boss.

So much has happened since you were 5 months old. It's amazing how quickly you're changing! Your dad and I get the joy of seeing you every day, so sometimes we forget how much you're growing until someone sees you who hasn't seen you in a while and reminds us how big you are. But, there are moments when I watch you sleeping so peacefully and you're starting to look more and more like my little girl and less like a little baby.

In May, you took your first trip out of the state of California when we went to Nevada to see your Aunt Pamela graduate from college. As you can see, you drove the whole way.

In your sixth month, you started pushing up on your hands and toes (not your knees). This strengthened your mini-muscles to get stronger for eventual crawling and was also a very cute sight with your little bum sticking up in the air while you're on all fours.

You're still not crawling, but you have found ways to move around and get to what you want (with a very determined look on your face, no less). You push up and then plop down a few inches forward, roll from one side to the next, or just str-e-e-e-e-tch as far as you can to get what you're after. If you can't quite reach you know now how to get our attention to help you out with a little grunt. You weren't doing that a month ago.

On the eve of your six month birthday we introduced you to solid food with some pureed brown rice. You couldn't get enough and we had so much fun being part of this new experience with you.

And, here you are tonight at 7 months old enjoying zucchini, barley, and flax seed...yummy.

Since you started on solid food, you've had asparagus, avocado, zucchini, barley, apple sauce and cranberry juice, and you love it all. It's so cute seeing your mouth zone in on the spoon and then chomp down on it with such gusto. Lately you've also been grabbing the spoon and helping me feed you from time to time. You're not ready to go for it on your own, but you'll be there soon.

This month was very exciting for you for a lot of reasons. You went on your first plane ride, your first bus ride, met your great-grandma Edna and lots of great aunts and great uncles in Wisconsin, and got to see your aunts, uncles, and cousins in North Carolina. Everybody commented on how sweet and happy you are. They are all so right!

While we were in North Carolina we also celebrated your daddy's first Father's Day with your first tooth breaking through! We celebrated with a trip to Walmart, and made sweet and sour meatballs for everybody. The night ended with a bonfire in the backyard. I know your dad is so happy to have you as his little girl, and he's looking forward to many more Father's Days celebrating being your dad. A few days after that your dad and I also celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary! That's right, we've been married THAT long, and this year we celebrated with you. It's so fun getting to experience so many firsts all thanks to you being part of our lives now.

You are about a minute away from being mobile, so we lowered the mattress in your crib today so you don't try your first gymnastics move to flip out of your crib. It's just another reminder that things are changing all the time, and all the little clothes that we thought would always be too big for you are now being stored because they're too small. You love your sippy cup and you're sitting up and moving around like you've been doing it forever. I'm convinced that you say "mama" all the time, but your dad thinks that he's heard you say "dada." I'll just know that you said "mama" first :-)

My dear, we won't know what kind of parents we've been until you have kids of your own, but we're doing the very best we can and you make it super easy to be your parents. We love you so much and we always will.

Love you,

Mommy and Daddy

My first Mother's Day as a mom

I'm so thankful to my wonderful husband and daughter for the best first Mother's Day EVER. Dan made a cute shirt for Emma to wear that said "Happy First Mommy Day" and I get to choose a little something from a store that goes by the name Tiffany and Co. (I had to catch my breath when he told me). The day started this morning at church when my mom, grandma, Emma, and I were all asked to do the announcements together. After we finished giving all of the information to the congregation our pastor came up and asked us to each share something special about our moms. So, Emma ate the microphone which translates into her saying that she loves my snugs and kisses, then I said what I love about my mom, my mom said what she loves about her mom, and my grandma said what was special about her mom. It showed me what a legacy of Christ we have in our family and the prayers that have been poured into our family from the moms that have come before me. We went to lunch with the fam and then went home and took a nap before our Mother's Day dinner at Wahoo's with dessert at Yogurtland (a perfect night).

Thank you Dan and Emma for a wonderful day celebrating our family. I wouldn't be a mom without both of you and my heart overflows with love for you.

5 months

Well Emma, I'm starting to slip on the timeliness of posting your monthly letters here, but it's only because you're keeping us so busy. You have an active social life, and a waiting list of people wanting to see you and spend time with you. We hold them off for as long as we can, but there's no getting between you and your grandmas and grandpas. There are SO many people who love you so much, and we're grateful to have them all in your life.

Your most recent accomplishments have been some serious attempts at scooting, laughter like we've never heard, and recognizing us from across the room. You're sleeping more at night, and starting to get on a bit of a schedule. We love seeing your big smiles and pretty soon that smile will include a tooth or two, but there are none yet. Even the dogs have captured your attention. Bath time is more and more fun now that you're almost sitting up on your own and playing with your rubby ducky. I see more bath toys in your future.

You also introduced your feet to your mouth, and you suck on your teeny toes every chance you get...in your carseat, on the changing table, on the floor, getting ready for the bath, in the crib. It is so incredibly cute to see you so focused on getting your toes in your mouth.

The taste of sweet success...

That determination will serve you well as you continue on the path to crawling and eventually walking. You're making more noises every day, and I even captured you saying "mama" for the first time on video but daddy says that I was just hearing things.

You are learning new things every day and growing faster than we can keep up (we just cleared out a whole load of clothes that you've already outgrown). Pretty soon you'll start eating solid food, and in a couple months we'll see if the vegetables I planted in our garden will grow into anything edible. But with all of those new, exciting changes come their own set of challenges. We're just taking it one day at a time and enjoying every minute.

We love you Emma!

Mommy and Daddy