Photos from September 2009

Emerson's big adventure was her first ex-utero trip to Austin. We couldn't see everyone, but we'll be back! The other big exciting thing was spending Yom Kippur with Grandma, Patat, Josh and Jen. We found pumpkins, went for a nature walk in North Philly, and ate very well. This month Emerson mastered long sentences (e.g. "I don't want this - Mommy, you eat it"), learned many of her colors (brown, grey, black, silver, etc), counted to ten....although she often skiped the number 4, said her abc's... Emerson started voicing her preferences. "Would you like some lasagna for dinner?" "Ummmmmm, no. Yogurt." When the choice is not there, we no longer ask questions. Her favorite activity by far has been Shabbat. She loves singing the prayers, lighting the candles and eating the challah. See you next month!

Photos from August 2009

August was another great month with Sweet Emerson Raine. She proved herself to be quite the water baby this month. She's talking up a storm, "Emerson read to self," "Daddy do dat please," "yellow car, blue car." Hanging out with daddy's college friends (Jesse, Kate, and Melissa) and mommy's family is always fun. Lots of drriving this month, but well worth the trip. Thank you family and friends for spending time with me.

Photos from July 2009

Sweet little Emerson Raine turned 19 months in July. Her motor coordination has really taken off - everything from swinging from bars, to going down slides on her knees, to surfing her grandfather's pool. She loves to sing her ABCs, Ba Ba Black Sheep, Ring Around the Rosie, among others. She's exploring her independence (playing by herself when we're in the house, wandering away from us in familiar places, telling us NO! when she doesn't want us to do something). She also gives us sweet cuddles and kisses. This month's pictures are mostly from playgrounds in Philly, Madison, and Cape Cod. Enjoy!

Emerson at the playground - July 23, 2009

I took this video of Emerson with my cell phone camera. Quality is bad, but the subject is adorable.

Photos from June 2009

June was travel month! She went to Florida for her great-grandfather's 100th birthday party; Alexandria to visit Jonathan's parents, Martha Weiss and Pat Tiedt; Madison to visit Randi's parents and grandparents; New York to see Jonathan's oldest friend Jennifer Bernstein and her family, and Randi's college friend Cindy Conti. She spent a lot of time on swings, putting three and four word sentences together, practicing saying "no," and generally being adorable.

Photos from May 2009

Emerson continues to add words and teeth. She is stringing two and three words together, such as "I did it!" and "No Emmy sock!" She's all about her anatomy - says "elbow" and "wrist" and knows where her clavicle is (and loves to be tickled there). She had three molars cut through in the same week (painful for all of us). She's becoming more sure-footed and is climbing everywhere. She started daycare at the Germantown Jewish Center in May and loves it. We've really enjoyed spending time outside going for walks, finger painting, hanging out at the playground, and riding horses. Oh - we're back to monthly emails. Enjoy!

Photos from and March and April 2009

You've waited patiently and here they are - photos of me (Emerson) from March & April 2009. These past two months have been amazing. I'm talking up a storm (bye bye dada, hi mama, uh oh baby...). My hair is getting longer and the curls remain. I'm trying to jump, but can't quite get the hang of it. I love to dance when mommy and daddy sing "Twinkle Twinkle." The warm weather has made for some awesome outings to the park. I had a great time at my second Passover Seder and met so many cousins. I saw more cousins at my daddy's Ph.D. graduation in Pittsburgh (shout out to my buddy Kamal - I put in a before and after photo). My neighborhood is getting beautiful - you should come visit me!

Photos from January and February 2009

I have had a great couple of months. I have been walking with speed and determination. I say many new words now including "Yellow, up, down, that, yummmm, no, yes, bye bye and (my favorite word) hi." I can tell you what a doggy, a cat, a cow and an owl all say. I blow kisses and I love to dance and sing. When I am ready to sing and dance, I shake my butt and say "La la." My mommy and daddy know that this means it is time to turn on some music. I can tell you where my belly, my toes, my head and my nose is. And, if you ask me what my name is, I say "Emmmmmmmm." Enough bragging. Now, just sit back, relax and enjoy how cute I am.

Mornings with Emerson

Hey - Jonathan here. I was looking over the blogs for last year and realized that I don't have much that describes some of the basic and delightful moments Randi and I have with Emerson. Sweet little girl has only been alive for a year, but I'm already starting to forget what our morning routine was like 6 months ago, what meals were like, bathtime, etc. The moments are so precious and they are so fleeting.

Emerson is so happy when she wakes up. She'll play by herself for 15 - 20 minutes. I don't know what she's doing in her crib, but I hear some babbling, cooing, some moving around. She'll sometimes sit silently and play with her fingers. We get big smiles when we come get her in the morning. She is instantly curious about everything in her room. I pick her up, she gives me a kiss, and then starts scanning the room. Her eyes rest on some random point in the distance and with great urgency says, "dat!" She could be pointing to the light switch, the door, the hook in the door, the color of the paint, to the object known as mom (keeper of the breast milk) that awaits beyond the door - I have no idea. I walk towards what I think she's pointing at and her gaze shifts, keeping me guessing. The good news is that she doesn't really care what we end up getting or doing. She's just happy to get something in her hand (and eventually her mouth). I love every minute of it.

Update

Emerson is entering a time of very visible developmental changes: she's walking 15 - 20 steps at a time; she's mimicking our tone of voice and words (even though she can't actually pronounce them); today she started doing a very basic version of the hand motions for "itsy-bitsy spider;" she also anticipates when I'm going to tickle her or chase after her. She loves giving kisses, but only to people she knows. She's a total delight.

Photos from December, 2008

December - what a month! Emerson turned one on the 19th. She had a great time eating healthful birthday muffins and playing at the "Please Touch Museum" in Philadelphia (see the "birthday child" pix). She saw old friends Naomi, and family Zayde, and Mildred and Bernie. She went down to DC to spend Chrismukkah with Nana Joan, Ba, Pia, Tom and Benjamin. She met Jonathan's high school friends, and our dear friends from Austin, the Olsons. She's walking, sort of saying a bunch of words, and fake sneezing (so cute, I know).

We hope you've enjoyed this year's monthly photos. We're moving to an every-other-month schedule for Year Two, so expect the round in March.



Happy 2009.

love,
jonathan, randi and emerson

Emerson eats toast and goat cheese

Emerson's Zayde, Paul, captured a daily ritual - toast and goat cheese. She has a tooth coming in. She's adorable.

Photos from November, 2008

Emerson started walking with assistance this month. She loves to push things around (boxes, walkers, etc). She claps, says "daDA" and mimics those around her. We had a lot of opportunity to be around friends and family. Emerson got to hang with our fellow Philly friend Cath. Brad, Danielle and Cameron came down for a visit. We celebrated cousin Jesse's Bat Mitzvah in Boston, had Thanksgiving with Randi's parents and were able to see Pia and her family on our way up. Emerson continues to be the chillest baby ever. She turns 1 on December 19th. Enjoy the pictures.

Yes We Did!!!

Emerson could not be happier about the outcome of tonight's election. I am hopeful that she will be 8 years old when Barack Obama leaves office, and 16 when Michelle Obama leaves her 8 years as president.

Emerson's first Halloween

Emerson dressed up all purty for her first Halloween. She was so cute, we had to put her in two costumes!

Photos from October, 2008

October was another month of firsts. I started crawling and pulling myself up. I started clapping and giving kisses (I don't know why my parents love that so much!) My parents think I'm saying "mama" but I'm really saying "Obama." I'm getting teeth, but they haven't come in yet (my parents hope they come in soon so we can all get some good sleep). I celebrated my first Halloween. I visited a lot of people this month: I went to my very first birthday party when my friend Gyiasi turned one. I went over to Catherine and Charlie's house for the very first time (and got to play with Mr. and Mrs. Cugell). My cousin Benjamin and I ate dinner together over Skype. I went to New Haven and saw my grandparents and hung with my friend Cameron. I can't imagine that 11 months could be any better than this, but that's what all the big kids say. Enjoy!

Photos from September, 2008

September was a great month for Emerson - she spent time with family, celebrated her first Rosh Hashana, ate new foods, saw her 401K lose half its value, learned to crawl, etc. Good times, you know... Enjoy this month's batch of pix.

Who's in charge?

Emerson loves her Cherrios

Photos from August, 2008

August was a big month for Emerson. She started moving around by herself (backwards crawling, rolling here and there). She waves "hi" and "bye." She says "mamamamam" and "adadadad." She can pull herself up. She also had her first taste of stranger anxiety, is teething and having some trouble sleeping through the night. She is the master of object permanence (cries when her toy is taken away). But, she knows all of her colors in Spanish! She went to the Fins family reunion for the first time. She saw all of her grandparents and 1/2 of her great-grandparents in August. She met daddy's friends from college, Jesse, David, Melissa, and Kate. Mom went back to work and Amanda, our nanny, started taking wonderful care of the little girl and her friend Giasi.

Emerson update - August 20, 2008

Emerson is having a great August. Or, at least we're having a great time with her. It is always hard to tell what is good for her and what is good for us. She's having a "growth spirt" of sorts:

August 17: For the first time, Emerson pulled herself towards her favorite toy. She was at Clark University on a very slick floor and used her hands to drag herself about 10 inches. She doesn't crawl, nor has she seemed to want to. But today it seemed like she was willing to pull herself forward.

August 17: Emerson screamed bloody murder when Jona handed her to Joshua. Although she's had that reaction to others in the past, it usually was an isolated event. She continued to demonstrate mild anxiety when being passed to others for the rest of the week. In contrast, she got the biggest, most delightful smile when she saw mom or dad. As Pia said, "this is the beginning of the end of the 'easy' hand-off." Beginning of stranger anxiety?

August 18: Emerson waved "bye" to Randi. A number of people told us that they thought she was waving "bye" (including our neighbor Jobina, and most of Randi's family). We didn't believe it. So, we sat her down on the bed and tested her. Randi waved "bye," said "bye-bye" and then stopped waving. Emerson waited about 5 seconds and then raised one hand and flapped it three or four times. We repeated this experiment five times. Emerson "waved" all but the last. Perhaps her anxiety about being left by mom and dad is developmentally related to her waving: she has developed object permanence and is therefore aware when someone or something is leaving her. Because she knows when someone is leaving, she is able to wave "bye." Or maybe she's just getting better at mimicking and the two have nothing to do with each other.

August 21: Emerson rolled from the play mat to Jona's shoes. It is the beginning of the end. Now we have to keep Jona's smelly shoes away from her.

Photos from July, 2008

Emerson turned 7 months in July (notice a trend?). Emerson spent some quality time with her maternal great-grandparents, Bea and Irv. She experienced her first wedding - Randi's cousin Amy. She got nice cuddle time with Randi's mom and dad. Randi and Emerson spent a lot of quality time together (walks in the rain, dressing alike, cuddling in bed...). Emerson started eating solid food on a regular basis. She got to meet Texas friends Dave, Vangie and Riddley, and get special cuddles with Meredith. She loves the new house in Philly and hardly mentions Pittsburgh - how quickly they forget.

Emerson Eats - July 2, 2008

Emerson had banana today...

We have been introducing solids to Emerson over the last few weeks. She first ate a bit of rice cereal with breast milk, then banana, then avocado. In this video, Emerson is at her most enthusiastic - lovin' the banana. We thought she looked like a little birdie waiting for mama bird to feed her...

Our new house in Philadelphia

Randi and I closed on our house in Philadelphia on today. We bought in a beautiful neighborhood in the northwest section of the city called Mt. Airy. The neighborhood has a historical commitment to racial integration and is home to many social workers, midwives and artists. Our new house is a few blocks from the train station that Randi and I will use to get to work, one block from the food co-op, the coffee shop, dry cleaners, and the elementary school. We're walking distance to the largest urban park system in the United States. I wonder how long until it really sinks in..
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Photos from June, 2008

Another banner month for Emerson. She had her first solid foods (rice cereal and bananas in breast milk). She went to the beach in Delaware and Florida. She met her cousins from Germany, Zoe, Francesca and Sylvia. She met Martha and her kids. She continued to develop her fine motor skills (grabbing things, sitting up, bouncing in the jolly jumper, rolling over). She celebrated her 6 month birthday, and she celebrated her great-grandfather's 99th birthday in Florida. Good times!