And a Good Time was Had By All

I feel like I’ve just had a vacation.  And it’s nice. 

Friday:  Emma had her first professional photo shoot.  I tried to reschedule it because she decided against napping and I thought she’d be too cranky, but it worked out really well.  Valerie, the photographer, was great.  She took a ton of photos in Em’s room (in the crib, on the floor, on the dresser, in the dormer, of us together in the glider) with the Monster in two or three outfits.  Then we went downstairs and took some in the sunroom and then some more outside.  Emma decided to have her meltdown then, but Valerie took it in stride.  She started packing herself up while I fed Em.  Then she came upstairs and took some photos of Emma nursing and then sleeping.  Yay for sleeping baby photos.  :)  The photos will hopefully be on her website on Tuesday – I’ll be sure to include a link and the password so everyone (all three of you) can look through them.

After that, Em took a short nap and then we went outside to play.  She really only wanted to play immediately next to me – the moment I moved to take a picture or something she freaked out.  So we went back inside and she helped me get ready to go up north.  Matt was at the Toyota dealership taking care of his car and so we drove over with his laptop and spent some time with him there.  Emma took another short nap and then once we were all packed, the three of us piled into the car and drove up north.  We stopped in Big Rapids to have dinner (yummy bacon & avocado bison burger and strawberry lemonade).

It was great to see Mom, Bill, and Jason.  It took a little while for Emma to warm up to the new location and “new” people, but she had a great weekend. 

Saturday: Emma woke up early-ish and spent some time with her grandma while Matt & I slept in.  My brother made Matt & I eggs, bacon, and hash browns for breakfast!!! Emma got to have some applesauce, which she liked, I think… Then we all just relaxed around the house – Grandma showed Em the new toys she bought for her and Em & I showed Grandma the hats we just got in the mail for the little girl.  After a nap for the Monster, Grandma, Em and I dropped Matt off so he could get some work done, and then we went to go visit my fifth-grade teacher.  :)  I love small towns.  It was great to show off my baby and talk to her and Jeff.  Very nice.

When we got back Em got to see her uncle for a bit and then played some more.  I wrote half my paper too!  Not quite sure where the day went but pretty soon it was dinner time.  HOMEMADE LASAGNA!  Wonderful.  Delicious.  Amazing. 

Once Emma finally fell asleep, we watched the most recent Star Trek, which was good until I started getting queasy from the headache I had that wasn’t going away.  So I went downstairs and fell asleep while everyone else (Mom, Matt & Bill) finished the movie.

Sunday: Emma and I woke up by 7:30 – actually, I woke up before she did.  Then we went upstairs and played.  Mom made a lot of progress on Emma’s new hat!  I can’t wait to see what happens with those.  She bought this amazing little book on how to knit and crochet flowers which will be perfect for the hats.  After breakfast (waffles, French toast, and bacon!) we got ready to leave and were out the door by 10:30.  Unfortunately we didn’t get to see Jon – Saturday slipped by so quickly and he didn’t answer when I called Sunday morning.  But anyway, Emma was asleep by TC and I was asleep before Buckley.  We both woke up after Big Rapids when she decided she was starving.

So we stopped at the next exit.  FYI – do not stop in Morley, MI.  I think that was what it was called… anyway, the gas station was 2 miles down the road, was a combination gas station/hardware store/grocery and didn’t have a changing table in the unisex bathroom.  So Emma & I made do with the car… Then it was time to continue on, but not before the Monster demanded that I sit in the back seat with her.  Luckily Matt understands.  :)

So we got home, unpacked, relaxed, Emma took a quick nap, we had pizza and watched the last movie (Whip It, which was really good).  And now Emma’s finally asleep and Matt’s playing his new game.

In the future: Emma started doing that rocking thing that’s the immediate precursor to crawling.  Look for a post on how amazing and crazy that will be.  :)

I realize now that I didn’t take enough pictures this weekend.  Hopefully Grandma will post some on FB so I can steal them.  *HINT HINT*  So I’ll leave you with Emma & her horse, who needs a name: