Happy Birthday Bjarne and Robert!

Both Bjarne and Robert have birthdays this week. Bjarne on Monday and Robert on Tuesday -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We had a birthday dinner for Bjarne on Saturday night -- burgers and dogs on the grill, pasta salad, and baked beans with a Carvel ice cream cake for dessert. Robert will have to take a rain check on his birthday dinner until I can next cook for him. See video clips of the event - note the "trick" candles.


Miss Emma ate grilled chicken, peas, applesauce and had animal crackers for dessert. I need a drop cloth for under her highchair -- more on the floor than in the mouth when she feeds herself!

Emma's New Game

Emma has a new game. She sits in her toy basket and throws all the toys out. Here is a photo of her in action.

Nana x 2 Baby Howell is on the way!

Emily and Robert are expecting a baby! Emmy gave me the go ahead to post this news to my blog, as she has now shared the big news with her employer and friends.

How exciting! Emily has an appointment soon with her obstetrician, so I'll share the exact due date when I know it. So far, all I know is March 2009.

Emily and Robert will be visiting Charlotte the second week in September. We haven't seen them since our beach vacation in early June.

I need to get back to work on my "Nana's Hopechest" with some projects for Baby Howell. Just need to know whether pink or blue.....

Emma's Burberry Dress

Here is Emma in a Burberry dress that was a gift from her great-auntie Marybeth. It's hard for Molly to get her to sit still - so many of her photos are action shots now. She does love books, so will sit to "read" them!

Emma's First Shoes

Molly, Dan, and I took Emma shopping for her first shoes on Saturday. She had never had a pair of shoes on her feet prior to trying them on in the store. As you can see in the video clip, she was not very happy to have them on her feet. After her initial displeasure - she quickly accepted them.

Molly, Emma, and Bjarne came over for dinner that evening. We enjoyed family favorites of roasted red pepper hummus w/ homemade pita chips and pasta with tomatoes, basil, black olives and feta cheese.

Emma after her Mommy's Cookbooks

Now that Emma can both crawl and has discovered a love of books -- she has discovered her Mommy's cookbooks.

Here are a few photos of Emma and the cookbooks. She is wearing one of the bubble suits that I made her.

Molly and I are taking Emma shopping tomorrow to buy her first pair of shoes and some clothing suited to her new mobility. She is starting day care in a couple of weeks.

Sophie and her "blankie"

Sophie has some baby blankets that we keep in her crate. She has selected a pink one as her favorite and will sometimes pull it out to play with in the house. She was sitting at Dan's feet this weekend. When we looked down, we noticed that she had covered herself up and was curled up in her blanket.

More Emma Reading

I bought some books this weekend to keep at my house. Emma loves books! Molly and Emma visited Sunday and I took the shots in this slideshow of Emma enjoying her new books.

More Little Sweaters....

Here are two more finished 100% cotton sweaters - both with rolled cuffs, bottom, and collar. The Pink one is size 18 months and the Lavender is size 2.

Little Sweaters

I'm back on my knitting again - sweaters now instead of hats. Emma already has hats to last through the coming winter - more than she will probably wear. This one is size 18 months in 100% cotton and fits her now. I'll post a picture as soon as Emma models it for us.

Emma Reading

Emma loves her books, she loves to be read to and also enjoys "reading" on her own.