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.

Emma on the move!

Molly and B stopped over with Emma and surprised us this evening. They had been to the Q Shack to eat BBQ for dinner and swung by our house for a visit -- a nice surprise!

We put Emma down on a quilt in the gathering room as we usually do to watch her move. She was moving at a slow pace until we pulled a decorative apple out of a basket and used it as bait. She meant business when she saw the apple. Watch the video clip -- the girl can move!

Sophie shows Big D how 2 can be comfortable in the same chair!

Sophie spends most of her time with Dan, as he works most days from home. She shadows him and just loves being near him. Any chance she gets, she hops into his chair. He has also been sharing his peanut snacks with her - no wonder the dog loves him best! Here is a photo of her helping him check his email.

Quiet Weekend at the Springer Home

We had an enjoyable and very quiet weekend -- I like them like that. I cleaned out some closets and did some cooking. Saturday night I tried a new chicken pot pie recipe -- had curry in it. It was good, but I like Ina Garten's better. Next time I will use Ina's and add a teaspoon of curry powder, as we liked the extra punch the curry gave it.

On Sunday, I made a large batch of homemade meat sauce -- some for dinner with linguine and the rest in the freezer.

Molly brought Emma over for a visit on Sunday - so, here are the lasted snapshots. Her latest accomplishment is the sippy cup. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of tilting it up yet.

Both she and Emma stayed for lunch and we watched Emma crawl for a bit after. She has down the basics - but, for now, only a few forward motions at a time. She did managed to make a 6 foot crawl to her Uncle Matty.

Emma and her first Baby Doll

She has so much personality now. You can just see her flirting with me in these pictures

Here is a video of Emma with her first doll. I think she was scared of it the first time I showed it to her a few weeks ago. But, she has definitely warmed up to it.

Baby Einstein Hypnosis

I got to spend some time with my favorite baby, Emma, on Sunday. I put her in her high chair while I attempted to get a jump start on dinner. I put the Baby Einstein CD that Molly brought over for entertainment into the DVD player. These videos are awesome -- Emma loves them! Check out the video clip -- it was hard to get her attention. She has her 2 front top teeth now (4 teeth in total) and is making her way through all types of new food experiences - pasta, chicken, toast, etc. As soon as Molly allows -- I am feeding her her first cookie! In anticipation of grandchildren, I have collected some great cookie cutters -- dragonfly, several frogs, butterfly, all kinds of holiday cookie cutters. I think that baking and decorating cookies will be a good tradition for "things to do with Nana"........

Omar and Kim's Engagement Party

I visited Marybeth in California last weekend to attend Omar's engagement party. She had it in their wonderful back yard. Ray's roses were in bloom and beautiful.

Wow! What an event! Where do I start... Bollywood Dancers, cabanas with couches and ottomons, dance floor, DJ, Indian and American food, 2 bars Mojito/Margarita and Martini, 2 ice sculptures, flowers everywhere, photographer -- very, very big and L.A. style! I didn't get any pictures of MB or me in the batch I took. It was great to see MB, Ray and the boys and also get to spend some time with Ray's sisters that were there.

Enjoy the slide show!

What happened in Vegas....

Dan and I had a great time, but I have to say it was the hottest weather we both have ever experienced -- 115 degrees! It did feel like being in an oven. Our wake up call announced 102 degrees at 9:00 AM the day we left.

The Venetian was lovely -- the most luxurious suite we have occupied to date. It had 600 square feet and 2 large flat screen TVs. See pictures. In the early day, we hung out by the pool. Each evening we ate a great dinner and gambled in the Casino. No big winnings, but we managed to lose only $500 in 4-days. The Bette Midler show was awesome! We ate dinner at Emeril's Delmonico restaurant on Saturday night -- very good. Dan ate steak and I had the scallop/shrimp/black pepper pasta special entree. Banana pie with dark chocolate shaving for dessert -- YUM!

They had an FAO Schwarz store in Caesar's Forum shopping mall. The front of the store was a 3-story Trojan horse. I bought Emily and Molly some of their first dolls at the FAO Schwarz in San Francisco. When Dan and I were there earlier in the year, we were disappointed to find that the store there had closed. We were able to pick up Emma's first doll in Vegas. It is a perfect size for her and the doll's thumb fits into her mouth, so she can suck her thumb. I can't wait to give it to her!

It was a good trip, but it is good to be home.

Emma in her pink romper

Molly took this picture of Emma in the pink polka-dot appliqued romper I made her. She was hamming it up for the camera in this shot!

Dan and I are leaving for Las Vegas today. It will be good to get away, but I am unsure about the 111 degree high predicted.... Everyone says "It is a dry heat - no humidity." This sounds like being in an oven!

Happy 4th of July!

Emma on the move -- but, backwards

Emma wants to crawl -- only currently, her only direction is backwards.