Great-Grandparents

Mommy's Note:  Emma recently traveled with her father, grandmother, and me to Ohio to visit her Voltin Great-Grandparents.  We went for the weekend and the following is Emma's retelling of her trip.

I can now announce that I can add two more states the list of places I have been.  I recently traveled through West Virginia on my way to Ohio to meet my Voltin great-grandparents.  I have to admit, that I was a little confused at first when Daddy told me we were going to go see my great-grandparents.  He kept saying it like this, "Emmy, you're going to get to meet your great-grandparents!"  I kept thinking, "Yeah, I know my grandparents are great, because I've met them already!"  But he made it sound like we were going to see some other people who I'd never met in my entire five-and-a-half-month long life.  Finally, Mommy stepped in and explained to me that my "great-grandparents" were Grandma's mommy and daddy and that I do indeed have four grandparents who are "great", but that "great-grandparents" means something special.  You can see how this might be confusing to a little kid like me...

So anyways, Grandma flew in to stay at my house for a bit and while she was here we all drove to Ohio for a visit.  The night before we left Mommy packed the car in the rain so we could be ready to leave when I woke up the next morning.  When I got up for my first breakfast everybody else got up too and when I was done eating we all piled into the car and we were on the road by 5:30.  We left so early because Mommy wanted me to sleep a lot in the car on the way there.  She thought it would be better for me if I could try and stick to my regular routine.  I was so excited to be traveling that it took me a little while to fall back asleep, but eventually, I did. 

We were in the car for a really long time.  It was the longest car trip I've ever taken.

 Did I mention that it was a looooooong trip?

I did get to stretch my legs a little though a couple of times when we stopped for food or gas.

Daddy offered me a bite of his burger, but I wasn't really in the mood for that sort of thing.

Well, finally, we arrived in Middleport and I was happy to get out of the car for a while.  And my great-grandparents sure were happy to see me!  They couldn't wait to hold me.

Here I am with Great-Grandma.

We had some catching up to do and this is us having a serious chat.

And here's Great-Grandpa.

I offered him my binky...

...but I guess he didn't need it.  Maybe he has one of his own.

I kept everyone entertained and showed them how I can grab my toes.

Daddy and I played a little too.

I guess he must have been tired of sitting in his car seat too because he was very silly.

That night we stayed at a hotel.  It was my first time in a hotel, but it seemed a lot like being at home because I slept in my pack 'n' play.  (Mommy says it's the same thing as a play pen.)

When went back to visit again the next day, I wore a special shirt.

It says, "I Love Grandpa".  That's what the heart means.

We did other fun stuff on that day too.  I took Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa down to the computer room and showed them how to use Skype.  I'm kind of a skyping expert, you know.  I do it all the time.

Later Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and I went for a walk to get a milkshake at McClure's.  I kept asking for a sip, but Daddy didn't share with me.  I'm pretty sure a milk shake is as "solid" as the rest of the food I eat, but every time I reached out to grab the cup, he just said, "Sorry, Em".  And then, he'd take a sip and not even offer me any!

Great-Grandma had a very pretty necklace that she let me play with.  I think she said the fancy beads were called "pearls".  I really liked feeling that necklace.

We all just sat around talked for a while too.

The next day we had to get ready to come home, but before we left, we stopped by to visit one last time.

Now, in case you were worried that Great-Grandma would feel left out because I had on my special shirt for Great-Grandpa the day before, you don't have to worry any more.  I have a special Grandma shirt too!

That day, Grandma showed me her special charm bracelet that she was wearing.  I really liked that bracelet.  It was very shiny and jingly.

Before we left, Mommy had everybody else get together for a picture.

Here we are!  Four generations of Voltins together in one picture.

I had a great time and I am so happy I got to meet my great-grandparents.  I just hope that the next time we visit Daddy doesn't forget to get me a milkshake at McClure's...

Cousins

Emma doesn't have any first cousins and probably won't for a while.  She does have a total of four second cousins and a fifth one on the way.  Recently, Emma got a visit from two of her (second) cousins, Jacob and Sabine.  Jacob is seven and Sabine is two and a half.  They came down from New York with their mom, Stacey (my cousin) and their grandma, (my Aunt Linda).

We only had a short amount of time together, but we squeezed in a lot of fun stuff while they were here.

For breakfast, we made doughnuts.  And they were yummy!  Emma didn't get to do too much with that activity as she was napping, but Jacob and Sabine definitely had fun.

Here we are getting ready to roll out the dough.

Jacob cut out the outside of the doughnuts and then Sabine then came in and cut out the holes.

These look ready to come out!

When they had cooled off a bit, we covered them in cinnamon and sugar.

And then there were the doughnut holes.

As Dave put it, "A mug, a douhgnut, and a smile".

We also went outside and explored a bit.

The kids enjoyed checking out the barn and seeing the tractor inside.

 

 

 Then we checked out the field and ran around a bit.

Collecting a bouquet for her mom.


The kids also climbed a few trees.

Five, six, pick up sticks...

And there was some obligatory puddle jumping...

We also went for a walk along the trail behind our house to see Bull Run.

It's kind of off in the background here.

What do you think lives in there?

Before they left, we took some nice pictures of the kids together.

Jacob was really sweet with Emma.  He must be practicing for his new baby who is on the way.

And then there were some last minute, front step photos before they left.

Can you tell they'd had enough by the time we got this photo?  Oh well, at least Stacey and I know how to look at a camera!

Thanks for coming to visit!  We had a great time and we can't wait to see you again!

A Day in the Life of Emma OR The Story of a Modern Princess (Part 2)

 Mommy's Note:  This is the second part of a series on "A Day in the Life of Emma".  If you have not had a chance to read Part 1 of this series, click here to read that post first.


So... where were we?  Oh yeah, my nap.

Mommy comes and gets me after my morning nap and I'm usually in a really good mood.

Then we go downstairs for brunch.  Remember those pears Mommy cooked for me?  Now I get to eat them!

I'm not so sure I like them yet... Maybe I'll have to try them again tomorrow and see what I think.

After I eat again it's time to play.  I like to lay down in my play gym and play with my toys.

I also like to wiggle and roll around in there.

But sometimes I wiggle so much that I get myself stuck.  Maybe Mommy should put down the camera and come help me...

There are some fun toys in there that hang down and that I can shake to make noise.

There is also a baby in the mirror that I like to chat with.  She always tries to talk over me though.  She's cute, but not very good at taking turns in a conversation.

Here's a little video of me playing with my toys.  My favorite thing to do is grab that pink bird and shake it as hard as I can!

(Mommy's Note:  Sorry this is turned sideways.  I am still working on how to turn a video that is recorded sideways on my phone.)

I also like to play in my exersaucer sometimes.  I'm getting better at turning on the music by myself and spinning around in my seat.

But we've already talked about the exersaucer in a different post.  And I know you all love keeping up with everything I do.

Don't you?

Moving on, after playing for a while I usually take another nap around noon and then again around 3:00 or 4:00 playing and eating some more in between.

On nice days Mommy and I go for walks.  Only I guess she does most of the walking and I'm just along for the ride.

She usually makes me wear a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes.

Sometimes we just hang out on the couch and relax, surf the web, watch tv, or write blog posts.  You know, just have girl time together.

I also love it when Mommy reads to me.  She's a really good reader.  She makes lots of funny sounds and does all the voices.  Since I learned how to use my hands, I really like to help hold the book.

 

Mommy and I also like to get down on the floor and play together.  (If you think I look different in these pictures, it's true, these are a few weeks old, but Mommy and I really like these photos and wanted to share them with you.)

Now I'm sure you're wondering about Daddy and what he and I do together.

He likes to play with me too.  He carries me around on his shoulder and he also likes to dance with me.  He says I have to practice so I'll be ready for Aaron and Katie's wedding this summer.

Sometimes we just cuddle together and snuggle up on the couch.

Sometimes in the evening I get a bath before bedtime.  It's still not my favorite thing to do, so I tell Mommy to hold on tight to me when I get in the tub.

The water felt okay this time, but I still wanted Mommy to hold on tight.

There are my little toes again!  This picture was right before I started kicking in the tub.  I guess maybe I'm starting to like baths a little more.

After my bath I get all dried in my little hooded towel and then it's time for my favorite part of the bath, a massage with some nice lotion. 

Mommy said we had to include this picture of my "clean and shiny behiny".  She says it's so cute.  I say it's just embarrassing.  Anyways, here's a little video of me playing after my bath.  Check out my push-ups, I am getting to be a strong baby.  Mommy says so in the video.

So that's how I usually spend my day.  I am a busy girl with lots to do.  I hope you enjoyed seeing what my day is usually like.

Love, Emma