a busy few weeks

We've had a busy few weeks here in the Simpson house. Not only did we travel to Wheeling, West Virginia to meet up with my best friend Nikki, but Cooper had a birthday, we celebrated Father's Day and we had Emma's 4 month check up.

Our trip to West Virginia was awesome. Emma was great on the way there with hardly a peep (I'm still amazed she's so good in the car). We got there early Friday afternoon, set up camp at the Comfort Inn in Tridelphi, and soon after introduced Emma to her new boyfriend Drew and her "aunt" Nikki and "uncle" Mark.

The first night we ate at a great Italian joint, met the crazy new owners (who I might add were a bit overjoyed to have recently acquired the property) and Miss Nikki loved on Emma as mommy, daddy, Mark and her had some wine and planned our future vacations together.


It's going to get harder as more bambinos join the clan, but our hope is to meet up once a year for a mini vacation. Our next stop... well, we're thinking Chicago, maybe Maine or maybe a week in North Carolin at our favorite beach, Nags Head.

The following day we toured the Victorian downtown (passing a few drunks on the way) and made our way to Oglebay Resort, a HUGE beautiful resort with a golf course, gardens, a zoo, putt putt and much more. We didn't stay ling since it was raining, but meandered through the property before heading back to the hotel.

Dave and I, lovers of old historic architecture, took a small drive along National Road, the nation's first roadway, and out to Wheeling Island. In the late 19th century Wheeling's location on the Ohio River and its active industrial economy (iron, steel, glass and cigar factories mainly) made it known as the "Gateway to the West". It quickly became the richest city per capita in America and it's grand mansions are a test to it's early time of wealth.

Unfortunately, the town can no longer support the sprawling mansions and many of them have been boarded up and gone to waste. It was truly saddening to see thee huge gorgeous homes in disrepair knowing what Dave and I know about home renovation and having a vision for what it was and could be again.

We had a great time and can't wait to see them again. I really wish we lived closer to Mark Nikki and Drew, they're three of my most favorite people the world.

Cooper turned two on June 10th. The day didn't pass without a trip to the dog bakery for a very special treat. This year, a carob cookie shaped like a birthday cake.

Cooper is very good about waiting for daddy to tell him it's okay to eat it. He waits patiently then digs right in. This time was a little hard though, Dave had to hold the cookie since Coop couldn't get his teeth under it.


Emma had her 4 month check up with Dr. Thompson last week. She's right on track weighing in at 13lb 11oz. She's in the 50% for weight and 75% for height (I can't remember what it was though). She had four more shots (not without tears form mom again) and we talked a little more about her reflux, We still don't have it under control so we're testing a few more things and might start trying solids soon.

She's almost sitting up on her own now and getting so much more independent. I'm already missing the little baby days but love that she knows us, smiles at us and has so much personality. She'll steel your heart away, she's such a lover and a very happy baby.


Lastly, we celebrated Dave's first Father's Day this past Sunday. Since we spent the better part of the day driving last week we decided to celebrate again. We went to Top Golf, made crab and shrimp cakes and watched the movie Charlie Wilson's War. I also made Dave a small video of Emma over the last 4 months... I hope you had a good father's day daddy!

Emma's a doll baby

I forgot to mention in my last post that my childhood neighbor took a professional photo of Emma while we were in Lansing. Bless her heart, she was not feeling very good but still took the most amazing shot of Emma. I cannot stop looking at it, her little face is just so precious! (Click on it to make it larger - and check out those eyes!)


We are so lucky to know so many very talented photographers and are grateful to Nicole for taking Emma's picture for us. You can check out her site at http://www.nicolecottom.com

Memorial Weekend

This past weekend we took a trip to Pennsylvania to see Dave's grandfather and to Michigan so Emma could meet all her relatives. I am proud to say that the trip was very relaxing, we had a great time and Emma was so wonderful. I never doubted she's be good on the ong trip, but I was truly amazed when after 14 hours in the car she was still a happy baby.

Our trip started with a 4 hour leg to Indiana, PA. Dave's granddad lives right next door to where we got married in a beautiful brick colonial. He's 94 years old and very weak so this trip was extra special for us and for him. He later told Dave's dad that he thought Emma was the most beautiful baby he has ever seen.

We love granddad and we're so happy to have gotten to introduce him to our little one. She won't remember meeting him, but Dave and I sill surely never forget the look on granddad's face when he saw her for the first time.

We stayed in Indiana for a little over an hour and after peeking over to meet Reverend Allen Campbell and his wife Dotty we got back in the trusty Nissan and hit the road again. We had 7 hours of driving time ahead of us and it was nearing 2:00pm.

We made it to Michigan around 9:45 after stopping three times to feed Emma. It was much easier than I had anticipated. She was happy when we got there and grandma and grandpa Harley were just eating her up. Uncle Andy met her for the first time and Aunt Jenny got in some cuddles to before we hit the sack, exhausted from a long ride.




Saturday we had a small get together with my grandpa Bernie, my grandma and grandpa Kostrzewski and aunt Theresa and Uncle Dave.

here's Emma with Aunt Theresa, great grandma K and great grandpa Doerr:


Great grandma K loved holding miss Emma.

Emma got a kick out of great Grandpa Doerr:



On Sunday we had a huge family cookout so everyone could meet Emma. I think Daddy was more overwhelmed than she was... he's from a family of 11 and when my family gets together it's a small convention!

Here's Emma with Uncle Mike, I think he liked her :)

We also got to meet my cousin Scott's new little girl Avery. What a doll!

Emma and Avery played nice together along with cousin Hope.

We had quite the crowd with almost 30 people. We played softball (well, sorta) and just hung out catching up. Here's great grandma K, aunt T, aunt Jan and Joni

Here's aunt Jenni with her boyfriend Donny:
And Aunt Jen with cousins Kaitlin and Nicholas:
Mom even got some free time :) I hit well, even in a skirt!

Monday we went to Aunt Doreen and Uncle Randy's house to visit with my mom's side. Emma got to meet my cousin Mila and her daughter Zoe.

Here's her with Aunt Doreen, Aunt Sharon and Zoe.

We had a blast and can't wait to visit again. It's likely not going to be until Christmas, but working parents don't get much vacation these days :(

Nana (my mom) may be coming to visit in a few weeks which means more fun for Emma. :)

Well, it's eating time, again! We hope you all had a great Memorial weekend. I for one wish I could do it all again.

Update on the reflux

I wanted to post to let you all know how Emma is doing with her reflux. She's such a trooper but still in a bit of pain after eating so we're doing the best we can to make it all better. After a few weeks on Zantac we decided to start her on Prevacid. So far it's been alright aside from the projectile vomiting after I gave it to her yesterday. She decided she didn't like the taste and wanted no part of it! But what's a little more laundry, right? We're going to keep her on it for a few weeks to see if it helps.

A lot of you ask about Cooper these days. He's doing great considering how much less attention he gets now. He's running with daddy a few days a week and keeping busy pestering us to go outside. We taught him to fetch his leash and Dave's shoes when he wants to go out and he thinks by bringing the shoes he'll get to go every time. It's really funny but after a few times it gets a little old. I'll have to take video of him doing it (now that I know how), it'll crack you all up.
I came across some pictures of Cooper as a puppy, isn't he just precious!




Dave's mom, aka Grananny, is still watching Emma 4 days a week. She takes the train from Fredericksburg each morning (45 minutes away) and always comes in with a smile. We can't even express how much we appreciate her and her time and know that Emma is already very fond of her grammy. We love you grannanny!

I mentioned this in my last post, but we had a bit of a run in with the rain last week. Our old townhome is showing signs of age and we had quite a bit of water in the house from the basement door and front window. We're stumped about the front window and have no idea where it's coming from. We're thinking it may be the window seal or a crack in the mortar somewhere so we're going to get an inspector out here to pinpoint the problem.

We did a lot of work on our home before we moved in thinking we were going to sell it. I am just amazed at the before and after pictures:



We're dying to renovate another home nut it's just not in the cards right now. We're hoping maybe in a few years we'll find a small bungalow here in Del Ray to fix up. Emma might be able to hold a hammer by then so we'll see... :)

Love to all!

My First Mother's Day

I'm a few days late but wanted to wish all the mommies out there a belated Happy Mother's Day. Mother's Day is so much more meaningful now that I am a mom and I was blessed to share it with my wonderful hubby and my precious little girl.

This Mother's Day was a day I will never forget. My hubby made it so special and wonderful - he let me sleep in until 10:30 am (woo hoo), cooked me a very nice breakfast (eggs!) and gave me the most beautiful necklace (bling bling). He worked so hard around the house (vacuuming and cleaning up after our mini basement flood), and cooked me the best pasta dinner (thanks to Nikki and Mark Flanders for the recipe!). He's such a wonderful husband and I can't wait until Father's Day so he has a day like I did.

Here's miss Emma on Mother's Day before we went shopping... such a happy baby!



watch how she reacts to hearing me say Daddy...



We're planning fun things this summer. We're first headed to Pennsylvania to visit with Dave's granddad on on our way up to Michigan for Memorial weekend. Most of my family get to meet Emma for the first time and I am sooo excited to introduce her. Of course we'll have to pack our best outfits to prance around Lansing in :)

In the middle of June we'll be headed to northern WV to meet up with my best friend Nikki, her husband Mark and their little man Drew (he's 1). We're going to Wheeling which is a small town near the border of Ohio almost exactly half way between our houses. Dave and will be celebrating our 3 year anniversary that following week and I couldn't think of a better way to share the weekend before than with friends we adore. I've been friends with Nikki since 5th grade and always look forward to the weekends we get to see each other. A few years ago we went to Martha's Vineyard. We had a blast eating yummy lobster dinners, drinking lots of wine and touring the island.


After that we'll be headed to Sunset Island NC for a week in the beginning of August. It'll be a working vacation, but it's a great place to unwind and get away from the stresses of working from home. If I had my way I'd live on the beach, but it just so happens I have a job and can't do that yet. Shucksy darn.

Well, baby and daddy are upstairs waiting for me so I better get. It's bath time!

Love to all!

It's sleepy over here!

As a mom and fan of my little one no matter what I thought I'd let everyone know that my baby is the bestest baby in the world! I hope you're sitting down... she's sleeping almost 10 hours at night now! Daddy and I can hardly believe it and wake up often to make sure she's still breathing. Well, mommy does, daddy likes to sleep. :) Her schedule for the last 2 nights includes a bottle with rice at 10:45, a tight swaddle in her SwaddleMe and sleepy time until 8:30 am!!!!! Wow what a difference a little sleep makes to a working mom and a really crazy busy life!


Wanna know what's even more fun than baby smiles? Baby laughing. Oh man does that send waves of "I can't possible love her more" feelings all through me. She started laughing about a week ago and I do everything I can to make her laugh now. Cooper does a great job to get her going. She sees him and lets out a giggle, it's sooooo dang cute. He loves her to pieces too, they make such a great pair. I try and try to get good pictures of them together but one of them usually doesn't like to cooperate. As you can see, someone is sleeping in this one...


Emma is the light of our life and we are so in love with her smiles, coos and just downright cuteness. She's learning every day and never ceases to amaze us with her personality, alertness (is that a word???) and ability to make our hearts melt. She's making strides all the time and growing so big. I'm sure she's well over 12 lbs now but I don't dare get on the scale for fear I'll never want to put on a bathing suit.


I took this video of Emma this morning holding a teething ring - what a doll! I'm getting better at this video thing, but unfortunately I took it sideways and I have no clue how to flip it. Next time I'll be sure not to flip the camera!



Emma loves her daddy. Every night they watch TV together (I know, bad habit). He gets her all snug in arms and before long she falls fast aleep. So cute!



Did I mention she likes to sleep? I just love this picture. Not only is she just darling, but she's wearing my favorite sweater. I hate that it has to go in a box soon...


We went to Fredericksburg this past weekend to celebrate Grammys and cousin Katie's birthdays. The girls loved on Emma...

Here's her sleeping again... Sheesh!

Granddaddy got to love on her too...

Now this next picture deserves a posting in itself but since I am so bad at posting these days I have th throw it in where I can. If it were it's own posting I'd call it "Grandpa went to Bike Week and I got this awesome t-shirt!"

Grandpa and Grandma Doerr (aka Grandpa and Grandma Harley - since grandpa drives one) went to Bike Week in Daytona this year. On their way back they stopped to visit. Emma got some presents. Here's her doting the onesie grandpa picked out for her. If you can't make it out it says "My Grandpa rides a Hawee". She likes it.... mommy loves it!


Well, I need to work now, although I would love to be out back enjoying the weather (75 and sunny!). Love to all!!!

long awaited update

I know, I know, it's been a while since I have posted. I wish I could be more on the ball - I realize that for some of you this blog is how you keep up with us since I am TERRIBLE at calling you back! That and everyone loves pictures!

Emma had her two month check up on the 11th and there is sooo much to report. I hope I can get it all in before she wakes up! Her naps are minutes rather than hours and it makes for a pretty hard time writing a blog sometimes!

At our check up she had 4 shots (dang vaccines), weighed in at 10lb. 10oz - that's 4lbs more than her birth weight and is now measuring 23" which is 4" longer than her birth length - sense a pattern??? 4 seems to be her lucky number.

The doctor laid her on the table on her belly and lo and behold, she showed off and rolled over! Dr. Thompson was very impressed since babies tend to do that around 4 months old. She was also very impressed with her ability to hold her head up with complete control - go Emma!

Daddy has been working with her every night to strengthen her abs. He lays her on his knees and pulls her up by her hands. She's not a fan of laying on her back unless she's on her play mat or eating so she loves when daddy does this! He also stands her up and she holds all her weight on her little legs, also something that she's excelled at - most babies don't do that until three months. I'll brag, she's been holding her weight for over a month now! Go Emma!

Her reflux is finally more under control. After much hesitation we put her on Zantac to stop the sour taste and throw up after feedings. She's much better now and shows a lot less pain. We also have her on Rice cereal (mixed in her milk) twice a day to keep her food down. She's a big spitter-upper and the doctor recommended we try it. It seems to work very well, two less burp cloths a day that I have to wash!!! Go Emma!

Gra-nanny (I still chuckle when I say that!) takes her on long walks and she conks out each time. She's also fond of naps in her carseat after the walk - it's the only time I can get her to sleep for more than 45 minutes at a time! This week she's slept in her carseat twice for 2.5 hours, once after a car ride with daddy and once after a big long walk. I hate leaving her in it but if it helps her sleep I'm all for it. Go Emma!

We've officially outgrown our newborn clothes and I am so sad. I hate putting them away, especially this little sweater I have - I adore it and hate to see it packed up :(

I follow a blog of a woman that had quads 8 months ago and she did something last week that I thought was great. She listed facts about herself that most people don't know. Well, I'm not going to bore you with that now for me, but it's an easy way for you all to get to know Emma. So, here goes:

Emma wakes up at 3:30 in the morning to let out a few farts then falls back asleep. It cracks me up.

She goes down after her 10:45 feeding and sleeps until 5:30 (minus the farting time)

She eats every three hours during the day - a typical schedule is 5:30am, 8:15am, 11pm (rice), 2pm, 5pm, 8pm and 10:45pm (rice).

She loves to lay on her changing table and kick.

I call out and show her the character on her diaper every time I change her. She smiles at Elmo every time.

She still sleeps in a bassinet in our room at night but naps in her bed, the swing or the carseat.

Her eyes are still blue and her hair, although very thin, is light brown. She has a lot of hair at her neckline and Dave calls it her rattail.

Cooper likes to lick her baby lotion after a bath. She doesn't like it very much.

Baths are now fun. She wiggles a lot but she smiles a lot more now. She hates getting out though, she's like her mom and hates to be cold and wet.

She gets tons of lint in between her toes. I clean it out while she's nursing - she wiggles.

When she poops you can hear it around the block.

She goes through about three outfits a day and without fail poops on the nicest one.

She gets hangnails.

She loves to be sang to - she really like the song "Maybe" from Annie that I sing to her all the time.

We've just started giggling.

Her hands are almost alway clenched. She collects lint in there too.

Everyone says she looks like her daddy. Very few people say she looks like me.

The nurse called her "Cheeks", that was her daddy's nickname when he was a baby (correction, he says he was called that for almost 10 years)

She plays coy - when you say hi she'll smile and turn her head and close her eyes - what a flirter!

We cheer when she lets out a big burp - funny we can't do that as adults!

She smiles in her sleep.

She sleeps with her eyes open, sometimes all you see are the whites of her eyes and it creeps us out!

Copper is extremely jealous of Emma. He gets himself wedged in between you and her whenever possible.

I cried more than Emma did when she got her shots.

She's still being swaddled at night - not quite sure how we're going to ween her from that. She sleeps best that way.

She sleeps through the vacuum, even when it's right next to her.

I'll try to post some updated pictures soon - maybe after dinner. Love to all!