We caught us an 18 pounder!!

Well ... maybe not a FISH, but does a BABY count? Our little Emma had her 6 month check up today and weighed in at a whopping 18 pounds 7 ounces and 27.5 inches. She is in the 90th percentile for height, weight and head. That's our girl!! Nobody can accuse our family of malnutrition or bulimia. I think all three of us are in the 90th percentile for height and weight. :)
These are her 6 month shots done by Portrait Innovations. I decided to use them as a "cheaper" option and left the store spending TOO much money on TOO many pictures. Honestly, it felt like I had just left an auto mechanic or used car lot where they take advantage of poor, unsuspecting young mothers, like myself. Dirty I tell ya' - DIRTY!
On a happier note, this HAM of a baby laughed and smiled the ENTIRE time! She tends to be ultra social and loves to have her picture taken. We are not sure where she gets her gregarious personality, as Greg and I are both so timid, quiet and shy. Maybe there was a mix-up in the infertility clinic? :)

This picture was taken right after a crying fit. I was actually trying to get photos of her crying, since we don't have many... but as soon as I pulled out the camera, she gave me this little grin.
As evidenced by her 18 pound weigh-in our little tubby tub is still LOVING the food thing and has now mastered carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, rice cereal and oatmeal. Behind her are "just because" flowers given to me by my sweet husband. What a guy!! Just LOVE him!!

These videos were requested by Grandma Krebs. Emma has recently started sitting up and my mom was sad that she missed it. The second video is a giggle fest one night right before her bath. Sorry they are both a little dark.

Could red neck behavior be hereditary?

Emma's boyfriend Toby Wiscombe came to play last week. The kids seemed restless, but the only thing to do outside in Arizona is swim. Since we don't have a kiddie pool, I used my Kentucky red neck/white trash/ghetto fabulous thinking and got out the rubbermaid.

Literally TWO DAYS LATER... Greg's brother Jamie posted this picture of their darling Anna in her red neck/white trash/ghetto fabulous pool. Seriously? I think I may contact Harvard and let them know I have a very intriguing, cutting edge research project for them. Could red neck behavior be hereditary? I dare say "BY GOLLY GEE, HECK YES YA'LL"!!

Our kitchen overfloweth!

We have a FANTASTIC fresh produce co-op here in the Phoenix area (http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/). I've told Greg many times that it feels like Christmas every other Saturday with all of our amazing goods. In addition to receiving very tasty, locally grown produce... they offer everything at very reasonable prices. I have resisted the urge to blog about this in the past, but this Saturday pushed me over the threshold and I found myself arranging and picture taking before I knew it. I have decided to attempt making Emma's baby food myself, so a lot of this produce will be pureed and frozen each week. We'll see how long I have the energy to maintain this activity. :)

This Saturday we received 16 plums, 8 mangoes, 9 cucumbers, 2 heads of lettuce, 8 pears, 12 bananas, 2 bunches of cilantro, 2 honeydew, 8 tomatoes, 14 nectarines, 16 limes, 16 potatoes and 30 carrots. For what price you ask?? THIRTY DOLLARS!!! Pretty amazing, huh? Everyone interested in moving to Arizona now?

On another happy note, we also had Greg's darling cousins as house guests this weekend and had a wonderful time with them. We LOVE company and we especially LOVE super fun, super cute, super fantastic FAMILY for company.

Like Mother Like Daughter...

The baby website says "don't be worried if your baby does not want to eat food the first time you offer. Just keep the spoon by the baby's mouth to let her smell it and become familiar."

My question is "What if my baby is so excited to eat the food, she tries to swallow the spoon?"

These baby websites just don't answer the right questions.

Stars and Stripes Forever

We escaped the Phoenix heat for our Fourth of July weekend, by venturing North to stay at my grandparents cabin, conveniently next to Greg's family camp site at Patrick's Pond.

Our little American girl. I think the hat looks suspiciously similar to Betsy Ross. Neadle and thread anyone?
Bonding time with Grandpa Ray. I love the way she is looking up at him.
Emma's first ride on one of the MANY Adams family toys. She really loved it and was kicking her legs and waving her arms the whole time.
Precious time spent with Great Grandpa Chuck (Tammy's Grandpa) on the porch swing. She sure looks content, doesn't she?
Where to start? My hunka hunka burnin' love in ALL his glory. How do I keep my hands off of him you say? Exhibit A - No church shoes. Exhibit B - No church socks. Exhibit C - Wrinkled short sleeved church shirt. Exhibit D - No tie. Exhibit E - Beard scruff of 5 days. Exhibit F - Undone hair (this exhibit was later fixed). If his law firm saw this, he'd probably lose his job on the spot. The Burger King around the corner is hiring though.

Some of the Adams crew in the motor home.
One very happy baby. With one very big head.
This is my grandparents cabin. The two specks on the top of the roof are Greg and my 83 year old Grandpa fixing some leakage problems. Grandpa had a rope tied around his waist that Greg was holding as his "life line". I'm really not sure it would have done much good had my Grandpa actually fallen... but it made my Grandma feel better.
Oh the beautiful mountains! The weather was GORGEOUS and we got afternoon thunderstorms each day! We sure loved our time out of the Phoenix sun and spent with family. Now if we can just help Greg pack a little better for church next time...

It all started with Ethel and Elmer...

We had the opportunity to attend the Ethel and Elmer Foutz family reunion last weekend. It is still amazing to me that so many people could come from ONE COUPLE!! Isn't it fun to think about future family reunions that will one day stem from us?

The family reunion was in New Mexico and was Emma's first long road trip. It took us about 8 hours to get there because little miss fussy had to stop and eat a few times. She also extended the trip by graciously choosing to pee all over the back seat while Greg was changing her diaper. She did MUCH better on the way home and it only took us 6 1/2 hours.
We drove to New Mexico with Greg's mom (Linda), which was nice for Emma, because she had someone to play with her, read to her and sing to her in the back seat. Here Emma and Greg are with his mom and Grandma Bernie (Linda's mother). This was the first time Emma got to meet her Grandma Bernie and BOY did she love her!!
Here is Emma with Grammie Lou and her twin sister Brenda.
Emma's cousins had a pony, so Emma got to take her first pony ride!! Neither the pony or Emma were very excited about it, but I had to get a picture!
Emma and Mom chillin' in the hotel room after a long day of meeting lots of family!