July 2012

Its been one hot July! Luckily we've had lots fresh watermelon to help keep us cool...

Watermelon definitely seems to be Emry's favorite summertime food.  Although, if you ask her what her favorite food is she will tell you "turkey and cheese."

As far as talking goes, Emry continues to learn more words and say longer sentences.  If you ask her what her full name is she will tell you "Emry Conner O Smith."  She also knows mom and dad's real names too, and its really funny when she uses them.  One night when we were getting her ready for bed, dad was changing her diaper.  She wanted her blanket, so she said "Maren, B!.  Maren, B!  Maaarennn, BEEEEEE!"  (B is what she calls her blanket.)  She is also participates in nighttime prayer too.  She can do the sign of the cross, although sometimes it looks more like she's a baseball coach giving signals to the batter.  But she will say things that she wants to thank God for.  It ranges for cute things like Whitney, mom & dad, relatives, friends, animals etc.  Other times its very random...the funniest was one night she was thankful for doors, carseats and boats!  She is also singing a lot more.  She actually follows along with the songs and sings the correct words now!  She loves playing with her karayoke player, and "Old McDonald had a Farm E I E I O" is at the top of her playlist.

Emry can sing herself to sleep

Emry competed in her first race on July 4th, the Big Bang 5k, and she came in first place in the stroller division....although she was the only one in it.  Emry has enjoyed entertaining Whitney this month.  She plays, shares and tries to teach Whitney new things.  At church one day when the congregation was singing, Emry started singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to Whitney and showed her how to do the hand motions.  Later during the Mass(when the church was completely silent), Maren was holding Emry.  Em was playing with Maren's necklace, then pointed to her chest and said "Mommy's boobies!"

Best Buds!

Emry has been really helpful around the house this month too. She can get things out of the kitchen cabinets and fridge that we need when we're cooking dinner.  She can open doors easily now, and lets dad back in the house when he leaves his keys on the counter in the morning.  Its really weird, but Emry also loves wiping up spills and messes too.


As far as playing goes, Emry still likes playing outside a lot.  Although its been hot, she'll go out to play on the swingset any opportunity she gets.  She is comfortable climbing the tower and going down the slide all by herself now.

Hopefully this is her only picture behind bars

Way to stick the landing!

This is a good problem to have, but some evenings its a struggle to get her to stop playing and go inside for bed....

"Emry, its time to go inside..."

Whitney has been hitting some milestones this month.  She slept through the night for 1st time on night of July 10-11th! Mom and dad woke the whole family up at 6:40am by sending text to let everyone know!  At the time of this post, Whit has slept through the night 12 of the past 14 nights.  Way to go Whitney!

Whitney also got her first tooth to break through this month!  Although she is gaining teeth, she is unfortunately losing her baby hair.  A few people have commented recently that they think she is starting to look like her dad...sorry Whit! 

Even a stellar comb-over can't hide the inevitable....

Despite losing her hair and people saying
she looks like her dad, Whit
is still a cutie!

Whitney is one of the drooliest babies ever!  With all that drool, Whit has been blowing raspberries and bubbles a lot lately.  She has been relying on the chew toys a lot too.  Whitney also discovered recently that she has hands.  She's still trying to figure out what they are for, but occasionally she'll use them to hold a chew toy in her mouth or try to reach and grab at things.  And strangely enough, Whit really gets comforted by playing/biting Emry's "B".

It smells like Emry!

Emry has been a good sport about it, and enjoys sharing her "B" with Whitney.  Whitney rolled over from her stomach to her back a couple more times this month, but isn't a fluid ambi-roller just yet.  Her favorite toy is still the play mat.  She grabs at hanging toys a lot more now since she realized she has hands.  Whitney started playing in her bouncer this month.  Emry likes to help Whit bounce up and down in it.  

Don't quite have the bouncing down yet.
Whit just kind of hangs around.

  

Whitney also used the baby swing on the swingset for the first time in July.  She looks pretty cute in it!

So serious!

The summer months have definitely been a lot of fun for the girls.  With school starting next month, hopefully everyone will be able to adjust without too many problems.  We'll just have to wait and see!