Fun in Chicago

A couple of weeks ago Emma and I went to Chicago to visit my grandparents, who live there. My parents, Tyler, and Brittany (who live in Michigan) and my brother Chris (who lives in Utah) came too, making it a fun family reunion. We went to the zoo, played games, ate Chicago pizza, played Nintendo Wii, and just had a good time hanging out. I'm so glad that we got to spend some quality family time. Below are some random pictures from the trip:


Tyler, Mom, Emma, and Mumma playing dominoes. (Emma thought they were tasty).


Chris, Brittany, Me, Emma, Tyler, Dad at the Lincoln Park Zoo


Emma really liked the polar bears! With Mom and the boys in the background.


Me and Emma looking at the giraffes.


Emma and Brittany play with (or, rather, eat) legos.


Emma had a great time playing with this mirror.


Emma and Shadow. They were wary of each other at first, but very interested...


Emma gets daring and tries to pet Shadow.


Emma bonding with Mumma.


Emma playing with Poppa.

Drumroll please...

Yesterday Emma and I flew to Chicago. After the longest security line ever (where they asked me to take off Emma's Robeez shoes), slight weather delays, and no naps, we made it, although we were both covered in mango spit-up. When we got to my grandparents house where we were staying, Emma was still too excited to sleep so she showed off her crawling skills and spit-up again, which is unusual for her. She was also running a slight fever, so I gave her some Tylenol. It wasn't until later in the evening that I figured out her problem...

She cut her first tooth!

She is no longer the toothless wonder. :( But despite the random spit-up episodes (which she didn't seem to mind), it doesn't seem to bother her too much, just a little extra fussiness. It's just barely poking up from the bottom, but stay tuned for pictures as soon as it fully comes in.

She wants to be a super model...

I took Emma to the doctor this week for her 9-month checkup. Here are her stats:

Weight: 17 lbs. 12 oz. (30th percentile)
Height: 29 3/4 inches (97th percentile)
Head: 41.5 cm (3rd percentile--yes, that's a 3)

So my child is tall and thin--that definitely comes from her father, not from me. Now if she can only keep this up when she's 30...

Along with crawling...

Comes the ability to make a mess! Emma now gets up on her knees a bit and is able to open the doors on the TV stand. On Friday she took out a bunch of DVDs and spread them around the living room. I must admit that I saw this happen and could have stopped it, but she was having so much fun I let her continue. It kept her occupied for the better part of an hour. But after it took me the rest of the hour to put them back in order, I don't think we'll be doing that again. On my watch, anyway.

I've been tagged...

By my friend Jess.

Jobs I've had:

1. Babysitter (when particularly desperate for money)
2. Data entry for my dad
3. Bank teller
4. Cashier at BYU tuition office
5. BYU writing fellow
6. Editor at BYU Studies
7. Random admin stuff at the Department of the Interior
8. Admin for University Residence Halls at Columbia University
9. High school English teacher

Movies I can watch over and over:

1. Napoleon Dynamite
2. The Little Mermaid
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Gone with the Wind
5. Legally Blonde

Books I can read over and over:

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
3. Tess of the d'Urbervilles
4. Harry Potter
5. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
6. To Kill a Mockingbird

Places I have lived:

1. Seymour, CT
2. Sudbury, MA
3. Trumbull, CT
4. Provo, UT
5. Cornwall, NY
6. London, England
7. Alexandria, VA
8. New York, NY
9. Jersey City, NJ

Places I want to Visit:

1. Alaskan cruise
2. Balkan Cruise
3. Machu Picchu
4. Italy
5. Spain/Portugal
6. Austria/Switzerland/Germany
7. Hawaii
8. Carribean--anywhere, really

Places I have visited:

1. Chicago
2. Disney World
3. Colorado
4. Palmyra, NY
5. Cancun
6. London
7. Paris
8. Scotland
9. California

TV Shows I watch:

1. The Office
2. ER
3. Scrubs
4. Survivor
5. Oprah
6. HGTV house shows
7. I can't really remember, because nothing is on in the summer

Foods I like:

1. Chocolate chip cookies
2. A really good salad
3. watermelon
4. steak and potatoes
5. enchiladas

I'd rather be:

1. reading
2. shopping
3. visiting friends/family
4. traveling

Websites I visit daily:

1. email
2. friends' blogs
3. writing websites

People I am tagging:

1. Erin
2. Shelly
3. Amy
4. Maren
5. Jaime

Message in a Bottle-Oh

On Wednesday night Dave and I went to see the Police in concert at Madison Square Garden. I must admit that I had my doubts after fighting traffic for two hours and listening to the opening act that was WAY too loud and annoying. But it was a great concert and a lot of fun. Though we were among the youngest people in the audience (picture a bunch of middle-aged white people--more homogenous than most crowds in NYC), everyone was dancing and singing along. Which was good, because there are some notes that Sting just can't hit anymore (such as the key changes in "Roxanne"). They were all looking a little old; the drummer was wearing a headband and glasses and looked like he was going to play raquetball. The other guitarist had a bit of a beer belly, though not as much as many audience members. It was just as a concert should be--the band was congenial and they played all the "greatest hits". As for us, it was fun to feel like we were in college again, if only for a couple of hours.