Look Who's 8 Months Old!

8 months old and she's already mastered the Rubix Cube.

Genius!

Okay. Where has the time gone? I mean, seriously!
Emily is 8 months old.
Even though her 1st birthday is a good 4 months away, I still find myself looking at birthday cake recipes in preparation because I know May 18 will be here in a wink.
It's just too amazing how fast all this has gone.

Emily hit a ton of developmental milestones last month, so I think she's been on a developmental vacation these last few weeks. She's definitely babbling more now, adding "da-da" to her repertoire. She's also figuring out the different volume pitches of her voice, which is kind of funny to listen to. Although I don't think the people at the grocery store are amused. She's definitely teething a ton, but no teeth yet.

And she's sooooo much more comfortable with new faces. She'll go to just about anyone now.
She's not really anxious to crawl yet. Even when I put something as enticing as a cell phone in front of her. But quite honestly, I'm not trying to rush that whole thing. I know once she starts, she'll never stop!

What kind of new and exciting things will month 8th bring to this little girl? Only she knows!

Everything has its place - in her mouth.

Ode to My Hubby

I just felt I needed to give a shout-out to my husband, Matthew. He is working at a bank during this horrid recession. Need I say more? Yes, I do.

To me, being a CFO at a bank during a recession sounds just as much fun as pulling your toenails out one by one, but Matthew takes it all in stride. Although incredibly stressful, I think he enjoys the challenge! And if he can see this through, he'll have one gold-plated resume on his hands! He worked so hard to get where he is today. Unfortunately, today isn't very kind to banks and profits. He is incredibly devoted to his company and the people who work for him. He logs in about 70-80 hours a week, including work on most Sundays, which means he barely gets to see his little girl. He has made it so I can stay at home with Emily, which means he has to pay all the bills too. All this and he still has a smile on his face come Saturday. The man is amazing.

Recently, he's had a couple sleepless nights. If you read the article below, you'll understand why.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008624696_sterling140.html

Golf Savings Bank is keeping its head above this recession flood for now, but we would certainly appreciate all your positive thoughts!

I guess what this boils down to is... I have recently begun to realize that those designer jeans, those adorable Steve Maddens or that 1-hour massage just doesn't seem to be as important anymore. 2008 offered a huge reality check that'll carry over to 2009. Matthew has a job. We are both healthy. Our baby is healthy. We have a roof over our heads. We are lucky enough to go on vacation to Hawaii in June. These things are important.

I know you don't read this blog much, Matthew, but I love you, honey bun.
Thank you for working so hard for your family and keeping your fun-loving spirit alive.

Partying Like It's 2009

2009 has started with a bang!
We were in bed by 11 p.m on the New Year, we celebrated Miranda's 9th birthday (wow!), had dinner with Uncle Doug and Aunt Vicki, and Emily and I have met up with good friends and their babes for playdates and lunchtime fun.

Matt and I also hosted a wine tasting party on January 3. The party was a big hit! The winning wine was brought by Bill and Andrea (Sparrow Merlot @ a cool $8 a bottle at Target) and the worst wine award went to JB's selection, Big House Red - also el cheapo at about $8 a bottle. There were some pretty expensive wines at the table, people. Let this be a lesson to you all that el cheapos can be delicious if covered in a brown bag!

Here are some fun pics of our '09 happenings thus far:

Emily and Stella sitting in high chairs at the restaurant. So big!!

Poking eachother's faces out and loving every minute of it.

A playdate at Mayumi and Audrey's house...fun times!
Audrey is just two days older than Emily.
You wouldn't ever guess this by looking at the chunker thighs on my girl!
Sorry, Emily honey.
You got your mama's junk. :)

Emi socializing with Steve and Papa at the wine tasting party

Kay digging into the goodies at the table.

Mark with 3-month-old Caroline, Emily's newest and sweetest cuz!

Ahhhh...the classic laundry basket pic

Emi watching her first cartoon... waaaaay up there.

A girl and her sweet puppy dog...love it!