Trip to Chicago and other news........

Emma and I hopped on the train this morning and headed into the city. It was Emma's second time to ride the train, but it was the first time I had to do it without Dave's help. We made it Downtown without any problems and had a nice day visiting with the gang at USG.
Everyone we ran into was glad to see us, but I thought it was funny how many people didn't realize that I had left the company when they had the latest workforce reduction.

Emma was a perfect angel the whole time we were gone; She was fascinated by all the people and sites. She did get a little fussy on the train ride home, but she'd been so good up to that point that I couldn't blame her.

On another front, I have started a second round of physical therapy to hopefully reverse the few lingering effects of the Bell's Palsy. The first round helped so much that I am really hopeful about the current round.

Emma and Susie

One of the things we were worried about before Emma was born was how Susie would handle having a baby in the house. At first Susie, wasn't all that interested in Emma. She also seemed to understand that if Emma was on the couch, then she couldn't be up there too.
Now that Emma is starting to be more mobile, grabbing for things, and starting to show her personality the dog is definitely more interested. So far, the two girls seem to be getting along and Susie has had a lot of patience for Emma's efforts to "pet" her.
Emma gets excited when she sees Susie and screeches, almost like she's asking Susie to come see her. And Susie seems to like the attention because she will go sit by Emma even though she repeatedly gets hit by flailing arms and legs that Emma is still learning how to control. Some of Susie's patience might have to do with the liver treats she gets after being "abused" by the baby.
We still keep a very close eye on the two when they are together, but so far we've been very proud of how Susie has made the adjustment

5 months

Today Emma is 5 months old and she's growing like a weed!! She seems to have mastered rolling over. She can go from her back to her belly, hold herself up to look around and reach for things, and then flip herself back over to her back for a different view of the world. Being on the floor and rolling around is now a favorite past time.
Emma has also discovered that she can use her hands to put things in her mouth, so EVERYTHING goes in there! She knows how to take the pacifier out and knows how to take it back to her mouth, but struggles with making sure it's facing the right direction.
The Exersaucer has also become an essential in Emma's day. She loves to practice sitting up and all the cool things she gets to play with. All in all, I think we have a pretty happy little girl.

First Fever

When Emma went for her last two "well baby" visits, her doctor hasn't had the HIB vaccine. After a lot of daily phone calls, they finally had the vaccine (which protects from meningitis). Emma was a real trooper and hardly even cried when I took her for the shot yesterday, but by bedtime last night the poor little girl was running a fever.
After a dose of baby Tylenol and sponging her off, the fever broke during the night. Other than being tired and a little fussier than normal, she seems to be okay today. I called the pediatrician this morning and they basically said that this is normal, that we did the right things, and to keep an eye on her.

Roll, Roll, and Roll some more

Emma has spent the past month practicing rolling over and she's gotten REALLY good at it. So good, in fact, that I caught her going from her back to her belly and BACK today. Sometimes when she rolls over, her left arm gets caught under her and it's easy for her to push herself back over.

It's really fun to watch her practice her new "skills" and Dave thinks it's funny that I call and tell him about the new things that Emma is doing.