Emma Byrd

Growing Up

2010-12-05T12:15:00.002-06:00

As Emma grows and gets busy, so do her parents. It's tough keeping up with this girl and so we're changing the way we do it.
If you are a friend on Facebook then you know that we've been keeping things up-to-date there, if not then Emma would like you to know that the links on the right hand side of the page to her photos and videos are still very active.

See you on the other side!

Weekend lunch in Waco

2010-07-25T20:37:00.001-05:00

This, kids, is what happens when an adult-kid takes his kid to see the grandparents for a fun weekend lunch in Waco on a Saturday.

Oh who are we kidding!? Its hereditary.

Emma took her daddy up to Waco to see her grandparents, have some lunch, and a stroll about the mall (photographic evidence included).

(Look up here Emma) This, while mommy was away in Corpus for a girls weekend.

We'll see whether or not she feels safe about letting that happen again......

BWHAHAHAHAAHA

It was a fun weekend

<----- I think this final part is Emma kissing the Camera. Yikes!

Beach Baby

2010-07-24T22:53:00.001-05:00

This last weekend was the family trip to Corpus Christi ,TX for the condo. The family has gotten the use of a condo unit every year since forever and this year Emma met up with her cousins for some fun in the sun.

Before daddy showed up she even had a chance to go see the turtles and dolphins at the Texas State Aquarium

Click on the picture below to see the rest!

The House!

2010-07-05T21:19:00.002-05:00

It has been a while and Emma has requested that we start talking about her more.
Specifically she would like everyone to know that she and her family have finally completed the move to the new house!

Its been a grueling four months, but as of a few weeks ago we closed on the newly constructed Byrd house. Starting in February we contracted with Gehan to construct the house you see below and closed in mid June. We couldn't be happier.........until we found out that we could:

We had some serious experts get involved with getting the house from looking new to looking awesome. Those experts would be Billie Byrd and Betty Banks.

Over the course of four days the dynamic duo swept through the house and made HGTV look like amateurs.

Behold the Wonder.
Click on the play buttom below to see the work.
Press it now! Press it for GLORY!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

2010-04-23T00:13:00.002-05:00

Emma went to her first Round Rock Express baseball game. She danced to all the songs and looked so cute the team gave her a baseball!

Emma's Birthday

2010-04-07T20:13:00.000-05:00

Oh what a year it has been. Emma's is now a year old! Her grandparents and Uncles and Aunts and cousins and friends all came to Austin to celebrate the momentous occasion on March 20th, 2010. Never mind that her aunty Morgan and Grandpa Tommy also had birthdays on the 18th and the 20th, everyone knew that Emma was going to be opening the most presents. Now don't worry Emma had a little sugar snack of pancakes on the 17th to tie her over too, we certainly weren't going to let her not have something. But that Saturday we let her have her very first cupcake and she loved it!

Check out the festivities

Emma WALKS! Video!

2010-03-24T17:02:00.004-05:00

LEVEL UP!

Daddy is away :(

2010-03-23T12:54:00.001-05:00

Daddy is in California this week so therefore I am sad.
Hurry home

Emma's Milestones

2010-03-18T12:07:00.001-05:00

We don't have any pictures for this blogpost, so for all those who
just skip what we write and just look at the pictures....sorry!
Thanks to everyone who shared our excitement and joy on Emma's first
birthday! She must of known it was a special day because she decided
to stand on her own for almost a full minute, then took her first
step! She is not walking yet and even though I followed her around
the rest of the day with a camera she did not do it again. This year
has been full of firsts and milestones and they are so exciting for
all of us, thank you for loving our little girl.

Amy and Josh
(mommy and daddy!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to EMMA!

2010-03-17T12:30:00.004-05:00

Emma,

For your birthday, here is a poem from Mommy and Daddy:

You are the best that is of us
So great a gift for us to see
Whose eyes light up the room so bright
What a wonderful sight
We cherish you so lovingly

Mommy
and her sidekick
Daddy

Emma takes out the trash!

2010-03-09T11:49:00.001-06:00

This is how Emma entertains herself while I clean the kitchen. I had
no idea how truly fabulous trashbags are!

Lunch with PaPa!

2010-03-02T13:30:00.001-06:00

He shared his mashed potato and roll with me YUM!!!

Emma gets better

2010-02-06T16:03:00.004-06:00

For those that have been following daddy's facebook page, you probably know that Emma and Amy have been sick for awhile. Both came back from their time in Corpus at the end of January with some respiratory infections. Yuck.

Daddy did his best to help out and worked from home for a few days this last week. We even went to the hospital one night to get some medicine for both of them as well as a breathing treatment for Emma. But, these diseases just weren't leaving. We needed help.

BeBe to the rescue! Thursday she makes the drive from Dallas into town with groceries in tow and the next thing you know mommy is getting sleep, Emma is getting sleep, and the sickies are starting to leave.

Daddy, Grandma and Emma celebrated on Saturday with a trip to IKEA.

Happy Birthday Daddy

2010-01-31T21:13:00.001-06:00

What a fun day. What a crazy weekend actually.

All started out on Saturday morning in San Jose, Ca, where daddy had been the last week for another round of project stuff. The alarm was set to sound at 3:30am so that he could get up and catch his 6:20 flight through Phoenix to Austin and be home by 2pm.

Problem is since daddy used an alarm setting on his phone that is normally reserved for weekdays that 3:30 alarm didn't go off and now it was 5am and he was in a hurry. Had to find a gas station that was open, fill the car up, jump on the unusually slow shuttle from the rental car place to the airport, stand in the slowest security line and flash his ticket at the desk to run onto the rainy tarmac and catch the plane. Come to think of it the whole scene was one explosion away from a bad action flick.

First flight down, then the Phoenix airport. A literal mile hike across 6 moving sidewalks and a angry post to facebook about the suckiness of Phoenix airport later and daddy was on the next leg of the flight.

Too bad this flight was on the equivalent of a flying school bus.
Awful. Don't fly US Airways.

Finally Home!
Daddy catches the poor family in the middle of a nap because they are sick :(
BUT mommy has this cake ready to go and the best birthday photo ever is taken
(see above).

That night the baby sitter comes over and mommy and daddy head down town to the Melting Pot where there was much feasting and rejoicing of the momentous occasion. Home again and lights OUT! Deep sleep wake up in strange place! OH wait daddy is home yay!

Today was Sunday and the whole family wakes up and eats muffins! Kevin comes over to say hi and an hour later he is gone and everyone is on the road to Waco, TX to go eat with the Byrd's from the north at the Elite Circle Grill. MMMMM tasty.

Rena and John are there and Aunt Betty and Grandaddy Jeff and BeBe and Aunty Morgan are there to say happy birthday..........and to replace daddy's wardrobe.......

Seriously. Daddy got alot of clothes.

That he needed. 'Cause shopping is a life skill that he doesn't have.
But who would when you got a posse like his loading him up like they did?

Anyway the day was incredible and more pictures are coming!

Party Time

2010-01-24T13:32:00.001-06:00

Yesterday Emma attended her first birthday party! No not her birthday party, will get to that soon enough. This was the birthday party for one of her little friends, Olivia Fenner!

She got to do several things like ride in the wagon around the backyard, slide down the slide, and jump in the swing for the funnest ride ever!

Check out the action shots below:

Wagon Ride

Slide!

Plus we got video of Emma swinging

Watch in HD video glory here

This is how a baby is supposed to eat.

2010-01-13T17:31:00.006-06:00

Listen up you babies.
I am going to show you the proper way of eating what Mommy gives you

Start by inspecting every single piece of food. You know for quality
and stuff....

Remember to turn each piece over in your hand to make sure that nothing is hidden underneath

If you do that occasionally you will find surprises. Which are fun!

Remember that when you do actually end up eating to to appear smirky

Remember to finish or your tongue will fall out! AHHHH

There you have it! The perfect eating guide. Demonstrated by Emma

Christmas 2009

2009-12-31T08:25:00.012-06:00

Well we've all had a week to have our Christmas time and get back home, get sick, get well, and get to Corpus for another round of visting the grandparents and I haven't even told you all about it!

The house at night

It all started last Wednesday, the 23rd, when Mommy and Daddy and I packed the car up, dropped Maggie off at Lisa's and headed on our way to Olney, TX to go see the family and participate in that yearly (as I have been told) tradition of the Strealy family sing-along.

All the girls

All my cousins and Uncles and Aunts were there. I am glad they were too because all of us kids got to sit in the center and pick any instrument we want. And then we wailed on it as hard as we could to make sweet beautiful music to no one but our parents (well ok Nana and Grandad too).

The adults got to participate by singing Christmas carols over our rock jam session.

Like the rock stars we were, once we were finished we left (without picking up, I mean seriously what are parents good for but that?) to head to our rooms demand food service and pass out. Some of the band members went over to their grand parents house (since they live in Olney) and crashed there. It was a sweet gig.

Oh I forgot to mention that Nana was a the little drummer boy this year. What? Costumes at Christmas? Yes that is what makes the sing-along cool is that Nana dresses up as a different character each year (so I am told). I channeled this costume inspiration into my rocking out that night with my cousins and had lots of fun.

All the great grand children

Next morning, I woke to a Christmas morning surprise! Despite the fact that the weather during the drive to Olney was nice, sunny, and 75, we woke up to SNOW! It was a White Christmas.

The beginning and end of the day

Seeing that the weather man totally failed in predicting snow for the entire week, Daddy and Mommy didn't have their snow clothes, but being the good parents they are they brought my stuff just in case.

Playing in the snow

We spent the day running around outside, building snowmen, and tossing snowballs just before retreating to hot chocolate. Well that's what Daddy did mostly. I played outside some too but the snowball throwing was all Daddy and my Uncles.

We spent the rest of the day watching the snow get deeper and by the end were watching "Its a Wonderful Life"

The best part of the movie was when it got interrupted by the funniest public safety announcement EVER! It started with what sounded like a police car driving into the living room to flash its sirens only to be followed up by the most informal message delivery to ever pass as official.

This guy, who sounds like he is sitting in his living room with the mic propped up on his Santa belly, kinda sighs in the mic and says:

"huuuuhh.....Well folks...........the weather outside is.......tuurrilble"

Laugher erupts on our end and the rest of the message is not heard

That was Christmas Eve

Christmas Day YAYAYA

I got me a play house and a stroller that I am learning to walk with and clothes that make me look cute (if it is possible to make me look cuter) and tons of toys that make noise (DADDY SAYS THANKS ALOT FAMILY)! My cousins came over that afternoon after Daddy and Papa rescued them in their 4x4's from being trapped in their snowed in house. We ate lots of food (peas and bananas for me) and spent the rest of the day playing in the snow and finally for me learning how to pull my self up!

Play time

The next day was the day after my first Christmas and the first day for me to sport some of my new clothing. We made our way through the snow again to the car and loaded it up to leave town. We ate at Koffee Kup in Hico and had some AMAZING burgers before heading home and fell asleep.

Standing tall!

2009-12-14T17:54:00.001-06:00

Emma loves to pull herself up and stand on her own at her laugh and
learn table. She also likes to dance to the different songs it plays!
When she gets tired she just falls back on her chair, sometimes she
misses but she doesn't mind too much ;)

Thanksgiving

2009-12-05T13:04:00.000-06:00

Emma had her first Thanksgiving this last week and as predicted, stole the show. From dinner to play time, to the gift exchange she was the center of attention! And rightfully so, as she did her best to make every moment the cutest.

This was our year to have Thanksgiving with Daddy's side of the family (much to GeGe's dismay, though she can't complain because she gets Christmas). We started the holidays on that Wednesday by putting my engineering to the test in order to pack all of the girls's stuff into the car.

15 Hours later we were on our way....

No, more like 30 mins later, but anyway we were off to the
booming metropolis of Waskom, TX

There Emma got to see her Great Gran Rena and John as they hosted the family Thanksgiving. There was turkey, corn, stuffing, pie and more pie! Yummy

Uncle Jared and Auntie Morgan were there as well as the Grandparents. The family greeted us at the door and daddy was happy to let everyone hug Emma right away......Emma wasn't so happy though! She didn't recognize everyone in the room just yet so she got upset, but as you can see it didn't take her long to warm up to everyone. Catching up with the family was fun and daddy and grandaddy got a chance to do so for the next 5 hours as they proceeded to unload the car with all 50 of mommy and Emma's suitcases so that he could get to the one bag he brought. Emma spent the evening entertaining the guests and the day ended well.

The next day was thanksgiving and Emma got a chance to have turkey for the first time. EWWWW she didn't like it.

The rest of the food for the grown-ups (and Morgan) disappeared quickly and the whole family moved quickly to the gift exchange. THE WHAT!??!? Yes the gift exchange (since Aurlie had Emma for Christmas). Everyone got some amazing stuff. What Emma got was epic. Her things littered the floor and seeing her play with the things as they were opened was the best gift of all.

By the weekend Emma, her parents and the grandparents all packed it up to head to Dallas for two extremely important events.

The Texas Tech vs Baylor Shootout

In the newly constructed Cowboys Stadium

And the 29th Annual Dickens of a Christmas Event in McKinney, TX

In addition to the wonderful breakfast that we enjoyed Sunday morning at Spoons Cafe the highlight was Emma's first picture with Santa Claus (for real this time, not the scary one from Halloween)

Though judging by the look of things Emma doesn't know that!

As always you are invited to click on any of the above photos and check out the rest of the best on Emma's photo page.

Crawling

2009-12-04T19:07:00.001-06:00

Life as Daddy knows it is over.......

EMMA CRAWLS!

What you can't see is that after successfully crawling to the Wii remote, Emma used it to beat a video game on expert difficulty.

Been Busy: A story of hope and enduring memories

2009-11-08T21:35:00.001-06:00

Prologue
As I am sure you can tell, Emma has been a busy little girl. Between the red carpet events, fashion debuts, and prune luncheons she has had little time to actually tell the world what she has been up to. There have been moments of fun and moments of boring but mainly the time has been awesome with happy sprinkles. So, now on to the story everyone has been waiting for!

Chapter 1
It all started a few weeks ago when Emma got to participate in one of those classic growing-up-but-you-hope-doesn't-turn-out-like-what-happened-to-Elizabeth-Shoe experiences of having a babysitter! Paige Trostel was happy to do the honors as she and Emma became bestest of friends on October 24th, the day of Christine and Karl's wedding....

Wedding you say? Yes it was awesome and mommy and daddy enjoyed themselves and there was much festivities with the rejoicing and dancing and much feasting on the fruits and fruitbats and sloths and orangoutangs and all that fancy stuff that kids do nowadays during that time of a wedding.

Emma cared not for these activities as she was having party time while her parents were away, yay! Daddy will worry more about these moments as Emma gets older. In fact he has prepared a graph to illustrate:

The evening went quite well and then we all fell asleep.

(This space intentionally left blank)

Chapter 2
It was a dark and scary night and Emma decided to descend (in all of her cuteness) upon a group of unsuspecting (ok, they knew...) band of mommy and daddy's friends as Emma donned her awe-inspiring lady bug outfit. This was Emma's first Halloween!

The types of parties that Emma attends are top notch, ok folks? She did not settle to go to any ole party nay, she attended one of Tatiana's super-fun-over-the-top parties in downtown Austin. There were ghosts and goblins, Smara (from the Ring,....I know I was scared too), and Santa Claus! SPOOKY!

Yes, Emma knocked out her first pictures with Santa at the party as well so she would like everyone to know that she won't be sending any Santa photos this year and in return would like you to send money. Thanks!

The party was fun to say the least. There was even halloween sushi with colored rice. That's right, halloween sushi. Emma demands the best.

Chapter 3
The next day, BeBe and Grandaddy Jeff invited Emma and her parents to come see them in their B&B in Salado. High end shopping and down right kick-you-in-the-face good cooking were the order of the day. Emma enjoyed playing at the cabin and swinging on the porch. She even got a chance to play on a playground for the first time. Her granddaddy caught her playing.

Daddy did too:

Thinking back Emma would have to say that her favorite part was getting to play not with the new clothes that BeBe got her, but with the paper that they came in....

Chapter 4
Once Emma had had a chance to see her northern grand parents she figured that she might as well send daddy to California, to get him out of the way, and then get mommy to take a week vacation to Corpus Christi to see the southern grandparents. Now Emma is enjoying a relaxing week there.

You may contact her through her agent (aka mommy)

THE END

(Sing to the ending credits of Star Wars)
duh nah duh nah duh nah, DUH DUH DUH daaaaaa DAAAAA duh duh duh DAAAAA DA duh duh duh DAAAA DA duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

Prunes!!

2009-10-22T12:42:00.000-05:00

Emma just ate her first container of prunes, I am surprised at how

much she likes them!!

EMMA PUMPKIN FALL LINE UP

2009-10-21T08:32:00.001-05:00

Experience.

Wonder.

Like.

Never.

Before.

EMMA PUMPKIN FALL LINE UP

See what critics say is revolutionizing the pumpkin industry

"Viewing these photos changed my perspective"
"Beauty unimaginable"
"My God, that is a large flower"

Little Book Worm

2009-10-20T09:31:00.000-05:00

Emma loves her Halloween book, especially all the fun noises it makes
thanks BeBe!!

Are we there yet?

2009-10-14T13:37:00.001-05:00

Stephen got tired so Emma drove the last leg of the trip home!

Emma hearts technology

2009-10-14T13:36:00.001-05:00

Like father like daughter

Special Delivery!

2009-09-25T10:14:00.001-05:00

Today Emma got a package from her BeBe! It was very exciting, and Emma
was so thrilled she immediatley put an outfit on and insisted that mom
take her to the mall to show off. On the way home she fell asleep in
the car from all the excitement.

Emma's first doll!

2009-09-22T16:52:00.002-05:00

Emma had dinner with her friend Madelyn last night.
Madelyn just turned one so Emma loves to see all that Madelyn can do!
Emma loved her tiny purse and cell phone, but when Madelyn showed Emma her baby doll Emma got so excited she was shaking!!

So of course after dinner was over GeGe went across the street to Toys R Us and bought Emma her first baby. As you can see Emma loves it!!

Lunch Time!

2009-09-17T12:19:00.005-05:00

We tried baby food again today, here is Emma having her first taste of

bannanas

MMMMM?

Time of Sweet Potatoes

Better!

Emma recommends the following savory spirits to compliment these meals:

*Enfamil Formula, prepared medium to mildly warm

*Pedialite, chilled

Squash!

2009-09-16T10:16:00.002-05:00

Emma had her first jar of squash tonight, needless to say she did not

finish it!

EWWWWWW

Peggy loves Emma

2009-09-11T10:52:00.005-05:00

Check out her post from her visit last weekend. Quite the photographer:

STILL can't get enough of...Emma!

Stroller

2009-09-09T13:10:00.002-05:00

It was finally a little cooler this morning so Emma, Maggie and I went
to get the mail. Look how big she is sitting in her stroller without
the carseat!

Re-living the early days

2009-08-28T12:34:00.003-05:00

There are momentous videos out there in the world that capture a glimpse of events that truely change the course of humanity.

Emma has her own

I love hanging with my Grandparents

2009-08-22T14:38:00.002-05:00

Look at how wonderful I am playing on my mat in Dallas. Thanks to Aunty Morgan's incredible skills of a photographer for my picture awesomeness!

I love playing

2009-08-12T18:46:00.002-05:00

So there is no way that Emma was going to keep this a secret:

She's wears her socks to play

Stay classy Emma, stay classy

Eating like a big girl

2009-08-08T18:40:00.002-05:00

Last week Emma decided that she wanted to try out this whole eating cereal bit just to see what the hype was all about.......

Needless to say she just doesn't understand why anyone would want to go through the extra effort of holding spoons and aiming for your mouth when she could easily sit back and get Mommy or Daddy to feed her a bottle.

She also doesn't understand why everything is so funny when the food was obviously SOOO bad!

Rock and Roll

2009-08-04T23:17:00.004-05:00

Emma was in Corpus Christi this last week for those that didn't get the memo. Her father was away in California working on a project so she said that she wasn't going to just sit around the house and thus packed her mom up and headed south.

While down there she got a chance to catch up with a few of her favorite Grandparents and Uncle as well as many friends.

One of the coolest things that she did while away was nothing short of:

LEVEL UP!

That's right, Emma totally figured out the whole rolling to the stomach maneuver. Mommy was quick enough to catch it on video:

SHHHH Don't tell Emma she lost half of her hair in the process! That would just upset her. And you know what happens when Emma gets upset.......

Poker Face!

2009-07-30T11:03:00.001-05:00

Read 'em and weep ladies!!

Swimming

2009-07-28T13:43:00.003-05:00

After a good swim at the pool I like to retreat back to my cabana in style!

I get so tired in the pool I enjoy a little nap on the way back!

Bumbo!

2009-07-22T16:57:00.001-05:00

Emma is sitting up so well she can finally use her bumbo chair!!

Peek A Boo

2009-07-20T16:29:00.001-05:00

Emma learning how to play peek a boo!!

Emma's July Photo Shoot

2009-07-18T15:02:00.005-05:00

Emma decided it was time for her to show off her versatility again so she and the family headed on down to Sears for a studio photo shoot. She did really well and was cooperative with the photographer before retiring to her trailer (a.k.a. stroller). The parents made a casual stroll around the mall while the photos went into post-production. We weren't gone long as Sears couldn't figure out how to improve upon PERFECTION so we paid up and left. Then there was much feasting and napping and all was good.

Here are some of our favorites

You can click on any of the photos to see the full set

Peggy in town

2009-07-18T14:57:00.005-05:00

So this last weekend was Peggy's time to see baby Emma again. Since Peggy also ended up buying a new camera while she was in town, she was the de-facto photographer for the weekend as well. As apart of her love for the Byrd family she saved daddy the effort of chronicling the events of the weekend by blogging about it herself. Check it out!

Emma's check up

2009-07-14T11:28:00.001-05:00

Emma had her 4 month check-up and shots today. She did really great
until the nurse put the shots in her leg and she freaked out!!! Poor
Emma! She is 24 in long (she was 20 in at birth) and weighs 13 lbs
12oz (she was 7lbs 1oz at birth). She is in the 50th percentile for
height and weight. The dr says she looks good and has reached all her
milestones on time! Here is a picture of her trying to comfort herself
after the shots.

Busy girl!

2009-07-09T15:21:00.001-05:00

I love to study the ocean life on my play mat!

Hi Daddy!

2009-07-08T12:21:00.001-05:00

Mom is so funny when we play!!

Fourth of July

2009-07-07T23:36:00.004-05:00

So Friday rolls around and we all find ourselves in Midland. Well this is a good thing because Emma was SOOO excited about staying at Palacio de Byrd's Super Awesome Grandparents Fun House!!! The whole day was spent playing and eating some really great brisket. Grandaddy Jack and Nini got a chance to show Emma around the house.

The next day we made our way to the Midland Country Club for some awesome fun in the sun. You know you want to check out the photos. Those are, quite frankly, the only way to describe what happened there really. Emma made sure, before we left, to spell out the rules on how things would go down at the pool. Including, of course, how much service she would require. Below is a candid shot of her laying out the ground rules.

Uncle Jared did not follow the rules!

Of course everyone got a chance to feed Emma! Because she demanded it!

Esther Byrd

2009-07-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

Shortly before returning to Austin from the beach we got news that Emma's great-great-grandmother, Esther Mae (Morrow) Byrd had peacefully passed on. We wanted to make sure we were there for the service and as daddy was a pallbearer, we found ourselves returning to Austin for a day and a half before jumping back in the car to head to San Angelo, TX.

This was Emma's first time to meet the extended family. We met and had a lovely service that ended at Mullins Cemetery for the burial. The day was bittersweet.

Emma loved the people that she met and took extra care to get ready that morning. Here is a shot of her procrastinating while Mommy and Daddy got themselves ready. By the end of the day the family was on their way back to Midland for some rest and relaxation.
We can't wait for the 4th of July!
Head on over to Emma's photo page to check out some select shots from the day's activities

Condo Weekend!

2009-06-29T22:01:00.001-05:00

Every year the whole family meets down in Corpus Christi at the Seagull for a long weekend filled with a general melange of beachy activities. This year was Emma's first time out and she made the most of it.

She got a chance to play in the pool with her second cousins:

Aubrey
Tucker
Hayden
Nathan
Kaytie and Katherine (the twins)
Grumpy
Bashfull

The last two are fake.

Emma also got a chance to catch up with the rest of the family and has a badge of triumph to show for the number of hugs and kisses that she received.

Among the highlights were fishing, boogie boarding, kite flying, swimming in the pool and eating like kings. Emma has picked her favorite photos from the weekend and put then on her photo site.

Bathing Beauty!!

2009-06-11T10:11:00.001-05:00

BeBe, Aunt Betty, and Aunt Morgan sent me this cute bathing suit!
(among other great outfits!!!) I can't wait to get out and enjoy the
pool! It has matching sandals but I kept kicking them off but they are
fabulous too! It's nice to have my own stylists and glam squad and I'm
not even 3 months old!!

What has daddy been up to?

2009-06-06T12:37:00.003-05:00

There certainly have been alot of posts from Mommy this last week but Daddy has been missing. Well kids, that's because Daddy was away in California working on a project. It wasn't all work and no play as Daddy did get a chance to head to Napa Valley and Sonoma County to do a little wine tasting at several locations on Saturday, May 30th. Really? How was it?

Glad you asked (If you are CPS stop here).

We started at the Winarsky's house in San Jose, heading up first to Napa via Oakland to Beringer Vineyards. We met up with Oliver Tsao there. We took the tour and had a taste and then decided to have lunch at V. Sattui on the picnic grounds. Afterwards we went up to to Sterling Vineyards and took the gondola ride up to do the self-guided tour.

Afterward we all packed it up and headed over to Sonoma to check out Raven's Wood Vineyards. Oliver, in the meantime, split to head back to San Fran for a party. Too bad though, because we got a chance to taste some of their best estate zins and port. The rumors of Sonoma being a better experience than Napa are true!

To add to the experience, Raven's Wood hooked us up with a pass for four free tastings at Charles' Creek Vineyard's tasting room in downtown Sonoma. We get there expecting greatness and got so much more. Turns out that the Vintage Race Car Festival was going on that day in Sonoma Plaza so that meant that after checking out Ms. Moo-lot and el Tecolote we got a chance to check out some sweet racing cars in all their glory. To cap the evening we ended up at the place next door to Charles Creek, Harvest Moon Cafe I had the cannelloni.

We got back to San Jose around 10:30PM. I dropped the Winarsky's off at their house, went back to hotel and promptly passed out from a long, incredible day.

Check out the photos here:

Josh's Trip to Napa

Lunch date

2009-06-06T11:59:00.001-05:00

Emma had her first lunch date in a restaurant today! We met Alexis,
Sam, and baby Jackson today for lunch. She did a great job and was
only a little jealous she did not get to eat chips and salsa. She was
happy to see her friend Jackson and was fascinated by his remote
control chew toy, I had to explain to her boys always want the remote.
Emma was also excited to hear all the details of Sam's upcoming
wedding! It was so much fun she fell asleep right before we left to
come home. Oh and she looked great in her tiny dress Aunt Morgan
picked out for her!

Emma

2009-06-02T10:38:00.001-05:00

She looks like a little cherub!!

New Clothes!

2009-06-01T10:16:00.001-05:00

When we got home from our trip to Corpus we had a fun package waiting
for us! Thanks Aunt Betty for all the pretty new clothes, it helps to
keep Emma's reputation as the best dressed baby!!

Little swimmer

2009-05-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

Emma tried to go swimming today in her friend Madelyn's pool but the
water was too cold she didn't even want her toes in the water! Her
bathing suit is really cute though!! This is Emma about to go home
after her playtime.

Emma's BFF

2009-05-26T10:55:00.001-05:00

Emma and Madylen!

Emma is happy

2009-05-22T12:07:00.001-05:00

Emma is always in a good mood after her morning nap and snack!!

Emma is moving on up

2009-05-18T23:55:00.001-05:00

Emma is getting a jump on life. You see Emma had been waiting to really get out and start living it up until she had essential things completed......such as immunizations. So when those immunizations got finished on Friday Emma kicked in into high gear.

First on the agenda was a BBQ at one of Daddy's college friend's house. It was pretty much casual as she wore her tiny jeans and tiny plaid shoes. She was the hottest two-month old baby there for sure. I mean she's not going to brag or anything, but people were impressed.

Next on the list was some fine shopping on a Sunday. That's right she was shown how to get her shop on by the pro, Mommy, as we went to James Avery to pick up a Mother's Day gift.

THEN Emma leveled up with a new skill: Rolling Over!

Check it out!

BOO YAH

Hi Daddy!!

2009-05-13T09:56:00.001-05:00

Look at my onesie!!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T00:12:00.000-05:00

Mother's Day was a blast in that Emma's great grandparents came to town. Gran Rena was so excited to see her! We had a wonderful, classy evening listening to jazz music, eating fajitas, drinking wine and finally, John's violin playing. It was like having our own concert. Emma has so happy that she picked up a new skill that evening: Rolling Over! That's right Emma rolled right over to an audience that evening. It happened a few times, but each time she did it, Daddy was not quick enough to get the camera ready so you will just have to believe us. Click on the pictures to see some more.

Double Chin!

2009-05-07T14:27:00.001-05:00

Whoa, mom, get the camera out of my face you're giving me a double chin!

All Smiles!

2009-05-05T09:57:00.002-05:00

Sunday night Emma smiled for the first time. She was about to go to sleep when one of the bears on her mobile caught her attention. We spent the next 30 mins making the bear dance and goo-gooing. It was a good night!

The First Weekend in May

2009-05-03T22:27:00.001-05:00

So Peggy was in town again this weekend in order to celebrate her birthday.

You see that is what Emma does, she books weekends with people to celebrate birthdays. She is kinda like a hot commodity when it comes to celebrating your birthday. Emma likes to think that she does society a service by gracing birthday parties with her presence, so if you would like to celebrate your birthday with Emma please be sure to call ahead as she books quickly. Also she only is available for birthday celebrations if you are attractive.

Back to the weekend: So Peggy was in town as was our good friend Melissa Satterwhite. This weekend was the first chance that Melissa had to see Emma, and boy was she excited about it. The weekend was filled with the standard amount of lazy with a dash of incredible. Fun and sleep and pizza were had by all (except Emma).

Kevin made a stop by as well because,... well why not

New outfit

2009-04-28T16:32:00.001-05:00

I LOVE my new outfit from Aunt Morgan!! The ruffles on my bum are even

cuter you just can't see them right now

Happy Birthday Jared

2009-04-26T14:49:00.004-05:00

Jared's birthday was the 25th and what better way to spend it than a visit to Emma? Uncle Jared, Grandma, Granddad, Great Grandma and Great Granddad all made the trip to town on Saturday to see Emma and her wonderful outfits.....and to celebrate Jared's birthday. The festivities started on Friday when the Great Grandparents stopped by after checking into the hotel to see Emma for the first time. They stayed to visit for about an hour and then decided to head back to call it a night.

The next morning the parents showed up about 10 am and said hi to Emma for the first time since she was born. My what changes she has been through since then. Great grandparents showed back up after that to start the party. Daddy and Granddaddy left to go get Jared from the airport and when we returned that's when the cooking began,...MMMMMMMMM, YUM!

We grilled up about 11 hundred steak rounds, threw some gorgonzola salad, baked potatoes, and crescent rolls in the mix and before you knew it this is what happened:

COMA!

Head on over to Emma's Photopage to check out our favorite shots from the rest of the week end. Here is a preview:

Hi, my name is Emma, and I approve this tutu!

Girls Weekend

2009-04-20T21:33:00.003-05:00

This weekend was a girl's weekend. Peggy and Summer came to town to see Emma in all of her glory. Heather made stop by as well to complete the hen house. All of the girls enjoyed talking and catching up while Emma enjoyed sleeping and pooping. Maggie enjoyed scratching and sniffing while trying to connivence everyone that they could just as easily catch up while taking a walk around the neighborhood. Daddy took a photo and that's about it.

On a walk today

2009-04-19T16:17:00.002-05:00

Today was bright and sunny so why not spend it in a very calm walk around the block. Well guess what that is what we did! Only this was Emma's first walk anywhere in her stroller! Yay for her. We felt the need to chronicle this event since she was asleep for the entire event. Maggie thinks that this should be a daily event and we agree, we're not going to make it so though until little one gets her vaccines during her 2 month visit

Emma is now a month old

2009-04-14T20:39:00.005-05:00

Happy one month birthday Emma! You know thinking back to the activities that we were participating in a month ago we are beginning to think that a movie night is a little bit more on the "less-stressful-not-so-much-painful" end of the scale.

We certainly are enjoying Emma in our family (as you can probably tell). In other news, Emma's visit to the Pediatric Orthopod (baby foot doctor) ended well when he said that she does NOT have club feet.

Just chicken legs!

Easter Photoshoot

2009-04-11T15:24:00.001-05:00

Emma is all dressed to impress this Easter season and would love for you to watch her video and comment on how angelic she looks.

Her goal was to take cuteness factor to the next level and we believe that she accomplished that goal today.

To see some stills of our favorite photos of the day click below

Easter - a set on Flickr

Good Friday!

2009-04-10T21:43:00.001-05:00

Some Friday's are better than others. This one was Good Friday. And it sure was. Pictured above are some of the best gifts ever. The small cute little basket was for Emma, and she loves it for its cuteness factor. The shirt was for daddy and he loves it for its AWESOMENESS factor.

Sorry Emma, you are cute and all, but sometimes Daddy gets better gifts for having made you.

Looks like this is one of those times!

GeGe is back in town

2009-04-09T21:36:00.000-05:00

Emma's grandmother has made it back in town to see her.
Yay for us..................................."Why?", You ask?

I asked the same thing, and well, I don't know why, but would you need any specific reason to this much cuteness? Bottom line is there really is no denying a grandmother her chance to see that cute spoilable mess of my daughter, especially seeing that it is just the weekend.

It is just the weekend right?

Emma is three weeks old!

2009-04-07T20:18:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it? This time three weeks ago we were at the hospital. It is amazing to think that it was only a month ago that Amy had problems doing things around the house because she had this huge bump blocking her way...... come to think of it, that hadn't changed, and the bump makes more noise, spews out of both ends and keeps us awake. But we love her!

Blue Steel

2009-04-06T20:41:00.001-05:00

Emma is a good sport. She learned a great deal about being this way at the end of last week while taking pictures for her aunt and cousin.

During this fashion photo shoot she learned one of daddy's favorite "looks" - Blue Steel. Being a natural that she is, she quickly picked up the pose and made it her own as seen here in one of the day's shots.

She later talked about how she loves this look as it really gives her a chance to show her versatility.

Busy day!

2009-04-05T20:55:00.001-05:00

Emma loved having all the visitors she has had this weekend. To add to their numbers today was Ashley Nichols. Ashley is a good friend of Amy's as they have known each other since grade school in Corpus Christi. She was in town for a friend's wedding and, of course, just couldn't resist taking time to get to see Emma.

Soon after Ashley left Emma took it to the next level by busting out a new super power:

Head Lifting!

That's right she is figuring it all out and we have captured the experience on video. Click the video to watch:

The whole ordeal was so exciting/strenuous that immediately afterward Daddy and Emma fell asleep. MMMMM sleep is gooood.

Fun bath time for everyone (except daddy)

2009-04-04T10:59:00.001-05:00

Folks this is what happens when you give a young child a warm bath then let them get real calm in your hands while posing for a picture.

I should have seen this coming.

Comment if you think I deserved this.....

Happy Times!

2009-04-04T00:10:00.003-05:00

Emma should be very happy today as she is over the jaundice! Our little visit to the doctor's confirms that we have pulled though. Also, Emma is now weighing in at 7lbs, 8oz. That is a whole 7oz over birthweight! The doctor expects her to be close to 8lbs by next week. The rest of the day was as expected. Here was the itinerary: Eat, Sleep, Poop, Repeat.

The night time was visitor's hour as aunty Morgan and cousin Heather came through on their way to San Marcos. They, of course, had a chance to hold all of the babies.

Before they passed out from driving/holding babies and simultaneously found a new use for the boppies.

Photo by Deb

2009-04-01T20:36:00.001-05:00

So two things of awesomeness happened today:
First Emma is now happily in tune with the use of a pacifier. She was not interested in this strange device a few weeks ago, but now!.......
To commemerate this moment in time we took her by Deb's Photo studio where she graced the camera with one of Deb's favorite poses. Overall Emma's third week is turning out to very eventful, wouldn't you agree?

<-- This guy showed up a little later to take one as well

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

2009-03-30T22:22:00.001-05:00

Today had to be a very quiet day for those at home. Daddy was back at work today. Well, technically he was back at work last week, but today he went to the office. Before going to the office though, we all made a trip to the pediatrician. He says that Emma is doing great. The highlight of the experience was that
Emma has passed her birthweight of 7lbs, 1oz! She is 7lbs, 6oz. YAY!

Mommy started a fun daytime activity today called reading. Brown Bear, Brown Bear was the selection of the day. And it was the so much fun that daddy had to give it a go when he got home.

Later on that night Alexis Newton came by with Jackson to pay us a visit and bring some king ranch chicken. I think Emma has a new friend.

Today is a good BBQ day

2009-03-29T19:51:00.007-05:00

So today we put papa to work and he did so in the most glorious way,.......by cooking steaks. MMMMMM so nice. The rest of the day was filled with visits and photograph sessions that lead to some of the best family photos ever taken.

See what I am talking about!

Check out some of my favorites here

Papa is in town

2009-03-28T20:24:00.007-05:00

Emma's papa, Tommy Strealy, is in town. He had his birthday on the 20th, during Emma's first week so he got a great present from us! Unfortunately he had to work the next week so this was the first time that he has had a chance to see Emma since then.

Fortunately, for him, he gets his wish today and gets to see his grand daughter. Fortunately, for Emma's parents, he gets to take his wife home with him tomorrow

That means you Aurlie!,..........Love you =-)

Another first was captured on camera today and that was Tommy getting to feed Emma for the first time.

In other news, mommy totally got Emma some new jeans today.

WOW THOSE ARE HOT

Maggie got jealous

Finally, I made a stop by Apple to assure them that I did want to continue working there and everyone was very congratulatory. People there are awesome.

The belly button is no more

2009-03-27T18:52:00.001-05:00

Well we have reached a milestone today. Emma's little belly button fell out....

She has an outie.

No pictures because that little belly button thing is gross.

Would you like to comment?

2009-03-27T14:51:00.001-05:00

Seems there was an issue with the comment board.....

That issue has been fixed! Big thanks go out to Katie Winarsky for catching the error. By the way, she has a blog that specializes in awesome! It is called Notes from the Kitchen Sink and I highly recommend it.

Meanwhile, this is what Emma has been doing:

Looks like we both have gotten a lot done today!

Lost his man card

2009-03-27T10:55:00.002-05:00

So this morning while we were waiting to see the lactation consultant, I decided to sit with Emma for a second.

Then my arm got a little tired, but Emma was comfortable, so I asked Amy to bring me the Boppy.

Next thing I know, Maggie wanted to sit with us as well. So, we put her up on the chair and she proceeded to find the warmest spot.....
between my legs.

A few minutes passed and the The View came on and before I knew it,.....

I HAD LOST MY MAN CARD

I knew this would happen

But can you blame me when you're looking at something like this?

Visits and Videos

2009-03-26T18:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had another visitor. Heather Wesseling made a stop by on her day off to pay Emma a visit. She, of course, immediately fell under the spell of Emma Byrd and attempted to take her home. She will deny this of course, but don't believe her for a second. There is no denying the cuteness factor.

Later on that day I filmed the best video ever:

Enjoy! Oh and if you want to see more videos then check out the Emma's Videos link over on the side bar.

Busy Bath Time

2009-03-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

It was bath time again today. Emma doesn't particularly like bath time right now because it is just cumbersome (got to protect the belly-button from water!). Later on I am sure that she will begin to enjoy it more. We had grandmother photograph the entire ordeal, but judging by the picture below I think she got a little carried away:

Get used to it Emma...

Get used to it

New Look

2009-03-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

We decided that Emma's blog should be as pretty as she is. So we have changed the look. Of course we have failed miserably as no stupid page could EVER be as good-looking as our daughter. It looks a little better though....

Daddy feeding Emma

2009-03-25T01:10:00.000-05:00

This photo was worth posting as the cuteness factor was off the charts. This is what days have become. Feeding and pooping. That is a-ok with us.

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

2009-03-24T23:28:00.000-05:00

LOOK AT ME!

LOOK INTO MY EYES!

THESE "PEOPLE" I LIVE WITH HAVE LOST IT.

I demand respect and fear and treats from my subjects. This baby is a distraction that has gone on long enough. This post is very difficult to type with my paws so I will keep it brief:

DO NOT BELIEVE THE HYPE. I AM YOUR ONE TRUE PRINCESS.

Maggie

Super (Tired) Baby

2009-03-24T18:38:00.001-05:00

So while we were waiting for Emma to wake up to eat last week we decided to have a little fun with her!* We were very tired at this point so don't judge.

*No babies or parents were harmed in the making of this film

Emma is eating well

2009-03-23T21:48:00.000-05:00

So we had a little issue creep up on us last night that we solved today with the lactation consultant's visit. Turns out that poor little Emma was too tired to eat with all that bilirubin and wasn't eating enough when it was time to eat. Well after the consultant's visit today we learned some techniques that have her eating well enough to make her smile!

A big "thank you" goes out to Angela Lierman!

Consultants

2009-03-23T13:32:00.000-05:00

We got word back already from the blood work done this morning and her count was at 16.5. She left the hospital with a 9.6, but the doctor says that it normally goes up and then down. We have made the call to get a lactation consultant out here today at 4PM to see if she can give us some pointers on how to get Emma to eat enough to push all that bilirubin out of her system. Again this is quite common and nothing has happened that needs to worried about as long as the count stays below 25. We're just happy that we get to do more sunbathing!

Blood work

2009-03-23T11:03:00.000-05:00

So after I made a pit stop at work to assure them that I would be
coming back, I met up with the gang at the pediatric's office just in
time to escort them over to the hospital for some blood work to be
done. We're simply checking on how the jaundice is doing. The
pediatritian isn't worried so niether are we.

Once again though the early morning activities warrented a stop by
Round Rock Donuts.

Photos are back up!

2009-03-22T20:40:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the inconvenience if anyone wanted to see baby Emma today but wasn't able. I have created a new collection of photos on Flickr that will be the place to check.

Again, this first week was sort of a whirlwind, but we have felt very loved and cared for with all of the support received and the thoughts and prayers sent. Emma and the family look forward to meeting all those that plan to make the trip and we will be coming to see the rest as we can!

Love from everyone
Even Maggie

Photos will be back

2009-03-22T15:54:00.000-05:00

Emma's photo pages will be down for some re-organization this afternoon. All of them will be available again shortly.

The visitors keep on coming

2009-03-22T13:06:00.000-05:00

Last night was party time for Emma. It all started when Stephen, Emma's uncle showed up. This was his first chance to see her and she proceeded to greet him with a huge dirty diaper. Nice work Emma.

Next to make a stop by were the Garners. Fresh off of their trip to Costa Rica they immediately took to making Emma their bestest new friend.

Finally we all got a chance to sit down to Great Uncle Greg's chicken enchiladas and Aunty Vicky's piping queso! Love it! This was a welcome treat.

Emma would like to thank everyone who got a chance to stop by during her first week and for all of those that send best wishes online and by email. She knows that she is loved.

Back to the Doctors

2009-03-21T13:46:00.000-05:00

So we had another quick visit to the doctors office today. Emma is getting better at not looking like a Simpsons character. She gained a little weight from all the feeding that she did last night. Yesterday she weighed 6 lbs, 7 oz. and today she weighed in at 6 lbs, 13 oz. Yay Emma! The prescription is more sunbathing (and cowbell). I think she will be a-ok with that!

We had a little treat today though to make up for having to change a diaper in the doctor's office......Round Rock Donuts. YUM!

More family has arrived

2009-03-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

The Blond Byrds made it into town today to see Emma. Trish held onto her the whole time while Emma proceeded to remain completely passed out. Vicky and Trish took a moment to pose for the camera in between dishing about kids, pregnancies, and rabbits! Greg had photos to show of Belle, the 4 month old English pointer who is the new addition to their family. And I got to see the new truck,....also a new addition to their family. Babies and Doggies and Rabbits and Trucks....oh my!

Emma approves

Getting rid of jaundice in style

2009-03-20T18:24:00.000-05:00

Not much to say here. Pretty sweet life

Sly already

2009-03-20T17:36:00.000-05:00

So Emma has been in the habit, all of her life, of falling asleep while eating (gets it from her father). We have been trying different things to get her to wake up and finish eating, but most of the time she gets content pretty fast. After taking this photo, though, I am starting to suspect that it is all a game and, in reality, she is just tricking us into giving her more attention. If this is the case, then I hope it is simply a plan to steal attention away from Maggie and not her practicing to trick me into buying her more toys....or a car.

Talk to the Hand

2009-03-20T17:20:00.000-05:00

One of the things that has been so nice about having family in the state has been the level of help that we have had with Emma this week. Pictured here is the champion of that help, Emma's Mom's Mom, the self-proclaimed GeGe herself (does that sound right?), Aurlie Strealy. In this, one of her more classic poses, we see her gratitude towards Emma's father as he attempts to immortalize her selflessness and caring through the magic of photography.

All kidding aside, Aurlie has been a huge help this week. And all the groceries are excellent. The only thing I am worried about is her leaving with Emma whenever she does go home.........