A trip to Fishkill Farms or Father's Day 16x9s or a compilation of unflattering photos of Emma

Sunday was a happy Father's Day with a trip to Fishkill Farms to mark the occasion. Berry picking, cherry picking, music blaring, hens were staring, hat had fallen, good times calling. You get all that?

The fields had seen a lot of rain and they put a one pint per family limit on the berry picking to ensure there was enough to go around. This was fine for us because as we discovered: we are berry picky. Emma is not picky and ate a few berries that didn't make the basket. She also ate the leaves if we didn't retrieve the stem from her in time. She loves strawberries!

Patrick stood in a line of Dads waiting to get his free scoop of icecream. Being a dad has perks! 

Emma made funny faces for her first taste of icecream. I thought she'd love it but she seemed to think it was just o-k, and a little strange. That's alright Emma, you were only allowed a taste anyway! 

Lets hear it for dads!

(Emma, in the style of Emma, fell asleep on the drive home and continued to nap in bed after we arrived.)

Temp Tee, Temp Tee!

My name is Emma and I picked out my own dress today!

I've recently set up my closet so that Emma's clothes are hanging on a low bar. She gets a kick out of pushing the hangers back and forth and looking at the different clothes she has hanging up. This morning her attention went right to this striped purple dress, so with my help she got the hanger off the bar and with her help I got her dressed. We make a good team.

 It's a rainy day. It rained all morning but that never stops us from going out. I wear Emma and keep us dry under a big green umbrella.

We stopped at the library to return some books and Emma had a little free roaming time to explore, look at books on the shelves, and point at everything she sees. A couple days ago she would point and hum at everything, point "Mm?" point "Mm?" And all today she points and says, "Bah?" On hikes she gets both pointers going over both of my shoulders, one after another, "Mm? Mm? Mm??" Trees, rocks, streams, bringing everything to my attention. She cracks me up!

We got a few errands done while we were out and made it home for lunch. Emma had something new today: whipped cream cheese in a pita with shredded cucumber. She was crazy about cream cheese (that's my girl!) and enjoyed holding slices of the sandwich herself to bite off. I actually tried giving her a bite of my portion of the sandwich which resulted in her grabbing on to it with her hand and tearing away a hunk. She wasn't looking to share this new, delicious food, but she did eat it very carefully with her hands. 

旦(•˘>˘•)

This draft never posted and here it is weeks later:

It was a gorgeous morning. It was pleasant and the earth was still wet from yesterday's rain. As soon as we finished breakfast I packed up Emma for a walk around Depew Park. It's so close to home- walking distance, yet wandering through the trails you feel like you're a hundred miles from town. Some days we don't even encounter anyone else on our hike, at least not humans! We often see deer, snakes, many birds.

It's so still and peaceful on the trails. We're very fortunate to have Depew Park in our neighborhood and have been taking advantage of it a lot since Spring began. I know as Emma grows and becomes a more confident walker she's going to want to be down rather than in the carrier and discovering the forest for herself. I'll welcome that day and match her enthusiasm for whatever she finds that interests here. Ready when you are, Emma!

The Weekender: first edition

Saturday started with a fantastic breakfast and a trip to the farmers market. We got a pint of the most delicious strawberries, they are so fresh and flavorful, and Emma agrees they are the best she has ever had! We spent a few hours at a friends home celebrating the 1st birthday of her son but Emma wasnt much for sitting and chatting. She was up and all over the backyard, working on her walking and coordination and being chased by mom and dad.

She looks a little silly walking in that skirt, but notice that look of intense concentration. She's working hard to master her steps!

Weee!!

Emma fell asleep on the ride home and continued her nap once we arrived. She must be having good dreams because she smiled and chuckled in her sleep a few times now. Such sweet moments I'm always happy to have witnessed. 

Sunday. 

I'm always expecting a 5 AM wake-up call from Emma, it's when she sleeps past this that I'm surprised. This morning wasn't one of those surprising mornings. Since we were up so early we also went to a few stores right when they opened. By the time we were heading home, Emma had fallen asleep in the car. I moved her to her bed without her waking.

After the nap Emma "helped" pot a Dill plant. She was content to watch me do the repotting but eventually put the soil through testing.

Done! The dill has joined our basil and green onions in the sunny nook. 

Next, a trip to the Blue Mountain Park.

Watching the Canadian Geese 

Today's excitement wore Emma out and she fell asleep in our bed next to Catrick. It's been a great weekend together as a family.

Book Babies

Wednesday is library day. At eleven o'clock they have a baby story time followed by a playtime. It wasn't our typical story time and I admit I knew this day would come. Now that Emma is confidently walking, there's no stopping her- certainly not for twenty minutes of structured storytelling. She sat in my lap for two songs, clapping after "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," then she was off- places to go, aisles to explore. Emma did listen to my requests to leave the books on the shelves and was happy to toddle up and down each aisle, sometimes holding a beanie baby bird (she was very fond of TY "Early") or stopping to pick at the labels on shelves. 

Emma discovered a large stuffed animal Owl and instantly made friends. I'm not sure what it is that attracts her to birds but I am embracing this fascination. We stop to point out the robins and finches we see on our nature walks; we greet Canadian geese at the pond; we sing "Five Little Ducks" which is a current favorite of hers. Today I just sat back and admired her enthusiasm for a plush owl.

Lets go, owl. 

New Shoes, canary yellow Skidders

.. And that meant a trip to the park to test them out.

Look at those bananas! 

Well, they work. It was Emma's first time walking alone in the grass and I had a hard time bringing the trip to an end. She would have rather stayed at the park and practiced her walking and she made sure I knew it. There's always tomorrow, Emma! 

We're goin' to the Zoo!

It's a great day for a trip to the Bronx Zoo. We loaded up the stroller and snacks and arrived just after 11. Our first encounter was in the World of Birds where Emma got up close to an Ocellated Turkey. 

Gobble Gobble, those toes look tasty!

After plenty of walking and animal exhibits we took a ride on the Bug Carousel. Emma was not very excited about riding on a Mantis but sat for a picture and enjoyed the ride from Mommy's arms. 

Butterflies, yeah!! 

She sure is :)

(See?)

 Did you know that birds are one of Emma's biggest interests? She loved looking at the different swans, geese and ducks. A diving duck always gets a smile from this baby.

Lions, tigers, and bears, ohh, zzzzzz..

Well we stayed all day and we're gettin' sleepy 
Sittin' in the car gettin' sleep sleep sleepy
Home already gettin' sleep sleep sleepy
'Cause we have stayed all day.