The Emma Report

Maybe we’ve watched the movie Madagascar a few too many times, but Emma has definitely taken the theme song to heart: she now Likes to “Move it, Move it”

Batten down the hatches, we have a mobile baby!

Emma had been creeping around the floor since we got back from our East Coast trip, but she got this crawling business down pat over the past few days.

While she routinely rocks back and forth (with straight arms) on her hands and knees without going anywhere, when she really wants to move somewhere quickly she pushes off with her feet, pulls with her elbows, and “commando crawls” as fast as she can.

And let me tell you, she can ‘crawl’ across a room in the blink of an eye!

Emma also loves nothing better than to crawl over if you are sitting on the floor with her, pull herself up, and bounce up and down like a “crazy baby”

Life is Good!

P.S. Emma had her 1-year (8-and-a-half month corrected) check-up with her paediatrician last week… our “little” girl now weighs more than 17 pounds and is nearly 28 inches long!

Laurie’s been doing such a great job that I haven’t posted in a while, but here some some pics taken earlier tonight.

We arrived in Nova Scotia just in time for 2 days of unrelenting rain (associated with the remnants of a tropical storm travelling up the east coast of the U.S., I believe). Unfortunately, the awning of our trailer couldn’t withstand the torrential downpour and partially collapsed under the weight of the heavy rain:

Our campsite then became known as “The Swamp” for a few days, and Big Sister enjoyed splashing around in the puddles:

We didn’t let a bit of rain dampen our spirits though. We panned for gold:

had fun with Yogi:

and continued our “Light House Tour”:

Margaretsville, N.S.

The Girls in Margaretsville

We travelled from our campsite in the Annapolis Valley to the south shore for a day trip to Lunenberg, Mahone Bay, and Peggy’s Cove:

The “Three Churches” in Mahone Bay

Sailing in Lunenberg

The harbour at Peggy’s

Emma among the ropes on a wharf at Peggy’s

Big Sister and Daddy at Peggy’s

Emma (doing her best Travelocity Gnome impression) at Peggy’s Cove.

While in Nova Scotia, we visited friends, where Big Sister helped to feed the cows:

and Emma met Molly

We also went to the zoo, where Big Sister chased some lamas and fed the goats and a brown bear:

Before long, it was time to pack up and head home. We spent our last day in Quebec City where we enjoyed a lovely dinner and a night-time ferry ride:

All in all, it was a great holiday. The two weeks went by too quickly and we’re already looking forward to a return trip next year!

I must admit that the thought of spending two weeks with two young children in a smallish trailer had me feeling somewhat apprehensive about our summer vacation, but our camping trip was wonderful! The girls were great little travellers (the portable DVD player certainly made the long drive more enjoyable for everyone), much better than I had even hoped

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Our first week was on Prince Edward Island:

‘taters, ‘taters, and more ‘taters

Lighthouse at Cape Tyron, PEI

We spent a couple of warm afternoons on Cavendish Beach, where Emma posed as a bathing beauty and Big Sister built sandcastles and avoided the jellyfish

While on PEI, Emma had her first taste of pizza and ice cream. She seemed to enjoy both:

while Big Sister learned to dive (well, jump into Mommy’s waiting arms, anyway)

The girls also discovered the joy of sitting around a campfire each night:

Soon, it was time to leave PEI and after a quick trip over the 13-km long Confederation Bridge, we were on our way to Nova Scotia:

stay tuned for more

It’s hard to believe a year has gone by since she was born, but Miss Emma celebrated her first birthday yesterday (Saturday August 5th)… We had a little party with some of our favourite people

I haven’t waded through all of the 100’s of pictures yet, but here are a few of our baby girl’s special day:

um, no, Mommy did NOT bake the cake

our happy family

Opa and his girls

birthday girl

yummy cake!

Big Sister playing with her cousin Becca

not sure what to make of all that singing

ooh, squishy!

food fight!

finger lickin’ good

messy girl

checking out the gifts

Happy Baby!

Sorry for the delay… I’ve been trying to update all week, but Blogger is not cooperating and won’t let me upload pictures

We had a wonderful time on the East Coast, the girls were great little travellers, and we didn’t want to come home. Getting back to reality has been tough, and we’re busy getting ready for Emma’s 1st birthday on Saturday (more on that later).

I promise I’ll post more details of our trip and a whole bunch of photos soon!