Emma earned her wings!

After 7.5 months, our American baby is finally in America! Emma did very well on her first flight; we (and the rest of the passengers, I'm sure) were really pleasantly surprised!

Emma started off the day probably very confused since we were both up before she was and we were really excited (which is something considering that Dad is NOT a morning person). She slept on the way to the airport and was a doll while we got checked in, passed through security, and found our gate. She had a great time looking around at new surroundings and then ate an entire container of bananas and many cheerios for a mid-morning snack. (Usually a container of baby food lasts at least 3 meals for Emma. She was obviously very hungry!)

Once we boarded the plane, she fell asleep pretty quickly and slept for about 3.5 hours. This was a huge relief, since we were dreading takeoff with the pressure changes. When she woke up, she entertained the passengers to each side of us as well as those in the row behind us with her bright eyes and big smiles. She truly enjoyed interacting with new people.

She was doing ok until about 2 hours before we were scheduled to land. This was about 7.5 hours into the flight when even we get antsy and can't wait to be off the plane. This was also about the time when she would normally start to get ready for bed and wind down for the day. We spent a lot of time passing her back and forth and walking her up and down the aisles. She calmed down once we gave her a bag of chips to play with - Emma loves crinkly things! Luckily, she finally settled down and relaxed on Kurt for a bit before falling asleep for the last 30 minutes (including landing) of the flight.

We got our luggage and made it through immigration and customs in pretty good time and were welcomed to the USA by Calvin's Grandma and Grandpa Marx. Emma played with balloons from the Marxes until we were all loaded into the rental car and then she fell asleep for the ride from Virginia to Maryland.

Emma was a wonderful traveler, but we are very glad that she doesn't have any flights in her travel plans in the near future!

Look at her go!

Emma had fun sharing her friend Robert's toys today. This is a video of one of her favorites.

Emma using a walker!

We can't believe that at 7.5 months she is this mobile. Her Daddy is VERY proud! :)

When are we going home?

About 2 weeks before we started this whole move, Emma began letting us know that she was not happy about being strapped into her car seat. She expressed her dismay by screeching and arching her back. Eventually, she would relent, pretty much because we're both bigger and stronger than she is. Ever since we moved into the hotel though, she has been very happy to go in her car seat. She has even approached the car seat and patted it and looked up at us as if to say, "I want to sit in there."

Poor little girl, every time she goes into the seat, she thinks we're going home. While it makes getting her situated easier, it also breaks our hearts to know that she realizes that we're not home and that it will be a long while before she is completely settled again.

Similarly, when we were in our house, she would walk to the front door. At first we thought it was because she liked the way the light streamed through the window. Then we realized that she knew that the door led to outside and that she wanted to be outside. In the hotel, she knows where the door is and will go up to it and want to go out into the hallway. She's happy just walking down the hallway. Maybe she gets a little cabin fever being in the hotel room all day.

First Steps!

Emma took her first steps yesterday, January 8th! All three of us were playing on the bed and Emma wanted to stand up. Recently, we've been taking our hands away while she is standing still to help her learn how to balance. Yesterday, while I was not holding her, she decided that she wanted to go see Daddy and took 2-3 steps to him! We had a great time having her walk to each of us for about 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, no video of this momentous occasion. Hopefully we'll be able to capture it soon!

Before and After

Kurt decided to let his hair grow. The last time he cut it was right before Emma was born...So this is approximately 7 months of growth (minus bang trimmings because he couldn't stand hair in his eyes).

On January 2nd, he couldn't take it any longer and cut his hair. Emma was a bit freaked out when she woke up from a nap and Daddy with short hair went to get her. After a few minutes and several tears, she finally warmed back up to him.

Packing Out!

We have been very busy organizing and packing since New Year's Day in preparation for our big move back to The States. (Of course we started prior to January 1st, but there's a fair amount that we couldn't do, or didn't want to do, until the last minute. Since the movers were coming on January 4th, every waking minute of Saturday and Sunday were spent either organizing or playing with Emma. We finished up by doing our last load of laundry at 1130pm before heading to bed.

Emma was either worried by us moving everything around or sensed our stress levels were high, or possibly both, but she was not her usual self. She was a lot more dependent and needy than she usually is. She would barely even use her jumper without one of us sitting right in front of her. Poor baby. Luckily, both of us were considerably more relaxed on Monday morning, and Emma took a cue from us and was pretty happy.

Kurt and I updated Facebook frequently throughout the day:

at 10:06: Looks like the movers sent one poor guy to box our whole house today. I guess the big truck will come tomorrow.

 

Around 9:45, the mover pulled up. When he first came in, Emma looked like she might start bawling at any minute, but after reassurance warmed up to him. We were both a little worried that only 1 mover showed up...to box up our entire house! If we were living in a one bedroom apartment, I don't think we would have been concerned, but our house is 4 finished floors!

 

 at 11:14: Kurt is labeling boxes. Otherwise they would all say "Kit - glass" or "Kit - porzellan" - although I am not doing much better. I guess we just sort it all out on the other side.

 

at 1:36: 1000-1330, first floor is almost done. 3 floors to go. Wow. But the guy is really nice and doing a good job. He just stopped for his first break. Crazy

 

He did an awesome job with the kitchen and living room though! He even showed us how one of our couches comes completely apart...if only we had known that when we moved it from one location to another!  

at 3:10: 3pm: 1st floor is done...onto the 2nd!

 

He picked the next biggest room to accomplish next...the office. Our office has a lot of stuff in it. From craft supplies to desk supplies, to all of our books. At one point, we decided to take Kurt's desk apart, the mover practically pushed me over so that I wouldn't lift the heavy piece that comes off of it! 

 

Kurt at 4:24: A truck and 4 more guys just showed up. Crazy.
Carrie at 4:30: OMG...4 little packing elves just showed up...it's packing insanity right now!

 

I notice a HUGE moving van pulling up to our house, the doorbell rings and 4 guys wearing red jackets swarm in carrying piles of boxes and say "We're here to help!" They walk into the house, whistle and the mover who has been with us all day comes down, directions are given and the house is all of a sudden in a packing frenzy! Wrapping paper is crinkling, tape is ripping, and our belongings are disappearing before our eyes! 

 

 During this time, Emma and I were in the master bedroom because there was more space to walk around and a mirror to play with.  She had fun using an empty laundry basket as a push walker! It took her a bit to let go of my hands and put them on the basket, but she got the hang of it really quickly. (I was right behind her the whole time with my hands about 2 inches away from her torso in case she lost her balance)

 

at 5:28: And we're done for the day! Time to relax!

 

So in about an hour, our house went from about 1.5 floors being packed up to about 3.5 floors! Insanity! They said they'd be back on Tuesday morning to finish packing and load everything into crates for shipment. 

 

 at 9:58: all boxed up, checked into the hotel, Emma is asleep, finally time to relax!

 

After they left, we packed up all our luggage in the Jetta (thank goodness Kurt is a master packer!), stopped at the food court for dinner, chatted with some friends we bumped into there, and checked into the hotel. 

 

Emma was amazingly good all day long. Even leading up to her bedtime when she usually gets fussy! She didn't end up going to sleep until almost 9:30, but she wasn't fussy at all! It took me a while though to get her unwound enough to lay down. It was a big day for her, but we think she handled it really well. 

 

We're also really pleased with the hotel we're staying at for the next 10 days. We have a suite, so Emma's room is the living room and we have our own bedroom. The only downfall is that there isn't a tub for Emma's baths. The sink, however, is large and we've tried sink baths the past 2 nights. Emma is not a fan. We may just end up taking her to a friend's for a real bath instead. She doesn't get that dirty, but she looks forward to bath time as part of her bedtime routine.  

 

So far everything is going really well and we are just eager to wrap things up and get to our new home!

Cheerio for YOU!

Emma is becoming quite proficient at feeding herself cheerios. One day last week, I was on my way to work when Kurt called to ask how many cheerios Emma usually has in a day. I usually give her 3 or 4 about twice a day. He replied, "Oh, well she already had about 10 today." It was 7:15 am! This girl likes her cheerios!

On New Year's Eve morning, Emma offered me a cheerio for the first time during breakfast. It was incredibly cute! The cheerio was clenched in a slobber covered fist which opened as soon as I put my hand out. When I received the cheerio, Emma gave me the biggest smile! I then put the cheerio in her mouth. I have since been told by a vetran Mom, that this was not the correct response. I was supposed to eat the cheerio, not Emma. Whoops...I still have a lot to learn! Emma seemed happy to eat the cheerio herself though! ;)

Happy New Year!

2009 was a wonderful year. As always we had many wonderful times with friends and had wonderful visits with family. As you probably guessed, 2009 primarily focused on the arrival of Emma Grace. We were so excited for her to arrive and have loved every minute she has been with us. We will always look back on 2009 with many fond memories.

We welcomed 2010 in with Adam, Melanie, Calvin, Matt, and Ashley. We had a good evening catching up and played probably our last game of Settlers together for a while. The guys had fun setting off fire crackers intermittently throughout the evening. As midnight approached, the fireworks in Griesheim increase until finally, everyone was setting them off. Quickly, the air became so smoky, it was as if a dense fog had settled in. The guys had a lot of fun contributing to the celebration! Surprisingly, both Emma and Calvin slept through all of the fireworks which lasted at least until 1am!

New Year's Morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and relaxed a bit before heading home to nap.

Here are some pictures from New Year's:

Happy New Year!

Christmas Pictures

Emma's First Christmas