Tummy Time!

Emma at the beach!

Some of my family rented a beach house about an hour from Clear Lake, so Emma and I went to visit them and stayed over night. Brad joined us for dinner. Emma loved the sound of the waves! It kept putting her to sleep! ;) I took three of these pictures with my camera phone because my digital camera batteries died after taking only one picture. Not adequately prepared for an official photo session, but that's ok. The camera phone pics seemed to turn out pretty good!

First Solid Food - Rice Cereal

I'm sure you expect me to go on and on about this big first. Well, I will share a couple of things. Emma made a big mess! More of the rice cereal came back out than went in, of course! Emma also kept trying to grab or push our hands or the spoon, which made it interesting. But, by the end she was doing pretty well. We think she enjoyed it once she figured out what to do. Eating solid food requires new skills! They say you can start solids anywhere from 4-6 mos. We are kinda experimenting with it to see if she's ready b/c they say it helps reduce some of the symptoms of reflux, which we are still very much struggling with. Side note: I think it's funny how you can give just about any object a smiley face and then stick it on baby clothes. Who knew an ear of corn had emotions? I better remember that next time I boil some! ;)

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

I took my Daddy to the Astros game for Father's Day. Boy, did we have fun! It was my first game and I really enjoyed all the sights and I was a very good girl! I love you Daddy! Thank you for taking good care of me. Love, Emma Bear

P.S. I'm wearing one of my favorite bibs in the pic.

It says "I "heart" Daddy". :)

Miscellaneous pictures of Emma Caroline

Helping Mama vacuum and do chores! What a good girl!

Little Baby in a Big Chair! How cute!

It wasn't me!

The world Emma will inherit

Thankfully, our sweet little Emma really lacks for nothing. She is well fed, well-dressed and sheltered. Additionally, of course, she is loved! Unfortunately, in other places in the world, many, many children are struggling for survival due to the lack of basic necessities, particularly water that is safe to drink. We won't go on and on about how essential water is, because everyone knows that. But it definitely is something we all take for granted. And it's just hard to imagine what it would be like to not have it so easily accessible as we all do.

One of our dearest friends, Jill Murphy, is raising $16,000 to build a well in Africa to provide safe drinking water for children and families in need. Her campaign is so inspiring and unique. She is carrying a backpack full of water around, and when asked about it, she shares the story of families who hike for miles in Africa to safe drinking water. The weight of the burden she is carrying keeps her motivated and reminded of what those she's trying to help are going through, and we would love to share her story here in the hopes that some of our friends and family will also support her efforts. She is working together with an well-known, international ministry called World Vision.

Here is the link to her blog, please take a minute to read about her passion to make a difference, one well at a time, and then make a donation of any amount: http://Diggingwells.blogspot.com.

You can also find out more about this ministry at Worldvision's "Share of a Deep Well" website here. Please donate in Jill's name, so that she can keep track of who is helping her toward her goal of $16,000.

Please help make Emma's world one that offers at least safe, clean water to everyone. It is possible....just think, 100 people giving $50, and 100 people giving $100 would be $15000!!

Emma chilling at Kemah Boardwalk