The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Emma Style

Before I get into the heart of this post, I want to commend Michele for making every single post. Nearly a year ago I decided that it would be really great to have a blog. I thought I would write, at a minimum, every single week and more likely twice a week. I am sure you have noticed that Michele has done every single one. More than that, in the beginning, Michele was not so keen on the idea of blogging – which of course lead to my suggestion that I would do it and she wouldn’t have to worry about it. Now, Michele likes blogging and she was the one who had to convince me to write this one. Without further delay, here goes THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY:

THE GOOD:

Father’s Day weekend was absolutely incredible. First, Emma hung out with her cousins Kate and Jake at the Exploratorium. In reality, Emma slept while Michele chased me around the museum. (Although there is an incredible video of Michele playing with wind, available upon request.)  Afterwards, we, along with the Wangs (Ted, Michele, Kate, and Jake) and more Wangs (Tom and Buffy) went to lunch, where finally Emma woke up. Of course she demanded to be fed at the exact moment our food arrived. Needless to say, the day was so tiring that when we got home, Emma and I each took a nap. That evening, we headed over to Ryan and Kelly’s place for a BBQ with Emma’s friend Louden and his parents Michael and Stephanie. Emma dominated her performance until about 8:00pm when she suddenly and not unexpectedly turned into screaming Emma. It was a good day.

Father’s Day was one of the simplest and most enjoyable days ever. I got a rare treat – sleeping past 6:00am. Followed by alone time with Emma the Magnificent. She showed me many of her skills: rolling over, eating books, screaming, and laughing. We followed that up with a family breakfast and nap time for Emma. My favorite part of the day came when Emma and I took a walk to get some Mitchell’s ice cream. Emma was excited before we left and was talking throughout the walk. One of her new things is reaching for and grabbing plants and flowers. She succeeded many times on the walk. Michele knocked the day out of park by baking a Denver Chocolate Pudding Pie that was so chocolately that Michele could not even finish her piece. (Thanks to Chris and Carissa for helping us finish it off the next day.) Above all, I loved being with my family. After being apart the previous week, being together was the best gift.

I should also mention that Emma is now more than six-months old. She weighs 15 pounds and is 25.5 inches long. She is a smiling and laughing machine, who is pretty good at sitting up on her own. She has also started a fitness routine, doing stomach crunches. The whole thing is quite funny because she only gets her head and shoulders up a few inches and after trying for a few seconds her face turns read and she falls back to try the whole thing again.

THE BAD:

It is hard to find a Bad, but not impossible. A quick summary: First, the week preceding Fathers’ Day, Emma and Michele were out of town for a few days. Second, I cleaned up the most disgusting dog poop ever. In order to explain number two (no pun intended, honest), I need to explain number one. For the week proceeding Father’s Day, the three of us ventured to Los Angeles so Michele could work at E3 (a big gaming conference in which Nintendo is an active participant). We flew down to LA on Saturday and Debra picked us up and brought us to Bob and Marcia’s, who were out of town until Sunday. We spent part of Saturday with Emma’s great-grandparents who enjoyed every moment of Emma-time.

Everything was going smoothly until Sunday morning. As normal, Emma woke up around 6:00 am. I took her down stairs to let Gracie (the dog) upstairs. Upon opening the door, I was hit by one of the most pungent and putrid odors of all time – massive amounts of dog poop. Gracie defecated all over the entire kitchen floor. There appeared to be numerous trails throughout the kitchen. My description, does not do it just justice. (Photo available upon request.) I informed Michele, who grabbed Emma and then informed me she was taking care of Emma. I spent the next two hours cleaning dog poop off the floor.

Anyway, after Marcia returned and had two days to recuperate, I returned to SF and spent the next three nights without Emma and Michele. So sad.



THE UGLY:

Emma’s nanny quit. Obviously, we are disheartened because she was so fond of Emma, Emma really liked her, and we had liked her too. But I guess all good things must end and I have no doubt that we can find somebody else to replace her. Her last day with us will be no later than August 1. So we bid her au revoir et bonne chance.