Jumparoo!

Dad finally got tired of half the living room being taken over by my toys, so he sneakily took down the swing while Mom and I were gone one day.

Emmy would smile when she even saw the swing, so I was pretty upset that her happy place was gone. Never mind that her feet hung off the bottom of it by a good five or six inches. Well, we brought down the Jumparoo from upstairs and WOAH, we didn't know what we were in for!

Laura just happened to be over right when she first discovered how to do it. It wasn't so much jumping as it was a happy dance. She's always been a Riverdancer, and this just enhances her already fantiastic riverdancing ability.

Now she won't stop jumping. She jumps when she stands up, she jumps against your legs while she's eating, she tries to jump while she's laying down. It's all the time! She even jumps on the top of the Jumparoo before you get her in there. This is a pretty tame version on the video. It's usually wild woman crazy jumping. But as usual, she won't do it when we've got the camera rolling...of course...please ignore my nasty bruised white legs. It's been a while since I've seen the sun.

All this jumping must be good for the legs becasue Emmy is now pulling up on your fingers and then thinks she big enough to let go and walk away. Luckily she doesn't mind too much when she faceplants. She's even holding on to the ottoman and "Tanning UP" by herself. She's REALLY proud of herself when she does it.

Grandmothers are the Best!

Just to show she does not play favorites and to let Lannie know that she is important to her, just like GiGi, Emmy did the unthinkable yet again.

I don't know what my favorite part of this picture is, the fact that my Mom got pooped on (see the dribble on the bottom of her shirt) or the look on Emmy's face. I think she may have some more where that came from.

Oh wait! I forgot to mention that the mess made it out of her pants and onto the floor at Megan's house. Fantastic!

Another priceless moment in the life of my little girl!

A Day in the Country

One of Kristen's long time friends, Lauren and her husband Ryan live in Fannett, Texas. For those of you that read this that have no idea where that is, take I-10 East from Houston to 73 to 146...wind around on some back roads and BAM...Fannett! You can't miss it! Kristen, Emmy, Collin, Betsy, Caroline and I loaded into the Tahoe and headed to a house warming party for the Richard's (REE-Shards). One note, if you plan on going, make sure you don't take the "back way"...Collin lead us to a dead end, a downed bridge over troubled water left over from good old Hurricane Ike. We had a bit of back-tracking, but found the way courtesy of Kristen's ever so reliable Iphone. If you don't have an Iphone, I highly recommend one...they can be very helpful in some very tight situations.

Lauren and Ryan have a great place. A large piece of property with a house, a garage that has been converted into an outdoor living space, a shop/garage, a horse stable, a covered porch and a pond complete with hundreds of catfish, a three foot alligator Kristen named Lloyd and two sprinklers that Ryan had so aptly named "s**t spitters". They also have 4-wheelers and plenty of room to roam, so of course, I loved it.

To kick off their lives in their new digs Ryan purchased and cooked 400 pounds of crawfish. 400! In retrospect, Ryan confided that he should have cut it off at 300, but the additional 100 was just to good to pass up. We ate many and then tried to help Ryan peel the rest so that he and Lauren could use them later in other recipes. Ryan...how late did you stay up Saturday night? Hope some of your boys ended up helping you...

The Hap Hap Happy Family by the Pond

"Caroline, I don't care how old you are..."

My baby girl with the Hostess

The Ladies

MOTORBOAT!

"Yes, I've been eating...eating gooooooooood!"

Classic Caroline

A little Father/Daughter Time

"This is one of my favorite ways to sit now...Daddy likes it too. I heard him saying something about a good workout. Daddy, you're my dumbell, I'm not yours. Now dance Monkey!"

Daddy was very happy I can already do this...

"Riding Horses ain't no big thing."

"Dad, never turn your nose up again at my turkey and sweet potato mash."

"Formula is different in the country."

Kristen, Emmy and I appreciated that hospitality and look forward to a return trip to the country. Ryan already told me that I have much to learn...

The Five Month Photo Shoot

The Diva wouldn't sit up and smile at the same time. They're stil pretty cute though! The giant panda is one of the first things that Blake bought when we found out we were having a baby. It was sitting alone in Emmy's room for a long time =)

(About to take a tumble)

Our Staycation

With the recession in full effect and a new addition to the family that is currently not ready for some long distance travel, the Vacek's ventured out for their usual May vacation. Rather than those far away places like Italy, Great Britain, France or Spain, Kristen, Emmy and I packed up the car and headed out into the throws of the state of Texas. Kristen and I had thought long and hard about what we would like to do (on a budget) and figured on a wonderful Texas landmark, the Blue Bell ice cream factory. Blue Bell is not open during the weekend so it took taking a day off work to get to see the excitement of making ice cream.

Once we arrived in Brenham, hungry, we were greeted by blocked streets and hordes of Brenhamites swarming downtown. We had just so happened upon the town during Maifest, a little known German festival that envelops the entire town. Nothing says German heritage like hip hop music blaring from a low rider as girls in booty shorts throw candy to the olds and small children lining the street. Yes...Maifest has apparently changed over the years...

Just in case we forget where we were, and thought we had traveled to Europe...

After enjoying the Maifest parade, Kristen, Emmy and I bolted for an early lunch at a local restaurant known as Volare in downtown Brenham. Thanks for the suggestion Aunt SuSu. Nto only was the food good, but it was cheap! Real cheap! An appetizer, two entree and two drinks at an Italian restaurant for $25. Where have you been all my life Brenham!? Kristen and I actually began to joke that this day might actually make a great episode of Rachel Ray's $40 a day. The lunch was only the beginning of the fun. We left Volare and headed back to the car for a quick trip to the factory. I will let the pictures do all of the talking. Funny thing, you cannot take pictures on the tour itself. Trade secrets? Illegal workers? Nope. I am guessing they don't want all the flashing to bother the executives since you walk by their offices as they talk on the phone, type on the computer, etc. I bet its fun to have the diverse population of Texas roaming outside your door every day at work. Something else I thought was funny. On the your, you walk past the break room/dining area for the workers and their are large windows so you can look in on the employees relaxing. The disappointing thing was that none of them were eating ice cream. I for one felt that all employees eating in front of the large windows for the tour groups to see should always have to be eating ice cream. I mean, come on...Kristen told me I was acting immature...and that Blue Bell was not Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory...and that everyone that worked their did not always eat ice cream at every meal. While reasonable, I felt it destroyed some of the magic of the place.

Notice how the hats fit normal heads (Kristen)

The cutest person ever to wear a paper hat at Blue Bell

I am definitely the luckiest man on Earth...

It was pretty hot outside so Emmy could not touch/eat Bell the cow as her bronze skin had reached the boling point...

After enjoying our complimentary ice cream, which Emmy slept through, we headed to downtown Brenham in search of some shopping. After five minutes of "shopping" we got back into the Tahoe and headed to a nearby winery. Kristen and I have been to wineries before in France, Spain, Italy, California and here in the great state of Texas, but nothing prepared us for what we pulled up to that Friday afternoon. Again, the pictures will help better explain our surprise and help you understand our laughter.

Just in case you are confused, on the left, the "winery"...on the right, the home of the people that run the winery...

We asked the man that tended the winery if Emmy was the only baby ever to enjoy a wine tasting...he was nice enough to tell us no...whether or not that is true is another question...

Just because Emmy is 5 months old doesn't mean she should not have a beverage...

Although small and out in the middle of nowhere, we left Windy Winery outside Brenham with two bottles of a great little wine known as Saucy Red. Actually, for the price, it was terriffic. The man at the winery even gave Kristen her glass, tasting and a truffle for free. Again, cheap entertainment on the staycation. Two glasses of wine, two tasting, one truffle and two bottles of wine for the ridiculous total of $36. This is where I started to tell Kristen that we may never leave Texas again on vacation. We were having a great time, with Emmy, for basically nothing. Times...they sure have changed...Windy Winery was so much fun we decided to give another winery a try. Feeling nostalgic, Kristen and I made the short trip to College Station and Messina Hof. I had only been to Messina Hof once before. Kristen took me while we were still in school for my birthday...a long, long time ago...Another winery, another tasting and some great conversation with an older couple from Idaho that had come to Texas for a bike rally in Kerrville the next day. They had made their way to the Bush Library on campus and loved the area. Fun couple...huge, huge Republicans...held back nothing about how they felt about the current political regime...wonderful...Kristen thought it was funny that they looked nothing like bikers. "Bikers are supposed to look like your superintendent Richard" she says. These people looked more like my grandparents, not my superintendent...

Me and my baby girl

The "PeePaw" face

After enjoying some more wine and visiting Post Oak mall in search of Emmy a new A&M shirt, we made our final stop of the day at a restaurant that holds a special place in mine and Kristen's heart, Cafe Excel. For those of you that don't know, I took Kristen here on our first date and on the night I asked her to be my wife. And now...we are sharing that magic with the most important part of our life, our baby girl. It truly was a whirlwind day filled with many memorable moments. It will be a day that we will not soon forget and a vacation that we could share with our family's newest addition. Maybe next year we will venture a little further. Until then...

The happy family at the end of a long day...Don't tell anyone that Kristen is only minutes away from throwing a very poopy diaper into some poor college kids personal trash can at their apartment on NorthGate...awwwwww memories...

Thursday Visitors

Some fun visitors came over on Thursday to visit Emmy. First Mom's good friend from high school Leah came over with two of her beautiful girls Carys and Carson.(Clark stayed home since this was a girl's party.) Betsy and Caroline also came over and we had a lunch date. I got a little cranky because I don't quite understand why I can't crawl over and join the tea party all the other little girls were having. Everyone else got to crawl around while the mom's were eating lunch and I got stuck in a bumbo on the kitchen table.

Caroline, Carys, Emmy, and Carson

(We almost gave Emmy an honorary C name for the day just so she'd fit in)

Then we got a suprise visit from Great Grandparents Maw Maw and Paw Paw and Great Aunt Jane. They came all the way from Corpus to visit.

Rolling Right Along... Emmy Bear is 5 months old!

"I've been asking nicely when I was going to get some of my birthday cupcakes...well I finally decided to just get them...mmmmmmmmmm...icing!"

Captions by Blake

My first Stros baseball game. Daddy syas its a big part of my development. Hey...Where's Daddy? Remember the flooding rains in Houston? Daddy is parking the car in them. What a good Daddy?

There is no doubt I am part Sansom. The chin, the cheeks...look to my left...

Daddy told me that grown men dressed up like animals at a baseball game are sad...very sad...and don't normally have any Mommy's in their life.

My cousin Brandon is getting a little "too cool" for pictures. The weirdest thing is Daddy was more into Transformers than all the little boys...Optimus Prime? How old ARE you Daddy?

My first easter. My family is beautiful. They have to be. Look at me.

I don't quite understand the concept of candy inside the eggs. Wait, there is no candy inside these eggs. Maybe if they were filled with bland runny peas. Then I might try to open them. UMMMM...bland runny peas...

I love my Mommy. Daddy does to...he tells me all the time...

What is Pops doing? The Old McDonald farm employees are going to ban him from all further events at the park for these indiscretions...

Bogey? You've changed.

What the (beep) is that?

Mommy. I am 4.5 months old. This is a pig. Have you been watching the news?

Veggie Tales

It's been a while since we've posted. The days just keep going faster and faster as I countdown to going back to work. There's only two more weeks left, so I'm trying to make the most of it. That's involved a lot of long lunches sitting outside with Betsy and Caroline, playdates with Ann and Benjamin, several happy hours, hours of roaming around the mall dressed in cute outfits, and many naps in my lap =) It's not conducive to losing weight, getting a set sleeping schedule, or a clean house, but it sure is fun!

The String Bean was in the 10-20th percentile in weight three weeks ago when we took her to the doctor at 4 months,weighing in at around 11 pounds. Three weeks later, she is LOVING her bottles, chugging 7 ounces and then screaming for more. She's got the formula chunk and is now weighing in at almost 15 pounds. After we had such success with carrots, we plowed through the other veggies. These are my favorite pics, so I had to share our food journey with everyone. You can see she's pretty excited about it now and can't wait to "help me" feed her by grabbing the food and pretty much gagging herself! We will be eating lots of green beans and carrots, but pretty much if you put it in front of her, she's eating it! She wants to stick her fingers, toes, arm, bib, spoon, AND food in there all at the same time.

Rice Cereal.. yep we waited a week to try anything else....(you can see how much she's chunked in a few weeks)

Oatmeal is just eh... but it's SUPER fun to rub all over your face.

More Carrot Fun (After this we started dining a la nude)

Check out the carnage on the Bumbo... Sweet potatoes (Round II)
There were too many good pea pics to pick just one.

Major Green Bean Dribble

And our closing thought: Green bean poops look amazing similar to green beans... On to fruit!