Tucson for Thanksgiving

We flew to Tucson for Thanksgiving, Harrison's first trip "home to Arizona". The boys handled the flights very well, although lugging two car seats, a double stroller, two kids, and various bags and luggage isn't the Moms' idea of a good day. For traveling with two kids under 3, it went very smoothly!

Our trip was awesome, just too short as usual. We all went hiking in Sabino Canyon, see this pic of Emmett with his Papa, so special!

And here's a pic of the proud grandparents, always sad to see us leave...

Visitors from Central Florida

Kirsten's Uncle Richie and Aunt Sue, and their dog Hildie, came to visit us this weekend. It was a great visit! They took us out to a nice dinner in dowtown Fort Myers, where Emmett thoroughly enjoyed some ice cream :)

On Saturday afternoon, Granny Susan and Uncle Marc and his kids, Sydnie and Dominic came over to join the visit. It was the first time all had seen each other in many years. This is a pic (left to right) of Emmett, Kirsten, Harrison, Richie, Sydnie, Mark, and Dominic. Susan and Vanessa opted out of the photo :)

Happy Halloween!

Here's a picture of our spooky Halloween entryway... weather was perfect for trick or treating. Mommy Vanessa took Emmett around to a few houses while Mommy Kirsten stayed home with Harrison to answer for a paltry 3 trick-or-treaters. Emmett wouldn't really agree to a costume, ended up wearing a cowboy hat, no shoes, and pushing a toy shopping cart so we said he was a "beach bum". It worked, he still got candy :)

After the big trick-or-treat adventure, we played in the living room with Harrison's new Dinosaur toy. Emmett likes it more than his little brother, of course!

Harrison Eats Peas!

His first solid food at 5 months... very well received and fun for all :)

Look at those cute little teeth on the bottom.

Oh My Gawd...

Here is Emmett yesterday at Kirsten's cousin Clinton's ranch out in Arcadia. His daughter, Emma got a little 4 wheeler for her bday...neat concept for an 8 year old. The speed can be controlled with the turn of a screw and the engine can be killed via remote switch (only in the responsible adults hands) if the child is out of control or acting nuts. Dominic, 4, cried each time he had to surrender his turn to the next child panting in line. Clinton was trying to help Emmett (2!) who loved each second on that pink camoflague seat, when Emmett hit the gas and jetted away from Clint. Yipes, end result....Emmett fell off of the bike.... NO INJURIES....and lesson learned...HELMET..even when we are just learning because anything can happen at anytime. He did really like it

We love local parks!

One of the wonderful things about living near downtown Fort Myers is being within walking distance of a few neighborhood parks. This is a picture of Emmett and Mommy Vanessa havinga great time only a block from our house, at a fully fenced, well shaded park.
Good times!

Our boys!

So cute how they are pretending to like each other, isn't it? ;)

Poor baby...

Emmett had extensive dental work performed this morning, poor guy had big cavities in his front teeth that needed caps :( and more cavities in his back teeth that needed filled. Thankfully, the general anesthesia worked out fine and the dental work is over. He was quite a trooper, for sure! Don't worry, we had the dentist put sealant on the rest of his teeth so the chance of a repeat problem is decreased. Poor baby!

Cousins at Granny's

Emmett tasted his first "push-pop" with his cousins, Sydnie and Dominick, at Granny's this weekend. As you can imagine, it was a huge hit. We had a fun day playing in the pool and BBQing in the summer heat.

La Leche League event

We attended a promotional walk and potluck event with our local La Leche League parenting group this Saturday.
Harrison slept through most of it, our dog Ruby was very helpful, and Emmett had a great time with the other kids (and Ruby, as you can see below). La Leche League has been a great source of support for us as we contemplated early parenting, breastfeeding, nutrition, birth choices, and just plain friendship. These are some very cool women and happy families!

Cape Coral Yacht Club

We love the Yacht Club...
Harrison's first taste of sand :)

Art fiend!

Kirsten was brave enough to find out that Emmett has an affinity for painting, his preferred mode of expression is his own body ;) Harrison remained an innocent bystander, thankfully.

Potter and Mommy Kirsten

Snuggle, snuggle! So cozy on the new leather couch :)

In case you hadn't heard, Harrison has been dubbed "Potter" by his big brother. Emmett is unable to accurately say "Harrison" so we told him to call him "Harry". Emmett has been quite attentive to the fact that Mommy Vanessa reads lots of Harry Potter books and watches Harry Potter movies sometimes, so he drew the conclusion that his little brother was the "Harry" from "Harry Potter" and now Harrison is called Potter. It is quite fitting, really...

The boys June 26th 

Harrison

Harrison is doing very well. He sleeps, nurses and pees and poops very efficiently :) At his 5 day check-up, he was already up to 7 pounds 14 ounces so the doctor didn't even want to see him again until his 2 month check-up. Mama Vanessa is home on maternity leave, recovering from birth, mastering breastfeeding, and spending quality time with Mama Kirsten, Emmett and Harrison.

Two kids is a big adjustment from just one. Emmett is a very busy toddler that is used to having all the attention and supervision. He is handling this huge adjustment very well, although things get very busy for the grown-ups when both children need attention (especially when the dogs are needing something too!)

Thankfully we have Awma Debbie (Vanessa's Mom) here to help out. She is having a great time with her grandsons and we are enjoying having her here for a whole month! Papa (Vanessa's Dad) will be here soon too.

It's a Boy!

We are proud to announce the birth of our son, Harrison Murphy!

Harrison was born at 5:09 am on Sunday, May 7th, 2006. He and Mama Vanessa are both healthy and doing well. Harrison weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 21 inches long. Emmett isn't sure what to make of him yet, but knows something big has happened :)

Fall 2005

What a busy month October has been! Mama Vanessa is pregnant with baby #2 and made it through her first trimester this month... The morning sickness wasn't fun, but only lasted for 5 weeks and fortunately was not all day sickness for most days. The baby is due on May 11, 2006 and we are very excited to meet the next member of our family! We aren't going to find out the sex of the baby until it's born...so you all better start guessing :)
Another very fun thing that happened in October was that Grandma came to visit us from Tucson, Arizona. This is a picture of Emmett with his Grandma Debby (left) and his Granny Susan at the Fall Festival in Cape Coral. We went to that festival with Emmett's cousins Sydnie and Dominick right before Halloween. It was very fun for everybody!
Emmett calls his Grandma "Awma" and his Granny "Datty"...he's still working on refining his pronunciation, but has expanded his vocabulary immensely. He says eyeball, awful, doggy, kitty, meow, sings E-I-E-I-O, and communicates his needs and wants very effectively. Most of the time without screaming! ;)
We are also working on learning to use the potty, Emmett is very interested and is leading this early effort. We'll see where it goes from here, but it's a good step and our consumption of diapers does seem to be dwindling for now.

It's raining!

This is Emmett playing in the rain on our back lanai. He's 15 months now and loves to be outside, rain or shine. Life is good, as long as he's working in the garden or helping with the lawn mowing or putzing around on the lanai (screened in patio in Florida speak).
Emmett is starting to learn a lot of words, including in, out, up, open, night, moon, and alligator...his mommies better start watching their mouths ;)

We love the beach :)

Mama Kirsten and Emmett at the beach in Sanibel. We had some great visitors this summer. Our friends from Germany came to stay with us for three weeks, mama's friend Esther, her daughters Stella and Michelle, and their Aunt Suzy. We had fun playing, going to the beach and even took a trip to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens and this awesome water park.
I liked playing with Stella the best and always walked all over the house yelling "Stella, Stella?" when I couldn't find her.
It looks like Stella will be coming to stay with us again next summer, that would be really fun!

Emmett's First Birthday!

Can you believe it?? Emmett turned one on June 29th... this picture was taken at his birthday party on Sunday, June 26th. He had a highly successful party with over 20 guests. Lots of fun was had by all, including swimming, jumping in the bounce house, some very funny cupcakes, and of course presents!
Emmett received lots of great toys from friends and family and enjoyed his party immensely. After the guests left, he slept for almost two hours :)