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 :)

That party wore me out... 

My first "slumber party" 

Helping with the yardwork 

I love reading my books! 

Walking!

I can walk now! This is me at the park in Clermont. We went to visit with Mommy Kirsten's Uncle Richie and his wife Sue. It was a good visit and I showed them how I can walk like a big boy now.
I took my first steps in April when Grandma and Grandpa were visiting, I was only 9.5 months old. Everyone was very proud and happy to see me walk a little :)

This is Fun!

I liked swinging at the park until I went too high and the swing wobbled. I didn't cry, but I was ready to get out after that!

At the Park with Grandma

We took Grandpa to a seafood restaurant for his birthday and stopped at the park on Matlacha Island afterwards. I played in the playground with Grandma while Grandpa played frisbee with my Moms. It was a very fun day :)

New Toy from Grandma and Grandpa

My Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and got me this great new toy. I helped Grandpa put it together and now I can use it to walk all over the house and play with very cool blocks. I am also trying to figure out how to use it as a step stool to get up on the couch!
It is so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa visiting. We are playing all the time and going swimming and I learned how to say "Guh-pah".

Hanging out on the porch...

I am nine months old now. Love to crawl and laugh and am trying very hard to walk. I like to babble and sing and click my tongue while I am busy playing with my toys and Ruby and Basil (my dogs).
This is Mom talking now: Emmett continues to do well, thankfully! He is advanced developmentally and remains off the charts for his growth. He weighed in at 26 pounds 12 ounces today and was 34" inches long! The "growth experts" say to find out how tall an adult male will be you should double his 2 year old height. That "calculation" makes me think that Emmett is going to be a VERY tall man. He has lost a little weight, but the doctor said that is very normal now that he is so active and much more mobile. Everything else is right on track :)
Kirsten and Vanessa are doing well, just spending time with Emmett and working on our house. Enjoying the new pool and spa and lovely Florida weather!

Cruising!

I learned to crawl a couple of weeks ago... that was so easy that I have decided to practice walking by pulling up and cruising on anything that will hold me.
It seems like Mommy and Mama are always running around trying to keep me from falling down ;)

Crawling!

I am 6 and a half months old now and I just wanted to let everyone know that I am CRAWLING! Oh this picture is of me playing with my dog, Basil. He likes me to throw his toys for him, I think it's very funny :)
At my 6 month check up on January 5th I weighed in at 26 pounds and was 31 inches long. I am wearing 18 month clothes still and I now have four teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom. I try to talk to my moms and the dogs, but I don't think they understand me very well.

At the park in Tucson

Emmett and Mommy Kirsten at Lincoln Park in Tucson, what a great trip! See the beautiful mountains in the background...
Emmett is six months old now and is trying very hard to crawl. He's got the form down, rocking back and forth on his hands and knees. Just needs to figure out how to move his hands.
We tried to get him some soft-soled shoes now that he likes to practice walking everywhere, but his feet are too big and too fat to fit into baby shoes!

Presents, presents, presents

We took our first airplane trip with a baby to go home to Arizona for Christmas and New Year's. This is a picture of Emmett and Mommy Vanessa in Tucson with lots of presents!
Emmett was a natural traveler and we all enjoyed seeing friends and family immensely. As usual, the trip went by too fast. But Emmett got to meet lots of new family members and friends, of course he charmed them all :)

Our gift to us...

Merry Christmas to our family! A pool and spa is being installed right now and should be ready in February... doesn't it look awesome?

Look at me!

Did you see me? Did you see me?
I was riding Mommy's head this morning and it was so funny!

Emmett loves to be swung around now and definitely loves to be up high. For some reason, he also finds it hilarious when you do a fake cough for him... you can get lots of laughs out of that little trick. He even tries to make his own fake cough sometimes to get our attention, very cute :)

It's December now, things are busy, busy. Just this weekend it got chilly like a real winter. We aren't doing too much at home for Christmas, because we'll be in Arizona for the holidays.