Nick's Birthday

Sunday was Nick's 27th birthday. After church, we left Emma with my mom (the longest we had been away from her, which was so weird...and a little terrifying) and headed to Nashville. We got to eat at Olive Garden, and then went to Babies 'R Us. I'm sure shopping for Emma wasn't Nick's idea of a fun time, but we got tons of awesome stuff. We finally got a pack & play, a gate to keep the dogs out of her room, some baby food (I can't make her homemade carrots until she's at least 7 months old, so we have to buy them for now), and lots of other stuff. She should be set for winter clothes for a while, and I found a cute little dress and sweater for the baby dedication at church. Now I just need a silver hairbow to match. After that, we went downtown to try to park for the game. I got Nick tickets to the Titans/Colts game for this birthday. We've always talked about going to a Titans game, but never done it. We had a great time! It's funny...when we go to cities, we really feel out of place. I never felt like that until I married Nick. I still love big cities, but know now that I could never live in one. It's funny how God knows what you need even when you don't. There was this homeless, drunk man stumbling around the streets. He grabbed a girl's arm, and I practically ran to the other side of the street. I used to love that stuff. Amanda and I went to New York City by ourselves when we were 17. I can't wait to show Nick New York and DC and Chicago and Baltimore...and hopefully go to Boston, and lots of other cities. Anyway, that's all off-topic. The game was fun. We had terrible seats, but the good things was we could see the whole field. The Titans, of course, lost to the Colts, but Vince Young did come in in the 4th quarter, so that was cool. I'm not a big Vince Young fan, but they need to do something. It was nice to have a night by ourselves. Next up is an NBA game...hopefully to see Courtney.

Today I introduced Emma to sweet potatoes. I started baking sweet potatoes in August for her, so we've got a few bag-fulls. We had tried the rice cereal the week before last, and again last week. She hated it. She fussed the whole time, spit up, and it gave her terrible gas. I talked to a nurse at the dr's office, but sometimes they're not so helpful. So I decided to move to sweet potatoes. There's no reason she has to start with cereal. Well, she loved the sweet potatoes. Loved! We had the best time. She opened her mouth for the spoon, reached for the bowl when she wanted more (we're working on signing that word, but that will be a while), and laughed when I put the spoon to her mouth. I'm so happy she liked them so much. It makes me feel good that I can fix at least most of her food myself. Baby food is expensive, and even if they throw an "Organic" label on there, I don't know what's in it. I will have to buy some, like carrots and green veggies. I haven't figured out how to make homemade green vegetables yet. I can buy frozen and use that, but then I can't refreeze it once it's pureed. Jenny, if you read this, do you make your own peas and green beans? The plan is to give her sweet potatoes at one meal this week, and to introduce carrots next week, while still giving sweet potatoes at a second meal. Hopefully that will help to curb her hunger...she's a little pig. Solid foods are exciting to me (shows you how boring my life is, I suppose)! I can't wait to try bananas, applesauce, peaches, pears, and avocado. I also have squash and zucchini ready. The dr. also said to wait for fruits until her 6 month visit, but oh well.