Emmett's Kiwi Adventure

Taking advantage of his dad's heap of vacation time, his mom's maternity leave, and free airfare for himself, Emmett has dragged his family to New Zealand. While his parents were thrilled by the service on their 14-hour Air New Zealand flight, they couldn't help but note the irony of the most comfortable seat on the plane going to the passenger who paid, like, nothing.

The weather in Christchurch has been spectacular, sufficient to assist Emmett in crossing a few things off his Kiwi Things-To-Do list.

Drive the Summit Road above Dyer's Pass. Check.

Fish and chips in Akaroa. Check.

Act like a tiger at the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. Check.

Tastebuds in development

Emmett has been eating solids for two weeks now. He began with the basics, transitioning from breastmilk to rice cereal. Eager to develop his tastebuds, Emmett's mom cracked out her handy dandy hand blender and started to puree everything in sight. His simple diet is expanding, and he has now experienced carrots, chicken thighs, broccoli, sweet potato, applesauce, and avocado. Some tastes were a hit, others took some time to get used to. Next up, she'll attempt to puree a burger from Rocky's Burger Bus.

One other valuable lesson learned this week. It's fun to play with your food. But when you're tired, it's not such a good idea to rub your eyes during your meal.

Emmettremor

So far, 2010 has been a bad year for earthquakes. The most recent temblor occurred near Guantanamo, Cuba, on March 20. Although damage was slight and no casualties were reported, seismologists are baffled at the quake having been felt by residents 4,800 km away in western Canada.

Visitors from the East

Emmett's Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Blair arrived from the east for the weekend. His parents planned an action packed weekend, including lunch at Rocky's, watching speedskating, swimming lessons, skiing, and a night in the mountains. Emmett was delighted to have them in town, and especially likes hanging with Auntie Lindsay, who supported him while he tried standing...

...and read lots of books to him...

...while his dad and his uncle went to the hockey game.

First trip to the playground

First ride on the swing. Success.

First climb up the jungle gym. Not so much.

Strange sleep habits

Emmett's parents are currently teaching Emmett how to sleep longer stretches of time. Referred to as "sleep training", this new skill will help Emmett to sleep through the night, and longer naps during the day. Who knew that babies had to be taught, and learn, how to sleep? But it is important for his brain development, and for his mom's sanity.

During an afternoon nap, Emmett's mom snuck in to see how he was doing, and discovered he was fast asleep with his toy dog covering his face. Whether or not this is a recipe for success, or just a weird quirk of a 6 month old is to be determined.

It could also be that Emmett was using the soft toy to wipe off the spots that his mom missed after trying carrots for the first time...

A bad day for Sophie

Emmett, indignant at the teething process, takes out his frustration on Sophie the Giraffe.

(with regards to Gary Larson and his Far Side parody, "A Bad Day for Muffy." If anyone can help Emmett's dad find this cartoon, he'll post it)

Six months old

Emmett bailed on his six month photo shoot today. With a low grade fever, sad eyes, flushed cheeks and drool dripping from his mouth, he and his mom opted to cuddle on the couch instead. Teething time. They would have stayed in their jammies all day, except that Emmett had his six month checkup with the doctor. On this milestone birthday, he weighed in at 16 pounds, 11 ounces, and measured 72cm long. Time for a new car seat...he is bustin' out of his bucket.

Emmett meets 'solids'

Solids. The word evokes images of cheerios, pureed carrots, mushy peas and squashed bananas. After dutifully waiting six months as per the health region and doctors orders, Emmett's parents introduced Emmett to 'solids'. He dove into his rice cereal with the same eagerness of a prime minister wanting to prorogue parliament. Of course, 'solids' is a bit of a misnomer. The runny rice cereal was not much thicker than the milk he has been drinking for the past six months.

Next up, pureed chicken thighs. Oh boy.

Excerpted from the Russian Journal of Herpetology

At approximately 6 months of age, the common western infant (Emmettilius stranmccannii) masters motor control of its tongue and engages in lingual projection. While the reasons for such a display are a source of debate, many believe that E. stranmccannii uses its tongue to track its prey by collecting airborne particles and passing them to the eustachian tubes in its mouth for examination. The creature keeps its tongue constantly in motion, sampling particles from the air, ground, and water analyzing the chemicals found and determining the presence of prey, predators, or toys in its local environment. Lingual projections are also thought to provide some relief for E. stranmccannii from discomfort associated with the emergence of fangs at the 6-month milestone.

Post-Olympics Blues, Remedy #2

Soup. Eat homemade soup. We recommend Emmett's mom's lentil vegetable soup.

Post-Olympics Blues, Remedy #1

Beer. Drink, drink some more, chuck on your shirt, eject bottle. Repeat.