2012 Intercontinental G1 Tribute Buzz-A-Thon

As a means of paying tribute to Emmett's great Uncle Doug and great Aunt Jac who are scrapping with cancer at the moment, Emmett's dad, a couple of uncles, and a bunch of cousins significantly reduce the R-value in their respective attics... just in time for Valentine's Day.

Here they are, age before beauty:

Chew dat gum, chew dem bones

For Halloween this year, Emmett's parents thumb their noses at all the suffocation warnings, wrap Emmett in plastic and balloons, and call him a gumball machine. Then they do the same thing to themselves.

Trick or treating doesn't amount to much, but Emmett shows great interest in the graveyard on Cousin Rod's front lawn. He is particularly fond of the bones strewn among the headstones (clearly, his parents should have opted for the blood-smeared zombie costume).

Originally disconcerted by his behaviour, Emmett's mom fesses up that she vaguely recalls maybe introducing a 7 month-old Emmett to skeletal gorging at a BBQ ribfest in New Zealand.

Home for the Holidays

Emmett's parents dragged him home to visit family and friends, celebrate his first Christmas, and tour him around their respective home towns. The holidays were full of fun, festivities, and many firsts including Emmett's first plane ride. He handled the outbound flight like a champ.

On the return flight, however, he was lucky to not be hauled off by security when just before pushing back from the gate he spat up a smuggled stash of breast milk cleverly concealed in his belly. Fortunately, the volume of liquid amounted to less than 100 mL.

Relatives from the clan Stran eagerly awaited his arrival. His cousins were smitten with the newest member of the family, as were his aunts.

Not sure if Uncle Blair was as smitten, though he eventually started to come around...

Luckily, Grampa and Poppa came to the rescue, giving Emmett some quality armchair time.

All in all, Emmett received more than his fair share of attention and cuddling over the holidays. Hey, when you're as cool a Christmas character as Emmett is, who can resist?

First Halloween

Emmett celebrated his first Halloween but unfortunately displayed an early aversion to spicy food. Let's just say he was underwhelmed by the chili pepper costume his dad picked up a few months ago.

He did, however, ultimately embrace October 31 and all its scariness by laughing in the face of fear at Dr. Cousin Rod's haunted house. Being in Gramma's protective care obviously helps.

Another rack of firsts

As she watched Emmett's dad successfully deliver the first bottle feeding, Emmett's mom pumped her arms triumphantly skyward, danced a dance of joy, and screamed from the balcony, "SWEET FREEDOM!"

Emmett also got his first look at a real, live uncle. Uncle John stopped in to meet his new nephew en route to a conference on the west coast.

And, perhaps most importantly, Emmett acknowledged for the first time -- amid an awesome case of the hiccups -- that the shoes do, in fact, make the man.

Intro to the clan Stran

Trying though celebrity life can be, Emmett was generous enough to donate some time from his busy schedule for a family gathering. He logged some solid face time with some of his new Greats and new cousins. All seemed to approve of this little fellow. Fortunately, no fights broke out over who got to hold him. Inexplicably, no fights broke out over who got to change his diaper.

Strange affinity for people soup

"I'm so excited for you guys when he poops up to his neck."

That's what cousin Blake expressed to us back in June, having had the experience of a year with a baby of his own. Today, cousin Blake is excited, but not how you might expect.

Today was Emmett's bath day. Mom and Dad dutifully laid out towels, washcloths, soaps, filled the kitchen sink, and plunked him in. As washing proceedings began, Emmett reached the point of maximum relaxation. And then VOOM, he soiled the bath. Mom screamed. Dad rushed in. Emmett was oblivious. Mom and Dad emptied the sink, rinsed the chunks off Emmett, wrapped him in a dry towel, washed the sink, refilled it, and started over.



And then it happened again. Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

The third attempt (Mom and Dad acted quickly this time) yielded one clean child, and two traumatized parents.



Meconium was bad. This was worse. Only divine intervention will save Emmett's parents when he ups his game and finds a new way to unleash his wrath upon them.