"Waaahhhh! Waaahhhh! Waahhh!". Those are Emma's favorite words. Roughly translated to English it means, "Dance Puppet! Dance!". We happened upon this translation through her repeated use and are corresponding reactions. For example, Emma says, "Waaahhhh! Waaahhhh! Waahhh!", so we put her in the swing, whereby Emma proceeds to say, "Waaahhhh! Waaahhhh! Waahhh!". So we put her on her playmat. You guessed it, "Waaahhhh! Waaahhhh! Waahhh!", time to put her in her bouncer chair. "Waaahhhh! Waaahhhh! Waahhh!", I then proceed to hold her in my arms. "Waaahhhh! Waaahhhh! Waahhh!" I change the position in which I hold her and she still says, "Waaahhhh! Waaahhhh! Waahhh!". I get up off the couch and walk uncomfortably with her and she smiles contently as she drifts off into a peaceful wonderland. This happens often enough that Elena and I refer to that cry as "DPD" (Dance Puppet Dance) and call it out disparagingly to the other when they have bent to Emma's will in an effort to quiet her. It is clear that we are just marionettes in Emma's world. Organ grinder monkeys for her to do with as she pleases and for her pleasure. Emma can be a cruel dictator.

On November 18, 2005 our handsome Godson "Matthew Evan" was born. The only ones happier and prouder than us are his parents (Rob & Lissette), but not by much. We can't wait to meet him during the Christmas break (or sooner if our schedules permit). I love that little hat he has on in the picture.

We picked up our Christmas tree Saturday. We got a beautiful 8 footer for $72. A nine foot tree would have set us back $150 at that particular stand. They are buggin-out. The tree we selected is a nice, full, Frasir fir. I love the smell of Christmas that a freshly-cut tree brings to a house. I had to do a little redecorating to get the tree where we wanted it so we only got as far as putting the lights on before time ran out. Hopefully tomorrow, after work, we can put the ornaments. I want Elena and Emma to be able to enjoy the tree all day while I'm at work. Emma loves staring at the ceiling lights so I can't wait to have it all decked out so she can admire all the twinkling colors.

I updated the metrics with our data for the week. I also adjusted it so the charts & graphs would appear first when you click the link, as the actual data is rather bland. I added Emma's height and weight to the graphs as well. Her weight reflects her voracious appetite. In just 6 weeks Emma has gone from 8 lbs 3 oz. to 11 lbs 15 oz. She's one big meatball as my back can testify too. Sadly enough, I went to work with one of those Icy-Hots that Shaquille O'Neal pedals on TV to soothe my soar back and shoulder. What makes this most pitiful is that my pains were not received as a result of a sports injury, or work related accident, but rather from burping my six week old. As you can imagine the guys at work were not kind to me when they learned that little tidbit.

We had a big win in the Formula department. Soy is where it is at people. We tried a soy-based formula and she sucked it down like it was breast milk. We have been giving her one bottle a day since Wednesday and she has been as happy as a clam. Few! I thought we would never find a formula we could supplement with. I tasted it myself and it wasn't too bad. I had hoped to conduct a taste test this weekend of all the formulas we had been attempting to feed Emma but the days go by so fast now that I never had a chance. I will try to do it in the coming weeks, when I do you can be sure that I will post my findings.