This week was quite eventful for little Emma. On Tuesday we took her to her pediatrician for some cosmetic surgery (i.e. We had her ear's pierced). I was a bit nervous because I for one had never had my ears pierced so I didn't know how much pain would be involved. Her reaction to her immunizations last month were also still fresh in my mind so naturally I was concerned about subjecting her to pain yet again. The motivation behind performing this procedure at such an early age is twofold. First, it is inevitable that at some time in her life she will either get her ears pierced (as I don't know a woman alive that doesn't have earrings), or want to get her ears pierced but be too fearful to undergo the procedure. Take Oprah Winfrey for instance who for her 51st birthday, after a lifetime of wearing clip-ons, decided to confront her fears and get her ears pierced live on her show. By piercing Emma's ears now we take the fear component out of the equation for her.

Emma did really well, much better than with her immunizations. They impaled the first stud into her ear lobe with a piercing gun. Startled by the click and perhaps the brief jolt of pain she felt, she flinched and began to cry. The doctor held a big red Elmo doll in front of her and she quickly forgot what she was crying about. I mean within 7-10 seconds she was fine. It went amazingly well. Then they did the second ear and as soon as she started crying we held her to comfort her. We apparently aren't as soothing as Elmo because it took us several minutes to get her comforted. In any event, the piercings are now behind us. For the first few days I was saturating her ear with alcohol and Elena would twist the stud so that we could prevent any infection. In three weeks time we can remove her earring and switch it out for the beautiful pair her Godmother Ceci and Cousin Tony bought her.

Emma has been sleeping in a bassinet by the edge of our bed every night since we moved the family back upstairs. It was fine at first but now she has grown large enough to where her head/legs are approximately an inch and a half from hitting the top/bottom of the bed. As a result, the time had come for us to pimp her ride and move her to her crib. We were fearful of this transition because we knew that that meant she would be sleeping alone in a room she had never slept in before. We didn't know if she would accept it and dreaded the breaking-in period. My hope was by making this transition sooner rather than later she would be more accepting of it and once we could get her to accept it it would become the status quo for her. Assuming that it may be difficult for her to make the transition we had planned to make the move on Friday so we could spend the time needed to get her situated in her new crib. We were prepared for a battle and were pleasantly surprised when there wasn't one. She has now slept in her crib for two nights without incident. It's still too early to tell if she has accepted her new digs so I am reluctant to say whether this move has been a success or not. I will report back in the next couple of weeks to see where we stand. For now at least, things look good.

Grandpa Arnaldo and Grandma Maria stopped by Saturday to visit Emma. They had returned from a trip to Brazil and were itching to see the little monkey. They brought Emma some beautiful dresses. It was good to see them.

Developmentally

Emma continues to grab at things purposefully and is starting to explore the world through her mouth. "Mr. Monkey", as we call him (who dangles over Emma's playmat) is the first victim of Emma's oral fixation. She grabs at his legs and pulls them into her mouth. She is also eating the seat of her Jumperoo. Her eye color is also starting to take form. Right now they are a light brown, perhaps even a hazel color. She is 16 lbs 1 ounce and 24.5 inches long.