Adios East Coast

Tomorrow the movers come to pack up our stuff.  I can't believe we are moving!  It's hard to believe we will be living in La Jolla in a week.  Before moving Riley had a final photo session with Jacinta.  Riley wasn't really feeling the outside decor for some reason but she did much better in our house so here are a few of my favorites.  Riley will miss Jacinta so much.  She was so wonderful and caring; its one of the reasons this move is bittersweet. 

Riley with Jacinta...awesome picture

Look at those CHEEKS!

Before we leave, our friends planned the "Emery Fest" where we all met up one last time.  It was so great to see everyone and catch up before heading out West.  We will miss you all and thanks to Macey and Stu for planning the great event!  It was awesome!

Beth, Me and Macey

Nory and Me

Matt, Star, Rob, Leslie, Me, Wendy, Matthews, Bagel

Me, Josh and Macy...Josh is dressed up as "John Boehner"

We will miss everyone so much. We have lived here for 5 1/2 years and have made such wonderful friends.  I said good-bye to my office on Friday and all the people I have worked with and serviced for 5 years.  I will miss Bethesda Naval (I cannot call it Walter Reed at Bethesda yet).  That place does such wonderful things.  Everyday we see the effects of the war...its humbling...very humbling.  We eat lunch at the Wounded Warrior Cafe which is located in the barracks where the amputees stay.  Nothing will make you feel silly for complaining about things like getting a full fat latte instead of a nonfat latte like seeing a triple amputee getting lunch with his wife and newborn daughter.  Nothing.  I will always remember my time at Bethesda Naval and I hope I made some little difference there. 

My next post will come from California!  Like...for sure!

The Latest with Riley Elizabeth

Riley has been busy!  She has learned to roll over:

She has learned to sit up on her own:

She has learned to eat rice cereal:

We couldn't be prouder.  She is growing up so fast that every day is something new.  She loves to make a bunch of sounds and, at times, loves to scream in laughter.  We love it!  She is already in 9 month clothes and is only 5 1/2 months old!!  It's crazy!  We are loving every minute with her.  

**If the video's don't work I will try again later. :(

Baptism was a success!

Riley got baptized on September 18, 2011.  This was her first time at church and she basically slept during mass.  During the Baptism Ceremony she was wonderful.  She didn't cry or act up at all.  She was getting a bit heavy for me since I held her in an awkward position for about 20 minutes.  My arms hurt the next day!  Thanks to those that attended and a special shout out to her Godparents: Mike and Brooke Sakraida!

After the Baptism Ceremony Riley's grandparents had a party for her.  Family and friends had a great time over Grandma and Grandpa Emery's house.  Riley was blessed to get some gifts to celebrate her special day and I would say that the gift that made us all fall in love with her all over was the owl costume Jacinta got her. 
WARNING: THESE PICTURES ARE SO ADORABLE YOU MAY HAVE TO LOOK AWAY TO SHED A HAPPY TEAR SO HOPEFULLY YOU AREN'T AT WORK. :)

Macey and Riley

Brooke, Kelcey and Riley

We love her so much!
Looks like we might sell our house!  We got an offer and after a bit of negotiation we may have a final deal!  More to come on that!  La Jolla here we come!!!!!

House For Sale

Our house went on the market September 7th and had its first open house on the 11th.  Getting the house ready with a baby, a dog and a cat was a feat!  And it seemed like everything that could go wrong did right before the house was open.  We did the best we could and hopefully we have it priced right to move.  Check out our listing:
The Emery's House


The house is staged and in mint condition.  This is the last thing that is unanswered for us.  We have a great rental waiting for us in La Jolla, we both will have wonderful jobs, and the move itself will be taken care of by Matt's company.  So I am thinking positive when it comes to selling the house.  We have an amazing house here and anyone would be lucky to have it.  Another open house is scheduled for today and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that its the last one! Now its time to get ready for Riley's long awaited Baptism!  Pics to follow!

First Flight and Vacation

For the holiday weekend the House of Emery went to Destin, FL.  It was Riley's first airplane ride and she did wonderful!  The people around us had no clue there was a baby in the seat since she was a perfect angel.  She slept for most of the nonstop flight from BWI to ECP and waited until the end to deuce. I got visit with some old friends, Tiffany and Hector.  I haven't seen them in a while so we met up at our old sushi place, Sakura, in Destin.  It was so great to see them!

Riley got to experience the beach and the pool.  The water was rough in the gulf and there were jellyfish everywhere so we did not get to dip her toes in the sand or the water.  But she enjoyed it for the most part.  She loved the pool though.  That completely wiped her out for the day.

She loved spending time with her grandparents at their place and also got to visit with my Aunt Paulette and Uncle Paul which was wonderful. 

It was our 4th Anniversary so we stayed at the Hilton in Sandestin for a little getaway.  It was wonderful although the weather could have been better.  We didn't get much sun in on this trip.

Riley finally got to meet her godparents, Mike and Brooke Sakraida.  They were staying in Pensacola so we drove over to visit with them.  Riley was a big hit.  She has been such a great baby the whole trip.

Even the plane ride back was fine.  We brought an 8oz can of formula and of course at the dinky airport in Panama City they made Matt basically go through a strip search for us to bring it on board.  We had no problems in Baltimore but at in Panama City they patted down Matt and searched every inch of his briefcase and bags.  It was not fun to watch so I can just imagine going through it.  But Matt is a good sport and did fine.  We boarded the flight and off Riley went to sleep.  She even slept through the landing!  There was another baby on board that was intolerable.  The baby in the back was screaming the whole time.  Once we landed all the passengers around us commented on how good Riley was and couldn't believe she slept through everything.  That's our Riley!  She is just so precious!  She is so alert now and loves playing in her jumper.  She just jumps and jumps all day.  Loves it!

4 Months!

Riley has reached four months old!  Her last check up was great.  She is 17 lbs 15.5 ozs and 26 in. long!  She is still in the 97 percentile but well within the normal range.  She had to get a series of shots but she handled it like a trooper.  She went to her first football game this past Friday, Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs.  We had great seats and got to meet the cheerleaders.  Matt's work went as a teambuilding event of sorts and it was awesome!  She was in a great mood and enjoyed all the sounds.  She must love sports to be in this family!  She also got some college gear.  Will she be a UVa Wahoo or a FSU Nole??  This question will not be answered for quite some time but we can dress her up to support both teams while she is a lil' one!  Enjoy!