Like we were saying...

Since there is no sense in a wordy come-back, we'll pick up where we left off.

Our computer monitor stopped working; remember the sizzle-crackle sound (if yo don't know the story and want to, see Tech-No-logy below). I took it apart to take a look at it. And I did take a look at it. It was something like when your friend's car won't start, and he opens the hood and you both just stand there looking, hands on hips, wondering what all those wires and hoses do. And you look here and you look there, hoping that your feeling of inadequacy does not show on the outside as much as you feel it on the inside.

So with the monitor casing off (read: car hood up), I looked here and I looked there. Positively, I gained a greater appreciation for whomever it was that designed this thing (though that quickly faded when I remembered that it wasn't working). Negatively (and as I fully expected), the problem was not obvious. Solution: give it to Goodwill. There's something sinister about calling the donation of an unusable computer monitor whose demise included the threat of electrical fire "goodwill." But we didn't pick the name...we just dropped it off.

All three of you who read this are now wondering, "Is this guy so good at typing (not to mention web-navigation) that for him the use of a monitor is superfluous? How is he 'blogging' without a monitor?" Answer to first question: Yes. Answer to second question: He's not. My esteemed crime scene investigating brother donated a (working) monitor to the Blog-cause, and we are back up and running.

Enough of hearing from me. Why don't you do what you really came to do? Here are some pictures of Emma. Enjoy...we know you will.

Emma's silly face. 

Emma with Grandpa and Grandma Welling, Uncle Glenn, and Great Grandmother Richards. 

Papa, Gramsy, and Emma 

Emma and Aunt Janee...happy! 

Emma discovers Aunt Janee's chin. 

Emma and Uncle Jason playing. 

Emma, happy to be with Uncle Jason. 

Emma and Daddy...concerned. 

Tech-No-logy

The promises of technology have once again proven themselves hollow. Here's the story:
We usually leave our computer on all day long, and turn it off at night. About a month ago, the monitor began blinking off, and it's off-blinking seemed to coincide with our footsteps as we would walk past the desk it was on. It was a nuisance, but when we stopped walking, it stopped blinking. Since we are accustomed to sitting while using the computer, the blinking didn't effect our computer usage.
But one day, the blinking stopped coinciding with our footsteps and began coninciding with the electromagnetic pulses of the earth's gravitational field (I have no idea what that means, but what I am trying to say is that the blinking happened continuously, even while we tried using the computer). After a time, the blinking was accompanied by a sizzling-popping noise. I've heard that sizzling-popping noises related to electricity are a negative thing, so I turned of the monitor and unplugged it. And there it has sat, taking up useful space. What's interesting about computer products is that while a piece of equipment is doing what it is supposed to do, it is wonderful. When that same piece of equipment ceases doing what it is supposed to do, it doesn't necessarily become useful for something else. When a tree's useful fruit-producing, shade-providing life is over, it can become a baseball bat or so many wooden spoons. When a shirt's useful body-covering, style-displaying life is over, it can become a rag or a hankie (or burp-cloth). But when a computer monitor's useful computer-monitoring, user-interfacing life is over, it becomes a broken monitor. If you think I am wrong, try stirring pudding or wiping up spilled Kool-Aid with your old keyboard...the results are embarrassing, and only serve to produce a bigger mess.

All this is to give you reasons why we haven't been able to update our blog with pictures of Emma. But let's use our imagination, shall we? Here's a picture of Emma after a recent bath. Her hair is sticking up like a punk-rocker's mohawk, and her skin is sour-cream white and shiny. Cute, huh?
Oh! Here's one where she is sitting in her bouncy-seat all wrapped up in a blanket. One of the corners of the blanket is sticking up above her head so she looks like an elf or gnome (you're doing the imagining, you pick).

OK. We'll try fix the monitor problem and put the real pictures on the site. For now, keep imagining the cutest baby you can...and that'll be Emma.

Jeremy

Bloomin' Blooms!

So the people that lived here before the people that lived here before us (get that?) must have had thumbs many deep shades of green.  Below are some flowers that are the fruit of their labor (certainly not the fruit of ours).  We don't know what most of the flowers are, but we know "perddy" when we see it.  If you know what they are, let us know.  And if you know the scientific nomenclature, you get two points.

Here is a light purple flower (made to look even lighter due to the sun shining through its petals). It is growing on small tree in our back yard. We also have white flowers of the same shape and size, but again, we have no idea what most of them are. 

This is, of course, a rose of some sort. We have twelve different colors or color combinations in the side yard. 

This is one of my favorites. It is growing on a short, bush-like tree (or a tree-like bush...). 

...and here's an orange one. We have no idea what this one is either. It is growing at the top of a tall, thick stalk with really big leaves. 

Emma and Daddy on Father's day. Emma is making a very odd face. Take a look below to see it closer... 

One and All! Take the "Reading Emma's Face" quiz. Here is "the face" close up...is she happy? surprised? angry? sleepy? whistling? You decide. Cast your vote by entering a comment.  

Kitchen Update

OK, OK...We know you are here to see pictures of Emma...but she's busy right now. So while you are here, you might as well take a look at the progress in the Kitchen. For a "before" picture, scroll way down to the bottom.

The Kitchen 

The Kitchen...again. 

Picture of Kitchen from same angle as "before" picture way down at the bottom of this blog (would that be the blogtom?). 

New Emma Pictures Below!

No, she's not snarling...she's yawning. But I'm pretty sure you can see right up her nose. Looks clean! 

After every battle, one must face the ugly aftermath. After Emma's first bath, we faced the AfterBath! 

Emma's afternoon nap. She sleeps best when she's wrapped up snug as a bug. 

Here's Emma enjoying her Boppy Throne. 

Emma, wrapped up like a burrito. Those are her uncle Glenn's legs she's reclining on. 

New Look, Same Blog

Don't be confused, everyone. We thought this look was easier to use than the previous one. All the cute Emma propoganda can still be seen below, and there is more to come. Try to contain yourselves...

More pictures of Emma

Look below for more pics of the newest member of the Reeves and Welling families.

This is how Emma gets burped. Without fail, after she burps, she falls asleep in this little frog position, daddy's hand on her little bottom. 

Little Emma...big bed. No babies were left unattended in the taking of this photo. 

Introducing Emma Gayle...

Mom and Dad: tired as all get-out, and happier than that.
Emma Gayle: sleeping, eating great, and beautiful.
Here's the story:
On our last visit to the doctor, she informed us she would be going out of town before our due date of June 6th. She had, therefore, scheduled us to be induced on Thursday, June 3rd, so we would not have to deliver with another doctor. We had a few days to talk about it, and given Diane's comfortable feeling with our regular doctor and dislike of change (and other factors) we decided to go for it.
Thursday, June 3rd--
6:30am--Soon to be Mom and Dad, with "bun in oven" arrive at hospital and are placed in nice big LDR (labor, deliver, and recovery) room.
7:40am--Nurses administer Pitocin to Diane to start contractions...and sure enough the contractions start.
7:45am-10:00am (at 3-4 minute intervals)--the contractions keep coming. Diane was excellent at breathing through them.
10:00am--Contractions slow a bit, Jeremy quickly runs to the cafeteria (through a ridiculous labrynth of hospital corridors...think lab-rat in some sort of mad scientest maze) for a coffee and breakfast.
10:07am--Jeremy returns to the LDR room.
11:00am-ish--Diane rediscovers a childhood love of orange popsicles (she repeats rediscovery 3 more times throughout the day).
11:30am-3:30pm--Repeat of morning contractions. Again, Diane does wonderfully with the breathing.
4:00pm--The Reeves Family (Terry, Sharri, Jason and Janee') arrive to cheer on the soon to be new dad and laboring mom.
8:00pm--The hospital room had cable, so by this time we had watched almost 12 hours of home-improvement television and talked about all the ideas for our new (to us) home, all the while breathing through contractions.
9:00pm--Diane has dilated to 6 centimeters, and progress has seemes slow. Almost-new mom is getting discouraged.
10:00pm--3 of Diane's friends (Nancy, Traci, and Amy) arrive at hospital to offer encouragement. This was just the thing to get Diane over the edge.
10:25pm-ish--Three friends leave, and immediately Diane is ready to go! "Thanks for coming, friends! It was just what Diane needed!"
10:45pm-ish--Doctor arrives, and Diane starts pushing.
11:08pm--Emma Gayle arrives! Dad bursts out with unintelligible cave-man-esque burbles of joy, and he's pretty sure he remembers a few tears (but just a few).

Emma Gayle, beautifully round-shaped head, narrow heels like her mom, button-nosed face, and skin as smooth as a baby's butt (I guess that goes without saying), arrived to the inexpressable love of her parents, grandparents, aunt and uncles. She weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. Needless to say, she's perfect (total depravity aside).

Scroll down to see pictures

Emma Gayle...blowing bubbles and being beautiful.