Family 5K

The Saturday morning after Thanksgiving marked the only morning that everyone was in town at the same time.  Luckily for us, one of the girls at church had organized a 5k run to work off all those holiday calories.  Some in the family might have been hesitant, but Emmy insisted.  The whole car ride over there she was getting into a really positive mental state in preparation for her race.

Buzz surprised the girls with matching pick jackets, which made them easily identifiable while running.  It was a safety precaution in addition to a bold fashion statement.  

Jake was a little nervous before the race, so the two most important people in his life, me and Anna, made sure he had the moral support he needed to perform at a high level.

Here we are at the starting line.  I pushed Emmy the whole way.  She promised me that when I am 90 and in a wheelchair we will enter into a 5k and push me the whole way.  She will be a young 65 years old.

Just to prove to myself I could do it, I sprinted for the first block with Emmy and was at the front of the pack before I turned around and walked with Cory and Buzz the rest of the way.  By the time we crossed the finish line, they were already handing out awards.  We also found out that someone messed up on the map and we only ended up running 2.4 miles or something like that.  I am still counting it as a 5k.  The following picture was taken after we finished and sums up our parenting dynamic pretty well.  Cory - "How is Emmy doing?  Is she alright?  What can we do to help her?  Let me check on her."  Sean - "All good"

Like I said, they were handing out awards, and to our surprise they had an award for youngest racer, which went to Emmy Rae Gilmore!  Her first award!  She was awarded a Hawaiian floral blanket.  We couldn't be more proud.

After the race we headed to IHOP for a celebratory breakfast.  Some people were more excited than others.

Thanksgiving 2014

We did a terrible job of taking pictures this Thanksgiving, so I will try to fill in the gaps with words.  How boring!  This year we spent with Cory's side of the family again.  Anna & Jake arrived on Tuesday, Sarah on Thursday, and Buzz came into town on Friday.  The differences this year were 1) Emmy joined in the festivities 2) Jake is now Anna's husband, which makes him Junior Son-in-law (that means I am now the middle child-in-law!), and 3) We all gathered in Memphis!  Buzz rented out a three-story condo downtown for us to stay in during the week.  Specifically, the Memphis Music Condo!  It was full of music memorabilia.  Cory, Emmy, and I stayed in the Elvis Presley room.  Ironically, there was not a king-size bed.  Elvis would not approve.  Here is the view from the third-floor balcony:

Don't worry, faithful reader, those trains did not bother us one bit.  You can see downtown off in the distance.  We ended up going downtown one night to walk around Beale Street and Peabody Place.  Emmy loved it.  Thanksgiving was a success, as well.  We woke up and watched part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and then followed it up with The National Dog Show.  A bloodhound won this year.  That is two years in a row for the Hound group.  Emmy was ecstatic.  

We always seem to catch Emmy when she is in the transition between a smile and a crying face.  Anyway, in the afternoon we headed just a couple of blocks away from the condo to take some pictures in front of a mural Cory discovered.  We really do love Memphis.  To be honest, I am a little surprised how much we love it.  We have a lot to be thankful for in our little family!  The rest of the day we spent hanging out in the condo.

I don't think anyone was upset about relaxing in the condo, because it meant more time with Emmy.  This trip was the first time Emmy met her Aunt Sarah, Aunt Anna, and Uncle Jake.  I was just glad they were so excited to change her diapers.  Been there, done that.

We are glad Emmy has so many aunts and uncles who love her.

Where is Jake looking in this picture?

After all of the excitement of the holiday weekend, Emmy was exhausted!

I don't mind when she falls asleep holding my hand, for the record.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Day at Shelby Farms

We took another walk at Shelby Farms and happened to stumble upon the petting zoo that they are getting ready for the holiday season.  It was fun to see all the animals, and they hadn't officially opened, so it was free to walk around, but the most impressive sights were the camels.

Honestly, I didn't want to get too close because I thought the camels might spit on us. Do camels really spit that often, or is that more of a myth?  Either way, I kept my distance.

Snow in Memphis

A massive cold front moved in this past week, and Memphis got DUMPED on!  They are saying it might be the worst blizzard Memphis has ever experienced.  We were a little worried, but managed to brave the harsh conditions.

Emmy can now saw she lived through the Memphis Blizzard of 2014.  

She was ready for the cold!

Emmy Turns One Month

Happy One Month to our baby girl!  Mommy and Daddy love you!!!

Buffalo Sighting

One of the reasons we love Memphis is that we can go out for family walks in November with nothing but light jackets.  The weather has been nice, so we decided to walk the Chickasaw Trail at Shelby Farms.  Along the trail we ran into some buffalo, and Emmy could not have been more excited!  She was doing cartwheels right before we took this picture.

Birth Announcement

Cory made a birth announcement video for our family and friends to enjoy!  She did a great job!

Why So Serious?

Hey Emmy, you want to watch a movie with Daddy?

Ok...maybe later?  No? 

Date Night

With my parents in town, Cory and I had the opportunity to go on our first date since Emmy's arrival.  We decided to go downtown and get some cheesecake at The Cheesecake Corner.  It was a neat little place with over two dozen cheesecake flavors.  It was nice to have some time together, but we couldn't help but talk about our little girl.

Cory got a caramel and white chocolate slice, while I tried the raspberry.  I liked Cory's more.

We like living on the edge of insanity, so after dessert, we decided to go get some dinner.  We headed to Gus's, which according to their marquee is "World Famous."  I think it is more "Memphis Famous", but what do I know?   

If you ask me, I like Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken in Memphis more than Gus's.  Nevertheless, it was a successful date night.