Emmett was supposed to wear this shirt at the reunion for the Irish branch of the family this summer. We bought it before he was born, size 6-12 months, not realizing that we would have a gigantic chunk of a baby. At least it fit him for today! And a special thanks to his Auntie Beanie for the festive socks.
I hope you all sported green and enjoyed some corned beef & cabbage or some green beer today. For my part, I did wear green and have a beer. It wasn't green, though. And for dinner I made pasta with hamburger and sausage. Seems my Italian half didn't want to allow the Irish half to choose the meal, St. Patrick's Day or not. Happy St. Patrick's Day! 
This past Saturday would have been Greg's 26th birthday. Mom, Dad, Mike, Emmett and I celebrated by eating at RUB and taking a walk around the big lake in Central Park. It was a fitting tribute to my brother, and I'm so glad we chose that way to spend his day.
Dear Emmett,
One week ago, you turned three months old. You marked your three month birthday on our trip to Florida, where your cousin Henry was excited to wish you a happy birthday! Your cousins Maria and Julia were happy to smile at you, point at you, and try to steal your pacifier. It was a fine way to celebrate. You enjoyed the whole trip, and I barely had to do anything other than feed you, change you and comfort you if you had a bellyache. Your cousins took care of the entertainment, and you were so happy to just watch them constantly for five days.
Emmett, you did so beautifully traveling, you made it easy on me. You were quiet and happy on the plane and you charmed everyone you met. Even when we had to alter our plans on the way home (Newark, JFK and LaGuardia airports almost completely shut down due to snow), you were a total champ. I took a flight to Philly without a plan from there, got us to 30th street station and bought an Amtrak ticket to Newark Penn Station, where Daddy met us and helped us the rest of the way home with all our stuff on the PATH train. And aside from the fact that you filled your (flimsy disposable for traveling no chance of containing your poop for longer than five minutes) diaper just before the plane took off, you were a fantastic and adaptable traveler.
You've changed a great deal in the past month, and it seems like you have a new skill every day. You have a new found ability to put pressure on your legs and feet while in our laps. You could spend all day letting me hold you there so you could practice standing, and catch you when you lose the muscle control. It makes you giggle, and there is no better sound in the whole world.
Speaking of giggling, that skill has exploded over the past couple of weeks. You giggle so often, sometimes we can't imagine what could be so funny. Such as the little bulletin board in the kitchen with some coupons and random things pinned on it. When that bulletin board comes into your sight, you often go into such hysterics that you lose complete control of your head and I have to catch it!
And here is where I must apologize. I passed a trait on to you which followed me all through childhood, and occasionally still catches up to me. Growing up, every time I started laughing hard, I got the hiccups. There are few things more annoying, and I'm so very sorry to say I passed this on to you. Whenever you are laughing so hard and we are smiling back and forth at each other and life could not be better, those silly hiccups take hold and, poor little thing, you hate them (who can blame you?!) and start to fuss. I take full responsibility for this. Sorry, little man!
Another new skill you've picked up is a fun trick for when you're going to sleep or waking up in your crib. It's something almost every baby figures out and enjoys, but I can't say it's a totally desirable skill. You've figured out that it's fun (and noisy!) to pick your legs up in the air and slam them back onto the crib mattress. Let's hope Nana and Poppy sleep soundly when they come to visit this weekend!
Perhaps the most fun development this month, Emmett, is your ability to reach out and pick up small toys. Rattles work well for this, as well as chains of plastic rings with different colors and textures. If placed within your arm's reach, you'll grab these things and play with them. Your aim and timing is not yet perfect, so sometimes you need a little help, but it is so much fun to watch you decide you want something and reach out for it.
Slowly, you are settling into a routine. You have a bath and a bottle around 8 or 9pm and go to bed usually between 10-11pm. You wake up between 7-8am. Give or take a little in either direction. You are a great sleeper at night. When you wake up, I nurse you, and you play for a little while, and an hour and a half or two hours after waking up, you're ready for a nap. You go to sleep perfectly in your crib and sleep for 45 minutes to an hour. After that, it gets a little dicey. Feeding is becoming more predictable, but naps after that first one are not settled in yet. Some days you'll sleep for at least two hours in the afternoon, which is what you should be doing.
Other days are more fussy. You still have bellyache problems, and sometimes reach the point of real distress and we can tell you're in pain. We give you baby gas drops, rub your belly, and try to help you through it. On days like that, you'll often refuse to sleep in your crib, and you'll just doze several times during the day for only a half hour (or less) at a time.
The biggest addition to your developing routine has been the addition of rice cereal to your diet. It's very new, the last few days, but you are loving it and learning how to eat from a spoon. We started you on cereal at 3 months and 3 days, just a little bit once a day. I'm certain your doctor will not be pleased at your next appointment, but you're ready for it. I'm your mother and I said so. If you listen closely, you might hear that phrase a lot in the coming years.
I'll talk more about cereal in next month's letter, since that really started after the 3 month mark. Maybe next month I'll be on time with your letter!
In the meantime, keep up the good work, growing and changing and laughing and smiling. You are loved and you are love.
Love,
Mama
This is my goddaughter, Maria. Emmett and I went to Florida last week to see Maria, her brother Henry, and their mother, Maresi. Also joining us were my cousin Katherine and her daughter Julia. We went to the beach one day. It was a little too cold for a beach day, but we wanted to let the kids stick their toes in the sand, and those of us not from a tropical place needed a little sand and ocean time.
Maria found the two shells she's holding in the picture, which she loved and played with the whole time we were there. When we left, she set them on the towel next to her to get ready to leave. As she stood up, Maresi handed them to her so she could take them home with her. She lagged behind a second, looking at them. Then she leaned over, gently set them down on the sand, signed "thank you" to them, and hurried to catch up with Maresi.
Emmett and I arrived in Florida yesterday, where it is warm and the air is soft! We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Watching all the little kids together is pure joy.
Emmett did so well on the plane, he slept from the moment we sat down in our seat until about a half hour before we landed. He had a bottle and was pleasant the rest of the way. We had all 3 seats to ourselves, amazingly! Here is Emmett sitting in a seat after he ate.
So, I am way, WAY behind on LOST posting. I will try to catch up with some more detailed analysis and theories this week. Before tonight's episode, I have just a few theories to share from the season's first two weeks. There is so much more to discuss, but I'll stick with a few main ideas for now.
About the two separate versions of the Losties that we have going now, I have two ideas. First of all, we already know that time is not linear in the LOST world. Maybe neither is space?
And second, I think that they are going to show that each person's destiny is the same. Destiny is destiny, and no matter whether the plane crashed or not, they were all going to arrive in the same place anyway.
For example, I think Kate is still going to end up with Aaron.
Also, regarding Ethan Rom. I assume you all noticed he was Claire's doctor in the hospital? However, he introduced himself as "Dr. Goodspeed." I was about to theorize that maybe he is actually Horace Goodspeed's brother, but then I looked on lostpedia and remembered that we found out last season that he actually was born Ethan Goodspeed and he is Horace Goodspeed's son. So. Nevermind. There you have it.
I think Sayid is possessed by Smokey/Man in Black. I think so is Claire. But not Locke. Smokey took Locke's form and not his body. He just shaped himself like Locke but is still himself. Sayid doesn't know he's possessed, at least not yet.
The only doubts I have about Claire are that when we saw her last season, she was in Jacob's cabin. Why would she be in Jacob's cabin if she's possessed by his nemesis? Christian Shephard was there too, pretending to be Jacob. So had Jacob abandoned that cabin a long time ago and now Smokey had taken it over? But wouldn't Richard Alpert know that, since he is in with Jacob? And he took Ben & Locke to the cabin, knowing it was Jacob's.
So are Claire and Christian Shephard possessed and/or on Smokey's side, or are they Jacob's somehow?
Lastly, I really like Dogen and Lennon. I also like that Lennon looks like John Lennon. It amuses me.
Enjoy tonight's episode! And if it takes me a few days to get a post up, check with Okay Seriously. I don't always agree with all her theories but I do like her LOST posts (and all her other posts), and she is generally more timely than I am.
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