Father and Son as infants

Both adorable....

Both of them I love!

Emerson's first week... or at least, 5 days of it!

Holding our little Emerson...that's what we wanted to do...
Gabe loves holding his son, but he was also ready to celebrate his coming... unfortunately, no one smoked a cigar with him... but they cheered him on.
I enjoyed being able to cook for Emerson's parents... and on this day, Emerson's Papa was still here to join us for dinner.
Papa is the one with the full stomach... well, maybe Emerson's full too! He was pretty relaxed on his Papa's chest!
Emerson's sweet mama decided it was time for his first bath. He looks pretty happy in this picture, but I have to tell you, it was short-lived. Emerson had an audience for his first venture into a tub: his mama, Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Donnie, Papa, Daddy, and Mimi. No wonder he screamed!
After he was all dried off and into something warm and snuggly, his Daddy cuddled with him.
His Uncle Donnie held him like he was used to holding infants every day!
On Sunday before his Papa left, a 3-generation picture needed to be made. Unfortunately, Emerson decided it was also a great time to catch a few zzzzz's.

Monday, was Emerson's first venture out. Emily had to go to her district office and have a TB test done. It was so fun to see & hear all the ladies in the office going goo-goo over him. I sat out in the lobby with Emerson...and as some of the ladies walked in, they would look at me and ask, "Is this... Emerson?" Everyone loved seeing him!

These next photos are just some that I love...

I sat this up around Emerson, and he locked his eyes on the little red mirror. He seemed to enjoy it all.

Poor Emerson! We went outside to take a 'family shot' and before Emily knew it, Gabe had Emerson up in the tree. Yes, he was holding him, but still...! After Emily reminded Gabe of their soft skin, he then layed him on an old fence!!! "Ouch, Daddy!" whimpered Emerson.


It was time for some family portraits...







On Wednesday, Emily and I went out and about the town. We started off at Babies R Us and exchanged a few items...from there we went to a little baby boutique and shopped...then on to the park to eat a deli sandwich. Emerson was a dream and it was a beautiful day also.
After eating, we all went to Barnes and Noble!
Emily loves her baby boy!

How cute is this?


I think every day...every minute with Emerson is a dream!

The story of the Emerson King

Emerson King...
How did that name come to be? It has a background story in 4 parts...

Part 1

Back in 1989 when we moved to the coast, my guy knew the guy who owned a yacht in our harbor...the Dow Jones II. A group of us went out on it one day... and Gabe got to steer it for a while...

Part II

Probably 10 years ago, Saddie was telling Gabe how my brother nor I had ever named any of our kids after her... so Gabe, in his considerate way, told his grandmother that if he ever had a son, he'd give him the name 'King'.

Part III

Probably 8 years ago, before Gabe and Emily were married, Emily told me one day - kidding around - that if she ever had a son, she should name him Emerson... 'Emer's' 'Son', because Emers was one of her nicknames.

Part IV

About 7 years ago, Gabe asked me why I hadn't painted him a painting. I asked him what he would want a picture of. "Boats... I like boats," was his answer.

That conversation led me to the marina, where I took some photographs. One of them, had the Dow Jones II in the foreground. I decided to paint a version of that picture, so I took out a few things and added a few, but left the Dow Jones II in the foreground.

When the painting was about finished, I was ready to paint on the boat's name... and I remembered those first couple of things - Gabe telling Saddie he'd give his son the name King... Emily saying she should name her son 'Emerson'... and I named the boat, Emerson King. I also named one of the boats in the background, the Bonnie Lou.... and another boat, I gave the number 100278 - which is Gabe's birthday. I finished the painting in November of 2002.

After Gabe and Emily got married in March, 2003, I gave them the painting. Since then, The Emerson King has hung in their home.... In Biblical times, names were indicative of who you were... what you would become... I feel like the background of the name 'Emerson King' makes it all the more special to our incredibly special little man!

I think Emerson should inherit this painting when he grows up!

Emerson King

Wednesday, May 13
at 5:03 p.m.Our Emerson King was born...weighing 8 lbs. 2 oz., and 21" longThe father of the mother and the mother of the father... with their grandson! (aka: Greg, Emily's Dad... and me, Gabe's mom!)Holding my new grandson for the first time!Emily and her DadBestamor and her new great-grandson! Bestamor is 'grandmother' in Norweigan. Emerson wasn't yawning... he wanted his mama!For the first two hours of life, Emerson was wide eyed and soaking everything in. He kept those sweet little eyes open and was looking at everything he could.Psalm 139:13 - 16Emily was remarkable! She said she found a strength within herself she didn't know she had. A proud Papa and his new baby sonYou best get used to all this playing around, Emerson. The family!Joshua, this is for you. A salute from your new nephew!Holding onto his Daddy's finger...How sweet is this? Comparing Emerson's foot to his Daddy's thumb...See that little notch in Emerson's ear? Look below at his Daddy's ear... do you see a notch?A happy...very happy... extremely thankful and happy Mimi!

Look carefully at these next three photos. Look at how Emerson is looking at his mama!It doesn't get much sweeter than this!