3 Months Addendum

Just wanted to give some updates. Emma just keeps growing and I love every minute with her. Aaron has started traveling again, so that's a little tough, but while he was off in California, Emma and I ventured down to Montgomery to spend time with Grandpa Larry, Grandma Lizi, Uncle Daniel & Auntie Rachel. We had a super time! Emma and I decided to have a little day trip to College Station to see Aunt Rachel and Cousin June. While we were there we also went by my old stomping grounds at Petal Patch and Emma met Esther & her son Mark and then we made one more stop to see Shawna and Emma met her adorable baby boy Daniel our dear friends. So, it was a rather jam packed trip, but we had a great time and Emma was such a trooper up until the last 30 minutes of the drive when she decided she was done with being in the car :). Emma slept most of the 3 1/2 hours home, so that made the return trip quite nice.

So I added some pics from the last few weeks and posted them here. Enjoy!

3 Months

Emma is 3 months old and weighs approximately 13 lbs. She is growing and changing so fast, I don't even know what to do. She's sleeping 10 - 12 hours a nights, so we are just so blessed and rested!! Aaron and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary on the 6th, Emma also decided that would the first time she did a 180 roll. So, fun times all around! She's a regular with Grandma and Grandpa letting Mom & Dad go out for dinner, which is nice.

Here are some pics and a few videos of our growing little love bug!

The Life and Happenings Since November

Well, I'm having to play catch up on posting since life has passed me by. Emma is now 3 months old, but we'll rewind to weeks 6-8 for the sake of this post. In late November we had a conference here in Dallas that brought some of our dear friends throughout the Midwest. Emma was able to meet our wider Congress community, which was excellent. I think I only saw her to feed her and while she was sleeping, other than that she was passed far and wide, but she didn't mind too much. The greatest comment of course being "all that blonde hair"! Ah, well I have a child who's hair has never been seen before and also a pony for a dog, so I guess I'm used to it by now :). The highlight of the conference was of course seeing Uncle Gary and Emma getting to meet and interact with her Great Uncle. He stayed an extra day and we were able to offer him refuge at the "Brown Hotel" so that was great to spend time with him and for him to play and hold Emma. Here are some pics of Emma up to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving 2009

We were fortunate to spend Thanksgiving this year at my parent's home in Allen. My Uncle Charlie, Aunt Nikki and their sons Jack, Sam and Charlie were able to join us as well. Emma and June got a lot of attention and of course tons of pictures. It was so good to spend time with family, we had a great meal and then went to the park. Fun times! Here are some pics of our escapades.

2 Months & December 2009

Emma turned 2 months on December 10th. Her check-up went really well, she weighed 11lbs. 5oz. and was 23 inches long. Those numbers came out to be 75th% for height and 50th% for weight, so she's cruising right along. She also got her immunization shots :( she cried, but thankfully calmed down fairly quickly and didn't have any side affects other than a little bit of drowsiness. Shortly after turning 2 months, Emma started sleeping about 8 hours a night which has been wonderful.

On December 19th Aaron graduated with his MBA from UT Dallas. He has worked very hard for this and we were excited to see the Finish. His parents came up to celebrate with us and joined Emma, myself my family, Cardin and Larcel in watching him accept his diploma. We had a great family style dinner at Buca de Beppo and then had a great party with the community the following day. Yeah Aaron! Graduation Pics!

Christmas was a great time this year! We were blessed to celebrate Emma's first Christmas with our beloved families. Christmas started early with a celebration with my family on the 20th. Rachel, Sherman and June came in early and made us a fantastic lunch. BBQ chicken, beans and more truly outstanding!! Then we opened gifts, definitely a new experience with two infants in the room, but we managed. After gifts we went for a walk and saw all the Christmas lights, which was great fun! Later in the week, Aaron, Emma and I had our Christmas at the house. Emma was asleep, but we have pictures, so we can tell her all about it when she's older. We then went on our first trip with Emma and headed for Montgomery. We arrived on the 23rd to an anxiously awaiting Uncle Isaac, who immediately took Emma and held her and started feeding her. Emma also met her Great Grandpa Papa and Great Grandmother. So, it was a bunch of firsts all around. She is not short on love that is for sure. We had a wonderful Christmas with the fam and then ventured home again. Here are some pictures of Christmas!!

I'll have more to post later, but this all I have time for today and all the pics I have uploaded.

Week 5 - One Month Old and still chunky!

Well, one month has come and gone and I just can't believe it! She's here and perfect and I can't imagine life without her. Her little personality is coming out more and more....unfortunately we're in a phase where we've decided that it should take lots of nursing and hours of rocking to get asleep at night. Not sure how I feel about that right now, but hoping it is short lived :)

Emma's a chunk, that's for sure. Her little rolls are getting rolls and she has absolutely no neck! Unofficially I think she's about 10lbs. So, she's basically gained a pound for every week she's been on the outside! Well, at least my arms are toning up nicely!

Here are some pics! Gotta love her!!

The Pecan Hunt, First Bath and Other Adventures - Week 4

So, a few weeks ago we went on the great Pecan Hunt. Basically we headed to to a local park in Plano where pecans grow wild and you can pick them. So, we loaded up the family and got our hunt on. Emma had her first ride in the carrier, which turned out to be a great little get-up, basically she slept through it all, but she was there. Here are some pics and a couple videos of our grand adventure. We also were able to stop in and see Geoff and Mary Ann, some dear friends we've known forever. They got their first glimpse at Emma and of course documented the occasion with photos as well!

Emma also had her first bath in the bathtub. She's still kinda not real happy about it, she really hates the transition from tub to towel to clothes. Apparently we just don't do it fast enough for her yet. Oh well, you live and learn.

We also had our first 7 hour night of sleep. That was rather pleasant (and somewhat unpleasant - as nursing mom's can identify with) although only one night, but still a step in the right direction.

I'm Raising a Little Piggy...

So, we went to the Pediatrician for Emma's 2 week check-up yesterday, and I've got a little piggy. She now weighs a whopping 8lbs. 4oz. and is 21 1/4 inches long. She has gained 1lb and 11.5oz. and grown 2 inches since birth!! Our pediatrician was stunned at her growth....she's now in the 50% for weight & 75% for height! So much for small birth weight.

Here are some pics of Emma's room and my little chunk!

Week 2

Week 1

We survived!! :)

Thankfully Grandma Lizi (until otherwise named) was able to spend the week with us, which made the transition from hospital to home so smooth!! THANK YOU!!!

We had a rough first night, Emma didn't seem to want to sleep when we wanted to; imagine that! But after that evening we were able to get into a routine where Emma was sleeping from about 12AM to 4AM and then 4:30AM to 9AM. So, we've been super blessed with a little girl who loves her sleep! We'll see how her pattern changes as she grows up.

On day 5 we went to the pediatrician for our first visit. Generally their main concern when looking at a newborn is the weight loss issue as they transition of having a constant flow of nutrients while in the womb to nursing/formula outside. We knew Emma had been nursing really well, but did't realize how well...when they put her on the scale, she weighed 7 pounds 1.5 ounces...gaining 9 ounces since birth!!! Our Dr. was very pleased!

Emma has a great temperament, she likes having her diaper changed and doesn't mind Mom changing her outfits! (Yeah I get to play dress-up the baby doll again) She loves looking at her flash cards, calms her down as she focuses on the details. And she likes reading with Daddy. All in all she is just perfect, can't help staring at her all the time. Although I'm going to have stop that if I want to get anything done!

Here are some pics of our First Week!!

Emma's Here!!!

Emma arrived on Saturday, October 10th at 6:31AM. She weighed 6 pounds 8.5 ounces and was 19.25 inches long.

Due to some last minute high blood pressure readings we opted for an induction to kick-start labor. We went into the hospital Friday (the 9th) evening at 6PM, they got me all hooked up and started the induction at 7PM (generally its a 12hr process). My contractions were pretty steady from about 8PM on although not too intense or close together. Throughout the evening it was pretty clear that I was in labor; by 5AM they checked me and I was dilated 2cm and was 90% effaced. My contractions started kicking in to overdrive and my water broke at 6AM; they checked me again and I was 10cm dilated and 95% effaced. Within the next 15 minutes I was ready to push; one problem though, the doctor wasn't there yet since my jump from 2 to 9 had been so rapid. So, I had to hold on pushing (hardest thing I've ever done) and then the Dr. arrived. I pushed three times and out came my beautiful, healthy baby girl!! So, in about 11 1/2 hours we went from 0-60 and our lives changed forever!

I was able to start nursing directly after birth and she did so well; I had no need to pump and she began feeding at regular intervals. By the time we left the hospital we were already transitioning from colostrum to milk; so that was great. Typically newborns lose up to 10% of their body weight in the week following birth. Emma only lost 2 oz. She's my little piggy!!

Here are some pics of our time in the hospital and meeting the family!!

The Waiting Game...

Well we're in the 40th week and now the waiting game continues. To speed up the process, we did follow in the footsteps of Larry & Lizi and walked the State Fair on Saturday; for 6 hours. :) I think I dropped some, but we'll see. I have a Dr. Appointment on Tuesday, so we'll see if I've made any more progress.

We've pretty much got the room complete (minus a few decorative components and some shelving). Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure. I've also included pics of the Heritage Quilt that Emma's most of the women in the family contributed to (incredible, thank you so much!!!) and some of Great Aunt Sharon's beautiful craftsmanship with Emma's name embroidered. She is one blessed little baby girl!

37 Weeks!

Well we're at 37 weeks and counting. Basically Emma can arrive at any point in time, so the unknown just adds to the anticipation!

We've completed our Bradley Classes and I am feeling much more confident in my ability to tackle this marathon of bringing a new human into this world. So informative and empowering.

The bags are packed, well mostly. I have a clothing bag for Aaron & myself, a labor bag with all the goodies for working through labor (rice socks, Bradley book, robozo and so on). Also packed Emma's bag (in her new Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack diaper bag - another superb Craigslist find).

We've had a couple showers now, one thrown by Aaron's work where we received a ton of great gifts and one in College Station with dear friends and family. We've got one more this weekend, this is one blessed little girl and she's not even here yet! Here are some pics of the shower in College Station.

Also, Aaron and I took some maternity pictures. I think that a woman's body while pregnant is one of the most beautiful things. It is a beautiful picture of God's awesome creativity and the miracle of crafting new life. Hope you enjoy!