Happy Halloween!!

We finally have managed to capture a few grins on camera! She's really starting to smile more and more and we are just eating it up. I tell ya, when you're up with a baby at 3 in the morning feeding a baby and she smiles up at you, all the sleepiness goes away and you feel so blessed to be in that moment. She's 6 weeks old now and doing more and more every day. We tried to find a costume that would fit her, but she's so tiny there just aren't any. We found a cute onsie and hat though. They're a little big but she still looked precious. Kevin had to work tonight so his brother and his wife came over for a while and we handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. It was a lot of fun to see all the kids' costumes. I can't wait until next year when we'll be able to dress Emma up and take her around ('cause that means Mom and Dad get to eat all the candy she's too little for!)

We hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween. Love you!

Another week down

I can't believe it's already been 5 weeks. We finally have managed to capture some pictures with her eyes open. This girl loves to sleep! It has been so much fun the past week, though, because she is starting to spend more time awake and interacting. She is beginning to watch her toys and respond to music and noises. We think she's trying really hard to start to smile. She cracks grins in her sleep all the time, which is the most precious thing we've ever seen. She was sitting with Kev last night and every time he would talk to her the side of her mouth would twitch and her eyes would get big; it was so sweet.

We're still not having much luck lying her down to sleep. We have found away to get some relief during the day, though. I've started carrying, or "wearing" her in a sling. She really likes it and it frees up my hands to do other things.

We are really looking forward to Thanksgiving. Kev's entire family is coming to Springpatch to meet Emma. It's going to be such a good time!

Hope everyone's week is going well. love you guys!

4 Weeks

I can't believe Emma is already 4 weeks old, the time has really flown by! We are starting to get settled into a bit of a routine. We're still working on being able to lay her down to sleep. There has been some progress made (thanks to a vaccum CD) but we still have a way to go.

I love it that she is staying awake a lot more during the day now. She likes to lay on her little activity mat and listen to her musical toys and look at everything. Unlike most babies I've heard of, she loves tummy time. Mainly because she tries to go to sleep on her tummy. We always put her to sleep on her back but she loves being on her tummy, whether on the floor or on our chest.

She is not due to go and see the doctor until she is 2 months old but I think I'm going to take her by my office this week to see how much weight she's put on. She looks bigger to me but I want to be sure she's putting on weight since she was so tiny at birth.

We went for a walk in the park today. I kept her bundled and covered because it was a little windy but I think she liked getting out of the house and the motion. It felt nice to get a little exercise and some fresh air. If the weather is okay tomorrow, I'll try to take her out again.

I'll try to post more often and get some more pics up. Love you guys!!!

Thank God for Family

The past week has been so awesome. My sister-in-law Jill (see pic above) has been here staying with us and has been a HUGE help. She is married to Kevin's older brother and they are living in Texas while he goes through the Army's PA school. Emma has really started to turn into a little person and not just a sleeping and pooping machine. She has been staying awake alot more during the day and is definately making us aware of things that make her happy and things that make her mad. Her primary antagonizer is being put down. The girl likes to be held all the time. We've been taking turns sleeping while holding her on the couch at night. I figure, though, she isn't going to let me hold her forever so I'll enjoy it now while I can.

One of my other sister-in-laws, Mae, sent Emma some awesome gifts this week. She sent her some large letters spelling her name to hang in the nursery, a beautiful quilt with her name and birthday embroidered on it, and some cute premie outfits. Emma is wearing one of the new outfits in the picutre. It has an adorable elephant on it and says "Walk softly".

My parents, sister and cousin are coming to visit next weekend and meet Emma for the first time. I'm so excited for my dad to hold his new grandbaby! Other than all that, we're just settling in to our new family and enjoying one another. Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers and support, we love you!