Purple Nurple

Emma has had something interesting come up...literally. Not trying to get too graphic, but she has a knot under her right baby boobie. We've noticed it off and on for a couple of weeks now and have just been watching to see if anything changes. We finally decided to have the doctor look at it. Basically, her right nipple is inverted and purple in color. It feels almost like she has a marble under her skin. It isn't tender and doesn't seem to bother her at all. The doc thinks it might be a benign cyst but we're going to take her for an ultrasound, just to be sure. Poor baby.

She continues to be an eating champ. We introduced her to sweet peas tonight (see pic) and she loves them. She tries to grab the spoon with each bite so I let her have it tonight. She actually just kept putting it in her mouth and chewing on it. Who knows, maybe this is an early sign that she'll be good with utensils.

She's had trouble sleeping the last few nights. She just seems a little irritable and restless. You can tell that she is so sleepy and wants to give it up but just can't seem to relax. We ended up bringing her to bed with us last night, just so we could all have a good night. It's a catch-22 with the whole "family bed" idea. The down-sides are that it's not the safest, it's hard to break the habit when they are older, and (let's be honest) you've got a munchkin between you and your spouse. On the positive, though, it's convenient, baby's love to snuggle up to you, and there's nothing more awesome than waking up in the morning face-to-face with an angel.

Last night was very sweet. But, sorry sugar, it's back to the crib tonight.

Emma is getting SO close to rolling from her back to her belly. We expect her to make the first tumble over any day now. She's also learned how to pull her shirt/dress/blanket/bib up over her face now. This allows her to chew and slobber on it. It's pretty cute, actually.

I'm pooped tonight and tomorrow is going to be a doozey at work. So, it's time to retire for the evening. G'night!

"Please pass the squash"

So, it turns out that Emma doesn't like baby cereal. As I mentioned in a previous post, Kevin and I tasted it and concluded it tasted like butt, so we're not surprised she's not on board. What she does like, however, is squash. Mmmmm, butternut squash. After my friend Misty told me her son didn't like the cereal either and they just "skipped" it, I thought we'd introduce a veggie to Emma. She loves it. She smacks her lips and kicks her feet and flaps her arms with delight. She even tries to grab the spoon while it's in her mouth. It's pretty fun.

She's also started showing her first signs of stranger anxiety. There's been a few times that someone she doesn't know very well has held her and she starts crying. I've been dreading this because I don't want her to be miserable when I leave her in the church nursery or with a sitter. I must admit, though: it is nice to know that she loves Mommy and Daddy best!

Springfield has been hit with a small winter storm and has been covered with ice the last two days. It is nothing in comparison to the ice we had last January. Nonetheless, school's been out and a few places have had intermittent power. It is supposed to be in the 40's tomorrow, though, so the ice should disappear.

On this past Saturday, I went to a baby shower for my good friend Misty. She's having a baby girl sometime in the weeks ahead. The shower was so much fun and she got so many cute things. Miss Isabel is going to be quite stylish. We had planned on going over to Misty's on Monday night to take them dinner and hang out but the weather was crummy so we couldn't. We are going to reschedule our dinner date very soon though!! (Let me know when, Misty)

On Sunday we had our Bible study with Dave and Cort. We didn't make it to the "love chapter" but we will next week. I am really enjoying our discussions. In a sense, it's nicer that we're not following a book or study. We just talk about whatever comes to mind or how the scripture has stirred our heart. Very awesome.

New Ventures

This past Sunday, after church, Emma had her first bite of food: rice cereal. She was less than enthused. She did pretty good about keeping it in her mouth and swallowing, which is a good sign that she's ready for foods. Kevin and I decided to taste it and concluded it tastes like butt. It's pretty gnarly, primarily because it's reconstituted with formula. We tried her with a little more tonight and she did a little better. She'll be a chow-down champ in no time!

We have started having a Bible study on Sunday nights with Kevin's brother Dave and his wife Cortney. Yesterday was our second week to meet and it's going really great. We thought we would go through Paul's letters and are working on I Corinthians. It has been really great to meditate on a few chapters throughout the week and then come together to discuss them and learn about them. We spent a lot of time last night talking about Chapter 8 and how we must strive to be good examples for "younger" Christians and be careful to not do anything that would turn a believer away. We talked about areas we need to improve in and how we could do so. Next week we'll be talking about the love chapter, so that should be really awesome. I'll keep you all informed :)

This week is the start of Lent. We're going to an Ash Wed service at our church. We are going to give up TV for Lent, because it's become a pretty big distraction in our lives. We've decided this means no movies, no shows, no sports, and no Guitar Hero. Who knows, maybe we'll find something to talk about!

I thought I would post this sweet video of Emma. You can hear how vocal she's become and see some of her hand-mouth coordination. She works so hard at getting that binky in her mouth.

We're still alive...

Grrr! I haven't been able to find time to blog lately, so forgive me for being long-winded.

Things are going great with Emma. She is doing so awesome at daycare. Kim, the lady who watches her, says she hardly ever fusses and plays all day. There is another baby named Violet that is 2 weeks older than Emma. It's kinda freaky because they look SO much alike. So much so, Violet's dad tried to take Emma home with him by mistake!

Emma is now a total champ at grabbing toys and chewing on them now. She loves to grab on to anything she can get her hands on and then proceeds to slobber (sp?) all over it. A bib is part of her every day attire do to the constant stream of spit running down her chin. She doesn't seem to mind, though.

Kevin is having a really busy semester. We had kinda hoped that this last semester was going to be easy in comparison to the others but it's not looking like that will be the case. He has been at the hospital for last 9 days straight working/doing clinicals. I think he's going to need a vacation when May rolls around.

Work is going pretty well for me. I am hanging in the wait right now for an evaluation and potential raise/promotion. I'm hoping to find out more about that any day now. I'm still working on getting some sort of routine down.

We finally got to meet with Parents as Teachers tonight. It was fabulous and I'm so glad we signed up. Our parent educator will be coming back to see Emma in May. She's also going to bring me a bunch of brochures to hand out at Jordan Valley about P as T so that we can give it to our patients, so that will be awesome.

In other news, please keep our friends Joel and Misty in your prayers. Misty is pregnant with a baby girl due in April but has recently been put on bed-rest. This is going to be a long wait for them.

I hope all is well with everyone. I will try to get on here a little more often. Cheers!!!

I need a maid

Before I went back to work I was feeling pretty awesome because I was super woman. I kept our house clean, ran most the errands, played with the baby all day, caught up on some reading, and even made dinner most nights. I had developed a great routine that allowed me to get everything done and life was grand.
My home now currently looks and feels like a pig pen. I don't know how people do it; how some people do the career thing, the Mom thing, and the domestic Goddess thing. Maybe I'll get a new routine down...

Emma is starting to master the art of grabbing and chewing on toys. She has been sucking on her fists a lot too. It's so amazing to watch. When we put a toy in front of her she locks her eyes on it. You can tell she's really concentrating and getting excited. Her arms will sort of twitch at her sides for a minute, as if she's trying to remember how to reach. Then, it clicks, and both arms come forward and together and she experiences victory. You can really see the satisfaction in her face. What a blessing to witness.

Back to Work

Today was my 2nd day back to work. Things have went smoother than I anticipated, for the most part. All of my co-workers missed me and were happy to welcome me back. All the patients I work with seem happy to see me again, too. It's nice to know you were missed.

It has been hard leaving Emma. I'm not even going to go into the details, but it sucks. I miss her and think about her all day. Luckily, I have been able to visit her on my lunch breaks.

I need to work on time management and get a set routine down. I'm used to having all day to do things and now I'm having to fit work and Emma/Kevin time in. I'm very tired. As I'm writing this I'm thinking, "You really should be in bed right now." Hopefully my blogging won't fall behind because I really enjoy it.

Happy Friday to everyone!

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Emma; it's such a funny face.

3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!

I'm having a quiet New Year's Eve at home. Emma is tucked into bed and Kevin is working tonight and won't be home until the ball is about to drop. I got a wind of energy tonight and did some cleaning around the house. One of my most absolute favorite feelings in the world is the feeling you get when you walk in your house after being gone all day and it is spotless. I figure if I know I have a clean house to come home to on Wednesday it will be a sweet ending to a day of work.

I've been doing a lot of introspection this past week. I suppose most people do, this time of year. Christmas and New Year seem to be natural backdrops to renewing commitments, righting wrongs in your life, and making fresh starts. I've never been a "resolution" kinda gal but I seem to have several this year. For starters, like many people, I want to get in shape. I'm still carrying 20 Emma pounds and would like to get rid of them. Mainly, I don't have any clothes that fit and it would be nice to not have to chose between maternity wear or gym clothes.

Second, I want to clean up my language. I don't even know how it has happened but I've developed a potty mouth and it's got to go. It's not a good representation as a Christian and I don't want Emma to pick up my bad habit. I haven't figured out a reward/punishment method yet. I really don't want to wear a rubberband on my wrist and inflict pain everytime I goof. If you have any ideas, I'll take them.

Third, I really want to re-new my relationship with God and re-dedicate my life. It's weird how life can hand you the greatest blessing (eg. a child) and you are so at peace with your life and have every reason to be thankful...yet at those times it seems to be the easiest to get too caught up on Easy Street and forget to give thanks. This has happened to me over the last several months. And even though my life is more perfect than it has ever been I'm feeling a void. Kevin's brother and wife gave us Sacred Parenting for Christmas. I've started reading it and even though I'm only on chapter three it has given my core a shake that I really needed.

So, after some prayer and meditation I'm feeling very excited about my New Year resolutions. It makes me really happy to think about re-connecting with my old friend Jesus. I hope that all of you are anxious to ring in the new year like I am. I love you all, Happy New Year!!!!!!

Long time, no blog

We made it home yesterday evening from our fantastic Christmas in North Carolina. We had such a fantastic time and a great visit with family. My sister-in-law Cortney and I are like little kids and we talked the rest of the family into letting us open 1 present each night leading up to Christmas (3 nights in a row!). Santa was generous to all of us, especially me. Kevin got my a beautiful ring and necklace with saphires (Emma's birthstone) and I got some much needed clothes from Dave and Cort and Joe and Jill. Mae, Kevin's sister got me glass coasters that can hold pictures. She had the most beautiful pictures of Emma printed in black and white and had all the coasters loaded for me when I opened them; they were so beautiful and touching that it brought tears to my eyes! *Thanks, Mae*

Emma had a great visit with everyone. She hit two new milestones while we were there. First, she found her voice. She had started to babble a little bit the past few weeks but never more that a few syllables here and there. Now, she goes on and on and on. She is so excited to yell and coo and talk. It is so precious because her voice is really high pitched. It melts my heart listening to her talk. Also this week, Emma learned she can belly laugh. It only happened on one occassion so far, but she did it 3 or 4 times in a row. I was giving her kissies on her neck and making funny noises when she totally laughed until she was red in the face. It was awesome! We haven't been able to get her to do it again, but you can bet I'll keep trying.

We had a great day at church today. It was just me and Em becuase Kevin had to work this morning. I'm going to relish the next few days at home because I'm returning to work on Wednesday. I hope all of you had a relaxed weekend and will have a great week. XOXOXOXO

We Made It!

We made it to N. Carolina Saturday morning around 9am. During the 16 hour drive, Emma only cried ONCE! I could not believe it; we are so blessed to have such a content little girl. Prior to this trip, the longest I had ever spent in a car was 5 hours, so I was fairly proud of myself, too. We have been having a fabulous time during our visit and so glad that we get to spend a whole week. We'll be headed back to Missouri some time this coming Friday. We have made some fabulous food during our trip and have been having Guitar Hero battles. Here are a few pics of our family fun so far, more to follow. We hope all of you have a fantastic X-mas eve and X-mas day!!!

Early Christmas Present

A guy Kevin was in the Guard with gave Emma an exersaucer. If you aren't familiar with these things, they are fabulous. It's kinda like a walker without wheels. You can buy different toys to attach to the tray, that way you can trade them out and it is always like a "new" toy. Emma is still a little small for it, but she seemed to like standing. Her feet don't touch the bottom, so they just hung there. Her eyes were really big, though, and she seemed intrigued and pleased by this new experience.

In other news, we're going to meet with Emma's nanny Thursday night so they can have a little meet & greet. I will be returning to work when we get back from North Carolina. Luckily, Kevin will still be on break from school so Emma will be going to daycare part time for a while. Hopefully it will make for a smoother transition for all three of us.

Oh, by the way, we were in the church cantata this past weekend as........Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. I will post a picture later. Trust me, though, Emma was a fabulous baby Jesus. She did so good through three services and our whole church is in love with her now. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we did it.

Hope you're having a good week!

What a Year (Well, 18 months)

Kevin and I always joke that we hope the upcoming year will be very boring. We have had a crazy life for the last 18 months.

• Last June, we bought a house


• August, we got married


• December, my mom died


• Also December, we found out Kevin's mom had cancer


• January, we find out we're pregnant


• Also January, the ice storm happens, our house is wrecked and we live in a hotel for 3 months


• September, our baby girl is born


• Now it's December again and we're excited to be celebrating Christmas, but it's also a reminder that my Mom is gone.

Along with the obvious saddness of losing my mother, the biggest stress has been over my 3 younger siblings who still live at home. My 15 yr old sister and I have the same dad, and the twins (11) have a different dad. So, on top of losing our mom, they had to move to a new town/school and were separated. Luckily, they both moved to the same town: Farmington. We were so afraid that it would be more stress than they could handle and cope with, but I'm happy to say that they have strived this past year. My little brother, Eric, has cerebral palsy and is continuing to excel in his therapies. Laura is in marching band and theatre and Lindsey has just started band. They still think about Mom all the time, obviously, but they are adjusting, doing awesome in school, and have made many new friends. I am so proud to call myself their big sister. I thought I'd post some pics of them that we took this last weekend when we went to Farmington to celebrate Christmas and a pic of me and Mom at my wedding. Please keep our family in your prayers as the 1 year anniversary of Mom's passing is next week, the 18th. Love to all!

Santa is flexible!

Emma is lucky enough to have Santa visit her twice this year. This past weekend we celebrated Christmas with my family in Farmington. It was so much fun. My step-sister has 2 children (4 yr old and 6 month old) and my step-brother and his wife are due with their first baby in days. My dad said,"Can you believe next X-mas there will be three 1 yr olds and a 5yr old?!" It's pretty fun to think about.

Today is Kevin's last day of the semester and it couldn't have come a moment too soon. It has been a tough few months but only 1 semester left until he graduates! Yay! I'm a proud wife; he has done amazing in his program on top of working, taking care of a pregnant wife, and then caring for his new baby girl.

Today is the Christmas party for my work and I'm going to take Emma. It will be nice to re-connect with co-workers before starting back up in January. I have the most fabulous job and boss which is the only reason I can bear the thought of leaving Emma in daycare. I'm praying for a smooth transition...

Now we're just waiting for next Friday when we'll make our journey to Charlotte for Santa's 2nd visit. I hope you are all having a great week!

Presents????

This may sound kinda crazy, but we've been doing lots of Christmas shopping lately but haven't really gotten anything for Emma. I know that she isn't aware of presents yet, but I wonder if we're being cruddy parents for not loading the space under the tree with gifts for her. We've gotten her a few little toys because she's starting to play a little bit, but they're nothing much. The truth is, the girl doesn't need anything. If she could voice her feelings, I'm sure she doesn't want for anything, either. Emma has enough clothes to last her until Kindergarten (or at least until she's 1 yr) and has a zillion toys (or at least dozens). I've told all my family to buy her books as gifts because you can't have too many. I think Kev's family will probably get her little "somethings" too. I told Kev that this is the last year we can spoil ourselves because the next 18 Christmases will be all about her. He agrees. I think we'll maybe get her a few more little things, just for fun but otherwise we're going to wait until next year to buy her a pony.

Growing Girl

Emma is growing so fast! Every day she is doing new things and interacting with us more; it is so exciting to watch someone mature and learn about their world. Emma is becoming very aware of her hands which she is now clasping together all the tme. She is starting to reach for things and bat at her toys. I've noticed that she uses her right hand a lot more than her left, so I'm wondering if that means she'll be a righty.

Her other favorite thing to do is stick her tongue out. All the time. It's so funny because she looks like a little lizard moving her tongue in and out.

A sleep update: She is doing fantastic. She has learned our routine and is happy to go to bed every night. We usually only have to go in to her once before she falls asleep, and sometimes not at all. She goes right back to sleep after feeding AND, dare I say it and jinx ourselves, she's starting to sleep 5-7 hour stretches instead of 4!!!!!

Being a mom rocks and I'm cherishing every moment I have with her before I return to work the first of the year.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

I know I'm probably bias, but we have the cutest baby in the world. We had her Christmas pics taken this week by the same photographer who did our wedding. We got the proofs back last night and they are fabulous with a capital F! I so wish we had the digital rights to these like we did with our family pics so I could post some. We have to decide what prints we want over the next few days which is going to be next to impossible. I know it's an evil ploy to make you buy more pictures than you wanted because you can't bear to let them all go. Maybe once we get some I can try scanning a few and see what the quality looks like. Until then, you'll have to settle for this cute video of Emma and the Christmas Tree. Cutest. Thing. Ever. Have a great weekend!