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!

Family Photos

Kevin's mother, siblings and spouses came to town for Thanksgiving and we had family pics taken. I'm so happy with the way they have turned out. Emma did fantastic, considering she has a cold. We're very sad, though, that Kev's oldest sister was not able to come because she is in the process of moving.

We hope everyone had a blessed holiday with friends and family; I know we did!

Can You Smell The Turkey?

I have such strong cravings for turkey and dressing. I can not wait to feast on all the Thanksgiving trimmings. I love this time of year because you don't have to feel guily about induging in delicious food (until January when you realize you've gained 10 lbs). I am so excited about seeing all my in-laws and for them to meet Emma. I know so many people who have conflict with their spouse's family, but I couldn't ask for a better bunch of people. Every time we're together we have so much fun and laughter. There's love and friendship among everyone and it always creates a warm-snuggly feeling in my heart. Then, it is so sad when the "get-together" is over and everyone goes their separate ways. There's rumor amidst all of us that there is a possiblity we'll all end up living near each other in the upcoming year. I am hoping and praying that this comes to pass. I did not know much of my extended family when I was growing up. I didn't even know any of my grandparents beyond an occassional funeral. I want so much more for Emma. I want her to have the support and security that comes from family; the kind of relationships I never had. Me and Kev sure could use the support, too. It is nice to have a pat on the back for the efforts we're making to be good parents. Kevin's twin brother and his wife Cortney live here in Springfield and have been fantastic. They have made such an effort to spend a lot of time with us and Emma and to be available to help when we've needed them. I'm so thankful for them!

I hope that all of you have much to be thankful for this year. Kev and I have had a very rough and sad year in some aspects, but there have been many blessings (duh, our baby girl!) It's funny, though, we are both hoping this next year doesn't hold as much excitement. It would be nice to just coast for a while. :) Many blessings and safe travel to all of you. We love you all and are very thankful for each of you!

Love, Kev and Mandy

Smile of the Day

It is so exciting to capture her little smiles. She is such a happy girl after she eats and loves to play. I've started singing silly songs to her a lot and she loves them. Our favorite thing to do is take common songs and change the lyrics for her. A few hits are "For She's a Little Costello" (to For He's a Jolly Good Fellow), "Oh My Emma, Child of Mine" (to Oh My Darlin' Clementine), and "Sipsy Doodle" and "She's a Sipsy Doodle Dandy" (instead of Yankee Doodle).

Last night went pretty good. She's falling asleep a lot easier. I am so happy things are going better than I anticipated.

We are cleaning house this weekend, getting ready for family that's coming in for Thanksgiving. Kev gets done with his clinical early today which is great since he'll be able to help me get some things done. Other than that, life is good. Not too much exciting going on at the Costello household other than being mesmerized (sp?) by miss Emma Liz. Hope everyone is having a blessed day!

Sleep Training Day #2

First off, let me say that this is not how we put Emma to bed, so no need to say prayers for her dumb parents. JK. This is her wrapped in a blankie laying on the couch taking a cat nap while I was sitting next to her. I just thought it was so adorable.

Last night was 50 times better than the first night. She was asleep at 7:30, up at 11 back asleep by 12, up at 3:45, back asleep by 4:30 and then slept until 7:45 this morning. Ahhh, progress is sweet, especially when it's only been 2 nights. I'll keep you posted. Love to all!

Day 1 of "Sleep Training"

I had to post this adorable smile I ca

ptured this morning after Emma ate. It's amazing, considering that the girl didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night! We have started trying to get Emma to sleep in her crib (instead of our arms) and we officially have 1 night under our belt.

We have decided on a bedtime routine starting around 7:30ish to consist of bath, eat, rocking with a story/lullabye, prayer and into bed. It actually started okay last night. We swaddled her and put her into bed around 8:30. We would go in and comfort her every 10 minutes until she fell asleep, which only took a few times. So, she was sound asleep around 9 and I was feeling pretty cocky. "This isn't so bad," I thought to myself. Kevin and I went to bed and slept so soundly. Until midnight. I went upstairs to her room and nursed her, changed her diaper, swaddled her and put her back into bed. I repeated the comfort every 10 minute routine as earlier in the night. This time, though, it took until 6 AM. Actually, it didn't even happen then, but I got her up to eat again, swaddled, etc. She went to sleep pretty easily around 7 and slept until 10 (so did I).

I'm feeling a little sluggish, to say the least, but I'm hopeful. She's actually taking her first nap of the day right now in her swing (Can we say AMEN)? I'll keep everyone posted on how it all goes. Who knows, maybe she'll sleep through the night this time. HA!

Emma Goes to the Doctor

Emma with Trudi and Stella

Emma laying on the exam table after being measured

8 lb 13 oz and 21"

Emma's little bandaids from her shots :(

We took Emma to see Trudi, the pediatric nurse practioner that I work with for a well-baby check and her first shots. Emma did really fantastic. She was very still and quiet while Trudi examined her. She cried when she got her shots, but luckily she was easy to console. She has spent most of the day sleeping and snuggling with me. She's running a low-grade fever, but nothing too serious and we gave her Tylenol, so that's helping.

We are going to start a new sleep routine tonight, on the recommendation of Trudi. Many of you know we've been struggling with being able to get Emma to sleep when she's not in our arms. Basically, Trudi says that this is what she's learned so we have to "teach" her another way. This basically involves letting her cry it out a bit while being there to comfort her and support her with touch and our voices. It's going to be a rough night tonight, but we'll see.

We are really excited about family coming next week for Thanksgiving. ALL of Kevin's family will be here, so we're having a family portrait done on Friday. I can't wait to see it! We hope the rest of you are having a good week and looking forward to Turkey Day!

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!