Emma's First Swim

Emma went for her first swim on Memorial Day!!! We busted out her new float and swim suit and let her test it out. I have learned we have the most easy going baby in the world 98% of the time. She was content in the pool for about 20 minutes before she was getting a little fussy. I was amazed she took it so well.

First, we put her in her swimsuit that my boss gifted her (we had to take pictures, she was so adorable)

 
Then Emma and I were almost ready, but we had to get a quick shot by the pool in case she had a melt down.

Now its time for the pool.  We tested it out by putting her tippy toes in.  She seemed to like it :)

Next, we worked on getting her in the float.

Success.  But she was biting the float, not swimming :).

Then, she had some pool time with her daddy.  I like to call this picture mini me, big me (dont they look exactly alike?!?!)

Finally, chillaxing in her floatie!!! Dont worry, we were close by in case there was a pool emergency.  We would never leave our bah boo alone in the pool.

Emma- I hope you will always love to swim and not be afraid of the water!!! I cant wait to take mommy and me swimming lessons in a few years :).  You are mommy's star!

Bummer

I had the worst dentist appointment of my life today.

While I was pregnant I chipped one of my cavities off. When I went to the dentist, she said it would need to be replaced with a crown. Today was the day. I went in to get my temporary crown. I came out having to get a root canal tomorrow, my wisdom teeth pulled, and one of my permanent teeth removed and an implant in its place. My wisdom tooth grew into one of my teeth. WHAT?!?!?!

My dentist seems to think this happened because of pregnancy hormones.

Uuuuuggggghhhhhh, silly, stupid pregnancy hormones.

Don't worry Emma, you are worth all of it :).

I just needed a moment to vent.

Are We Crazy???

We will be taking Emma (who will be 5 months old) here in July. 3 1/2 hour plane ride here we come!!!

In reality though, I am really excited- just a little nervous :).

For all of those that have asked, I will NOT be giving Emma any benadryl for the plane ride!

Funny Conversation

Context: we are watching the next food network star

Me: babe, if I could go on any reality tv show, which one do you think I would have the best chance at winning?

Wes: I do NOT have a CLUE!!!

Me: you have never given it any thought???

Wes: (after some thought and naming Survivor and the Amazing Race) the next food network accounting star

Me: they really should have an accounting show, it could be name that journal entry!!

Wes: or find that mistake

I think we are on to something. Maybe I could win a million bucks- since anyone who has heard me sing knows I don't stand a chance on American Idol.

3 Months With Emma

Boo Bah- I cant believe that you are 3 months old today!!! It feels like just yesterday that I was birthing you.  You are growing up tooooo quickly.  Some days I just want to freeze time to take it all in. 

This month- we spent the majority of it loving on each other.  I tried to savor every day with you.  We played on your play mat, we did tummy time, we snuggled, we nursed, we had outside time, we worked on sitting up, we listened to music, we read books, we sang songs and we played games.  I loved hanging out with you.  Emma- it was some of the best 12 weeks of my life. 

You started doing something new this month- the belly laugh.  To say that we LOVE it is an understatement.  It is undeniably cute.  We are so proud of ourselves for making you laugh.  In addition, Mommy and daddy still do everything to make you smile.  When you reward us with those big smiles- we are sooooo happy.  This month you have enjoyed chewing on your hands.  You are not a thumb sucker- more like a whole fist gnawer.  It is adorable. 

I still love your baby rolls on your legs.  They are just so precious.  I love to squeeze them and tell you how much I love them.  You have the bluest eyes.  I am almost positive they will stay blue.  They make you look just like your daddy.  In case you havent heard, you are your daddies minny me.  I call daddy your big me.  I love the way you grunt and toot- it is so un-ladylike, which is funny because everyone tells mommy that you are so girly.  When you grunt, you make three grunts at a time.  I love your chubby cheeks.  I love your drunk milk face after you chow down- you love "mommy milk".  I love that you have become a good sleeper- it wasnt without its struggles, but it has paid off dividends.  I love watching you get excited- those little arms and legs start flailing.  You are precious.    

This month, we were able to celebrate my first mother's day.  I am so lucky and blessed to be your mommy Emma.  It is the best thing I have done in my life.  I thought I understood unconditional love before you, but now I know how it really feels to love someone unconditionally.  My love grows for you and deepens with every day. 

In case you cant tell Emma, we are enamoured with you.  You are the best thing that has happened to us (along with your fur brothers :)- jk).

All my love,
Mommy

Green Monster Smoothies

I have officially jumped on the bandwagon of adding spinach to my smoothies.  This all started because I ate way TOO MANY sweets while I was on maternity leave.  Especially too many cinnamon rolls. 

My breakfast has been pretty consistent for the past 2 years.  1 eggo waffle every morning.  I love eggo waffles.  If you remember reading in a previous post about my sister adge throwing my waffles out the window, you can tell that I have eaten these for a long time. 

Going back to work, I knew I would need more energy than it took to just play with Emma all day.  And I knew I needed to do better at getting my fruit and veggies in.  This smoothie is a good solution.

If you would like to make one of these, here is what mine consists of:
1 banana
3 frozen strawberries
1/2 container of greek yogurt
Dallop of peanut butter (probably 1/2 tablespoon)
Milk (probably about a cup)
2 handfuls of spinach

Doesn't sound yummy??? Just look at this!!!!!

Blend until liquified- yummy!!!!

It is delicious.  I really do love them.  Sometimes I am sad to not be eating an Eggo waffle.  I feel a lot better about starting my day off with fruit, veggies and calcium.

Mother's Day Cards

When I woke up on my FIRST Mother's Day (first one with a real baby- I have celebrated being Starbucks and Bailey's mommy for many years), I had two sweet cards waiting for me. 

This is what Emma wrote to me:

I want to wish you a Happy Mother's Day.  Mommy I know you love me by the way you show me you care.  You hug me, talk to me softly and when I need you, your always there.  Mommy I'll love always from my heart.  I'm glad your my mommy.  Happy Mommy day! Emma

Isnt she advanced for her age??  It also include a sweet outline of her tootsies :).  Love that girl!

Sweet note from my hubby:

I want to wish a happy mothers day to my wonderful wife, my friend, my love and a terrific mother.  You bring so my happiness to my life.  Your everything to this family.  I appreciate you and I want to say the day we met, I was truly blessed.  Happy happy Mother's Day.  I love you.  Wesley

Cards are the best- they make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Sooo blessed to have a wonderful family :). 

Look What Wes Found

Wes found this baby blue jay sitting in our palm tree that he was digging up.

Isnt he or she a cutie?? 

Look where we found her the next day?  Yep, thats right on our Japenese Maple. 

We had so much fun watching these babies for a few day.  At one point Wes had found three babies all together :). 

Fur Baby Protests

Things have not been the same for Starbucks since Emma was born.  He is not used to not being number one in momma's book.  When we came home from the hospital, Starbucks wouldnt even sit by me if I was holding or feeding Emma.  I thought we had come a long way in the last 12 weeks.  I thought wrong.  My going back to work this week must have sent Starbucks into full on revolt mode.  I came downstairs and Starbucks had pooped all over the living room.  He knew he was wrong.  I could tell he was sad when I told him that I was disappointed in him. 

I have tried to tell him that I still love him even though we have Emma now.  I just dont think he gets it.  He feels left out. Instead of reaching for him first, we reach for Emma first.  Instead of Starbucks always occupying my lap, now that is Emma's spot.  It has been hard for him.  And for that I forgive him for pooping all over the living room. 

I am just glad I found his accident and not Wes.  Starbucks is probably glad for that too :).

One Year Ago Today

It was a Thursday.  I stopped by Wes's work after I was done working- he was closing.  We had been to celebrate Cinco de Mayo the night before.  I was three days late.  I am never late.  I had a gut feeling so I wanted to stop by and see Wes first.  I came home and downed three glasses of water.  I was so nervous I couldnt go to the bathroom.  I drank another glass of water.  I took the test.  I made myself put it down and go check the mail.  I waited an entire five minutes before checking.  I finally peeked and much to my surprise (not really) I saw this:

I called Wes to tell him the good news.  I will spare you his comment, but it was pretty funny.  I was soooooo excited.  I had taken many pregnancy tests up to this point so to see a positive test, I was thrilled.  I am the kind of person that thought every month- surely I will be pregnant now.  We were going to have a baby- I almost could not comprehend it.  I waited up until Wes got home and we talked about it all night.  We couldnt believe we were so lucky, so blessed, we were going to have a baby.  We decided to keep the news to ourselves for at least a few days.  We were already planning on how to tell our families.  The babies due date was January 7th.  I couldnt wait, I was brimming with excitement. 

We didnt know what was ahead of us.  We didnt know the extreme sadness and grief that we were going to experience.  We didnt know that we were going to experience the most difficult thing we have faced as a couple.  But that is ok because it would have taken away from our excitement and the pure joy that we felt on this day one year ago. 

Letter To Emma

Bah Boo,

As I was putting you to bed tonight, I was reflecting on our time together over the last 11 weeks.  Tomorrow is my last day of maternity leave.  I am excited about going back to work, but leaving you also makes me sad.  These 11 weeks have been the best of my life (tying marrying daddy).  We have grown and learned so much together.  Sometimes it feels like I was just pregnant last week and other times it feels like you have been in my life forever.  I just wanted to write you a note to tell you how much I LOVE you (when you are 16 and mad at me, I hope you can look back on this and know my love for you :)). 

This week I have been trying to soak it all in.  I absolutely love spending the days with you.  It took us a little while, but we finally got in a rhythem.  We enjoyed playing on your playmat, tummytime on your boppy, time in your crib studying your mobile, walking around the house and mommy telling you about all of the rooms, outdoor time, spontaneous photo shoots (pics of you) and of course naptime.  One of my favorite parts of the day was hearing daddy go into your room and get you in the morning. He would always say "hi baby girl" and y'all would continue to talk and smile at each other. Sometimes I would sneak a peak at the baby monitor just so I could witness the sweetness.  Also, we visited daddy at work, we had lunches with Nonnie, we visisted Bobbob and Grandma every week, we hung out with family on the weekends, we took a few roadtrips, we played at the park and we went on lots of walks. 
 
Most importantly though, we fell in love with each other.  Emma Lemma, I love you more than I ever thought possible.  I love absolutely everything about you.  You have taught me to be a better person in just the short 11 weeks that you have been here.  I have enjoyed watching your little personality grow.  I love your smile and giggle- and that now I can get you to smile just by cooing "Hi Emma".  I look forward to watching your continued growth and development.  While I would like you stay small forever, I secretly cant wait until the day that you can say "momma" and "dadda" and "i love you" and kiss us back.  Those will be great moments that I will cherish forever.

Emma, even though we wont get to spend our whole days together anymore- I want you to know that mommy will always love you and will be thinking about you the majority of the time that I am at work.  We are so blessed that your grandpa and grandma will be keeping you at first. 

Emma baby- I love you and your daddy more than anyone in the world.  These last 11 weeks with you have been amazing and more fufilling than I ever thought possible.  I love being your mommy- it is the best feeling in the world. I feel so blessed and thankful that God gave you to us.  I cant wait to see what our future holds :).

All my love,
Mommy

Will You Be My Godparents

Emma had a big question to ask Austin and Craig at breakfast on Saturday- she wanted to know if they will be her Godparents.  Wes and I knew that we wanted them to be her Godparents back in January when we attended her Baptism class.  We just had to find the right time and think of the right way to ask.  Since Emma was already born, I definitely wanted to incorporate her into the asking.  I got one of her white onesies and pulled out some sticker letters (leftover from the kids table at Austin and Craig's wedding) and spelled out Will U Be My Godparents on her onesie.  When we sat down to eat, we told Austin and Craig that Emma had something that she wanted to ask them and then we turned her around and they saw our cutie patootie in the onesie.  They said yes!!! We had a great breakfast at Panera and are sooooo excited that they are going to be Emma's Godparents.  Her baptism is only 18 days away :). 

Sleep Training Works for Us

This is Emma's superman pose.  After Emma goes down, one of us will typically monitor the video monitor while the other one cooks dinner.  The other day, I was cooking and Wes comes into the kitchen raise his hands above his shoulders like Emma and declares "baby girl is asleep".  This is a regular occurrence at our house now.  We love this pose.  It means that indeed our baby girl has given up and goes to sleep.  We have now been successfully sleep training for four weeks.  Since starting sleep training, Emma has slept in her crib every night.  Not one night has been spent in the swing (for Emma) or on the couch (for us).  We LOVE it and are huge proponents of this method.  It has given us our evenings back and it has given Emma a predictability of her evenings.  Our routine is bath, onesie, sleep sack, swaddle, long feeding session, bedtime.  She will normally fuss for 5 - 10 minutes (sometimes as long as 20 minutes) before going to sleep.  I can handle 10 minutes of crying for successful sleeping every night.  Most importantly- I am very happy to report that Emma slept from 7:15 PM to 6:15 AM last night.  This is the longest period of sleep our little lady has had.  I woke up this morning in pain and slight fear at 6:06 AM realizing that I was feeling pretty well rested.  I looked at the baby monitor and saw our little girl stirring.  Instant relief. 

I love this baby girl and her sleep training.  She is the best.