So Sad It's Over

What a great Holiday Weekend it has been. I hate that it is already Sunday night and Robert has to go back to work tomorrow.

As you know from the last post, we had a great Thanksgiving day with family, and then enjoyed the next 3 days just the 3 of us with Robert home from work. We had a list a mile long of projects we wanted to get done, and even though we accomplished a lot, there is still more on the list! A couple of the big things that we got done include decorating the house for Christmas, rearranging some things in our room, got all of our Christmas ordering done, and installing Emma's new car seat. We thought the car seat would be no big deal, and maybe take 20 minutes to install, but it wound up taking up about half of our Sunday! I don't think the car seat was designed for the type of seats that the Xtera has, but we got it in, and Emma looks so much more comfortable then she did in her infant seat. Hopefully it will be easier when we turn it forward facing!

We are getting ready for a busy week that includes a Christmas Dinner for Robert's work, hair appointment for me, Christmas shopping with my mom and grandma, a holiday boutique in the neighborhood, and picking up her pictures that we took at the Target Portrait Studio. That reminds me - the pictures at the studio went ok. Emma of course didn't smile, but we were still able to get some cute pictures. She had her sad face for a couple and the photographer liked it so much that he asked if I would sign a release so maybe they could use it for promotions/coupons/idea books etc. So if anybody sees Emma's picture in a Target, or get an advertisement in the mail, let me know! We will also be on "teeth watch" over the next week. Not sure if they are coming yet, she was just a little more crabby this weekend and seemed to be doing a lot of chewing! We'll see!

Our Christmas Tree

This year we got to include "Baby's 1st Christmas Ornaments"!

Checking out the ornaments. She can already pull down the tree!

Much easier to take her picture if she is in front of the tree and can't see all the pretty lights and ornaments!

Our stockings! So fun to put up Emma's! (It's the snowman one)

Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great time celebrating Emma's first Thanksgiving! We were all very thankful for a healthy beautiful daughter/granddaughter/great granddaughter/niece/etc to spend it with. We spent the day over at my Aunts house and had all the fixings. They have a beautiful backyard, so we usually spend the holiday outside playing cards, pool, darts, horse shoes, and just enjoying the weather. Since it was in the 80's yesterday, we spent most of our time inside, but still had a great time!

Emma got this cute bib from my mom. I don't have a picture of the whole bib, but it says "Baby's First Thanksgiving". (My mom also got her this dress!)

Emma had Turkey and Sweet Potatoes for Thanksgiving. It was her first time eating Turkey, and I don't think she really liked it. Never sure of new tastes!

She did like her teething biscuit though! She ate that while the rest of us finished our Thanksgiving meal.

She loves paper right now. So when grandma came over with her napkin, she dropped her biscuit and wanted that napkin!

Very interested in great grandma's buttons.


Emma and my Aunt Jan

Playing with grandma

Dipping her feet in the pool. The water was a little chilly!


Everybody gave my mom a very hard time about taking pictures, but we are glad to have them!

All the cousins

The girls

The guys

My brother Darren and his girlfriend Jackie

Just the 3 of us!

She was fascinated by the trees!

After Emma went to bed, we ended the day with homemade tamales and watched a movie! The plan for today is to decorate for Christmas!!!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

To Tied You Over....

We have started teething biscuits! Emma seems to enjoy them....I on the other hand, not so much. These things are messy!!!

I have pictures to post from Aidan's first birthday party this past weekend, but need to get a couple of pictures from Amanda first. As soon as I get those, I will post all the pictures, plus I know we will have lots of pictures from Thanksgiving!!

We Have Graduated...

First bath....

Then this was Emma's bath tub for awhile....

Then we moved on to this. This still works great size wise, but Emma has discovered how to splash. The last bath she took, she splashed all the water out of her tub and onto me and the floor. We have the cutest video of it, but it is a little revealing, so can't post it.

So now we have graduated to the big bath tub! I think she would have enjoyed a little more water, but I was a little nervous and didn't want to fill too full. She didn't seem as secure to me,

but I'm sure we will both get use to it!

What a Day

The plan for today was a quick run to Target this morning, then a relaxing day filled with playing and cleaning.
Even though it was suppose to get up to 80 degrees today, we were only in the high 50's this morning. I don't think Emma was too happy about being bundled up and then squished in her car seat!

After a longer then expected trip to Target, I found out that Emma's Doctor's office had received more doses of the H1N1 vaccine and it was the form for her age and had no preservatives in it. So now we had an appointment for that right in the middle of her nap. Normally, this wouldn't be such a big deal, but over the last 2 months, Robert and I have been trying to figure out whether or not she would get this vaccine. After lots of research, talking with Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, and Nurses that I use to work with at the hospital, and talking things out with my mom, we decided that she would get the vaccine if it was available. Once the decision was made, I had some what put it out of my mind, and was more worried about her getting sick then I was about the vaccine. That all changed now that in less then two hours she would be getting it. It is one of those things that we are not 100% comfortable with her getting it, but also not 100% comfortable with her not. After getting some more reassurance from Emma's Doctor's office, she got the vaccine.

So now I am home with a cranky and tired baby. And then I get a call from MY doctor's office. My system is having a hard time getting back on track after having Emma and I have had to make monthly phone calls to the Doctors. Nothing serious, just more annoying then anything else. This past week, they decided to have me come in and we did some blood work on top of some other things. (I'll spare you the details). Usually when I get test results they come over an automated system, this time it was a nurse that called. I was prepared for the worse. Thankfully it is still nothing serious and we are trying a different type of medication. Hopefully that will take care of everything and there will be no more monthly phone calls. I have to say. After all the visits to the doctors while I was pregnant, being in the hospital, and everything that has happened after, I am officially sick of the doctors and medicine!

In between all these exciting events, the last piece of Emma's Christmas Dress came today. That is another thing that I have been looking at for a while, trying to decide what I wanted to get for her. When I finally picked the dress, they were out of the sweater that went with it. Luckily I found another sweater at a different store and it came today. I was anxious to see if the shade of reds would match, and they do! I love it! It is so cute and I can't wait to see her in it. I was going to hold off posting a picture of it, but I can't wait. The camera makes the reds appear a little brighter than they really are. I love that it is a bubble dress, and already have tights, shiny black shoes, and a red hair bow for her. I have to keep telling myself that I can't decorate for Christmas yet. We have to have Thanksgiving first. But the Friday after, that is what I will be doing!

So I think I can safely say that this is day is over. Emma had an early bed time tonight, and I am hoping with all the interruptions, and not much of a nap, she will sleep well tonight. We will try again for that relaxing day tomorrow!

Play Date

Today we had a nice change with Jessica and Sophia coming over. Before they came, Sophia had her 6 month appointment and got her yucky vaccines, so she was a little on the sleepy side. There was about a 10 minute window when both girls were awake at the same time and both Jessica and I desperately tried to get a cute picture. Between interest in the dogs and each other, it was hard to get them both looking at the camera at the same time, if at all. You can check Jessica's blog (click on Jessica's name to the right) to see if she had better luck then I did!

Thanks girls for making the long drive out! It was great to see you both!!

Emma had her usual "visitor look" face. I am sure when we go to Target in a couple of weeks to get pictures, this is all we are going to get!

Smiley Sophia

Checking each other out

Trying to get a picture

Doctor's Update

Everything went great today at Emma's 6 month appointment. Dr. Yin said she looked perfect and wasn't concerned about anything. The only thing is, is that she wants us to try and get Emma off of the Miralax. She said that it can be habit forming, so wants us to make Emma's diet high in fiber. She said to start her on prunes and then gradually start to decrease the miralax until she is off of it. It has been working so well that I am nervous to take her off of it, but we will add prunes to her oatmeal each morning, and she is very interested in our water when we have our water bottles, so we will continue to work on drinking water from a sippy cup, so hopefully the extra water will help also.

I talked to Dr. Yin about what to do when Emma gets sick and I feel much more confident that I know what to do and when to call when she gets sick.

Emma got 5 immunizations again this visit - one including the seasonal flu shot. She didn't like them at all, but recovered quickly. They are currently out of the H1N1 vaccine, and like everyone else, don't know when they will get more. I am suppose to call once a week to see if they got anymore in.

Her weight was higher then I expected it to be, but when we got home she had a HUGE poopy diaper. So I am sure we could take a good pound off! She weighed in at 17 1/2 pounds (82%), 27 inches long (90%), and her head is still little and puts her in the 34th percentile. (she is following her growth curve and meeting her milestones, so the doctor is still not concerned).

We go back in a month for a booster flu shoot, and then we don't go back for check-up until she is 9 months!

Trying to play for a little bit

Her poor little legs!

6 Months!

Wow! Emma Grace is 6 months today! Another 6 months and she will be a year old. Time really is flying by! Just like all the others, we have had another great month. A month filled with more firsts, more questions, more worries, and of course more fun. This past month Emma has gotten to experience eating food. She has gotten to taste oatmeal, applesauce, green beans, and pears. She is a great eater. So far she prefers the fruits over the veggies, but she will eat them - just a little more slowly. She is smart too! When we first introduced the green beans she hated them. She even started to cry when I would put her in the high chair. The funny thing was, she started taking a very little first bite to figure out what it was feeding her. If it was fruit or oatmeal, she was ready for her next big bite. If it was the green beans, she let me know she wasn't very happy about it! She also got to experience her first major holiday, Halloween! She got to pick out a pumpkin, read Halloween books (new favorite is 5 Little Pumpkins), dress up as a cute ghost, pass out cookies, and of course trick-or-treating with her cousins. She has mastered sitting and can sit nice and tall and reach for objects without falling over. She has also learned to roll from her back to her tummy which makes naps very interesting! Half the time I walk in and find her face down! So I of course try to move her head and she wakes up! She has discovered paper and whenever she sees it, she wants it. When we are shopping she reaches for the price tags, and my grocery list. I think the cutest thing she started doing this month is her kisses. I think like most babies, when ever we give her kisses, she opens her month really wide. This month she started grabbing our faces with both hands, opening her mouth as wide as she can, and goes after our faces! If you aren't prepared for it, it can be kind of startling!

We are ready to start moving through foods a little quicker and introducing a sippy cup. We go to the doctor's tomorrow for her 6 month check up and more vaccines. We are prepared for a lazy day on the couch after all her shots. I will post her doctor's update tomorrow!

And as always, here are some of the other pictures from our 6 month photo shoot! It was a tough pick this month. I let Robert choose his favorite!

Making Strides

We had a very early start to our morning today so we could meet up with Sophia and Jessica to walk in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. It was a 5k that was held at Tempe Town Lake. The weather was great and it was nice to walk through out Tempe and around the lake. It was amazing to see how many people participated and all the groups walking together. It was fun to read all the cute slogans on the team shirts. Emma showed her support by wearing pink everything - a pink outfit, pink bow, pink socks, and even pink tennis shoes!

For having to be woken up this morning both girls did very well. We got lots of comments about how cute they were. It is so funny. Whenever Jessica and I are out with the girls, we always get asked if we are sisters. Everyone thinks that it is so neat that the girls are so close in age, and it would be even better if Jessica and I were sisters. Today we even got asked if they were twins! I am wondering if that person did some pre-race celebrating!

Sophia and Emma haven't seen each other in a while and there were several parts of the day that they were "petting" each other and playing with the others hands. It was pretty cute. We have to get these girls together more often!

Ready to start walking!

Sophia was extremely smiley even with it being an early morning!

Ready to start! (This is the first picture that I have looked at and noticed how red her hair is!)

Quick pit stop

Ready to get moving!

After the race...We spent 45 minutes in the parking garage trying to get out!

After the race we stopped by Paradise Bakery for some Brunch. Emma looks like she is trying to get away in this picture! Really she is just sliding around, that chair was slippery!

Emma was very interested in my water. So I let her have a drink. She did pretty good. I think it is time to get out the sippy cup!!