All dressed up with no place to go!

This morning I had some errands to run and then we were going to go to a playgroup at 11, but it started raining so we didn't go to the playgroup. Instead we came home and took a few pictures for the blog! Oh, and this is Emma's new best friend... she will talk and smile at herself in the mirror all day! It is fun to watch!

A few random things...

These were pictures I took after Emma's first bath- she was not sure what to think... Hanging out with dad during his lunch break... Tummy time... This was the little christening bonnet that came with her blessing dress we thought was funny to put on her... Her favorite position and place to sleep. Yes, that is our bed, and we are trying to convince her that her bed is more comfortable. :) She LOVES cuddling up with her dad to sleep... Emma after church last Sunday wearing one of the dresses that my Aunt Marjean made for me and I wore when I was a baby.

More pics!

Smiles!

Today is going to be a great day! It is Friday and Emma has been smiling at me all morning. Her smiles makes me melt and put me in such a good mood and now I'm motivated to get lots done! I attempted to catch a couple on camera. Most of these are either blurry because she was moving around or you just see a half a smile as she is starting to smile, but they are still fun!

5 Weeks and April Fool's

So a certain aunt and uncle who live in Missouri have been requesting some new pictures. Again, these are taken with our webcam (we are having some serious issues with our digital camera), but we are having some real pictures taken this weekend, so there are more to come! When I started out taking these she was wide awake and content, then I was mean and took her pacifier away-since it doesn't match her outfit, of course ;) and then I gave it back and she fell asleep. The only pacifier she will take is the Soothies kind, and it is a little awkward and heavy so she learned how to hold it in her mouth with her hand at almost one week. It is pretty funny.

Now that I stay at home with Emma, I get to have time for some of the things I always wanted to do. For instance, I have the time to enjoy silly little holidays, like April Fool's Day. Yesterday morning when I was up feeding Emma I changed our clock an hour ahead. At 6:30 Jared woke up, checked the clock and got up to get ready for work, thinking it was 7:30. I stopped him before he actually got ready, but I knew if I didn't get him first thing in the morning before he remembered it was April Fool's, I would never get him. I was happy at that, but after he went to work I had another idea...

I went to the dollar store and bought a pregnancy test and then I went and visited one of my pregnant friends who was nice enough to take the test. She put it back in the box and back in the dollar store bag. I got home a few minutes after Jared got home from work and had the bag with the pregnancy test in it. I sheepishly told him that I just "wanted to make sure" and went in the bathroom to "take the test". I let it sit for a few minutes in the bathroom, went and got it and had him take a look at it. I am married to a very good man, because he was a little shocked, but took it in stride. We joked a little about being able to have two new tax deductions for 2009, and he asked Emma if she wanted a little sister or little brother. I finally told him after about an hour and we were both happy that it was a joke. Anyway, I got him and it was hilarious! I'm a little nervous for next year's April Fool's Day, though, because I bet he cooks up something even better!

How do you get anything done?

Jared and I are officially in love with Emma. She is SUCH a good baby and her fun little personality keeps us laughing all the time. I have discovered, though, that I just don't get anything done becuase I never want to put her down! It is amazing how quickly she is changing and I feel like I will miss something! We were given a sling and I think it is one of the best inventions ever so I can have my hands free but still be holding her.

This might be boring for anyone else, but I just want to write down a few things about her so I don't forget...

• She LOVES her dad. Whenever he is around she listens for his voice and wants to be able to see him. Her first coos were at him. The other night he dozed off holding her and she was still just contentedly looking up at him.
• She has the funniest faces, and we have named most of them- the Yoda face, the Turtle, the Zoolander face, the Alien, the Old Man and many more. They are priceless, but nearly impossible to catch on camera.
• She hates to have her arms constricted. Even when she still loved to be swaddled, she had to have her arms out at all times. She also hates socks, so I am always worrying about her getting too cold.
• In the last couple of days she has decided she wants to be all stretched out instead of in a fetal position. She also like to have her arms sticking straight out from her sides.
• She started smiling last week, but today was the first day she smiled in response to us. It is normally just gas or something. And yes, I did tear up a little. Does having kids automatically turn you into mush? :)
• She has been cooing for a few days, but giggled for the first time last night. Not in response to us, but in her sleep. It was adorable.
• She loves her car seat (or at least riding in the car).
• Oh, she absolutely hates baths, diaper changes and tummy time, although all three seem to be a little less traumatic with each experience. She is starting to have pretty good control of her neck now.
• We still can't figure out who she looks like or what her eye color is changing to. They have lightened up from the dark, dark blue they were when she was born, but they look like they will be light brown sometimes and in the light they look light blue. She does have her dad's feet, though.
• She is scared of the dark. We couldn't figure out why she wouldn't stay in her bassinet at night and then I realized she got upset everytime I walked into a dark room. We have to leave the hall light on all night, which shines right on her bassinet.
• After a little bit of a weight scare the week after she was born, we weighed her on Saturday and she is back up to 7 lbs. 2 oz. (she gained 10 oz. in 7 days!)
• We just love her!!

Better pics

She's Here!

Emma was born at 11:03 p.m. on Wednesday, February 25th. She was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 19.5 inches long. I had contractions all day, had the doctor check me around 2 in the afternoon and was dilated to a 3. He told me to come back once my contractions were a little closer and I couldn't talk through them. So I just hung out with my mom and dad at my house all afternoon. Jared and I finally headed to the hospital at 7 because my contractions were 3 minutes apart or so. But I could still talk through them, so we weren't in too big of a hurry. We actually didn't even take our suitcase or anything into the hospital with us just because we didn't want to have to take it back out the car if it was a false alarm. The nurses make bets when girls come in as to whether they are really ready or not or how far along they are. They admitted me and just took their time. Then my nurse checked me and I was already dilated to a 7! She actually went and got another nurse to double check me because she couldn't believe it. The doctor came and broke my water around 8. I got to the point where I wanted an epidural around 9:30 or so, and by the time the anesthesiologist started the epidural I was already complete and pushing. It seriously barely numbed me in time. Everything went really fast and we were very blessed! Thanks everyone for all your calls and support! We have the best family and friends! Love you all!

(Sorry about the pics- we took these with our webcam but as soon as I can, I will get the ones we took in the hospital with our digital camera up)

Quick Update!

Well, I am now exactly one week away from my due date! I went to the doctor today and I'm dilated 2 cm and 80% effaced. It is just good to know things are progressing like they should! Everything is looking good!

37 Week Pic!

Jared thinks he can win the biggest belly contest, but no matter how much he tries to stick it out I still win. :)

This one is my favorite!

We have been meaning to get some pictures taken for several weeks, and we got a few yesterday. Connie, my sister-in-law, took them for us, and she does a great job.

Change

Lately I have been thinking a lot about change... I have been trying to figure out how I feel about change. Change is good. It seems like I spent a lot of time growing up waiting for change. I couldn't wait until I turned 8 so I could get baptized, 12 so I could go to Young Women's, 14 so I could go to all the boy/girl dances and parties, 15 so I could take Driver's Ed., 16 so I could date, 18 so I could be an "adult"... I wanted so badly to progress from Jr. High to High School, then I couldn't wait to graduate and go to college, to really be on my own. Once I was in college, I started counting down the number of semesters I had to graduate. Do you see a pattern here? I realized that I am still like that. I am an impatient person, and "can't wait" for change to happen. But I realized that sometimes I lose a little bit of the excitement of just being in the moment and enjoying where I am. I spent the first couple months of my pregnancy impatiently wishing that I could just hold this baby already. I just wanted to get my cute little baby clothes on her. It hit me a couple of weeks ago that as much as I want to have the baby here, I really do enjoy being pregnant! I love this experience, being part of such a miracle. I will be excited when she gets here and will have tons of things I will appreciate then, but here are some things I am appreciating today that I won't be able to in a few weeks:

• Arranging and re-arranging all the cute baby stuff (which I'm assuming I won't have much energy to do, plus I'll have a cute little baby distracting me from silly stuff like that)
• Sleeping through the night
• Feeling Emma's hiccups several times a day
• Getting to read all the parenting magazines at the Dr.'s office (I know, kind of silly, but even though I don't subscribe to them, I enjoy reading them for free)
• My thicker hair and stronger nails
• Having all the old ladies in stores and church give me the sweetest looks- I'm assuming this is just because I'm noticeably pregnant
• Having a little belly "shelf" to rest things on (ok, I might not really miss that!)
• The small amount of laundry I have to do right now in comparison to what it will be
• All the time Jared and I are able to spend together
• ALL the movements I get to feel everyday from her (even the jabbing elbows, knees and feet)
• Getting to listen to her heartbeat at the Dr.
• Having an excuse to be a little bit lazy :)
• My crazy, vivd dreams- sometimes I feel like I get to watch my own personal movies every night
• My job! (I really feel like I learn something new everyday and I enjoy all the people I work with- I am lucky to have found such a great fit for me)
• I enjoy most the quiet moments when I get to feel her move around and react to my voice, Jared's voice and everything else. There are just very few things as cool as that.

So that should help me be a little more patient, but I'm still very excited to meet this little girl and am very excited about the change we will be having at our house! Then I will post a whole new blog about what I love about having her here!! : )