10 months old!

I continue to say this, but time sure does fly. Emery turned 10 months old today. She has been learning so many new things like...sticking her tongue out, scrunching her nose when she doesn't like something, crawling (kind of) and taking her first steps. The most she has done was four steps, yesterday. She has also been trying new foods like pancakes, crackers, bananas, peas (can't quite swallow them, but likes to have them in her mouth), and pizza. She also loves to tear up Kleenexes and make a mess. I clean something up, she dumps it back out. Today we had our first big snow. She loved looking out the window as it piled up throughout the day. We didn't venture outside, though. Too bad. She is also saying mama, dada, and boo (moo). We have a bunch of cows behind our house that she loves to watch everyday. She started off saying moo, and it has since turned to booo. She loves playing hide and seek and to ride her firetruck and hippo down the hallway. She has gotten really good at putting her feet up so I can push her. Here are a few pictures of our recent activities.

Please ignore the mess, but this was her first step!

She loves to read! Check out those socks.

First trip to the park.



Favorite sleeping place.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I can't believe Emery is 8 months old already. Wow, time sure flies. Currently she is sitting up on her own, has 4 teeth, says daadaa, and is in the process of learning to crawl. We are also working on food. It isn't easy. I am sure there is some book out there that explains it all, but we haven't come across it, so we are moving slow, and enjoying the faces.

We were adventurous and flew to Virginia to spend Christmas with the Birklands. Emery did great on the plane. Slept for the 2 hour flight and then played quietly for the last hour, and the same on the way back. Emery loved getting to spend time with Grandaddy and Buncle Chris. We were lucky to have great weather and were able to go out for walks each day.

Christmas day was fun, too. She enjoyed opening/chewing on her presents.

When we got back, we were visited by her great grandparents and great-great grandma. We are fortunate to be able to see them once or twice a month.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Birkland!

Grandpa Birkland,

Happy Birthday! I am sorry I couldn't be there. We can't wait to see you in a month. Also, sorry about the sign. I am loving to chew on everything right now!

Love you,

Emery

6 months and growing

Emery and Daddy Emery eating. Yuck!

Em with her Tottenham gear on, playing with Daddy.

She grew out of her original Halloween costume, so we found this black cat onesie at Walmart.

Emery and Mommy on the first really cold day. Brrrr!

Wow! I cannot believe that Emery is already 6 months. Each month I tell her that she is big enough and she doesn't need to get any bigger. Yet, she continues to grow and I find myself enjoying her more and more each month. Recently we have been trying rice cereal, green beans, and squash. I can't say she has a favorite right now, because she really doesn't have the whole eating thing down. She will let me put it in her mouth, and then she just lets is pool with her saliva at the front of her mouth before letting it slip on out of her mouth. All the while, making a horrible face!

She has also been rolling over more. She first rolled over a few times at four months, and then lost interest. Within the last two weeks, we have been putting her toys farther and farther from her, forcing her to roll over, and she does! However, she still has trouble getting that darn arm out from under her. We have also been sitting up on the couch. We have to have something behind us for support. She does well, leaning forward, and not falling over, then she gets excited and pushes back and falls over. Anytime now...

She continues to put any and everything in her mouth. I think her favorite thing at the moment is my hair. You wouldn't think 3 seconds would amount to much but when I pull it from her grasp, I have a very soggy mess. Hey, if it makes her happy... Patty cake is a favorite now, too. She loved the clapping. When we stop to roll it up and throw it in the pan, her smile fades and then explodes again once the clapping continues. We have enjoyed our time with her so much and try to hold on to every second because it goes way too fast.

I am sorry that I have not posted pictures in a while, our computer takes forever to download. So, here are a few to catch up with. Enjoy!

~Amy

A New Post!

Sorry that this post won't have any pictures. I wanted to update anyone who still checks this blog. Emery is growing up so fast. Seriously, that is why Hugh and I don't blog. We don't want to spend any time away from her; we never want to miss a thing.

Lately, that has been tough. I started school in August and Hugh just started student teaching a few weeks ago. This means, that both of us feel like we just aren't getting enough time with Em. Thankfully, we have a wonderful sitter, a friend of ours, who has been doing a great job with Emery. She is not the easiest baby. For one thing, she fights sleep. She has gotten herself on a great schedule. She wakes up (happy), eats, and then plays. Approximately 2 hours after waking, she shows signs of being tired, so we try to get her to sleep. It is quiet the scene. Because she fights sleep, we have to trick her into sleeping. First we had the white noise from the TV. Then we had the shower. Now we are just down to the sink, which we know, is a waste of water, but she needs to sleep. So, not only do we have the sink going, but we also have to sing (Somewhere Over the Rainbow), and sway while patting her back. This is the only way we can get her to sleep. I know that crying it out is an option, but we are just not ready to go there yet. This works, and we love every minute of it.

So, upcoming pictures will be of Emery's first 2 teeth. Yes, she has two. The first one came in the day before she turned 4 moths. The second one came in a week later along with an earache that we are just now getting over. Thank goodness for lots of antibiotics because she now is sleeping through the night again. For the two weeks before she got her two bottom teeth, she slept through the night. For the past 3-4 weeks, she has been waking almost every hour. Ugh! Another reason we have not blogged.

She is really growing up fast. She talks all the time and, if you look crazy and make weird sounds, she will laugh out loud for you. We are really proud parents and have had a hard time of getting out. When you both work, you just want to come home and spend time as a family. It is hard to make and keep friends when you don't feel like you have enough time. I want to apologize to everyone for not being social lately. Being a working mom is very draining physically and emotionally. We know that we want to bring Emery up among friends though, and to do that we have to be more social. So, we will try. But for now, we are content enough in being Emery's mom and dad.

I promise to write more soon.
~Amy

I know...it has been a while

You never realize how much time a baby takes until you have one. They do not easily sit around and entertain themselves. Since having Emery, almost 9 weeks ago, a lot has gone on that has kept us very busy. I am sorry that I have not blogged in a long time, for those of you that check, but I have not had an hour to myself in a long time.

Here are some pictures to keep you updated on Emery's progress. I am not going to go back and recount the last weeks, but I will let you know that Emery is growing so much every day. We last had her weighed on Tuesday and she was at 9 lbs, 10 oz! It helps that the previous 2 weeks she gained almost a pound a week! Enjoy the pictures. I hope to keep the site updated more frequently.

Here is Emery taking her first bath at home. I have to admit, she did pretty well. We had my mom taking pictures and my step-dad filming. Here is what they looked like afterwards.

Here is a picture of Emery when she was still pretty tiny. The only thing we let her wear were these little sleepers with hands and feet. She slept a lot. Here is a picture of her sleeping on Hugh, one of her favorite things to do. The other is a picture of what she looked like one day after waking up. Somehow, she managed to get both legs in the same leg hole on her sleeper. They were new born size, and still too big.

Did I mention that she likes to sleep?

In May, we also were lucky enough to get a visit from "Buncle" Chris. Apparently adding the b to uncle makes him the "best uncle."


And, in June, we got a visit from Grandpa Birkland.

Speaking of Hiccups...

Another reason I am thankful for having a c-section is for the fact that I got to stay in the hospital for 4 days. How can a new parent be sent home after day 2? I had a lot of questions and had aplenty of time for many of them to get answered. So, another reason to be thankful for a breech baby. By Thursday, we were ready to go home. We had some interesting time with a night nurse, and it made me want to keep Emery all to my self. The only way that could be done was at home. As I mentioned earlier, Hugh and I are procrastinators. So, Thursday morning, Hugh set off to the fire station for a car seat inspection. You can't leave home without it. While he was gone, I tried to find an outfit for Emery's going home trip. Since she was so small, some friends of mine bought some preemie outfits. I am glad they did, because the outfits that Hugh and I chose were definitely too big for her. So, while Hugh was gone, we tried on outfit after outfit. They were all so cute, but some were a little short in the legs. After about 15 minutes of trying on clothes, we found an outfit that worked. My next job was to try to get the car seat straps adjusted for her. Another task that babies do not enjoy. Needless to say, by the time Hugh returned we were dressed and ready to go. Hugh took our bags to the car and I called the nurse so we could get dismissed. When Hugh finished with the bags, he helped me get Emery into her car seat. Then, the wait began. After about 10 minutes, Emery got the hiccups. These were not your average hiccups, though. With each release of air through her mouth, a release of something else came out of the other end. Poor girl. This meant that we had to get her out of the car seat, change the diaper and put her back in. She was a trooper. Another 20 minutes later, and our nurse arrived. Time for home.