Emma's blessing

Here is my pretty girl on her blessing day.

We had a good day. The weather was so beautiful to have a family lunch in our backyard. The food was great too, thanks Mom for all your hard work! And thanks to Mary, Kristen, and Julie for bringing food too. It was really helpful. Mike gave Emma a beautiful blessing and it was lots of fun spending the afternoon with family.
Of course I couldn't let the day go by without taking a picture of me, my sister, my baby, and my mom who made Emma's dress.

Emma was not in a very good mood and we couldn't get a picture of her not crying, but at least the three moms look good.
Here we are with Mike's parents and sister, Sarah.

And here we are with my parents.

Emma had a good day and was still happy at 8:00 that night, she was ready for bed though and slept really well!

Happy special day to Emma. We sure are happy to have her in our family.

Ethan's birthday

I know I'm 2 weeks late, but better late than never, right? Here is my sad attempt at a Bumblebee cake for Ethan.

The birthday boy and his cake...make a wish

Ethan was more interested in playing with all his Transformers than he was in eating cake

But we all enjoyed the cake

Ethan got a mini copy of the Book of Mormon from his primary teachers. He loves it and was so excited to see it waiting on our front porch when we got home from Sunday dinner at my parents'

I love that he loves this present and that he is hugging it.
I can't believe that my baby boy is 4 years old. I love having him be a part of my family and I can't remember what it was like to not have him in my life. My only wish would be that he could stay this small forever.

Can't wait for tonight...

Splish splash

I am very lucky to have 2 kids that LOVE their bath! Ethan has a roll on soap thing that he loves and it's great for me too. When I have to take care of Emma, Ethan can soap most of himself up.

When Emma was small, she hated her bath. I hated giving them to her because she'd scream! (She's a screamer and has been since she was born!) But she has mellowed and now loves her bath, and I love bath time too.

Chillin' in the tub

Just too funny...

Pastor's Business Card

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.
Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote 'Revelation 3:20' on the back of it and stuck it in the door.
When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, 'Genesis 3:10..'
Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock.' Genesis 3:10 reads, 'I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked.'
Remember when the funniest jokes were the clean ones?

'A cheerful heart is good medicine' (Prov. 17:22)

Good news

When Emma's doctor told me to up her formula powder to water ratio and add cereal to her diet, he also asked me to go get an EKG done on her. That scared me! He had a patient that wasn't gaining weight and they found that it was related to his heart. I wigged out because I really didn't want anything to be wrong with her heart. The doctor called last night and this morning with up dates on the EKG. Turns out, I just have a small baby, the no gaining weight thing is not related to her heart! Yippee! He did say to keep beefing up her formula and keep feeding her cereal, which she loves as can be seen in the pictures from my last post. And last night when I put the bib on her before her second bowl of cereal, she smiled and "giggled" and started kicking her legs, she's so excited for rice cereal!!

Breakfast

Emma had her first taste of rice cereal today for breakfast. Above is her all ready and waiting for the yummy stuff.

First bite...

She's not sure what to think of it.
After just a few bites, she really liked it. She got mad when I was spooning more up. She kind of looks like a kitten or puppy licking it up with her tongue.

Mmm, all done and full. We'll feed her more at dinner.

And of course Ethan wanted his picture taken while he was eating his applesauce...

Doctor check-up

Ethan and Emma both went to the doctor today. I told Ethan he wouldn't be getting any shots, but while we were there, they offered me a flu shot for him. I called our insurance company and they said they'd cover it and while I was there to get it, so we did. I told Ethan that he would be getting a shot but if he was brave, I'd get him a blue slushy from Sonic! He took the bait and talked me into giving him a pack of smarties too! He did jump and cry when he got the shot, but was okay after a minute or two. Emma was next with shots, three! She yelled a lot louder than Ethan did. The nurse, smart lady, gave Ethan his shot first so he wouldn't freak out too much when Emma cried and think it was going to be really horrible.
Ethan weighs in at just under 40 lbs! And is just over 40 inches tall! Emma has grown too. She is 23 inches long but her weight isn't to great for her height, 9 lbs 7 oz. The doctor is a little concerned about that and has asked me to give her more formula, and more formula to water ratio, and start her on cereal. Giving her both one to two times a day. There is a test that the doctor would like to be done, but I've been told not to worry too much about it, yet so until I get the test results, I'll not worry any of you either.
When we were taken back to our exam room, we were lucky to get the dinosaur room. Anyone who knows Ethan knows his love of dinosaurs. He was so excited to see 2 triceratops heads on the wall and a t-rex bust! And a dinosaur mural on another wall and the rest of the walls covered with pictures of kids in dino costumes! I love that room too. Ethan hasn't been in it since his 2 month check-up! It was great to see that room again, especially when there was a surprise shot!

Figuring things out!

My last post may have misled a few of you so let me clarify...I am very, very grateful for my baby girl, I waited a long time for her and I am so happy to have her in my life. It's exciting for me to see her responding to me, Ethan, and Mike by smiling back at us. As Mike puts it, "It's very rewarding!" We are thrilled to have her and look forward to the rest of her life to have her be part of our family. Never in a million years and not for all the money in the world would I give her back.

I do, however, get a little upset having a newborn because they don't talk and tell me what they need. I am so used to Ethan and him being able to tell me that he's hungry or hot or cold or whatever that it's difficult for me to understand Emma and get her what she needs. However, there are a few things that I have started figuring out lately about my Emma. Here area few things that come to mind--

*She doesn't like being nursed under a blanket. She get too warm, falls asleep, and no matter what I do, she won't eat enough, not even in 1/2 an hour. So please don't get upset and think that I am rude if I leave the room when you are at my house to feed my baby. She will, though, take a bottle so if we are having fun, I'm going to get a bottle for her and don't be mad about that either!

*Emma is a social eater. When it's time for dinner, no matter how long it has been since she has eaten, she fusses and acts like she's hungry. Maybe, however, she just wants to sit at the dinner table with the rest of us.

*Emma is a daddy's girl. I have noticed the last few days that when Mike walks into the house, Emma fusses. I take this as, "I've missed you Daddy and I love you Daddy!"

*I know that the above mentioned is not, "Oh, yuck, it's Daddy!" because last night when I held Emma on my lap at dinner, all she did was stare at Mike.

*Emma will be fine and play by herself for no more than about 20 minutes, then she needs something new to look at. Even moving her from the floor or bed where she has been happily staring at the ceiling fan to the bouncy or swing will make her happier.

*Emma is not a fan of shopping, yet. She doesn't last long running errands. I may have to start finding a sitter when I go to the grocery store, any volunteers? :)

*Emma, like most babies, fights sleep, so hard sometimes!!

I hope that I can continue to figure more out as we get more used to eachother.

I love you. baby girl!