Ducky

Aunt Sue sent Emma this Ducky lovey. Peter (Aunt Sue's son) was attached to a duck when he was little and so this present was very fitting to pass on the duck tradition. Emma gets a little frantic at times and likes to have things in her hands. This duck is just perfect and as you can see, Emma loves it already. Thanks Aunt Sue!

Braving the Cold

Emma and I went to William's Halloween Parade at school today. It was very cold outside but Emma was roasty-toasty in her seat. This coat is just the cutest thing on her and was passed down to her from Matty, Will and Sam. Notice her ducky peaking out from the blanket.

A Day of Firsts

Emma Kate had two big firsts today...she went to church this morning and SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT. She slept from 11:00 to 7:30 when I woke her up. After that, we went to church and she slept sweetly through the entire service. We were so excited to take her to church today and Mike was so cute and giddy when he was able to write her name in under childrens' names in the welcome book.

This afternoon, we tried to capture some pictures of Emma Kate and had a hard time choosing which ones to post because there were some very sweet ones. We were trying to capture her smiling and of course the camera died right when she decided to smile. We caught a half smile in one. Enjoy!

So sweet during tummy time with Mommy!

Emma's Sort of Smile

Her Baby Acne is AWFUL...it looks terrible and there is nothing we can do for it.

We just loved her face in this pic!

Who Does She Look Like?

This is the question everyone likes to ask when they hold Emma. Of course everyone has a guess as to who she looks like and it is always interesting to hear the different opinions. I have attached a picture of Mike as a newborn and two of me so you can see if there is any resemblance with Miss Emma Kate. I had not looked at these pictures since we have been home from the hospital, but Aunt Janet, Mike and I pulled them out last night. We were surprised at what we found and I am interested to see if you see anything in the pictures.

Mike

Becky

Becky

Emma's First Babysitter

Mike and I had the opportunity to go out to dinner last night while Aunt Janet kept Emma! It was nice to get away although we were glad to come home to our little one. Aunt Janet thoroughly enjoyed that time with Emma and we so appreciated her help!

Curious George

Emma Kate received a special gift in the mail today...her very own Curious George!  Tante Janet sent one to Emma to carry on the special tradition of Curious George stories.  I have lots of memories of her telling me Curious George stories and now she can carry that on with Emma!

Tante Janet Comes to Visit

Tante (Norwegian for Aunt) Janet came this week to meet Emma! She is here for most of the week to love on Emma and give us a break. We are so excited to have her here and it was so special to introduce Aunt Janet to Emma.

Tea Time

Emma went to her first tea this week! Tante Janet took Emma and I to the Bonbonerie for tea and Opera Cream Cake. This was a very special treat and Emma was very well behaved. We were very nervous about taking Emma to tea, but she was content to look at the lights while I rocked her in the pumpkin seat. When she got tired of that, I held her and she was as content as could be. It was a wonderful time and the initiation of Emma into the tea tradition in our family.

Emma Keeps Growing

We went to the doctor today for Emma's 1 month check up. She is now 11 lbs 8 oz and 24 1/4 inches. She continues to fall in the 95th percentile for size although, her head is only in the 75th. Who would have ever thought that our child would have a head that is on the charts let alone in the 75th. Emma also got her first shot today. As I was holding her, she was whimpering and then the needle went in and her eyes bugged out and she gasped and screamed. It was so sad. I felt so very bad for her and cannot imagine what it will be like when she gets several shots at the next visit. She is now getting Zantack to help treat her upset stomach and constant spit up problem. She is healthy and growing! We are so blessed. Tante Janet was with us for the visit which was a great treat!

The Cousins

We are so excited that Uncle Andrew, Aunt Abby and Sam came to visit this weekend. It was so much fun to have the cousins meet and to hold precious Sam. Just as I expected, he is a precious newborn who makes the newborn goat noises, plays with his tongue, sticks his butt out when you hold him up, and gently cries when he is hungry...all things Emma does not do. Here are a few pictures of the cousins together. We are so blessed and so excited to see them grow up together. Currently Emma is 3 inches and 2 1/2 lbs bigger than Sam and I felt like I would break him when I first picked him up. It made me realize how sturdy and solid Miss Emma Kate is. I will post some more pictures later after the football game!

Bottle Time

Emma had her first bottle from Daddy. She did very well although Mommy had some control issues with sharing the feeding process with Daddy (what a surprise). Thankfully Emma eats well from a bottle, so well, in fact, that she ate almost 9 oz last night. Wow...she can throw down!

Play Time

As I mentioned in my post earlier this morning, Emma is working on having play time by herself. She loves to lay on her play mat and although she cannot focus on the toys and is not aware of all the bells and whistles of it, she just lies there and looks around the room. While she is doing that, she rubs the back of her head which you can see in the second picture. We have noticed that she does this when she is content while eating and playing. There are also pictures of her in the swing and the bouncy seat.

Bath Time

Emma loves her bath time. She just sits and looks around during the entire ordeal. Her only complaint is when I take her out and she gets cold. So sweet!

Smiles and Contentment (for now)

It finally happened! Emma smiled at me. She smiled at me-not because she pooped and not because she just finished eating and not because she was dreaming. She smiled at me! I was so excited and then thought it was just a coincidence, but she did it again. Through my tears I could see this little face looking so intensely at me and smiling at the sound of my voice and my smile. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. Of course I couldn't wait to tell Mike and when he got home, he spent time trying to get her to smile at him. When it wasn't working I went over and started talking to her and she broke into a huge smile. Of course that was not what Mike wanted to have happen and spent the evening trying even more to get her to smile at him. I am happy to report that she did it this morning. It is amazing that a simple nonverbal expression can convey so much and bring about so much joy and love. Wow!

Along with Emma's new found talent to smile (I really thought she might never learn how through the screams) she has found a new level of contentment in the past four days. After the worst day of all on Friday when she screamed for 10 hours, stopping only to eat and sleep a total of 20 minutes, we have had four wonderful days. Yes, there has been crying, but Emma is having alert and happy time when she is done eating. She is learning to (and I am learning to let her) have alone time in her swing or playmat to avoid over stimulating her. I finally feel like we are begining to have a routine and if Emma is anything like me, that predictable and scheduled routine brings security and tranquility. The more time I spend with her the more uneasy I get when I see how much like me she really is...we are in for it for sure! I am so encouraged by this shift in our daily behavior and realize there will be hard days but have felt as though I have really enjoyed my daughter the past several days. Along with that, she is nursing well and sleeping well at night-we pray that continues.

I love this goofy picture of Emma! She is taking on more personality and although it is not the picture I wanted to post, it is a good one. The CF card in the camera is full with over 400 pictures from Colorado and over 300 from the hospital and the first few days home. Mike has promised to clear it off so that I can post some new pictures of her as she is changing and growing each day. We are so thankful for her!

It is Official...

(yes she gets this red and more along with blue and purple when she is really mad)

...Emma has colic. We went to the doctor yesterday and she determined that everything is just fine with Ms. Emma, she just has colic. We are thankful for this diagnosis because it means that her screaming is for no reason instead of a serious complication or sickness. The doctor also mentioned that Emma now weighs 10 lbs 11oz and is in the 99th percentile. For those of you who have not met her, she is not a chunker, just big. She is out of the 0-3 month onesies already because of her length, not weight. Her 0-3 month outfits swim on her in width and are stretching in length. We are so thankful that she is so healthy and thriving.

The colic has brought about a whole new set of challenges in adjusting to having Emma here. For those of you who have met Emma and witnessed a screaming fit, you know that it is quite a show. You know it is bad when the pediatrician is impressed with her fits. We have attached a clip so that you can get a taste of what Emma is like when she is not happy. To further add stress to the situation, we are constantly aware that we are renting a wonderful apartment and don't want to bother Joanne with Emma's crying to the point of losing our home (although Mike reminds me that this is not a very valid fear). She screams for what can feel like an eternity and none of the recommendations for colic seem to help. She very much dislikes the swing, the car, her carseat, taking walks, being held, laying by herself, quiet, music, loud noise, fresh air, and the list goes on. There is one thing she likes-eating. Ultimately that is the important part, so we are thankful for that. And, before I seem as though I am complaining, which is not what I am doing-just explaining what life is like right now, Emma does sleep very well at night (to the current date). Thankfully we deal with the crying during the day and are able to get some sleep at night. As my mom reminded me this afternoon, parenting is dealing with one obstacle after another and this is the newest one in our path, for which your prayers are much appreciated!


I apologize for the quality of the sound, but her screaming was too much for the camera to handle! :)

Clarification

Emma just clarified that her mystified reaction captured in the photo below was caused neither by Roethlisberger's interception nor Casey Hampton's morbid obesity, but the unexpected sight of seeing her Poppa on TV. I had to break it to her that she was mistaken... it was only John Madden. Click the image for a larger version...

Editors Note: Emma has apologized for the mistaken identity, after all, her eyesight is only 20/200. She also said she thought Steely McBeam is a great mascot. She's got a lot to learn.

We Survived!

Emma and I went on our first outing today. This is my first day alone with her and we had to run to Target and the Post Office. I have not driven with her and went into the trip knowing that she likes to scream while in her pumpkin seat. I didn't want to be "that person" in target with the screaming baby...believe me, if Emma is screaming, the whole store would know. So, we went and she opened her eyes and whimpered a bit in the store, but never hit screaming status. I didn't kill us in the car and we accomplished our objectives and made it home in one piece. Emma even stayed asleep in her pumpkin seat long enough for me to write some emails, eat my lunch and update the blog. I am excited to have this time alone with her and to establish a routine and some normalcy to life. My goal is to get out once each day just to get used to it. We are going to take advantage of the weather and do some walking so she can get used to that since the three times we have gone she has screamed so loudly that I have had to take her out of the stroller when her face started turning blue (oh the personality traits that are becoming evident).

Emma's First Steelers Game with Mommy

Sunday Night Football featuring the Jacksonville Jaguars hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers is finally here and Mommy is so excited to share it with Emma. Unfortunately, Daddy has been less than enthused to share a Bengals game with her (its more like protecting her from it). As they were preparing for the game, Daddy made a snide comment cruelly wishing Emma would somehow soil and defile the vile Steelers' colors. Mommy was not amused. Daddy also commented, much to his delight, that Emma is not particularly attractive in the black and gold. Mommy conceded and admitted the outfit made her look like an "ugly boy." Ouch... Hopefully her cheerleading outfit will be more complimentary.

Anyway, as game time approached, Mommy and Emma prepared by festively donning some gay apparel (yes, double entendre intended) and settling in a comfy chair with a Terrible Towel.

Mommy tells Emma about the greatness of the Stillers, their storied history, five Super Bowl victories, and a quarterback who has two nasty habits: Holding on to the ball too long and diving head-first into Buick windshields. She also reviewed the lessons Daddy has been giving her over the basic rules and strategies of football.

Soon after the game begins, Ben Roethlisberger is picked off by Rashean Mathis. After all the hype and high expectations set by Mommy, this is her devastated reaction. Either that or she realized Casey Hampton really is THAT fat.

Soon after, Emma was sick to her stomach. She had seen enough. This highlights Emma's impatience as it was only minutes later that the Steelers regained the ball - and the lead. Emma, you really shouldn't take out your frustrations on Troy - even though he sounds like Michael Jackson and he looks like he's homeless.

Apparently, the damage was already done and she was so upset she promptly proceeded to produce the ENTIRE contents of her stomach for her and Mommy to wear (and thankfully by this point, Mommy had already taken off the jersey). Unfortunately, Daddy's wish came true and the Steelers' black and gold was defiled by half-digested breast milk. Yuk. Daddy was torn between helping and getting the camera to document the sheer quantity of spit-up saturating her Steelers shirt - which was very impressive.  Ultimately his desire to make it all better for his daughter beat out the mild satisfaction of seeing his prophecy fulfilled and grabbed a couple burp cloths.

That basically ended the party. Out came the jammies and it was time for Emma to rest and concentrate on making her tummy feel better. Oh, this was certainly a memorable experience. Just wait until the Steelers play the Bengals. Or maybe Daddy will continue to be merciful and shield her from the Bungles. Her poor little stomach couldn't handle that...

God is so Good!

Dan and Amy arrived home last night with Anabel. It has been such a long road and I know that many of you have been praying for them. If you would like the link to their blog, just let me know and I am glad to pass that along to you. God has taught Dan and Amy so much and used them to teach those of us close to them as well. We are so excited that Anabel is finally here and excited that Emma will have a playmate close in age! Please continue to pray for them as they now enter a new phase of adjusting to Anabel...who would have ever thought Amy and I would be adjusting to new babies at the same time! What a blessing!

New Pictures to Enjoy

Here are some new pictures of Emma that I have taken this week. It has been a challenge to find time to capture her precious moments, but here are just a few. Nursing is going better but still a great challenge. I am about over the Mastitis and Emma is doing very well. She is sleeping 4-5 hours at a time throughout the night but she doesn't sleep during the daytime hours. We are just thankful for her sleep time at night. I am adjusting to the concept that she is my full time job. I had two days alone last week and felt like I accomplished nothing but holding her and feeding her and then I had this epiphany that SHE IS MY JOB. That is exactly what I am supposed to be doing and the cleaning, laundry, and shower can wait. We miss Grammy and Poppa terribly but are glad that they can be with Sam right now. Well, my job is calling! We will work on keeping up with pictures and updates now that we are beginning to adjust.

Pen Pals

During the past week, in the midst of the Mastitis and nursing problems, Sam sent Emma a message to cheer us up and Emma sent him one back. We can't wait for them to meet soon!