Is it really another cold?

Didn't Emerson just get over a cold? Yes! I swear she has only been "healthy" for a couple of weeks. What happened today? Well the typical signs started popping up this morning- sneezing, coughing, runny nose and a low grade fever. Of course all of these signs were coupled with clinginess and a dash of fussiness. So, tonight after bath time I started up the vicks vaporizer and lathered Emy in baby vicks. We will see how she sleeps tonight and how she does tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for improvement.

Speaking of illness, Steve came down with a stomach bug at approximately 3am this morning. I knew it was bad when he crawled back into bed telling me that he had a fever of 100.8 and had taken some medicine. For my husband to have gotten up to find the thermometer and taken his temperature, in the middle of the night no less, I knew it had to be serious. I could not help but say a prayer right then and there that Emerson and I would not contract this bug. It seems that the bug has begun to pass and Steve is feeling much better after a day of sleep, dry toast, soup and gatorade. So much for a relaxing and enjoyable day off. Hopefully the week only gets better and the stomach bug is gone for good.

On a happier note, Emerson has FINALLY started laughing. Well, I wouldn't call it a laugh as much as a giggle. It is always very short and fleeting, but it is precious just the same. The things she laughs at are a little odd too. Emerson rarely laughs when tickled or funny faces are made. Instead she typically giggles when her cheek is touched a certain way or when I make random sounds. She has yet to laugh at Steve, but then again he is not as persistent as I am. I spend so much time trying to get her to laugh that when she finally lets out her tiny giggle, it is priceless.

Love,
Sabrina

Friday randomness

Last night it finally happened. Emerson slept from 8pm to 7am without making a sound. She woke up at 7:05am on her tummy and smiling. It was so precious. I cannot believe that she finally slept through the night. I seriously never thought that it would happen. Praise the Lord!

Today Emerson and I went to our friend Kari's to "play" with Rylie, Meghann and Hayden. I use the term "play" very loosely seeing as Emy and Hayden just sort of roll around while Rylie plays with them. Rylie is two and, like the typical toddler, she is in to everything. So she would play with the babies for a little while and then run off to have a tea party, play with her baby doll or ride her new bicycle. I always look forward to our playdates with Kari and Meghann because it is an excuse to see my friends and have a little bit of adult conversation and interaction. When Steve and I moved to Fort Worth, leaving our home so close to both Kari and Meghann was one of the hardest things for me. While it is not nearly as convenient to see them anymore, we are pretty good about making an effort to see each other once or twice a month.

On a different note, I am so happy that it is Friday. I know that we just had a holiday weekend with Easter and all, but we have another holiday weekend in our house. Thank you Tarrant County for giving Steve, Cesar Chavez day off. We have absolutely no plans this weekend other than staying out of the rain and enjoying Steve having Monday off. Yippee for long weekends and short work weeks.

Just for fun

Have a super weekend!
Sabrina

Tummy Time

Well, the rolling over is finally back. Emerson could still care less about rolling from her tummy to her back (which she did first), but she loves rolling from back to tummy. She did it all day yesterday. I would place her on her back and she would just flip over. After playing on her tummy for a while, she would start to fuss and kick because she could not or would not roll over. So, I would roll her over and within 30 seconds she was back on her tummy. She does not mind being on her tummy as long as she gets there herself. So, the enevitable happened this morning. When she started to stir about at 7:20am (Yes! First time past 7!), Steve went in to get her and she was just playing on her tummy in her crib. He said that she just looked up at him with her gummy smile as if to say, Good Morning, Daddy.

Happy tummy time

Angry tummy time

Love,
Sabrina

5 months

Dear Emerson,

Happy 5 month birthday! You have brought so much joy to my life that I cannot possibly explain in words. You have grown up so much over the past 5 months. I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by. 5 months ago at this time we were anxiously awaiting your arrival. You did not want to come out. Finally, mommy was wisked away to the operating room and you were forced out. I will never forget that moment. Hearing your cries for the first time. Seeing your sad, quivering lip for the first time. You were and still are so beautiful. You are no longer a tiny helpless newborn. Your personality is developing and you want to be involved in everything. There are so many precious things that you are doing right now that I want to remember forever. So, in honor of your special day, the following is a list of my favorite things about you right now.

1. The sweet way that you rub your eyes when you are tired

2. The face that you make when you should be laughing, but no sound is coming out

3. The way that your eyebrows are always lifted in excitement and curiosity

4. I love that when you are tired or have had too much of a situation, you will lay your head innocently on my chest as if to block out the world

5. I adore the conversations that we have

6. I love how you are discovering the way that everything feels. It is so precious the way you are slowly opening and closing your hands over new materials. It is especially sweet when you do this to mommy and daddy's faces.

7. Your expressions are priceless

8. I love the way that you kick in excitement when I come near to pick you up.

9. You have recently started to reach for things with both hands. My favorite is when you are reaching for me or daddy.

10. It makes me so happy to see the look on your face when daddy gets home at the end of the day. You are filled with pure joy at that moment. You are already a daddy's girl.

Love,

Mommy

Easter Weekend

Easter is one of, if not my most favorite holiday. I love being reminded of Jesus' sacrifice for us and the fact that he is risen, I love being with family, I love the children hunting for eggs and I adore spring. This Easter was extra special because we got to spend it with Emerson and Steve's family.

Saturday we enjoyed the beautiful weather and spent most of the day chatting outside. We decided to go to Saturday night service at our church for several lengthy reasons which I will not go into. About 5 minutes into the service the nursery called saying that "Emerson is very upset". Oh geez- I knew this must be pretty bad because they had never called before. So, I went to get her and I have never seen her so upset. It broke my heart. There were tears just streaming down her face. I thought that maybe something was wrong, but the second that I held her she instantly laid her head on my chest and calmed down. Emy just wanted her mommy. Note to self- Emy does not like new experiences so close to bedtime.

Sunday was wonderful too. All 5 1/2 of us went to the Renaissance Worthington for their famous Easter brunch. Being the huge breakfast food fan that I am, I always look forward to any kind of buffet where it is served. This buffet is the ultimate though- you can start with breakfast and then have lunch, dinner and dessert all in one meal. It is the only place that you can get away with eating eggs, waffles, sushi, fish, cheese, fruit and cake all in one setting. Needless to say, we all needed to change pants and take a nap after the massive meal.

Here is Emerson with her Easter basket

Here is Emy all dresed up in her Easter dress. Check out the sweet flower in her hair!

Here we all are at the Worthington before brunch

Love,
Sabrina

Happy Easter

Two steps forward, one step back

After the bliss of Emerson sleeping through the night for the first time on Monday night, last night was not good. She woke up several times and basically did not go back to sleep after 4:30 this morning. I don't know why I am surprised. With every major skill that Emy has learned so far, she does it a few times and then "forgets" for a couple days or weeks before deciding to do it again. This was the case with smiling, talking, using her hands and rolling (we are still waiting on her to "remember" how to do this one).


One good thing about last night was that she actually played in the bathtub for the first time. Before last night she would basically just sit there and chew her hands while we washed her. Last night Steve was holding a bath toy above her head and she started kicking excitedly and reaching for it with both hands. When she finally got the toy, it of course, went directly into her mouth. Then Steve would hold up a different toy and she would drop the first one and get all excited about the new one. It was absolutely precious.



Love,
Sabrina

Obsession

Emerson is obsessed with our Jack Russell Terrier, Toby. In the past week or so, Emerson finally began to really notice Toby. He would walk into her line of sight and she would stop what she was doing to watch him. Since then, whenever Toby comes near, Emerson begins to squirm and arch her back until you stand her up next to him. She wants to be as close to him as possible. Once she has this great view, she just stares at him. She reaches for him, pets him and grabs his ears but mostly she just stares. It is like she is looking at the most fascinating thing she has ever seen. It is hillarious.

Here is Toby sneaking some kisses of Emy at Christmas. He has been obsessed with her from the very begginning.

Love,

Sabrina

The Learning Weekend

We have 3 nights of sleep training down and what a difference! Friday night was terribly hard. At one point Emerson was up for 3 hours and would not go back to sleep. It took everything I had not to cave and rock her to sleep. I was so sure that Emy would wake up on Saturday morning crabby and angry. Much to my surprise, she was her usual smiley self. That gave me the confidence to see that the training is working and that she was not angry with me. Saturday night, her longest stint awake was only 40 minutes. Last night, she was only awake for a combined 34 minutes between 3 wake ups! I can only pray that tonight is even better.

Emerson also tried peas for the first time this weekend. I can happily report that she likes them as much as her mommy. In fact, I am about to fix her more for lunch. On top of the sleeping and the new veggie, Emerson also rolled over from back to front for the first time. It was so funny because she would get all the way onto her side and then get stuck. She was getting so frustrated that she could not figure out how to go the last little bit from her side to her belly. She finally figured it out and squealed with joy when she did it. Since then she has been practicing a lot with only a few successful attempts.

The biggest blessing of all is that Steve and I actually enjoyed our weekend. We had built up this "training weekend" so much that we were completely dreading it. Friday night was bad, but we woke up Saturday morning to the beautiful weather and a smiling baby. Emy did pretty good all day eventhough she was exhausted. I got out of the house for a few house to get my haircut and have lunch with a friend (Yippee!). Later, the three of us enjoyed time outside and playing together as a family. All-in-all the weekend turned out to be pretty pleasant and it happened to be productive too.

Love,
Sabrina

It's Friday!

One of the best things about staying home with Emerson is that I can have a quiet time with the Lord every morning. This is something that I absolutely missed when working. My heart was not complete because I could not get my daily time with Him. Sometimes I would get one in at night, but it is not the same as starting your day with one. Today is absolutely beautiful, so Emy and I went for a walk in Foster Park after breakfast. I decided that since the weather was so great, I would have my quiet time in the park. At the end of the walk, Emy was sound asleep and I stopped at a bench and got out my bible and book. There was something so peaceful about celebrating the Lord outside in nature. Appropriately, one of the verses in the study today was: "And these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?" Job 26:14

This afternoon Meghann and Hayden came over for a playdate. It has been so fun watching the babies grow up together and I am anxious to see them really "play" together in the future. I have been so blessed to have Meghann going through the same milestones and problems that we are at the same time. Meg and I always joked in college that when I had a baby she was going to have to move next door because I was so clueless when it came to kids. Well, it worked out that we were pregnant at the exact same time so we have been able to share all the joys and struggles together.

We start the sleep training tonight at 8pm. Keep us in your prayers.

Love,

Sabrina

Sleep Precious Sleep

Many of you know that Emerson is not a great sleeper. She is such a healthy and happy baby that this has been the biggest challenge that we have had to face in her short 4 1/2 month life. I know that we are truly blessed to have such a wonderful child, however when you are as sleep deprived as our household is, getting your child to sleep seems like an enormous obstacle.

The problem isn't that Emy does not like sleep, it is that she cannot put herself to sleep without being rocked or held until she falls asleep. Emerson will have a "good" week where she naps in her crib and sleeps in her room pretty good at night. However, the good times have come to a screeching hault and now we are facing the worst times. She will only sleep on me...not with me, but physically ON me. It seems that we have committed the cardinal parenting sin of not teaching our baby how to fall asleep on her own.

I am not sure how it happened really. It just kind of snuck up on us. When she was a newborn I was bound and determined to have a great sleeping, scheduled baby. I had a great plan. Stuff just seemed to come up that interferred with the plan. Family would be in town, we would be out of town, we were moving, I would be sick, Emerson would be sick...whatever the excuses we now have a 4 month old who cannot sleep on her own.

So, Steve and I have made the tough decision that this weekend we are teaching Emerson how to fall asleep in her crib, without our help. I have read countless books on parenting and infant sleep. They all say something different. Some say, don't let your baby cry. Others say, let them cry until they pass out. I personally feel that there has to be a middle ground somewhere. I am not sure what our game plan is, but the sleep problems have to stop. I know that teaching Emerson to sleep on her own is going to be really hard, but worth it in the long run. She will be an even happier baby than she already is and her parents will be happier too.

So, if you have been through this and happen to have any advice feel free to email me or post a comment. Also, if you happen to think of us at all this weekend, please pray for Emerson's learning ability as well as both Steve and I to stick with the plan and get our precious angel to sleep.

Oh, and a big congratulations to our friends Travis and Chrissie. Yesterday they welcomed into the world their first child. A daughter named Thessalie Elizabeth, 7lbs 12oz, 21 inches, born at 4:24pm on March 12. Welcome to the world, Thessalie.

Love,
Sabrina

4 month pictures

These were taken a couple of weeks ago. I thought they turned out so cute that I just had to share a couple of them. Sorry that some of the pictures are kind of cut off, I am not great with the scanner alignment.

Love,
Sabrina

Marvelous Monday

Mondays always mean a fresh start for me. Steve gives me a little bit of a break on the weekends so that I can catch up on sleep, errands and "me-time". So come Monday I feel refreshed and ready to conquer the stay-at-home mom world. I always start the week with this frame of mind that I am going to try my best to be super mom and wife. Mondays are normally great and then things go downhill as the week goes on. Today I managed to straighten the house, run a few errands, get to the gym AND cook dinner! The last point is the biggest accomplishment of all. Steve comes home from work this evening and I feel like a rockstar. Everything (well almost everything) is in its place, the house smells of yummy crockpot fixins and Emy is smiley and chatty. What a sight to come home to. Then the evening hits.

We go through the normal routine of putting Emy to sleep...Bath, lotion, bottle, story, rocking and bedtime. However, for whatever reason, Emerson wants nothing to do with this. Normally, by the end of the story she has passed out on me and I deposit her into the crib and all is good. Tonight, I finish the story and she just looks up at me with wide eyes and a smile- great, this is not a good sign. Needless to say, she has only been "asleep" for an hour and we have had to go in to her room to soothe her back to sleep 3, scratch that-4, times. Say your prayers- tonight is going to be a long one.

Love,
Sabrina

Weekend Highlights

Friday I went to a Just Between Friends consignment sale with Jennifer and Meghann. For those who have never heard of JBF, it is a huge sale that is held in convention centers where you can buy new and gently used kids items. They have clothes, toys, shoes, books, furniture, etc. I had heard a lot of good things about JBF from friends, but this is the first time that I had ever been to a show. Friday was the 3rd or 4th day of the show, so things were pretty picked through, but there was still tons of great stuff. I recommend checking out the next show in your area if possible.



This afternoon, we went to our sweet friend, Rylie's 2nd birthday party. It was so fun to see all the toddlers running around at the park with parents chasing after them. Rylie has grown up so fast, it is hard to believe that she is already 2. Last year at this time, Steve and I could not stay at her birthday party long because I had just found out I was pregnant and was suffering morning (all-day) sickness. Of course, no one knew I was pregnant yet so we had to pretend that I was just under-the-weather. It was hard to miss Rylie's first birthday, but seeing her eat cupcake frosting and share lollipops with her friends today made up for that. Happy Birthday Rylie!


Here is a picture of Emy and I with Meghann and Hayden at Rylie's party.





Love,
Sabrina

Snow!

Diagnosis: A Cold

Well, we thought that we were all over the cold yesterday. Everything had cleared up and Emerson seemed in better spirits. Then she woke up this morning with more coughs and congestion. So, I called the pediatrician to get some advice. We had already tried the humidifier, vaporizer, saline drops, tylenol, extra fluids and lots of use of the nasal aspirator. I was hoping the nurse would give me something else to try and that would be that.

"Let's go ahead and have her come in," says the nurse. I am thinking, fine but I know it is just a cold. Anyways, I load up Emy into the car and drag her to the pediatrician's office. Keep in mind that it is pouring a combination of rain and sleet and FREEZING outside. Lovely.

So, we get to the doctor's office, he checks her out and much to my surprise, Emerson has a cold. Shocking. The doc says to just keep doing what we are doing and make sure she does not spike a new fever. So, back home we go. I swear I probably made her more sick by taking her to the germy doctor's office. Oh well, chaulk it up to first time parenting.

Love,

Sabrina

A quick recap

Looking back, I really should have started this during my pregnancy so that all the moments were captured. Well, I didn't so now I am going to get everyone officially caught up on life with Emerson.

Emerson, "Emy", was born October 25, 2007 via c-section. She was 7lbs 5oz and just beautiful from the beginning. Coming home from the hospital was so exciting. Steve and I felt like we were finally starting our life as a family. The first 6 weeks were pretty normal. It seemed like something new happened every day. Emy was learning about her new world. About that time, Steve and I thought it would be a good time for me to quit my job, sell our house and move so that we could afford for me to stay home full time. Let me tell you, packing and moving with an infant at Christmas time is insane! I do not recommend this to anyone.

After we got "settled" into our new home, things got really exciting. Emy was smiling all the time and really starting to play with things. She was constantly "talking" to us and really engaging her environment. This is also about the time that the sleep issues started. Emerson does not like to sleep. Her daytime sleep is erratic at best. She takes 30-45 minute cat-naps at a time. At night she does okay until about 2am and then it gets crazy. Needless to say, we are still working through these issues.

The past couple of months have continued to be a joy. She started rolling over, eating solid foods and is currently getting over her first cold. That about wraps it up in a nutshell. Now that you are all caught up to speed, enjoy reading about our future adventures.

Love,

Sabrina

Blogging Debut

Well, I am finally here in the blogging world. Several friends have been trying to talk me into this for a while now. So after some deliberation about what kinds of things I would write about and whether or not people would even care to read this, I have decided to give it a try. Since I am a new mom to a sweet baby girl, this will primarily be about our adventure together. However, I am certain that there will be several random stories thrown in for fun. A few warnings before I begin:

1. I cannot and will not promise perfect grammar
2. I cannot promise that I will update this more than once a week
3. I cannot promise that you will care about what this blog will say- I was told that I should just write about what I would tell my friends in an email, so a lot of this will just be conversational "fluff"
4. I will try my best to keep it updated with new pictures

With that said, wish me luck!

Love,
Sabrina