Cute pics from this weekend

Thanks for taking these precious pics, Laura!

Sabrina

6 month check up

Today was Emy's 6 month well visit. Everything went well. She is 15 lbs 2 oz and 26 1/4 inches long. She is still in the 90th percentile for height and the 24th percentile for weight. She is getting so big so fast.

So, since this was a well visit, it did include an oral vaccine and 4 shots! Isn't that insane? Anyways, she screamed as the first 3 happened. The entire time she is just staring at me screaming with tears streaming down her face and looking at me like "Mom, why aren't you doing something? Don't you love me?". Then the nurse gave her the 4th shot. This one was a doozie and poor Emerson really screamed this time. Her cry was a new one. I have never heard it so sad and heart breaking before. Unlike the past vaccine experiences, Emy did not calm down when I picked her up. She would take a pause to catch her breath and then continued crying. She cried all the way to the car. It was so sad. I could not snuggle her enough. I just stood outside the car for a few minutes rocking her before putting her in the carseat. The second we pulled out of the parking lot, she passed out.

So, today started rough, but ended great. She rebounds from stressful situations so well. As soon as she woke up from a 2 hour nap (in her crib!!!!) she was just like new. All smiles and chatter.


Love,
Sabrina

Is this really my child?

Let me start by telling everyone about the first two times that we took Emerson out of town. The first time was to Houston to visit my family. Long story short, she barely slept, was extremely constipated and had her first 45 minute screaming fest in public. It was a terrible weekend. Lets just say that I was ready to give up traveling forever because it was that unbearable.

The second time we traveled was to San Antonio to see my husbands family. This time she screamed a lot in the car ride down, slept a little at night because we let her sleep with us and she took all her naps in people's arms. We completely spoiled her that weekend in order to make sure that she stayed rested and did "better" than the last trip. Needless to say, when we got home we paid the price for all the spoiling. Coming home ended up being miserable for a few days.

So, when we planned to go to Houston this past weekend for my birthday, Steve and I were completely dreading it. The drive down went well. She slept and played on her normal schedule. We got into town in time to have a couple hours of playtime and then bedtime as usual. She went to sleep in her pack-n-play just fine and slept through the night like she was at home! We were shocked to say the least. Saturday was pretty smooth. Most of her naps were in the car driving between destinations. The birthday party ran a little long, so she went to bed an hour later than normal. We were really worried about this, but she slept straight through until 5:30 am. This is where we hit our only snag- she was ready to go at 5:30. So, we let her lay in bed and play until it was time to get up for breakfast. We kept her on her regular schedule today, so she was a tad bit fussy at times. All-in-all the trip was a complete success with only one small snag of an early wake-up this morning (A tiny price to pay for such great behavior all weekend).

Basically what I am saying is that Emerson did AMAZING! She was well rested and it showed in her personality. She was smiling, chatting and even let a bunch of people hold her and take lots of pictures. I knew when we finished the sleep training that her demeanor had improved, but I had no idea that it would improve her ability to travel as well. Hallelujiah for a great weekend and a well rested baby!

Fingers crossed that she does just as great now that we are back at home:)

Love,
Sabrina

6 months old

Happy 6 month birthday Emy. I cannot believe that you are halfway through your first year. Time is flying by and you are growing so fast. In honor of your birthday today, I thought it would be appropriate to let everyone know what your current favorite things are.

Mum mum crackers at snack time

Playing in the exersaucer

Your soccer ball rattle

Sitting in the bumbo

Sleeping in the stroller

Snuggle time

Bath time

Daddy

Eating your hands

Playdates

Play time outside

Love,

Mommy

Random pics from this week

Playdate with Meghann and HaydenPlaying with my new toy cell phone
Grabbing for the camera

All smiles today

Love,

Sabrina

Happy Birthday Baby Pesak!

Erin and Kevin welcomed a sweet baby girl today. She was born at 3:03pm today and weighs 7 lbs 15 oz and is 19 3/4" long. As far as I know, she does not have a name yet. Erin and Kevin are already wonderful parents to two adorable kiddos, so I know that the new addition will be equally loved. Welcome to the world, precious girl.

Congratulations!

Sabrina

Poor Emy- *Update*

Thanks to everyone for their encouraging words. Emy is back to herself today. As for her sleeping, she went down with a fight last night, but after about 30 minutes of fussing, she was out until this morning! Not a peep! It was amazing. I think she has gotten to the point where she really does like sleeping in her crib. After her great night sleep, she woke up happy and back to her old self. Praise the Lord!

Sabrina

Poor Emy

The weekend started off great. Emerson and I did the March of Dimes 5k walk on Saturday morning (Steve did a seperate charity walk). The weather was so beautiful and we had a great walk. Afterwards, the three of us ran a few errands and had a playdate with Hayden and family. By the time we got home on Saturday evening, Emerson had a fever of 103! What? Where did that come from? An hour ago she was cracking up at Steve making silly noises.

The fever turned into several other symptoms and by this point I am freaking out. I called the pediatrician's after hours line. The nurse calmed me down and helped me rationalize her symptoms. Emy slept pretty decent considering she was sick on Saturday night. Sunday Emy's fever is still up and down and the other symptoms persist. She was super clingy and fussy all day. Since nothing got worse, we decided to wait until this morning to call the doctor instead of taking her to a germy urgent care clinic. Sunday night, Emerson slept terribly. She did not want to be in her crib. She just wanted to be held. Since we did not know what was wrong or if she was in any pain, I gave in and let her sleep on me. I slept holding her in her rocker for most of the night last night. So, you can imagine how much sleep I got and how great my neck felt this morning.

So, we get to the doctor this morning and he cannot find anything wrong with her. This is great news and so frustrating at the same time. I know that my child has been more sick than she has ever been in her short 6 month life and I am being told that there is nothing currently wrong with her! What?! The doctor kindly reassures me that she probably just got some fast-acting viral thing that is on its way out and that is why he can't find anything. So, he tells me to keep an eye on her and if she is not 100% by Wednesday I need to come back in. Sure enough, she never ran a fever today and seems to be somewhat headed back to normal.

She was her usual playful self in bathtime tonight and drank most of her bedtime bottle. These are both positive signs that things are heading in the right direction. So, I am hoping that tomorrow my happy, smiley, chatty daughter will be back. Tonight, however, we have to deal with the sleeping issues. Since we spoiled her last night, she is upset that things are going back to normal tonight. I have no problem re-training her since I now know that she is not in pain or does not have a fever, but I have a feeling that it is going to be a long night.

Love,
Sabrina

Happy Birthday Jaylee

My sweet friends welcomed their first child this morning. Jaylee Gayle arrived just 2 days before her due date at 8lbs 13oz and 20.5 in long! Her arrival has been so anticipated and she is finally here! Jaylee's arrival means that the wonderful joys of parenthood are just beginning for Jennifer and Justin. They are amazing friends and will make great parents. I can't wait to watch them go through the joys of raising a sweet baby girl. Congrats Jen and Justin!




Love,
Sabrina

Snack Time

Emerson has come to LOVE her afternoon snack time. Around 2pm she gets a "juice" (water with a splash of apple juice) and a "cookie" (rice cracker). Whenever I break out these items she gets so excited and starts kicking and flailing about. Here are some pictures of our outside snack time the other day. Notice how Toby is lurking nearby in these shots...whenever the rice crackers are out, Toby is close by because he knows there are good chances that some will end up on the floor.

Have a great weekend,
Sabrina

What do you think of me?

I am reading this book on how to raise a Christian girl (It is pretty scary). Last night I came to a chapter about how teens find their self worth in society's standards instead of in Christ. This poem was at the end of the chapter. It is so true and hit so close to home that I have to post it...

From baby steps and finger paints
abd learning how to read,
I proudly asked the world's advice,
"What do you think of me?"

With trophies, grades, and honors
I quickly began to see
the world applauds success and fame-
"What do you think of me?"

"You look great, " "You smell good,"
"You've lost some weight, I see."
With high school comes the dating game-
"What do you think of me?"

For boyfriends and promised love,
I traded my purity
and choked back tears and silently asked,
"What do you think of me?"

The world's applause was my reward
when I sought to please,
but the clapping stopped when I missed the mark-
"What do you think of me?"

And now I stand before His throne
burdened by sin and shame.
Beaten and battered by the world,
I call upon His name.

I hold back tears and try to speak
but utter a silent plea.
With downcast eyes, I finally ask,
"What do you think of me?"

I catch my breath as he draws close;
In fear, my knees grow weak.
My heart grows faint as I wait on Him
And then I hear Him speak:

"My child," He said, "the time has come
when you ask the same of me.
For so long you've sought the world's advice-
What do you think of me?

"Now here we are, My turn has come,
the chance to finally say
exactly what I think of you,
so allow Me, if I may."

Gently, He takes my chin
and raises my face to see.
"My child," He said, "you're beautiful-
you're made in the image of Me!

"The world was quick to judge your deeds,
but failed to tell the rest-
there was nothing you could do
to make Me love you less.

"Before you ever drew a breath,
My name was on your heart,
the Author of your hidden frame
before your life did start.

"You entered this life with pomp and fare
And I held my breath to see,
if those I allowed to care for you
would teach you all about Me.

"An innocent child, your journey began
in this life to find your place.
The world was quick to take your hand
and thus began the race.

"In quiet moments throughout your life
I whispered in your ear,
tender pledges of My love-
I hoped someday you'd hear.

"But the world could offer nothing
to fill your innermost need
and release you from the bondage of sin
and love you eternally.

"My Son was sent to tell the world
of My unfailing love.
A convenant pledged to all mankind
and written in heaven above.

"My Boy was nailed to a rugges cross;
For you, He agreed to die.
Burdened by your sin and shame,
'It is finished,' He finally cried.

"The world could never match My love,
the price was far too high-
for if you were the only one,
My Son would choose to die.

"I've gone to desperate lengths, My child,
to prove My love to you.
I loved you then; I love you now-
Will you love me too?

"My child," He said, "the choice is yours.
What will your answer be?
It's your turn now- the question is,
What do you think of me?"

-V. Courtney

Super Saturday

Since Emerson arrived in October, our family's social life has changed dramatically. Steve and I used to have plans every weekend. Since Emy arrived, we might have social plans once a month. Yesterday was one of those days that every social invitation happened to fall on. Since none of the events overlapped, we accepted all the invitations. Needless to say, Saturday was a whirlwind.

Our day started at 7am as usual. We got up, fed Emy and then instead of having our breakfast and family playtime, Steve and I had to get dressed and hustle out the door at 7:45. We ran in the Victory over Violence 5k that started at 8:30. The weather was perfect for a run. Steve and I used to run all the time, but this was the first race we had run together since training for the Houston marathon several years ago. We had a bunch of fun and actually made pretty good time. Emerson slept through the entire race and woke up at the end in time to meet some of Steve's coworkers.

When the race was over we rushed home so that I could shower and be out the door 45 minutes later. I went to a baby shower for one of my college friends. The shower was so fun and it was great to see so many friends that I had not seen in months. Two of the girls brought their new baby girls. They are both precious and I am so glad that I got to meet them.

I got home in time for Steve to leave 5 minutes later to go to yet another charity event. Steve came home a couple hours later. Here is when we got to stop and breath for a couple hours. We put Emerson to bed later that evening as we normally would. At 7:45pm, our friends came over to babysit so that Steve and I could go to a birthday party at Joe T Garcia's. (Yum!) This was the first time that we had been out at night without Emy. Even though I completely trust our friends, I was so nervous to leave Emerson. I was not nervous that anything would go wrong, I was just afraid that she was going to wake up at some point and not be able to go back to sleep because we were not there. Thankfully, that was not the case. A few hours later we got home to the report that she had not made a peep the entire time we were gone. Hallelujah! Oh, and for those of you that are wondering- Steve and I had a wonderful time. Thanks Jen and Justin for giving us a much needed night out!

After church this morning, we spent the remainder of the day "recovering" from yesterday. It was so wonderful to be able to have a lazy Sunday with Emy and Steve. It was the perfect ending to a great weekend.

Love,
Sabrina

Options

Emerson's new thing is that she likes to have "options" when it comes to toys. No longer are the days when I can hand her one of her favorites and she would play with it until I gave her something new. Now, I give her a toy and she plays with it for about a minute and then is ready for something new. This trend coincides with her new love of grabbing things. She sees something, reaches for it and if it is out of her reach, she gets angry. I know all you moms remember going through this phase. So, I am now constantly on alert with what is directly in front of her and having to decipher whether or not she should be allowed to grab it.

Perfect example of Emerson checking out her "options".

Reaching for the block.Grabbing for the camera

Love,
Sabrina

Stormy night

So, about 2pm yesterday Emerson started being very fussy. If I tried to put her down, she would scream. I thought she was overtired so I tried to put her down for a nap a little earlier than normal. She fell right asleep in my arms. When I went to put her into the swing, she woke up screaming. She proceeded to scream (painful shrills) for 30 minutes. This is completely abnormal for Emy. Of course my mind was racing- could she be teething, what if her cold is now an ear infection, etc. She finally passed out and slept for about an hour. She seemed pretty normal when she woke up from naptime. Hopefully she will do okay today.

Last night we had MAJOR storms move through our area. I woke up at about 3:15am to the horrific sounds of extreme wind, rain and thunder. I was positive that there had to be a tornado somewhere nearby. I was also sure that at some point Emerson would wake up screaming because the storm woke her up. Praise the Lord that Emy did not wake up and also that the huge branch in our backyard fell in the yard and not our already crippled roof.

Love,
Sabrina

Good Mornings

I have never been a morning person. I love to sleep and waking up in the morning has always made me sad. Even in college when I didn't have to wake up until 9am or 10am, I still did not want to get out of bed. Anyways, as many of you know, having a baby means that you have to get up in the morning. No sleeping in with the baby because you have to feed them and besides, a baby that sleeps in is one that will be up all night.

There is still a moment when I first wake up when I am grumpy and want to go back to sleep. After that brief moment, my mind starts working and I remember that I get to go wake up my precious daughter. I am almost instantly energized. I go into Emerson's room, turn on the light and there she is smiling with this huge grin on her face. She is so excited to see me. My heart just melts.

After we "talk" for a minute I pick her up and she is instantly kicking and squealing with excitement that it is time to start the day. Her energy is absolutely infectious. After I fix her breakfast with one hand while holding her in the other arm, it is time to sit down to eat. She LOVES to eat breakfast. After she has finished her oatmeal and milk, she is all smiles.

Needless to say, I can now call myself a morning person. Sweet Emerson makes getting up in the morning a great joy. Waking up early to spend time with her is so much better than waking up to go to a corporate job.

Love,

Sabrina

A quick plug

So, I am the newest Independent Distributor for Advocare. If you have never heard of this company, they sell vitamins, nutritional supplements, weightloss supplements, skincare and other healthy living items for men, women and children. Their best selling item is the energy drink, Spark (which is awesome, only 45 calorie and doesn't have the crashing effect that soda or coffee does!). I believe that the best thing about Advocare is that their number one principle is to "Honor God through our faith, family and friends"- that is a direct quote! In conjunction with this new adventure, I have started another blog to detail my experience. Feel free to check it out from time to time.

If you are interested in finding out more about the company and products, please explore the link above. If you have questions for me, are interested in obtaining some samples or would like to order something, please leave me a comment. If you live in the North Texas area, I would be happy to deliver items to your home so you can skip the shipping charges.

Thats all for now,
Sabrina

Giving Thanks

Some things that I am thankful for today:

1. Jesus. That the Lord sent his son to die for my sins. That He waits to hear from me everyday. That He has all the details of my life worked out already. That He cares about everything that I care about, even the little stuff.

2. My amazing husband. Steve is so wonderful in so many ways that I cannot even go into them all. A perfect example of his goodness is that he has a cold today and he still woke up early to watch Emy so that I could go to the gym and he is currently mowing the lawn.

3. My beautiful daughter. Emerson is such a joy. She is precious in every way. She is at the stage where she is learning so much every day. Yesterday she learned how to blow bubbles. I was blowing them over and over and at one point I paused and she did it. She thought it was so fun. I would do it and then she would do it. It was so cute to watch.

4. My family and specifically my mother-in-law. She is the most amazing woman. She has been one of the best gifts that I received when I married Steve. I love her in a unique way- a special combination of a mother and a friend. She has had a tough year and through it all she is still a shining example of what Christ's love and faith in Him looks like.

5. The weather. It is the most amazing day outside today. It is one of those days that was made for spending outside. That is why when I am finished giving thanks, I will be heading outdoors.

6. My health. Despite the complaints of my last post I am completely healthy. That is much more than many people can say.

7. The ability to stay home with Emerson. I love the fact that every day when Steve comes home I have new stories about what Emy did that day. I would hate it if the roles were changed and a daycare employee was the one telling me those stories in the evening.

8. My high school friends and specifically the pregnant ones. I have known these girls for 15 years and they are so dear to me. We have seen each other through so many life changes and now 4 of them are having babies. I am thankful that they are all healthy. I am so thrilled for each of them and can't wait to meet the new additions to the world.

9. My crockpot. I have gotten every penny out of it over the last few weeks. It is the only way that I have been able to get dinner on the table. It is quick, easy and usually produces something yummy. Basically, it is the only way that I can cook.

10. The new ceiling fan in our living room. An electrician came and laid wiring and installed it yesterday. It makes such a difference! Yea.

For your daily Emy fix

Have a great weekend,
Sabrina

Baby Fat

So, I am sick of the excess pregnancy weight. I really wish that I could just blink and it would be gone. Unfortunately, that is not how the body works. I know everyone says that your body will never be the same after a baby. I understand that. Your shape changes. I get that. The thing is that all of my friends that have young children ALL look better now than they ever have. They are leaner and lighter than they have ever been. So, being surrounded by this I feel like I should be leaner and lighter too.

So, it comes down to the usual- diet and exercise. I need to get myself into a workout routine and stick with it. I have started and stopped several times over the last few months. It seems that just when I get into a groove, something comes up where I can't make it to the gym for a few days and then I am off the wagon again. Ugghhh, so frustrating.

Several weeks ago I took a cycling class at the gym. I hadn't cycled in probably 18 months so needless to say, it kicked my butt. I kind of liked it though. So, I took it 3 times a week for a couple weeks. Amazingly enough, just adding that little bit to my routine helped me drop a size (That should tell you just how out of shape I really am). Seeing results really pumped me up. So, I added running and more cycling to my routine. Several things happened since then- nothing major, just stuff that has come up and I am basically back to square one.

I guess it is that I can't seem to make working out a priority. When I decided to stay home with Emerson, one of the things I was most excited about was having the time to workout a lot. I am one of those people who truly enjoys going to the gym and getting sweaty. I like the burn of cardio and lifting weights. I like the ache your body has the day after a good workout. If I could workout for a living, I would. However, it seems that a baby is more time consuming and complicated than anything I imagined. Even though I am home most of the time, I still find a ton of excuses for not going to the gym.

So, here I am ranting on about something that is so trivial. I just thought that I would share a story about what is going on with me. Maybe if I put my goals in writing it will make a difference. Okay, so my goals are as follows:

1. Drop 15lbs or 2 more clothing sizes (whichever comes first)
2. Get back into a running routine- maybe not marathon level, but back to where I enjoy the release that a long run brings
3. Tone up everything that "stretched out" with pregnancy

So, there they are. We will see if that helps at all.

Just for fun, here is a pic of Emerson from today. She is still so happy and smiley eventhough she is sick.
Love,
Sabrina