Packing

We are going out of town this week. The plan is to head to Steve's parents river house on Wed and come home Sun. It will be a great few days to enjoy the 4th and time with family. We are super excited about the trip however, I am hating the fact that it is time to start pre-packing Emerson's stuff. This will be the 5th trip we have taken with her and the amount of stuff we have to take for her still amazes me. UUUUggghhhh....time to print out the "packing list" I created and start compiling. Of course, I have to do her laundry first...

Seriously, when you look at all the luggage and stuff in a pile, you would think that we were possibly moving or going on a 3 month European vacation. It is ridiculous. The only good thing is that a small portion of it does not come back with us (food and diapers).

Anyways, Happy Monday to everyone.

Sabrina

Pics

So pretty in blue.

Swimming
Mesmerized by a candy commercial on TV
She loves the giraffe on her highchair
Trying out the black & whites again
Mesmerized by another commercial on TV- she loves the music and fast pace of commercials
Sleepy head- first thing in the morning

Love,

Sabrina

8 months

Sweet Emerson,

I cannot fathom how you got to be 8 months old. Time has flown by and we have had so much fun. While there have not been any exciting "developments" per say this month, you have still changed remarkably. You are trying so hard to crawl and pull up on things. Just the other day, you pulled yourself halfway up and then looked at me like, "what do I do next?". It was precious.

You are still such a pure joy. You are such a wonderful daughter. In a few short months we will be celebrating your birthday. It will be such a special occasion. I know it will be here in the blink of an eye. I am trying hard to cherish every moment and not focus on the days that fly by.

I love you precious girl. You make mommy and daddy more happy than we ever thought we could be.

Love,

Mommy

Happy Birthday Ethan

Congratulations to Lauren and Lee!

They welcomed Ethan Thomas to the world last night. He arrived weighing 7lbs 15oz and is 21 inches long.

You two are going to be fantastic parents. Much love to the three of you.

Love,

Sabrina

Tag, I'm it

My sweet friend Erin tagged me on this post. So, for those of you interested, here are my answers...

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I had just graduated high school and was planning to head to TCU for college. I went to Young Life's Frontier Ranch as a junior leader and worked part-time at two jobs- waitressing at the Kettle and in an office at a japanese engineering firm (both AWESOME, I know)

2. My Favorite Snacks: cheese, nuts, grapes, chips and salsa and anything sweet:)

3. Five things on my to-do list today....Walmart, laundry, bargain hunting at a couple new resale shops I just heard about, working tonight and playing with Emy:)

4.Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Well, where to begin on this...starting with the obvious, I would give a lot to our church, give a load to charity (especially young life), pay off all our debts, move into our dream home, replace our cars, put aside a college account and wedding fund for Emy, put aside a retirement account for Steve and I....THEN we would do something big and special for our family and friends, shop a little and then put the rest in the bank. Wait, I forgot the biggest of all, we would TAKE A VACATION!

5. Five jobs that I've had...Waitressing (The Kettle and Macaroni Grill), Merchandiser at Banana Republic, Special Events Intern, Buyer for Zale Corp, and Mommy.

6. Five places I've lived: Houston, Fort Worth, Irving, Coppell and Euless....Isn't it sad that 4 of those 5 places are part of the DFW metroplex. I loathe the fact that I have basically only lived in 2 cities within the same state my entire life. I would LOVE to move somewhere "new" just for the excitement of change.

7.Five random things people wouldn't know about me: 1. I love change. Just when things are getting settled in our lives, I get antsy to mix things up again...2. I have 2 tattoos (not proud) 3.I accepted Christ on Dec 27, 1997. 4. I love calendars. I know this is weird, but I have this weird obsession with dates, times and writing it all down. As an example, in my old office, I had 4 calendars (that were all being used) within reach of my computer. Forget palm pilots, I love to write it down the old school way. 5. I used to go rollerblading every day in the summer in high school with Erin (the one who tagged me). We talked of our futures and how we were going to marry twin baseball players and be friends forever:)

8.Five cds that I'd have to take on a desert island: Honestly I am really not a CD person...just give me christian radio or an ipod with all kinds of random stuff.

9. People I tag are.......uh, I don't know that many bloggers, and Erin tagged the ones I do know, so I will just tag Amy and Bethany...

Love,
Sabrina

The week in pics

All smiles

Playing with Hayden
This is Emy's current favorite toy- Yes, it is just a plain ring
Emerson loves to play with daddy
Tummy time outside
Cutie

Have a great weekend,

Sabrina

What, no sick days or vacation time?

Let me start my stating that I love staying home with Emerson. It is so joyful and rewarding. Every day is different and brings a new discovery. One, if not the only downside, to being a stay-at-home mom (or just a parent for that matter) is that you don't get any days off. You can't call a boss and tell them that you are going to stay in bed or go out of town. There is no playing hooky to go to the beach or shop the sales at the mall.

The inevitable has happened- I caught Emerson's cold. This is one of those days that I would definitely have stayed home sick in my old life. Not only do I feel terrible, but it is really gloomy outside. It is the perfect setting for curling up in bed and sleeping all day. Not possible.

To make matters worse, since Emy is finally feeling better she is in the cutest most playful mood. I just can't gather the energy to join in. So, she is currently entertaining herself in the exersaucer. It seems to be doing the trick for now.

It is days like this where I desperately long to have our parents live nearby. I would love to be able to drop Emy off for the day or have grandma come over here and mind things while I snuggled away in bed. Oh to dream...

Love,
Sabrina

Getting a little better

Emerson started antibiotics on Friday. They appear to be helping. Her congestion and runny nose are almost gone. Her cough is getting better. It is not nearly as frequent and last night she did not wake up coughing at all. Her voice is getting a little rattle-y so I guess that means the junk in her chest is breaking up.

Thank you to everyone who emailed and left comments with tips and messages of concern.

Love,
Sabrina

The week in pictures

Emerson's new favorite game is taking everything out of her toy basket one-by-one

What?While at the grocery store, Steve discovered Emy loves helium balloons- so they came home with one to play with
All smiles
Finally mastering the sippy cup
These next three I plan on framing in a series in the hallway

Love,

Sabrina

Still sick

Here we are on Thursday and Emerson is still sick. I don't think she is better, but I don't think she is worse either. I know I said it before, but her cough is so sad. It makes me hurt for her. I called the pediatrician on Wednesday to see if there was anything else I could do to soothe her cough. They said to stick to the routine (humidifier, vicks, saline, nasal suction, elevated mattress, etc) until Friday. If she has not made progress by then I need to call back and most likely come in. They don't want something to get worse over the weekend. While I don't want to go back to the doctor, I do appreciate their concern. So, it looks like we will be back at the doctor tomorrow...unless by some miracle Emy sleeps great and wakes up healed.

Speaking of sleeping, as you can imagine Emerson has not been sleeping well due to the congestion and coughing. Every night this week she has woken up at some point and needed doctoring- saline drops, nasal suction, etc. Last night, she was inconsolable. She was screaming hysterically. She did not want to be rocked. She did not want to be put back into bed...literally at midnight Steve and I were pacing around carrying her asking each other "what should we do?".

Steve offered to sleep on the couch so that Emerson could attempt to sleep in bed with me. By this point, Emy had been up so long that she thought it was time to play. So, we laid in bed and she played with her bunny and talked...well, talked between coughing fits. I was lying there looking at her thinking that it was going to be a long night. After about 30 minutes of playing in the dark, she finally fell asleep. Amazingly, she slept until 6am.

I will try and post the weekly pictures and an update tomorrow.

Love,
Sabrina

PS: Happy birthday Dad!

Blog design giveaway contest

Want a cool new blog design? Think mine needs to be more "personal"? Well, I do. I would love a cool new personalized design. Anyways, Jenny of Pink Armchair Designs, is doing a summer blog re-design giveaway. She did my friend Nicole's blog.

Check it out in the link.

Sabrina

It MUST be more than a cold

Emerson is so sick. Her nose started running Sunday evening. By 2:30 am Monday morning she was screaming because she was so congested. I went in to do some doctoring and there was literally snot everywhere. Her sheets were soaked with it. I picked her up and her face was covered with it. It amazes me how fast a child's illness progresses.

Anyways, we went to the pediatrician Monday morning and we were told that she looks fine and she just has a run-of-the-mill cold. I was relieved but now I am not so sure. Emy has had a basic cold before and this looks nothing like it. She has a horrific cough and is constantly having coughing fits. They scare her. When she stops coughing, she just looks at you with these big wide eyes like "what was that?". Every time she sneezes (which is very often), she is sent into another coughing fit.

The good news is that she does not have a fever. I guess that is good news. Although if she did, I would be able to give her some medicine to help a little. I hate the not being able to do anything...Any tips from mommies out there?

Love,
Sabrina

The week in pics

Look at that coy smile

Sleeping on the way to San Antonio
Playing in the neat froggy pool in San AntonioSwim time
Sitting with granddad after swim time
Playing in the cool exersaucer that the grandparents have Talking with grandmom
Hanging out with MommyGrabbing for the camera as usual
Sprawled out in the backyard

Love,

Sabrina

The battle with diaper rash

Well, we are currently in a battle to get Emerson over her first case of diaper rash. That stuff is ridiculous. It just won't go away. It starts with a couple spots and just gets a tad bit worse everyday. Uugghhh.

Anyone have any tips? Suggestions or products they love for this? I could really use some help...

Leave me a comment or shoot me an email if you have any brilliant ideas.
ssgebhardt@gmail.com

Thanks
Sabrina

June 4th

Today marks 3 years since Steve and I were married. We have had a whirlwind three years to say the least. It has been fun, stressful, joyous and challenging all at the same time.

In the past three years, we have been through the following major events:

*Steve studies for, takes and passes the bar exam

*I am promoted to a management position- I have a staff for the first time and will be traveling the world for weeks at a time

*Steve starts his first official job as an attorney- one he ends up HATING

*We get our first baby, a puppy we name Toby

* We buy our first house

*Steve changes jobs and starts a new position at the Tarrant County DA- a job he LOVES

*I am promoted again

*We spend 2 weeks in Paris- a wonderful trip

*Our sweet daughter, Emerson, is born

*3 weeks later we decide that I should become a stay-at-home mom

*Sell our home, buy a new home and move 10 days before Christmas

*I quite my much loved job in order to take on a much bigger role

Wow! In the midst of all this chaos, we learned to live together and support each other. We celebrated first holidays and made new traditions. We watched many friends get married and have babies. Our families went through changes and challenges too. What an amazing three years it has been. To say that it has been boring would be an understatement.

Love,

Sabrina