Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

Tomorrow is our 3rd anniversary... who knows where the time has gone :) In honor of that I'm going to share with you some of our favorite photos (okay, maybe I really just want to look at them again) :)


Group photo

Suzie bustling me in the limo



Emma #1 and my mom


My brother and I crying like little girls

My cousin Sarah, my brother and my cousin Eric. Yes I had an open bar, why do you ask?

Dancing with my Gramps

Not a ton to report here. We're headed to Minnesota this weekend for my Gramps' 93rd Birthday and so Emma can meet my entire extended family. She is in for a treat. Little does she know how spoiled she is about to become ;)


Dancing in the kitchen with Grandpa


Jamie FINALLY busted out the camera to take some pictures (yes sweetie, I'm calling you out :))


She is concentrating very hard right here :)
The light fixture I installed in Emma's room, I love it!
Early morning smiles
Emma cuddling with pengy and monkey
I actually left the house like this the other day, spent all day shopping and didn't notice until about 4pm :(

S'mores pie. Heaven on earth ;) The recipe is here if you'd like to make it :)

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Blessings..

Every once in a while, usually while staring at Emma's face, it hits me how incredibly lucky I am. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for her every second of every day, but I still have a special moments of disbelief that things have turned out the way they did. There have been so many times in the last 6 months that I wondered if I was strong enough to endure everything that had been handed to me. I owe so many things to my amazing family, friends, doctors and nurses. I know that I never could have survived without your support and prayers and I will be eternally grateful for everything that you have done for me and my family. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and for standing by us and we went through this most difficult time :)
Okay, moving on from the sap.... Emma's 4 month appt went well. She's 8lbs 13oz and her doctor is very happy with her growth. The shots were HORRIBLE. The poor little muffin was so out of sorts for the next 24 hours, it was so hard for both of us. Her Early Intervention (EI) appt also went really well. Her therapist is super impressed with how social she is (she gets that from Jamie) and her muscle strength. It's nice to know she's progressing well :)

adorable baby toes

giant cloth diaper bum


chillin' with Gramps

trying out Wills' bumbo, she's not sure what she thinks

practicing her smile


it's hard to catch on camera


too bad this one isn't in focus :)

Monday, July 14, 2008

4 months old!!!

I know I say this every time, but where is the time going?? 1/3 of a year down, unbelievable!!!
Jamie's brother Chad and his girlfriend Heather were just here for a visit. We tried to show Heather some of beautiful CO as she had never been here before and I think we succeeded. Emma even got to take her first train ride and spent her first day away from us. My mom was nice enough to come down and watch her while the 4 grown-ups went rafting, it was so much fun!
Emma is smiling up a storm these days, it's so fun to have her react to you. I've even heard her laugh, though it hasn't become a regular thing yet. She's also found her hands and really enjoys chomping on them. She has her 4 month appt (shots) tomorrow and her next early intervention evaluation on Wednesday... hopefully both will go well :)

Emma loves the new mobile that her grandparents got her, she even yells at me when it stops and isn't happy until I start it up again

How Emma spent her birthday... lounging at the pool with friends (Meena, Wills, Emma and Mary's hot legs)


Rafting, it was so much fun!

Jamie, me, Chad and Heather at Garden of the Gods

Jamie and Emma early in the morning

Chad, Emma and Heather (you can't see it but Emma has a buckeyes onesie on)


Family portrait at the Royal Gorge

Trying to catch her smile on camera

I swear this is a smile, she isn't screaming

Thursday, July 10, 2008

I need some prayers :)

Well *I* don't need them, but a friend of mine does.
Baby Claire was born at 33 weeks... She is suffering from Spinal Meningitis which was caused by the ecoli bacteria. Her condition is very serious. The fatality rate in infants with this kind of infection is extremely high. The spinal tap on Monday still showed signs of the infection and the MRI on Tuesday showed that the infection has traveled to a very remote part of the brain. A part of the brain where the antibiotics have a hard time reaching. Severe damage will be done to the brain if the infection doesn’t clear.The positives are Claire is physically doing great. The docs are amazed looking at her that her body is that sick. She is breathing on her own, has yet to be on a respirator and is only being pumped with antibiotics. She is even breastfeeding. At this point, we are praying for a miracle of healing. It will take a miracle for Claire to pull out of this 100% with NO brain damage. Please pray for Claire’s healing and strength for her parents.
I can't imagine the pain they are going through and I know that the power of prayer is amazing :)

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Progress!!

It is with much excitement that Emma and I are sharing this news with you... Emma breastfeeds!!! As of last week we are breastfeeding full-time (Jamie gives her one bottle a day) and it is going great!! Her weight gain tapered off a bit at first, but she's back to gaining on track and she's up to 8lbs 5oz (as of last Tuesday, she gets weighed again today) which means she's TRIPLED her birth weight. It's awesome! It requires so much less time than pumping and giving her a bottle and it's a wonderful bonding experience and much easier to do while we're out and about :) It took a lot of work, but it's so worth it!
Emma also *found* her hand this week and thoroughly enjoys sucking on it. She's also smiling a ton and cooing... morning is her favorite time of the day and it makes having to wake up so much better :) Her new favorite toy is the ceiling fan we installed in our bedroom, she loves staring at the blades going around and it will keep her entertained for 30 minutes at a time (which in baby world is a while!) :)
We also finally have a yard, we can't really use it yet because the sod is still taking, but it look great!
Jamie's brother Chad and his girlfriend Heather arrive today for a visit and Emma is very excited to meet them :)

Emma copping a feel down Rhonda's shirt

5/3

7/4 - look how much bigger she is!!


Our front yard

the back

again, Daddy got a hold of Emma


looking cute in her summer hat :)