Growing Up

Emma is growing up VERY quickly!! She is 11 weeks old today and it seems that each day she learns something new. She is sitting up in her Bumbo seat like a big girl. She also plays with her toys and enjoys time on her playmat with the farm animals. She likes to look at the pictures while Mamma reads her books from the library. She is also fascinated by the TV and will talk to it. And...she has the most beautiful smiles in the whole world!!

Trip to Virginia

We finally got to Virginia to visit Rebekkah's side of the family. Emma got to meet all of her cousins and stay at Grandma's house. She was such a good little girl on the trip even though her routine was interrupted. She even got to spend a few hours at the river and splash her feet in the water. Emma's cousins can't wait for her to come back and visit.

Our First Trip

We took our first trip as a new family this past weekend to South Carolina to visit Eddie's family. Emma got to meet so many new people! The trip went fairly well and Emma did much better than expected on the car ride down and back. Eddie was so proud to introduce her to everyone.

Kevin (Eddie's Step-dad) & Emma

Nana (Eddie's Mom) & Emma

Granny (Eddie's Grandma) & Emma

Papa (Eddie's Grandpa) & Emma

Aunt Destiny (Eddie's Half-sister) & Emma

Uncle Roman (Eddie's Half-brother) & Emma

Grandaddy (Eddie's Father) & Emma

Daddy & Emma fishing at Papa's pond

Easter 2011

This Easter was a very special one as it was our first as a bigger family. We all got dressed up and went to our church for a wonderful celebration of Jesus' resurrection. Then we enjoyed a quiet ham dinner at home (with a little sadness that our extended families were so far away from us). After lunch we spent some time outside 'playing'. Happy Easter!

One Month Photo Shoot

Our little girl turned 1 month old last week and we decided to have her pictures taken to honor the occasion. Grandma Sue and Rebekkah helped Emma with her wardrobe changes during the shoot. Emma had just woken up from a nap, so she was a very good and compliant model.

The pink dress is very special as it was worn by Grandma Sue and Rebekkah and has now been passed down to Emma. The purple dress is Emma's Easter dress for this year. The last outfit is Emma's birthday suit, proudly given to her by God.

The First Few Weeks

Some of you might be wondering why it has taken us SO long to add another post. I am learning that there are many things that can be done one-handed, but making a blog post isn't one of those that I have learned yet! The past few weeks have flown by and Emma is 3 1/2 weeks old now.

I must say that the first week was definitely the hardest. Along with healing from the labor/delivery process, Emma and I had to learn about each other too. Between feedings and attempting to get some sleep where we could, there didn't seem to be any time for much else. It was a very big shock to me not to even be able to keep up my own house....folding a load of clothes seemed impossible! Thankfully, my Mom was able to stay with us that first week and help out tremendously. From cooking dinner to cleaning to staying up with Emma for a few hours so we could sleep a little...she helped with anything and everything. And to top it off, she was a great encouragement to me during this steep learning curve. What a priceless gift!!

Grandma Sue & Emma

 Week 2 was just Me, Eddie, and Emma at home. We had help from friends with meals and we tried to settle in to being a family. Our biggest outing was a trip to the new outlet mall...we managed 1.5 hours and enjoyed doing something 'normal' for the first time with our precious little girl.

Eddie had to return to work at Week 3. I was a bit nervous and we definitely missed Daddy very much, but it was good for everyone to start a schedule. I can't say I have things all figured out, but I am starting to see patterns to what Emma wants to do every day. There are certain sleepy times, fussy times, and eating times. We have ventured out to quite a few places together: grocery store, mall, library. We have also made it to church 2 Sundays in a row!!!

Daddy and his Emma Belle

Bath Time

Tummy Time

Showing off for her Grandmas!!

 Each day we see something new in her. She is starting to make a few sounds this week. And, all of that dark hair at birth is growing in from the roots a different color....we think it might be auburn...that red is coming out after all!!

Back to the Homestead

Imagine the time when you were away from home and most wanted more than any other time in your life to just go home.  That was us, Monday morning 3-21-11.  Hospital rooms are what they are--hospital rooms--and cannot in any way be expected to be a stay at The Bellagio or anything else other than a necessary evil.

After the delivery, the nurses came in and took care of all the standard protocols of washing, weighing, measuring etc.  Within an hour and a half we were whisked away from the relative comfort of the private room in the spacious labor and delivery ward to the confines of the postpartum wing.  Here is a shot of our room:

There isn't much more to it than that.  Rebekkah was recovering in the bed and I had a recliner over by the window.  Baby slept on our chests when she slept.  She was a little irritable the first day and night and needed a lot of feeding and comfort.  We were happy to oblige.  The first night she slept on and off for about a half hour at a time with feedings and cryings in between.  Family and friends were there in full force to see little Emma and welcome her to the world.  She is very loved and lucky to have the extended relatives and friends that care for her.

The second (Monday) night in the hospital was no different, not a lot of normalcy and I think the baby was feeling that.  She didn't sleep much better and seemed to only be comforted when she was feeding.  Daddy learned that laying Emma on his chest and giving her his pinky worked very well for getting her to sleep.  At about 3 am, when all were finally fast asleep, we were awakened to a nurse busting in and asking where the baby was.  Rebekkah panicked, because Emma was sleeping on my chest in the recliner.  The nurse was hovering over me trying to take her for her lab blood draw, but half-sleep daddies hold their babies in kung-fu grips and don't give in very easily.  Quick-witted Rebekkah noticed she had no credentials and asked her for them.  Apparently she left them at home and followed the proper protocols of going to get another member of the staff to come get Emma and take her to the nursery.  We then fell asleep again and were awakened when they brought Emma back.

At that point, it was getting close to daylight so we just got up because there was no use trying to sleep again.  Nurses and staff were in and out and we saw the pediatrician and attending OB who promptly discharged us.  After the standard state-compelled counseling session (my own description), we were free to go.

The drive home was apparently the most soothing thing Emma had experienced up to that point.  I was expecting her to scream the whole way home, but she zonked out as soon as we got going.  I noticed that I was driving like I was in my truck with a glass shower standing up in the back that I was trying to keep from tipping over.

We finally made it home and what a relief it was!!  Emma was the guest of honor, and Grandmas Shirley and Susie were there waiting to capture the moment:

Otherwise, the rest of the day and night were about what you would expect.  We spent our time resting and caring for Emma and reflecting on how quickly life has changed and will continue to change.

This is her Robert De Niro face..."You lookin' at me? No? Well who else you lookin' at?"