I really don't know what I am going to do with myself when I have to go back to work and I don't get to just take pictures of Emma all day long ha! Here are a few recent ones from this morning when she was "talking" to her animal friends again in her pack-n-play...adorable!

One of Emma's nicknames is now Tiny Dancer (from Daddy). We have been calling her Tiny for a little while now and when she gets all mad she kicks her legs back and forth so fast that it looks like she is dancing! Ergo...Tiny Dancer! So last night, Wes downloaded the song Tiny Dancer by Elton John which we have now deemed as Emma's theme song ha! We took turns dancing with her around the office while it was playing, and I took what I think is now my favorite picture yet of Daddy and Tiny Dancer...

Day Care, Jack-Hammers & Smiles!

Hi Everyone! While Emma is fast asleep in her pack-n-play I figured I would update everyone on the past few days. We are doing really well and everyday that it gets closer for me to head back to work I dread it more and more! I am heading back on August 24th but luckily, Wes is able to take that week off (his third and final week of paternity leave) so Emma won't have to head to day care until August 31st. She will be 6 Weeks old on Saturday and she seems to grow and change everyday. Overnight, she has seemed to gain much better control of her head. Of course, she still looks like a little bobble-head doll but she is really doing much better. Especially when she is mad and crying haha!

Emma smiles more and more each day when she is awake now. We were playing a little game just a few minutes ago when I would count to three in my best baby voice (which I have to say I am pretty good at after talking to an infant all day for 6 weeks haha) and then I would swoop in for a bunch of kisses on her chubby little cheek. She gave me the biggest smile yet, ear to ear, and it just melted my heart so I immediately swooped her up to snuggle!! I couldn't resist! I tried to catch a few smiles on camera this morning as she was waking up from her morning nap. Here eyes were open of course until Mommy got out the camera. My next goal is to get a smile with eyes open...which is pretty hard to get as they happen so fast ha!

We have also *I think* found and decided on a Day Care, and as luck has it, it is about 6 or 7 houses down from us on our street! Apparently it's been there for about two years now but they only recently put up a sign to say that they are certified and licensed. We met with the provider a few days ago and loved her. After all this time searching, I think we really lucked out with someone so close, and really reasonably priced. You can't beat being able to walk her down the street!

Emma has been really good this week despite all the noise in our house. As many of you know, we have been having water issues in our basement since last year. Finally, we hired a contractor to come fix the issue and they have been jack-hammering our basement floor for two days now. Somehow, the Lord managed to bless us with a baby that can sleep through anything! Too bad Mommy doesn't have that same ability! We now have a nice moat around our basement floor ha!

Oh and before I go, just one more picture to share....this is Emma "talking" to her animal friends that hang above her pack-n-play. So cute!

Okay...okay, one more because I can't resist. This one I titled "Big Girl Yawn". Ha!

Cute Survey!

1. How old were you when your first child was born? 29 (Man I feel old)

2. What month and year was your youngest child born? June of 2009

3. How did you feel when you first found out you were pregnant? We were absolutely thrilled. I immediately burst into tears because I was so happy. We had been wishing for Emma for 2 years.

4. Who did you tell first? Wes

5. How many pounds did you gain during your first pregnancy? 35 I think (I stopped getting on the scale the last few days).

6. What did you crave while you were pregnant? Anything with Lemon on it, Brussel Sprouts, Dairy Queen...

7. Did you find out the gender of your first child? Why or why not? Yes. Although I think it is fun to keep it a surprise, I am too much of a planner and could barely wait 20 weeks, let alone 40!!

8. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Nothing too serious until delivery. My placenta was low lying but that corrected itself. Everything went really well until my blood pressure spiked and Emma's heart rate was dropping during contractions.

9. How much did your first child weigh? 5 lbs, 12.6 ounces.

10. Was your first child early, late, or on time? Almost two weeks early!

11. What is the most difficult challenge or health issue that any of your children have faced? Emma has been really healthy so far. She dropped a little too much weight the first week but luckily we were able to correct that and now she is thriving (and quite chunky)!!

12. What's your favorite part of being a mom? Everything. Despite the lack of sleep and challenges along the way, it is absolutely the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.

13. Do you think it's easier to be a mom or a dad? Dad!

14. What is the best piece of advice you could give to someone who is about to have their first child? Time flies way to fast so take a breath everyday to remember each little moment. Also, throw any plans you have out the window! There will be a new Sheriff in town and it's the baby!

15. Did you always think you'd have kids? Yes

16. What's been the biggest surprise about motherhood? How incredibly hard it is and how much it has made me truly appreciate everything my mother ever did for me. I don't know how she did it!

17. Are there things you miss about life before kids? Sometimes...like the ability to sleep through the night, and the ability to leave the house without spending 30 minutes packing everything up!
18. How many children do you have? Just one!

19. Do you plan to have any more children? Yes! I would love to have two...but who knows what is in store for us in the future!

20. Who's the mom that you admire most? My mom!

Back From Vacation!

Hi Everyone! Emma has had quite the busy couple of weeks! We had a great visit with Gigi and Papa and then were off to Ocean City, Maryland with Mimi and Pop for a few days of vacation! We all had a great time and Emma was such a good little girl on her first ever vacation. She did really well over the past two weeks with changes in her routine, and having several different people feeding her and holding her, etc. She is definitely spoiled now with how much she was held over the past few weeks haha, so that should make for an interesting week when she is home alone with Mommy next week.

Here are her One Month pictures that we took. It started out like this with a nice and happy baby...

...but ended up like this with a very un-happy baby!

Emma did great in the car ride on the way to OC and also went right to sleep most nights in her Pack N Play in our room. She had her first ever trip to a pool, which we aren't sure she liked so much haha. It was really the first time she had been outside for a longer amount of time and although she was in the shade the entire time, it was pretty warm out and breezy, which I don't think she liked. I was thrilled though that she stuck it out and fell asleep so we got to relax by the pool for about an hour and a half.

I really wanted to see if she would like going in the water but once she fell asleep, I couldn't bring myself to dip her in the cold water and wake her up. So we will have to wait for her first swimming experience. We did however put her in her bathing suit for the first time and it was adorable! It is still a little bit big and baggy but it was too cute to resist.

The day before we headed home from OC, Mimi, Emma and I headed to some of the Shopping Outlets for some shopping for some warmer winter clothes for Emma. Once again, Emma slept through most of the festivities but came out with some super cute clothes that I can't wait to put her in! She is getting so big already!