Emerson is 5 months old!

5 months old!  I can't believe it!!

Emerson gets more playful and sweet spirited each day.  I don't know why but I just have this feeling she's going to be a tender-hearted little girl.  She waits and watches for us to look at her to give us a huge toothless grin.  It seriously covers her whole face.  And boy does this girl have some chub.  She is rockin' the baby rolls these days and I adore it!  Seems like her favorite thing to do is be completely naked so she can grab her toes and roll up into a little butter ball.  She has soo stolen my heart!

Milestones this month:

• Loud voice - This girl really loves to hear herself babble.  I love listening to her experiment with her squeals =)

• A little ticklish!  Emerson squirms when I tickle her right in her neck/collarbone.  What's funny about it though is that she likes it the first few times then she starts to fuss and isn't so entertained

• First cold =( Both the girls got sick right after Christmas.  Thank goodness Emerson just had a cold, but it's never fun to watch your baby sick

• First Christmas - We had a wonderful Christmas with both sides of our families.  Emerson was a champ to go all over the place and sleep randomly too.  She loved eating opening her presents!

 

•  Really using her hands to grab things - My favorite is that she'll grab hold of my cheeks and smile at me. 

• Found her feet!  And this might be her favorite thing so far!  Any time she gets a chance she just holds on to her toes for dear life.  It's pretty darn cute

Here are a few pics from the month:

Our family of 4 at the Perot Museum in Dallas (that place is amazing!)

All grins!

Meeting her Great-grandfather PawPaw (Trent's mom's dad)

Here is our girl at 5 months!

Emerson is 4 months

Emerson is 4 months!

We had such a fun month!  Fall is SUCH a fun time in my opinion and such a fun time in our family with birthdays and celebrations every month from October - January.  There is never a dull moment and I love it!  Emerson is growing so fast and she is changing.  She's gone from a cute petite little one to chubster baby with all these cute rolls!  And her personality is just so sweet.  She is rarely unhappy (really only when I'm not careful and eat some dairy or have caffeine).  She's constantly looking for an excuse to smile and giggle.  I keep trying to remind myself to slow down and pay attention...so many times I'll look at her and she's literally just waiting to get my attention so she can give me a big toothless grin and squeal.  It is the best!

--> Milestones this month:

Stats:

Height: 25.5" (90th percentile)

Weight:  13lb 8oz (25-50th percentile)

- Rolled over!  She rolled over on December 17th.  I actually missed it the first 2 times, but finally caught her in the act.  She hasn't been doing it consistently since and, to be truthful, I'm perfectly happy with her still staying in one place for now.

- First Thanksgiving - We got to spend time with both sides of the family both celebrating Thanksgiving and it was a whirlwind!  We spent 4 days in Waco and 4 days in Dallas.  Emerson got to hang out with her cousins for the 2nd time and meet TONS of Trent's extended family in Thanksgiving day too.  This meant she got to meet her great-grandparents (Trent's father's parents).  I'm so thankful for sweet extended family - they love on our girls like crazy!

Very steady - Emerson holds her head up well and will even stand up if we hold her hands - she's loosing all that baby wobbliness.

More established routine - I feel like I glanced up a few weeks ago and realized that I have NO clue how often Emerson sleeps or for how long...guess that's the life of being the second kid.  Either way, I started paying attention a little and it seems like at this point she naps 3-4 times a day.  I'll feed her around 6am and she goes right back to sleep till about 8:30, then naps again in the morning for a short nap (30-45min), in the afternoon for a LONG time (1-2 hrs or longer...and sometimes at the same time as Kinley...happy dance), and finally in the early evening for a short bit (30-45min).

Lots of babbling! This girl loves to hear herself talk!  She'll be coo-ing and babbling and I've noticed that if we leave the room, she gets louder - maybe she's hunting for attention =) All over the place in her sleep - We swaddled Emerson for all her naps and nighttime with the Miracle Blanket (BEST.THING.EVER) and I find that I'll put her down with her head one direction and when I come back in she's turned completely around.  Quite a feat considering she is all bundled up! (see picture below!)   -->Loves attention from big sis - Can't say the feeling is totally mutual, but this girl just CRAVES Kinley's attention.  She watched her move around and lights up when Kinley sits with her and talks to her.  Kinley isn't bothered or annoyed with her, I just don't think Emerson can keep up with Kinley's fast pace.  Once she grows a bit, I know they'll have such a blast together.  I can't wait to watch their friendship grow!!

Here are some more pictures from the month!

Cousins hanging out at Thanksgiving

Meeting Miss Caroline (her mommy and I were in each other's weddings!)

And here are the monthly pics 

(didn't take the usual pictures...giving myself some grace)

Emerson - 3 Months Old

Emerson is 3 months!

The months are really flying by...I write this as Emerson is actually 4 1/2 months oops, now 5 1/2 months and I'm just NOW getting around to posting : /....

Milestones this month:

• First Halloween:  This isn't really a big deal to me, we hadn't actually even planned on dressing the girls up until about 2 days before when we heard a friend was having a block party.  Thanks to my MIL giving us matching PJ's I whipped together some cat costumes (i.e. eye-liner as whiskers and DIY felt ears and we're done!!).  We went to a block party then took Kinley (along with about 15 other kids) around the block to trick or treat.  Emerson hung out in the baby carrier and was wonderful!

 

• Lots and LOTS of smiling =):  We definitely turned the corner from serious, fussy, pensive baby to easy-going, smiley, happy baby!  Emerson is basically looking for an excuse to smile at this point.  I love her toothless grin!

• Holds head up well
• Curious - looking around
• Drooly baby!
• Easy to read cries.  I never once felt like I could decipher Kinley's cries at this age, but Emerson seems a tad easier to read (or maybe I'm learning a thing or two as a mom?!).  Emerson has a  distinct cry for needing time to have some freedom and lay by herself, time to cuddle/sleep, time to eat, and for when she's just plain bored.  I am loving that I can help her out a little more by knowing what she needs! 
• First Baylor Homecoming - We took the girls up to Waco on a last minute whim (literally decided mid-day Thursday and drove to Waco that night!).  Mom and I took the girls to the ChiO breakfast, to the Homecoming Parade and actually took them to the game as well!  Emerson handled it like a champ!!



This was at the game...with cheering fans all around.  It didn't phase her a bit!

And here are the monthly pictures of our girl!

Pumpkin Patch

We found the CUTEST little pumpkin patch this past weekend! 

It's actually at the church where our College/20's worship gathering (Atlas) meets on Sunday nights.  We went to go check it out and it was closed, so we couldn't buy any of the pumpkins (I really wanted to get 2 teeny ones for my girls).  But on the bright side, since it wasn't open, we had the whole place to ourselves.

I think I'll go to closed pumpkin patches every year!!

Emerson is 2 months!

2 Months old already!

This month has been filled with trying to get our little family back into some sort of routine, days of victory as a mom of 2 (and some days of defeat), sorting out Emerson's fussy spells, and a few new developments as we watch our precious baby grow!!!

Last time I posted, I mentioned that I've felt like 1 to 2 has been a bit easier than zero to 1.  I still stand by that statement, but we've had at least a couple days a week of "Oh dear Lord, help me through this day!"

Trent got to preach this past Sunday and asked the question "Does the calling God has given you require God's power"  I feel more confident than ever that being a mommy is a HUGE part of my calling (that confidence brings joy), but it's also the hardest job I've ever had.  More on that later, but I was just thankful to be reminded that yes, this is HARD, but God intends it to bring me back to my knees and recognize how I need Him to show up in our home and in my parenting!!

Emerson's Stats at 2 months:

Height: 22 1/2" (25th-50th percentile)

Weight: 10 lb 6 oz (25th percentile)

still such a little girl!!

Now let's see if I can clean out these cobwebs in my brain and remember what all has happened this past month.....

• 5 weeks - 1st smile!!  I'll never grow tired of her precious little grin!  She smiles from ear-to-ear with this thin-lipped smile - cracks me up!
• 6 weeks - First coo's (just little ones...she's a little bit of a pensive baby)
• 7 weeks - Grew out of newborn clothes & newborn diapers 
• Still doesn't like being on her tummy to hang out, but she's happy to sleep that way if we let her
• An eye for fans:  Just like Kinley, Emerson loves watching fans!  I regularly catch her smiling at the fan...love how simple life is for her at this point!
• Never mind acid reflux:  Yep, I was totally wrong on this one.  This entire month was spent trying to figure out what is causing Emerson to be so fussy.  I knew it wasn't colic-type fussing because she was able to be soothed.  It's just that Emerson was never ok being left alone while awake...and more than that, she'd get pretty stiff-backed and agitated.  I just kept feeling like there had to be a cause.  At about 6 weeks, I took her off the acid reflux meds we were tring and absolutely nothing changed.  Then I tried no dairy in my diet (to the best of my ability!) and again, no real change.  Now we're trying absolutely no caffeine.  This one is a hard one for me.  I just drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning and really love my moment of "me" time in that cup of coffee.  But then again, I'd do anything for Emerson.  So far that seems to be the ticket.  Still off dairy for now, seems to be a combination of the both that's been upsetting her tummy.  But then again, watch me have a totally different hypothesis by next month!

Here are some pictures from month 2

Emerson is 1 month old!

Our baby is One Month old...actually almost 6 weeks now (for some reason I think this "behind-thing" will be a trend this time around!)

We absolutely LOVE "baby Ehson" as Kinley calls her!  The first month was exactly what I expected in some ways, and totally different in other ways.  I'm thankful the adjustment from one to two has been easier than zero to one for me.  And because of that, I think all the challenging parts (lack of sleep, crazy feeding schedule, nursing, keeping track of 2 kiddo's) have been easier and filled with more joy if that's possible. 

God has been kind to keep this post-pardom brain in a super healthy place for now! =)

Emerson's Stats at 1 month:

Height: 21 1/4" (75th percentile)

Weight: 8 lb (25th percentile)

Emerson's first month was busy!  We had almost all our family in either for her birth or within a few days to meet this little girl!  Plus lots of friends have stopped by to meet our baby too.  Kinley keeps us on the go, so we've already had many trips to the park and we even made it to church!  Emerson is going to have to be flexible as the 2nd child.

We've been trying to figure out some reflux issues with Emerson (I started noticing signs around 2 1/2 weeks but have REALLY doubted myself on this one).  She just seems to be a little ouch-y after feedings so we're trying different medicines to help her little tummy.  Sometimes this makes her hard to sooth and hard to get to sleep...hopefully we'll make some progress with this in the coming weeks.

Here are some pictures of our adventures so far.  These are out of order...but with only a few more minutes of both kids sleeping (a rare and glorious moment!!) it will have to do.

 Kinley loves being a big sister!  (SOOOOO thankful for this!).  I love that Emerson seems to be keeping an eye on Kinley - haha!!

Just a few days old - newborn clothes are huge on Emerson!

See what I mean?!  No hands!!

4 day appointment - gaining weight from hospital but still smaller than at birth 

"she so tiny" as Kinley says

1st bottle at 2 weeks

Kinley really likes helping out (and she's actually pretty good at it too!)

Here she's put a blanket over Emerson and is turning the music back on.

Love our sweet little girl!

1st picture with her cousins!  Emerson (3 days), Jude (2 1/2),  Kinley (21 mo's), Lola (10 mo's)

1st trip to the park (sorta).  

Kinley and Daddy played while I hung out with our newborn in the car.

Here are some "monthly" pics of our precious girl!

Finally one with her eyes open!!!

Announcing...Emerson Leigh Thompson

She is here!

 Emerson Leigh Thompson

August 16, 2012

9:24 am

6 lbs 7 oz 19 inches

Hard to believe our little girl is here... and almost one month old now!  

Below is the story of her arrival...if you're not into that sorta thing, just scroll through to see some fun pictures taken by fourth photography.  (Plus a few of my own...bet you can tell the difference)

Bill Wilson of fourth photography is a great friend and talented wedding photographer, he was willing to try out newborn photography for us and did an incredible job - thanks Bill!!

Emerson's Birth Story:

Leading up to Emerson's birth, my body had been getting ready for a few weeks.  In fact when I went in for my 38 week appointment on August 15th, I was 5 1/2 cm dilated!  My doctor and nurse thought I would have a super fast delivery (my labor with Kinley only took 8 hours).  So my plan was to head to the hospital whenever the first contraction came.

38 weeks...this one I took myself on the 14th

I can't tell you how many scenarios I had played out in my head of having my baby at home or on the highway, being stuck in traffic, or going through transition while waiting for the arrival of Kinley's babysitter...

Thankfully none of those things happened, in fact my labor was actually a little longer this time!  Just goes to show you can't really plan your labors can you?!

August 15th 

Evening:  Head out for a Girls' Night to celebrate a friend's birthday (ironic that I had both of my girls the night after having a Girls' night!)

9:00ish:  Get home

10:30:  First contraction...ish. it wasn't incredibly painful like how it started with Kinley and there was absolutely no consistency...10 minutes apart, 3 minutes, 7 minutes, 15 minutes.  Some strong, some so weak I couldn't really tell when they started and stopped.  I kept thinking "I've done this before!!  Shouldn't I know if I'm in labor?"

11:00: Wake up Trent...I may be in labor??  We time them together, call the sitter to tell her we may call back and finally decide to watch some TV.  (seriously thankful for friends that don't mind us calling close to midnight to say - we might need your help!)

12:00 (midnight):  Together we decide that since we can't figure out if it's the real thing, then it must not be.  Text the sitter, and head to bed...uughhh

But of course I can't fall asleep!!

12:30:  Have a couple "oh wow, that one hurt" contractions and wake up Trent again.

1:00:  Finally bite the bullet and tell Trent to call sitter AGAIN and ask her to come...we are going to the hospital!

1:20-2:00:  Sitter arrives, head to the hospital, get checked in, and find out I'm 6 cm (I was perplexed...thinking surely I'd be further than that)

1st best surprise:  A very good friend of mine is a L&D nurse.  I'd asked, and she was willing to be there for our delivery if it worked out with her schedule, getting things shifted around at the hospital etc. - Well, she was actually working that night!!!  She met me at the check-in desk and took care of us for the rest of the night! 

I get a little fuzzy from here on out....

3:00ish:  Epidural in...love that thing :). Still 6-6 1/2.  See the on-call doctor (Dr. Yium - whom I now LOVE!), she says she'll come back in a couple hours to check on me

3-7:00:  Rest, wait, wait some more, my mom arrives from Waco (yay!!!).  Everyone expects Emerson to be here by 7 but nada.  Trent's parents arrive somewhere in there too.  I think the doctor came somewhere around 7:00am and I'm just about 7 cm.  moving.like.a.snail!!

7:30ish:  Doctor breaks my water, comes back a little later and starts pitocin.

8:30ish:  Doctor ups the pitocin and contractions start coming on top of each other -- here we go!  Start feeling like I've GOT to push.

9:00ish:  I get the 2nd best surprise of the day!  I knew at this point that my doctor (Dr. Nash) who I really really love wouldn't be delivering Emerson since she was off that day.  The nurses ask me if I think I can wait for 10 minutes to push because Dr. Nash is actually on her way in.  She moved some mountains to be there and I'll forever be grateful.

9:20:  Dr. Nash arrives.  Yay!  Next contraction she says we'll push.

9:24:  One contraction, 4 pushes, Emerson is here!  (soooo different than pushing for 2 hours with Kinley!)

There is just nothing like that first cry. 

Nothing.

I laughed and cried and laughed more.  

Top 3 moments of my life...

Walking down the isle to meet my soon-to-be husband

 Kinley's first cry

and now Emerson's

Thank you Lord for these incredible gifts! 

Here are a few more pics from the day

Dr. Nash and Emerson right after she was born

Mary - our friend and L&D Nurse!!  You were amazing!!!