Archives for March 2006

We have our first tooth! It’s the lower right-hand one, just as the Doc suspected. I felt it for the first time this morning, but it has a long way to go. So I’ll get my gummy grins for a little while longer!

I also think the second one is close behind. When I felt the tooth today, I felt a bump on the other side, so who knows! It’s so much fun to see Emma go through these milestones — she is getting so big!

She is moving around pretty easily now, but is still frustrated that she can’t crawl. She tries, but actually puts more energy into trying to stand. I am eager to see which will come first.

Well, “eager” isn’t really the best word choice…maybe curious is better. As much as I love seeing her grow, it still takes some getting used to. She now greets me sitting up when she wakes from her nap and is starting to play with her sippy cup. Thankfully she still thinks it’s a toy. I don’t think I”m ready to see her drinking like a big girl yet. The mere thought makes me well up!

We’re also happy that Spring is here! Now that the weather is nicer, we’ve been trying to take daily walks. Emma loves watching the birds and seeing the neighborhood kids play. I can’t wait until it is warm enough to go to the park. We’re going to have so much fun. I can’t explain how thankful I am that I get to spend these days with her. I am so blessed!

Here are some pix of our lil’ spring chicken!

Okay, so apparently Emma is truly psyhic. The night, and I mean the night, I wrote my “mountaintop” entry, the sleeping stopped. Just stopped competely and was replaced with constant night wakings — as in EVERY HOUR. It has taken me this long to come to terms with this fact and share it will all of you. Which reminds me, this is officially my last “sleep habit” entry. Not that I believe in superstition or anything, but I swear the second I let myself get comfortable with this mommy thing, I get humbled. Plus I’m sick of hearing my own whining. On that note, I might as well mention that naps are gone too. Oh yeah, we don’t do anything in moderation around here. It’s all or nothing. I’m lucky if I get 45 minutes out of her again.

So why the waking? That question swims thru my head every nanosecond of the day. What did I do? Maybe her matress should be on a 33-degree angle instead of 35? Maybe the new organic rice cereal we put in her bottle upsets her stomach? Or maybe it’s the carrots she reacted to a week ago? Maybe she’s teething? An earache perhaps? Or maybe, just maybe, this is the life of a mom — no sleep. Accept it.

But I can’t. My brain tells me there is a reason for everything, which is why I am literally driving myself insane…

But I digress. The good news is that we can rule out the earache thanks to the absolutely unnecessary doctor appointment I made on Thursday. I did find out, however, that she is most likely getting her first tooth as indicated by the bump on her lower gum. “Oh, so that’s it!!” I think as a rush of peace washes over me. That is, until the doctor gives me a reality check with the dreaded word “but”… and I quote: “BUT those bumps can appear and reappear several times before the actual tooth appears, so it could be a while still.” Great.

Thank goodness MIss Emma is the cutest baby ever or I might have to sell her to the highest bidder… (hopefully ya’ll know I’m kidding).

But I really do think she’s teething. She’s chomping on things more than usual and the drool faucet is on overflow. Thanks to her cold (yes, ANOTHER cold!), it’s thick, stringy drool, which is oh so fun to clean up. But then I get that gummy grin and can’t help but kiss on her. I think she literally gets kissed a thousand times a day from me alone. Isn’t that why God gave her cheeks?

Our princess is also having a grand old time moving around these days. She’s not crawling, but she is constantly on all fours. I see that little turtle head peeking up at me over her crib rail every time she wakes up — totally adorable! She also keeps rocking forward and pushing her butt up in the air as if ready to get a running start. And as of yesterday, she can officially get herself from a laying position to sitting up, which was totally random. One minute she was complaining that she was on her back, but by the time I got to get her, she was sitting back up. I quickly looked around to see if Jeff decided to take a half-day, but then she did it again. This time I got to see her stategy… she rolls over from her back to her belly, gets up on all fours and scoots herself back onto her butt and sits straight up. So grown up, my little one. It’s so weird how much they can teach themselves. I’d love to take credit, but this was all her!

Oh, and “dadadadada” is her word of choice, especially when she’s happy. Of course, she only makes “M” noises when she’s sad or hungry. But I guess Dada deserves it. You should see how happy it makes him!

So that’s where we are at. I’m convinced she’ll be crawling soon, so stay tuned. I’m hoping to figure out some of the programs out there that allow me to post video footage for ya’ll. We’ll see if I can get it up and running. If anyone has any pointers or suggestions, let me know!

Uncle Johnny and “Auntie” Stefanie came home from college this past weekend and paid Miss Emma a visit. She had lots of fun playing with them and showing off all her new tricks — sitting up, attempting to crawl and stand up, saying “dadadadada,” and blowing raspberries (well, kind of…). She can’t wait until they’re home for good!!!

I have been waiting 7 loooong months to say these words, so here goes…
EMMA IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Yep, you read right, but just in case, let me write it again: EMMA IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! As in 11 hours straight. No bottle. Maybe one pacifier moment at the most, but that’s it. 7pm she’s down; 6am, she’s up. And no papasan. Life is so good!

It all started last Wednesday night when Jeff was supposed to give her the late-night bottle. (Yes, the day I complained about our lack of sleep!) Of course, she decided to give her Dada a break (cough, cough…) and never woke up for the bottle until 5am. This continued until Saturday and got later and later: 5:30am, 5:45am, 6am, and this morning, 6:15am. I hesitated to share this news for fear that it was a fluke, but after 5 days, I figure it’s official.

And the papasan thing happened on its own. Apparently, Geneva is the place to make major adjustments to your child’s life. We spent the weekend there with the B clan, and Miss Emma had to sleep in her Pack and Play. This was a challenge since it isn’t on an angle, but we figured this was the time to do it. We were on vacation, so who cares if we don’t sleep. Plus, not bringing the papasan with forced us to stick to our guns. Friday night went okay once she was sleeping, but getting her to sleep took me almost 2 hours. She feel asleep immediately, but the second she was on a flat surface, the eyes opened and the thrashing began. Finally, she decided she was tired enough to tough it out, and I didn’t hear from her the rest of the night.

I have to say that these moments make me so proud. You would have thought she won a Pulitzer the way my heart felt — so full of love and pride. Such a small thing, I know, yet I know how hard it is for her (and painful), but she figured it out on her own and made it work. I can only imagine how my heart will feel when she accomplishes even bigger things.

We also started carrots last night, and she loved them. I kinda think she’s going to like anything we put in her mouth, but I guess peas will be the real test. Thankfully, that won’t be happending for a while. Our doc wants us to do squash next and then some fruit. The green stuff will follow. I can’t wait for all the beautiful artwork I’ll find in her diaper! :o)

Back to the weekend: We had a great time. The weather was so nice (when it wasn’t raining that is), so we were able to walk around in Downtown Geneva. Emma took it all in and loved being in her stroller without her carrier. We’re going to put her in an upright carseat as soon aS the weather gets a little warmer. The carrier bunting is nice for the winter, but hopefully spring will come early — that thing is heavy!

We also stopped at an outlet mall, where we totally blew our new budget. But who could pass up that cute little Nike outfit that was obviously made for Emma, not to mention the absolutely gorgeous Easter dress and shrug from Gymboree? My justification for the latter was that she needed an Easter dress snf it was from an outlet store (although I won’t reveal the ridiculous amount I still spent. I’m still having anxiety attacks over it…) Anyway, I am probably supposed to wait for the big day to reveal its cutenss, but I can’t contain myself. So scroll down for a preview of the world’s most adorable Easter dress, but keep in mind that it will look a billion times cuter on!! :o)

But first some family photos:
Emma and Papa

Mr. Evan

Jeff: The Life of the Party…

Gammie and her babies

And…
The Outfit: