Emma's 1st Birthday Party!!!

*warning: lots of details here, for my memory's sake.*

I can't believe the day has come and gone.  My Emma's FIRST birthday party/celebration was yesterday.  She had SO much fun.  Everyone could see how thrilled she was at everything that was going on.  Jamison started the day at 7am cleaning up the front yard to make it look nice for our guests.  I focused on cleaning up the kitchen and living room to make the area more welcoming and comfortable.  Afterwards, Amanda Burbidge (one of my MANY life savers yesterday) and I went to Winco to load up on some candy for the festivities and other decoration items.

We came home, and I realized I hadn't bought eggs for the cake and cake balls, so we had to make one more quick run at 1pm to get some eggs.  At this point we were really time crunching here.  The good thing is that as soon as I got home it was time for Emma's nap.  So I laid her down, and while Amanda and I were hard at work in the kitchen, Daddy finished in the yard with Emma's grandpa Kent.

I was SO lucky to have Amanda around, she hung up the banner and helped cook and set up, and by 3:15 Jay and I were dressed and ready to party at 3:30.  I was beyond excited to get Emma up and ready to see all her loved ones that were coming over.  We got her little birthday onesie on, her cute pink tutu and headband...and took her out to the kitchen to see what was going on.  She. was. amazed.  I loved seeing her reaction to all the balloons and decorations...not to mention the people that were already arriving.  Grandma and Grandpa Staheli came, as well as Grandpa and Grandma Fernelius (and the kids).  Mike and Rachel Stoops, and Amanda and Brandon Burbidge came as well to help celebrate.  And Jamison's brother Ben Hoskins and two of his kids, Peter and Isabella came.  

What a FUN time!  We had pizza; yummy salad and fruit; lots of candy in her cute blue, red and pink colors; and cake balls and cake of course.  

We all ate, watched Emma eat her cute little girly cake; the adults enjoyed some cake; and then we watched as she opened a few gifts.  And to end the party: Grandpa Fernelius surprised everyone with glow sticks/necklaces/bracelets  and EVEN foam sticks.  SO. MUCH. FUN.  The kids played with the glow sticks until around 7pm.  They couldn't get enough of it! :) 

I still can't believe everything that everyone did for my sweet baby Emma.  We are SO very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.  And I know Emma felt ALL the love yesterday.  Needless to say when bedtime came she crashed!  And slept WELL! :)  Mommy and Daddy did too. haha

I love my little Emma darling.  So so much.  It brings tears to my eyes to think back to all the events that occurred within these few days a year ago.  On the 4th I was admitted into the hospital to be induced at 9am, and saw my baby for the first time after 36 hours of labor, on the 5th at 9:34 pm.  Those were HARD hours, as any other mother would tell you.  Those were moments that I thought for sure I wouldn't make it through.  Those were moments I wished I could just have her here without going through everything she and I both went through.  And now, one year later... those moments are my most cherished and treasured memories.  I would do it all over again today to have her here.  I would have given my life for her then, and I would give my life for her now.  A mother's love is so deep, and so pure.  I don't know anything quite like it.  

...Here are some precious memories from MY Emma girl's very 1st birthday party.  :)....

Aunt Tiff and Emma

Emma is taking it all in after waking from her nap to a decorated house.

How could I NOT love that little face?

Emma loved Bella. :)

A girly cake for my girly girl.  Made with love by Mommy.

They are my reason for living. 

End result.  :)

Grandma and Emma

Grandpa and Grandma Fernelius

And a video......................................................................................   :) :) :)

I love her. 

Oops..

I'm totally behind on updating this thing. My bad. Well...here's a lame attempt at updating what's been going on...mostly for me...because I forget everything so easily.

Emma is now 5 months. I've been so busy the past month I didn't even get a 4 month picture of her on the couch, like I've done with every other month (I'm terrible)..BUT I have her 5 month picture. She'll actually be 6 months on the 5th of May, so I'm kinda cutting it close.

My 5 month smiley babe. LOVE those big flappy ears! (good thing she's a girl and can hide them underneath her growing hair--another trait she gets from her daddy {the ears...not the hair..}) haha

I am still head over heels for this girl, and the love grows every day. She talks to herself when she wakes up from naps, just waiting for us to go in and get her, and then when I do go to pick her up she starts kicking and giggling from excitement...cutest thing ever! Sometimes I wait by the door and just listen to her jabber on. I've noticed that the longer I wait to go in and get her, the more excited she is when she finally sees me.....so I stall....can't help it. I die with happiness when I see her smile at me. *sigh*

She's been holding her bottle since early 4 months, I just never documented it, which is way cute because if I'm holding it in front of her face while talking to J, she'll reach out for it and pull it towards her mouth, and kind of jams the bottle into her mouth. She reaches for everything now...

exhibit a

She LOVES people food. Oh man! I don't dare eat or drink anything around her sight for fear that she'll stare at it wanting what I have. I usually cave and let her have at least a taste of whatever I'm delighting in. She's tried things like water, apple juice (100% of course..), bananas, carrots and broccoli (pureed), soup, spaghetti; pretty much everything under the sun. And she's hungry ALL. THE. TIME. But, good news! She's a super active baby, so her eating habits do not affect her chunkiness.

My active baby! Always has to be up and about. I'm going to be in such great shape when she's walking! It'll be fun to chase her around....kind of. :/

We're still trying to get back to a good routine with sleeping...we've been out of town a couple of times which really messed her up...so for right now, she wakes up several times during the night...but we're working on it, so that should change soon. *hopefully* A hardworking mama neeeeeeeeeddssss sleep. So, Emma girl..puleaseeee work with mama on the whole sleep-through-the-night-to-make-mama-happy "thing". thanks. Muah!

She really is such a sweetheart...as LONG as she gets a good nap. haha. She's too funny. She's the sweetest girl you'll ever know; she'll smile at everyone and anyone, giggle and play. BUT, if she's in a bad mood lookout! I would avoid her if I could. She's just not so fun when she's unhappy. On the bright side though, she's only fussy/moody when something's wrong; i.e. bad vaccine reactions, stomach problems, tiredness, etc. P.s. Just a word of advice...don't have your baby vaccinated until he/she is at LEAST 10 years of age. Emma had every bad reaction possible, and it killed to watch her in such pain. I'm dicontinuing for as long as humanly possible. It wasn't until after we found out Emma wasn't reacting well to the shots that I found out the vaccines put Matthew in the hospital for weeks due to a bad reaction when he was a baby...and that none of the rest of us had vaccines as babies. Found out a little too late...but I should've looked into it before having my baby poked and prodded. Oh well, lesson learned...and NEVER again.

Anyway, I'm rambling. We're happy. Baby's happy. Life is good. Jamison just started a nursing program at Kaplan College (huge blessing...he'll be done with school in a year instead of 3 years with CSN...yay!). I LOVE being a mama with every day that passes. It's SO worth the pains of pregnancy and labor, the sleepless nights and sore/aching body due to lack of energy/food...etc. Having her was the best decision we ever made in our little family. I'm already looking forward to having all our children together on this earth. I already dream of them playing in the yard together, painting eggs at Easter, taking care of each other at church and school activities. There's such good stuff to look forward to...so I'll happily embrace yucky pregnancies again, and hard times to have all the good and happy times. Bring. It. On.

My girl.

I love her. Tomorrow my little Em will be 4 months old. Dang they grow so fast. I will post her stats on the 6th, after her checkup.

She's my little angel. I'm SO grateful for this little one.

I loved these pictures so much I just had to put them up on the blog.

Here she's playing with her little lips. It's what she does to pass the time.

I'm a sucker for the puppy dog lip every. time. ...and she does it often. SO cute.

She and daddy all bundled up ready to go for a *cold* walk.

Playing with her daddy.

And...just so I feel better about not being as crafty as others in the blog world...here's something I made that's {pinterest} inspired. It's not quite done. Not all my jewelry is hung up, and I still have to screw in the screw eyes for my earrings...but it's getting there. And I love it!

I hope everyone had a nice Sunday!

.Valentines.

Valentines Day this year was really special in the Pruitt Family. We were blessed to be able to spend our first Valentines day with Emma bean.

For {love} day this year I found a cute idea on <Pinterest> to do for J. It was SO much fun to make, and I loved being able to remind him through something that wasn't store bought....something a little more meaningful.

J's gift to me was perfect in every way. He puts so much thought into his gifts to me, and pays attention to all the little details. He makes me feel so darn special. I love him so much! He laid everything out, wrote me the most beautiful letter, and gave me a new favorite necklace from (Charming Charlie).

Did I mention how much I love him??? Happy LOVE day sweet boy. :)

YMCA with Daddy, sorry resolution's not great.

Three...

MONTHS!!!

My baby girl is getting SO big SO fast! I can't believe my eyes. She turned 3 months on the 5th, so I'm a little behind with this post, but the picture is accurate. Every new day it seems like she's so much bigger. She's already so much heavier and longer. We didn't have a pediatrician appointment for her 3 months, so we'll update on stats at her 4 month update.

This girl is the sweetest, and happiest baby I have ever known. And I'm so blessed to call her mine!

Here are some of her 3 month habits:

* She has found her thumb! She' ll just suck and suck on it, with all her other fingers still open, so she completely covers her mouth and parts of her nose with her hand when she sucks on her thumb (sometimes her index finger)

*She is SUCH a smiley baby! Even for strangers. All. The. Time. I love it!

*Jamison likes to sing the YMCA and do cute little actions with her...she loves it. I love seeing him with her. Melts my heart.

(I'll post the video next. She's usually giggling up a storm when they play together.)

* From her very first ultrasound we've noticed that she's loved putting her hands in her face...that has not changed. And I love that it's something she's done since before birth.

*She's so observant! She doesn't like being held like a baby either, she prefers to be held in my hips so she can prop her head up and look around.

*She casually grabs my hair, or my necklace and just gently plays with it between her fingers. Never pulls really hard, she just likes the feel of everything.

*She's recognizing voices better. She knows when grandma or grandpa is around...and she's always known when mommy and daddy are around. She follows us with her eyes when we're cooking, cleaning, etc. Makes me feel so special! :)

*I put together her bouncer the other day, and though she can't reach the bottom, or her toys on it yet, she loves to sit in it because it means she can look around, and see what mommy's doing.

*The first thing I hear every morning when I wake up is her taking to herself. It's only when I take a long time to get her that she starts to fuss.

*She'll tuck her head into the corner of her carseat cushion when she wants to nap without us bugging her, or when she wants to avoid sunlight.

*She can sit herself up now! I love to see her. I feel so bad sometimes seeing her fuss and not knowing what she wants...so i love that she can sit herself up when she wants to. Not to mention, it's super cute to see her work and fight to get propped up!

Anyway...I'm just so in love with my darling angel. And I can't wait to see what 4 months brings! For sure there will be more smiles, treasured moments, and LOTS of laughs.

I love you Emma baby!

MY Emma girl!!! I LOVE!

2 month stats

I am in love with our little Emma. Yesterday we went to the doctor for her 2 month checkup, and I completely forgot that she was getting shots too...so I didn't get a chance to prepare emotionally for that.

My heart ached seeing my baby cry out in pain from the shots. All I wanted to do was take her in my arms and help her feel better. I wished in that moment that I could endure the pain in her place so she wouldn't have to suffer...I would've done anything the doctor would've asked me to do, if only it would take her pains away. That's the first time I have actually felt like a mother... It was a painful, yet very spiritual moment for me. I felt so connected with Emma, like I could feel what she was feeling. It was an amazing feeling, and for the first time since she was born I truly felt like she was mine. I won't ever forget how I felt in that moment. My love for Emma, and my desire to raise her up in righteousness increased so much. Oh how i love MY Emma girl.

Anyway, here are her stats, and her cute little habits during her 2nd month of life:

Weight: 10 lbs 2 oz 50th percentile

Length: 22 inches 50th percentile

*Emma can actually say "I love you"! It is the cutest thing ever! I've been trying to get it recorded to post on here, and once I get a good recording of her I will get it up. Jamison and I melt every time she says it... SO CUTE.

*From day 1 of life Emma's been a smiley, happy baby...but now she talks her little baby talk and smiles ALL the time at us.

*Since week 5 1/2 she'll go to bed between 11:30 and midnight and sleep until 7 or 8, on occasion she slept til 9!

*She LOVES her swing and can sit there for hours if I let her. She literally forgets she's hungry when she's in her swing.

*People are still impressed at how well she can hold her head up! That's something she's also been able to do since day one without much help from us.

*When she wakes up from her naps now she'll just lay there and start talking. She'll only cry if I leave her there long enough, but it is Oh. So. Cute. to just stand next to the door and hear her talk and talk to herself. I love it!

*She still HAS to cover her face when she sleeps. That's also been something she's done from day 1. I'll lay her down to sleep and walk away, then come back later and she's pulled the blanket over her face. If there's no blanket, she compromises; she's pulled headbands, her hands, little hats, burp cloths, ANYTHING over her face. It's the cutest thing...but don't worry, we keep an eye on her to make sure she's breathing ok. Here are some examples:

Covering her face with her hand

This one's a bit blurry, but I had to post it. She pulled her headband down twice.

I love my sweet Emma baby. And I am so grateful to have her our life, and in our little family. Happy 2 months baby! I can't wait to see how you progress and how much you learn in the days and months to come. My life is SO much better, now that I have you. :)

2 months!

I can't believe my sweet pea is 2 months old!!! I love my Emma bean and I'm SO glad she's mine. :)

She's the sweetest baby ever! We go to the doctor tomorrow, and then I'll post her stats and all the little things she's been doing in her 2nd month of life. Happy 2 months baby girl!!!