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.

Blessing Day

Our little Emma girl was given a name and a blessing yesterday at my old family ward at 9am, by her daddy. What a beautiful day! And she was SO good! I thought for sure she'd cry during the blessing because she took a long nap beforehand...and we thought she'd get her dress all dirty because she was poopy just a half our before as well, but she did wonderfully, and the dress was spotless by the end of the day. She slept during the blessing and was very reverent during sacrament. At one moment I just looked at her and cried. She knew it was a time to be quiet and peaceful, and she was just that the whole time.

My mom made Emma's dress, Jamison's mom gave us Emma's blessing blanket, and I made her little headband. So the whole outfit was really special for us, and I'm so excited to use it for our next little girl. :)

We had family and friends that came to support Emma on her big day, and I am SO grateful they could all make it.

We are loving our Emma bean. Jamison and I can't get enough of her. She smiles ALL the time, and now she's also got the puppy dog lip down so good....breaks my heart to see it, but it also makes me smile cause it's just so darn cute! No picture of it yet, but i'm working on getting it.

Thanks to all who came! We love you all so very much. :) What a happy, sacred, spiritual day for our growing family.

Emma girl the morning of the blessing. :)

The group

Jamison's brother and his fam. :)

Daddy and his little princess

MY Emma bean

Grandpa Grandma Staheli :)

Grandpa and Grandma Fernelius :)

My two favorites!!

My smiley girl!!! I LOVE her! :)

We love you Emma girl! Always and forever,

Mommy and Daddy

Emma Bean

It is SUCH a joy to be a mother. I still can't believe that I am a mother..... weird!

Our little one brings so much happiness into our lives, it's so hard to put into words just how happy Jamison and I are to have her around. And frankly, we don't really remember what life was like without her. It feels like she's always been around.

Goodness I love her so much! I can't wait to see her grow and develop, and learn and play. We are so anxious to hear her little laugh for the first time. She already smiles ALL the time. (melts my heart every time).

In every single ultrasound we had of Emma she had her hands in her face in some way or another, and we secretly hoped she'd keep that habit once she was born, and she definitely has! She loves putting her hands in her face, especially when she sleeps. Here are a couple of recent pictures of her. I will jot down little habits and such in a later post. It's time to put my little angel to bed...so I'm off for now! :) :)

False alarm.

I am 38 weeks along on Saturday, and am READY to have my little one in my arms. Jamison and I dream about delivery and the days following our baby's birth SO frequently, that we often wake up thinking it was real and she's in her bassinet right beside our bed. I know most first-time mommies take a while to have their babies, but at our most recent appointment, last Thursday, the doctor said that my body is really getting ready, and it could really be anyday now.

Exciting!!

Yesterday I got to work in the early am, already having had contractions throughout the night, and feeling super tight in my belly area. I told Jay when he work up that I was definitely feeling really different - a feeling I had not felt my entire pregnancy - and that she could be on her way soon. :) I figured, why stay at home with these yucky contractions. I might as well go to work and stay distracted.

By the time I got off work at 2pm, I. was. done. I had had contractions all morning. From 10am to 11am they were about 10 minutes apart and lasting for about 1 minute each. Then, 11am hit and they were not as frequent, and not as intense. I was VERY bummed. I mean, they hurt like crazy, but it meant progress, which is something I'm ready for. There's going to be pain at one point, and I'd prefer it to be sooner than later.

Nothing else happened the rest of the night, though I went for a number of walks throughout the day, hoping to get those contractions going again, and I even bounced on my exercise ball, hoping the baby would get the message and just pop that dang water bag already! :D But, nothing.

I've had a few contractions here and there today, but nothing like yesterday. I still feel a tight sensation in the belly region, and some pain in my lower back...but, again, nothing that would make me believe it's time to go to the hospital.

Next doctor's appointment is tomorrow at 5pm...and I'm HOPING for some good news. Jamison and I (not to mention the rest of our family) are beyond ready for her to be here. We're ready to greet our little angel, and see her little face. Exciting times!!!

Wish me luck. :)

P.S. Amanda McKee, my best friend since we were about 1 year old, took some maternity pictures about 2 weeks ago...so I'm EXCITED to see those! Everything's going great. Life is still as hectic as ever...but we're loving every precious minute we have together as a family, and are ready to tackle the ups and downs of parenthood! :)

Getting ready

Random and unorganized thoughts today. I mostly just want to remember what we're doing these last weeks before the baby comes, and this is the easiest way to do so. Sorry, no pictures this time, I'm at work and my camera's at home. I'll post some soon.

My sweet Emma girl is almost here, which terrifies and excites me. I shouldn't have left all the big stuff, like getting her room ready, to the last minute because now I spend maybe 20 minutes tops organizing her closet, and then I have to take a nap or stop to catch my breath. My body's winding down and getting ready, and there's nothing I can do to stop it!

Sleep is a foreign word to me. Skinny is no longer in my vocabulary, and hasn't been for the past 5 months or so. sad. but worth it.

Life is hectic, with Jamison back in school and working, and I'm juggling two jobs until my chunky legs just can't take it anymore. There's never enough time in the day to get everything done and then have time to just sit and be together. BUT, we did manage to get the basic necessities for our little one, and it makes her arrival all the more real to me.

We were SO blessed to find a gorgeous bassinet on Craigslist. One that normally sells for around $300, and the sellers gave us an incredible deal - $75! Cheaper than any bassinet at BabiesR'Us. And believe me, I checked. We went to pick it up and they ended up giving us a matching bouncer. Jay and I love them both, they're in excellent condition and the best part is the color scheme works for both boys and girls, so we're set with that!

We're slowly but surely getting everything in order. But having her little bed set up, her clothes hanging in her closet, her car seat ready and waiting for her..... I'm REALLY starting to get excited. I can't believe this is really happening. I'm, in all honesty, not good enough to be a mommy. I definitely don't feel worthy to be the caretaker and nurturer to this sweet little angel of mine.

Gosh, such a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts.

On Saturday we'll be 32 weeks. We've got 2 prepared childbirth classes these next 2 Saturdays, along with a tour of the hospital. I've got a doctor's visit in 2 weeks, and another one 2 weeks after that....then, she can come at any time. She can be here in a matter of weeks!

We're already looking forward to our first Thanksgiving with her, and Christmas! Oh joy! It will be the best Christmas yet. :) I can't wait.

I love watching Jamison in all his excitement. He is thrilled to be having a girl. We go to the store to get groceries now, and his first stop is ALWAYS the baby girl section. He sings to her all the time, and has his own little conversations with her. It makes me fall in love with him all over again every time I see how he interacts with her, or talks about her with such love in his eyes, or grabs my belly suddenly because he "just HAS" to tell her something right away.

And watching my family's excitement about their first grand-baby is another joy altogether. Words can't describe.

I'm loving this time in our lives. We are all anxiously waiting for the weeks to pass so we can see her precious face, and kiss her and hold her. Oh the excitement! For now... I guess I'll just keep getting ready. :)

I'll post about our 1 year anniversary soon!

*Did I mention I'm the luckiest girl alive?*

24 weeks and counting

So we've hit the 24 week mark already. Last Saturday actually, so we're just about at 25. That means we're at 6 months, also known as our 3rd trimester (!!!). My little lady and I have 3 months left *roughly* until her due date. How excited am I?

There are NO words.

She's excited too! Kicking ALL the time. LOVE!!

So, here we are. Not the best pictures because they were taken on my ipod, but they're something.

20 weeks/ 5 months

24 weeks/6 months

We have picked a name and call her by it all the time. And I've told just about anyone that has asked me what her name is, but I still can't bring myself to announce it on fb or the blog. Oh well....it'll be posted as soon as her first little "outside mommy" pictures are up in Oct/Nov.

I am HAPPY. :)

I'm in heaven.

sigh. I always go too long without writing on here. But here we go, a few months later. he he

I LOVEE being pregnant! And I HATE being pregnant! contradicting myself much? I'll explain...

I LOVE:

*feeling my little angel kick and squirm and do all the little things she does while she chills in the belly.

*imagining how much bigger she gets each time I take a belly picture and compare it with the past to see how much bigger I'm getting.

*seeing other people smile as soon as they see my monster of a belly....it makes me all happy inside.

*being married and being pregnant. What would I do without my J-boy?

*being pampered and fussed over... That might sound weird. But it I laugh everytime someone fusses over me, and it makes me happy...knowing that they care enough to help me take care of my body and all that it's doing.

*knowing that there's a little someone with me all the time! Oh how i love that!

*smiling waking up in the morning to the feel of her kicking me to wake me up. She's realized that i ignore my alarm for as long as possible, so now she'll kick to get me up, and she'll KEEP kicking until I actually get out of bed. love loveee

*seeing her cute little outfits hanging up in my closet.

*making her little rings and jewelry...I get so excited seeing how tiny everything is! Oh goodness...

*NOT feeling sick all day everyday anymore! SO glad that's over. It was yucky. :(

I HATE (0r stronglyyy dislike...)

*Not sleeping on my belly.

*not being able to SEE my feet! that one is still weird to me..

*that my belly button is turning into an outie.

*being swollen absolutely everywhere! I refuse to post a picture of anything BUT my belly.

*NOT having my baby here already. That's the biggest one.

*that it will end soon... another contradiction.

*being tired ALL the time, and having such little sleep when I am able to have it.

There are more loves than hates, which I'm happy about. Not going to lie, being pregnant can be toughhh, but I am sooo excited for the outcome. My little one will be here soon...I'm in heaven.

Baby

My brother-in-law and his wife are currently in the hospital counting the minutes and seconds until they become parents to a precious baby girl. I have NEVER been in this boat before. Jamison has about 25 nieces and nephews, but I am the only one married so far amongst my siblings, so I have not been in these shoes, waiting anxiously to hear how Irene is doing, and how little Sally is doing. healthy? Easy delivery?

It's actually quite exciting, and I'm all giddy waiting to hear how they're doing. It makes me wonder and ponder, and plan and dream........and just, think.

Now I can't wait to go up and visit sometime soon and see our newest little niece! She will be loved. I already love her. I really do.

how fun.