.the wall.

ever since emma took her 6 month pictures I've been wanting to put them up on our living room wall.  i had NO idea how to do, all i knew is that i wanted it to be perfect.  lucky for me i had a few ideas already posted on the ever-popular pinterest, so we fiddled with a few ideas and finally decided on this one (and tweaked it a bit, since we only had like 3 landscape pictures from the session). 

we got the canvas all ordered and put up within a matter of a month after having the pictures taken.  and then we got the candles from our favorite store, LOVE their coupons by the way.  it has saved me so much money.  i'm there like every other week.  seriously all we need is an ikea in vegas and every weekend for the rest of the year would be busy going from one store to the other.  fun.

all we needed to get left were prints that we wanted in the 4 frames.  i don't know why but that part took us forever.  even when we finally ordered them and got them in the mail, they sat on my dresser for months.  we got the frames and glass, (again from my fav store) and had everything ready to go, and it sat.  don't ask why.  we've been busy, that's for sure.  but it's something I've been so excited about that i don't understand why i didn't jump on it right when we had everything we needed.  the only thing i didn't have was the vinyl, but everything else could've gone up.  i'm a procrastinator. oh well.

i am so excited to announce that after all this time (and after so much growing on Emma's part - she doesn't even look the same anymore), we {finally} have the wall done.  if i had my way we would've painted the wall too...but one step at a time i guess.  someday i will have everything in the house exactly the way i envision it...but that'll take lots of time, energy, and money!  haha.  but at least, for now, we have our wall all done.  and we LOVE it.  yay!

(excuse the nasty lighting. these pictures were taken at night, and with a single lamp; makes for some really bad pictures.)

thank you pinterest!  don't know what i did before it became so popular.  i just wish it was around for my wedding!  but that's for a different post. ha. 

.mother's day.

mother's day is so nice around here.  my two loves have spoiled me two years in a row.  jay and emma began the celebrations on saturday when we all went to dinner at red robin, and we all loved it!  even emma was loving the food, and she typically doesn't last long.  she'll take a few bites and be done and want to run around, but she was eating away this time, which made it nice because mom and dad were actually able to sit together and eat.

afterwards we made a quick trip to rod works -such a fun home décor store- and picked up a couple of things that mommy's been hoping to get. :)  then we called it a night, went home, put emma to bed, and ended the evening by watching {safe haven} with rachel.  such a fun night.

sunday daddy was sweet enough to make the family breakfast, and then we were off to church.  all the women in the ward received corsages for the day, and we had lessons focused on motherhood and womanhood.  very spiritually enlightening lessons that I enjoyed hearing and being a part of for sure.

we got home, had a lovely dinner also prepared by daddy, and then spent the evening cuddling and loving on the most precious girl that made me a mommy.  she makes me SO happy to be a mommy.  it's the hardest job I've ever had.  it's exhausting with my little super active baby.  it's tiring and sometimes more than I can handle in one day.  BUT it's also the most rewarding, most wonderful, most beautiful job I've ever had.  emma makes our days so much fun, filled with laughter and happiness.  i wouldn't have my life any other way.

thank you Jamison for making this the best mother's day I've ever had, simply because i got to spend it with you and our sweet daughter.  and thank you my little emma bug, for making me the happiest mommy there ever was.  i love you baby girl!  i can't wait to have many more mother's days ahead, and i hope to always be reminded each year how blessed i am to be a mother. 

 

 

 

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!

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!

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!!!

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?*