Just Pictures

Sitting up all by herself, and happy about being able to do so!

 Sitting and sputtering :)

 Yes another bath picture!  Emily LOVES bath time, and Paul got out a rubber ducky for the first time last weekend and she thought that was great fun to have a toy in the bath :) 

 You have to be fast to get a Tummy time picture these days, she rolls over as soon as she can to get off her tummy. 

 Mid scream, it is so fun to sit up and even more fun to sit up and scream at the same time!  I know you would not believe me if I told you she had been a very very unhappy baby for a few hours about 5 min prior to this picture...

 FEET!!  Emily has found a new "toy"  She loves to be naked and play with her feet and suck on her toes...most evenings she is fussy and last night she was very fussy, I got her undressed and layed her on the bed and this was the result.  Instant happy baby!

5 Months Already

A big thank you to Paul first for making it possible for me to spend a weekend in Dubuque, IA with my friends scrapbooking at our annual Cabin Fever retreat.  I met the girls in Dubuque last Friday night, and returned home Sunday afternoon.  This is an annual retreat that I have been going to for three years now, it is full of talking, eating, oh yeah and scrapbooking.  It is hosted by a Creative Memories consultant that one of my friends knows.  It is so much fun, and I did not know if I would be able to attend this year so I was very excited when it all worked out.  Paul and Emily spent  the weekend together (I don't know if Emily was totally thrilled about being away from me and having to take a bottle), with some help from my parents.  I had so much fun, but missed them both.  It is nice to be back home after much needed girl time! 

Emily is 5 months old now, I don't know where the time has gone!  She is getting so big, and doing new things every day.  This is a really fun age. 

Emily can roll over from tummy to back, and when on her back she can get up onto her sides but no back to tummy rolling yet.  She does it consistently now and rolls over pretty quick after being put on her tummy, she never really liked tummy time :)  Emily will sit very well with support and will sit by herself well for about 30-60 seconds before falling over.  She has learned to scream!  And she loves that she can be that loud, some afternoons all she does is scream and scream...She loves to spit and sputter and has found her feet as well.  Everything goes into her mouth these days including her toes!  She is playing with toys more and more and will transfer them from hand to hand and up to her mouth.  She is getting really good at manging her pacifier (still one of her favorite things) she will take it out and play with it and put it back in her mouth. 

She just started to sleep at night without being swaddled, but still in her sleep chair.  She will sleep for 3-4 hrs. in a stretch.  I try every few nights to put her in her pack n play, but she does not want anything to do with it.  I hope after her room is all ready and her crib is up, she will like it enough to sleep in it :)  We still need the swing some nights, otherwise nobody would be sleeping.

Emily gets excited when she sees certain things during the day, sometimes I have no idea what she found so entertaining and I just wish I could know what she was thinking.   She really likes the cats these days as well.  We have two cats, one shy and timid cat and one outgoing, loud, obnoxious cat.  I was worried about how they would adjust to her but they are doing great.  We just started letting them be around her and our outgoing cat has no problem with her.  He will let her pull his fur, whiskers, ears, and tail.  He just comes back for more and more Emily "love".  The other cat will tolerate her but as soon as she starts loving him too much he is gone...She is still very well supervised when around the cats, because they are cats and I will never fully trust them. 

Here are some recent pictures to share. 

Well I am unable to post pictures at this time, usually I am able to just insert an image and it is not letting me.  I will make a call to my sister who as most of you know is much better about blogging than I am and see what I need to do....

Quick note and Pics :)

Today we are snowed in, we have had some other large snow falls this winter but this one tops them all.  It started Monday and covered the ground with about 3 inches of snow, then took a little break until starting back up again Tuesday (yesterday) early afternoon and finally stopped late this morning.  I don't know what the official snow fall amount is but it is over 12 inches.  And the main issue is all the drifting snow, many roads are closed along with most businesses and schools.  Paul and I are enjoying the snow day together and had a list of things we wanted to get done, painting trim and putting together Emily's crib along with some other little things around the house but we have done none of those things and instead are all cozy on the couch watching TV/movies on netflix together!  I am glad that we have a warm home and still have power, many others that were hit by the same storm do not have power and it is VERY cold out. 

Emily and I continue to enjoy most everyday together and recently we made Valentines one day and tried to take some pics to put with her card, they are cute but not what I envisioned...  We tried rice cereal for the first time (and has had it once since), which Emily really likes.  I have had more photography clients and have been lucky to be able to schedule them so Paul went late to work or came home early or on the weekend.  But my sister is available if needed :) 

All these pics are from the last few weeks, Emily is 3-4 months in them.  She is growing so much, and really starting to show her personality over the last few weeks.  My sister calls her a little diva, and as much as I don't want to admit it - I think maybe she is.  I just say she is opinionated :)  Just this morning though I started to change my mind...wondering can she already be manipulating me??  She was laying on our bed, I was sitting and watching the news.  She was playing with a rattle in her hand and would try to get my attention back only on her every once in awhile, while playing she hit herself in the head - not hard she is only 4 months.  She was fine, I don't even know if she realized exactly what she did.  But I said to her "oh no, you are ok"  in a calm way, just to reassure her that it was fine because she was looking at me with a puzzled look on her face.  Once she realized that she did in fact do something that bottom lip came out (about 30-45 sec. after the incident) so far and her face got all sad looking and she looked like she was going to scream, i picked her right up and we avoided any tears because she was all giggles and smiles as soon as I picked her up...What a diva - it really did cross my mind that since she got some reaction, she knew how to get a bigger one and was going for it :) 

Reading with Daddy

Still loving bath time

 Fun in the jumperoo

Rice cereal for the first time :)

Making our Valentines Day cards...and using finger paint for the first time - what fun we had :)

Trying to get a cuteValentines pic to send with our cards...my vision was just not happening but still cute and fun!



Our Project

As some of you know Paul and I have been doing some remodeling in our home.  This project was much needed, so though it may seem like I am complaining, I am very grateful for the remodel and very very very grateful for those of you who helped make it happen (Mom, Dad, Brandon). 

Almost exactly one year ago, Paul and I found out we were expecting our first child.  Now we needed make a safe place for baby in our home.  A little background for those who have never seen our house.  Nobody really knows how old our home is, records do not date back that far.  The first recording of homes (in our area) started in 1900, so that is the date on our homes legal documents.  We have been told that the original part of our home dates back the the 1860's, needless to say many changes have been made to the home over the years, but its last face lift was in the 70's.  Our home still has a huge lump of coal in the basement, from an old heating system.  I think its cool, so it will remain part of the house.  And when we were tearing out plaster and some wood work it was all done with square nails!  But back to the remodel, after talking about what needed to be done to have a safe environment for baby, 11 months ago (almost to the day) Paul started in on the project while I was away at a scrapbooking retreat with some friends.  To make a long story short after realizing what was all involved in remodeling a really old house and all the surprises that are found along the way our project got scaled back and we hired some help. 

Today while Emily took a nap (a way too short nap) I continued to paint.  We spent all last weekend painting and now I have almost all the roller painting done, some small area remains and then we just have to go back and get all the edges, corners, around doors/windows, and small spaces with a brush...that's the time consuming tedious work that I am not a fan of.  But it's so nice to have the end in sight of a very long project.  This Friday we are having the flooring installed, so our goal is to have all the painting done by then.  We just have to finish up the walls and then paint the trim in the bed rooms, entry, and bathroom.  After all is done, we will have new electrical in the entire area, drywall in Emily's room (plaster was all removed), sound barrier and drywall on all ceilings (over existing plaster), new trim, new flooring, new front door, new light fixtures, and all new bathroom fixtures. 

I am looking forward to the day that it is all done, and we can sit back and relax for a short period until we clean it all up (yay no more construction dust all over) and get it all set up and decorated.  I will have to admit I was hoping things would have moved along more quickly - mainly because you cant paint when you are pregnant :) 

Other news, Emily is now 4 months old!  I can not believe how quickly time has gone.  I have really tired to enjoy every second with her knowing that little ones grow up way to fast.  Emily had a good check up, she is now 11 lbs. 9 oz. (12%) and 24 inches long (just over 50%), she is growing well.  She did not like her vaccines though!  She had a little fever for about a day but was so fussy and just not herself for 1-2 days and decided sleep was totally optional those days and she just wanted mommy snuggle time.  I have decided that though I miss sleep and will welcome it back with open arms one day, i need to cherish every moment of snuggle time because it will come to and end at some point!  At 4 months Emily is talking more and more every day, and has started to make some more coo sounds, and squeal and laugh more.  She has not rolled over any more except the one day almost a month ago.  She sits pretty well with some support, she is reaching and grasping toys and holding onto them better and starting to shake a rattle.  She still loves bath time, books, her pacifier, and to be swaddled.  She has not really gained anymore "skills" since about a month ago, just getting better at her existing skills.  She has been going through a growth spurt, or something, for the last 2-3 weeks.  She has been waking to eat an extra 1-2 times at night and eating every 1-2 hours during the day.  It will be nice to have some extra time to get things done, but I am glad that I am at home the majority of the time to give her what she needs. 

I have started to schedule my first clients for my photography business, I am very excited to be starting this new adventure.  I still have lots to learn, but feel that I am ready to get started and will continue to learn along the way.  My first client was suppose to be this past weekend but due to a sick child they had to re schedule, so my first client is now this Thursday morning! 

I wanted to post some recent pictures, but my camera is in the other room and I'm writing this blog with a sleeping child in my arms so I am not going to get up and fetch it.  I will post some pictures later. 

Blessed

Well I started this post about a week ago, I am sorry it has taken so long to finish up and publish.

Many of you already know, but I wanted to post an update about little Emily.  All her tests that were done as a follow up after her recent UTI came back normal!!  I feel so very blessed!  On the 29th (of Dec.) we took Emily to Mercy Hospital here in town and she had a renal ultrasound done to look at her kidneys and bladder and make sure everything was formed normal.  She then had a VCUG (Voiding Cystourethrogram) to look for urine refluxing out of the bladder up to the kidneys.  Everything was normal.  Emily did a great job, she was such a big girl and cooperated for the doctor.  He was able to get a good look at everything, and was very impressed by her!  The most difficult part of the day was when I was told I could not accompany Emily during the VCUG, only one parent could be in the room and they recommended Paul go back with her.  It was VERY hard to be waiting in the hall not knowing what was going on and I could hear her crying.  Paul said that she was a trooper for the test and did not mind it at all, she was crying after it was over because they were not letting her sit up right away (Emily thinks she is bigger than she really is sometimes).  So for now we do not know what caused the UTI, and just have to hope it was a fluke and she does not get another one.  After talking to her pediatrician she said we would just have to wait and see, if Emily did for some reason get another UTI she would most likely start Emily on a daily antibiotic to prevent any other infections (the treatment for urinary reflux) to be one the safe side and then repeat the test in a year.  Usually the reflux is something kids out grow at some point anyways.  She also said that if a child has the reflux it is something that is always present, so it would have shown up on the VCUG.  I felt much better after talking to her.  I am sure this is something we can put past us, it bothers me that I don't know what caused the infection, but I am glad that everything is normal and working as it should.  Afterall the most important thing is that Emily is healthy and her kidneys are working as they should. 

On a brighter note we had a wonderful holiday season filled with lots of family.  Some family got to meet Emily for the first time.  We really enjoyed seeing everyone and catching up with family we have not seen in some time.  Emily was an excellent traveler.  It was very nice to celebrate Emily's first Christmas! 

Emily celebrated her three month birthday recently as well.  At three months she is talking all the time.  I love to listen to her talk.  When I am running errands she will just sit in the back and talk to herself, it is such a sweet sound.    She just laughed for the first time a few days ago.  You really have to work to get a laugh from her still, but I'm sure they will become more frequent.  Emily rolled from tummy to back for the first time yesterday.  She did it about 6 times in a row!  She is starting to play with toys alot too, she will reach out and grasp onto toys and everything goes to the mouth.  She has a few crinkle toys, stuffed animals/dolls, and some rattles that are her favorite.  She still is a fan of her swing - though we need it less and less to keep us happy.  She still must be swaddled tight at night.  I need to get a video of her coming out of the swaddle in the morning it is so cute how she throws her arms up in the air after they are free.  She sill loves bath time, music, books, and pacifiers (if no paci then she will use her fingers). 

We are loving every second of being parents, and I can't believe it has been three months already.  Emily is our little princess and she is figuring that out already :)  She finds ways to get all the attention back on her if someone dares to direct attention away from her.  It is amazing watching her little personality develop.  Oh I love her :)

Fun in the hotel pool :) 

Some pictures from the last few weeks. 

  

First time in the snow, we had about 8inches that fell on Christmas Eve.  This was taken the day after Christmas.  Emily made her first snow angel with some help from her Daddy :)

Some more pictures from the hospital

Bath Time

A long week

First an update on Emily, as some of you know already Emily had been very ill last week.  She is feeling much better now, thanks to some antibiotics.  To fill everyone in on what has been going on with us, on Dec. 9th Emily woke in the middle of the night as usual but this time was very fussy and just not herself, she felt very warm and had a temp of almost 101.  She started with some cold symptoms later the next day and I just figured it was all related.  Well the cold symptoms cleared up after a few days and the Fever even broke for part of a day, but then returned.  After a few trips to the doctor and having her blood taken twice, the doctor needed to find the source of the fevers.  Emily was now on her 7th day of fever.  At that point the doctor checked a urine sample.  It looked like Emily had a UTI (urinary tract infection) this was confirmed a few days later after a final culture was back.  Emily was started on an antibiotic to fight the infection and since has been feeling much much better, her fever broke for good in the early afternoon on Dec. 16th (almost exactly 24 hrs. after starting the antibiotic). 

Due to the concern for any underlying cause of the UTI some additional tests need to be done though.  Next week we will go into Mercy Hospital for these tests.  They are to check to make sure kidneys and ureters are functioning normal and no urine is refluxing up the ureters from the bladder to the kidneys.  This urinary reflux can cause the infections sometimes, and with someone so young it is abnormal to get an UTI and we just have to make sure nothing else is going on.  If this reflux is found it means a daily antibiotic for a year to help prevent infection and then the tests are done again at that point to see if the condition still exists.  Most of the time kids have grown out of it after a year. 

I am glad that Emily is feeling better, and we found the source of the fevers and were able to treat it.  I am concerned about her though, and just hope that everything checks out ok next week.  We have had our fair share of "issues" with our little girl, and I really hope we get a break on this...I would not change anything though, everything we have gone through has made us a stronger family and has made us love our little girl that much more and it really makes you realize how special little ones are.  Truly a gift.

Emily is now 12 weeks old and changing every day.  Emily is talking more and more, and has started to squeal a few times I think she may start to laugh any day now.  She loves to read books, and gets very excited when we read together.  She still loves music and also get excited when we sing to her.  She is starting to reach out and grab onto things and will hold onto a toy for awhile.  A few times she has even brought objects up to her mouth to suck on, and will put her pacifier back in her mouth when it slips out.  She always has to have something in her mouth to suck on, you will usually find her with a pacifier, fingers, or blanket in her mouth.  She knows who her mom and dad are, she is better about letting others hold her now but keeps her eyes on us at all times.  She lights up every evening when Paul comes home and give him a big smile and tells him all about her day when he comes home.  Paul has these little games that he plays with her and she loves them!  Emily has always enjoyed bath time, but the last few times she has had a blast in the tub, she kicks and splashes and really gets moving in the tub! 

We are looking forward to our first Christmas with Emily, and celebrated Christmas with the Jorgensen family this past weekend.  Emily got to meet some family for the first time and had fun with her cousins.  We will celebrate on Christmas Eve with my parents and immediate family and then plan to travel to visit Paul's family after Christmas.  We are looking forward to visiting with everyone and feel blessed to have the best gift of all - our Emily. 

Some pictures from the last week or two.  Emily is about 10 pounds now by the way. 

Sleeping, during the day she will nap like this but still has to be swaddled tight at night to sleep.

 Bath Time!

Emily also loves getting changed and dressed, here we are getting dressed after a bath.

 All ready for Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma Greats house! 

 Putting the paci back in.

You know you are special when Noah gives you crusty :) 

 Noah playing with Emily.  He is so sweet with her, he was tickling her in the top picture and singing to her in the bottom picture. 

 Emily and Eli.  Eli loves Emily a little too much sometimes, but I can't wait until they are a little older they will have so much fun together.

Holding onto our book.

Ok, and now to try to upload a video again.  I have another of her talking and one of bath time.  I hope it works this time.