Life is Good

With Emma coming to our family I have been trying to focus more on the simple things in life.  Like smiles, sweet words shared, and hugs.  This picture is just too sweet.  Eli was standing over my shoulder and Emma was gazing up at him.

 

Getting this girl to smile for the camera has been tricky!  But here are a few attempts (She's 6-8 weeks here)

Gotta love this boy's smile too :)






Where did those chubby cheeks come from?! (on Emma not Bryan) hee hee

Emma's Blessing Day

We felt very blessed to be able to bless our sweet Emma with so many family members present.  We blessed her on November 1st in Rigby. Almost all of Bryan's family made it and my parents were there.  It was a beautiful day and we feel so blessed to have the gospel in our lives. 

My mom brought my blessing dress from 20-something years ago for Emma to try on.  Her face says it all!






Eli tried to help get Emma ready for pictures, and the only smile she gave was when she was dressed like this :)

Emma and Eli

After all the family left, and it was just our little family, we jumped into fall activities. Emma has been a great baby the first few weeks, and has been increasingly more fussy. I cut out all dairy and chocolate from my diet which has helped a ton, but it is still a marathon to get her to sleep. She's so worth it though :) 

At 1 month Emma weighed 9 pounds 8 ounces. She has slept 5 hours at one time, and doesn't like her pacifier much. She doesn't like to be swaddled but loves to be held. She's a great nursery and loves to eat. 

Precious Moments

These are moments I hope I never forgot.  Eli and Emma's relationship is incredible.  He loves her more than I ever knew a 3 year old could.  They way she looks at him melts my heart. 

Emma's birth story

How have I not even blogged Emma's birth story?! 

Transitioning to two kiddos has been so much easier than I expected (I also prepared for the worst) but I truly don't have time to do anything except care for Eli and Emma. The house is usually not clean, dishes are always a work in progress and sometimes we aren't out of jammies until right before Bryan gets home (so he doesn't think we stay in jammies all day) ;)

Anyway, now I am finally getting the hang of things maybe I'll post pictures of these cuties more often! So here is Emma's entrance to the world:

I was scheduled to be induced at 6:00 am on September 14,2015. One day before my due date.  My mom made it to Idaho and was ready to watch Eli.  Bryan had the day off, my bag was packed, and we were ready! I called at 5:30 AM to see if they were ready for me to come in.  They had too many moms in labor so they had me call every 2 hours to check.  I diligently called but had to wait until 2:00 in the afternoon before they had room.  We headed up to the hospital and my IV was started and hooked up to Pitocin by 3:00.  My amazing doctor came in and broke my water immediately, and right away contractions kicked in. 

I did good breathing through them for an hour but with Pitocin they got painful quickly, and I couldn't sit still through them.  My sweet nurse Janell recommended I get my epidural now before the pain was too much.  I didn't want to wimp out and get an epidural when I was only at 3cm (which is what I was dilated to when I arrived).  But we decided to do it anyway before they shift change (so it wouldn't be delayed another hour or so).  The anesthesiologist did an incredible job placing it.  The nurse cam and checked me at 6:00 and I was at 5cm.  The epidural was awesome at this point.  I could still feel my feet and move my legs and adjust myself in bed but didn't feel the contraction pain.  Around 7:00 I was feeling pressure but was only 8cm and 90% effaced.  30 minutes later and I knew it was go time!  I dilated from a 5 to 10 in a little over an hour. Whew!  My Doc was right in and I got started pushing!  It was so low key, no stress, and very very calm.  I pushed for about 20 minutes and my beautiful Emma arrived at 7:48 PM.   It was a very peaceful experience.  No problems, no stress, just a quiet beautiful birth.  I held her on my chest then nursed her for about 20 minutes then they weighed her and bathed her.  She rang in at 7 pounds 11 ounces (exactly the same as Eli!) and 21"long.