Emma's Blessing

We had Emma's blessing last weekend. So many family members were able to come down from Utah and also from Bullhead City. We were so happy to have so many people here to share in such a joyous occasion. Emma made it about half way through her blessing before she started crying, but I would probably be crying too if I was so little and all those big people were suddenly standing around me. It was both of our first time's back and church and surprisingly we made it all the way through sacrament meeting without having to rush out with a screaming baby. We did a lunch at the park afterwards. Here are some pictures of that day.

A little about the photo shoot shown below...that was about two and a half weeks ago. We were going to go sans diaper, but as soon as Daddy placed Emma on Mommy's lap wrapped in the blanket Emma promptly went to the bathroom all over Mommy's lap. I think the photographer didn't want to take another chance.

Emma and I have been trying to get more on a normal schedule. She is not all for that, still not really sleeping well. She goes between sleeping 2 or 3 hours at a time through the night and pretty much sleeps in her swing now. If we lay her in her cradle her eyes pop open, but if the swing works that is what we have to use. We did go for walks this week and she likes that once we get going although she doesn't like it to begin with.

We tried a Wal-mart trip yesterday and I learned an important lesson. Only buy what you went in for and get out. If you spend more time in there than necessary disaster happens. First she had a blow out and screamed until I found the bathroom( did I mention I had frozen stuff in the cart at this point?) during which many older women were glaring at me as if I was a bad mom because I couldn't calm Emma down. For those of you who have met my sweet little girl, you know that calming Emma while she is in the car seat is almost impossible. After the change ( whew, no more tears) I had one last thing to get, the thing I came for, ant killer. Yeah, apparently ants have decided that I don't have enough on my plate and they need to attack my bathroom. That was when Emma started shrieking again. I tried the sling, didn't work. I finally ended up carring her over my shoulder with the sling wrapped around me while I pushed my cart with the car seat in it. Again, many more silly stares. Then after I got home and promptly fed her, I emptied my bags to discover that the clerk had put my stuff into bags that must have had the person before's me makeup merchandise, so now I have to go back and return that since it was not mine. We will do that after Rod gets home from work....

However, all in all my little girl is amazing. She smiled at me yesterday which makes it all worth it. I am learning to love this mom stuff!

Emma's photo shoot at 4 weeks

Life as a parent

I went to Bullhead this week to see my old Dr. She was concerned that my tailbone was dislocated and not broken and sure enough that is what was going on. So basically my other Dr's advice of wait 3-6 months for it to heal would have done nothing. My old Dr adjusted it and although still tender, I think that there isan end in sight for my tailbone pain...yay!

Other sad news that happened while we were in Bullhead was my mom was back in Illinois for a business meeting and had amild heart attack. They found that the major right artery to her heart had a huge blockage in it. They were able to place a stint in it and she came home on Saturday after my dad flew out to get her. It has been an emotional roller coster in our household lately with this happening and our new little one. It really makes you realize how precious life can be. I never thought this kind of thing could happen to my mom, but am so grateful that she is doing well now. Thank you everyone for your prayers during this time.

As for our precious little girl, we had another Doctors appt on Friday. She is now 9lbs 6 ounces, 2 lbs bigger than her birth weight. We had a photo shoot last Saturday and will send out announcements and put the pics on the blog once we get the cd. I asked the Dr about some of her eating issues and unhappiness every night from about 10 until 130. Basically our daughter doesn't have a lot of content time during the day. He gave us some remedies for colic and recommended the book," The Happiest Baby on The Block". This book has been a lifesaver and has some really neat theories. For anyone who has had an abnormally fussy baby, I highly recommend it. It has been really hard for us to watch our sweet daughter struggle everyday with problems we don't feel we can solve, but now we think we might be getting a handle on things. Hopefully she can get some more rest now at night....I am starting to think that I won't be able to run on 4 or 5 hours of sleep anymore. I know it will get better.

Here are some more pics of Emma with her cousins and her Uncle Jordan who came and gaveus some great help for a few days.

More pics

Our beautiful baby!

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted, but I feel like I have been in survival mode. I have been using my free moments ( are they relly free?) while Emma naps to sleep myself or find time to eat. I feel like my life has been stolen by this precious little one. This is what it means to be a mom. And even though I am frustrated during the moments where she is screaming for 3hours if we stop bouncing her because she is colicky or when she decides her bedtime isn't until 1 in the morning, everytime I look at my precious daughter I am grateful to have her in our lives.

We are both adjusting to our new surroundings. Everytime I think we may be developing some sort of schedule, Emma changes it. I think she is going to have the stubborness her mom and dad have. Although I am starting to get used to the lack of sleep. If onlymy tailbone would get better. We have been having so much fun though getting her dressed. It is like having a little doll. She has started to love her bath times and if fussy before going in the water, she stops immediately and calms down. She loves the warm water. She also loves her daddy who has been wonderful when her mommy needs naps. He is very willing to share the load and help out wherever needed. Emma is 3 weeks old today. Here are some pics of her over the last two weeks.