We. Have. Teeth!

That's right!! Emma cut her first tooth last night!! I am so excited. And a little sad, truth be told. I've been saying for a while now that I am totally okay with certain aspects of her growing up: Sleeping in her crib in her own room. Crawling. Talking. Those are all great milestones that I can't wait to reach. But the tooth? That was the ONE milestone I was actually dreading. I mean, think about it: There will NEVER be another picture with her gummy smile. There will ALWAYS be a tooth in her pictures now. Babies sleep in cribs. Babies can stop crawling and just sit or lie there. Babies can stop talking and just look at you. But the tooth is PROOF that she is growing up. And it makes me so happy and so sad.

BUT--It was too funny how we found out too.

So Emma was good all day yesterday. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. I had to run errands and it was all of 5 degrees outside, so I didn't want to take Emma out in it. I let her spend a few hours with her Nonna and Grandpa. I finished up around 1pm, but stayed around their place and hung out with them a few more hours--until Emma's 2nd nap of the day.

She woke up around 5-ish. Daddy got home and Emma LOVES that. It's so funny to see her when he first walks in the door, or when she firsts notices him. And after that, she thinks he needs to just STAY home! haha Well yesterday he had to run and pick a part up after he had already gotten home. That ticked Emma off some, and she got a little fussy. She was still fussing when he got back. I held her while he ate dinner and he said I should maybe let her bite on my finger for a bit. (She's been teething for what seems like forever already, and this seems to help alleviate her discomfort some.) So I did.

Emma grabbed my thumb and practically THREW IT in her mouth and started chomping down right away. My thumb was turned so my nail was on her lower gums. I felt something solid and "weird." I was like "What's in her mouth?" I started to pull my thumb out to look and then it hit me:

SHE HAS HER FIRST TOOTH!

Her first tooth is her Lower Right Front. In Dental terms, tooth "P;" in orthodontic terms, "LR1." It's this tiny little white piece of tooth just starting to poke out of her gum. I've been trying all day to get a picture of it. She's not letting me at all. She thinks it's a fun game though. She'll smile real big and laugh and shake her head "No" when I get the camera out.

Oh, that's another fun thing. She is always shaking her head "No" now. And at appropriate times. Like today I asked her if she wanted to change cloths. She shook her head "No." I asked if she just wanted to be naked baby and she laughed her big baby chuckle. She really knew what I was saying and made a choice! She's a genius, by the way! hahah just kidding!

New Year's Resolutions

They say if you write them down you are more likely to follow through with them. So here are mine:

1. I resolve to read at least one book a week. By that I mean either take a little time (maybe 30-45 minutes) EACH day to read a book, or allow myself a good few hours ONE day. I know it's hard to finish a book when you can't focus on it (I figured that out for sure when I did my reading blog a few years back); so I'm not going to berate myself for not FINISHING a book a week. That will be the ultimate goal, but just allowing myself to take a personal break and not feel terrible about it will be a huge improvement over what I allow myself now. I mean, I feel guilty if I take a shower while Emma is awake! haha
2. I resolve to get back to a healthy weight. This means adding exercise to my week. Again, I can't let Mommy-guilt take over. Included in this: I want to participate in a 5K again this coming year. I did a few weeks before I started dating my guy, and was pregnant when it was decent enough weather to do another one. So 2014... I want to do it again.
3. I resolve to be more crafty. I see all these projects I want to do for each holiday. Now I just have to DO them! I'm following my friend's blog (Check it out: Love & Lion). She has all these great ideas and fun crafts. They are all things I want to do. I always say the reason I don't is because I don't have many friends my own age around here. But I'm not going to let that stop me anymore. I'm going to find the friends I DO HAVE up here and make it happen. Once a month, or every other month. Something. I just want to have a house that feels like home. Where you look around and find little things that just make that space unique. 
4. I resolve to be a good mom. This is something I work on every day as it is. I always want to be someone Emma looks up to and respects and admires. I don't know if I believe that she will remember things from now, but I DO think the things we do now will filter into the things we do later--things she WILL remember. So I try and make sure I work on my bad habits. I actively think about my words now. I actively think about how I present myself. I actively think about how I view myself. Because making it an active decision now will make it an involuntary action or thought later. 
5. I resolve to accept my life is different and not try to maintain certain standards I set before I became a mom. Example? I have to accept I will never have an entirely clean house ever again! Just (sort of) kidding. But seriously, I do have to accept that, for now, I will only be able to work on a little bit of my house at a time. I might be able to get the kitchen clean and laundry started one day & have to leave the living room and folding the laundry for another. I am having to accept it will take me probably 3 days to clean my whole house until I can give Emma age-appropriate chores. (I.E.: Putting her toys away when she's 1, helping me sort the laundry into colors when she's two, etc. Things that will make her self-sufficient--the toys--or educate her--matching like colors with the laundry.)
6. I resolve to carve out time each week for boyfriend/girlfriend time. Time where my guy and I don't have to be on Mommy-Daddy duty. Where we can go back for a while and keep our relationship moving forward. This may seem counter-productive to the previous Resolution, but it's really not. I honestly believe that if you only allow yourself to satisfy one role (mommy/daddy) then every other relationship can suffer. If I only think of my guy as the father of my daughter and forget to think of him as my boyfriend, than I will miss so many great attributes he has to offer.

So there you go. My New Year's Resolutions. In a nutshell: 1) Read each week. 2) Exercise. 3) Do more crafts. 4) Be a good mom. 5) Accept my life as it currently is. And 6) Make sure to continue cultivating my relationship.

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!

Christmas 2013

Family Photo from Christmas morning

 To put it simply: Christmas was an undeniable success!! I still can't believe how much love we got to be apart of. We got to open presents with my mom, stepdad, and youngest sister on the 23rd. Emma got some really cute outfits. She also got some toys that (we hope) will help her learn to crawl. 

On Christmas Eve, we packed in as much fun and family time as possible. 

 Daddy had to work first thing in the morning, but we got to open our family presents after that and before we left for the day. I must say: I loved everything I got! It means so much more when you can tell that the person really took the time to think about what you would like. I had mentioned a few times that I really wanted to see the movie Divergent (coming out next year some time) and that it was based on this book, series. He got me the case with all 3 hardbacks!! Plus he handpicked some cute shirts and things I would never get myself or think I'd look good in. Turns out, he knows me better than I know myself because I LOVED the clothes! I think my guy liked his things too. Especially the traffic coffee mug Emma got him; it has pictures of him with Emma from every month since she was born, plus a few of his favorites. Emma got a cute outfit and her Tinkerbell ornament. I know I mentioned in the previous post that we didn't get her an ornament, but I guess I didn't consider this as part of the "tradition" mainly because we didn't get to put it on the tree this year.

Then we went to his dad's side for Christmas. We ate and chatted and just hung out for a lot of the day. Because Emma usually goes to sleep around 7:30/8, we couldn't stay as late as we normally would have (we had to get to the Christmas with his mom's side still). We opened presents and Emma got so many fun toys! Then we made sure everyone there that wanted a pic with her got one. A little different than last year when I made sure to take pics of each family "group." This year it was Emma with each group.

Then we made our way to my guy's mom's-side for Christmas with them. We managed to get all of Emma's gifts opened before it got too-too late. We couldn't stay for very long though. Since Daddy was up at 6:30am for work, he was exhausted. Add in the fact Emma had been up since then too, without too long of a nap, and you have a very cranky couple of people if you keep them up too long. haha Seriously though, we got so many great things for all of us. I got a new set of pots & pans (much needed!!) and a griddle (which we were able to use the very next morning!) plus a set of jammies (also used the next morning! haha). Daddy got some fun things. But, once again, the winner of the night was definitely Emma. She got some truly incredible toys. Things she can easily use now and things she will be able to grow into using.




 We woke up Christmas morning and opened all of Emma's gifts from Santa. Cool thing? He even made a stop at my Grammy's house to pick up her gifts for Emma to open on Christmas morning and he stopped at one of Emma's great-Aunt's house to pick up her gift for Emma; and brought those with him! :) Emma got a lot of books, some Disney movies (including the Cinderella one she had picked out and we told Santa she wanted!), plus some fun music/light toys to play with. They were smaller so we can bring them with us anywhere. Then we had breakfast with some family members.

 After that, we headed to my guy's mom's house and spent a good part of the day there playing with Emma's grandparents, cousins, and aunts. She even had a few gifts to open there that she loved playing with.

So here they are: pics of all of EMMA'S gifts from Christmas. I wasn't kidding when I said she made out like a bandit!! Hahah It took me two whole days to take everything out of their boxes, assemble them, and put them away. :) When you look at these pics, remember: THESE ARE JUST EMMA'S GIFTS! Ho Boy! So much love.

Christmas Comforts

I feel like Christmas is so much better when you are surrounded by traditions and heirlooms. I love opening up my storage container of Christmas things. Pulling each ornament out one by one. Placing them on the tree. Reliving all the memories I have with that particular one. Going back to the container and doing it all over again with the next one.

Last year I bought a beautiful white Tree Skirt for our brand new Christmas Tree. I loved it. Until my dog peed all over it and I had to throw it out. There was no saving it. So this year I opened my storage container and relived all my memories with the ornaments. But I was a little sad I didn't have a tree skirt. It just doesn't feel like the tree and presents are complete unless they are on a skirt! I went to my favorite store and tried to find a nice one. But the cheapest (and I mean CHEAPEST!) one was "on sale" for $30. I didn't love it and it wasn't worth that much money. So I went home and figured "Maybe next year."

I happened to talk to my mom after that. She mentioned she hadn't put up her Christmas tree in quite a few years.She said I could have the tree skirt she had under her tree every year for as long as I can remember. It was the tree skirt my Uncle Timmy's mom had made for her. Now I know my uncle didn't make it, but seeing it under my tree this year just made me feel like he was here this year.

I'm pretty sure this Tree Skirt is about 20 years old!

 And then there are the ornaments my guy's mom gave me. They are an assortment of Disney Christmas ornaments. She had been collecting them for years for my guy. So it was really special to put those on our tree.

There is one other tradition I always loved. I loved getting my dad an ornament every year. I looked and looked until I found just the right one. I haven't gotten him one in a while because he doesn't really "do" the tree, so I switched to giving him books. But I still loved it. And this year we received quite a few "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments that I was able to put on our tree. Because I don't want to  over-do it, and I want to truly appreciate them, I didn't get yet another one. I figure next year we can add to it.

Christmas miracle

There are some things which just cannot be explained. Case in point: This time last year, my boyfriend & I gave his mom a Christmas ornament: Tinkerbell in a glass ball. I wasn't a huge "Peter Pan-fan," there are other Disney stories I like a lot more. But we picked it because Laurie loves Disney and I didn't see too many things Tinkerbell/Peter Pan in her house. At that time we had no idea we were having a little girl. As a matter of fact, my guy honestly believed we were having a boy and refused to think otherwise! lol

Almost immediately after Emma was born, my sister started calling my baby girl our little "Tinker-belly." The name stuck. It's the reason Emma was Tinkerbell for Halloween. Yesterday I went to pick Emma up from her Nonna's and saw the ornament. I had completely forgotten about it and the story until I saw it. I showed it to Emma and told her the story. She was completely silent/still as she looked at the little glass ball. And that's saying something, because my little girl is full of energy and wants to be doing something ALL THE TIME!

For those of you who need "proof" of higher powers or faith, then I offer this as tangible evidence. God was showing me, at 12 weeks pregnant, that I was going to have a little Tinkerbell. She is my perfect little girl with her blonde hair and blue eyes; her feisty personality and complete love of family. She is my miracle baby, my dream come true. And yes, sometimes I wish we were in Never-Never Land so she could stay little forever. And then again I don't. I cannot wait to see her grow, see her accomplishments and setbacks, see her fall in love and have a family of her own. But for now I will bathe in her perfect glow, her infectious laugh, and her tenacious spirit.

I love you Emmaleigh. Merry Christmas, baby girl!

Thanksgiving

Okay, I'm a little behind on this one. Things have just been going non-stop around here for a while now. This is basically the first time I've had to stop and catch my breath.

I have to say, Thanksgiving was a pretty good day. Both my guy and I were off, which was nice. It seems silly to have to say that, but our schedules were so not in sync that week. We tried to sleep in but Emma had other plans for us. We were up bright and early & like 6am. We played for a bit. Her Daddy even changed her and got her dressed for the day. Well, I had picked out 2 outfits for him to choose from, but he did make the final decision! lol

We first went to his dad's mom's for dinner. Emma got to see her great-grandma and great-grandpa, an aunt, 2 uncles, and a cousin. She even got to eat mashed potatoes!

Then we went to his mom's. We ate mostly desserts there since we went RIGHT after dinner. But I did manage to steal quite a bit of the ham! lol I am much more of a ham person than a turkey person. I mean, I love deep fried turkey, but I would still--even then--choose a ham over turkey if given the option.

We took a lot of pictures of Emma with her cousin "A." I swear, my heart melts a little bit every time I see the two of them together. "A" absolutely LOVES Emma. Always wants to make sure Emma isn't crying. At one point we told "A" to sit if he wanted to hold her. He looked right up at me and goes "Why? Her mine." Emma loves him back, too. You can see it. She was being held by one of her great-aunts, but when "A" came near, she reached as far as she could for him. She kept trying to get him. And they played together so easily. He would press the button on the Singing Frosty-the-Snowman just so Emma would laugh. They are going to be such good friends as they grow up together. It makes me so happy to see that.