Pumpkin Carving

So last night we finally got around to carving our pumpkins. It was a lot of ... well it was interesting to say the least. I absolutely HATE touching that pumpkin goop. But I did it. For Emma. Ugh, I'm still shuddering from it! LOL

We made one with a cat and then a Mini-Minnie Mouse for Em. It was all free-hand, so they weren't perfect, but I still think they turned out okay. Here are a few pictures from our pumpkin carving.

Finished product

You should have seen the look we got before we wiped off her hands!

She's like me: She doesn't like the goop on her hands

Trick or Treat!!

I can't believe what a difference the past year has made. On this day exactly, one year ago, we spillt the beans...we started telling our families that we were going to have a baby. And then here we are today: getting her into her costume, taking her around to a few house, having neighbors put a few pieces of candy into her little pumpkin basket.

Today has been full of tricks and treats. First treat of the day: Emma slept from 9pm to 5:30am. The only thing that woke her up was her daddy having to get ready for work. (I must say, I am kind of 'really' looking forward to her sleeping in her own room, just because then she won't get up with her daddy and me.) Then I started to get ready for work. We got to dress up and I was going to be Rosie the Riveter. I was certain I had a blue scarf with white polka dots, but when I went looking for it I couldn't find it. That's when I remembered that I had to toss it when our crawl space was flooded. So I had to rush and get Emma to her Nonna's early so I could see if maybe Wal-Mart had anything. Luckily they had the perfect scarf (red with white polka-dots) and I actually pulled off my costume. Only cost me $5!!! :)

Getting through today was rough. It was a slow day at work. No real patients or anything. Plus I had to call on outstanding claims and it sometimes just makes your brain hurt to look into the old ones!
Anyways, so I rushed home to pick up Daddy and then we rushed to see Emma and start getting her ready for Halloween. It was so much fun getting her into her little Tinkerbell costume. And I really think she liked it. At least, she liked the texture of the tulle. She kept putting it in her mouth--which really isn't new now!

Then we took her around to a few houses. She loved it honestly. She loved looking up at the trees and sky. She liked seeing the new people. She would smile her little smirk and duck her head like she was bashful, and the people would coo over her and add another piece of candy. Yeah, she knows how to work it already. LOL

After a few houses, it started to cool down some more and looked like it was going to rain, so we headed back to Nonna's. We hung out with everyone for a bit. It was just a nice night.

So here are a few pictures from her first Halloween!

She sits in a high chair now!!

Update on Monthly Pics

Just so you can see how big she's gotten:
1 Week:

1 Month:

2 Months:

3 Months:

Been a bit...

I know it's been almost a month since I last posted. And so much has happened!!

Emma is getting so big now. She's going to be 4 months next weekend. Here's some of her accomplishments to date:

• She can roll from her back to her belly almost every time.
• She now sits on my hip like a big girl.
• She just started holding her own bottle! She's kind of always put her hand to her bottle but now she legitimately holds it. Sometimes she uses one hand to prop the bottle from underneath and the other to guide it. Or she will hold it like she's supposed to. Her Nonna got a picture of the first time Emma *really* held her bottle.

First time Emma held her bottle!!

She is such a big girl!

• She's changed up her sleep schedule AGAIN! Now we do bath time around 8:30, hen a baby massage and a nighttime feeding. She usually falls asleep around 9 or so. But now she wakes up at 2:45am every morning! Then she eats and falls back asleep by 3:30. Since Daddy wakes up at 4:30, I really only get an hour nap from 2:45am until we all go to sleep at 10pm. I am one sleepy Mommy!
• She laughs all the time! She loves playing and hanging out. She'll stare at Daddy when he's talking and then just burst out into a HUGE grin! And we'll spend hours just making popping sounds. She loves that!

• We are probably going to start "real" food soon. But for us that means we are going to actually make the food. With all the problems she had with formula, I don't think a pre-made baby food would work. 
• We went to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend. I think it was more for Daddy and I! Lol She had some fun at the end but it's just so cold up here. Being there made me miss my hometown even more. I could have taken her to Jackson's Orchard like I did as a kid. Picked some apples and pumpkins at the same time. Made cider. Things like that.

Big Beautiful Eyes

Look at that 'Tude!

Family photo at the Pumpkin Patch

Not as thrilled with the animals up close

I think that's a legit hug from my baby!

• Her Halloween costume came in. I cannot wait to see her in it!
• We went to her aunt's birthday and everyone said how adorable she is. I have to say: I agree!!
•  I already have a few Christmas presents, both for her and for a few family members. I know she's not going to really remember this Christmas, but I'm still really excited!

We have some family coming in to meet her this weekend. And then going to see her other grandpa for his birthday. It's a busy October. And I can't wait to see what November has for us!

I might be biased, but I think she's the most beautiful baby girl!!

My little Chunker!! Look at her go after that bottle!!

Another Week In The Books!

We are finally starting to settle into a routine here!
Daddy and I wake up around 4:30am so I can see him off to work by 5am. Then I try to switch the laundry over, start/unload the dishwasher, pick up a little before 6. That's when I DEFINITELY have to start getting ready for work (why does that sound weird to say--"Start getting ready..." Sorry, tangent!) Then I have to be done by 6:30 so I can wake Emma up if she's still sleeping. Get her dressed and ready to go, check all of our bags one more time, and head to either her Nona's or her Mamaw's for the day. I work over 10 hours, come home, try to get dinner ready, eat, give Emma a bath and get her ready for bed. She's usually asleep by 9:30-ish so my guy and I can watch a little bit of this TV series we found on Netflix. And then we go to sleep so we can do it all over again the next day. Shew!! Same thing Monday through Thursday.

By the end of the day on Thursday, my brain is all mush. I don't want to think about anything serious for as long as possible! lol

Fridays are my "catch-up" days. Where I really do all the laundry (even get it folded and put away), the dishes, vacuum, and any projects I remembered need to get done. Because on Saturdays we ALWAYS have something to do. Never fails. There is always a place to be, someone to see... And Sundays are spent getting ready for Monday. My life is a routine and sometimes that is a good thing, and sometimes I just wish....

Anyways. Here's what's new with Emma. She is seriously getting so big now! She is doing amazing in her Jumperoo. She found herself in the mirror and my phone. I have some fun pictures of her playing with both!

She is also standing so much now (with help, of course). But the thing is: She likes to stand. If we are holding her hands, she will pull herself up to stand. And she can hold that for a really long time!! She's on track with everything she should be: motor-skill wise, "verbally," emotionally, everything. She's even ahead of the curve on some things--like the standing and neck control.

She's an amazing baby. I love coming home to her and getting even those few minutes/hours with her before bed. I love my Fridays with her. I am a lucky momma!

1st week at work

A lot of people have been asking me how my first week back at work went. I think the fact that I am *JUST NOW* getting around to blogging about it on here speaks VOLUMES! lol

Last week was so rough. First off, Tuesday was supposed to be my first day back. And, of course, Emma has to go get her 2month shots. I told work I would be in later that day so I could take her. She did so good. She's now 10lbs 8.8oz, 22" long. The doc said she's in the 40th percentile in weight & 34th percentile in height. She has a big ole head though! 38cm=65th percentile!! Then I got to hang out with her for a little bit, went to Dominic's to get Baby Tylenol and Karo. (We give her Karo on a binkie a few times a day & call it her "candy." It helps her go which keeps her belly from hurting so no more medicine!!... It's been amazing!)

Anyways, so then I had to leave her with my mom. That first day was really hard. I worked from 12Noon until 6pm. I guess it was a good thing to start with a half-day. I mean, I was really stressed the night before: trying to get everything ready for Emma, everything ready for me, coffee & lunch/snacks ready for my guy. My electric pump wasn't working that morning so I had to pack the manual one I had, luckily, bought for our trip to visit my dad. I experienced my first pumping session at work. It was a little awkward, but I have to do it so....

I picked Emma up right after work. I hung out at my mom's for a little bit then took Emma home. I ended up getting so really terrible news that night too: my Pappy has lung cancer and it's inoperable. They will be doing chemo & radiation but still...

Later that night Emma spiked a low-grade fever. She just wanted to be held all night. Her daddy & I finally got her to sleep around midnight, but then she was up again at 3:30am to eat. And she didn't want to go back to sleep after that. So I was up almost all night and had to get out of the house by 7am to drop her off with my mom again and go to work. That was a much longer and harder day. I took a lot more breaks to go to the bathroom and cry; I only called my mom at my first pump session though because when I did call, Emma was up and playing and "talking"... and hearing all that just made me cry.

Emma Wednesday morning, right before we headed to my mom's.

Thursday was a little better. Emma went to bed around 10:30, woke up around 3:30 to eat, slept until 6:30. I fed her again before I headed to work. I dropped her off with her Neena-Nona (my guy's mom) bright and early. I was going to call on my first pump session, but when I checked facebook, she had a post that Emma had played until she fell asleep...it was about 30 minutes before, so I didn't call. I left work and headed straight to her house to pick Emma up. When I got there, Emma was playing in her bouncer and having fun. BUT the second she saw me, she started crying until I picked her up. Apparently she did the same thing when her daddy stopped by.

Friday was about as good a day as a work day can be. Emma fell asleep Thursday night around 10pm and woke up around 4am to eat. My guy was up around 4:30am and left by 5am. I showered, cleaned up the house some, got all my stuff and Emma's stuff together, and then fed her again around 6:30. We got to "eat lazily" and even had enough time to play on her playmat for about 5 or 6 minutes before we left for Neena-Nona's.

Playtime before heading to work/Neena-Nona's

It was a "half-day" at work (we close early on Fridays) and it went by pretty fast. PLUS I knew it would be the only Friday I work for a long time. (My new, permanent schedule went into effect this week. Monday through Thursday only) It felt so good to be able to go get Emma and play with her the rest of the day!

So that's it. That was my first week back to work. It's not really an indication of how it's going to be from here on out because the days and times will be very different from last week. I'll be able to schedule her doctor appointments on Fridays so I can take her every time. But overall, it was a decent week.