Baby Girl #2

We are so excited to welcome another sweet little girl to our family in May. I think I am most excited that we will have two girls close in age and that they have a built in friend for life. Just keep picturing all these life scenarios from everything from little girls playing with dolls to grown adults at each others weddings. Eeek!!

All was well with the ultrasound - she is healthy from head to toe, had a strong heartbeat and was very active. She's measuring exactly where she is supposed to, still with a due date of May 14.

Below is the picture we put up on social media for friends and family to find out, with the following caption:

"Tonight, Santa told Emma she would need to be sharing the princess role she has taken over because she was going to have to start sharing that role with a little sister in May! Excited to welcome another sweet girl to our family, to see the girls grow up best friends and to see Emma as a big sister."  

16 Weeks

I hesitated even doing an update because there really isn't anything to update. But then I realized why I do this, I do it for me and my family and for my own memory! 

I am almost 17 weeks along now and am feeling really good. Honestly, besides being tired and the belly growth, I don't even feel pregnant. This pregnancy is pretty identical to mine with Emma - feeling good, tired and terrible acne again. The only difference is more cramping on my lower left side, but that seems to have subsided lately. Matt said to me the other day that "I think this pregnancy is easier". Ha. Not sure if he means on him or me. 

So here it is, the 16 weeks picture. We find out on December 16 if we are giving Emma a brother or sister. I say girl while Matt and my mom say boy. What do you think? 

Weight gain with Emma: 0 lbs   Baby #2: 4 lbs

Thanksgiving Weekend

I love long holiday weekends, especially when it gives us time together as a family. 

Matt got home from a basketball tournament in time to celebrate Thanksgiving here in Ames. We kept it simple (my favorite) and spent it with my parents, Blake and Alaina. My mom always outdoes herself and gets requests from all of us. Dinner was delicious and the food comas sank in immediately. Emma hardly ate, but we are blaming those dang eye teeth on her lack of eating. She also received her post-Thanksgiving present from Nana and Papa, something my parents did for us growing up, of pajamas and a Christmas book. 

We are looking forward to spending next Thanksgiving in warmer weather: Destin, Florida! Men's basketball has a tournament down there and we are planning on all going. Crossing my fingers my family decides to make the trip as well. 

While Matt went into the office for a few hours on Friday, Emma decided not to nap (rare for her) and instead help in getting our house ready for the tree. This is the third year we have gone to Strautman Tree Farm in nearby Cambridge and love this tradition. We know some day when the kiddos are older we will go on the hunt for the perfect tree to cut down ourselves. But for the meantime, we will settle on the dozens of options of pre-cut ones in the barn. My mom offered to then watch Emma for a few hours that afternoon so we could get the tree in the house and set up without the distraction of a 16 month old running around. Probably wouldn't have ended well otherwise :) Now our biggest challenge will be keeping those little hands off the tree, or at least to be gentle with it. She does great with Nana's tree, so hopefully that continues at our house (probably not though). Life with a toddler! 

Let the holiday celebrations commence….next up: Porth Christmas next weekend! 

Emma: 16 Months

Sleeping: Nothing really new to report here. Taking two naps a day and showing no signs of dropping one (no complaints here). Still getting tired around 6:45 at night and then down for bed at 7:00 and waking around 6:30 on weekdays and 7ish on weekends. She's one too that needs her own time of waking up so we don't go get her right away. Emma just chills there silent or talking for 5-15 minutes before we go get her. Kind of nice so we can wake up ourselves and get coffee brewing!

Eating: Emma seems to not be eating as much as she used to (other than at breakfast). I remember our pediatrician told us at her year appointment that her appetite will lessen and that is perfectly fine, so I am not concerned. She went through a phase of loving raspberries and now refuses them. Although she at one point liked salmon, rice and green beans, she now hates all of that. I know their taste buds change, so I will keep trying but in the meantime, not going to force it.

Development: Some new words that little Miss Emma is saying are "toodles" (from Mickey Mouse Club House), "doggie", "nana" (this makes my mom so happy!), "please", "thank you", "nigh nigh" (night night), "Tor Tor" (daycare provider, Victoria), and more babble that we understand somehow that I am sure others are looking at us like "huh?". She knows where here eyes, nose, mouth and belly button are located. She's cutting her dreaded eye teeth and they are now my least favorite. She has always done terrible with teething, but these are the worst. Constant runny nose, bruised gums, refuses to eat certain things, crying, but lots of cuddles.

Likes/Dislikes: She's back to loving baths, but that is because she likes to shoot hoops in there with dad. Emma loves to give hugs, she is such a little sweetheart and charmer. You could just be standing there at the sink and she will come up and hug your legs so hard. She also likes to give hugs when you are telling her not to do something, she knows the way to your heartstrings. She also learned how to legitimately give a kiss, lip smack and all. No more open mouth kisses. Emma is Miss Independent and wants to do things herself: feed herself, brush her own teeth, decide when she's done with something, etc. You try and help her and she lets you know that isn't what she wants. Snow is one thing Emma was not impressed with last week. But Matt is bound to make her love it :)

Mom and Dad Update: We are doing good and staying busy with Emma and work. Matt is officially into the super busy time of year until April where he is working nearly seven days a week, long days/nights in the office (or at the games) and traveling. I am beyond blessed to have my parents nearby to help out when needed and am going to schedule more play dates with friends to help pass the time. 

Halloween

Can I say that while I don't ever want to wish away time, but I can't wait to enjoy Halloween more and more through Emma's eyes! This coming from the girl that is not a fan of this holiday and hated dressing up.

Our ladybug absolutely loved her costume. So much so, that she cried when we took it off each time, so on Halloween night she wore it for three hours straight.

Emma's pumpkins that Nana painted for her. What a talented lady my mom is! 

We live in the back of the neighborhood and hardly get any trick-or-treaters, so we spent the evening with Nana and Papa for dinner, hit up a few houses and helped Papa hand out candy to all the kids. She loved it.

Can't believe that next year we will have two little ones to be dressing up!

Here Comes Baby #2

Matt and I are switching from zone defense to man-to-man come May! We are adding a new player to to our team! Sorry for the basketball references, it's that time of year in our household for the next five months :)

Below are some notes I've taken the last couple weeks on how I've been doing...

September 7 (4 weeks, 3 days) - Well here comes baby #2, due May 14! While we shouldn't have been that shocked, we certainly were surprised it happened so quickly this time around. Crazy to think that Emma will be a big sister to a baby brother or sister!

September 12 (5 weeks, 1 day) - Carpal tunnel set in and it is painful. I had it the third trimester with Emma and I thought this time it was a fluke thing. But it definitely isn't. Only happens at night, but is therefore keeping me up.

September 17 (5 weeks, 6 days) - We told our parents today. I ordered a "Big Sister" shirt for Emma and our plan was to go down to my parents and just walk in the door while letting Emma's shirt speak for itself. My mom noticed instantly, while my dad took a little longer. Matt's parents came later that night and I bet it took a solid five minutes before we had to tell them to look at her shirt for them to notice. Both are thrilled for another grandchild to love!

September 21 (6 weeks, 3 days) - Migrane headache and lightheaded. With Emma running around and being clingy from cutting another tooth, I'm wondering how we are going to do this with another one.

September 25 (7 weeks) - Feeling extremely bloated and like my pant buttons are going to burst. I was able to wear pre-pregnancy pants with Emma for the first six months! That will definitely not be the case this time around.

September 29 (7 weeks, 4 days) - My stomach officially "popped" out. No, it isn't a food baby kind of belly. Legitimate pregnancy belly. It looks like I did when I was 14 weeks with Emma. Also gave acupuncture a whirl to see if it helps with the carpal tunnel.

October 4 (8 weeks, 1 day) - Bloodwork and paperwork at the OB.

October 9 (9 weeks) - Carpal tunnel seems to be gone and I am not as tired as I was. Other than my stomach, I don't even feel pregnant.

October 21 (10 weeks, 5 days) - Extreme cramping that caused me to double over in pain. Lasted a few hours. Had been spotting off and on the last few days, but don't want to read into anything. Every pregnancy is different, right? Could be nothing.

October 29 (11 weeks, 6 days) - First doctor's appointment went amazingly well. We aren't going to lie, we were a bit concerned with the intense cramping and spotting more than with Emma. Because of that, we had an ultrasound (something we didn't have with Emma this early) and everything looked great. Measured exactly to the due date and had a heartbeat in the 150's. Absolute huge sigh of relief.

Let the journey begin!

Berry Patch Farm

Matt had a full weekend home with little work commitments (rare September-April), so we took full advantage of it and spent some time at the local pumpkin patch: Berry Patch Farms in Nevada. Matt and I started coming here prior to Emma and have been here every year since. It is a family run farm full of pumpkins, apples, berries or whatever is in season. We like it because it is quiet, close, reasonably priced and they are super nice.

We made an epic parent fail by waking Emma from her morning nap to get there before lunch time. She was not impressed and pretty much cried off and on the whole time. I'm actually quite shocked we got some of these pictures. She had absolutely no interest in walking around either. 

Reason for the smile? Matt turned on the song "All About the Bass" (her favorite) to get her attention. 

Maybe next year we will have better luck with her interest.

Emma: 14 Months

We have been so incredibly busy with Emma that I keep forgetting to update on what is new with her.

Sleeping: She is still taking two naps a day with her first being at 9:00 and lasting anywhere from an hour to two hours. Her afternoon nap starts between 12:45-1:30 and lasting another hour or two. Of course she sleeps the longest at daycare and never like that at home. She is still going to bed at 7:00 like clockwork, maybe stretching it to 7:15, but that is rare. Our little sleeper then sleeps until about 6:30-7:00. Emma needs her sleep, just like her mama.

Eating: What isn't Emma eating? This girl can eat and everyone comments on how much she eats and yet is still petite. She's drinking whole milk at all meals and water throughout the day. She doesn't really have any food she doesn't like other than leftover meat and veggies, she must like things fresh. We have also learned not to give her fruit until after she eats her regular meal because she will just eat the fruit and nothing else. She eats really well with a fork and usually switches between her fork and hand to eat. A treat after lunch and dinner is one vanilla wafer. Thanks Nana for starting that tradition :)

Development: Talking, talking, talking! I feel like Matt and I look at each other and say "Did she just say ________?" on a weekly basis. Some of the new things she says are "uh oh", "hi", "bye" (sounds like die),  "no" (while shaking her head), "mooo" (for cow) and "meow" (for kitty). She still says the usual "dada"and "mama" along with her regular babble talk. She loves music and "dancing". By dancing, we mean clapping her hands while maybe moving her upper body back and forth. She seems to finally understand her toys, how they work and be imaginative with them. Same with books, something she has always been interested in. Emma loves books and can often be found back in her room surrounded with them.

Likes/Dislikes: She loves her new daycare and the little friends she has there. We drop her off everyday and she could care less that we are leaving her. Dogs are still a favorite too, she sees on in person, in a book or on tv and she immediately starts panting to the point it looks like she could pass out. Emma still loves being outside and has started crying when it is time to leave the park or come inside. Another like Emma has is going to grab her little pacifier/blanket combo from her crib when she is ready to settle down and snuggle before a nap or bedtime (mom and dad love this). Emma's dislikes these days are definitely the camera: phone or real thing. She could be doing the cutest thing and we get our camera out and she's over it. She hates to sit still and it is near impossible to get a picture of her unless she isn't looking. (Note the lack of pictures, I'm just not going to deal with it) Emma also doesn't like me doing her hair, so we compromise and do it while she eats a morning snack in her highchair before going to daycare. As of this week, Emma hates baths! That used to be the thing that calms her down and she loved the most. Not sure where that is coming from all of a sudden.

Mom and Dad Update: We are doing well, but seemingly more exhausted now than what we were a year ago. Or maybe it is a different kind of tired? I think she is just busy and going through a bit of an ornery stage of whining to get what she wants or getting into things just to get our attention. We are definitely heading towards the territory of needing to start discipline and frankly, it's scary. It is a fine line of saying she is just a baby, she doesn't understand or reminding ourselves she does get it and knows how to get her way. It isn't that Emma is bad by any means, but we need to start setting boundaries so that she realizes right from wrong and that the world doesn't in fact revolve around her. Emma is such a fun, loving and silly girl and we absolutely love being her parents and this time of our lives. 

Cyclone Football

Cooler weather, leaves changing and students back on campus must mean one thing: college football is back in Ames!

Last year, Emma was only a month old when football season rolled around, so I only made it to one game (errr...half a game). This year I was beyond excited to take her to her first football game. I knew she would love the atmosphere because she loved basketball season. I was crossing my fingers all went smoothly and it did!

We ventured out with one of my best friend's, Laura, for the first game against North Dakota State. I decided to put her down for an earlier morning nap and woke her up in time to get there an hour before kickoff. Besides being a bit out of it, she couldn't have acted any better. I borrowed a Boba Air from a friend before deciding to invest in it and she did so well with it. It wasn't hot at all, comfortable and a breeze to get her in and out of. Besides the outcome of the game, Emma's first college football experience was a success.

The following weekend I went to the game alone and decided to take a risk and not put Emma down for a nap before the game in hopes of her sleeping while walking around the tailgate lots. She took about a 40 minute snooze while tailgating and was ready for game time. We made it until halftime when she started breaking out in a rash and started feeling warm. So we packed up and napped/watched from home.



I am so lucky that Emma loves the loud, crazy sport atmosphere. I guess she never stood a chance otherwise. We started bringing her to events at three months old, so she doesn't know any different. She's in it for the long haul, whether she likes it or not. Looking forward to using my Boba Air I ordered (get it if you don't have one - LOVE it) for years to come!

Catching Up

I've been meaning to do another post these past couple weeks to catch up. But we have been too busy enjoying family time before the start of Matt's busy season of working seven days a week and nearly every weekend until April. What have we been doing you ask? Nothing and loving it. Seriously, we have just been hanging out around the house, running errands, going on walks and just being lazy. I've loved it. Because come January, I am going to be wishing for these quality family times.

So here is a little update via pictures on what Emma has been up to.....

Our little hoarder. 

I love that she just goes back to her room and "reads" books by herself. 

Since when did she start looking like a toddler and not like a baby anymore?  

I promise to get better with the updates. Next up is hopefully Emma's first Cyclone football game! 

Emma's (1st) Birthday Week

"Emma! Do you know what week it is? Birthday week! Birthday week!" Matt started saying this to her when he would get her up for the day or up from naps and Emma would get the biggest, open mouthed smile hearing him say that. (He usually through in a couple hand motions too).

The week of her birthday was extremely nostalgic and quite emotional for me. It's like Emma knew what I needed because she was extra cuddly. She is one that needs to lay in her crib and put herself to sleep, but two nights in a row she laid with me in bed and fell asleep while rubbing my face. Heart melting.

We fed Emma her last bottles and got her completely weaned from the bottle. She handled it all like a champ and didn't even seem to notice anything different.

Matt and I took the day off on Friday to spend it with Emma, but due to weather, our pool day was shot. So we had breakfast as a family while Emma entertained us with her blueberry face and enjoyed a  walk to the park. Later that evening grandma and grandpa Shoultz got to town and took us to dinner. Going to a restaurant is always hit or miss, but luckily on this particular outing she was fantastic and loved charming everyone. Later that evening, Matt and I each wrote a letter to Emma in the journal we got her. Matt had an idea when Emma was a couple of months old to get a journal and for us to write a letter to her each year until she is 18.

Saturday was her actual birthday and we spent the day celebrating! All day I kept reflecting on this day just a year ago and certain moments throughout that day. At 2:52 p.m. I made it a point to go outside to where she was and give her an extra hug and kiss.

We had good intentions of having her party start at 4:30 with the thinking that she would have had two good naps beforehand. Instead she took two shorter than usual naps and that showed. A combination of  bad naps and those dang molars, Emma was a bit crabby but did pretty well considering. We had Matt's parents, my family and family friends Chris and Becky over to celebrate little Miss Emma turning one.

Wagon from Nana and Papa/Car from Grandma and Grandpa

Cake eating went from this.....

to this.....

Which resulted in a full meltdown, followed by a bath and early bedtime. Poor girl had an eventful day.

We are beyond lucky with family and friends that love Emma as much as they do and took the time to come be with her on her birthday.

Emma: One Years Old

A year ago, on July 26, this beautiful, healthy girl came into our lives and took our breaths away. A year ago, Emma Grace made us parents and showed us the deepest meaning of love. It's hard to believe she was just this size last year. In one sense, it seems like just yesterday but then it feels like decades ago.

It’s amazing to see how much Emma has changed this past year. She went from this tiny little baby to a walking and talking one year old. She went from just lying there sleeping all day to this busy little girl. She went from a baby to being considered a toddler. Our girl has always been such a busy and inquisitive child, wanting to explore and move around. Probably why she started crawling right at six months and walking at 11 months. Emma is such a happy, sweet and silly girl that has a smile that just lights up a room and is contagious. At the same time, she is quite sassy and a little bit of a drama queen (her dad says she gets that from me). She has always let us know what she wants and that she wants it now. She can fake cry to get her way and the moment she does, she just smiles. Such a little diva. We can tell already that she is going to be a strong-willed woman, and that is perfectly fine! But, her sweetness melts our hearts with all of her hugs and opened mouth kisses. Our girl is also funny and very aware that she is. She makes faces and noises to get us to laugh, and when she does, she keeps doing them. She loves the attention. 

Our one year old is now mostly walking instead of crawling and is completely weaned off the bottle. She is growing more and more independent with each passing day, which I guess is now qualifying her as no longer being called a "baby". She has seven teeth and her molars are super swollen and causing her so much pain. Teething might be my new least favorite phase. Emma loves to dance, especially to any song played on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which is also her favorite show. 

We had her one year doctor's appointment and our girl was hammin' it up for the nurse and doctor. I mean non stop charming them with her big smile and talking. Little did she know she was a short time away from four shots and a finger prick. She measured in at 30.5in (91st percentile) and 20lbs 9oz (63rd percentile).

My sweet Emma Grace - You bring so much joy to the smallest, everyday things. We love you more than we ever could possibly imagine. I pray that God gives you the most exciting journey in this lifetime, and gives you all the blessings that you so truly deserve. Life will not always be easy, but we are here to guide you. You are going to be amazing my sweet girl.

{Grow with Me} - One

We had Emma's one year pictures taken last week with Destri to round out her "Grow with Me" sessions. They turned out to be a combination of family pictures as well and we couldn't be happier with what was taken in the short 30 minutes. So many pictures captured us as we are as a family and Emma's silly personality. We are blessed. 

"Soooo big!"