Official One Month Pic.

Oh shoot! I forgot to take a picture of Emma after church yesterday (she wore the pink dress from Grams Patterson - it was HUGE on her!!!!). Well, next time. It is funny because yes she is growing, but almost all of her clothes are still too big for her. I try every couple of days to see what she's fitting into. I also put her BACK into the smaller diapers - the next size is SO big. It is funny because she has a big 'ole tummy, but her hips are SO small that she can't hold up the bigger size...

FEW! I had been typing all that with one hand - finally got Em into her swing. She LOVES to be held after she eats. Yesterday we did a "work before play" day and got the house ready for Grandma and Grandpa Hinrichs who are coming on Saturday - YAY!!!!!

Not much else new here..... This picture is her "official" one month pic.! Look at her feet:)

Love you all....

4 weeks!

The first piture is what Emma has to look forward to in the future... a loving Dad who also loves to pick on all of us! In the second picture I was trying to capture her "milk mustache"!!!!! The last one is of her new favorite way to sleep - love it!


Here is sweet little Emma - one month old - well, 4 weeks!!! We can hardly believe it has already been that long, although at the same time it seems like she has always been with us. As I said on Friday she is growing fast and there are new things every day...





She is starting to make more noises, "cooing" and the such. She is so cute after she eats she will often yawn and she sighs with a little noise at the end of each yawn, like it was so satisfying to her! You can tell she sees you when her eyes get all wide. She is following the sound of a rattle, and I SWEAR she smiled at me yesterday!?? But, it could have been gas:) We have also learned that she likes to be held for a while after she eats, and her new favortie way is with her chest resting on ours (hence the many pictures this way!). I am also learning that she often acts the same when she is tired as she does when she is hungry and I am LEARNING to distinguish between the two.





What else? Besides other feedings, at one point yesterday she ate for almost a whole hour!!!! Elliott said, "My God, is this how she is when I am at work?" I was like "Yes"! He said, "Doesn't it drive you crazy?". I said "Why do you think I feel ovewhelmed often, like there is so much to do, and no time to do anything?"..... Ha Ha!!!! Our new lives....:) She's worth it though........... When she tucks her head under your chin and sleeps on your chest - everything is wonderful!

She's a growin'

My goodness, our little nugget is growing so fast! It is official, she is too TALL for her New Born Onesies and her New Born diapers are too tight and the "rise" is too short..... I went yesterday to buy her a new pack of diapers because we ran out (and the other brand that we had seemed too big) - but by last night they were just too tight. The poor thing could barey sit up because the diaper was so tight around her waist! They say that they do actually grow over night - but my goodness we never expected this. I will try and remember to take a picture of her too tight onesie today at some point.

Another thing that I have noticed is that she has really started to grasp onto her and my clothes, or she will grasp the bottle when dad is feeding her. It is so fun to watch how she develops in to a little person almost daily. She is also really starting to make more noises, sighs and such, especially after she eats. We took video of her snorting last night.... Can't wait for you to see that!!!

Em and I really learned our lesson yesterday. We REALLY took it easy, tried to just let things go as much as possible - THAT WAS HARD! But, I felt SO GOOD last night.... Of course then she went on a feeding frenzy:) She had the bottle from dad, almost 5 ounces, then wanted MORE from me and kept eating and eating..... I was waiting for her to spit it all up, all night long. BUT NO! It all stayed down - I guess that is how she is growing:)

The pictures here are of Tom taking HIS place in the Boppy! And Em before our walk, and after once she woke up (I thought it was so funny how she just looked "stuck" in her clothes - poor thing!)..... much love to all

Our little bug/nugget/peanut

John and Allison took these pictures monday night - some of our favorites! Can you believe how chunky her cheeks are?

Yesterday ended up being a great day, even though it started a little rough! Emma woke up at 5:45 and didn't go back to sleep until 9:45 (after umerous feedingd, diaper changes, and a big blowout which required a bath!!!). Then I WAS able to shower, and we headed to Fred Meyer before we went to our Parent Support Group at the Hospital (once again I could go on and on about the hospital - it is SO amazing, what they offer their patients in terms of support and education). The meeting was really good and helpful (it is so nice to realize that other women went through exactly what you are - even those whose kids are in school can vividly recall the emotions a joys and trials of the third-fourth week!!!!!) and I may meet a couple of the mom's for coffee some time.

Last night was wonderful too - El came home and grilled dinner (Southwest chicken - Tony Roma's style). Then he watched a movie with Emma from about 9:30-12am....... AND I GOT TO SLEEP IN ANY POSITION I WANTED for 2 1/2 hours!!!!! IT was heavenly:) And Emma slept SO good last night, or maybe it was the rest I had before hand, becasue she was still up for almost 2 hours at one point, but somehow it seemed more managable last night? I had been worried because she slept ALMOST all day and then hadn't really eaten a lot. My worries were quelled when she finally woke up at 7:30 pm.... El gave her a bottle which she VORACIOUSLY drank, then wanted more from me, both boobs (can I say that here? it is a part of life now:)).............

OH! I didn't tell about my almost break down........ I was EXHAUSTED when we got home from class...... I looked down and my boob was dripping THROUGH my pad, bra, AND shirt, just dripping like a faucet, then in the middle of eating Emma had a HUGE blowout, was crying because I had to change her in the middle of eating.... It felt like a crisis (although NOW I can look back and laugh) and I called Elliott to say I needed support - he thought it was funny - until he realized I was crying:)

Needless to say we made it through, it was a good night, and it's a new day with our adorable little peanut bug............

Real Tears...

These pictures are from Emma waking up yesterday evening.... funny and cute!

Emma and I decided to go on a big adventue yesterday - COSTCO!!!! I put her in her Bjorn (a little carrier that allows her to rest on our chest) on and away we went. She did pretty good, got a little fussy part way through so got out the pacifier (which I haven't been using as the hospital suggests waiting six weeks if you can and Emma really isn't very fussy). We made it through, but I should have known to feed her in the truck before we got back on the road. Needless to say Emma cried her first real tears yesterday!!!! The first few weeks they don't produce tears when they cry - and Emma's were right on schedule, so that was another "fun" first. But I felt even worse to see her cring with tears!

Not much else yesterday... Was getting a little stir crazy by about 5pm though, so when Elliott came home it was a huge relief. Emma is is amazing but sometimes after all day my body is on stimulation overload!

She must be going through a growing spurt because she has been sleeping SO much, even for 3 hours at a time at night! Although she did wake at 5:45 and just fell asleep now, so I might try and go back to sleep too!

All our love.......

Another First

Yesterday was the first time Emma slept in her crib!!! Of course, I had to kick Mattie out and it is a real surprise that I didn't have to kick Tom-Tom out too. When El got home she was STILL sound asleep, and I had told him that I had put her in there and turned on her mobile for the first time, while I put clothes away in her room and then used the monitor while I put clothes away in our room. So he suggested we try it with her sleeping ( I wanted to shower, so wanted him to be on the lookout) - and of course she took to it like a champ. Albeit she was ZONKED out and I am not sure that anything would have woken her.

Last night she had her first play-date at John and Allison's (well, it was really our play-date!) while we watched "24". She did good, just pretty much ate the whole time!

Remember how I said that since she slept SO good sunday night, I thought she'd be awake all day monday and sleep good again?????? WELL, she basically slept ALL DAY monday, and STILL slept pretty good! Or maybe I am jsut getting more used to it? Not any less tired, just used to it. She always has a little hour somewhere where she can't quite get herself back to sleep, but other wise not too bad!

Today we are going to try and go to Costco this morning, so then this afternoon we can just rest rest rest!!!! Poor Dad - he is tired too!!

love you all.....

Sunny Sunday

I finally figured it out yesterday - I need to get ready to go, THEN I feed Emma and get her dressed! This made church so much easier, duh..... Emma wore her pink sundress from her Great Aunt Judy and looked just adorable.

After church we ran to the store for a little food (Elliott found crab legs AND steaks on sale!), then we came home and just relaxed for a little while. Em and I took a cat nap, then mowed the lawn and cleaned the garage a bit while Dad cleaned the family room carpets. Gma and Gpa Hinrichs are coming in two weeks so we've got a little to do before they get here!

Not much else exciting for the day, except that somehow Emma was on a really good schedule yesterday and was up for a good portion of the evening. Which means........ she slept for almost three hours at a time last night!!!! We finally fell asleep (after missing the end of Deperate Housewives becasue we fell asleep) about 10:30, then she didn't wake 'till 1:45, she was awake until 3, but then didn't start grunting and doing her "old man" routine until 5:50, but sdtill managed to fall back asleep until 6:15ish.... WOW!!!! So that was a good night for us. Hopefully this is a sign of the times?

Today? We got up and got the house put together a bit, with the idea that if I got up early, then we could walk AND nap before or by around noon. THEN, we'd have the rest of the day to do what we want/need! We'll see.......

Big Day of 1st's for Emma

Today was a big day of 1st's for our little one....

Her first big poopy "blowout", which seems o be a common name among mom's! This is when whatever should have gone in the diaper seems to go everywhere BUT the diaper! Poor thing, I was in the kitchen, her in her swing in the family room, and I heard her poo/toot from in there. So I went and picked her up while I finished my cereal. Once I actually looked - good lord what a mess! And I had no idea for like 10 minutes because she was wrapped in her blanket. ANYWAY, I decided I would have to give her a bath all by myself (Elliott went golfing for the first time in almost 2 years!). Luckily, she loves getting a bath, and the tub we have makes it SO EASY to give her one by myself. So I stripped her down, threw her clothes in the washer, and then scrubber her little body! All done, and she smells so good after - like a baby:)

Later on in the evening I took a nap and El had Em... When I came down stairs he was holding her while playing his video game - pretty cute, a very "dad" thing to do!

Then at about 10pm it was time for her first bottle feeding!!!!!! The books al suggest that you introduce the bottle between 2-3 weeks. They also go on about how hard it might be and they might not take the bottle, and mom might have to leave the room, etc., etc. Well, of course Emma was just please there was milk to drink and was PERFECTLY happy to take it from Dad. And Dad did such a good job; it was quite messy because it comes out of the bottle faster than she is accustomed to - but they did wonderfully. We were thrilled because she drank about 3 ounces, so we thought she would sleep for a while.... NO! She is going through a growing spurt (typical right now) and ate once an hour for three consecutive hours yesterday, and so in accordance with that she was hungry again at 11pm!!!! Our little piggly is a growin'!

The final picture of her sleeping... what would it be like to sleep THAT soundly:)

Have a happy sunday - love, j,e,e

Dad and Em Grillin'

Here is a pic of El and Em -her spending the first long period of time in her Baby Bijorn. After a bit of unhappiness when she immediately got in it, she quieted down and LOVED her itme with Dad. El LOVED how her little feet just dangled as she was sound asleep. Notice the other "babies" in the picture (Roscoe and the grill!). So a great dinner was had by all last nigth!

THEN the real night came and Emma was crazy awake and hungry.... I really felt like I was up all night long! Nothing that a cup of coffee can't cure for a couple of hours though! El got up at 6:30 to go golfing (the first time in maybe a year??).... We tried to sleep longer, maybe got another hour or so. The nights feel really long right now, but when she looks at me directly in the eye, like she knows I am me, her mom, then it is all ok - until tonight:)

We miss everyone dearly...... love you and happy weekend

Everyone Needs Attention!!!!

My goodness.... Roscoe is laying his head on my arm right now and constantly pawing at me, Tom followed me all around the house yesterday, Elvis is ALWAYS starting at me (and Mattie is just Mattie!), and I SWEAR we are very aware of always petting them when we walk by, etc. They are all back sleeping with us again....7 beings in one medium size bedroom....

After feeling a little down, overwhelmed, and like my life as I know it is over (which it is in a way!) on Wednesday, I had a WONDERFUL thursday!!!!! Elliott was almost wondering what was wrong with me when he got home last (I was SO chipper for a change:)).... Emma and I had NO PLANS for the day. My goal was to walk, shower, and nap - wasn't going to make myself do anything else. Well our schedule worked perfectly! That all was accomplished by lunch, and I actually ate lunch AT lunch time (as opposed to 3 or 4pm - which id CRAZY for me, I AWLAYS eat!). Then Em and I took a nap - wow - that makes an amzing difference in our day. We even started on some thank you cards, and got the dog poo picked up (it was SO nice outside I was just itching to get out there). The picture of her in the sling is from after that -she was SO OUT she didn't want to move once I took off the sling!

So, we had a great day that ended with watching Grey's Anatomy with Dad.... Then a REALLY long night (well from 3:30am on) when she was fussy and hungry but kept falling asleep when she ate, and just wanted to be held and KNEW the minute I tried to ly her on the bed! But, we made it and the sun did rise!

The other picture of her naked is before her bath, she often opens her arms like that when she is all of a sudden cold, and the other is just a cute one of her sleeping yesterday....

Thanks for the comments posted!!!!! I jusdt FINALLY realized they were there yesterday!!!!!

Love to you all, J, E, E

Emma meet Roscoe

Yesterday Em and I went to our first "parent support group" at

evergreen hospital. It was good to see all these other new mom's talking about what is going on in their lives; it makes you feel not quite so crazy! Em of couse slept through te whole thing!

We stopped to see Dad on the way home so he could show her off again.... Then Mom TRIED to rest when we got home, but of course Emma was awake then:) So I took some pictures of her while we rested on the couch. Roscoe came up tp her to take a sniff or two!

El came home and we gave her a bath.... She LOVES it...

Today our goal is to take a walk, for me to shower and nap, and then to start on thank you's! Wish us luck....

Getting into the Bassinet....

Here is a picture of our sweet little girl in her bassinet - FINALLY! She sleeps with us during the night, but in the past 2 days she's been sleeping in her bassinet for about 1/2 hour at a time during the day. This is good progress! Soon we will work on the night time... You can see her here covered in her "bunny" blanket from Gma and Gpa Hinrichs...

What else? Elliott woke up with us about 2am last night.... We both worked simultaneously to get her to fall back asleep - "shushing" in both ears (this is supposed to mimick the sounds in the womb. She would fall asleep then wake up as soon as we stopped and let out one of her "old man" grunts and groans. Elliott laughed for a good 5 minutes!!!! She is so vocal in this way - I wish I could put it on here for you all to hear!!!!!!!!!

Today I try and "pump" so Dad can bond a feed her in the evenings (not in the middle of the night mind you!). Em and I are also going to a Parent "support" group at Evergreen Hospital (where we delivered) - a bunch of new mom's sitting in a circle and talking about their experiences/concerns, etc. So we'll see how we like that! We may stop and see Dad on the way home so he can say hi to his little bug. Then it is bath time tonight - as she likes to pee as soon as the diaper comes off!!!!! Lord knows how many times she's peed on herself in the past three days......... For boys they have little "Pee-Pee Tee-Pee's"! But no such thing for girls, although I am working on different tactics!

Love you all......

From my point of view...

Ok, so I messed up the second picture, if her head looks goofy (besides the look on her face), don't judge:)

Well, yesterday was our first day "alone"... Dad said he actually got a little sad when he looked at the blog at work - he was jealous that I get to spend all day with her! Isn't that sweet? However, we did "work" yesterday, and everything takes about 3 times as long with feedings and fussiness inbetween "life" stuff:) We cleaned the lower half of the house, finished the taxes, went for a walk - that basically took all day - and no nap! Oops, I will try again today.

The picture of Emma all snug as a bug is from my point of view when we go for a walk. Emma gets to sleep in her "sling", a gift from sweet friend Jo Blake at our SLC shower. Emma LOVES it, she just snuggles right in (notice her hands right next to the sides of her face).

The other pictures - I was trying to capture some of her funny faces. These are OK, but they get better so I will keep trying....!

Week #3

He we are starting week number three... I am kind of excited to get started on our "routine", whatever I think that may be? But, the first real weekday without anyone in town. It seems that we have plenty to do though. Taxes, clean, walk, nap.... Sweet little Emma was awake last night from 12-2am, although I was half asleep. I feel like when she is awake I want to bee looking at her and smiling and making eye contact, I don't have the heart to just let her lay there!

Elliott and I are learning a lot from a Day by Day journal Uncle Justin gave us for Christmas; something like 40% of babies this age can mimic you stiking out your tounge... Of course we have been prativing this:) Last night when her and I were awake I was dong it to her and she responded by sticking out her tounge 4 times in a row - it was SOOOO cute! Are you sick of me saying that yet? Hopefully in the next few days I'll get some pictures of her when she is awake, as soon as I feel like I've gotten the house under control (whatever that means!).

This picture is from today, she LOVES being in her swing! This way I can get some cleaning done... yay:(

Emma Loves Her Bath

Her is little Emma after bath! Could she be any cuter? She loves taking a bath, barely makes a sound, and just looks around taking everything in. After her bath, she gets her hat on, and after a while when we take her hat off her hair is all fuzzy - love it! Speaking of, we do think her hair is turning blonde!!!!!

2 Week's!!!

As I said Earlier, Emma is starting to take a liking to her pacifier, here is a picture of that. She also likes to "sit" in the Boppy Pillow (used for feeding, it sits around my waist). The picture of her sleeping - how cute!!! She loves to sleep with her arms up-stretched. I suppose so many months in the womb and we'd all want to do that. Among all the things we love about her, we LOVE to watch her stretch; when she gets out of her car seat after a while, when she's been sleeping a snuggled up and then is unwrapped to get her diaper changed... She just stretches her little legs and arms as far as she can, she grunts, and moans, and acts like she is clearing her throat! CUTE!!!

Great Grams and Grams lef this morning, it was wonderful for Emma to get to spend time with them.

Thank God for the Pacifier!!!!

Whoever invented the pacifier must be in Heaven! I wasn't really sure if I wanted Emma to have one, or if it was a good idea health wise. At her first appointment the Dr. assured us it was just fine and we could start it any time. Well, that time came yesterday.... After what seemed like a day or two of voracious eating, and then MAJOR projectile spit-up, the pacifier came out. She took to it like you wouldn't believe. In the Baby's Daily Journal that Uncle Justin gave her for Chritmas it says that sucking is one of baby's biggest needs right now and that nonnutative sucking (pacifier, finger, etc.) is actually good for them and stimulates a host of differnt things in their bodies - so brin gon the pacifier!

Emma had to go get a shot yesterday, they do it in the heel - she didn't even cry!!! Just a little whimper. Although I have to say, she is SUCH a good baby, we can tell already that she is growing and letting us know more and more what she wants or if she is unhappy with something. She is also waking up about every two hours to eat at night! HELLO!

Today is her last day with Grama and Great Grams Patterson, so we will be over with them most of the day..... Then we are on our own for three weeks 'till Grandma and Grandpa Hinrichs come out for the week - YAY!

Walking Is AMAZING!

Wow.... How great it is to go and get some exercise. Emma and I started walking on Monday. My great friends Juan and Kade bought us a "sling" for a baby shower gift back in SLC, and I have been putting Emma in that - she loves it! It makes a little "coo" each time I take a step - I love it! So, I am sweating and it fells GREAT!

I can tell we are really getting into the true parenting thing. I came downstairs this morning with Emma, put a load of clothes in the wash, and made coffee. As I was pourin gmy coffee I noticed something yellow on my shirt, then I noticed it on my sweatshirt............ POOP!!!! I am a mom for real now:) I must have gotten it on me when I changed her at 7:30am, but her poop doesn't smell yet, so I didn't even notice! Thank god I didn't go anywhere...

We have a Dr. Apt. for her today, she'll get a little prick in her heel, so wish us well on that.....

Great Grams, Jill and Emma

Here we are, Emma is about 1 1/2 weeks old, and all of a sudden she is voracious! She just couldn't get enough to eat last evening... Every 1/2 hour someone would say, "I think she is hungry", "she is acting hungry" - thus the pictures of mom and Emma sleeping!

Grams and Great-Grams Patterson are here and just LOVING their time holding Emma. I am actually having a little anxiety because I want to hold her too:) It is Great Grams ritual to hold Emma every morning, as she is wide awake and eyes wide open. It is very special to watch.

Yesterday Emma ans I made our first solo trip out into the world. She hardly cries at all, but once she got in the car seat she was UNHAPPY. I have never heard her cry the way she did on the way to the Dr. I almost started crying myself becasue I felt so bad for her! Eventually she cried herself to sleep and stayed that way all through the appointment, through the grocery trip, and home! YAY! We did it - I can't wait for more trips to come.

Happy Easter!

Emma was just a doll for Easter! Elliott suggested we go to church, and I was thrilled of course, so we all get dressed up and headed out to Church of the Wooden Cross (Lutheran - ELCA, fo rall of you Minnesotans). Emma wore her dress from Grandma and Grandpa Hinrichs, she slept through out the service, just one feeding, and I handled it pretty well if I may say so myself. We enjoyed the sevice, but are going to check out a few other churches before we stick to one. After service Elliott got his special wish - to watch The Masters' with Emma sleeping on his chest. Then we all headed over to Jason and Holly's, Emma in her "other" easter outfit (little bunnies on the feet and a cotton tail on back!). She slept through the day, and ate just in time to let mom eat dinner. Our little girl is so good!!! My god, listen to me brag!