Shots....

Wow.. what a day! Our little Emma had her 2nd doctor's visit today. Drum roll......... She's gained 5 lbs, so she weighs 13 lbs and is in the 92% for weight. She has grown 3 INCHES!!!! So she is at 24 1/4, and tha tis also the 90th percentile for height. Her head is still small, but is growing at a good rate, in the 20th percentile. She is healthy and doing well basically. Yay for Emma....

The hard part? She had her shots..... Oh my god, I started crying!!!!! I have never heard her make the sound she did when they poked her in the thigh, 3 times. I shouldn't have looked at her face, because that was almost worse than the sound of her high pitched scream/cry; she took almost 5 seconds to breath it seemed like. FOrtunatley it was time to eat so I just sat in the room and nursed her right away and that helped her to calm down. They had given ehr Children't Tylenol as soon as we got into the office, so I am assuming that helped with the pain? That was at 11am-12. She was great until she woke up here at 4pm (I hadn't given her more medicine because she seemed fine)..... Well, I guess the medicine wore off:( The poor thing just screamed and cried and got herself so worked up, I started crying again because I felt responsible (many parents these days are opting not to give their kids the shots) so Elliott took over for a little bit, but then his heart started to break as she was looking him right in the eye and just letting it all out! So I took over agian and finally got her to eat. Now she is asleep ( I gave her more tylenol as she was crying) and I am scared to move her!!!!!!

So we will see how the rest of the evening goes. Least to say I will give her her medicine on time:)
love to all....

hot one...

Oh my, it was a HOT DAY!!!! And I am not sure that Emma really appreciated it.

Emma and I went for a walk with my friend Jessica from The Attic. We went along a trail that goes all around Seattle to Woodinville (close to where we live). That was really nice, Emma was great as usual. She saved all of her unhappiness for home!! It was a long afternoon and evening as she just couldn't quite decide what she did and didn't want. I thought maybe she was hot so got her naked, and maybe after a while that was just too much skin for her? Who knows, it was just long:)

Here are some more pictures of Emma... she is just smiling up a storm, especially in the mornings. she is continuing to really let us know what she does and doesn't like. she has just in the past week reaaly started to enjoy lying on the floor where she will stretch and kick her legs, she is also really starting to exploe things with her hands (especially her head and hair). I think those are most of her changees... we go to the dr. today (thursday), so i will let you know how big she is!
love to all...

pictures

homeward bound

well, we made it home safe and sound.... again emma did so good on the plane! she slept the whole way, and ate on the way up and the way down (although it was hard to wake her up again!). and the poor guy i sat next to, i threw the blanket on him (i was so concened with getting covered up and getting her eating) and didn't even notice for a good 15 minutes. i laughed a little a said sorry about 5 times he was good humored and said no problem don't worry. thank goodness!!!! el was so happy to see emma and he said she'd grown so much......

the rest of our trip was so wonderful. it seems like everyone wanted to meet emma. my god parents ric and sue strese visited, maggie gillard our dear friend, carol and tuffy schultz who were my wonderful day care when i was growing up, ALL of the neighbors, and then of course em's great grandma hinrichs and great aunt judy.... it was special to see each one of them.

here are some pictures finally - take special notice of the poopy one!!!!!!!!!!!!

today we resume life as usual. we are meeting a friend fir a wak at 10, then we will see. it is supposed to be 85!!!! love to all

In MN...

Yay! We made it... Sorry no pictues while I am here, I can't download onto this computer for some reason. I will stock up the blog with them when we get home....

Emma and I left for the airport about 2pn for a 5:40 flight. I wanted time to feed her at the airport, and then have a couple of hours before takeoff when she would need to eat again (this is suggested so her ears CAN pop when needed). I fed her first at an empty gate a few down from the one where we were scheduled to take-off from. Once we did get to our gate I held her in "superwoman" pose (her new favorite) and she ZONKED out. There were two couples in their 50's who were waiting next to me and they talked to me just a little bit. Wouldn't you know it but I sat next to one of the men on the plane - I said "it's us again" and I said "so you're the lucky one". I was SO nervous about who I would sit next to - please let it NOT be some sort of you guy!!!!! Anyway, I was strong and fed Emma during take-off.... SHE SLEPT THE WHOLE PLANE RIDE!!!!!! I was lucky to even get her to eat on the way down she was so exhausted. Everyone was just praising her - THANK GOD! So, it was a wonderful first flyiing experience. As a matter of fact there were tons of kids on the plane and they all were very happy.

We got into MN by 11pm, and Emma promptly smiled at her Grandma Loerch! Even though she slept so much she still slept pretty good that night. Friday we hung around the house and just oggeld and fawned over Emma, took LOTs of pictures. Granpa watched her while we went to get some Panera for breakfast. She was wide-eyed and they were having a conversation when we got home. We went to TJ MAxx that evening and showed great restrait, only getting one toy and a soft baby farm animals book! She was a sleepy bug all day pretty much, so she spent a good two hours awake during the middle of the night... I was tired this morning:)

Today we ran to Target and Emma got a toy for her car-seat that lights up and sings music; she was enraptured! It was so funny to watch her. I got a few new clothes, yay! Then we got ready for Aunt Becca, Uncle Chris, and Uncle Peter to come over for the day. They got here about 12, and I handed her over to Aunt Becca right away so I could go shower. When I got out I heard MAJOR crying! I felt so bad for her first "Aunt" experience... But she (both of them) recovered great, and Becca couldn't get enough of her - I LOVED to watch them together, it was really sweet. Chris even took her for a while, Emma had a small nose spit-up and they both jumped! It was funny....

During rib dinner Emma sat in her car-seat and played with her new toy, next to the patio table. After dinner Aunt becca went to pick her up and thought Emma felt a little sweaty. She looked under her shirt and SURPRISE!!!!!!! There was poop up to her armpits........... !!!!!!! Poor girl, who knows how long ago she'd pooped, but she wasn't unhappy. SO, took her out of her car seat and got that ready to wash, took her up to the bathroom, tried as hard as possible to get her onesie off without getting poop on her head. SUCCESS! Used about 20 wipes to get the excess off ehr body and then plopped her into the bathtub with a towl underneath her to help soften it. She loved it, until she realized that she was hungry - NOW. Then she let her little lungs go and cried and cried, it broke my heart! I got her diaper on her and we went down stairs to eat. I left Becca and Mom (the two bath visitors) to clean up the mess:) Needless to say Becca has a GREAT picture, but I cannot download any here, so will post it as soon as she sends it to me.

That is all for today.... We go to Farmer's Market tomorrow, then a few visitors will come over; my god mother Sue Strese and my lovely day care woman Carol Schultz, and maybe my friend Maggie Gillard. Monday Emma will get to meet her Great Grandma Hinrichs and her Great Aunt Judy. I will write more later.... Love to all...

All Clear...

Em and I had a good day yesterday... We went for a nice long walk, then to my Dr. apt, where my dr. said she was the only baby who didn'y cry during the appointment! Our nurse (we love her, she's crazy and from SLC) couldn't get over how much she looks like El. I checked out well and got the all-clear to exercise however I see fit, so I will start running.. ugh! But actually it'll feel good. Also... I am ony 4 lbs. away from my first apt. weight!!!!!! Yay!! BUT - I have A LOT of toning to do.............................

Then we went and hung out at Top Foods, and then in the car to eat (her and me!) for awhile before we went to The Attic to talk about workimg next year. I'll go into more about that later....

Em is doing well, definately getting on a night time sleeping schedule. I'll try and get a video out today for the grannd's!!! We leave tomorrow for MN - PLEASE send ALL of your positive thoughts for the plane ride!!!

love to all....

sleepin' with dad...

here is emma this morning, sleeping next to her dad!!!! i went downstairs to feed the dogs and pick-up a bit, but would go upstairs to check on her every few minutes. couldn't pass on the picture!

not a whole lot new here... emma has really taken to sucking on her hand, we'll see if she coordinates the thumb thing. hopefully she'll just stick with the hand for a while.

we gave ger a bath last night, she was pretty scrappy looking and a little smelly! she still loves it. she also seems to be getting on a sleep schedule.. most often she is up at 1:30ish, then 4, the 6ish. it's that first part of the night that she sleeps the longest. at 6 this nmorning she layed in el's arms for a bit and i got 15 minutes of 'tummy time' - good lord that feels great! so i will continue to work oin thebassinet:)

love to all...

sorry so long..

sorry to all the grandparents, that this has taken so long to get a blog out... we had quite the weekend! Well, quite the sunday actually... We went to church sunday morning (Emma wore her jean jacket from Grams Patterson - so cute!), then off to John and Allison's. The men were going to watch the kids while the women went shopping!!!!!!!

It was WONDERFUL, for me:) I thought of Emma A LOT, but had such a good time with Allison. We went to Panera and then to Old Navy - where I spent some (ALL) money that Great Grams Patterson had given to me............ SO FUN! I can't even remember the last time I could just go shopping like that! Well, Allison called John about 4 and he said it had been "rough"! They were watching Mason their one year old, and their new 9 week old puppy, in addition to Emma. So you can only imagine the chaos:) Emma was fussy to start with for the day, then I guess evertime she would fall asaleep Mason would yell or the dog would pee on the carpet (at one point Mason even dumped the dogs water bowl all over himself!!!!).

El and I made our way home - both exhausted and not wanting to make dinner - so he twisted my arm (not so hard!) and we got McD's for dinner. We walked in the house and it didn't smell so good.... Elvis had gotten sick all over the upstairs and then puked in the family room........ So not only did Elliott and I have to clean it all up but we ate cold french fries for dinner:(

Poor Elvis went to the groomers this morning and they suggested we take him to the vet (as he has done this a number of times in the past 6-8 months. So HOPEFULLY the old man will be fine.

As for Emma, she is a trooper! We tried the bassinet last night - about 45 minutes! So, it's a start, and I also had her nap in it a few times today. We'll get there:)

Not much else new.... The picture is of Emma sleeping on my ;ap while I worked on her baby/scrap book! Love to all....

Whistlin' Away

I caught this picture of Emma smiling as I whistled to her... how cute??? I am a little biased though.

Today was good... Em and I went for a walk (5 days in a row!), then came home and stretched out on the floor, did some sit-ups and push-ups. Em played on her play-mat, and Dad came over a whilstled and played with her a while too. Em slept a good portion of the day, I had time to clean, and get the scrap book organized to get it started... I told Elliott, "I swear this is not a normal day, she usually takes up so much more of my time!" Ha ha.... Seriously though, she was VERY content today.

I left Em with Dad while I went to the dentist, and I thought about her almost the whole time! I could imagine her face when she wants to eat, when she sighs, her drunk after eating look, not so much her cry though:) She was sound alseep when I came home, I guess she'd had a bottle not soon after I left.

All in all a pretty calm day.... OH ! And I forgot to mention that she slept 5 HOURS IN A ROW last night!!!!! She ate quite a bit before bed, but STILL, I can handle that! Love to all...

Yup- Everyother Day.....

Good Morning.... Yup, I think she is sleepy everyother day, and a little more fussy everyother day.... Yesterday was more fussy (although not bad, but she did want to be held more). We did go for a walk and I got to shower, I even took a nap!!! It took me an hour to get to that nap - she is so smart, she totally knows the difference between standing, sitting, and lying down - and she lets me know what she wants to be doing too!

Yesterday I decided to whistle at her - she LOVED it!! She smiled repeatedly, so that was really exciting... Otherwise that is about it... Now we're going to go for a walk, later El is going to watch her while I am at the dentist - yuck! Love to all.....

Sweet Pea

Here is another new soothing position that Grandma Jackie taught us - thank goodness:) This is Grandpa trying it out; doesn't she look peaceful?

Not a lot new with our little sweet pea - except that she slept well yesterday and was content to be on her own! So this seems like an everyother day sort of thing which would mean that today she will be fussy and need to be held.... We'll see!

She doe seem to be sleeping longer at night for the most part, on average 3-4 hours at a time, and she seems pretty able to fall back asleep again. Except this morning at 5 of course, when she didn't fall asleep UNTIL I decided I would just get out of bed so she didn't wake up Eliott with her crying! As soon as we came downstairs she fell asleep...

Yesterday we went for a walk again (and I even did sit-ups and push-ups!!!!! yay!!!), then we tried to iron clothes and got a few done! We ran to RiteAid for Elliott... I told my mom that I need to get a journal to keep track of all the thinkgs I "do" or accomplish everyday becasue I feel like I often get nothing done, but then once I think about it and "tick" each thing off, I've actualy done quite a bit. SO, I may do this....

Em is sitting in my lap facing outward right now. This is a new thing, that she is comfortable looking around and taking in life - how fun!

Today? Not sure, I think we may try and finish ironing and then work on her baby/scrap book, and go for a walk of course.... We'll probably play some PIG or HORSE with Dad and his new basketball hoop when he gets home tonight.... Love to all.....

Not So Sleepy Bug

Here is Em in one of the new sleeping/soothing positins we learned from Jackie - it is one of her favorites now!

Whew... the day yesterday started off great, then went downhill.... But I definately feel better equipped to handle it after Dad and Jackie's visit!





The morning went so smooth, got the lower half of the house cleaned and mopped and vacuumed all the rooms - was ready for a walk by 10:30! We were all ready to go, dressed and buckled in to the carseat/stroller.... Then I heard it - a big ol poo.... I was in the kitchen grabbing a water and Em was in the living room.... Needless to say I spent the next 45 minutes cleaning poop out of the carseat:) But our walk after that was really nice (in the 70's here!).





Then we ran an errand.... But once we got home there was just no soothing little Em. I don't know if she was too hot, or what? I brought some clothes downstairs to iron, and at 7pm they still hadn't been touched! She just kept waking up after a minute or two of sleep, and after she slept a good portion of the day on her own the day before, yesterday she KNEW the minute I set her down and was SO unhappy about it. El gave her a bottle so I could eat a warm dinner, so that was much appreciated (and he loves doing it too). She is so funny...the minute I think I have her figured out she changes everything on me:) BUT she did sleep from 11ish-to almost 4!!!!! So, we are on the right track....





Today? I'm not sure what we are going to do, there are so many options! We may work on the landscaping a bit, we'll see.... Love to all....

Sleepy Bug

Emma was SUCH a sleepy bug yesterday!!! AND last night, so I won't complain about that. She last ate at 9:30pm and didn't wake till about 2:15, then slept till 5am but couldn't wake herself up all the way!!! So she was squirmy but still slept until 6:30ish!!!!! I think maybe it is a growth spurt?

Em and I took dad to work yesterday then went to get a baby book at Barnes and Noble (I've been looking for FOREVER!) but still couldn't find one, so I went and bought a scrap book! But no, I am not going to do a big 'ol Salt Lake City scrapbooking thing... WE'll see:)

We also went for a walk in her stroller and that was a good workout - I NEED IT - have to get ready for summer weddings:)

While making dinner last night we put her in on her new playmat (the picture) and she jsut squealed with her new taradactyle sound, LOVED the sounds and rattles. It was well worth the money!!! Last night EL and Emma had fun playing on the bed, it was SO great to listen to them! He was eating her legs and belly and she would breath all excited and open her arms and furrow and open her eyes and eyebrows. She LOVED it:)

Today....... a walk for sure, then we'll see... Love to all....

here's a funny one!

Here is Emma in her thinking poses (sher did it all on her own!)...

Forgot to share this story..... notice what's on my shirt? My daughter's POOP!!! She had a little "blowout". So we gave her a bath (me, gma and gpa), and when I took her out of the bath she peed on me!!!!!

Yesterday was an uneventful day for the most part, I did get a nice card from El.

Emma slept SO much yesterday! Four hours without eating was no big deal, and the last few days was like every 2 hours (I know they say they grow while sleeping, so maybe that's what's going on?). I ran to the store yesterday and left her home with dad for an hour or so, that was the first time! I had called after one errand to see how things were going and he said fine, so I went to the grocery store for quick trip. When I go ho,e Emma was asleep and Elliott was sweating - I guess she was BAWLING and finally cried herself to sleep. Poor both of them:(

She did sleep well last night though after all her sleep yesterday. (she did have about 1 1/2 hrs. awake from 2:30-4ish, but wasn't fussy or anything).

Today we will REALLY miss having Dad and Jackie here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will go with El to work to pick-up the car and thren go get a baby book at barnes abd noble, and maybe run another errand or two, we'll how we are doing. Then it is officially time to start exercising:) And we will probably nap an clean a little too........

Happy Mother's Day!

Here we are, our first Mother's Day together...... How fun to get card's and phone calls! I haven't gotten a card from El or Emma yet, but I know one HAS been purchased:)

We had to take Grandma and Grandpa Hinrichs to the airport this morning - that was very sad! It was so wonderful having them here and watching them with Emma, holding her and talking to her endlessly!

I haven't blogged in a few days... SO! Thursday night El and I went on a "date" - Taco Bell and a movie (yes, we are very romantic in our old age). Needless to say I fell asleep in the movie, and hald the cell phone in my hand almost the whole time - ha! But, Emma was in very capable hands so El and I did really enjoy just a little alone time without worrying when Em might wake-up or cry ( I feel like everything I do these days is a little rushed, just in case!). The report was that Emma did just fine.

On friday we had a down town adventure... to Pike's Market. It's on the Puget Sound, and I'm sure you've heard about them catching fish and all. Elliott carried Em around in her Bjorn, and she slept, then when we were finishjed with the market I fed her in the truck. THEN we decided to brave the whole "out-to-eat" thing. It went pretty well, especially with the support of El, dad, and Jackie! She slept in her car seay for a while, then she took the pacifier and I held her. As soon as our food came of course she was hungry too (this seems to be a common occurance that we need to work on a bit!).... So with el's help she ate while we did, but she was getting really fussy (she gets relly frantic with her legs and arms kicking all around) so El took her to get changed!!!! He said a cute old man offered to help him:) Anyway she almost made it through the meal, but El took her outside and as soon as he did she fell asleep (we think maybe the restaurant was too overstimulating?). We watched El with her out on the Pier, as a pair of old women came up and suggested that she might be too cold- ha! They don't know that Emma has the same heating component as her dad and therefore runs SUPER hot!

Well, that's about all I can do for now... Here are some pictues of her from this past week... love to all

Workin' Hard and Barely Workin'

We continue to have a wonderful week as a big family! Grandma and Grandpa Hinrichs have been keeping busy - helping relandscape the front of the house and planting a tree in the backyard, they have cleaned up after every meal, helped make most of them too (especially my lunches!), and washing and folding clothes....WOW, I get tired just watching them!

Today we went for a walk around teh lake/pond and broke out Emma's stroller for the first time. She slept... Then we made our, what seems like, 15th trip to Fred Meyer for food and the whatnot.

Tomorrow we will go downtown to Pike's Market! But first, tonight, El and I are going on a date.. we think:) Just a couple hours on our own...... I'll let you know how it goes:)

here we are!

Tuesday with gma and gpa... We've been busy - working on re-landscaping the front yard no less!!! So that has been so nice to have support doing that.

They have been wonderful in all of their help - washing dishes, making meals, holding Emma (that's not really helping, that's the fun part - but it is helpful to me!!!!!!). A couple of mornings (Em is up at 6:30 and so are they!) they have taken her so I could go sleep in any position I wanted:)

Emma has really started smiling, and she is making a new high pitched noise when she is happy or excited - I think she sounds like a baby taradactyl - so cute!!!!

Tomorrow Gramp and Gram may watch Em for a couple of hours while El and I go to et or something - fun and scary all at once....

lots of love

Gma and Gpa Hinrichs are here!

Here they are! We picked Dad and Jackie up Saturday from the airport - you should have seen them oggling Emma in the backseat:)

Grandpa gave Emma a bottle this morning AND changed a diaper (no poopies though!)... They have been soaking her up, and Jackie worked miracles last night when Emma was fussy (after she slept for almost 5 hours while we were shopping!). AND Emma has just started smiling a bit, especially this morning (it seems to be her happy time).

That's about it for now.... love you all

kind of figuring it out

just a quick post tonight.... been cleaning all day getting ready for gma and gpa hinrichs to get here tomorrow! yay.....

so i am learning that emma is having a lttle witching hour around 8pm.... this is the time she really starts to have a sucking desire (lately), so I will introduce the pacifier at around that time (this may all change by next week - she changes so quickly!)..... and voila - she's calm and happy... look at all the chins in that picture!!

today was wonderful - she must have just been having a bad day yesterday?! she slept for almost 3 hours this afternon (me ewith her for 1/2 hour)

another cute thing..... this morning was the first time emma decided to "latch" on all on her own!!!!!!! :) she had pulled off the boob and all of a sudden I got a little shock! there she was back on, all on her own - we have a go getter on our hands!

love

SUPER DUPER LONG DAY

Oh My GOD! Today was really the first true parenting test....... Emma was a food monster today. She was fussy and inconsolable unless she was eating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I am not exaggerating.... It took basically all day to move some furniture, take a shower, and buy two airlines tickets. And in between - ouch! I was not prepared for today's CONSTANT feeding! Needless to say I finally gave in and gave her the pacifier tonight. She has been at it for the past 1/2 hour. So, I guess she is having a STRONG urge to suck today - and I need a break:) I can't hold her anymore (my back hurts) and my boobs need a little break too:)

Today I finally broke out The Swaddler, a gift from John and Allison. The picture posted here is of her in it. It was the first time she finally slept today, and it worked wonders!!!!! Thank goodness!!!!!!

Am I complaining too much? Just a bit tired I guess:) Hmm, maybe I shouldn't be writing this at night, huh? Haha.... But I've decided I am going to try and write at night now, so my mornings are a little more free...

Needless to say, she is cute as a bug in The Swaddler and we just love her to bits......

long day!

Whew.. it was a long one! Em didn't really sleep from the time she/we got up 'till when we left for the parent class. And good thing we left at 1130, because as soon as she was snapped into the car (I honestly had a premonition) and I got in the font seat - PROJECTILE spit-up! Poor thing, it was all over her and on her face and all over the car seat! I took her inside and WE got all cleaned up, I could tell she felt better after getting that out (I think she gagged on her own finger). Anyway, I asked in the class, and the teacher said "did she have hiccups in utero, and now" - YES! She had them ALL the time, and does now too. She said it is just her diaphragm is a little immature and she will grow out of it.... I need to try and keep her upright for quite a while after she eats... So we are going to try that!

Not much else new - except the picture!!!!!!!!!!!! El was putting Emma in her bath last night, and wasn't sure if it was too hot (it didn't register too hot on our thermometer duckie) - her face did not look happy when he put her in. So he took her out and held her while we cooled off the water, and all of a sudden he goes - "she's peeing on me.........." tee hee! I guess that's ho we know if it is too hot or not:)

love........

Super Woman (Emma)

Good Morning.... Here is Em in her Super Woman sleeping pose. It is so fun to watch as she starts to use her hands more (like the one resting on her face). And she will rub her eyes when she is tired. I have also noticed that she is noticing bright lights now and will stare at them and open her eyes wide like she is excited! She also seems to like it whrn I make a whoo noise , like one part of an owl.

Yesterday we didn't go out, as I was exhausted from monday! Today we will go to the Parents Support group, then we will see...... Short posting today, but we managed to sleep until almost 9am!!!!! Of course after she woke up like every 1 1/2 hours to eat last night! Love ........

Just Hangin' out

Happy May! Here is little Emma in her car seat... El took these pictues last night (he took like 6 of them) because he was so excited about how she opened her eyes when the flash went off! CUTE! The other is her all snuggled into her swing (as I write this, so I don't have to type with one hand which I am actually gettin gpretty good at!).

Em and I had a few adventures yesterday - we went to Barnes and Noble for our first social outing (we met a friend from The Attic who had a baby at the end of January). She was so good there - I even fed her! However getting out the door was another story It was really our first "leaving the house fiasco". I had taken a shower and gotten all ready, then got her dressed, and she was a little fussy. I offered her the pacifier and she gagged - then HUGE spit-up ALL OVER her clothes and mine. So we headed back upstairs to change her andme, then changed her diaper too. Well, that is her signal that it is time to eat! So then she had to eat a bit... We ended up leaving the house when we were supposed to be AT Barnes and Noble! But Jessica is a 2 time mom, so she gets it:)

Em and I then went to Costco again, and she was in her carseat as happy as could be.

Last night we went to John and Allison's to watch 24 - well Emma wanted to eat as soon as we got there... AGAIN had a HUGE spit-up.... then proceeded to eat basically the ENTIRE time we were there! SERIOUSLY...... Like 2 hours of eating.... Then she wanted more when we got home. Needless to say she must have finally been full because she slept from 2:30-6am!!!!! That is HUGE for us:)

We'll see what happens tonight... All our Love