5 months old

Emerson is 5 months old! Almost half a year?!? It's going by incredibly too fast.

She has had an exciting month!

Loves splish splashing in the bath

Had her first Valentine's Day

Rolled over from her back to tummy on February 23! 

"Look at what I just did!" So proud of herself

Scoots herself all around her play mat

Playing with her BFF MaKayla

Loves to look and see herself in mirrors

Had RSV, her first real sickness :(

Daddy trying to cheer Emmy up at the doctor's office

Took her first trip to College Station!

Met Brie for the first time :)

Hanging out with Uncle Heathy!

Her hair continues to get lighter and lighter, I think we're going to have a blondie on our hands

Weighs approximately 15 pounds

Look at those chunky legs! :)

Finally, has a bedtime! (We've been working on that) She's in bed around 8:30 every night! Still wakes up once during the night to eat. 

Started teething, we're dealing with a fussy baby--and a lot of drool! 

Grabs everything! My hair seems to be especially fascinating to her. Ouch!

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from this month:

 

She loves kisses from dad!

Our pretty girl!

Happy 5 months baby girl! You are more beautiful and special to us with each day that passes! 

4 months old!

I'm so sad that the only time I only have time to post is for Emmy's monthly update, and even still, my mom is cooking me lunch while Aunt CooCoo holds Emerson so I can type this up--before I get back to grading papers and finishing up plans for next week.  

Yikes!! I relish my time to sit and just cuddle with my baby girl on the weekends, our weeks are spent running full steam.  By some miracle, Nathan was actually home last Thursday and we got to spend a family night together.  I can't tell you how AWESOME it is to have him home on a weeknight so we can actually speak more than a few words to each other.  It's just nice to be together...all 3 of us.  It makes me sad that those times are rare because of our work schedules.  We both feel like tired, single parents--and if by any chance you are a single parent, kudos to you! I don't know how you do it on a daily basis.

January flew by for us, and here we are welcoming February with a 4 month old. :)  

In the past month Emerson:

Has started really giggling and talking, there isn't a better sound!

Enjoys laying down and playing...without a diaper on. It never fails to cheer her up--she loves being a nakey bottom.

Started going to Mrs. Lori's house while mommy and daddy are at work.  She LOVES her Nonnie!

Has to be sitting up, no more holding her like a baby!

Enjoys swinging in her swing.

Weighs 13.6 pounds!!! 50th percentile.

Measures 24 inches long.  55th percentile.

I don't remember the circumference of her head, all that matters is that she's in the 80th percentile. Haha!

This hat used to be huge on her!

Started making a growling noise. If she's in the mood, she'll growl back and forth with you!

Enjoys being read to!

Went to her first movie and she did awesome.  We stayed in the theater for the whole show. (It was Frozen and she seemed to love it as much as me, I can't wait to buy it for her.)

In the theater 

The past couple of nights she's slept 11 hours straight.  She has a cough and has been congested and it's making her sleepier.  (Nathan took her to the doctor on Friday and she doesn't have an infection, but it is still pitiful to listen to.)

Drools all over the place, likes to chew on things--especially her own tongue. 

Met her new friend, MaKayla

And the Glass family came to meet Emerson for the first time! 

Steele and Emerson :)

Sully feeding Emmy

Melts my heart! 

with Sage

I missed them so much!

Is a chatty chatty little girl! 

Was the shining star of the baby shower my co-workers threw us.  Unfortunately, she got overwhelmed and very upset so we had to step out to feed her. 

The cutest cake! 

My AWESOME team! 

Here are a few of my other favorite pictures from this month!

Still loves bath time!

Clothes getting stuck on that big noggin! Haha!

She's a PRO at tummy time!

She looks SO much like her Daddy!

Emerson Paige you are the light of our lives! We love you to the moon and back.  Thank you for being such a sweet girl, we love watching you grow, but could you slow down just a little bit? :)

I love my family :)

 

Happy 3 months, Emerson!

Emerson is 3 months old today.  She is getting so big! I got a little teary eyed as I cleaned out her closet and drawers of all of her newborn and 0-3 month clothing.  She's a little chunky monkey and we love her new chubby cheeks! I've been waiting for them to show up :)

Here's what we have discovered about out little one during the last month:

Weighs between 11 and 12 pounds.

Received a perfect report from the cardiologist on Christmas Eve! Praise the Lord! 

Smiles ALL the time and is so close to laughing. :)

Now in 3-6 month clothes.

Moved from her bassinet to a little crib, (still in our room) she can stretch out more now.

Made her first short road trip.

Enjoyed her first Christmas and New Years celebrations!

Hair is getting lighter.

Eats 5-6 ounces at a time.

Is very alert, loves to look around at new things.

Still likes to stay up late at night, she's a night owl just like her mom!

Recently discovered her tongue, she smacks it and chews on it. Lol

Is a rock star at tummy time until she gets bored and rolls herself over.

Loves to pull herself up, she's going to have abs of steel!

Enjoys watching football (Especially the Aggies!)

Went to the Little Village (nursery at church) for the first time and she did great!

Prefers sitting up to laying back when being held.  

Loves to snuggle with mommy and daddy. 

Here's a few of my favorite pictures from this past month :)

hahahaha

That smile melts my heart.

This picture cracks me up!

Ohhhhhh I love her so much!!! 

Sitting in her bumbo for the first time! Such a big girl.  

Getting to snuggle this little girl every day makes me feel like the luckiest mom in the world.  I love her so much.  Emerson--thanks for putting a smile on my face every day! 

Emmy's First Christmas

Sadly, my favorite time of year has come to and end and as I was taking down our decorations I thought about Emmy's first Christmas--it was my favorite Christmas to date.

We celebrated with my parents and sisters on December 22.  We usually have our Christmas before we go to Lufkin to celebrate with our extended family.  Emerson made out like a bandit! She received her very first doll from Mimi and Poppy.  She wasn't so sure about it...it is in fact bigger than she is.

On Christmas Eve we loaded up Nathan's truck (it took me forever to get Emerson packed, going away for a few days requires a lot more planning than it used to) and started out on our first trip as a family of three.  Emerson did awesome! She slept the whole 4 hours.  We were going to stop halfway to feed and change her but decided we would drive until she woke up...turns out we made it the whole way there.  She was a hungry little girl when we finally arrived.

Sweet girl!

This was the first time that she had been to Lufkin so all of my cousins and other family were very excited to finally get to love on her.  She was passed around all day! She didn't sleep much at all so that night was a little rough.  But she did much better the rest of the time we were there.

Meeting Brooke and Brent for the first time.

Emmy and Brooke

Emmy and Mawmaw 

Emerson and Great Uncle Robert

Hanging out with Blake

Can you find Emerson in all of her gifts? 

Four generations!

On Christmas Day we went to my dad's parent's house.  (My Nana and Papa) We had lunch and then opened presents.  One of my favorite things about Christmas is when Papa Sears reads the Christmas Story out of family Bible.  I used to hate it because we used to have to wait to open presents...and my 8 year old self just could not stand it.  But as I have gotten older it has quickly become one of my favorite traditions. The youngest grandchild, now great grandchild, sits on his lap while he reads.  Next year Emerson will be able to sit with him and that makes my heart happy!

Talking with Nana

She's so stinkin cute!

Exhausted!

Motley crew...

The rest of the time we were in Lufkin we ate a lot of food, watched some Christmas movies, went to my cousin's basketball game, had a surprise birthday party for my mom, and just spent time with family.  It was the best!

Hanging out with Poppy!

She's discovered her tongue!

At mom's surprise party!

Emmy and Aaron

Cousin love :)

Look at that face!

Nathan unfortunately had to come home a day before we did because he had work (we are so fortunate he was able to get some time off for Christmas--I feel spoiled when we get to see him more than two days in a row) so Emerson and I rode home with my parents.  I seriously don't think we could have squeezed one more thing in my parent's suburban.  That was a crowded trip!

We got back on Saturday afternoon and after a quick shower and change we headed to Nathan's parent's for Christmas with their family.  Norma, Nathan's mom sent us on our traditional scavenger hunt for one of our gifts.  So fun! And I beat Nathan to mine :) We had a delicious dinner and ended the night with Bill's homemade cheesecake and Home Alone.

Once all was said and done and we unloaded our loot, our living room was covered with gifts for our little girl.  We are so fortunate--and thankful!

This Christmas took on a totally new meaning.  I have a newfound respect for Mary giving birth to our Savior in a stable.  I'm so thankful that He came to us all those years ago as a little baby who slept in a manger.

I hope that you enjoyed Christmas with your family and friends, and that you were able to give and receive a gift or two--but mostly I hope that you took some time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

"Oh come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord"

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!