Than Emery about Christmas coming up! Can not wait to see her open up her presents. This will be the first year she can kinda get it. I just know Santa will be good to her this year as she has been extra good this year!
She has gotten her first cold poor baby. Took her the doctor yesterday and they said luckily they didn’t think it was flu just a bad cold. We did go ahead and get her flu shot though. She handled it very well. After the nurse gave her the shot, she cried a little but just said “ home” as in let’s get outta here NOW!! Hahaha! She is weighs 25 lbs. so still a little thing. I think she is pretty average though compared to others her age. In fact, she is taller than some of the boys her age.
Well, I will update later…..
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Christmas Card 2010
Peppermint Dots Christmas Card
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Catching up....once again!
Well looks like once again I am behind on my blogging as I am now writing in October and my last post was May! There have been so many heartaches, happiness and just all around changes since then.
First off, let me announce that Emery was going to be a big sister. The key word here is was. We were excited, scared and happy when we found out we were expecting again in May. It was definitely unplanned and I was very nervous about bringing another baby into the family when Emery was still a baby! The baby (which we later found out was a girl) was due in January. We had a cookout in June and invited friends over and ended up announcing the pregnancy by having Emery wear a Big Sister shirt. However, after several good checkups in which we were able to see the baby and hear the heartbeat, our angel passed away at 15 weeks and 4 days. We were going for an ultrasound to determine gender and right away when I saw the baby I knew she was gone. I had had a feeling from the beginning that something bad was going to happen—I guess I sort of premonition feeling. It was a devastating day for all and Kevin and I truly don’t know/can’t even remember how we spent that long weekend (we found out on a Saturday morning). What was supposed to be an exciting, life changing day was life changing in a way not expected. That Tuesday, I had surgery (a D & E to be exact) and the painful, heartbreaking process was over. There was no cause to be found in all the testing that followed. It has been extremely hard to move on not knowing how my baby passed. In the following months we had started to heal but will never forget our tragedy. I will never take for granted the process it takes to bring a baby into the world. It is truly a miracle. Hopefully in the future, when we are ready again, God will bless us and give us another take home baby.
Now as for the happy events/changes:
This summer has been the summer of Birthdays!!! We had attended so many 1st birthdays Emery is a party-goer professional! First we started with Alexander’s 3rd birthday pool party in May, then Violet’s 1st complete with petting farm and water slide, then Jaiden’s 1st birthday at the gym with ball pits, slides and all kinds of fun activities. Followed by Dakota’s house party birthday the following weekend. It was truly a fun month of activities and parties! Colten and Carson’s birthday was the following month. Emery had a blast at the football themed party for Colten and dressed up as a UGA cheerleader and got to “drive” a real life fire truck at Carson’s 2nd birthday.
Emery took her first swim lessons this Spring/Summer. We did them with her buddy Sam. She really enjoyed it and they taught them blowing bubbles and how to walk around the pool.
She also got to experience Seaside Beach as a toddler for the first time this summer. We took when she was just a little one back last September. This time is could run in the sand and splash in the water. We also took both sets of grandparents with us. We didn’t stay right on the beach but did stay in a cute little cottage and rented bikes to tool around in. She loved travelling around in the bike trailer.
In September, Em started taking some Gymboree classes once a week with a few of her friends. She loves to play on all the equipment and is really getting the hang of the parachute—though she was scared at first. Starting in November she will be taking gymnastics at the rec center again. Kevin and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary with an anniversary weekend to Barnesly Gardens. Em got to stay with her grandparents for the night. It was so nice to get out for a fancy dinner and of course the couples massage was amazing!
This month Emery and I ventured out to the aquarium again downtown. Several of her friends met us down there and it was definitely a “field trip”! She especially loved the penguins and the otters. We also went to the Children’s Museum downtown for the first time. Super fun activities….she did get soaked though playing with the “pond” and I ended up having to buy her another shirt to change into!
With fall beginning it was also time to start doing some fall activities—our first was a visit to Hillcrest Orchards in Ellijay. Oh my gosh, the place was so fun! Em got to go to an adorable petting farm there—tons of baby goats, a calf, chicks and kittens to hold. I even had fun! Then there was a bull for her to sit on for pics, pony rides and wagon ride through the orchards and cloggers to watch. Amazingly she sat and watched the cloggers dancing for a good 30 minutes or so and even joined them on stage for a few pics! We had a ton of fun there! The following weekend, Em went to her second concert—her first being The Wiggles—which last only about 45 minutes before the attention span was gone! Sesame Street Live!!! Elmo is the new obsession in our house, with watching Sesame Street the first thing she does every morning along with her morning milk. The show was fantastic!! Kept her attention the whole time!! After the show, we wandered over to Centennial Olympic park and let her play in the fountains. It was a super fun day!
The end of September we took our last beach vacation of the summer and hit Rosemary beach. We found an awesome condo in a 3 story complex right on the beach. Emery had tons of fun in the water with daddy. She isn’t too afraid of the waves or ocean right now so we are taking advantage of that and getting her in there! Last time we took her to the beach, with the grandparents during Memorial Day, she called the ocean “big pool.” This time she can recognize the ocean and says “beach.” She is very confident in the water and I don’t think it will take too much more to teach her to swim. She is our little fish!
Emery had her 18 months dr. appointment the end of August and is very healthy. She is about 23 lbs. and in the 30% for her weight. However, she is pretty tall--80% for height. She still has a little peanut head though like her mom and dad (15% percentile). Her hair is getting so long now too….I love putting pigtails in or doing braids. She always gets compliments on her beautiful, long hair. She is also learning new things each day! She can say tons of words (at least 50) and is started to put two words together. Of course her favorite word right now is ELLLLLLmo and that’s exactly how she says it. She is such a loving child as well—constantly giving us hugs and kisses (“fuy” the sound she makes as she imitates the kissing noise). So funny…keeps us laughing every day!
First off, let me announce that Emery was going to be a big sister. The key word here is was. We were excited, scared and happy when we found out we were expecting again in May. It was definitely unplanned and I was very nervous about bringing another baby into the family when Emery was still a baby! The baby (which we later found out was a girl) was due in January. We had a cookout in June and invited friends over and ended up announcing the pregnancy by having Emery wear a Big Sister shirt. However, after several good checkups in which we were able to see the baby and hear the heartbeat, our angel passed away at 15 weeks and 4 days. We were going for an ultrasound to determine gender and right away when I saw the baby I knew she was gone. I had had a feeling from the beginning that something bad was going to happen—I guess I sort of premonition feeling. It was a devastating day for all and Kevin and I truly don’t know/can’t even remember how we spent that long weekend (we found out on a Saturday morning). What was supposed to be an exciting, life changing day was life changing in a way not expected. That Tuesday, I had surgery (a D & E to be exact) and the painful, heartbreaking process was over. There was no cause to be found in all the testing that followed. It has been extremely hard to move on not knowing how my baby passed. In the following months we had started to heal but will never forget our tragedy. I will never take for granted the process it takes to bring a baby into the world. It is truly a miracle. Hopefully in the future, when we are ready again, God will bless us and give us another take home baby.
Now as for the happy events/changes:
This summer has been the summer of Birthdays!!! We had attended so many 1st birthdays Emery is a party-goer professional! First we started with Alexander’s 3rd birthday pool party in May, then Violet’s 1st complete with petting farm and water slide, then Jaiden’s 1st birthday at the gym with ball pits, slides and all kinds of fun activities. Followed by Dakota’s house party birthday the following weekend. It was truly a fun month of activities and parties! Colten and Carson’s birthday was the following month. Emery had a blast at the football themed party for Colten and dressed up as a UGA cheerleader and got to “drive” a real life fire truck at Carson’s 2nd birthday.
Emery took her first swim lessons this Spring/Summer. We did them with her buddy Sam. She really enjoyed it and they taught them blowing bubbles and how to walk around the pool.
She also got to experience Seaside Beach as a toddler for the first time this summer. We took when she was just a little one back last September. This time is could run in the sand and splash in the water. We also took both sets of grandparents with us. We didn’t stay right on the beach but did stay in a cute little cottage and rented bikes to tool around in. She loved travelling around in the bike trailer.
In September, Em started taking some Gymboree classes once a week with a few of her friends. She loves to play on all the equipment and is really getting the hang of the parachute—though she was scared at first. Starting in November she will be taking gymnastics at the rec center again. Kevin and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary with an anniversary weekend to Barnesly Gardens. Em got to stay with her grandparents for the night. It was so nice to get out for a fancy dinner and of course the couples massage was amazing!
This month Emery and I ventured out to the aquarium again downtown. Several of her friends met us down there and it was definitely a “field trip”! She especially loved the penguins and the otters. We also went to the Children’s Museum downtown for the first time. Super fun activities….she did get soaked though playing with the “pond” and I ended up having to buy her another shirt to change into!
With fall beginning it was also time to start doing some fall activities—our first was a visit to Hillcrest Orchards in Ellijay. Oh my gosh, the place was so fun! Em got to go to an adorable petting farm there—tons of baby goats, a calf, chicks and kittens to hold. I even had fun! Then there was a bull for her to sit on for pics, pony rides and wagon ride through the orchards and cloggers to watch. Amazingly she sat and watched the cloggers dancing for a good 30 minutes or so and even joined them on stage for a few pics! We had a ton of fun there! The following weekend, Em went to her second concert—her first being The Wiggles—which last only about 45 minutes before the attention span was gone! Sesame Street Live!!! Elmo is the new obsession in our house, with watching Sesame Street the first thing she does every morning along with her morning milk. The show was fantastic!! Kept her attention the whole time!! After the show, we wandered over to Centennial Olympic park and let her play in the fountains. It was a super fun day!
The end of September we took our last beach vacation of the summer and hit Rosemary beach. We found an awesome condo in a 3 story complex right on the beach. Emery had tons of fun in the water with daddy. She isn’t too afraid of the waves or ocean right now so we are taking advantage of that and getting her in there! Last time we took her to the beach, with the grandparents during Memorial Day, she called the ocean “big pool.” This time she can recognize the ocean and says “beach.” She is very confident in the water and I don’t think it will take too much more to teach her to swim. She is our little fish!
Emery had her 18 months dr. appointment the end of August and is very healthy. She is about 23 lbs. and in the 30% for her weight. However, she is pretty tall--80% for height. She still has a little peanut head though like her mom and dad (15% percentile). Her hair is getting so long now too….I love putting pigtails in or doing braids. She always gets compliments on her beautiful, long hair. She is also learning new things each day! She can say tons of words (at least 50) and is started to put two words together. Of course her favorite word right now is ELLLLLLmo and that’s exactly how she says it. She is such a loving child as well—constantly giving us hugs and kisses (“fuy” the sound she makes as she imitates the kissing noise). So funny…keeps us laughing every day!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
On her way to potty training....
Mark the day--Tuesday, May 4th! According to Anna, Emery did pee-pee in the potty three times! I am so proud of my baby girl!! :)
April Showers and Easter Celebrations!
At the end of March, she got to meet the Easter bunny and take pics and also some professional Easter pic at Skys. On the 27th, we went to an Easter Egg hunt locally. However, it was a little crazy with all the people there. We did do a really nice Easter Egg hunt in Atlanta at Callanwolde though. Very nice setup and beautiful grounds. She had a lot of fun picking up eggs and putting them in her basket. Easter day was great! Went to Grandma Connie's to be with the rest of the family. Aunt Pauline and family and Aunt Lisa and family were in attendance, along with Grandma Anna and Grandpa Peter. We had a egg hunt with Emery finding a good friend in Bryan and Jessica's little girl, Leanna (who is 3years old).
With the warm-up in weather, the fountains at Suwanee Town Center have opened! Visited there one weekend for a walk on the trail and to listen to an Oldies concert. I think Emery has found her new joy in life! She just loved going in and out of the fountains. She would try to drink it and then would step on it, splashing around. She is definately an independent child--she would go from one side of the fountain to the other and I would have to chase her down :) She also enjoyed running around with the bigger kids.
She started swim lessons this month with her friend Sam--every Friday for the next 3 weeks--at Swim Atlanta in Lawrenceville. She loves it! She will put her face in the water and blow bubbles. This makes me super proud of my water child! :) She can be a little mischievious though. One day, at home, it was quiet and I wasn't sure where she was in the house. I had thought she was with her daddy in his office. She came walking out of our bedroom holding a wet pair of socks. Following the drip trail, I came the scary realization that she had put the socks in the toilet! YUCK!!! She also finds it funny to walk around with a yellow bucket on her head saying "hat"! So funny...this makes me crack up! Apparently daddy taught her that in the bath tub one day.
She can now say several words well including: hat, hot, dog, bird and can sign "more" during dinner. We are still working on signing "thank you" and "drink."
With the warm-up in weather, the fountains at Suwanee Town Center have opened! Visited there one weekend for a walk on the trail and to listen to an Oldies concert. I think Emery has found her new joy in life! She just loved going in and out of the fountains. She would try to drink it and then would step on it, splashing around. She is definately an independent child--she would go from one side of the fountain to the other and I would have to chase her down :) She also enjoyed running around with the bigger kids.
She started swim lessons this month with her friend Sam--every Friday for the next 3 weeks--at Swim Atlanta in Lawrenceville. She loves it! She will put her face in the water and blow bubbles. This makes me super proud of my water child! :) She can be a little mischievious though. One day, at home, it was quiet and I wasn't sure where she was in the house. I had thought she was with her daddy in his office. She came walking out of our bedroom holding a wet pair of socks. Following the drip trail, I came the scary realization that she had put the socks in the toilet! YUCK!!! She also finds it funny to walk around with a yellow bucket on her head saying "hat"! So funny...this makes me crack up! Apparently daddy taught her that in the bath tub one day.
She can now say several words well including: hat, hot, dog, bird and can sign "more" during dinner. We are still working on signing "thank you" and "drink."
March's events: Vacation time!
After all the birthday celebrations of February, we decided to hit the road and head to Disney, taking Grandma Orza along for the ride. We were able to visit Sarah Wackerly for her baby shower and get to celebrate baby Colin's soon-to-be arrival. We visited a very cool Petting Farm while in Orlando. Emery got to chase ducks, hugs goats (her fave thing to do apparently!), take a train and hayride around the farm, hold a baby chick (I was more into this than her!), have a pony ride, and milk a cow (I am skilled at this!). It was really a fun place with lots to do! Daddy got to hold a hedgehog which was really cool to see up close. All and all this was one of most fun things to do on the trip! Disney World was fabulous! She was in awe of the parade and the characters! We got to ride several things including: Pirates of the Caribbean, Winnie the Pooh, and It's a Small World. We also got some souvenir ears and balloon. All and all, we had a wonderful time there. We then went to Animal Kingdom. The weather started off a little chilly but warmed up a little as the day went on. She loved seeing all the animals and going on the safari. The parade there was great as well and she got to meet Winnie the Pooh and friends. She loved Winnie the Pooh and gave him a hug :) The next day we relaxed and did some shopping at the outlet mall and the next day, went to SeaWorld. It was pretty fun but I think mommy and daddy had more fun as we got to ride some coasters! Of course, she did love the seals and the penguins though. We had a great time and hope to return next year--maybe this time stay on property or at Celebration.
Recap of February's events...not too good at keeping up with this blog thing!
So time has flown and first birthday parties are now over...we are now officially hitting toddlerhood! Here is a recap of the last few months activities and accomplishments:
February:
Birthday party month! Celebrated with several parties throughout the month--one with her friends as a joint party at the library with all the other Gwinnett Area Mommies babies with birthdays that same month, then her Gymboree party with her friends the weekend of her birthday and then a birthday party at home with just family that Saturday.
The Gymboree party was super fun, however, the weather was not! A winter blizzard came through just as her party was kicking off and as a result several friends were unable to come :( At least daddy and her grandma's were able to attend the Friday party and several friends made the drive out in the snow. Her great-grandparents and great-Aunt Linda also made the drive up from Tampa for her family party in the blizzard! We were sooo happy to see them and spend time with them and have them take part in the birthday celebration!
The family party kicked off Saturday in the midst of the snowy weather (actually made the day super special to wake up and see all that snow!) Great aunt Lisa and Alyssa braved the roads and came over for a late lunch party. However some extended family, including Grandma Connie weren't able to make it due to the slippery roads. So along with Great-grandparents Ballinger, Grandma/pa Orza, Great Aunt Lisa and Alyssa, and neighbors Chip and Amy and kids we were able made it a really fun day! I made a commerative dvd of pictures of Emery's first year with cd's of music as party favors. Great-grandparents and Linda brought with them some really special goodies: she got a play Kitchen for her playroom, dvd's (her fave one is an old school Disney one), clothes, etc. We set up her kitchen in her playroom and she just loves opening and closing all the cabinets and putting stuff inside. She also got some puzzles and a water and sand table from Grandma Connie. She had a special cupcake as we all sang happy birthday but didn't eat too much of it...most of it ended up on the floor and on her! On her official birth-day (Valentine's Day), we took her back to the hospital where she was born. We were even able to see some of the same nurses who were there during her delivery!
She had her one year dr's appt Feb. 18th and everything went well. She is doing great and growing like a weed--literally! She hasn't added much weight since her last appt. so seems like she is going to be like her mama--a skinny-minnie! :) Her next appt. won't be till 15 mos. so we will see how her growth is at that time. Dr. would like her to start weaning off of milk in bottles and that has been a challenge as she doesn't like milk in her sippys. She is also going to half whole milk/half formula now. She is also a picky eater (mostly eats table foods and some jars) so I stress about her not getting enough to eat so I will keep up the milk in the bottles for now.
This month she also started a gymnastics class every Friday. So much fun! The class is held at the Rec center and she gets to practice going down slides, bouncing in a bounce house (still a little wary of it!), balancing on the balance beam and doing somersaults. She gets to go and socialize with her friends: Nick and Sam, too.
See the next blog for March's fun events!!
February:
Birthday party month! Celebrated with several parties throughout the month--one with her friends as a joint party at the library with all the other Gwinnett Area Mommies babies with birthdays that same month, then her Gymboree party with her friends the weekend of her birthday and then a birthday party at home with just family that Saturday.
The Gymboree party was super fun, however, the weather was not! A winter blizzard came through just as her party was kicking off and as a result several friends were unable to come :( At least daddy and her grandma's were able to attend the Friday party and several friends made the drive out in the snow. Her great-grandparents and great-Aunt Linda also made the drive up from Tampa for her family party in the blizzard! We were sooo happy to see them and spend time with them and have them take part in the birthday celebration!
The family party kicked off Saturday in the midst of the snowy weather (actually made the day super special to wake up and see all that snow!) Great aunt Lisa and Alyssa braved the roads and came over for a late lunch party. However some extended family, including Grandma Connie weren't able to make it due to the slippery roads. So along with Great-grandparents Ballinger, Grandma/pa Orza, Great Aunt Lisa and Alyssa, and neighbors Chip and Amy and kids we were able made it a really fun day! I made a commerative dvd of pictures of Emery's first year with cd's of music as party favors. Great-grandparents and Linda brought with them some really special goodies: she got a play Kitchen for her playroom, dvd's (her fave one is an old school Disney one), clothes, etc. We set up her kitchen in her playroom and she just loves opening and closing all the cabinets and putting stuff inside. She also got some puzzles and a water and sand table from Grandma Connie. She had a special cupcake as we all sang happy birthday but didn't eat too much of it...most of it ended up on the floor and on her! On her official birth-day (Valentine's Day), we took her back to the hospital where she was born. We were even able to see some of the same nurses who were there during her delivery!
She had her one year dr's appt Feb. 18th and everything went well. She is doing great and growing like a weed--literally! She hasn't added much weight since her last appt. so seems like she is going to be like her mama--a skinny-minnie! :) Her next appt. won't be till 15 mos. so we will see how her growth is at that time. Dr. would like her to start weaning off of milk in bottles and that has been a challenge as she doesn't like milk in her sippys. She is also going to half whole milk/half formula now. She is also a picky eater (mostly eats table foods and some jars) so I stress about her not getting enough to eat so I will keep up the milk in the bottles for now.
This month she also started a gymnastics class every Friday. So much fun! The class is held at the Rec center and she gets to practice going down slides, bouncing in a bounce house (still a little wary of it!), balancing on the balance beam and doing somersaults. She gets to go and socialize with her friends: Nick and Sam, too.
See the next blog for March's fun events!!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
11 months old...getting closer to One!!
Time is marching on....Emery will be turning One next month. Birthday festivities are still in planning mode. One party for her friends and one for just family. Feb.12th will be a party for just her friends and will be held at Gymboree and Feb. 13th will be a party at home for just family. We can't wait!
Emery went for her second flu shot this past week and was weighed...she is now 21lbs! We scheduled her one year appt. for next month.
As for events/accomplishments this month:
Emery went for her second flu shot this past week and was weighed...she is now 21lbs! We scheduled her one year appt. for next month.
As for events/accomplishments this month:
She can now play peek-a-boo--the cutest thing you have ever seen! and she can point to the light when you say where's the light and also to daddy and mommy. She has also started taking more steps and "travelling across the room." She is at such a fun age right now...we are having a blast with her! She is now sleeping better at night--only in her crib now. We had to do several nights of letting her cry for a bit but after that she has done great. She now sleeps from about 7-7:30pm to 6:30-7am in the morning. She still takes 2 naps a day--one in the morning around 10am and one in the afternoon around 2pm. She takes 4 bottles a day and eats 3 solid meals a day as well. We are still working on her eating more solids....she eats like a bird! She likes finger foods and I usually cut up watermelon, bread, cheese, etc for her to eat. She also started saying mama this past weekend. It was an exciting moment for me! She was sitting in the cart at the grocery store and just blurted out mama....it didn't stop for the rest of the night! Of course Lola is still her BFF and just loves to see her each morning when she gets up for the day. Lola is a good sport and let's Emery climb all over her. We are working on teaching Em to be gentle...pretty hard to explain to a 11month old! She can also give "kisses" It's so cute...she just opens her mouth and leans in. So funny! She is still very much her own little person though....if you ask for a kiss you may get one and you may not...it's really up to her! :)
Even as early as this age, I can tell she loves animals! I took her, along with her nana, to Yellow River Game Ranch and she just went crazy over all the animals...pointing and babbling. She especially loved the chickens for some crazy reason and kept trying to say "bird." I let her feed a donkey a carrot and she got a kick out of that!
Our next activities for the upcoming month will be of course celebrating her birthday and Valentine's day. Also, celebrating with her friends on Feb. 5th for a group party and a Valentine's day shoot at Sky/Violet's house on Jan. 30th. At the end of Feb. we are planning a week long trip to Disney!! I am excited too because I will be able to attend Sarah's baby shower that weekend as well! Working right now on purchasing a new SUV...need something a little bigger than the Jeep Liberty for travelling now.
Well that's it for now...I will post later with more Birthday updates!
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