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!
