Growing like a weed!

Well it is hard to believe it's the last day of June already! I can't get my mind around the fact that I am the mother of a 10 week old!!! Emma had her 2 month shots last week (which were quite hard on mommy seeing our peanut cry so hard;( and in 2 weeks will have her 3 month check up. Wow. Some of the days seem so long and then I look back and can't believe how much life has breezed past!
I am typing with a beautiful sleeping girl in my lap and there's a lot on my mind.....I've started cutting hair again; which is very exciting. I am working on Tuesdays, Wednesday afternoons, and Thursdays, as well as some Saturdays as well. It's nice to have an activity that gets me a little time away from "mommy duty." And it gives gramma some quality time with Emma as well:)
Emma is proving to be kinda of a challenging baby, although I'm sure first time parenthood is always challenging. She loves being held by her mama. I consider it a blessing and a curse. I love that she feels secure with me however, part of me is ready for her to be a little more independent and be able to occupy herself for awhile. She seems to fuss a lot out of bordom and needs to be occupied to stay content. We have been struggling a little bit with nursing too lately for some reason. Not sure if it is our increased use of bottles or what but it's been a little more of a battle than it was previously. Hopefully it is just a phase.
She loves her pacifier and anything with movement and lights. And she would MUCH rather be on her stomach then her back.
And on a positive not she continues to do sleep well at night. Several more all-nighters and most of the time she goes to sleep around 10:30 and will sleep till about 5 or so. YAY for sleep!!! She is also growing like crazy, weighing in last week at 13 pounds!:) Mommy is proud;P She also had her first girls shopping day with mommy and our cousin Joanna from Texas. We found a few good sales and Emma was a peach until about 3 oclock she was ready to be done. All in all it was a great day. As was the rest of our time with our family from down south. It's so hard to got a year or two without seeing them but I'm thankful for the time we get with them when they are here. Love them sooooo much!
Challenging or not, I am so blessed by my baby girl and just know that I would do anything for her and the smiles and cuddles I get from her help to erase all of the frustrating moments. It's so wonderful watching her grow and hearing her start to coo and babble;) I will leave you with a line we hear quite frequently and we sooo agree with, "She's just so darn cute!!!"

Blessings from us!!!

Lots of excitement!

So many wonderful things happening in our family lately!! Just to name a few:
-family from Texas is here!
-Emma has slept through the night 3 times!
-I am starting work on my own!
-Emma is starting to enjoy her baths:)
-RJ and I have had our first couple of outings without baby along

It's going to be a busy busy rest of the summer with weddings, family things, a weekend at the lake in July, and me getting started working in my own shop!

Well I am starting to feel like I am getting the hang of being a new mom. I've realized it's ok if: housework doesn't get done right away, I don't get a shower everyday, if Emma doesn't have a perfect schedule, or is not a "perfect baby" and many such things. A baby is a lot of work and there are really good days where I seem to have it all together, and there are days when Emma is crabby, I'm tired and forgetful and feel I'm at the end of my rope. But we're having more good days and nights than bad ones and I'm finding that my changing priorities are a wonderful thing, and are essential in life raising a child. I'm enjoying Emma more and more as I get to know and understand her better. As the days go by I start to figure out when she's crying because she's tired, hungry, or just to be fussy. And I'm learning not to run to her side the moment she starts to wimper. I didn't know what kind of mom I would be, and I confess I have judged moms I know on how they "mother" and I am just learning so much about it all. I'm realizing that I am pretty much your typical first time mommy. I flinch when she cries, get nervous about leaving her, and I call the doctor over little things. But this is ok! I love my little girl more than I could ever have imagined and even though her daddy and I are far from perfect and may not have the slightest clue what we're doing....no one loves Emma more than we do, and no one will work harder to give her the best life possible!!
Whew! That was deep!
Anywho..... I will leave for now as Emma is starting to stir, but I hope everyone out there is doing well and hopefully all this rain will go away soon!!! So tired of everything being wet:(
Love to all!

Yes, we're still here!!!

Sorry it has taken me so long to get you updated everyone! But besides the fact that I am busy caring for another little human being, I've had trouble being able to access my blog. Anywho.....MY GOODNESS! Our baby girl is 7 weeks old today!!! She is currently enjoying her swing and taking a little snooze for mommy:) I'll try to give a readers digest version of the life of Emma currently:
-she's over 10lbs now!
-sleeping from about 10:30-4 most nights, then getting up to eat a little and then back to bed till about 7:30
-she's finally starting to like her swing! YES! This gives mommy a few little breaks throughout the day:)
-still has no real daytime schedule....Emma is not a great nap taker unless you are holding her (she doesn't like to be alone;)
-this week she has started to give us some real smiles:) This brings so much joy to my heart and gives me a little hopeful feedback for all the feeding, rocking, changing diapers, rocking, and burping that sometimes feels endless!
-Emma is also quite gassy....she gulps alot when she eats and this results in a lot of air in her little tummy making her quite fussy. We've tried gas drops, which don't seem to help much, and when we get desperate, we give her a little Gripe water which is enough to calm her down enough that we can get her to sleep.
She is absolutely BEAUTIFUL if you haven't seen it for yourself! And all-in-all, we're starting to adjust to life with her, one day at a time. Mommy is finally all healed up and enjoying a few hours here and there doing some walking, mowing, or reading while Emma gets spoiled by her Gramma. (my mom) And on that note, I don't know how I could have survived the past 7 weeks without the support and care of my husband, the time and talks with my wonderful mom, and the visits and help from my parents-in-law. I have such a wonderful, wonderful family and thank God for where we are today.
I will be returning to work in a couple of weeks, but at a different location. My moms shop, the Country Clipper, will now be my employer:) I will probably be working Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and most Saturday mornings. If any of you out there are in need of a cut, color, perm, or wax....please get ahold of me! I'd love to help you out!!!!:)
Ok, now some pics of our adorable Emma Rae!