My Pride, My Joy

Family Picture time. This was taken at just the right moment to catch a full on smile! Who does she look like? I see a striking resemblance to the milk man...



I know what you're thinking. A picture of my child should immediately follow a title like that, and it does. I do, however, have another love that takes a close second behind my grinning ballerina. My flower garden! Thanks to moms and pops this garden is splendiferous! If you will notice...I have been anxiously waiting for my amaryllis to bloom and it finally has! YAY! Pretty red flower!

Busy

We had one busy weekend! Grandma and Grandpa came to visit on their way back home and realized they needed to be up here on Monday. Emma was so excited to get a whole weekend in of playing with them, and JD and I were excited to have babysitters so we could go on a date (YAY!). We even did a little shopping for Emma and bought her a swim suit for this summer! It has a ballerina tutu! Sunday we made a spur of the moment decision to go visit the 'Northern' siblings and we trecked up there and back in one day. We were a little worried about the drive with Emma, but she played with her toys (she is getting so good with her hands!) and played with Daddy until she was sleepy enough to nap the rest of the way. Emma loved being around other kids! I hadn't noticed before how much she loves to watch them play! Cousins Isaac and Matthew showed her the ropes of playing hard and even rocked her to sleep (by jumping on the bed while Grandma held Emma). Both boys like to try and help out with Emma. They give her her binki (although it is sometimes upside-down) and Isaac even buckled Emma's dirty diaper into her carseat. What a helper! I wish I had a picture of that!
Emma has started doing this really odd new thing. She tucks her chin into her neck and then she makes a really strange grunting noise, JD says it sounds like a dinosaur. I can't figure out what she is doing! She is also really in to giving open mouthed kisses, so if you aren't careful you will get a slobbered on cheek. She loves to kiss everyone...even herself!

Growing Up

Like all new things I'm sure I will blog non stop and then....nothing. Emma has been a great sleeper lately! She has always had long stretches, but she is sleeping consistently from 8:30 or 9:00pm to 7:00am! I love it, love it, love it! Nighttime is now peaceful and not something to dread. While I love this schedule, I think JD is disappointed she is already asleep when he gets home. I feel so bad for him. He goes and goes all day long. First work, and then school. He leaves when Emma is asleep and most nights comes home when she is already down for the night. Sometimes a whole day can pass without him seeing her awake! He tells me she changes every time he sees her and he just wants to hold her even if she is asleep. He is such a great husband and dad! I don't deserve a man as great as he is. He changes diapers, rocks her to sleep, they watch suns games together, he deals with both of our whining, does the dishes, serenades Emma with the guitar, and constantly tries to take the baby to give me a break. I don't think any other man would be as good to me or as good for me as he is. Anyone married to a Tate boy knows they are almost infuriatingly (is that even a word) patient and even tempered, but that is just what this little family needs!

On to something different...I am having trouble with something. When Emma first came home from the hospital we had her sleep in a miniature bed thing between JD and me. She graduated from that and we moved her to her bassinet (still in our room). Even though she was just two feet from the bed I still had a hard time adjusting because I could not hear her constant breathing at night and know she was okay. It was hard for me to sleep well with the new arrangements. I have now...finally...come to terms that Emma needs to sleep in her crib since she is sleeping soundly through the night. The problem is, her room is all the way across the house and I don't know how well I will deal with that! I'm sure she will be just fine, but I'm too attached to having my little baby so close! I feel like such a crazy obsessive mother! What's a girl to do?

Starting Off

Emma is finally asleep! She never naps, and on this momentous occasion I find myself creating a blog! Oh what my life has become...and on that note, I shall write.

Life has been flying by! I mean, ever since JD and I were married we haven't stopped and I can't help but feel I have not really, truly, enjoyed the moment. We were only married about seven months when I found out I was pregnant and I kept looking forward to the day I would get to see her cute face and hold her. I'll admit, I did not enjoy pregnancy. I was sick, and by the time I wasn't sick anymore I was HUGE and didn't really enjoy that too much. I couldn't sleep and I ached all over! Now that I am done complaining....I did enjoy feeling my baby move and bonding with her even before she was born. I started to notice my hand would always find its way to my belly, comforting my unborn baby and feeling so much love for someone I hadn't even met yet. Then, she was born. I still have a hard time believing she has been here four months, but I am honestly enjoying the moment now. The first three months were tough, and maybe they haven't gotten any easier, but appreciating what I have and enjoying my family, the thing that makes me happier than anything else, has brought a little perspective to my life. Now I see each moment for what it is.

Emma has started to interact more and has become aware of the world around her. She can roll on her sides from her back, and often does to position herself so she can watch tv. She loves the moving pictures and colors. She grabs on to her toys and stuffs them in her mouth and she grins SO BIG! She has really strated to laugh out loud and jibber jabber in her cute little baby language. She is no longer my new born. Something I am really sad about.