Fallen Off the Face of the Earth

Really, I've not fallen off the face of the earth. It's just been an insane few weeks with work, and with Emma still not sleeping through the night, I've had a hard time trying to carve out moments to sit and blog.

Our camps brochure finally came out on Friday afternoon, but there was a significant piece of info we didn't know to include when it went to print. So, I needed to "stuff" over a thousand brochures with a postcard-sized insert....by Saturday evening. Jon and I were supposed to go to a dinner theater on Friday night -- for our second date in a week -- but we heard the show really wasn't very good and actually was rather lewd. We decided to give our certificate away to another staff couple and planned to do something else...since we already had a babysitter lined up for Emma. Well, Scott ended up coming down with a cold and Jon was invited to a game of Risk, so he went there and I spent 3 hours stuffing brochures and only got 3 out of 7 boxes done!!! Jon spent over 5 hours stuffing the last 4 boxes on Saturday.

Saturday I helped lead a 3-hour seminar for the district and then went across the parking lot to officiate a wedding. Mmm...I dropped one of the rings during the ceremony!!! This was my fourth wedding, and all of the couples I've worked with have desired to have short ceremonies. This wasn't the SHORTEST, but it WAS less than 20 minutes long. The photographer took 5 times as long afterward, and I had to stick around the entire time....I had to set chairs back in place before the evening service, and he set up all if his stuff exactly where the chairs needed to go. I finally go home around 3:00, starving and met by a hungry baby. I did get a tiny nap before having to return to the church, but I don't think I could call it restorative.

After church we went to a cool restaurant for dinner, called "The Noodle Company." Jon had been there once before, but it was my first time. It was a winner! I'm certain we'll go back again. I'm so tired of all the chains that are all alike -- Applebees, Fridays, Red Robin -- so this was a breath of fresh air. Emma slept through almost the entire meal. On the way home we were entertained by a lightening storm, then got pounded by some heavy rain. We love storms like that!

Yesterday was another full day -- at church all morning, running errands with Jon in the afternoon, then at a funeral viewing (the son of one of my Zambia team members took his life last Wednesday night). I had two "sweet Emma" moments that each had to end too soon. In the morning, right before I had to leave for church, Jon went to shower and I sat down in the rocking chair with Em. She fell asleep in my arms...head resting on my shoulder. I honestly could have sat there rocking with her all day! Then, shortly before having to head to the funeral home, I fed Em and she fell asleep immediately after eating. I had her on our bed, and so I just leaned back and laid down with her sleeping on my chest. Does one ever tire of such experiences?

I took today off but had a funeral to attend and had a scheduled phone call in the afternoon. Nap? What's that? Oh, how I long for one. Not just a 15-minute "power" nap...those don't exist for me. Anything less than 2 hours is a royal disappointment. Emma went to bed just a short time ago...and I'm heading there shortly. Just wanted to give an update on our happening.

She Rolled!

Who does Em look like? Me....

...or her Daddy?

Hanging out on the guest bed

Another in our series of "teddy bear" pictures.

Emma and Me on Easter morning

Started this post early LAST week, but never got to finish....

Sorry it's been so long since our last post. My mom has come and gone, and had a great weekend with The Peach. Emma was certainly the center of attention from the time Grandma arrived until she headed home, and we perhaps over-stimulated Em a couple of times. It's just so hard to stay away from her! Kisses, hugs, making goofy faces and funny noises....presenting her with toys, lending fingers to suck on....and just staring at that adorable face without ceasing.

I tell ya, my mom could easily put herself in the poor house for how much she enjoys buying Emma clothes! We came away from her visit with a sweet little purple sweater to go with her dedication dress, a long-sleeved onesie from Old Navy, a few pairs of socks (which, by the way, Mom, keep falling off Em's feet cause they're still a bit big ::grin::), and an adorable pink shirt-dress.

Oh! The title of this post....Emma rolled! She has rolled several times from her belly to her back...mostly when we go in to get her up from a night of sleep, and occasionally when she gets up from a nap. This morning I went in to get her and she was far over to one side of the crib -- Jon had last laid her on her belly, so she DID roll over sometime in the night. (Though I suspect she was already awake when she did it)

Emma's also starting to reach out for things. Her newest favorite thing is PAPER! She reaches for it with the intent of getting it in her mouth. Mmm...might have to start the baby-proofing process. Oh, and she's really enjoying the game of grabbing fistfuls of hair. I've told Jon I'm growing mine out again so I can get it all up in a ponytail. Might have to get some new earrings now too...no hoops or danglies.

Why has it been so long between blogs? This past Friday we had a fundraising dinner and auction which took up the ENTIRETY of last week -- stress galore. The event went well, though, and we profited $8,000 for Zambia. I'm so thankful it's over!!! Now this week I'm doing premarital counseling for 3 days, a wedding rehearsal Thursday night, the wedding on Saturday, and am helping to lead a 3-hour seminar for the District. Oh, and it's a big weekend at church for me because we're doing a big push/promo for our summer camps, of which I am ultimately responsible, so I'll need to be present for all of the services. ARGH! I need a vacation! I hate incredibly busy weeks like this because I feel that I don't see Emma as much as I should and want to. And despite the busyness, Jon and I are going to be "out" two nights this week -- getting out to see a movie at the dollar theater tonight, then are redeeming a gift certificate for a dinner theater on Friday night with some other staff members. Sleep? What's that?

Anyhow, here are some much anticipated photos of us with Em. Enjoy!

Grandma's A-Comin'

Emma's Grandma is coming for a visit this weekend. I think she's going to REALLY enjoy seeing how our Peach has grown and developed since their last visit at the end of February. My, how the time escapes us. Em is starting to giggle more -- we don't have to work as hard to get her smiles and sounds. She's also started screaming more -- not out of pain, discomfort or discontentedness...I'm pretty sure she's just discovering her voice and wants to try it out from time to time.

Last night Emma had a 6-hour stretch....between meals, but not in sleep. Even so, it was a relief to put her down for bed by 10:30 and not get up with her until almost 4:00 a.m. She slept in her "baby-bag" as Jon calls it...otherwise known as a "sleep sac." My mom brought it for Em soon after she was born, so the first few time we put her in it we had to roll the sleeves multiple times, and the whole thing would get bunched up around the top of her since it was so big and she was so small. Well, I mentioned to Jon this morning that she's almost reaching the end of it. YIKES! Mmmm...and now is the time she'll need it the most...as she will soon be starting to roll over and we may not want to have a blanket loose in the crib. Not sure if they make multiple sizes. Guess maybe I should look into that.

Had a glimmer of false hope the other day. Emma was upset in daycare, due to being tired, so I grabbed her up and got her to fall asleep on my shoulder. I then asked at the desk, "I know we don't have a sleep waiver on file (b/c the pediatrician refused to sign it, which led us to switch doctors), but could I, as MOM, go in and lay Emma on her belly for a nap?" They gave me the green light to do so and she ended up taking a solid 1-hour nap. Later in the day, after feeding her, Em fell asleep in my arms and I laid her on her belly again -- a nearly-3-hour nap ensued. I asked for another waiver form to send to our new doctor, and upon receipt noticed that form didn't have a spot for a doctor's signature. Suddenly all was thrown into question -- was the doctor's signature actually required? We didn't think so. I was overjoyed that they would now have the freedom to lay the Peach on her belly without the hassle of contacting the doctor's office. Yup, you guessed it. This morning the worker in her room declared that, upon further inspection of State guidelines, they ARE required to have the doc's approval. So, a fax has been sent to the office. I'm unclear, though, whether or not it went through since the fax machine spit out something afterward indicating some kind of error. Hmph!

Got a great picture of me and Em together on Easter morning. Will post once I get it loaded onto the computer.

4 Month Check-Up

Well, this morning was Emma's 4-month check up, though a couple of weeks late. We've switched to another pediatrician in the practice and this was the soonest she could see us. I think we like her. She converses about things as if she's talking TO Emma rather than just ABOUT her, which is unique. She seems, also, to be a much more thorough doctor, interested in addressing any concerns I have rather than coming in solely with her own agenda, as was the case with the first doctor we tried. I talked with her at length about Emma's erratic sleeping patterns and she made some suggestions which we'll try to implement starting tonight. Of course I have to explain everything to Jon first. Em is growing nicely. She is now 14 lbs. 9 oz. and is 25 inches long. The nice nurse printed off a sheet for me documenting all of her measurements thusfar along with the percentiles they represent. Our Peach is now in the 63rd percentile for weight, the 76th for height, and only the 44th for her head circumfrence (I have NO IDEA how to spell that! Can someone correct me? I know it looks wrong). Mmmm....today was also another round of shots. YUCK! Poor thing didn't know what was happening and had a delayed reaction to the first shot. There were two shots in one leg, a third in her other leg, and an oral vaccine (which she did really well with). One bandaid has come off already, and we'll probably peel off the other one tonight. Depending on how she seems to feel in a bit, she may get a second round of the yummy grape baby Tylenol!

After her appointment we stopped in to see a wonderful friend, Tami, and spent a couple of hours (and lunch) visiting with her. Em was so good the whole time, but then crashed on the way home, and is still asleep right now as I type. We made a smooth transition from her carseat to her crib, thankfully, and now I just wait for her to make some peeps. Not sure when Jon will get off work today and I'm hopeful NOT to have to wake Emma to go pick him up.

Not sure what the night will hold for Daddy and Emma. I'll be over at the church for a bit working childcare for our Good Friday service. Emma might come with me, or may stay home with Jon. I'm going to let that be his decision.

Enough for now. Hope you all have a good Easter weekend.

Cutie Patootie

Laid Emma on my office chair this morning so I could tuck in my shirt. Gives good perspective on her size these days.
We bought a Bumbo chair yesterday then got to try it out while having lunch at Panera. Em seems to like it, but gets tired quickly. I've heard it will help her develop her neck and upper back muscles even more than tummy-time.

No words to express...

Hanging out in daycare