3 Months.....

Well, Emma Kate turned 3 months this week. In a way, it seems to have flown by but as usual I just can't remember her not being here. 

I am so biased, but she is so stinkin' sweet and cute to boot! I have gotten a few almost laughs this week so I think we are close. We definitely get sweet smiles all day long and they just melt my heart! 

The boys are still just smitten with her. I could lose count of how many kisses and hugs she gets everyday from them! We all just love her so! So far she seems pretty chill but does like to be held! She likes tummy time, is a great nurser, and stopped sleeping great after she was diagnosed with the flu last week. She pulled through with the help of Tamiflu so I hope we are all on the mend around here! Happy 3 Months, Emma Kate! We love your squishy, sweet smile!

2 Months!

Today Emma Kate is 2 months old! It seems fast in a way, but then it seems kind of slow as well. Because it's winter we really haven't been anywhere at all. I'm still not back at church yet so everything feels a bit out of the ordinary.

This week Emma Kate really gave us some great social smiles!

It doesn't get any better than waking up to smiles all of a sudden. I've just been melting inside all week every single time she does it!

I think because I had all boys, it does feel different in a way to have a girl. It's not something you can really explain, it just feels different in some way! She sure is a blessing to us....John Michael enjoyed reading to her this week. They all sure do love her but I think she holds a special place in his heart!

So far she can coo and make "a-goo" sounds and "a-boo" sounds. She's generally sleeping through the night (let me tell you I am in SHOCK over this). She's a fantastic nurser and likes to sleep in in the mornings; just like her mom ;)

She really has changed a good bit over the month!

A Gift in January

My resolution every year is to blog and, well, I never get around to it! I've decided to try to do a better job and stop worrying about the things I haven't posted and just post when I can and just show the randomness of our lives this winter with a new baby!

I decided to skip MOPS this morning and instead opt for a slow, laid back morning of pjs, pancakes, and coffee! Noah was my kitchen helper this morning! He loves to cook!

Next, little miss sunshine woke up! She started smiling this week and I just totally melt inside when I can get smiles from her. I know we are heading out of newborn territory and entering real baby territory! I mean, really, look at her!

 

I decided to put this verse on my lock screen that I read this morning. What a great place to be reminded of the joy we can have in Him!

We cleaned a bit and played with toys and worked on a bit of school work then packed up to go have lunch with Jordan.

What a gift we were given today; when we got outside it was sunny and kind of warm! I couldn't believe it!

We played outside after lunch for quote awhile!

I didn't want to come back inside it was just so wonderful!

The boys watched the Lego Movie on the couch and Emma Kate napped so I was able to sit at the kitchen table and menu plan. I even got some coupons printed out after not using any for about a year!

I made spaghetti for dinner and tried 100 Days of Real Food Apple Crisp for dessert.....only Noah would eat it though (no shocker!)

Happy Friday, indeed! We have a busy weekend planned!

Oh, What A Surprise!!

Starting in my 37th week of this 4th pregnancy my blood pressure started going up. It wasn't awful but still steadily going up. I had one more check on Friday November 14th and it was still up, so my doctor decided to go ahead and induce me that next Monday! I was stunned because I felt like we still had so much to do. Would the baby be ok at 37 1/2 weeks, was this wise to do it early? We frantically called family to go ahead and come into town so they could watch the boys for us.

We spent our last weekend as a family of 5 finishing up the last minute things that we had to do and praying this baby would be well and healthy for an induction. It was a very bittersweet weekend as we prepared for our lives to change. Would we be a family of all boys or would a little princess come along and rock our world?! My blood pressure remained high through the weekend so I felt better about inducing early!

On Sunday afternoon Jordan and I had a sweet last date for a while and walked in the snow and did a bit of shopping for baby before we checked into the hospital.

I was blessed with massive amounts of nausea/heartburn this time around and I only gained around 13 pounds and put on a few more the last 3 days as my blood pressure went up. 

I felt sad leaving the boys for a few nights but I knew they were in good hands with their grandparents! I didn't sleep much Sunday night and was up with the frozen sunset knowing this was the day The Lord had ordained for us to meet this precious new baby!

The day progressed along and I didn't progress very quickly at all. We prayed that my labor wouldn't stall out and end up with a c-section! We had SO many friends and family praying for us throughout the day and we were so thankful!

The boys planned to visit around dinner time and it just so happened I started to really come along quickly and knew the baby would be coming soon! As the boys went downstairs to eat dinner it was time to push! I literally thought my heart would explode with excitement to see what we were having!

You see that.....it's a Pink bow!!! I just about lost it as she came out, my doctor held her up and Jordan looked and announced that it was a GIRL!!! We cried and cried and I thanked God for this precious gift that I didn't even know that I wanted or needed. 

What a blessing!! The boys came up from waiting downstairs and we let it be a surprise for them too as they walked in! They were all really, really excited to see a pink bow! They are completely obsessed with her and love her so much already!

Emma Katherine (she'll go by Emma Kate!) was 8 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long. She is amazing, beautiful, perfect and such a wonderful surprise to us! 

 Another surprise is that she has lots of very light hair and maybe blue eyes....it's hard to tell quite yet! We are nearly 3 weeks in and I still am in shock that we have pink and bows in our house! It feels strange for this boy mom!

We just love her so much and we are so thankful that we have a healthy, beautiful baby to snuggle on!

More pictures to come! Welcome to our family Emma Kate!

36 Weeks and Counting....

So just a quick check in, since I never, ever make time to blog! We are currently at almost 37 weeks along with this 4th pregnancy!

The baby dropped a few weeks ago and all of my 7 and a half months of nausea/heartburn went away. I am so thankful everyday that I feel better and am not dealing with that nausea anymore!

We had a 3D ultrasound several weeks ago and I am just obsessed with these cheeks! Obsessed! We still don't know if we are having a boy or a girl. We are so excited to meet this baby and see what God has planned for our family: will I be an ALL boy mom or will we have a little girl to bring some pink into this house?!

We are getting everything ready....

Packing up the hospital bag with boy stuff and girl stuff! Because this pregnancy was so hard and different from the others, I have to admit that I have a decent amount of pink stuff this time around, just in case!

Because our babies always hang in our room for the first few months and this baby doesn't have a "real" room right now anyway, we fixed a corner of our room into the tiniest, quaintest little nursery nook ever. The boys have their step stool ready so they can peek into the crib, it's very sweet! A long time ago it would have bothered me that I didn't have a "real" nursery ready yet, but as you live and learn you learn a tiny baby just doesn't have to have everything perfect!

So for now, we just have a sweet little second hand Pottery Barn cream/yellow/green set with sweet little sheep on it. We are so excited to finish out this pregnancy and meet this precious new one!