Beautiful Baby

6 months and counting!

I can't believe that Emme will be 6 months old on Sunday. Tomorrow we are celebrating our dear friend, Rylan's big 1 year... and to me that is just unbelievable. It gets me pretty emotional thinking about how fast that time has gone by and that our little babies really are growing up before our very eyes!

Emme has been entertaining us with plenty of tricks lately--- sitting up (she would basically do this all day if I would let her), grabbing everything with those pudgy fingers from hair to toys, eating solid foods like crazy (I've yet to find a food she doesn't like!), and she's even begun scooting on her tummy (usually backwards while she is crying... tummy time=torture time). I should also update on naptime and say that "Operation Emme Naps" was a sweet success! It took us about 3 weeks of crying it out (aka Mommy cries it out)- but she will now get anywhere between 1.5-3 hours of consolidated naptime in the crib without a complaint (woo-hoo!!)

My little girl also LOVES textures. She loves to squeeze plastic water bottles or the bags from Walmart or Target trips. She also loves sounds- I'll sing to her loud, then soft- or even whisper in her ear and all of sudden she will get very, very quiet. It is hilarious! She's also started giving hugs (mostly excusively to Mommy--- sorry Dad!) and making what we call "excited arms" waving them up and down quite franticly. Emme is my wiggle worm- I cherish those moments when she lets me cuddle her in my lap. I have to say that Mommyhood just keeps getting better and better.

I'll leave you with a fun video of Rylan and Emme... already best buddies! And they have already changed so much from the time I took this video at the end of Decemeber!

What I Like About You...

How you tell teething who's boss!

Your cute little toes...

Your sweet smile.

I love my little girly. You brighten my day, and you are Mommy's blessing from the Lord.

Lessons in Imperfection (and why I won't give up this Blog...)

So I'm slowly (very s..l..o..w..l..y) learning to give up the idea of "perfection." Ha! Even writing that sentence makes me laugh! It really is silly this notion that I have had in my head of everything being "just so" and put together. (I am a mom now, right?) Why this novel thought process?

You see I have been thinking about giving up this blog all together. I'm one of those Type A people that is bothered by not giving 100% at all things. And as you can see, October 22nd was the last time I gave this blog any attention. In my "perfect world" I'd be the girl that can actually keep up with something she's started! And this would mean weekly posts, at least! So I texted my best girlfriend and let her know... the blog was going to go. She basically told me that I shouldn't be so hard on myself and update it as I can, for Emme's sake! For posterity! Funny that she wouldn't just "let me off the hook." She made me tackle again something I've been musing about for the last few weeks....

Why should a little thing like a Blog bother me so much? Maybe the issue is bigger than a Blog.

This started me on a chain of thinking that I had to put down into words (where better but on my Blog, right?) I have started reading a book called The Heart-Connected Life by Susan Cottrell. I've been blown away by the concepts it shares. And even more so how it has related so well to my own life experiences.

If I looked closely at the pattern that God has established in my life I would see that He created me as a person that likes to maintain order, plan ahead, see what is coming, do/be the BEST at everything possible, and of course keep everyone at peace and liking me in the process! Keep looking, and I see that though God created me uniquely with this rather rigid personality- He continues to ordain the course of my life in ways that would pull and stretch me away from MY course. To be more like Him? Yes, I hope so. But what I have started to realize is that I often find myself struggling against it rather than pressing into Him to mold me into His likeness.

I guess it is Emme that has truly made me think so much about this idea of being what GOD wants me to be, rather than some cookie cutter image of what I think things should be. You see I read all of the books on motherhood and "what to expect" and how to give your infant the best start at life. I followed those directions as much as I could, and you see --- my child has yet to really be one of those kids from the books! I am not bashing the books, trust me there have been many concepts that I have been able to apply for the greater good. But I'm learning (and my friends and family will confirm)... Emme isn't a black and white kiddo! I've given up on the equation method: "If you do this... it will produce such-and-such-result." As much as I would love to have clear cut answers, wouldn't I rather have to dig a little bit, get to know MY baby- and do what is best for her? Yes there are standards that aren't to be compromised, but I'm learning that the journey to that point is just that, a journey.

I want Emme to know the heart of her Heavenly Father. And I have to model that for her. Even now I want to do what is best for her- but I'm asking God to show me what that is. Will books or advice sometimes give me a good solution, yes! But first and foremost I need to go to the Lord and ask of HIS wisdom. So that I can give Emme, not perfection, not a cookie cutter mold, but the mold that God would give me for her- that she might eventually come to know Him in a personal way.

I don't want Emme to know a Mommy that needs things to be perfect, but a Mommy that will embrace her "imperfections" so she can grow as the Lord would have her. I'm going to try and stop looking for that "Perfect" child, so I can get to know the beautiful baby I've been so graciouslly given. Aren't I glad that God did this for me? That He wants to know me personally, faults and all, sin and all, so I can become more like Him?

"God gave us all unique, wonderful children. When he endowed our precious children with all their great potential, He never intended for us to make that happen. God gives us the opportunity to facilitate our children's dreams as He leads us; we cannot become God no matter how hard we try. Even if we succeed beyond our wildest dreams in achieving success for our children, If we are not submitted to God, we missed it. "

"We control our children when we have unreachable expectations or offer conditional acceptance. We think this will inspire them to do better. But unreachable expectations do not inspire anyone to greatness. No one drew near to the heart of God by keeping the law. And no one drew near to the heart of their parents by meeting their standards. The law drives us to defeat. After all, that is the purpose of the law."- The Heart-Connected Life

So I'm praying that God will help me to better embrace my imperfections, love my family, and become more like Him in all of these things.

Milestones

Seems as though Emme has grown up SO much since my last post! I can't believe how big she is getting, and how much fun she is. I will be the first to admit that we had a VERY challenging first 8 weeks or so! Poor Em had a lot of digestive issues, and so there was a lot of crying involved for Mommy and Baby! It is like the fog has started to lift and Ben and I are enjoying our Little Bit so very much. Every day it feels like she is learning something new and showing us more and more of her smiles, coos, and happy heart. She is sleeping through the night (most nights!) and wake time is becoming play time! Naps are even getting more consistent with each day that goes by. I want to encourage all new moms out there that Motherhood just keeps getting better and better. You never know what challenges may be headed your way when you step into this new role, but there is grace for every day--- and the milestones that are ahead of you make the first few weeks so completely worth it. Here is just a sample of the precious time I've been enjoying with Emme lately! I can't wait to see what is next!

I Can't Wear Pink Everyday!

Wisconsin Trip Update

Well thank you to all of you that prayed for safe travel and a good time with my parents in Wisconsin. Emme and I had a fabulous visit that included to relatively painless airplane rides! The only drama of the entire week occured on the flight back to DFW! The flight to Milwaukee was truly a breeze. Emme slept the entire time and didn't make a peep. The ride home was a little more interesting- but not because of Little Miss... because of a major mommy mishap!

Apparently my flight was scheduled to leave at 4:05 pm... not 4:35 pm. This makes a HUGE difference in the flying world. We arrived at the airport an hour before my "supposed" flight- since this airport is super easy to navigate and never takes more than a couple minutes to check in and get through security. Needless to say there were tears involved and I was RUNNING down the hallways to catch my flight. Relief set in when I actually made it on the plane! Praise the Lord (and my bag even arrived in DFW- which I did not foresee would have been a possibiltity given the amount of time I didn't have!)

I have to give kudos to my AMAZING baby who took all of this stress in stride, even having to eat 30 minutes late, in the very back seat of a plane- after her mother practically carried her by her neck to make it to the gate! After eating and a quick poopy diaper change (they do have changing tables in the super small bathroom!) Emme was asleep for the rest of the flight.

Our time in Wisconsin was priceless. We enjoyed time in the dowtown Cedarburg area- which is a lot like Mayberry- circa Andy Griffith. We visited local coffee shops and checked out an apple orchard. Our visit also included many naps for both mommy and Emme- and much needed downtime. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed the time with Grammy D. and Papa John. Emme started smiling so much this past week. She is changing every day it seems. Here are a few pictures from our visit.