My Nieces - The Sisters Hill

Sedona (4), Secora (9 months) and Sierra (7) Hill - Ain't They Sweet?

My sister-in law and brother-in-law, Kimberly and Josh have three beautiful girls. I have my hands full with Emrie and she's just one little baby. I can't even imagine having three. Wonder what its going to be like when these three are teenagers? Josh better start cleaning that shot gun.

I found this quote about sisters. Granted I only have a brother, Brandon, but I think it pretty much sums it up. "Having a sister is like having a best friend you cant get rid of. No matter what you do, they'll still be there."

Emrie's Big Adventure

We spent our weekend on Taylor Lake near Kemah with our friends Denise and Jason McWhorter. The whole family needed a get away and it was awesome! Jason, Brian, my dad, Aiden and Josiah (Denise and Jason's son) spent the day fishing and playing on the lake while Denise, mom, Emrie and I played at the pool. It was Emrie's first time in a pool. She loved it but it pooped her out pretty quickly as you can tell from the picture above. We ate and played and ate some more. So much so that we ended the weekend with a friendly wager as to who could lose the most weight before our next trip to their house - the last weekend in October. The winner (that's going to be me) gets $100 and bragging rights. After we all weigh in and I collect my winnings we're going to celebrate with a big dinner!

Singing and Running in the Rain

Emrie is all strapped into her stroller and ready to go for her Wednesday evening walk.

Yesterday Emrie and I were watching Ghost Hunters, our favorite Wednesday evening show, when the National Weather Service interupted with a Severe Thunder Storm Warning headed our way complete with 60mph winds. Well, Emrie and I had our doubts and we typically went for a walk about this time of day anyway so we figured why not? So we decided to saddle up, take our walk and temp fate and rain.

We were about halfway down the walking trail behind our house when the winds started to blow and blow hard. Leaves were flying and so was the stroller. I kid you not - the wind was pushing the stroller so hard I had to hold on tight for fear of it being pulled right out of my hands. Needless to say, we decided to head back home and quickly. And just as we were walking into our driveway the rain came! It was amazing! Emrie and I stood (well, I stood...she sat) in the garage for what seemed like a long time just watching it pour down.

Say a Prayer Please

My Uncle Alvin suffered an aneurysm on Tuesday. He was taken to St. Joseph's where they were able to perform surgery but his recovery does not look good. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

Another Trip to the Doctor

Emrie is cheering because she had a good doctors visit and weighs 11lbs 8oz! Whoo Hoo!
I took Emrie to the doctor today because over the past week she's been getting a rash on her face, neck and back. She was born with a little baby acne across her nose and cheeks. I had never heard of that until I had her so I figured the additional red bumps I was seeing were probably just heat rash but it seemed to be getting worse and worse. Come to find out its baby acne, combined with some heat rash (which gets worse when she gets upset) and some minor eczema. Dr. Lawrence hooked us up with some meds and the rash already looks better. I hate to be one of those mom's who runs to the doctor over any little thing but I hate even more seeing Emrie upset and uncomfortable. Thank you doctor Lawrence for not making me feel like an idiot.

What A Great Night!

Emrie was pretty cranky yesterday afternoon. Her normal cranky time starts at about 5pm and I'm never sure how long its going to last. I finally got her settled down and into her bath (which often settles her down) around 8pm. She finally passed out at 9:30...and I mean passed out. She was so sound asleep I had to keep checking to make sure she was still breathing. With Emrie knocked out Brian and I decided we better go to bed too because lately she's only been sleeping two hour stretches at night. My head hit the pillow and I was out. And you're not going to believe it but Emrie slept until 3am! Amazing! 5 and a half hours! I feel like a new woman. A little sleep goes a long way. She dozed back off right around 4am and slept til 6:30. Oh wow...if only she'd sleep like that every night.

Emrie's a noisy little sleeper as I'm told most babies are. She recently started slurping on her hands at night and I mean SLURPING. She normally doesnt take a pacifier at night so I guess her hands have become her substitute. Add to that the snorting (yes, she snorts) and the tooting (yes, she toots sometime so loud she wakes herself up) and the dogs licking and scratching (yes, they sleep in the bedroom with us) it makes for an extremely loud night for me and Brian.

Emrie's New Favorite Show

Emrie and I have had a lot of time to watch TV. We recently started watching Sons of Anarchy on Netflix. WE LOVE IT!!! What can I say? Emrie has a soft spot for bikers. In fact, in the last two weeks we've watched 26 episodes (the first two seaons). We still have one season to go before we're all caught up with the new season that premieres in September. We have to hurry!

Baby = Efficiency

I remember when it used to take me a little more than an hour to get ready for work. Not anymore! Emrie has made me extremely efficient in that area. This morning I was up at 5am feeding her. By 5:30am I was in the shower. And, by 6am I was dressed and ready to go.

Dont get me wrong I would still be in my jammies if I didnt have to be at work for a mandatory 8am meeting. If nothing else this is a good trial run for next week. I've always been a morning person but I also used to be in bed by 9pm and sleep all night. Now it seems like I'm up every 2-3hrs. Oh wait...that's because I am!

Emrie was on a very good night time sleep schedule. I stress the word WAS. She'd normally go to bed between 9-10pm and then be up around 2:30am to nurse and then up again around 5:30am to nurse. Well, this past week she has not wanted to sleep at all and she was up every 2 hrs last night. Growth spurt? Maybe. All I know is I'm pooped!

Only One Week Left

Emrie was 7 weeks old on Friday. Wow! Time really does fly when you're having fun.

My first full day back at work will be August 29. Part of me is excited and the other part sad. I love my job but I love my daughter more. Brian and I talked about me staying home with her on a full time basis. It would be tight financially and I'm a little A.D.D. so we both agreed going back to work is probably the right thing to do.

We are blessed to have my parents and a close family friend take care of her during the week. Not that daycare is a bad thing but I like the idea of her being with family and friends instead. Plus, my mom cleans house for me when she's here!!! I know! How cool is that?! Now...if I could convince my dad to do some yardwork around here we'd be set : )

10:40am and she's still awake...

Emrie finally fell asleep last night or should I say early morning around 2:30am. She squeezed in about 3 hours of sleep and has been up ever since. She's chilling in her swing now but still wide awake. Brian got called into work around 8am so it's just been the two of us. She looks peaceful. I'm like a crazed mother who hasnt had any sleep.

I've asked Brian to pick up something big and greasy for lunch. My plan is to chow down and pass out. Then he can spend some quality AWAKE time with his daughter. She'll probably sleep for him : )

It's 1:30am

Our little sleeping beauty after a long hard day

Emrie had a big day. She went to her first wedding shower for her soon to be cousin-in-law Bri. It was a nice shower packed full of family who couldnt wait to hold Emrie. So by the time we got to mom and dad's she was exhausted and honesly so was I. We only stayed for a while before heading back to Bryan. Emrie slept the whole way home. Then when she finally did wake up she nursed and went right back to sleep. It was great. Brian and I had a nice quiet dinner together and even watched a movie before going to bed. Well, I guess since Emrie got plenty of ZZZZ's this afternoon she doesnt feel its necessary to sleep overnight...hence this blog in the middle of the night.

You know I remeber a time when 1:30am didnt seem so late...or early...oh heck, you know what I mean.

Aint It Funny How Things Change?

Last year tax free weekend was all about me. I mapped out the stores I wanted to go to and totally revamped my wardrobe. This year I was once again went on a shopping rampage but this time it was all about Emrie and DIAPERS! That's right diapers are tax free this weekend. I stocked up! Emrie should be good to go until she's out of diapers : ) She also got a couple of short sets and dresses. She's such a cutie. She's sporting one of her new outfits in the picture above.

Okay...I cant lie. I got two shirts too. In my defense they were on sale AND tax free!

Such a Sweet Baby...When She's Sleeping

Just thought I'd post a couple of pictures of Emrie. She is getting so big and look at those long legs! I have a feeling she's going to be tall like her daddy. She has been such a trooper. She goes with me to the station EVERY DAY. If you listen close sometimes you can hear her "talking" in the backgroud. It may sound more like a cry to the untrained ear but I'm pretty sure she's requesting a George Strait song.

Daddy Time

Emrie was so tired and cranky yesterday. As hard as I tried to get her to take a nap the more she seemed determined to stay awake. So, I decided it was time for some quality time with her daddy while I ran some errands. When I came home an hour later this is what I found. Brian and Emrie...sound asleep on the couch.

40 and Fabulous

Well, it finally happened. And you know what? It's not so bad. I turned the big 4-0 yesterday. To celebrate my parents took me, Brian, Aiden and Emrie out to dinner at Papa Perez. As you can see from the picture...I topped off my meal with a chocolate volcano cake. Can you say YUMMY?!

Oh Happy Day

Emrie had such a good week. The medication Dr. Ransom prescribed for her acid reflux is really helping. I figured since the last few pictures I posted of her were of her not-so-happy face that you deserved to see her really happy face! Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Ahhhh....a nice warm bath

I know`you can't tell from the freaked out look on her face but Emrie loves relaxing in a bath after a long hard day of nursing, crying, pooping and sleeping. Honestly, you would never know it but right before i snapped this picture she was smiling. Anyhoo, I loved the expression on her face so much I decided to post this pic.

Emrie's Not So Happy Face

Last week we saw a lot of this face. Emrie was not happy. If she wasn't nursing she was crying. And eventually, she'd nurse and cry. I didn't know what to do for her. Even Brian, my rock, was starting to get frustrated. He was upset because when he'd get off work and want to hold Emrie and love on her...all she wanted to do was cry. I tried to explain to him that she didn't save it up for him - she cried all the time. Then Thursday evening my Aunt Irene called me. While we were talking she heard Emrie crying in the background. She said Emrie sounded like she was hurting. I had tried the gas drops and gripe water neither seemed to work so I called the doctor. Luckily, Dr. Ransom was able to see her right away. After explaing everthing to him and a thorough examination of Emrie, it was determined my poor baby has acid reflux. While I was really sad that something was wrong I was also relieved. Acid reflux is treatable, she'll probably grow out of it before long and the meds seem to be helping. Say a little prayer for Emrie please.

We're working on it.

Emrie is such a sweet baby...when she's sleeping. Just kidding. The first two weeks she rarely cried BUT ever since then she's become a little fussy head. Since I have a tendency to post the really sweet pictures I thought it only right to post one with her crybaby face. Poor baby girl has gas. She's 100% breastfed so I've cut out any and all foods that I can think of that may upset her stomach but so far nothings helping. If you can think of anything that may sooth her I'm totally open to suggestions!
We recently tried to get Emrie to take a pacifier. The picture below is one of the extremely rare occasions that I got her to take it without pitching a fit. Poor thing - that pacifier is almost as big as her head! We're still working on it but it's getting better every day.

Two babies are better than one...

My mom works for a miniature horse ranch in Brenham. Aiden and I stopped by to see her the other day. The ranch also happens to have goats. So, Aiden decided he'd like to adopt a baby goat for "Emrie to play with" - right. Nice try. I do have to agree with him. That little goat was so cute. She followed Aiden around like a puppy BUT in the end he had to settle for a picture. He can go back and visit "Billie" anytime.

My mom and her favorite grandbaby and Aiden with his almost baby goat.

Emrie and Great Grandma Mueller

Last week Emrie and I made a trip to Brenham to visit my parents better known as Grandma and Mufasa (yes as in the Lion King). While we were there we paid a visit to Emrie's Great Grandma Mueller. As you can tell the two of them had a heartfelt chat. Mom came with me. I wish we would have snapped a picture of the now 4 generations! Next time : )

Yes...that's what you think it is.

I couldn't help myself! She looks so sweet with her little Popeye face that I had to post it. Milk. It does a baby body good.