Emma Jane is Here!

Emma Jane was born Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 4:50 p.m.  She weighed 8 pounds and is 20 1/2 inches long.  She has a  full head of very dark hair.

Mom and baby are both doing well!

 Abigail and Michael came to the hospital to meet their baby sister the next morning. 

Here's our little Emma the day we brought her home from the hospital.

We are all in love with this sweet little bundle!

Michael's Big Boy Bed

As we anticipate the arrival of our new baby, we have debated on what to do with Michael's transition from the crib.  I didn't want to force him out of the crib if he wasn't ready, but I also knew that he was tall enough to climb out if he decided he wanted to.  (Once he climbs out, he's done with the crib!)  

We bought a twin size bed and set up his "big boy room," but we didn't force the issue.  I moved all of his toys and clothes in there and talked about his new room.  The original plan was for me to work with Michael during nap time in his bed, but not worry about having him sleep in the bed at night.  That plan was thrown out the window when I was put on bed rest.  I decided to not worry about the whole situation until after the baby is born, especially since I will have the new baby sleep in a bassinet in my room for the first few months anyway.

Last week, just a couple of days after being put on bed rest, my friend took Michael upstairs for his nap.   He grabbed his blanket, teddy bear, and little blue pillow and ran to his new room saying, "Big boy bed."  Without any trouble at all, he climbed on his bed and quickly fell asleep.  That night, he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed, but kept running out of his room.  I told him he had to stay in his bed or he would have to sleep in his crib.  He continued to run out of his room, so he ended up in the crib.  He was VERY upset!  That was the last time he was in his crib.  Since then, he has been a BIG BOY in his BIG BOY BED.  I never dreamed he would just make the transition on his own!  

Here's our big boy.  He is so proud of himself one morning as he wakes up in his new room!

Do you read to your child?

Last week, Abigail's kindergarten teacher sent home a form for me to fill out and return.  It was basically a "get-to-know-your-child" form.  One of the questions on the paper was, "Do you read to your child?"  As an elementary teacher married to a doctor who can't get enough of reading, I smiled as I checked the "yes" box.  I can assure you that there is not a shortage of children's books in this house.  We are constantly reading to Abby and Michael!

For Abby's birthday, she received a box of books about underwater animals.  We have been reading about sharks, whales, dolphins, and manatees.  The box also contained some coloring pages with markers and a trivia game.  The same afternoon I filled out the paper for her teacher, Abigail came downstairs with the trivia game about whales and asked me to read her some of the questions.

The first question was: What is blubber?

Abby's response: "A thick blanket of fat that covers a whale and keeps it warm when it swims in cold water."

My jaw dropped just a little as Coley looked at me and said, "That's what the book said."  

Almost There

Wednesday marked 37 weeks of pregnancy.  Baby is now considered full term.  Because of the worry of preeclampsia at 25 weeks, we are very grateful that I've made it this far!

Last week at my OB appointment, my blood pressure was high- actually higher than it was when I was sent to the hospital to be induced with Michael.   The doctor sent me to do blood work at the hospital.  As soon as I was done at the lab, I hurried home to get Abby off the bus and pack some things for Abigail and Michael.  I wanted to be prepared if the doctor called back and said it was time to have a baby!  The blood work came back normal, so I was told to take it easy over the weekend and go back to the doctor on Monday.

On Monday, I was officially put on bed rest.  My blood pressure was high once again.  I could get away with trying to "rest as much as possible" until seeing a different doctor in the group (because my doctor wasn't in the office that day).  He asked very specific questions about how much I was REALLY resting (with two little ones at home).  He was also VERY specific about how many hours a day I need to be resting with my feet up.  He also said that they knew I was probably going to end up with preeclampsia once again, so they would probably start talking about inducing me soon.

My blood pressure was much higher today than it normally is, but a bit better than my last two visits to the doctor.  I also did a non-stress test today.  The baby is doing great.   As long as the blood work looks all right, I will "rest" all weekend and go back to see the doctor on Tuesday.

I've had some wonderful help this week!  Thank you Liese, Brittany, and Crystal!

Abby's first day of Kindergarten

Today was Abby's first day of Kindergarten.  She was very excited to ride the bus all by herself.

This morning, she told me it was going to be a very hard day.  When I asked her if she was nervous about going to school, she quickly responded, "No."  I asked her why it was going to be a hard day.  Her response was that she was going to be working hard ALL day long! 

 Abby makes sure her bus tag is just right while waiting for the bus in our driveway.

I LOVE the fact that her bus stop to and from school is the end of our driveway!

 Abby is all smiles while waiting for the bus.

 Abby and Michael play while waiting.

And she is off!..... 

She had a great day!  When she came home, I asked her all about her first day of school.  After her report, I asked her what her favorite part of the day was.  She said, "I had two favorite parts.  One was writing a word all by myself.  The other was chasing Christopher [a neighbor friend] on the playground."  Coley is going to love hearing that his little girl is the one chasing boys on the playground! :)

More and more pictures....

A few weeks ago, I took Abby to get her 5 year-old pictures taken.  She loved being in front of the camera that day and was more than willing to do all the different poses the photographer requested.  It was one of those picture-taking experiences that made it difficult to choose just one I liked.  

We also got several great pictures of Abigail and Michael together.  

Here are some of the treasures....