Little Luda's Birthday Weekend

December 11, 2013 our lives changed forever. December 13, 2013, the day we came home from the hospital, is the day our lives REALLY changed. Bringing Emerson into the world, was one of the most important days of our lives. The moment we looked into her eyes, our hearts melted and love at first sight was truly born.

We've had so much fun celebrating Emerson this past weekend. On her actual birthday we kept it low key. Breakfast with the Grandparents and lunch out with Mommy and Daddy at one of her favorite restaurants, Chik-fil-a. We also made a very important airport pick-up and Emerson was able to meet one of my best friends from high school, Michelle, and her husband Chris, who were flying in from Germany. She stayed up way too late, BUT for the first time in a long time, slept all night long and didn't wake up until almost 0700! Needless to say she was pooped, but in my opinion, she had a great birthday!

On Friday, we had her 1 year check-up! She was a ham as always, when the doctor was examining her and she did awesome. She let her listen to her heart and lung sounds and check out her eyes, nose, throat and ears with no problems! Em's check-up went great and although the 4 shots she got were not so great, Em is a healthy, growing baby girl.

She weights 20 pounds, 13 ounces and is 29 1/4 inches tall. She's wearing size 12-18 or 18 month clothing and size 4 diapers. Her favorite foods are sausage, cinnamon rolls, blueberries, bananas, yogurt, broccoli, corn, mac-n-cheese and chicken, although she will eat almost anything we give her. She definitely gets distracted at meal times and if we give her too many options, she usually doesn't eat as well, so we try and start with the vegetables and go from there! Her favorite sweet treat is definitely ice cream. At her birthday lunch she had an ice cream cone and went crazy for it. Em is still nursing 4 times a day, but we are going to start introducing cow's milk and slowly start the weaning process. She has done great with being breastfed and we really don't want to rush the process, but let her wean at her own pace, so we will see how that goes! In terms of sleep, well it's been iffy. She is still taking 2 naps a day, which last at least 40 minutes, but sometimes 2 hours and 40 minutes. I can't seem to figure out what makes her sleep longer, but I'm sure I will one of these days! At night she is consistently sleeping 7:00-5:00, but when she wakes up at 5:00 we go in and gently encourage her to go back to sleep and she usually is out until at least 6:30. Over the last month we have had some difficult nights due to the dreaded TEETHING. Sweet cheeks got 4 teeth in a week and has slowly popped another over the last 2 weeks. Right now she has 7 that our through and 2 more that are working there way out. So I don't blame her for having a few cranky nights.

Em's favorite activities are dancing, listening to music and pushing the bar stools around the living room. She also loves waving, blowing kisses, clapping, bath time and swim class! She doesn't love getting her diaper changed or getting dressed.

 On Saturday we had Em's birthday party at Swim Kids! That is where she takes her lessons and we just thought it would be a fun activity with all the kids. It seemed that the party was a hit and we were overwhelmed by everyone that came to show their love and support for our sweet girl.

Thank you so much to all the family and friends that came out to make Em's birthday celebration such a success. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives.

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Girl.

We love you!

12 months of #BABYWEARING

There are so many different "products" out there and as a new Mom I thought that I NEEDED all of them and going into a store like BuyBuyBaby or BabiesRUs without a game plan could be any new Mom's worst nightmare. Thankfully I had a heavy dose of reality from experienced and more organized Mommy friends of mine before starting my registry and am proud to say that I put every item that I received at my baby showers to good use. 

Of all the items that I received, I have to admit that my "Babywearing" items are the ones that I thought I would use, but had no idea how much. I knew that I would love the snuggles, but once I got involved in the world of baby wearing I dove in head first and fell instantly in love. 

So without further a due, 12 months of baby wearing. 

We started out with the Moby wrap, and I LOVED it. It does have a lot of fabric, but once I got a good handle on how to wrap it, I was able to pop Em, in and out with ease. I love the closeness that it provided and since she was born is December, the fabric, which is thick and a bit warm, was perfect. This particular wrap got a TON of use and I have it tucked away for whenever baby #2 decides to make an appearance. 

Nugget's first baby wearing experience at 3 weeks old.

We were also gifted an Ergo baby carry. We used it a couple of times while Em was itty bitty, but really started using it once she was bigger and had better head and neck control. Shawn is a particular fan of this carrier because it's easier for him to get it on and off, although I have wrapped her to him several times.

Just before turning 2 months old.

3 months old. This was after walking for 2 hours and she was still nice and snug.

 Once we knew that baby wearing was our thing, we decided to invest in a woven wrap. After a agonizing debate with myself, I decided on a Didymos Indio 100% cotton and I couldn't have been happier with my choice. It is perfect for a beginner wrapper, like myself, and have proven to be quite sturdy as Em gets bigger. I am able to wrap her in front or in back although our first couple of attempts at back carriers, something that you can't do with a stretchy wrap, weren't too great. I definitely feel more comfortable putting Em on my back when I have Shawn to spot me, but I have done it alone. The only trouble with woven wraps is that they are addicting. The fabrics are gorgeous and I really can't get enough of the snuggles. With that being said, I have stuck with my guns and still only have 1 woven wrap, but will inevitably be in the market for a more sturdy wrap, something with a cotton/linen blend, as Em gets heavier. 

 Our first few attempts at back carries.

I also purchased a ring sling at a consignment sale. It was a steal in my opinion and I love having this in the car as my "go to" for when we are out and about. It is so easy to put her in and out of this one, especially when we are going to be making multiple stops. 

Even Aunties love baby wearing!

Putting up Christmas decorations at Granny and Papa's house.

Snoozing on Daddy's back at Christmas Town.

 As you can see Em loves being worn, for the most part. There are definitely days when she wants to get down and explore the world around her, but as long as she is comfortable being wrapped up I'm happy to do it. I know there will come a day that she is too big, but for now, I'll enjoy the snuggles.