celebrating 4

here are some pictures of emma celebrating her 4th birthday ...

happy 4th birthday!

i cannot believe that is was four years ago today that we were given the most wonderful christmas gift ever . . . sweet little emma. after three months of bed rest (one month at home, and two in the hospital), we were surprised to find out i was 5 cm dilated after my water had broken on the morning of december 26. the dr looked at me and said, "we're having a baby today." i started to cry ... first, tom had left the hospital, so i was afraid the baby would arrive before he got back. (i had no idea how long labor could last!! in the movies, they say 5 cm dilated and the baby arrives in the next scene!!) and, i also was crying because i knew how early this was for me to be in labor.



at least 10 hours after my water had broken, emma kristine arrived. she was seven weeks early. she weighed only 4 lbs, 9 oz! she was so little. we were so afraid we would break her when we held her. she spent 15 days in the hospital ... one day in NICU and the rest of the time she was in the special care nursery learning to breathe, suck, and swallow at the same time (preemies don't have all the reflexes to do those three things at once). we were so nervous when they told us we could take her home. and, in fact, within five minutes of us getting home with her, i turned to tom, started to cry, and said, "i don't think i can do this. i think we need to go back to the hospital."!!! ok, am i the only first-time mom who's said that?? i was terrified, but somehow, here she is turning four years old today.

she was definitely a miracle . . . a beautiful, most precious gift. she is full of life, so sweet and funny. looking at her today, you would have no idea that she arrived in this world so early. i think she was just eager to get busy in this world!



happy birthday emma!

merry christmas!

we enjoyed our christmas together. with two kids now, it was even more fun ... and more full of presents under the tree. this was the first year where emma was very aware of what was going to happen. she was asking about presents under the tree as soon as we put the tree up!

we celebrated a little both christmas eve and christmas day. tom's family celebrated on christmas eve when he was little, so we continue some of the traditions from his family on christmas eve now. tom prepared swedish meatballs (he makes turkey ones for emma and i!), potatoes, gravlax, herring, and eggs. it was delicious. on christmas day, we continue some of my family's traditions. it's fun to continue some of those traditions, while making our own new ones as well.

emma was very eager to start opening her presents christmas morning. before we were all ready, she ran over to the tree and started looking for gifts with an "e" on it ... we told her to look for her name on the gifts to know which ones were hers. anyways, we were still giving isabella breakfast and she was peeking at all the gifts. i looked over and she had one on her lap. i told her she needed to wait just a few more minutes. she said, "oh mommy, this one just fell on my lap."!!!! cracked me up!

we'll have some pictures of all the fun to add on the site soon. hope you all enjoyed your christmas as well!

all i want for christmas is my two front teeth ...

isabella's third tooth, the first one on top, is coming through. she's being such a trooper. on top of having a cough and cold, her poor gums are swollen and bleeding where the tooth is coming in. i just can't believe her third tooth is already popping through and in just a few days, she'll be 8 months. where has 8 months gone?!

she is rolling everywhere, which has been quite a challenge with the Christmas tree up now. and, it seems like any day now she will be crawling. isabella gets up on her hands and knees and starts rocking. if you look at her, it looks like she is really concentrating on how she will get from here to there. and, even though she is not crawling yet . . . she can get to where she wants to go pretty quickly . . . which often seems to be right towards emma's toy with little bits and pieces! always keeping mommy on her toes!

isabella also started playing peek-a-boo on her own in the past week. i was making dinner one night and isabella was in her bouncy seat. i looked over and panicked at first as her blanket toy was over her face. as i went toward her, she slowly pulled the blanket down and had a big smile on her face. i suddenly realized she was playing peek-a-boo. so cute!!

we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas together as a family of four in just a few days. i'm sure we'll have more to post soon!

merry christmas!

Layering ...

i think emma has mastered the art of layering. she loves dressing herself right now in several layers. and she likes to change her outfits several times a day. it makes me laugh. the other day she had on two t-shirts, two turtlenecks, a sweatshirt and one more shirt on top of that. often, she puts on pants with shorts on top of them. tom says it's the european influence in her! whatever it is, it's very funny, and we get a kick out of seeing what she'll put on next!
you can't fully see this in this picture, but emma had so many layers on here that she could not put her arms down at her sides. it was so funny.

sweet potatoes, bananas, and more ...

ok, we're back again ... life has been a little hectic lately. anyways, isabella is growing and changing so quickly. it's crazy. she is 7 months now!

* rolling all over now
* sitting unsupported
* gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth ... crawling is soon to come!
* eating solid foods
* celebrated her first thanksgiving
* met her aunt anna


isabella has tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, avocadoes, bananas, pears, and squash. we're trying to figure out if she's allergic to bananas like emma. she was not the least bit interested in food when we first started trying to feed her solids ... very different from emma. but, she is now enjoying it, and she makes the funniest faces.

happy halloween!

are these not the cutest little bumble bee and raggedy ann (or raggy ann as emma kept saying) you've ever seen? emma kept singing the song, "i'm bringing home my baby bumble bee." we had a fun night ... just can't believe halloween has come and gone and soon it will be thanksgiving!

6 months!

i can't believe it ... isabella is 6 months old already! how did 6 months go by so quickly?! and, it was over a year ago now that we moved into our new house, that i had my cerclage surgery, and i was into my 2nd trimester of pregnancy. it's crazy how time flies.


isabella went for her 6 month checkup and she's doing great. she is 16 lbs 14 oz now and is 26.5 inches long. she is in the 70th percentile for both. much different than our little preemie peanut emma was in the 5th percentile. it's really different having a full-term baby.

in honor of 6 months, here are 6 fun things about isabella ...
1. isabella is rolling both ways and all over now
2. her tongue is often sticking out
3. isabella said mama this month
4. she is usually full of smiles and "talking" very loudly to us!
5. isabella can't get enough of her big sister; she watches everything emma does

6. she likes to attack your face with big (very big!) open mouth kisses

some fun food tips

for those out there who deal with food allergies or share the concerns about keeping our kids healthy ...

jessica seinfeld was on oprah talking about her new book, "deceptively delicious." i'm interested in checking it out. she gives recipes for everything from spaghetti and meatballs to chocolate cake ... but all the recipes include pureed veggies, so you sneak them in to get your kids to eat more veggies. emma is actually a good eater, but i wouldn't mind trying to sneak some more veggies in!

i also caught the last few minutes of a show on the food network today called "edible enemies." it focused on food allergies. they talked about a cookbook on there from a woman familiar with food allergies. so i looked her up online and found her cookbook ("the whole foods allergy cookbook" by cybele pascal) and her blog, allergycookbook.blogspot.com/. some great info there, including lots of websites wtih allergy-free foods. i'm excited to check out more of the links and maybe get this book too.

Hairs on my head

it's amazing how many questions a three-year-old can ask in one day. i think that tomorrow i need to actually count how many em asks me. i can say that emma does ask more than just the "why-why-why" questions. in fact, she most often asks me "what does that mean?" i really need to carry a dictionary with me. it's funny because i've found times when i have a really hard time explaining the definition of a word. and, some words i just feel like responding like this ...
emma: what does function mean?
mommy: function

ok, i don't do that. first, that doesn't satisfy the curious, inquistive mind of a three-year-old. and, i think it's great that she wants to understand the meaning of so many words.

the other day, she asked me about God knowing about the number of hairs on her head. i wasn't sure if she had talked about the verse at school that says that the hairs on our head are numbered. anyways, she told me she was going to ask God. so, right here in our living room, she asked, "God, how many hairs are on my head?" she sat there for a minute and then said, "why isn't he answering?" now, this was one of those questions that i really didn't want to answer wrong or brush aside. but, i had a really hard time answering in a way that a three-year-old would grasp. we talked a little about it, but i don't think i've satisfied her, and i really don't want to miss this opportunity with her. so, if anyone has any thoughts out there, i am open to ideas, advice, and more.

Swedish class, jokes, and more ...

emma has recently started attending a swedish class twice a month. yes, they actually have a swedish class for kids in atlanta! she's told us about some of the songs she's been singing there and some new friends she's made. i think it's a great opportunity for her to be exposed to the language and culture. how many american cities have swedish classes for adults, let alone one for kids!

emma's newest thing is telling jokes. most of the time, she tells jokes like "isabella on mommy's head" or "pappa fell in the grass". one day she told me that she was going to eat the sun. i said, " on my, that would be so hot." and, she looked at me and smiled and said, "that was just a joke." i told her the chicken crossing the road joke, so now she tells it ...'why did the chicken cross the road to get to the other side?" yes, she tells it as one run-on question/joke! cracks me up. and, now at the suggestion of babysitter marnie (or marn, as emma calls her) we've introduced knock-knock jokes to her. most of the time it's tree at the door when she does knock-knock. or, she gets confused about who's saying what part of the joke. it's too funny.

and, emma is enjoying her new teacher and class at weekday preschool. she comes home everyday and has circle time for isabella and i. she teaches us all sorts of new things, reads books to us, and sings songs with us. it's adorable.

Four months already!!

isabella is four months now. funny that i spent four months on bed rest ... but, this four months and the four months of bed rest somehow did not feel like the same amount of time!

anyways, we took isabella to the dr for her four-month checkup this week and she's doing great. she is now 15 lbs 11 oz and 25.5 inches long. she's in the 90th percentile for both height and weight ... much different than our little preemie emma who was in the 5th percentile. anyways, she's doing well ... rolling from her tummy to back, enjoying tummy time now, talking and laughing like crazy, and loving her toes. if she's laying in bed or on the floor, most of the time you will find her holding on to her toes. when she does it in her bed, she'll grab her toes and talk. then she lets her legs fall and does it again. after awhile, she ends up turned around in her crib! it's so cute. and, i think she is trying so hard to talk and laugh with emma now. there are times when she sees emma that she gets so excited. she starts talking and laughing so loudly, and her arms and legs start kicking all over. it's so funny. i wish i could get inside her mind to know what she's thinking and trying to tell emma.

Back from the Beach

we just recently got back from the beach. it was wonderful and the girls did great. isabella napped on the beach in a cute little tent we bought her. the front of it had a mesh cover that zipped open and closed, and it had another mesh opening in the back so air could go through it. and, emma couldn't get enough of the ocean and pool. before we left for the beach, she kept saying that she was not going to swim in the ocean. the day we arrived, we barely started setting down our towels and she was racing into the water! it was great ... and, of course, not long enough as usual. so true that we in the u.s. do not get enough vacation time. do you think we have enough vacation time?

anyways, next year, i would love to go for two weeks.

Change

i haven't shared anything for awhile, and i always have so much to say ... so here's the latest ....

we started a new school year at my preschool. my new teacher ms. kelly is really nice. i have some of my old friends and some new friends in my class. i got a prize on my first day with ms. kelly for being a "star rester" ... i laid on my towel when we were supposed to. that's a whole new thing for me. i've never gotten to rest on a towel on the floor at school. it's kind of funny, but we all get to do it.

isabella started going to my school now too. she's been going now for about 2.5 weeks. i think she likes it too, and all my teachers were excited for her to start coming to school with us. she goes to the baby room. mommy said i used to be in that room too. it looks like they have lots of fun things to play with and her teachers are nice. so, i think isabella will like it a lot.

i told mommy the other day that we were going to the hospital this week. i explained to mommy that we were going to change (meaning exchange) isabella for the four new babies that mommy is having. mommy's eyes got really big when i said four new babies ... i wonder why?? anyways, i told her that the new babies would all be three years old so that they could play with me.

what do you think about that? i think it sounds like a good plan. not sure mommy is going to go for that though. well, i have to get ready for bed. i'll share more again soon.

Two months!

i thought i would send a little update now that i'm two ... almost two and a half ... months old. i had my two-month checkup the other day. i am now 12 lbs 2 oz and 24 inches, and i've been growing out of some of my outfits already. over the past few months, i met my nana and my uncle dennis. i also met my aunt jen and uncle nik and my cousins lukas and jack. and my farmor and farfar visited us as well. i've had lots of fun meeting my relatives. they all like to hold me a lot and i enjoy that, and i have lots to tell them too with my coos and smiles.


i've been smiling and "talking" lots lately. i have so much to say to everyone. i've really been enjoying the bouncy seat that miss vicki and mr. micah are letting us borrow. i love to watch the lights and the animals on the bar, and the music is fun too. i get so excited when mommy turns it on. i am sleeping longer at night ... about 6 hours now.

i've been going to the pool with everyone. i get a good nap when we go there. i just sleep in the stroller. it's great. and, i've been getting to meet more of mommy and pappa's friends.

i'll update you all more again soon as i'm sure i'll have plenty more to say!!

New Pictures

our friend, ms. rachel, took some pictures of me and my big sister. mommy wanted to give some pictures of us to pappa for father's day. i thought it was pretty fun. i don't think my big sis wanted to have her picture taken with me, and then she was really worried about the bugs. i'm not sure what the fuss was ... ms. rachel and mommy kept telling her that the bugs only like adults. hmmm ... anyways, i wanted to share a few of the pictures that ms. rachel took.

Reflections on Bed Rest

now that isabella is 7 weeks old, we've celebrated her one month birthday (and soon she'll be two months!!), i thought i would share some thoughts and reflections i've had on bed rest.

ok, having to lay down for four months certainly isn't my idea of how i want to spend my pregnancy. i was so frustrated after having the surgery that i was put on bed rest sooner in this preganancy than with Emma. but, being on this side of things now, i see that the stitch did help, and i have to say that i much preferred this version of bed rest compared to what i did with emma. anyways, here are some of the positives for home bed rest vs. those for hospital bed rest. yes, i could actually think of a few positives from the hospital!

+'s for home bed rest
* the food
* my own bed
* being with my family
* mcdreamy, jack bauer, vh1's top 20 countdown, & ellen
* theme song ... "chasing cars" by snow patrol ... if i lay here, if i just lay here ... :)
* a beautiful little girl born at 38 weeks ... one day after my birthday (what a wonderful birthday present)

+'s for hospital bed rest
* daily massages from the physical therapists ... as long as your pain level was high enough (mine was always quite high! ;-) )
* seated showers ... i never thought i would say that, but when you are restricted in movement and you're pregnant, a seated shower helps ... especially to shave your legs!! :)
* the ice chips ... love those ice chips at the hospital!!
* ellen, oprah, & the dr. phil family
* a beautiful little girl born at 33 weeks ... which you would never know today! ... two days after Christmas (what an awesome Christmas present)

so, would i do it again? that's the question that everyone has been asking ... funny thing is that when i had emma, i absolutely insisted that there was no way i would ever get pregnant again! and, here we are with our second beautiful child. this time around, i find myself not saying no quite as quickly ... but, i'm not quick to say yes either!! tom says he couldn't bear to watch me lay down like that again (or maybe i just drove him so crazy with my requests and anxieties that he doesn't want to go through it again!! ;-) ) for now, though, i just want to enjoy my sweet girls and leave whatever is meant for the future in the future.

On Being a Big Sister

so, i've been trying to figure out all this big sister stuff ... it's pretty cool that i'm a big sister now, but i sure wish my little sister could do more things with me. mommy says that she will be able to play with me someday, but i don't like waiting! i asked mommy the other day if isabella could go back in her tummy and mommy said she couldn't. i don't know why. nobody told me that there was a no return policy on little sisters.

i've been getting some really fun presents for becoming a big sister. i've been loving it! i got a cool present from mommy and pappa the other day for being a big sister ... a backpack and lunch bag for school that i can carry. they are pink and have my name on it. here are some pictures of me with my new bags.

i had my dance recital over the weekend. ms. sandi taught us a cool dance routine. we were the tinkerbells ... although, i liked calling myself fiona at rehearsal and cinderella the day of the dance. anyways, it was lots of fun and i liked having all the mommies and pappas clap for us. i even got a medal when i was done.

i will be trying a tumbling class this summer. i start at the end of this month. i am excited about that. i am also returning to see ms. tanya for my refresher infant swim resource classes at the end of this month. she taught me how to float and swim last summer, so i am going back in a few weeks for some refresher classes. our pool is opening in our neighborhood, so i want to be ready to swim.

well, i have to go take care of my babies. i'll share more with you soon.

I'm two weeks old!

it's been a fun adventure since i entered this big bright world two weeks ago. just before i left mommy's really cozy tummy, i could hear mommy yelling at pappa and the nurses, "i have to push!" and they all kept telling her "no, wait. you can't." i don't know what exactly was going on, other than i was trying really hard to get here to meet everyone. it's funny because for months everyone was making sure i stayed in mommy's tummy. then all day on my birthday they were wanting me to come out. then just minutes after mommy got some medicine and they layed her down, they were all telling her that i couldn't come now. i could hear all the nurses and the dr running around and then it was finally time. mommy didn't sound very happy. i felt bad and wanted to come and hug her. i was glad that i was able to see her not too long after all that commotion

since then, i've been doing all kinds of things. i went for my first car rides ... i'm not so sure that i like that little seat i have to sit in. but once the car gets moving, i usually fall asleep. i had my first dr visit last week. i really like my dr. she was so nice and called me a princess. the dr told me that i no longer had to be on my light bed anymore. i was happy to be off that hard bed and in a cozier place to sleep. and, mommy and pappa get to hold me more now that i'm off the light bed, which i really like. the nurse told me that i am now over my birthweight. that seemed to be a good thing as everyone cheered that. i've gone to the church and seen where emma goes to school. i've met some of emma's and mommy and pappa's friends. i also got to go shopping for the first time. we went to costco, target, and wal-mart. all the lights and noises made me look around and wonder what was going on. i got to go to my big sister's dance recital, and went out to dinner one night. and, i had my first picnic for mommy's day.

since then, i have been enjoying hanging out with my mommy and pappa. my big sister seems like lots of fun. she taps my bed a lot, and mommy and pappa tell her "no" ... i just keep my eyes closed so no one knows that i'm really trying to see what's going on! i am looking forward to playing with my big sister. well, i have some sleeping to do. but, i will update you all again soon!

Under the lights ....

sorry we are just now updating again, but for some reason we were unable to get online while in the room at the hospital. what a wonderful few days of celebrating we have had. after all those months of laying down, the reward in the end has once again made it all worthwhile! isabella is so beautiful, and we couldn't be happier.

and, we are happy to say we finally decided on the middle name .... isabella sara.

emma came to meet her new little sister on friday. she was very excited to meet her. the first things she said, "i want her to talk to me ... make her talk." and, then she wanted her to color with her! it was so cute. emma has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of her sister at home, and has been talking all about her. she's also taken a few things that the nurse gave her at the hospital and has been taking very good care of her babies.

i was discharged late last night, and we spent the night at the marriott across the street. isabella had to stay at the hospital as she was jaundiced with very high levels of bilirubin. it was so hard to leave her as we had so hoped to leave the hospital with our baby this time.

isabella has been on a phototherapy bed since late Friday night, and an overhead lamp was added last evening. we have been increasing feedings and keeping her under the lights to help bring the levels down.

we were so excited when we got the news this afternoon that she would be able to come home with us. the levels had come down some. so they sent us home with a phototherapy bed, which isabella will have to stay on unless she is feeding. a nurse will come to the house each day to draw blood to continue to monitor the levels. we will keep you all up to date.