18 Weeks

Welcome to Teething! Yes that's right, Emma Claire is getting her first tooth at 18 weeks (12 adjusted). She's been chewing on her tongue and hands and slobbering/blowing bubbles for a few weeks now but it escalated this past weekend. She also was fussy even after sleeping & eating so we took a peak at her gums and low and behold she is getting a tooth on her bottom right. She is still sleeping well at night (thank goodness).

Other happenings this week included:

• More giggles - a few giggle fits rather then a short giggle
• Holding toys in her hand - you have to put it there but she will hold onto it and play with it
• Loves the sound of rattles - if she is crying I can distract her for quite awhile by shaking a rattle
• More swimming - she loves it!

Worn out after swimming

All our pictures this week are of sleeping - she does do more then just nap I promise. She's just so precious and peaceful while sleeping :)

I was telling Kyle tonight that Emma Claire was going to be a Daddy's girl and he said he was thinking on his way to pick her up today that he was in trouble. So I never forget it, he said "If she asked me today for a pony, I'd have it here by Monday."

17 Weeks

Our sweet girl is 17 weeks old! She's growing and changing every day. I took her swimming for the first time and she LOVED it! She's going to be our little waterbug. She was unsure at first so I held her and splashed some water up on her and then eased her in gradually. After a nap, I was able to put her directly into the float with no fussing. Her little feet were kicking and she was cooing as she floated around.

Also this week, Emma Claire rolled over 3 times in a matter of minutes. She was laying on the couch (supervised) so I think the softness of it helped her since it would give when she tried to roll. She's yet to roll over on a hard surface.

Surprise Baby Shower

The night before Emma Claire was born my sweet Bible Study Girls gave me a surprise baby shower. I just got copies of the pictures and I am so thankful for them as they are the last pictures of my belly outside of the few we took right before I went in to surgery. Little did we know she would be born the following night. Here are a few pictures from the shower.

16 Weeks

I'm playing catch up again... Here are the 16 week highlights.

• Blowing Bubbles
• Trying to roll over
• Sitting up with assistance or in Bumbo
• Tracking us or objects with her eyes
• Chewing on her tongue
• Batting more at hanging objects
• Starting to grasp objects better - she was grasping the ring to her paci
• Wore shoes for the 1st time, they finally fit!
• Size 2 Diapers
• Slept 8 hours three nights this week

The Sweetest Sound

Thankful Thursday (a day late)

I saw the idea for "Thankful Thursday" on another blog I follow and thought I would join in even though it's Friday because I think it's important to be mindful of the things you are thankful for (even the small things). Of course I am thankful for way more but here are just a few things I'm thankful for today...

1. My Hubby - who is my "partner" in every sense of the word - cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Emma Claire. He has been such a huge help since I went back to work and I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful hubby.

2. Emma Claire, Smiles, & Giggles - we've had a few more giggles this week and many more huge smiles and I'm just eating them up.

3. Mojitos made with fresh mint from our herb garden


4. Tickets to see Paula Deen tomorrow! This was my Valentine's Day gift and originally scheduled for the Sunday after Emma Claire was born but when Paula found out we weren't going to be able to make it since I was still in the hospital she rescheduled (riiiiggghhht...).

5. Nurse April who is going to be watching Emma Claire while we go to Paula Deen. We just love April and she loves Emma Claire and is there really anyone better to watch your 4 month old then a NICU nurse?

15 Weeks

Emma Claire is 15 weeks old today. Hooray for an on time post! This week's biggest development has been giggles! Monday night we were sitting on the porch (she loves to be outside) and I was trying to get her to smile for some pictures. She laughed once and Kyle and I looked at each other wondering if it was what we thought it was and then she laughed two more times! The picture above was taken as she was giggling. She did it again tonight at dinner while Kyle was talking to her. She has also really started to smile in response to us - when we walk by her, when we talk to her, etc. Although I'm sad she is getting big so fast it sure is wonderful to see those big smiles. They were all I could think about while I was at work today.

She is also getting more controlled with her arms and has discovered sucking on her fists and thumb. She will actually spit out her paci for her fist/thumb. I'm hoping she grows out of this quick as I don't want a thumb sucker on our hands.

This past weekend our friends Dave and Stacie came to visit from PA and brought their daughters, Sarah and Abby. We had a great weekend with them and can't wait to see them hopefully in August at the Outer Banks.

13 & 14 Weeks

Another combined post - the weeks are just flying by. I went back to work just shy of 13 weeks so Emma Claire is with our sitter 3 days a week. The other 2 days a week I work from home. So far it's working out well. It's nice to know I'm home with her every other day during the week and dropping her off in a home environment made me feel more at ease. Nothing significant to report - she just continues to interact more with us with her facial expressions and noises. She continues to grow stronger holding her head up. Here are a few pictures from week 13 & 14.

Ready for summer!

Modeling my bracelet Grandma made me!