Guess who...

Guess who just rolled over from her back to her stomach! I was doing some work on my laptop and Emma Claire was playing on her activity mat. I looked down and she had rolled completely over to her stomach and her arms were not stuck under her. She has rolled over previously on soft surfaces (couch, bed) but this if the first time she has rolled over on a hard surface and gotten her hands out in front of her!

Overwhelmingly Thankful

Every day we are so thankful for Emma Claire & her health. But some days our time at Duke is particularly near to my heart for no particular reason or because I've heard the story of another preemie. As I drove to drop Emma Claire off at the sitter this morning, one of the radio co-hosts announced the birth of her baby who was early, born due to bleeding, and currently in NICU. A very familiar story. I looked in my rear view mirror at my sweet sweet girl. It's hard to believe just 5 incredibly short months ago our chunky monkey was 4lbs 8 oz and struggling to breathe on her own. It's these moments when I am overwhelming thankful for God's protection and for the doctors and nurses at Duke who took such good care of us.

21 & 22 Weeks

Another combined post because the past two weeks are running together in my head. Emma Claire is at such a fun and sweet stage right now. For those of you who haven't met her, she really is one of the sweetest, most easy going babies I've ever seen. Kyle and I are truly blessed and she brings us both such joy!

Kyle and I have seen a huge change in Emma Claire over the past several weeks. She has become so observant and interactive and has started babbling a lot more. She is starting to play now and interact with toys. And she is now grabbing toys, blankets, etc. with intention which most of the time end up in her mouth. A few things from these past two weeks that stand out:

• Laughing at Savannah while playing in her jumperoo
• Laughing at Blues Clues on tv - Kyle was flipping through the channels and turned it on for a few minutes. She immediately lit up, starting smiling, and then giggling at the show. Same thing the next night. We aren't sure what it is about this program but she hasn't done it for anything else on tv. Contrary to how it sounds, she doesn't spend a lot of time watching tv.
• She will also laugh now when we are being silly with her or if we tickle or "get her".

Here are a few pictures from these past 2 weeks...

Swimming with her cousins, Brayden & Jackson

Mommy says I'm going to be a Meredith Angel!

Kisses from Ella

20 Weeks

Emma Claire celebrated her first 4th of July this past week. It was also Uncle Scott and Tyler's (cousin) birthdays so we celebrated with Kyle's family. Emma Claire also met her Great Aunt Jill for the first time as she was in town from Wyoming.

Emma Claire and Aunt Jill

Worn out!

Kisses from Aunt Anne

She is changing a lot these days and getting to be such a big girl! She's alot of fun - I miss her when she is sleeping and can't wait until she gets up to play with her. We had to pack up the 0-3 month pj's this week due to length (Mommy was quite sad about this) and she is now wearing 3-6 months. She can still wear her 0-3 month dresses, onesies, etc.

She's really starting to move around. She's rolling to her side on hard surfaces now and yesterday we laid her down on activity mat and came back and she was facing the opposite direction. I have no idea how she did this.

She sits up great with support and her legs are getting stronger and stronger. She loves to stand up in your lap and jump. She's now jumping in her jumperoo some and playing with the toys attached to it.

She is starting to get into more of a schedule. Her naps are beginning to resemble 1 morning and 1 long afternoon nap and then she is awake until bedtime. She has been pushing her bedtime back and most nights we lay her down between 9-10 (It's getting closer and closer to 9). We are learning she can't be as on the go as she used to be - we need to be home so she can get a good nap in or we all suffer later. But all in all it's making for a happier girl and its definitely much easier on the days I work from home.

19 Weeks

Emma Claire and I made our first solo road trip (without Daddy) to Charlotte for my High School Reunion. I was a bit nervous about the drive but she slept the whole way down and back. She got in lots of snuggle time with Nanny and Poppy and we had lunch with Brayden and Jackson on Saturday and Momaw & Papaw on Sunday. It was a busy weekend!

New this week - Emma Claire is now moving around in her cradle. She works herself into a corner which means we had to take the sleep positioner out. She sleeps on her side these days.

Here are a few pictures from this week's adventures:

This is all of my classmates' children.

More Swimming!

4 Month Stats

Emma Claire weighed 12 lbs 12 oz and measured 22.75 inches at her 4 Month Well Check. She is in the 25th percentile for weight and head circumference and in the 5th percentile for length. She's catching up especially in the weight department as she was 9lbs 2 oz at her 2 month visit and in the 10th percentile for weight.

Here is the 3 month/4 month comparison. Click on the picture to enlarge.

Big Giggles!