In 6 months I've learned...

That you need to pad the car seat or stroller with a towel when transporting a baby in a swim diaper.

That bubbles are cheap entertainment and half of the program people pay too much for at Gymboree.

That if you feed a baby pureed peas you will still find a pea shell in the oddest places…similar to corn.

That frustration is evident even in infants as they attempt to do new things.

That babies need a change of scenery during the day, just like their parents.

That in an effort to be everything, something will always suffer-I’m learning to let it be my clean house rather than family time.

That teething is still no fun.

Making baby food is so easy and cheap!

That babies cry in their sleep and it’s heartbreaking.

At the gym 20 pounds doesn’t seem like much, but holding a baby all day will lead to sore arms (Tony added that one).

Good morning smiles make you forget about all the sleep you lost that night.

More about reflux than I ever wanted to know. I can tell you which medicines interact with which and how far to space them apart. Carafate? Zantac? Nexium? Maalox? If any of those sound foreign to you and you have a child, consider yourself lucky.

That Einstein is much funnier than either of us to her.

That I relate so much to this post.

That love is all-encompassing.

1 Month!

**Disclaimer on typos: I'm still surviving on small chunks of sleep. This post will have lots of grammatical errors and typos.**

1 month. It always flies by on our dry erase calendar in our closet. It's crazy how fast a month can seem and how a month in a baby's life can completely change them. In one month our lives have been completely changed as well. There have been fabulous days and there have been days where we literally just take them one feeding at a time and one rocking at a time. So far I have kept my goal of showering every day (I dream big!) and thanks to a wonderful husband, I have also kept my goal of cooking real meals during the week. Some nights this has just been pasta and marinara sauce with a salad, but it feels good to know that we're not just eating take out during this crazy time. Meal planning in the past has definitely helped us make this possible. Bigger meals are now cooked on Sundays and faster things happen at the end of the work week. She has taken my planning skills to the next level!

Emmy has completely changed from the day we met her. As each day passes her focus on objects increases. She regularly holds her head up for longer periods of time, and she's starting to coo on occasion. Her attention span has increased as well and she's starting to want to spend more time laying on her back just looking around. Most of the time when she wakes up there is about a 5 minute window of happiness before she lets us know she's ready to eat. Sometimes though, that window is longer and she's fun to just talk to while she's hanging out on the changing table. Last night we read her a short story during her last feeding before bed and I found her following along to the page I would point to. This is something that did not happen last week and we think it's pretty awesome.

She tends to fight sleep during the day and the only reason we can think of her doing this is because there's so much for her to look around and see now. At times this can be frustrating, because a tired baby is not a happy one, but prayer gets us through these moments. She's starting to really focus on Einstein and if he gets too close to her she swats him with her flying hands!

I always knew I wanted to be a mom and have a family. When Tony and I met and started dating, we knew we had the same goals in life. He really looked forward to being a father and a husband and I could tell by his patience and kindness that he would be a fabulous one. Family is everything to him. We have spent a great deal of time this past month just reviling in what God has blessed us with-the great, the tough, and the poopy. All the time we both spent growing up and imagining getting married, owning a home, and having a family we never knew exactly what it would look like. It's not always easy, it's not always fancy or "exciting" as most would classify, but it's the coolest thing we've ever done. When she naps at night or during the weekend we have fun spending time together just he and I-whether it be catching up on tv shows or just talking. When Emmy was 1-2 weeks old this wasn't even possible and I remember crying to him that we were never going to have time together again. I'm thankful for my good friends and the advice they gave me to just hang in there. It does get better-sometimes so slowly that if you're stuck in the middle of it you almost don't even notice it. Each day she shows us just a little bit more of her independence. I can tell she's going to be a fiery one like her momma and this slightly terrifies me...

Here are pictures of her milestones this month.

birthday

1 week old

2 weeks old

3 weeks old

4 weeks old

I can't believe how much she's changed! I'm so thankful to be a part of her life. In the one month since I've had the pleasure of meeting her-I've changed. I now know the momma bear feeling my mom always described when raising me. I feel instant guilt when I leave her for even an hour. I wish I could take every pain away from her and I want to show her the world all at once while protecting her from ever feeling pain. One month in I can feel a strong love that I worried in the beginning wouldn't come so quickly. I look at her and see both her father and I and that is enough to know I will always protect her. One month in and I know that my most important job in life is to make sure she is a good and loving person-someone who makes other people feel better just by being around her. I want her to be an honest and giving person-someone who isn't blinded by nice things and the desire to be popular-but rather, someone that feels for people and wants to give back. I have so many hopes for her and I know in my heart I have to be the best version of myself every day for this to reflect in her. It's a crazy feeling that creeped up on me one feeding at a time, one lullaby at a time, and one diaper change at a time.

Changes around the house...

It has been quite a few weeks since we've updated our blog. School has started and I have a great group of kids! I have a great group of parents this year who are so excited for Tony and I and support us so that is great too! I realized last week just how much I love my job! I know that being a working mom will be a difficult balance that I may never fully achieve, but it has always been a challenge I have wanted to face. Everyone makes choices that work for their family and I'm just so glad that Tony and my family support my desire to go back to work and also raise a family. My grandmother is planning to watch Emerson when I go back to finish the school year and my mom will pick up next August from there on out. I know that my career is the most flexible one to be a working mom, so at least I will get my few months in the summer, winter break, spring break, and all major holidays to be a stay at home mom. We'll just say that things will always be interesting and busy in our home, which is just how we like them!

In the spare weekends we have (which haven't been much since we've been here, there and everywhere lately) we have been receiving so many blessings!

Here are a few changes around our house:

Our great friends Mary Ruth and Preston gifted us with a wonderful gift card that allowed us to get the pack and play we wanted. It's still in the box, but it's super cute and has owls all over it. Thank you guys!

My mom surprised us with a car seat for Miss Emerson. We hope to take her many fun places that we enjoy going to!

Tony's parents gifted us this fabulous swing! They came into town a few weekends ago and wanted to buy us a swing, so away we went and found this adorable one for a STEAL! After being on sale and using a 20% off coupon this one was so much less than any other we had on our registry! Tony's mom insisted on buying Emerson her first stuffed animal so that little one is resting where she will one day! The swing has been on in our living room from time to time so that Einstein can get used to the music, nature sounds, and gliding/rocking motions it makes.

Here is a BOB stroller we found on Craig's List for a great deal as well! We plan on using this as our sole stroller so we were excited to get this one! The car seat pops in with an adapter so Emerson will be riding around the neighborhood and town in style.

Emerson has been blessed so far with a fabulous wardrobe! My sister-in-law Brianne is responsible for most of this as she went on a shopping spree at Babies R Us. The picture doesn't do all her options much justice since most of these sets have 3 outfits on one hanger. My favorites are the A&M cheerleader outfit, A&M dress, and Texas Rangers onesies. This girl is already ready for our love of sports!

I'm feeling great right now! I'm still working out and lifting weights nearly nightly. We've been going on many walks at night and I'm still riding my bike. After the morning sickness finally went away (praise God!) I wanted to get right back to what I had been doing and I got my doctor's blessing. I am a little over 6 months along right now but I haven't taken a picture just yet. Here's an old one of me at 5 months.

Will update more later!