This is what I find when Matt is left alone to care for Emma Claire.
Apparently they both love to play 'tent' together!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Our Life in Rewind (at least the last two weeks)
Well, in the last couple of weeks, we have met friends for dinner, celebrated birthdays and I had an interesting fight with allergies.
We started out a couple of weeks ago with meeting the Bryant's for some dinner. As always, we had a blast, but it's always too short! I'm beginning to believe they need to move to Cottontown.
Emma Claire is really thinking about pulling Cohen's hair. She loves to pull anyone's hair, little stinker!
Christin and me
Now everyone will know where Emma Claire gets her silliness from, her daddy for sure!
That weekend, we had dinner with Matt's family to celebrate March birthdays
Tammy and Ronnie, Pa was not feeling well, so he was not able to enjoy the festivities for his birthday.
Nana, Emma Claire and Pa
Lindsey and Kevin
Brant and Kathy
Fast forward to Friday morning and I wake up with almost swollen shut eyes and hives covering a good portion of my face and back. What a nightmare to say the least, I was a itching hot mess last weekend, so no pictures. Matt was out of town camping, so my parents took me and Emma Claire in on Friday night and then my in-laws took Emma Claire for me Saturday night so I could finally get some rest. Once Matt got home on Sunday afternoon, Emma Claire was dropped off after church and lunch and we finally were able to get out and go to church that night. It was nice to get out, but I'm glad it's finally over. I never really figured out what caused all of this, which is strange, but I know I've taken enough Benadryl over the last few days to put down a horse!
I just want to say a HUGE thanks to my family for taking care of me this past weekend. It was absolutely miserable to be itching all over and not being able to get outside and enjoy the wonderful weather we had, but at least it has been nice this week so that kinda makes up for everything!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Weekend in Ellijay
This weekend, Emma Claire and I along with Nana and Papa headed down to Alpharetta, GA. You would think by the back end of my Tahoe loaded down, we were going away for two weeks. I will say about 3/4 of the stuff in the back was Mom and Dad's. Anyone who knows my mother will definitely agree with me on that statement!
We left Friday when I got off from work at 11 AM. After making a couple of stops we arrived in Alpharetta around 6 PM. Chad and Dad picked up wonderful pizza and Mom and I went through my niece's clothes and picked out things Emma Claire can wear in the upcoming months. I love shopping for free and Madison has/had a ton of clothes!!! I got clothes all the way to 2T and then told Chad to save the entire 3T and 4T tub for me too. I don't want EC to grow up to fast, but Madison sure has cute clothes to share and I love it!
We then loaded up AGAIN and headed up the Ellijay to spend the weekend at the cabin.
After over the hills and down the gravel road we ended up here
My sister in law's father's cabin. I love it here, however I don't think I can stay the night by myself, but it is out in the middle of nowhere and it is the most relaxing spot to me. So thankful he let's us use it and I always enjoy our time here. We missed having Jen and Matt this trip, but hopefully on the next one.
Since Madison' birthday is March 15, I decided to go ahead and give her our present early. I found the girls matching dresses and I brought Emma Claire's because I wanted to take a picture of them together. Madison really wanted Emma Claire to wear hers since Madison had hers on, so it was a little big on EC, but they looked absolutely adorable in them.
Since it rained most of the time we were down there, we just hung around the cabin. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. Here is a few snap shots I took during our weekend.
The last pic is one of Madison sleeping in the car and Emma Claire's hands in her hair. Madison didn't like EC touching her or putting her hands in her hair. So when Madison fell asleep in Emma Claire's lap, I guess Emma Claire took advantage and 'bothered' Madison, but at least Madison didn't know this time.
All in all, it was so nice to see everyone since the last time we saw them was Thanksgiving. Hopefully we can see them again soon! We love you guys and thanks for sharing the cabin with us this weekend.
ECs Many Faces
Today I enjoyed getting the mail. Today the CD of Emma Claire's one year pictures (gasp) arrived. Today I was a happy ecstatic girl. Today I learned Emma Claire has a thousand different faces. Today I'll share another amazing photo shoot by Tarrah with you.
Tarrah is amazing. She captures Emma Claire's personality wonderfully and I love everything she does. Emma Claire is not the most cooperative subject and Tarrah is so patient with me and her. I cannot wait to have another photo session with Tarrah in the summertime.
Blog Award
I always joke that I could not win a contest if I was the only entry...HOWEVER, a sweet blogger friend gave me a blog award and I was ecstatic about it and wanted to share it with my fellow bloggers and followers. I want to thank Andrea for this wonderful award. I have never met her in person, yet we are joined in the NICU world and journey even though her is twice the fun! She is also from the same area my entire family is too, which is a double bonus. You never know how or why you meet certain people but through our journey with Emma Claire we have met some very wonderful people and I count Andrea in the same group. Now I'm supposed to share 7 things about me...here it goes!
1. First and foremost I'm a Christian and I believe having Jesus Christ as the center of my life is the most important. I'll never forget the day I was saved, it was Easter Sunday 1990. It's a day I'll never forget or the beautiful blue dress I had for Easter that year! What a wonderful day and knowing that day my name was forever written in the Lamb's Book of Life!!!
2. I love my wonderful husband. What a Godly man and wonderful father to Emma Claire. Words cannot express how much he means to me and what a important role he plays in our family
3. I am a self proclaimed or may be self diagnosed OCD. I have let so much go having a little one, but there are still things that have to be done in a certain way, such as having clothes hung a particular way on a hanger and in a certain direction, towels folded and grouped together in the linen closet and I always find myself straightening up the soap bottle on the edge of the sink in the kitchen.
4. I love to chat about anything. People who are close to me, know this for a fact! I can talk about anything with pretty much anybody.
5. My family and close friends are very important to me. I don't have a ton of close friends, but the ones I do have mean the world to me. I think it's more important to have a close family and group of friends who I consider my family too!
6. I love getting ready/packing for trips. Just the thrill of being able to organize everything excites me...hence the OCD!
7. Love to read and especially John Grisham books. One summer I was in a book-a-thon and after that no one ever wanted to sponsor me again per book. They would just give me a small donation. I have read all of the Nancy Drew series, Box Car Children and so many more. It's a love that has grown with me and I wished I made more time for reading. It is so wonderful and I love reading with Emma Claire every night before bed, I hope to pass this love down to her.
Now onto my next task for this award, pass it along to 15 fellow bloggers:
1. Bryant Family - Wow, I don't even know where to start. They will forever hold a special place in my heart. They were our NICU buddies and Super Nanny brought us together, thanks Stacy! Christin is someone I can pick up with and I felt like I've known her all of my life, people like that are special and I cannot imagine our lives without them in it. I secretly think Cohen and Emma Claire will be 'special' buddies too!
2. Our Journey of Love - Another wonderful family who I've had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with. They have a very special family and especially sweet Bennett. He is truly another testimony to God's grace, love and mercy. I cannot wait to get our sweet babies together.
3. Jackson Family - Their sweet little Addie was born 2 days before Emma Claire. It was nice to see such a sweet family every day in the NICU. They too have such a wonderful testimony and it's amazing to watch our sweet baby girls grow and change daily. Even though we don't see them often, we share a bond which has forever changed our lives.
4. Lugos Family - I just love this family. Heather and Ray are so much fun and there is never a dull moment when we all get together. I think we laugh the entire time! Oh, and they have some pretty beautiful girls too!
5. Lovell Family - I grew up in Arkansas with Kara. I love seeing and reading about her family through her blog. It really makes you feel like you are a part of their lives and I think that is awesome. I really miss my Arkansas friends, but I'm glad with all of this technology, we can all keep in touch.
6. The Dadds - Another family who rode the NICU roller coaster. I've met so many different families along the way and this one is no exception. I would email Jamie it felt like daily to see what Peyton was doing and how he was growing. It was always interesting to me to see how babies were taken care of at different facilities and learning information. I would see what Jaime would blog about and then I would have to/want to find out more information. It must be the bug of always wanting to make sure Emma Claire had the best care :). They have two handsome boys and I love keeping up with them.
7. The Howells - Another sweet childhood friend. I always remember having a blast at Hannah's house growing up. They lived 'way' outside of town and it was so much fun just running and do whatever we wanted out in the country. She and her husband Jay have a handsome fella, Brody!
8. TP's Teepee - Again, another wonderful childhood friend. I definitely believe the bonds you make during this time hold on. I have not seen Tracy in a long time, but I feel like I get to see what her and her husband are up to and I love it. Every time I think of Tracy I think of softball in the summertime. I loved this time of year, since we all played together and we always had a blast!
9. Our Journey with Micro Preemie Twins - I've never met this family, but again, we have the common bond of micro preemies. Daily I'm amazed by Jenn and Lances faith and trust in God. They have overcome so much and have so many unknowns ahead of them, but the submit daily to God and what a testimony they are.
10. Mary Farris Meek - This is a sweet little girl with a big name like Emma Claire. I just love girls with two names :) + Mary Farris loves Chuck Taylors or may be Kim does...jury is still out! We love that Mary Farris loves to pass down her shoes to us. This sweet family was in the NICU 2 years before us, but we have come to know them from the wonderful staff which took care of our babes. It was always an inspiration to hear about Mary Farris during our NICU time and always gave us something to look forward to.
1. First and foremost I'm a Christian and I believe having Jesus Christ as the center of my life is the most important. I'll never forget the day I was saved, it was Easter Sunday 1990. It's a day I'll never forget or the beautiful blue dress I had for Easter that year! What a wonderful day and knowing that day my name was forever written in the Lamb's Book of Life!!!
2. I love my wonderful husband. What a Godly man and wonderful father to Emma Claire. Words cannot express how much he means to me and what a important role he plays in our family
3. I am a self proclaimed or may be self diagnosed OCD. I have let so much go having a little one, but there are still things that have to be done in a certain way, such as having clothes hung a particular way on a hanger and in a certain direction, towels folded and grouped together in the linen closet and I always find myself straightening up the soap bottle on the edge of the sink in the kitchen.
4. I love to chat about anything. People who are close to me, know this for a fact! I can talk about anything with pretty much anybody.
5. My family and close friends are very important to me. I don't have a ton of close friends, but the ones I do have mean the world to me. I think it's more important to have a close family and group of friends who I consider my family too!
6. I love getting ready/packing for trips. Just the thrill of being able to organize everything excites me...hence the OCD!
7. Love to read and especially John Grisham books. One summer I was in a book-a-thon and after that no one ever wanted to sponsor me again per book. They would just give me a small donation. I have read all of the Nancy Drew series, Box Car Children and so many more. It's a love that has grown with me and I wished I made more time for reading. It is so wonderful and I love reading with Emma Claire every night before bed, I hope to pass this love down to her.
Now onto my next task for this award, pass it along to 15 fellow bloggers:
1. Bryant Family - Wow, I don't even know where to start. They will forever hold a special place in my heart. They were our NICU buddies and Super Nanny brought us together, thanks Stacy! Christin is someone I can pick up with and I felt like I've known her all of my life, people like that are special and I cannot imagine our lives without them in it. I secretly think Cohen and Emma Claire will be 'special' buddies too!
2. Our Journey of Love - Another wonderful family who I've had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with. They have a very special family and especially sweet Bennett. He is truly another testimony to God's grace, love and mercy. I cannot wait to get our sweet babies together.
3. Jackson Family - Their sweet little Addie was born 2 days before Emma Claire. It was nice to see such a sweet family every day in the NICU. They too have such a wonderful testimony and it's amazing to watch our sweet baby girls grow and change daily. Even though we don't see them often, we share a bond which has forever changed our lives.
4. Lugos Family - I just love this family. Heather and Ray are so much fun and there is never a dull moment when we all get together. I think we laugh the entire time! Oh, and they have some pretty beautiful girls too!
5. Lovell Family - I grew up in Arkansas with Kara. I love seeing and reading about her family through her blog. It really makes you feel like you are a part of their lives and I think that is awesome. I really miss my Arkansas friends, but I'm glad with all of this technology, we can all keep in touch.
6. The Dadds - Another family who rode the NICU roller coaster. I've met so many different families along the way and this one is no exception. I would email Jamie it felt like daily to see what Peyton was doing and how he was growing. It was always interesting to me to see how babies were taken care of at different facilities and learning information. I would see what Jaime would blog about and then I would have to/want to find out more information. It must be the bug of always wanting to make sure Emma Claire had the best care :). They have two handsome boys and I love keeping up with them.
7. The Howells - Another sweet childhood friend. I always remember having a blast at Hannah's house growing up. They lived 'way' outside of town and it was so much fun just running and do whatever we wanted out in the country. She and her husband Jay have a handsome fella, Brody!
8. TP's Teepee - Again, another wonderful childhood friend. I definitely believe the bonds you make during this time hold on. I have not seen Tracy in a long time, but I feel like I get to see what her and her husband are up to and I love it. Every time I think of Tracy I think of softball in the summertime. I loved this time of year, since we all played together and we always had a blast!
9. Our Journey with Micro Preemie Twins - I've never met this family, but again, we have the common bond of micro preemies. Daily I'm amazed by Jenn and Lances faith and trust in God. They have overcome so much and have so many unknowns ahead of them, but the submit daily to God and what a testimony they are.
10. Mary Farris Meek - This is a sweet little girl with a big name like Emma Claire. I just love girls with two names :) + Mary Farris loves Chuck Taylors or may be Kim does...jury is still out! We love that Mary Farris loves to pass down her shoes to us. This sweet family was in the NICU 2 years before us, but we have come to know them from the wonderful staff which took care of our babes. It was always an inspiration to hear about Mary Farris during our NICU time and always gave us something to look forward to.
I'll be notifying all of these wonderful families. I hope they have as much fun with this award as I have.
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