Bedtime

Emma is wearing a sleeper that was mine. So sweet.

Emma talking

check up

Emma had her two month check up this morning and it went relatively well. Emma is in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. She is 22 1/2 inches long, 10 lbs 8 ounces, and her head circumference is 15 inches (not that you all care how big her head is...haha). So, that is good news, especially since we struggled with weight gain in the beginning. On the down side, Emma has reflux. I had suspected this all along and the doctor confirmed it. This is why she is so gassy, has trouble sleeping, and spits up so much. So, we're going to be adding rice cereal to her bottle (when she takes one) and start her on Zantac. Hopefully that will take care of it, but only time will tell. Emma got four shots today and screamed harder than I have ever seen her scream...so sad! She settled right down once I gave her a paci and she even fell asleep in the car on the way home. And as I write, she is sleeping peacefully next to me!

two months

We had a "photo shoot" today. See all the pictures here.

To a dear friend,

Today is my dearest friend, Kelly's, birthday. I am so blessed by her friendship and can't believe that we have been friends for almost six years now. Kelly and I met during my freshman year at Winthrop, when we were both joining Alpha Omega together. At this point in my life, I was really struggling with who I wanted to be and the friends I wanted to make. That year was a defining moment in my college career, and my life, and Kelly was such a huge part of that. We had many fun moments together--going fishing illegally at Winthrop Lake, going to Jack in the Box for burgers at midnight, and many Alpha Omega events. It was that year that I began dating Matt and she began dating Paul. We never dreamed that our lives would grow to be so interconnected. We convinced our future husbands to be friends and all began hanging out together. Then we all got married and we continued on our journey as true friends. The four of us truly share a bond that only God can create. Though we are many miles apart now, our friendship continues to grow. I am pleased that Emma will have a sweet, wonderful role model in her "Aunt Kelly" and I can't wait until Kelly one day has children (soon hopefully?). Kelly and I have been through a lot together. We have shared heartache and sorrow, along with joy and laughter. I will never forget the night before my wedding, we laid in my bed, talking and crying for hours. We shared our lives that night--our past sorrows and our future dreams. And our friendship forever changed. I thank God for our friendship and know that it will last a lifetime.

I love you, Kelly. Happy Birthday.

Crazy college kids (2005).

My bridal shower (2005).

Swamp tour in New Orleans (2007).

With Emma (2008).

Two months

Dear Emma,

I cannot believe that you are already two months old! You continue to be the most precious thing in your Mommy and Daddy's lives. We simply look at your sweet face (and chubby cheeks) and fall in love with you all over again. You are now getting into a routine and Mommy is getting better at figuring out what you need and when you need it. Despite a few setbacks, you are now a good eater. You have started to rub your eyes when you are tired (this is a big help to Mommy). You are smiling a lot now, especially when Mommy and Daddy talk and sing to you. A couple days ago you had your first "belly laugh". It was so precious! You are now able to fall asleep on your own in the pack 'n play--such a good baby. Your Mommy & Daddy love to take you out and show you off and our friends simply adore you. You are our beautiful Princess and bring us so much joy!

Love,
Mommy

Princess Emma

For the grandparents...

I love a good deal!

I'm on a coupon/saving money kick right now and found this wonderful site that has a Target coupon generator. You can find great coupons and print out as many as you want. They have a $5 off Pampers coupon when you buy diapers & wipes and also a free $5 gift card if you buy Pampers diapers and wipes. The great thing is that you can use both coupons at the same time! So you are really saving $10! Now that's a good deal! So, here's the link...www.afullcup.com

Now it's your turn, got any $ saving tips for me?

South Carolina

*UPDATE*
Emma and I will be in SC from Wednesday, July 30th to Tuesday, August 12th. Matt won't be coming with us. :( I am looking forward to seeing everyone!

For all of those who I told we would be back in SC this weekend, we've had a change of plans. I *think* we will be back July 31st-August 11th. It's all up in the air right now (mainly b/c of plane fares). I will let everyone know when we finalize things.

Hot July days!

Not too much has been going on around here lately. Emma & I spend most of our days in the house because it is so hot outside. Sometimes we will go meet Matt at his office for lunch, which is always a treat. Emma has begun smiling when we talk to her or sing to her. It's so cute! She is also enjoying bath time these days, as well as her play gym. Here are some pictures from the past few days.

The hubby

Matt just wrote an awesome new post about the city on his blog. Also, he changed his URL, so if you have a link to his blog, you need to change it to http://parksinnola.blogspot.com/.

Fourth of July fun!

We had an awesome Fourth of July. We headed over to the Friendship House for a block party with our friends, rode the ferry across the river to Mardi Gras World, and then watched the fireworks on the riverfront. It was a long, but fun day--and Emma did great! Matt posted some pictures here. Also, if you haven't checked out Matt's blog lately, he posted a couple videos from our trip last weekend. Head on over and check them out!

Happy 4th of July!

Weekend recap

We had an amazing weekend in Atlanta (which amazingly wasn't too hot!) and I thought I'd just hit the highlights for you all.

*My dad (Papa) got to meet Emma Grace for the first time. It was so sweet to see him loving on her. Emma is so blessed to have four amazing grandparents that love her dearly!
*My mom, Kelly, and I went to the Deeper Still conference. It was an absolutely amazing experience getting a true WORD from Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. And worshiping with 19,000 other women--felt like a glimpse of heaven.
*We got to hang out with Daniel, Jenn, Grant, Logan, Kelly, & Paul. How sweet it is to spend time with true friends that you can pick back up with right where you left off.
*We ate dinner at the Varsity...gosh I love that place!
*We went to the Georgia Aquarium and got to see whale sharks and beluga whales (my favorite)!
*On the way home, Matt & I decided to make a quick detour so that we could take Emma to the beach (at Gulfport) for the first time. We made some sweet memories and got some cute pictures!

We had a wonderful, fun-packed weekend. The only thing I didn't get to do that I wanted was go to IKEA...next time, Atlanta!

To view all of our pictures, go here.