Life.

This last week has been pretty normal. Busy, but normal. I worked 45 hours this week, plus 30 hours of being on-call, so most of my week was spent in a hospital. And I worked an 18 hour day on Saturday- that was sort of a killer.

Needless-to-say, I enjoyed having today off. And I spent it with the cutest munchkin ever. I missed Emma this last week, as I was working so much, so it was nice to have a day for just the two of us.

Emma has been doing really well lately. She is still loving daycare, and tends to be a happy baby. She is not sleeping as well at night right now, so that's been a little bit of a struggle in our household, but hopefully she will get back to sleep 8-9 hours at a stretch..

John is still enjoying his new job. Emma and I went and visited last Friday, to see his new office downtown. And everyone enjoyed ooing and awing over Emma.

And, January has been pretty cold. Thursday is supposed to be a high of -1. So that should be a lot of fun. But, it's almost February, and before we know it spring will be upon us (I hope).

That's pretty much all that is new with us. Just living life!

Emma playing after she's done eating 

Peek!

Future Pianist? 

Beautiful Girl!!

7 months!

I don't think I am meeting my New Year's Resolution of blogging more often. I just can't find the time to sit down and blog these days. I will try harder to find the time.

So, Emma is 7 months old already. Actually she's almost 7 months and one week. The time is just a flying by. Emma is becoming even more talkative, and she is sitting on her own now. She is eating solids and has two teeth now.

We finally have a sleeper now as well. Usually, we bathe Emma, feed her, and then lay her in her crib around 7-7:30 and she will sleep until 5 or 6 am, which is a good 10 hours. It is much better than the getting up every four hours that we used to do!

Emma is not crawling yet, but I am sure she will be before we know it!

Emma's likes:
-Breastmilk/Formula- I stopped Breastfeeding this month- so we are feeding her a combination of breastmilk and formula, which is going really well
-Bath time- Emma gets mad at us when we take her out of the tub!
-Bananas, squash. sweet potatoes, peas, pears, peaches, green beans, carrots- Pretty much every type of baby food we have tried with her, she has enjoyed. She is really learning how to eat well.
-Playtime- Emma loves to play. She puts about every toy in her mouth, or bangs it against something else. She enjoys anything that makes noise or lights up as well.
-Her crib. Sometimes she just enjoys laying in her crib and babbling for a while before she falls asleep.
-Car rides- Likes to sleep during the car ride.
-Shopping trips. Emma really likes to look around at everything when we are out and about in a store. As long as she can look around, she is entertained for the outing.
-Being thrown in the air. She loves being thrown up and then caught. Of course I don't throw her too high, but she loves it!
-Pacifier- She still likes this thing, especially at night. But she needs it a little less during the day.


Emma's Dislikes:
-Her highchair. She likes it just long enough to eat some baby foods, and then she has had about enough.
-Being taken out of the tub and changed into pajamas. She gets cold and usually by this time she is just generally tired and cranky.
-Being over tired. This is a scary sight, and we try really hard to avoid it.

There has also been some firsts during this month. Emma got her first illness. And we had to give her antibiotics for 10 days. I am sure this won't be the last time this winter we have sickness going on in our household.

As far as John and I, things have been going well. John started his new job a couple weeks ago at 9 Clouds and he really enjoys it. He also has been keeping busy with some photography appointments in the mean time.

I have basically been working and spending time with Emma. My parents and brother came to visit this last weekend, which is nice to spend some time together. And Emma always really enjoys it.

One a random note, the high for tomorrow is 4 and the low is -8. Wind chill of -20 to -30. Brr. That is fricken cold. Everyone try and stay warm!

Sick Baby

Well, I am home again today with a sick baby. Fever, fussiness, snot, and a junkie cough. It is absolutely zero fun seeing your baby this way. 

We went and saw the doctor yesterday, and now Emma is on some Amoxicillin. I am hoping this does the trick. She hasn't even been on the antibiotics for 24 hours yet, so no improvement yet. 

Today I have spent the day cuddling, medicating, and feeding Emma. I love that I can be here to comfort Emma when she doesn't feel good, but it sucks that there's not more I can do for it. 

But anyway, I hope the antibiotics help, I was my fun, active baby back. 

Here's to Emma hopefully feeling better in a couple days. It could be worse, we could all have the flu bug that is impacting like everyone. I would rather not go down that road this winter. 

So heres my advice as your nurse: Wash your hands, get vaccinated, and maybe avoid overly crowded places for a while if you can. Stay Healthy!

Making Baby Food

I got a Baby Bullet for Christmas from my sister and brother, so I have been making some of my own baby food.

It is really easy, and saves a lot of money to make baby food instead of buying it.

I tried peas about a week ago, and Emma didn't really eat them very well. I don't know if she just wasn't hungry or in the mood the couple times I tried them, or if she didn't like them.

Today, I have made squash, sweet potatoes, and bananas. I am excited for her to try them.  It makes me feel good to know I am making some healthy food for Emma and saving some money along the way.

Making Sweet Potatoes

All the food I made today

John got me a Baby Bullet steamer, which steams veggies and it can also sanitize items.

Sanitizing Emma's Pacifiers 

I am enjoying my new Christmas Presents and making nutrient rich foods for my baby. What could be better? I recommend making your own baby food, if I can do it, anyone can do it. Now, I just hope Emma loves it!

New Year- New Resolutions

So, 2012 is over. And I have to say it was one of the best years I have ever had.

I started the year pregnant, and very excited about meeting our little girl. I also started my job in the Recovery Room last January, which is hard to believe! It was one of the best choices I made as I have way less job stress, and I really enjoy my work.

In June we had Emma, and our lives changed, for the better! We spent the rest of the year learning how to be parents, and enjoying the crap outta it.

John and I celebrated our second Wedding Anniversary and John accepted a new job in December that he will start in another week.  He's pretty excited about this change.

To round out the year, my parent's celebrated 30 years of marriage, my brother graduated college-got a job-and is remodeling his house, and my sister changed jobs and bought a house, in Mankato.

It's been a great, busy year and I don't think I would have changed a thing about it. I am looking forward to see what 2013 will bring!

My 2013 Resolutions:

1.  Eat more fruit and veggies- Create a routine exercise plan- Lose weight.
   -Talk about a cliche resolution. But I could afford to be a little healthier and would like to be in the new year.

2. Learn to appreciate the things that matter.
   -Sometimes I get upset or worry about things that really don't matter. So what if we miss the garbage truck one week, or I have to repeat myself to John a few times- as long as all three of us are happy and healthy, everything will be okay.

3. Travel to the Omaha Zoo this summer.
   - I am really excited to take Emma to the Omaha Zoo this summer. I think she will be old enough to really enjoy seeing all the animals.

4. Blog more often, about anything and everything.
   - My blogging has decreased a little this year, due to the new stress and time and energy being a mom takes. I also tend to only blog big events- I'd like to get in a better habit of blogging more frequently about anything that pops into my mind.

5. Go out on more dates with my husband and/or friends.
   - I need to pick up the phone more often and just go out with some friends. I'm really bad about just being out of touch with my friends sometimes, and there's no excuse for it. Also, John and I need to go out just the two of us a little more often and do more exciting things than just eating out. I would like to go to some plays, musical events, and any other activities going on in town.

I better stop there. I would like to actually make these resolutions a reality.

So here's to great things in 2013!!!