So fresh and so clean

Say hello to my little friend

So Emerson and Sophia finally got to meet this weekend. Okay, they didn't really meet each other, but they slept in very close proximity to one another.


Sophia is the new addition for our friends Dave and Missy and was born three days before Emerson, despite being due two weeks after Emerson. I have a feeling they will be seeing alot more of each other.

Not so bad

The weather has been warm and sunny for well over a week here in beautiful Kalamazoo. As a result, Julie, Emerson and Gracie have probably accumulated close to 20 miles of hard core stroller walking this week. Julie has even been feeling well enough to play tennis with her friend on Wednesday as well as do a little jogging. You can also add an exercise DVD by Jilian Michaels (Biggest Loser) to the list.
What? I know!

I love watching Julie and Emerson together. Julie is obviously a great mother, but what really strikes me is the genuine happiness that Emerson brings her. It is written all over her face. I myself am quite smitten with this little girl also. Holding her when I return home from work? Priceless.

She has even gotten used to the bath. So comfortable in fact, that as soon as we finished her most recent one, she made a disgusting "poopy" in the towel we had her in. Also priceless

Emerson even made a trip to the Surgery Center of Kalamazoo (actually in Portage) to see where her daddy throws down some mad nursing skills. The resulting high squeaky baby talk by my coworkers really got her attention and even provoked some smiles.

More pictures from the past week

Kelly reading every "Paige"
Young Rylie Beck with Emerson.
Grandma T enjoying every moment.
Yeah, that looks natural. You're due for one of these Hargis.
I love it when she sleeps that way.

The Week in Review

Since our last post a week ago, we've been pretty busy. Last Thursday & Friday our friends Heather & Jerome visited with their kids and we had Emerson's first official outing - we went to the very kid friendly Red Robin for dinner and Emerson slept through the whole thing. Including way too many birthday songs. On Saturday, we made the 2.5 hour drive to the east side of the state to introduce Emerson the rest of the Marcikic's and some friends- again, Emerson slept through most of it; she is a good little traveler.

This week I am by myself with Emerson while Ryan is hard at work and the mom's have gone home (again, Grandma D & Grandma T, we appreciate all of your help!). So far everything is going great! We even gave Emerson her first bath in her little tub; we were thinking that she would enjoy it because she really likes to get her hair washed, but the bath seemed to have the opposite effect, therefore, there are no cute first bath pictures.

Father & daughter catching up on their beauty sleep.

4 year old Collin Beck with Emerson

Super cute! However, the damage that is happening in her diaper while making this face is not so cute.

Great grandpa John appears to be looking to unload this crying baby. I wonder why???

According to Emerson's cousin, Paige, the book Hello Bee, Hello Me is the greatest. Fortunately, we also own this book and gave it a shot with Emerson. I'm not sure yet if she is as fanatical about the book as Paige is yet or not..., but after that one reading, I believe I have it memorized.

It has happened.....

Just as predicted, Emersons cord fell off yesterday. There was nothing ceremonious about it - I was changing her and lifted up her onesie and it just fell out. It was actually kind of gross. Now that that is gone, we're just waiting for her belly button to fully seal so that we can have some fun with her in the bathtub!

As a continuation of my 'confession' yesterday, I thought that I would add that although I do miss some things about being pregnant (which actually surprised me and if you were to ask me two weeks ago, I would not have anticipated missing a single thing), I would not trade having Emerson for anything. We are so fortunate to have such a fine specimen of a daughter and are able to enjoy her much more outside of the womb! So far, she is doing super; she sleeps well, eats well, and is always curiously looking around. She is even holding her head up a bit.

Sleeping off a milk binge

This is my favorite - falling asleep after eating

Enjoying some time in her swing

My Confession

Ryan's cousin has a blog and last week was soliciting confessions. Here is mine: I miss being pregnant. Not the first trimester nausea, not the second trimester exhaustion, or the third trimester insomnia. What I miss is watching my little baby bump grow into a big baby bump. I miss feeling the first little flutters grow into strong kicks. I miss hearing her hearbeat on the doppler at the doctor appointments. Silly enough, I think I miss waddling.

In other news (which is very sad to me, but not likely anyone else), Emerson's umbilical cord is just barely hanging on and will most likely completely fall off within the day. It is sad to me to see that cord that once connected us for nine months just fall off. She is growing up so fast.

One of our first outings; fortunately the weather has been nice, so we've been able to get out most days.

She just keeps getting cuter with each day.

Soothe This!

Gratuitous cuteness

Emerson was given a crib soother by my Aunt Lindsay. The idea is that this device is supposed to soothe her; maybe help her go to sleep. On the contrary, this little device should have come with another name, as evidence by the sweet moves it inspires in our little dancer. Even in utero, she would kick like crazy when hearing this thing. It never fails to fire her little bottom up.

From left to right. Grace, Terry, and Julie.

All watching Emerson "dance"

The best things in life really are free

Well, Emerson is now four days old and I must say the past four days have been the best that I can remember. I am so thankful to have had a healthy pregnancy and now a beautiful, healthy baby girl. The whole experience was so much more amazing than I ever could have imagined it to be. Emerson is already changing and growing and we are really taking time to appreciate every little thing about her because we know soon enough, she will be in kindergarten. When we told people that we were pregnant, the response we got most was "wow, your life is going to change so much - but for the better". You were all right. We completely agree; we couldn't have imagined how much we could love a tiny little person who we have just met!