In My Daughter's Eyes

I just love this Martina McBride song. I heard it driving home to see my little girl from a long day of work. It was the first time I have heard it since becoming a mother, so it touched me much deeper than ever before.

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero

I am strong and wise and I know no fear

But the truth is plain to see

She was sent to rescue me

I see who I wanna be

In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal

Darkness turns to light and the world is at peace

This miracle God gave to me gives me strength when I am weak

I find reason to believe

In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand around my finger

Oh it puts a smile in my heart

Everything becomes a little clearer

I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart has had enough

It's giving more when you feel like giving up

I've seen the lightIt's in my daugter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future

A reflection of who I am and what will be

Though she'll grow and someday leave

Maybe raise a family

When I'm gone I hope you see how happy she made me

For I'll be there

In my daughter's eyes

A Trip to K-town and Some New Discoveries

Since returning to work, it has been harder to write these posts. By the time I get home at night, all I want to do is spend time with my Emma and Dusty and then go to bed! It has been harder than I thought adjusting to the return to work. I'm working four ten hour days so that I can have longer weekends with my family. Right now, it's taking a toll. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon, though!

This week I had a conference to attend in Knoxville, so Dusty and Emma came along. There was no way I was going to spend a single night away from my little girl!! We spent two nights, but from the look of the CRV, you would have thought we were going away for a month! Dusty strategically packed the vehicle, carefully fitting in all the necessities from the pack and play, to the swing, to Emma's aquarium play mat! This was her first time spending the night away from home, so we wanted to make sure we had everything we might possibly need. Emma did so well! We were worried she may not sleep through the night in a different place, but she slept like a champ!

In other news, last Sunday Emma made a new discovery - the toys that hang down in front of her on her aquarium play mat or that mommy and daddy dangle in front of her, can be touched!! She was so excited when she made this realization - hitting her little fishies and making them swing back and forth! She's starting to hold her toys too, and exam them while in front of her!

Here is my first attempt at placing a video on here. Hope it works. Not only is Emma playing with her fishies in this clip, but she's also singing as daddy plays the piano. Warning, this video is probably only wildly entertaining to Emma's mommy and daddy! Fast forward as you please.

We Survived

Well, we all survived my first week back to work. Monday night and Tuesday morning were quite rough for me, with a good number of tears, but I found comfort in the fact that Emma was home with Dusty. I knew that she was safe with her daddy and was going to have a great time. I actually did not even call them until the afternoon on the first day! When I got home on Tuesday, Emma and Dusty were waiting for me at the top of the stairs and she gave me a huge, open-mouthed smile. That made my day!! And props to daddy - all the laundry was done, the house was cleaned, bed was made, and dinner was ready. Impressive!

Emma and her daddy had a great time this week while mommy was at work. Here are some cute pictures he captured.

Mommy and Me

Emma, I write this post tonight with a heavy heart. Today was the last day of my maternity leave and tomorrow I return to work. I have such a feeling of sadness deep down inside. I love my job, but I do not want to leave you for one minute.

I have been dreading this day since before you were born. I cannot tell you how sad I am about leaving you. I wish that circumstances were different and I could spend every day with you. I am thankful, however, that your daddy is getting to take some time off and spend with you. I am sure the two of you will have a wonderful time together and get to bond just as you and I have been able to.

These past three months have been the greatest three months of my life. Never in my life have I experienced such joy, happiness, and love as I have with you. From the moment they put you on my belly and we locked eyes, looking at each other as if we'd known each other forever, until now, it has been absolutely the most incredible experience of my life. I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with my little Emma.

I dread not spending every minute with you. From the time you get up in the morning, when I lean over to get you out of your crib and you smile and squirm around in pure delight when you know it's me, to tummy time in the living room, I don't want to miss a moment. I don't want to miss all of your little firsts, seconds, and thirds. It is absolutely killing me. I love you my dear Miss Em. I promise, though, that I will be there every early morning to get my snuggle and your feed in, and every evening for your night time snack and snuggle into my shoulder before you fall asleep.

Thank you Em for these past three months. You have changed my life in ways you'll never understand until you have a little one of your own, and I am forever thankful for you. I love you.

Tennessee Georgia Game 2008

Dusty's Uncle Michael and Aunt Denise hosted the annual Tennessee Georgia Game party at their cabin this weekend. This was Emma's first trip into the North Georgia mountains. What a lovely drive it was, with the leaves changing color and the bright blue skies. We had a wonderful day with yummy food, fabulous weather, and great company! Unfortunately Tennessee lost, but it's OK. Maybe next year. We decided to forgoe spending the night and only made it a day trip for little Miss Em, which ended up being a great decision. Apparently Emma is just like her mother, loves a schedule and hates when she deviates from that schedule. Driving up to their cabin, having wake time before feeding, and napping in a new place, was a little much for Emma. We're learning our lessons!

(and just so you know, I'm blog challenged. I have tried for the past hour to post a slideshow with no success! Any tips?)

Three Months and Counting

Emma Bear! You are three months old today! One-quarter of a year! Wow! Like the first two months, this month has flown by!

You have been a busy girl this month, growing and changing every day. You are nearly 13lbs now and 23 inches long! You still have all of your gorgeous brown hair, which continues to stand on end. Your beautiful eyes are still blue and your eyelashes are growing long. You have perfected your gorgeous grin, smiling all the time. You especially love when we make kissy sounds and stick our tongue out at you! We usually get a wide-mouthed smile and arms flapping! You are still intrigued by both the camera and camcorder, so we have yet to justly capture your happy face. You have truly laughed once. Daddy and I stared in amazement and began acting ridiculously silly to re-create that sound, but we were not successful.

Your sounds are growing each and every day. You experiment constantly with your voice and sounds you can make by moving your mouth around. The other day you found out that you could make an "ooooh" sound with your lips and you were amazed. You have also found a new octave for your cries, making sure we know when you are unhappy!

We think you are practicing to be a little soccer star. You love, love, love to kick things with your little legs and toes. You enjoy lying on your aquarium play mat and kicking the ball and get excited when you realize you have made the jingling noise. When we sit you in our laps facing us, you kick, trying to scoot up our legs. You haven't really begun discovering with your hands yet, other than tasting each and every finger, as well as your first, with your mouth.

You love to dance whenever we put you on the changing table and get a kick out of kicking your legs and making "thump" sounds. When we put you in your crib at night, we can hear the thump thump thump all the way downstairs! You and Daddy have discovered a new game - airplane. You love to "fly" around the house with daddy. You are beginning to enjoy tummy time a little more, but still haven't figured out how to roll over. You sure do lift your head, though. You just began trying to lean your head/neck forward when you're sitting up, as if you're trying to sit up on your own.

We found out this month that you have an allergy to cows milk. Your poor little tummy! I didn't realize how much dairy I was eating until I had to cut it out of my diet. You're good to go now!

Your major milestone this month was sleeping through the night. September 10 was the first time you made it through the night, and you've pretty much been doing it ever since. You also started sleeping in your own room. This was hard on mommy, but we have survived. Another first for you this month was a little road trip with mommy, mom-mom, and omi. We went shopping at Ikea!

Emma Bear, you are an amazing little girl, with such a personality. You are still my wide-eyed baby, taking in everything you can, as you were the day you were born. I thank God for you each and every day. He has truly blessed us with you.

Fall is in the Air!

Fall is my favorite time of year! I've been so excited to share my favorite season with Emma during my last days home before returning to work! There's just something so wonderful about the crispness in the air, the beautiful blue skies, and the rustling of the leaves in the trees as the wind gently blows! I've been telling Emma all about the trees changing color, especially my favorite one near our house. Every year I'm so excited to see it change into its brilliant colors and this year I'll get to see it every day since we've moved back into the area!

My good friend Kristi and I and our little bundles of joy, Emma and Nolan, took a stroll through the park this morning. It was perfect weather! I found a cute little hoodie in Emma's closet. Just as I love dressing in the fall and winter, I've realized I love dressing her even more! Cute little blue jeans, sweaters, hoodies, and more! How fun!