Pictures Galore!

I haven't had much time to write these days so I'll take the easy way out and just post some recent pictures. Hopefully the cuteness factor will make up for the lack of words. (P.S. I do have some news on house hunting but that's for the next post...)





(Yes, those are Christmas pajamas. No, we are not already getting in the holiday spirit. They were a hand-me-down from my sister-in-law and we were in need of some PJs!)

1/2 Year Birthday!

Everyone told me that babies grow up so fast. And, I always replied, "yeah, yeah..."

Well, it is absolutely, positively true. I just can't believe that Emma has been with us now for 6 months. A half year. It just can't be true.


But, alas, it is true and yesterday we took Emma in for her 6 month check-up. She is weighing in at 15lb 9oz (30th percentile) and is 25 1/2" long (45th percentile). She handled the shots pretty well, including the first part of the flu vaccine.

Milestones: She loves to roll around on the floor. One minute she is sitting up playing with a toy (and she is able to sit up very steadily) and the next she's rolled 5 feet away. Pretty impressive. She isn't making too many sounds other than squeals, laughing and grunting. Can't wait for the "ma ma" and "da da" to start. She tries to mimmick what you do when you make a sound but really hasn't figured out how to manuever her tongue very well. It's cute watching her try, though. And perhaps the start of separation anxiety is kicking in because she often starts to fuss when I leave the room. I have to sit on the toilet talking to her the whole time..."you're ok Emma, mommy will be right back..." :) She also has started raising her arms up when I come to pick her up. It is so sweet!

Toys: She still loves her exersaucer but I can see that she may already be getting bored with it. She will only stay in it for about 10 minutes before she starts to fuss. What big toy is next?

Feeding: I am still breastfeeding but have started substituting one feeding with solids. She loves sweet potatoes (I made a homemade batch!) and carrots. Not so keen on peas. We've also tried bananas and applesauce.

Sleeping: Right now she is doing well at night. Still doing one feeding around 3am, but is going from about 7pm to 7am. All that can change. It seems to vary week to week. Naps are a whole 'nother story. While she is still taking three a day, with about 2 hours of wakefulness between each nap, the length of the naps have dwindled significantly. I'm really hoping this is just a phase, but her average nap right now is between 30-45 minutes. Yuck! Makes working from home very difficult.

Sizing: We have just started size 3 diapers. And she can fit in all of her 3-6 month clothes, but I've started working in a few pieces of clothing from the next size up.

Cats: We have two cats, Lucy and Layla. For about a month now, Emma has been paying increasing attention to them. Lucy, the oldest, doesn't really want much to do with her. But Layla just can't get enough of Emma. She rubs all over her and allows Emma to do pretty much anything to her. Emma ends up pulling out fist-fulls of hair and Layla hardly reacts. Bet that will change the first time Emma gets her tail.

General: I have to say, 6 months is a lot of fun. I love each passing month more and more, which is good, because if it was the other way around, that would be bad. No doubt I've loved Emma all along but I find myself falling more in love every day as she gets more interactive and personable. Can't imagine how full of love my heart will be another 6 months from now!

Period

So I thought a benefit of breastfeeding was no period. But, almost 6 months to the day of giving birth, my good old friend returned.

In my Google search attempt to reassure myself that I'm not a freak a nature, I came across this and it made me chuckle:

"When menstruation does return, you should consider yourself fertile and take precautions against pregnancy if desired."

Oh, if only it worked that way.

(P.S. Emma is 6 months old today. Wow! I'll wait to do her big 6 month post after we visit the doctor later this week. I know, I'm such a tease!)

House Update

I feel like we have a million things going on at one time right now. Well, at least three...

1) Our house in Northern Virginia goes on the market this Thursday! We finally decided just to do it. That means we are spending the weekend doing all the last minute touches to get it picture perfect. We got a storage unit yesterday and are filling it with as much as we can to make the house look as great, and clutter-free, as possible. Tomorrow I'll plant some mums outside...got to have good curb appeal. The timing is great because we'll be gone next weekend and, therefore, not bothered by the hopefully tons of people who come to see the house. I really hope it sells fast because it is going to be a giant pain having people coming through while I'm 1) working at home and 2) taking care of a 6 month old.

2) We've found a great old house that we'd just love to buy if it works out - it's perfect because it is completely livable right now but will also give us the opportunity to put our own touches on it. It is in the historic part of Salem, Virginia, right off the main street and a short stroll to restaurants and shopping, exactly what we are looking for. The house is for sale by owner and we think/hope they'll have some timing flexibility that will make it work out for us (see #3 on why timing is so tricky right now).

3) Jobs. That is the trickiest part. My job will transfer. Husband's probably will not. And, of course, we can't very well buy a house four hours away from where we currently live unless he has a J-O-B. He has some leads and we are praying that it will sort itself out. If we sell our house in Northern Virginia before the J-O-B part is lined up, we'll have to stay in Northern Virginia and rent for a few months until we can buy the house we want. Not fun.

My brain just swims thinking about all the balls in the air. I think I'll just close my eyes real tight, hold my breath, and pray that the stars align!

The Finish Line

I survived the half marathon and had my little cheerleader there to greet me at the finish line.

Race Day!

I love to run. I didn't used to love to run. It seemed pointless to me. I much preferred to get my exercise playing a sport, where running was secondary to bouncing a basketball or hitting a tennis ball. But once my days of organized sports passed, I turned to running.

Pre-Emma, I ran about five days a week for a total of 20-25 miles. Nothing crazy. But I was very dedicated to running. In fact, at one point with work, I was having to get up at 4:30am to run.

When we started IVF, the doctor told me I needed to limit my running to no more than 20 miles a week. Once we actually started the process, I dramatically cut back. But I continued to run. In fact, I continued to run up until 32 weeks pregnant when I found out that my amniotic fluid level was low. And then I stopped.

Once I got the all clear from the OB, I started running again about 6 weeks post-baby. And it was hard! I hurt in places I never knew could hurt. I cried with frustration. This activity that I once loved was no longer enjoyable. But I've tried to stick with it.

And...this weekend brings my first post-baby race. I can't believe it is almost here. When I signed up for the race back in January, I never thought it would be here. And I never thought it would be so difficult getting to this point.

But, on Sunday, I will lace up my running shoes, pin on my race number, and run a cool 13.1 miles in the Virginia Beach Rock n' Roll Half Marathon. I've run this race in the past and have tried to get a good time. This time, my goal is to finish!

And I hope that I survive so I can tell you all about it next week!

Happy Labor Day to you all!

100!!!

I saw a few days ago that I had just put up my 99th post since June of last year. That got me all blog-anxious. I knew the next post had to be a doozy!

So here it is...our 100th blog post.

Yet, I have nothing of significance to say!

Oh dear!

I guess I'll keep it short and sweet, and try to be a little profound. When I first posted on June 8, 2009 (click here if you want to relive the memories) I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I knew was that infertility was a foreign world to me and I would need lots of support for the journey ahead.

I remember checking my blog every few hours, minutes, seconds, and having my heart fill with joy each time the little comment tracker ticked upward. And, guess what, 100 posts later, I still get so much joy from reading all my blog friends' comments (hint, hint!).

I can't believe how much can change in 15 months.

We faced and conquered IVF.

We faced and conquered pregnancy.

We faced and conquered child birth.

And we faced and...well, working on conquering mommyhood. That's a daily struggle that will last the next 40 years or so.

For the most part, it's been terrific.


But here I was yesterday trying to sneak Emma into Daddy's backpack so he'd take her to work for the day. Unfortunately he noticed.


Sorry that I didn't come up with anything more exciting to write about on this momentous occasion. I'll go ahead and start thinking about my 200th post and I promise I won't disappoint the next time around!