Thursday, July 30, 2009

Visits with Emma


Eric and Danielle came by to meet Emma and brought her a lovely outfit with some other things. We hope to be able to hang out with them more often, we look forward to visiting them at their house some time soon.

Then Heather with her beautiful daughter Kenlee came to visit and spend some time with Emma. We look forward to future play-dates with Kenlee.

Stephanie came the day our AC decided to die on us. At this time the house was about 78 degrees or higher, but we managed to have a nice visit before vacating the house for a cooler climate in a hotel.

We look forward to future visits from friends and family. Emma, Ray, and I would like to say thank you to those people who have taken time out of their day to make a point of calling, emailing, or coming by to help us welcome our daughter home!
Since we have been home there have been some close friends that have come by to meet our baby girl and to see how we have been doing. We want to thank these people for their thoughtfulness and let them know that they were one of the first people to come and see Emma at home!

Monday, July 27, 2009

2 Weeks Old

Today Emma went back to the pediatrician for her two week check up and we were thrilled with the results along with Dr. Saenz. Emma now weights 8 lb 9 oz and is 22 1/4 inches long!! She is growing so fast, this was just 5 days after she weighed in at 7 lb 8 oz and was 20 and 3/4 inches long. Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy are very proud of her progress and are excited with every little show of growth. This is the outfit she wore to the doctor visit today. We had many people stop and admire our sweet angel today while we were at the doctor's office.

Emma is dressed in an outfit that was bought by her Memaw (my mom) just relaxing at the house.


This is Emma and her Daddy taking a nap! They are so adorable. Ray is a real trooper taking care of both of us night and day. I try to get him to take more naps, but this is one of the few he has allowed himself to take since we came home from the hospital. He is a 100% dedicated Dad and husband!


This is Emma in her 1st summer outfit that we bought for her once we found out that we were having a girl! She is so cute!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Hot Hot Hot

Well, where to begin, how about I am sitting in my living room and it is currently 86 degrees in my house as I am typing this update. We have been having some major AC issues for about a month now, and the air compressor finally decided to call it quits Friday. We have had multiple AC companies come out to take a look to see what is going on, but it took us having to call out a different company than one approved by our home warranty company for them to correctly diagnose the issues. We stayed in a hotel last night, and are hunkered down in our bedroom now with a window unit Ray purchased. They have to order the part and wait for it to come in, so we will be sequestering ourselves in our little igloo until it is fixed and we can be comfortable again!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Nana and Poppa




Emma, as well as her Mommy and Daddy, would like to thank Nana and Poppa for coming to help out after her birth. They stayed with us for almost a week and helped out tremendously, be it by cooking, doing laundry, shopping, meeting with people, or just holding and playing with their granddaughter so Mommy and Daddy could get a little shut eye. Emma can hardly wait until her Nana and Poppa come back to love on their little princess!

Emma's Play Date



Today Emma had her first play date. Although she slept through it, we will still count it as a very wonderful experience. Heather and her beautiful 4 month old daughter Kenlee came to visit with us today. It was a very nice treat to be able to sit down with a friend and fellow new mom to discuss the every day life that we are experiencing on this wonderful journey known as motherhood. Kenlee is a very sweet and bright-eyed girl that I hope Emma gets to know more over the years to come.


Emma's Travels


Yesterday was the first day that we took Emma out of the house to run some errands. Emma went with us to our doctor appointments, to Rudder High School, to Ray's work to meet his co-workers, and most importantly she went shopping!

Daddy took her on her 1st shopping experience at the mall. We went to the baby boutique and bought her some headbands and maroon bows ~Whoop~ then we went and purchased her a maroon Aggie onesie with ATM on the front in rhinestones ~Gig 'Em~ Now Emma will be set for the upcoming 2009 Aggie football season and will help her Daddy cheer the Aggies on to a winning season.

Today we had another checkup with Dr. Saenz. Miss Emma gained 4 oz, which puts her at 7 lbs 8oz! We are very excited about her gain and that she is a very healthy, happy baby.

Emma is feeding very well and sleeping as much as babies can. She is a true delight to both her Momma and Daddy. Ray makes sure to give her tummy time and he interacts with her as much as possible. Daddy also gave her a bath today and she seemed to enjoy it more today than the others she has had. Emma loves to sleep in her Daddy's arms during the day when she is napping. Ray is becoming an expert at multitasking and tending to Emma and my every need. Emma and I are very blessed to have Ray in our lives, he is truly one of the most giving, selfless people I have ever known.

Monday, July 20, 2009

1 Week Old


Time flies when you are having fun! Ray and I fell in love with our sweet pea before we even heard her first heartbeat. Now that she has been with us for a week, we do not know how we can possibly contain the love that is bursting from our hearts. We both feel truly blessed by God by having Emma in our lives. We are learning more about each other every day. I can get lost in my daughter's eyes, I want to do nothing but hold her, love on her, and never let her go.

Emma taking a nap in her crib, while Mommy does some organizing with her things.

Emma and Mommy getting ready to go to the pediatrician for her 2nd check up.

Daddy giving Emma a bath, what fun times!!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Emma Pictures

Here are some of the photos we have taken so far of our beautiful daughter. Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Birthday Party

Yesterday was Emma's birthday, and Mommy and she had a lot of visitors and gifts. We had visits, from friends, family, and both godparents. Here are some pictures of her gifts and Nana, Poppa, Memaw, and Uncle Shannon saying hello.



Monday, July 13, 2009

Hello World!

Emma came into the world today at 5:23 pm. She was 7 lb. 15 oz. and 20 inches long. We will give more details later, but it has been a long, tiring day. Mommy and Emma are both resting and doing great. Enjoy these pictures that basically show how our most blessed day was!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Emma Update

We went in for our last ultrasound today. The picture was a bit dark, but if you click on it for the bigger picture you can make out the outline of her face and her puckered lips! Based on their measurements, Emma currently weighs 8 lb. 5 oz. We meet with Dr. Benson tomorrow to determine the best course of action, but we are thinking Emma will be with us sometime next week! :D

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Things to know about Emma...

July is here and with it we get more excited every day as we move closer to Emma's official due date of July 23rd. Through the numerous weeks that have passed I have been able to have that wonderful one on one time with my daughter that only the mother can have. As the weeks have gone by I have enjoyed my time with her and have come to realize how much like Ray she really is.

We have really been blessed with a wonderful, healthy, and happy pregnancy. Emma has been really easy going and relaxed like her Daddy. She likes the same food as Ray, she moves more when she hears his voice and knows he is near. Emma wakes in the morning when Ray goes to work and she does not like to go to bed when Ray is not next to us at night, how she knows the difference I have no idea.

Since the time is drawing closer to her arrival I have begun to research different things about the month of July. The following is just a bit of what I have learned so far...

The birth flower for the month of July is called a Larkspur. Ray and I, along with my Mom are looking for some now so that we can plant them throughout the garden to help welcome Emma home.

The birthstone for the month of July is the Ruby. The first thing the Pheris' bought me was a pair of ruby and diamond hoop earrings. Sharon wanted to be the first person to buy me rubies, but Ray had already done this when I graduated from Texas A&M University in 2002, he had bought me a diamond and ruby tennis bracelet.

The astrological sign for the month of July is Cancer. After reading up on this sign I have found that we will be looking forward to our daughter having some of the following character traits:

Loving and Emotional - this I think will be a bit of both of Ray and myself but in different ways. When it comes to the emotional part I hope she is more like Ray in some aspects rather than like me, but either way she will be perfect.
Shrewd and Cautious - if she is anything like her Daddy as I suspect this will go a long way with her business dealings.
Sensitive and Nurturing - in this area I believe she will be more like me, but Ray is more private with this side of himself.
Intuitive as well as Imaginative - These traits I believe Ray and I both have in common, but I tend to have more of the imaginative side that I express with creativity in various ways.
Sympathetic and Protective - in this I know Ray and I are both equal and depending on the circumstance can take it to the extreme.

These are just some of the things that Ray and I are excited to explore as we get to know Emma. We look forward to the awesome journey and responsibility that is parenthood.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th of July!


Take today and give thanks to the patriots from the past and the present that sacrificed their well-being and lives in order for us to enjoy the freedoms our great country provides!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Push Present


This painting depicts Brandie's favorite Disney film, Beauty and the Beast. She saw this at Disney World and wanted to buy it. I told her that it was a lot of money to spend on it at the time, but that if we had a girl (we didn't know the sex yet) I would get it for her to put in the nursery. It arrived a bit early, so I went ahead and let her open the gift. Needless to say, major brownie points were earned :D

Memories of a Lifetime




Ray and I have been tracking our progress throughout the pregnancy in many different ways. We believe strongly in showing our daughter how much she was planned for and wanted, not by just us, but by our family and friends too. We have both done a Mommy/Daddy Journal, Belly Book, we have written a letter each to Emma expressing how we feel as we await her arrival, plus various other little things.

The major thing we did this week to create one of those special memories not only for Emma, but for ourselves as well, was to have professional maternity pictures taken to capture the love and joy that we feel during this time. We wanted to share a couple of the shots that are our favorites with you. These are just a few out of 50 shots that were taken so we could look back at this moment together and remember the happiness, love, and dedication that we have for ourselves and our daughter.

Enjoy!