Three Months

I swear, time travels at a whole different speed once you have a baby!

Seriously, how is this little angel already three months?!

It is so fun to watch her grow, but also makes me sad to see how grown up she already is!

Where is my tiny baby?!?

Some info about our three month old girl:

- huge (we'll see how big when we go to the doctor next month)

- eyes are starting to look green or brown...much to her dad's disappointment!

- sleeping in her mini crib, but quickly growing out of it

- LOVES to eat, whenever she can get it!

- constantly chewing on her hand and drooling (teething?)

- has become quite the chatty little lady

- still loves the pacifiers

- wants to be awake a lot more during the day

- gets furious when we put her on her tummy

- still a good sleeper

- enjoys playing on her activity gym

- really loves to sleep near mom and dad (in the same room)

- has really bad cradle cap

- has had her first pedicure (thanks, Aunt Lindsay)

- very interested in watching Lisbon

- met her cousins for the first time!

- wakes up SO happy, EVERY morning

I have to say, it just keeps getting better and better!

I love this age and finally having some real interaction with our girl!  

She is way too fun!!!

Magna Cum Laude

I'm going to be honest,

I am not sure who was more excited about this day, Robert or me!

Robert graduated Magna Cum Laude from the WP Carey Business School today!

He graduated with two degrees: Computer Information Systems and Supply Chain Management.
Not only that, but he was selected as one of four Outstanding Graduating Seniors 

(similar to valedictorian, but based on more than grades).

He also was selected to represent the CIS school by carrying their flag out:

While I love Robert and often get to witness was an incredible person he is,

for some reason graduation really helped me to feel a whole

new appreciation for all of the hard work that he has put forth in the last four years.

 

 All I have to say is, let's hope our kids follow in their dad's footsteps when it comes to school...

mom was a little bit of a slacker!

Two Months

Can you believe this little doll has been with us for two whole months?!

There is no way to describe it except for heavenly!

There is nothing better than getting to spend every day with her and learning 

about the little person that she already is and is becoming.

Some info about our two month old girl:

- 24.25 inches long (92%), 12.6 pounds (75%), and 15.25 head circumference (45%)

- eyes are looking blue for the moment

- swaddling irritates her...got to leave her arms out!

- went through a super colicky phase which led to only formula (sad day for mom)

- still sleeps in her carseat, but naps in the swing

- loves to hear herself

- still loves her pacifier (thank heaven!)

- a little more scheduled: eat, play, nap - every 3 hours

- still HATES tummy time!

- consistently sleeping 5-6 hours each night

- loves to snuggle in mom and dad's bed each morning (so do mom and dad)

- gives mom a huge grin every time she gets picked up from the babysitter

- much more aware of sound and voices...especially mom's

We are in love!  And can't believe how quickly our darling babe is growing!!!

November 30 - A First Date

I am thankful...

for a sort of first date...three years ago.

(this picture is one year after that date)

Let's just put it simply, Robert and I apparently disagree about what constitutes a date.

Regardless, three years ago we went to the temple lights on what Robert

considers our first date.  Whether or not it really was a date, things have turned out 

pretty great since then!  Love him!

November 29 - Comfy Beds

I am thankful...

for such a comfortable bed!
(this is not our bed - obvious from the pictures above the bed - but I am hoping to do 
something similar to our bedroom!)

I am not sure if there is anything better than crawling into a comfy bed at the end
of a long day!  Seriously divine!  
Especially when snuggling with my babe, baby, and pup!
 

November 28 - Education

I am thankful...

for my education!

As much as I was anti BYU, as I look back, I am so grateful for the opportunity

 to attend that school and learn more than I thought possible!

Not only did I learn a lot from my actual classes, but I also learned

a lot about myself as I was on my own and met some really incredible people. 

Definitely a life changing experience!!

November 27 - Two Nieces and a Nephew

I am thankful...

that I get to be an aunt.

I am especially  grateful that I get to be an aunt to these three kiddos.

I mean, seriously, they really are too die for!

We can't wait until they are here next month and get to meet their newest cousin!

November 26 - Long Weekends

I am thankful...

for long weekends!

I don't know what it is about one or two extra days, but they seem to may all the difference!
I feel like I am able to accomplish so much while also having some time off

to just enjoy.  I wonder if they will be as exciting when I am no longer teaching? 

November 25 - Testimony

I am thankful...

for my testimony, and the testimonies of others.

While enjoying Thanksgiving breakfast with the Skinner family yesterday, my Uncle Charlie

got up and spoke to all of us.  During this time, he shared his testimony; it was

powerful.  It got me thinking about how grateful I am to have a testimony of this gospel

and Jesus Christ.  I am also so blessed to be surrounded by so many 

others who also have testimonies, and are willing to share them with me.

I know that there is nothing more important in this life, and

I am so happy to know for myself that Jesus Christ is our Savior and we have 

His gospel on the earth today.  This knowledge definitely blesses my life!

November 24 - Thanksgiving

I am thankful...

for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is my favorite of all holidays!

I love that we get to see family and spend time together,

but it is without all of the hassle and chaos that comes with Christmas.

Plus, it doesn't hurt that Thanksgiving means its 

officially the start of the holiday season!

November 23 - Christmas: Music and Movies

I am thankful for...

 some of my favorites

 the great music and movies at this time of year.

One of my very favorite things about Christmas is the beautiful music

and the fun movies!  I always look forward to the new Christmas movies that will be one TV.

As for the music, I have to admit I occasionally sneak it out during the year.  

But it is really nice to be able to listen to it all the time during the holiday season.

I just love the good feeling that comes with the music and movies!

November 22 - Teachers

I am thankful...

for great teachers!

I have been lucky to have some pretty incredible teachers in my life.

Becoming a teacher myself has really opened my eyes and 

I definitely have much more of an appreciation for those who taught me!

(This past week one of my very favorite teachers, Miss Pesek - 2nd grade, was killed.  Definitely a 

sad story, but really neat to see how many others recognized what an incredible teacher she was). 

November 21 - My Cuddle Bug

I am thankful...
 

for a snuggly baby!

I seriously love that Emersen is such a cuddle bug!

I love to lay in bed when we first wake up and just snuggle with her.

I really love when I am burping her that she will occasionally rest her head on my shoulder.

I know that this may not last forever...

so I have to take advantage now!

November 20 - Books

I am thankful...

for books.

There are few things I love to do as much as reading!
I don't get the chance to read as much as I would like, but when I do...
it's the best!
 

November 19 - Good Deals

I am thankful...

for good deals.

If you don't recognize the above tag, then you must not be familiar with the 

totally great clearance section from my favorite store, Target!

I am a cheap person.  I get it from my mom.  She gets it from her mom.  And so it goes...

This character trait has helped me to become a really great bargain shopper.

While I am not much of a shopper, I have to say, it is a pretty satisfying feeling when 

you are able to find/get a good deal!

November 18 - Swings

I am thankful...

for baby swings!

Our Emme babe has been having a hard time these past few weeks.

Honestly, I still thinks he is a pretty awesome baby, but she has definitely been a lot

more fussy and unsettled recently.  For whatever reason, her swing

seems to be one of the few places she can nap during the day and actually stay asleep.

Definitely a lifesaver for the mom!

Possibly the very best part...

as soon as I lay her in the swing, she looks at the little owls that hang above,

and she just smiles and smiles at them.  It is too die for!

 

November 17 - Our Home

I am thankful...

for our home.

I am so grateful that Robert and I were able to buy a house when we got married.
It is the best feeling to have a place to come home to that we both love!

(Even better when that place is filled with people we love).

November 16 - Good Health

I am thankful...

for good health!

After experiencing pregnancy and labor, I have come to have a whole new appreciation

for my body and for being blessed with good health.  It is a pretty

incredible thing to think of all that my body has gone through in the last 10 months.

It is definitely a miracle!

After my postpartum appointment last week, 

I am excited to be running again! 

I am feeling more motivated than I have in a long time 

to take care of my body and get back in shape!

(I am also super grateful to have a beautiful, healthy baby

and healthy families!)

November 15 - Teaching

 I am thankful...

Newman Elementary - Salt Lake City - Interned in 1st and 4th grades

Amelia Earhart Elementary - Provo - Student Taught in 3rd grade

Spring Creek Elementary - Provo - Student Taught in 4th grade

Settler's Point Elementary - Gilbert - Taught 4th grade

Oak Tree Elementary - Gilbert - Taught 3rd and 4th grades

that I have the most amazing job - teaching!

I would love to have posted pictures of all of my students, 

but since I could not do that, I figured this at least represents all of the classes I've taught.

I have to admit, I have had some really hard classes.  I have had principals tell me they have 

never seen a class quite like this one.  I've had them promise I will 

never again have such a difficult class.

It's happened a few times.

I don't say this to complain, but rather to point out that even having spent a majority of my

time teaching some really challenging classes, I still LOVE my job!
(I know a lot of people can't say that - so I consider myself lucky).

I'm so grateful that I've had the opportunity to teach and more importantly learn from

hundreds of amazing students.  It is pretty awesome to spend your day
with children - they have this really interesting way of

teaching you exactly what you need!

November 14 - Emersen's Dad

I am thankful...
 

for the chance to see my husband be a father!

While I definitely loved Robert before, it has been pretty incredible to watch him with our daughter.
I would say our Emme has him wrapped around her little finger -
in the best possible way!

I am so grateful to have a partner who is so willing to help with our girl.  He goes above and
beyond, even when he has been at school and work all day.
I'd say we are two very lucky girls!

November 13 - S.A.H.M.

I am thankful...

that I get to be a Stay At Home Mom.

The last six weeks have been pretty incredible.  The first two weeks at home seemed surreal;

I could not wrap my head around the idea that this was my life...staying

at home with my favorite little girl!  I finally felt like I had

my priorities in order.  While I absolutely LOVE teaching school, I have loved

having my only priority to be wife and mom!
Of course this is only possible because of my incredibly hard working husband
(as shown in the picture above - working and helping with the babe).

 I will definitely be missing Emersen when I head back to school next week!

November 12 - Missionaries

I am thankful...

for our missionaries.

Seeing missionaries always bring a smile to my face. 

I am so grateful that they are willing to sacrifice two years of their lives 

to  share the true gospel with others!

This video makes me so happy!  I found out about it through my adorable nieces -

they watched this for two hours straight!

November 11 - Veterans

I am thankful...

for our veterans.

I love living in a country where we have so many men and women who are 

willing to fight to protect our freedom.  And it's definitely a nice reminder

to have a day that honors all of our veterans!

Happy Veteran's Day!

November 10 - Lisbon

I am thankful...

for our puppy, Lisbon.

I am especially grateful that she came so well behaved.

We found her on craigslist when she was just a few months old.  I was slightly worried about

getting a dog since I am so NOT the leader of the pack.

Lucky for us, she has been a great dog and we are so glad to have her!

November 9 - Pacifiers

I am thankful...

for pacifiers!

All I have to saw is that my girl is just like her mama - she loves her pacifiers!

The calming effect these have on her...miraculous!  Anything that makes my beautiful baby happy, definitely deserves some serious appreciation!

November 8 - Insurance

I am thankful...

for insurance!

 

As I read through our $15,000 hospital bill this afternoon, I felt especially grateful for our insurance which will be covering a large majority of that amount!  I cannot even imagine what we would do without it!

November 7 - A Sweet Smile

I am thankful...

for this super cute smile!

I remember the first time that I could tell Emersen was actually looking at me.  I don't think I can put into words the way it made me feel.  And now...to get a smile from her - even more amazing!  Especially when it is as adorable as that!

November 6 - Sundays

I am thankful...

for Sundays.

With the insane schedules and all of the craziness in our life, I am so grateful to have one day of the week to actually spend time together and relax.  As life continues to get busier, Sundays have become nothing short of sacred to me! 

November 5 - Gorgeous Weather

I am thankful...

for the incredibly beautiful weather this past week!

My adorable baby happens to be an early bird.  The bright side of this is that when I get up with her, I get to feed her, watch the sunrise, and enjoy this fantastic weather!  Complete bliss!

November 4 - Hail

I am thankful...

 for the insane hail storm last year!

As a result of this incredible storm, we ended up with these:

a FREE hail damaged car

a new AC unit

At the time right after the storm, I remember being incredibly stressed.  After all, the car we had owned for all of two weeks was completely covered in dings.  However, after some setbacks in trying to get the car repaired, the insurance company sent us a check for the exact amount we spent purchasing the car.  Seriously a blessing in disguise 

(Plus, the car looks just as good from far away...just don't get too close)

Also, we have replaced pretty much every single part of our home from the roof to the flooring to the bathroom hardware.  The only major thing we had left was our AC unit.  We knew it would be going out soon, but we did not want to spend the $5000 to replace it before we needed to.  Well, thanks to our hail storm, we now have a brand new AC unit sitting on our roof!

Again, such a blessing!

November 3 - My Family

I am thankful...
 

to have SO MUCH family!  

As you can see, we have a lot of family!  This is just a part (the only picture I found on facebook).
 We are lucky enough to both come from large extended families, and we

absolutely love spending time with our family!

I am especially grateful that we get to live near family.  We had the chance

to move away a few months ago, and I'm so glad that we chose to stay in town - especially 

now that we have started our own little family!

November 2 - My Baby

I am thankful...

to be the mom of this beautiful little girl! 

It's hard to believe that it's already been one month since this girl came into our world.
It has been so fun to watch her grow and change each day. 
She has definitely changed our world for the better!

November 1 - My Babe

I am thankful...

 to be married to my best friend!

The past 2 ½ years have been absolutely amazing!

There is nothing better than knowing that because of the covenants we 

made in the temple, we get to be be together forever.

Robert is such an incredible person, in pretty much every aspect of his life: 

husband, father, son, brother, student, employee, employer, friend, cubmaster, etc.

I am grateful that I get to learn from his awesome example everyday! 

One Month

It is hard to believe it has already been one month!

It has flown by and at the same time I feel like she has been with us forever! 

It has been pretty incredible getting to know this girl.  

(Who would have know that someone so tiny could already have a personality?)

Some info about our one month old girl:

- 22 inches long and over 10 pounds

- gorgeous dark blue/greyish eyes (we'll see if the color lasts)

- swaddling works wonders in helping her relax

- loves to eat; nursing or bottle, breast milk or formula

- can hold her head up

- pacifier is her best friend (and mine!)

- sleeps best in her carseat

- will not tolerate a wet or messy diaper

- a very loud voice that she likes to use

- extremely alert - will be up for hours at a time just watching everything around her

- not a fan of tummy time

- made it six hours during the night (if only it were consistent!)

- loves to sprawl out on the ottoman

- complete cuddle bug

- enjoys bath time

There is nothing quite as awesome as watching our baby girl become her own little person!

Emersen

I have to admit, it still doesn't seem real.  I still can't believe that I went through nine months of pregnancy, then labor, and am finally a mom to the most precious little girl!

Emersen Maree McKay

Friday, September 30, 2011

5:25 am

8 lbs 5 oz  ◦  21 ¼ in

We absolutely ADORE her! 

 Emersen's Birth Story -

   I always wondered how I was going to know when I went into labor.  Well, when they say you will know, it's true.

   At the end of the school day on Wednesday, my back started to bother me and I started feeling contractions.  However, because I was so worried I could be wrong, I headed home from school and forced myself to stay busy - getting everything done in case she came!  Well, by the time Robert came home and we went to bed, I decided it might be a good idea to track my contractions.  Turns out they were 5 minutes apart, but only lasting about 30 seconds.  The contractions were strong enough to keep me up most of the night, but not enough to do anything.  Plus, I did not want to bug anyone at 3 am!  So when Robert got up, we talked and I decided I may as well go to school since I was feeling okay and I did not have sub plans done!

   Well, apparently all that I needed to do to get this labor progressing was go to school.  Within an hour of getting to school my contractions started to really hurt and were only 3 minutes apart.  So I sent a text to my cousin Abby(she works at the doctor's office), and she said that I should get ready to go to the hospital.  So when my kids when to special, I called my sub and went home.  I called Robert and he was going to finish up and school and then come home.  

   At about 2:00 we decided to head to the hospital.  Before we left, my awesome husband gave me a really sweet blessing that I am certain helped me to feel so calm and peaceful during everything.  After we got to the hospital and got checked in and into our room, it was about 3:00.  Once they finally got me hooked up, they noticed that my blood pressure was really high, and Emersen's heart was really steady (I guess there is supposed to be some movement with contractions and all).  So my nurse was worried and didn't want me out of bed until we heard from the doctor.  After a few hours we heard back from Uncle Eric.  He wasn't concerned, so I could get up and walk around and try to get the labor progressing!  After Robert and I went for a walk, I had progressed two centimeters (to a six), so I decided I wanted to get my epidural before they broke my water.  First off, our anesthesiologist was amazing; I did not feel anything...not even the initial shot!  Second, epidurals are incredible!!!  I don't know why anyone would choose to go without!  At about 7:00, Uncle Eric got there to break my water.
  Well, over the next few hours our families came to visit and we had fun chatting and hanging out.  I was so tired since I had been up the night before, but with all of the people coming and out, I did not get much sleep.  Around midnight my nurse came in to check on me and I still had not made any changes.  At that point she started the pitocin.  By about 2:30 I had finally dilated to a ten, and it was time to start pushing.  At this point I remember thinking that I could not believe how easy everything had gone and that in just a few more minutes it would all be over and we would have our baby here!
   Yeah...not exactly how it happened!  Pushing ended up being a long process - almost 3 hours to be exact!  For whatever reason, our little girl was not cooperating! At this point I had been up for almost 48 hours, and I was exhausted.  Plus, when I continued to see/hear that we were not making any progress, I was frustrated!  At about 5:00 am, my uncle came in and asked if we would like to try to use the vacuum.  Robert was very quick to say yes!  They reminded him that it needed to be my decision.  When they told me I could be pushing for a few more hours, it was a pretty easy choice!
   Within about 15 minutes and just a few pushes, Emersen was finally there!  It was the most amazing feeling when Robert told me he could see her, and then even moreso when I sat up and saw her little body!  She came out screaming and with her eyes wide open!  She was so alert and very aware of her tongue and mouth.  By the time they cleaned her off and gave her to me, I was so out of it! Before I knew it, our families were there taking pictures and holding our baby! 
   The whole progress from pregnancy to delivery is seriously a miracle!  Its still hard to believe I went through all of that and am now a mom!  I am so grateful to have such an amazing husband who was seriously the perfect support every step of the way.

Its a good thing that she is so sweet because I look like death!

How do you moms look so beautiful and rested after giving birth?!

She was so interested in her tongue...as you can see by her bubbles!

Don't you love that look?