Motherhood...

I've thought about posting Emma's birth story a million times. I didn't get around to typing it out until she was 2 months old and now my baby is 5 and 1/2 months old...I can't believe it, where did the time go?? The birth story still seems incomplete and it's hard to capture every.single.moment...so many emotions and things I felt that I wish I could put into words.




Motherhood is amazing. I'm not your typical first time mom who worries about every little thing. In fact I'd say I'm probably a little too relaxed for a first time mom. Matthew tends to be the more cautious and protective one. It's pretty cute. I am loving every minute I have with my sweet girl and I feel so lucky and blessed that I get to stay at home and be with her all day. Most days I don't get dressed or find the shower, but we hang out and have so much fun together.


I haven't been ignoring the blog because I'm overwhelmed or trying to get the hang of things, although I guess there has been a little of that. I've just been enjoying this new phase, the best one yet!! :D And part of me feels like if I share any pictures with you I have to share them all! What about all the milestones she's reached: first days, baby blessing, months 1-5, first time rolling over, first smile, first time eating solids...all these things I could post about and so much more! But then I'd be a mom who over shares and only talks about her baby (which I'm happy to do). 

So instead of worrying about all of that, I'll just post a few pictures and tell you what my little bear has been up to.

At 5 and 1/2 months:

*She loves her voice: Squeals, grunts, groans, laughs and did I mention squeals!?

*Eats solid food 3x a day and has tried the following: avocado, bananas, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, zucchini, butternut squash and of course the baby cereals of rice and oatmeal.

*She's a great sleeper and currently transitioning to 10-11 hours at night with 2-3 naps during the day.

*She's a great eater, both nursing and solids. She's fast and efficient (which caught me off guard how fast they get at nursing) and I love the bond that it brings.

*Bath time is her favorite. She is already splashing around and loves to hang out in the water on her back. The look she gives when she first enters the bath is hilarious, I will have to take a video and post sometime.

*Sleeps on her stomach (we had an incident at 2 weeks old, my mother instinct kicked it and told me to put her on her stomach to sleep, I've never regretted it).

*Rolls front to back and back to front (as of 01/18/12).

*Will walk across the room when daddy holds her hands. (Matthew loves this trick and is determined to have her walking in 2 months)

*Uses a sippy cup at meal times, although she spits out most of it, she's starting to get the hang of it.

*Blows bubbles and raspberries all day long!

*Loves peek-a-boo!

*Tries to sit up on her own and does a pretty good job when supported with the boppy or a pillow or something.  In fact, when she is supported a lot of times she can sit all the way up and either fall to the side or bend herself in half and lean ALL the way forward.

*Loves story time and singing time.

*Her eyes light up when daddy gets home from work.

*At her 4 month check up she was 50% for her height, 10% for her weight and 5% for her head circumference. She's probably gained maybe 2 pounds since then, but not much. We have a petite little girl on our hands.

*Her hair is CRAZY!!! People actually think I style it in a Mohawk, but I'm telling you it has a mind of it's own. 

*Her hair is also long enough to put in a ponytail on top of her head and is actually starting to fall in her eyes in the front, but it makes her look too grown up so we don't do it very often. Daddy prefers the crazy hair because its who she is.

*She will be content one minute and screaming the next, but overall she is a happy little girl!

*She loves her feet and will try to grab them and eat them whenever she is in her bumbo or laying on her back.

*Most of the time when she is on her back she will immediately roll to her stomach.

*Her bottom right tooth came through this past weekend and I just know her left one will pop through any day. I'm really going to miss her sweet gummy smile!

*Just last night she mimicked Matthew for the first time when he was blowing raspberries at her, she would try to do it back. It was the sweetest thing and I love watching them together.

There are so many other things we love about her, but these are just a few. I can't get over how fast she's growing and how much she's starting to interact with us. We love her so much and so wish our family and friends were closer so they could enjoy her as much as we do.

Motherhood is even better than I ever imagined. I'm so happy I get to have this experience and it makes me appreciate all mother's out there especially my own. The love that a mother has can't be described unless you've felt it yourself and even then, there are still no words that even come close. It's absolutely the best!

Christmas Day 2011

 

Waking up from her nap

Mom's Shopping Buddy! :)

 

  Meal Time

Just hanging out with Mom!

Emma Lee Allphin

Emma Lee Allphin

8/14/2011

2:54pm

7 lbs 2 oz

19 inches

Birth story and more pictures coming soon...

Oh Baby!!

It has been a few weeks since my last update. Please forgive me. I'm currently working 35 hours a week and finding it difficult to keep up with the house let alone my blogging duties. Being pregnant is exhausting, but I love it! :) Onto the baby news!!

Baby Beluga is doing wonderfully!! Its perfect, measuring perfectly and its little heartbeat is perfect too! There's nothing like hearing that heartbeat and seeing your baby. I'm so in love already. I go back to the doctor on March 23rd and then we have the big ultrasound on April 1st. I honestly can't wait to find out what this baby is so I can start planning and making cute things! :)

I'm now taking weekly belly shots, hubby is a bit annoyed that its EVERY week, but I think soon there will be some big growth!! I also purchased this book, which I love!! I saw it in a bookstore several years ago and told myself I would purchase it when I was pregnant. It helps me jot down my thoughts, emotions, cravings, etc. and I think it will be a pretty special keepsake of this whole process. Here are some recent pics of the baby bump: 

 

Some things to note:

1. My hair has not grown since being pregnant and I haven't cut it. I'm struggling with how to do it, etc. I do need to get a trim and reshape it a bit.

2. I'm also struggling to have cute pregnancy style. Some days I feel cute, but I still feel like I'm in the "in between" stage. Recently I've worn normal clothes and laughed at myself in the mirror and then realized I won't be able to wear that shirt for a long time!

3. I'm significantly smaller in the morning than I am in the evenings, all of these pictures were taken in the evening. I think one of the next few days I will take a picture from morning to evening and show you the difference, its crazy! Is this just me or do you/did you notice a big difference too??

We got to see the baby again on February 18th. Hubby was late to the appointment due to traffic. They let me stay longer so he could hear the heartbeat and then we were lucky enough to go into the ultrasound room and see the baby for just a minute, it made my day. I have never had any other appointment where I leave with a grin on my face (except when I got my braces off). Here are pics of baby and how he/she has grown:

I just love the hands in the air!!! The difference in just 4 weeks is incredible!! Here are some of my current habits, cravings, etc.:

*I have been feeling the baby move for about 3 weeks now. Whenever I do feel baby, I try to say hello and it just makes me so happy. I love it!! It's also very reassuring.

*I love to sing to baby especially in the shower. Some of my favorites are: Baby Beluga (Raffi version), Skinamarink,and The Little Blue Man. All songs from my childhood.

*I love when hubby says hi to baby and I can't wait until he can feel the baby move!

*I've been craving lots of protein, mostly cheese burgers. A couple weeks ago I ate 4 cheeseburgers in 5 days!! Maybe this means I'm having a boy!?

*I finally have my appetite back for the most part, some things still sound better than others, but I'm eating 5 to 6 times a day!

*I only have 1 pair of maternity jeans from gap. All of my other "maternity" clothes I wear I bought in the juniors sections at Target, or Kohl's. Also, I love these jeans from Nordstrom's they are amazing and so comfortable!!

 *I'm still throwing up once a week. Generally it happens when I brush my teeth in the morning.

*My nose has super powers. I can smell anything from miles away.

*I feel like my acne is finally going away. I've recently started putting face lotion on morning and night after I wash my face and for whatever reason that has really helped.

*My emotions are all over the place. I had my first pregnancy nervous breakdown a couple of weeks ago. Something to do with the shower water going cold...it wasn't pretty and I felt bad for hubby. He made me get out of the shower with shampoo in my hair and I just sobbed in bed for a good hour until the water was warm again. I laugh at myself now, but WOW!! (There were other events of the day that triggered that, but the shower was the clincher). 

*I seriously can't wait to find out what we're having and I wish I could meet baby beluga right NOW!! :D

Hiadus

I've been on hiadus for several months...

I quit my job in August and moved to Kansas. I decided I needed a break, so I took one. Hubby was very understanding. He let me take all the time I needed. After taking four months off of work, I decided to start looking for a job. I applied to dozens of places it seemed like in early December. I was having a difficult time getting any hits. One day, I heard from two different temp agencies. I had interviews with both. The first ended up being a little scary and a waste of time; it almost seemed like a scam. I didn't feel good about the company and I was really starting to miss my old job in Utah. 

I went to my interview with the second temp agency and they were phenomenal!! They had me taking placement tests before I left and they found work for me within a few days. I started doing some temp work for a cable company. It's mostly clerical, boring work. Lots of filing, some data entry stuff. I check and sort the mail every day and breakdown checks and get them sent out once a week. I work anywhere from 20-40 hours a week depending on what projects they give me. It's kept me busy and it's helped me interact with humans again which is always nice. I find myself exhausted at the end of the day and some days I wonder why I'm even working.

I interviewed for another job through this temp agency. The interview went really well. I liked them and they liked me. They offered me the job...and then they rescinded. I was a mess. It was everything I was hoping for and it didn't work out, or so I thought until I remembered something that had happened earlier that month... 

 

So, while I was bummed at first, I can't think of a better job in this world then being a mom!

We are so excited for this new adventure!!!  :D

No Secret Gift

My husband is the type that goes Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve and I never have any idea what he gets me. I think about his presents all year long, get them early and hope he won't guess what I got him. He ALWAYS guesses his gifts before he opens them and it drives me crazy.

This year I thought for sure I had the best idea ever!! He's always wanted a Road I.D. and I've always wanted to get him one for my piece of mind. He runs often and is wanting to train for another marathon and I get especially worried about him on his long 20+ mile runs. It's a great gift for anyone that spends a lot of time on the road.

I did all of my Christmas shopping online this year and I was especially excited when I was able to get free shipping and additional coupon codes, so I purchased his Road I.D.

Last week we were going over our budget, paying bills, etc. I have to watch t.v. while we do this because hubby moves a little slower than I would like and I go crazy if I don't have a distraction. This works for us...he has a little more time to analyze the data and I get to watch some t.v. I was interested in the show and all of a sudden he exclaims, "When did you get a Road I.D.?"


I was heartbroken. I nearly burst into tears and then I proceeded to raise my voice at him and get upset that he ALWAYS figures out his presents and I was excited that he wouldn't know what I got him and I failed. I was bummed. Christmas was ruined. He then says, "That's a great present and I still don't know what it looks like". (That wasn't helpful).


I finally got over it. I was still excited about my gift until a few days later when we got a knock on the door after he came home from work and he was handed this:

Had he not seen the transaction in our bank account I'm sure this would have given it away. Maybe someone should tell Road I.D. it may not be a good idea to advertise all over their packaging during the holidays!!


Oh well, I still think it was a brilliant gift idea!

Halloween

We had a wonderful Halloween this year!! We decided to find/make costumes last minute and go all out!! Really, I came up with the idea and ran with it!! Hubby was nice enough to oblige me and go along with the idea. I think I can only remember one other Halloween where we dressed up...we are usually party poopers with no creativity.

This year we went to the Trunk-or-Treat at the church. We walked in and were a little embarrassed when we were some of the only adults dressed up!!!! We had fun anyway, but I felt like a 10 year old all over again.

We had an endless supply of chili and soups for dinner, a costume parade, and then cute games inside with the kiddos. To finish the night we all went outside for the Trunk-or-Treat.

We decorated our car trunk and came up with the Halloween Alphabet game for our car (pick a letter of the alphabet and give us a Halloween word that starts with that letter and we'll give you two pieces of candy)! I made cute alphabet Halloween cards with pictures on them. The kids loved the game and hubby gets all the credit because he came up with it!! I saved the cards so we'll have them for years to come and I'm sure it will be a hit in the future too!

Hubby also got the best husband prize for letting me dress him up!!

Happy Halloween!!

 

 

Care Bear Stare!!

Our nose hearts

  

Our hearts on our hips which are a sign of authenticity!! (PS. This is an unflattering picture of me...just a baggy sweatshirt - please no preggo questions/comments)

Goodnight Bear and Love-a-Lot Bear!!!

Apartment Hunting

We arrived in Kansas around 4pm on Thursday, August 26th, 2010. We checked into our hotel and then went to look at a few apartments.

The couple weeks we had prior to our move we did research online and came up with a list of places that we wanted to look at in person. We had about 10 apartments on our list and hoped we would be able to find something that we could move into within a week. In calling around a few days before we arrived, it didn't look promising. Most places didn't have availability until October.

We were able to look at two different complexes the first night we were in town. Both were on our list and both were fairly disappointing; we were NOT impressed. The appliances seemed like they were from the 70's and the interior cabinets were also older. We knew we had been spoiled in Utah with the beautiful condo that we were living in, but we wanted something that seemed a little newer.

We went to dinner that night and I was feeling discouraged. I was exhausted from the 2-day road trip and feeling overwhelmed at trying to find something we would love. The next morning we went to the Post Office in downtown Olathe. I will have to share with you this story some other time,  but this was a bad start to what we thought would be a long day. We had about an hour or so before our first appointment of the day. 


We ended up stopping by a complex that was NOT on our list. In fact, it was the first apartment complex we had seen online that we loved. When Matthew was out in Kansas for his onsite interview he came to the complex and drove around it, but somehow it never got on our list. We walked in the office and they we soooo nice. They asked us what we were looking for- I personally wanted a 2-bedroom, but Matthew wanted to try to save more money and go with a 1-bedroom. We had been debating about this for a few days. We also needed an apartment with washer/dryer hook-ups.

They took us to an apartment that was currently available. We walked in and were very impressed with the layout, although it was very small. Our condo in Utah was a 3-bedroom, 2-bath and it was about 1200 sq. feet. The apartment we looked at was 1-bedroom, 1-bath and about 633 sq. feet. They were willing to show us their other model apartments, but this 1-bedroom was the only one they had available.

We thought about leaving, going to check out our other apartments and then coming back in the afternoon to make a decision. Matthew asked how quickly they go and the lady told us that they had signed 3 leases the day before. Matthew looked at me and said, "I feel good about this. I think we should take it."


I felt uneasy to say the least. We still had a whole list of apartments we were going to look at and I didn't want to rush into this decision. What was really appealing is that we could move in that day and be done with hotels. We finally decided to pay the deposit and see if we could get approved. We headed off to Einstein Bagel down the street for some lunch.


They called about 20 minutes later to say that we had been approved and we could come sign our lease. We got the 1-bedroom/1-bath and a detached garage which has been so great! We moved in our boxes that day and stayed in the hotel one more night. We were able to unpack everything and get all organized before Matthew started his job on Monday, August 30th. 


It took about a month to get all of our furniture and everything purchased and set up. I took a video of our place and have lots of photos to show you! :D We love our place!!!! I wasn't sure at first, but its grown on me so much. I love the area that we live in and our ward is incredible!!!


Enjoy the video and please don't take too much notice of my crazy hair!! Also, sorry I turned the camera a few times, I'm not sure what I was thinking.

The Kitchen

 Other side of Kitchen

 Kitchen Decor

 Wall Art above Kitchen Sink

Wall Art on Wall next to Washer and Dryer

Living Room

Wall Art in Living Room

Bathroom

Walk-in Closet inside the Bathroom

 Another Bathroom View

 Better view of the chair in our Living Room that I love!! My nephew Austin loves it too! :)