Baby Crack!

That is EXACTLY what this swing is!  Emerson is addicted, and mommy is becoming addicted as well due to the fact that this has become Emerson's permanent sleeping quarters for the time being...

I am actually very upset that she has gone from being a sleeping through the night crib sleeper for 6 weeks straight to a partial sleep through the night swing sleeper!

Mommy is not happy with this regression!  Maybe it's a growth spurt?  I hope this is a temporary setback and we go back to being that peaceful, great crib sleeping baby VERY soon.

FYI: It is about 2am here, and the batteries in the swing are dyeing, and Em is waking up...SOOO NOT HAPPY!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Emerson's 1st Halloween was ehhhhh..ok?!  She was super super cranky all day - thanks to daddy's perogies and onions I ate the night before!  Poor kid, has no choice in the matter!  I have to really start watching more of what I eat because I have one gassy kid!

Ok...on to the fun stuff...

So Em was a precious little pumpkin!  Daddy has been calling her his 'munchkin pumpkin' since day one, so we thought a pumpkin would be quite fitting!  I of course bought her costume on Etsy, and I am so glad I did!

Just look at that orange tulle of cuteness! 

We went trick or treating with her cousins around town and it was very fun! Em slept the entire time while I wore her, but considering she was sooo cranky all day, I didn't mind. I would much rather have her sleep through trick or treating than scream and cry the entire time.

Trick?

Or treat?

After we got home from an "exhausting" day of trick or treating - LOL - Em had some play time with daddy and then tuckered out!

After all that play time...

came a much needed nap time!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My new beauty

I'm THRILLED to announce that I will no longer be relying on my crackberry for photos because I am now the proud new owner of this beauty:

Nikon D700 - The one and only camera any and all photographers should use!

I can't wait to start photographing again, and get the business going! I have a great teacher as well: 

Jeff Schoch a.k.a "The Master"

We have a thumb sucker!

Yes, my daughter is officially a thumb sucker..ugghhh!
She isn't a huge paci user, only when she is super tired and needed to calm down and fall asleep will she use it. So now, she will spit the paci out and go to town on her thumb. She went from sucking on her fist, to the inevitable thumb! I guess it's in the blood because both mommy and daddy were big time thumb suckers! I am determined to get her to take the paci and not her thumb. I will literally take her thumb out of her mouth and replace it with the paci - only to find 10 second later, paci out and thumb in!

Help me out! Duct tape perhaps? (totally kidding) but really...what to do?!

ETSY Rage!

Ok, so the first month after Em was born I went on an Etsy shopping spree! Literally almost blew our mortgage payment for the month of September! (Yet, another up side to not finding out the sex of the baby beforehand!)

Brian said I need an intervention. I bought tutu's that she wore for 3 minutes for a photo-op, headbands, her little Christmas cacoon i'll use one time for her Christmas pics, and her pumpkin tutu Halloween costume, that she will only ever wear one time!

However, I did buy two things that proved to be great investments, and by far totally worth almost spending our entire mortgage payment on!*Emerson's handmade baby book

*My name stamped necklace with her birthstone (peridot)

Emerson's Outings! (WARNING: Whining included)

For the past 2 weeks, we have done A LOT of things! Last weekend we brought Em to the Oyster Bay Festival, which was special for us since we spent a lot of time there when Brian and I first started dating, and we also got engaged there. We told Em, "This is where it all began!" (We need a little 'cheese' in our life sometimes)

The day was gorgeous, but the festival itself wasn't so great. It was so over crowded, and not set up for easy maneuverability. Granted, we aren't used to pushing a gigantic stroller around in crowds either, but it was still crowded stroller or not. We also spent $30 on 2 sodas! Sure, we got cool stainless steel mugs and we could get free refills, but the lines were way too long to stand on for a damn refill! I guess we paid for the experience right? (I need to justify the reason for spending a ridiculous amount of $$ on a damn soda somehow!)
*Emerson and mommy! This was post-boob time, as she is still in her milk coma!

As for yesterday, we had our first pumpkin pick outing! This trip was a disaster however. We went with my brother in-law and sister in-law and my twin nephews. We usually go out East for the true pumpkin picking experience, however this year we decided to stay closer to home.

As a result, the pumpkins were imported and to us New Yorkers, it isn't true pumpkin picking unless the pumpkins are straight off the vine! (I know, Long Islanders are spoiled - We have the audacity to bitch about the pumpkins not being on the vine!) So there was "disaster" number one; the pumpkins were imported and not to mention, ROTTEN!

Disaster number two was being kicked out of one of the pumpkin patches by a 9-year old that worked there. How the heck were we supposed to know THAT specific pumpkin patch was "off limits"? It was obnoxious, especially since were are with 5 year-old boys that just want to bring home a damn pumpkin!

Disaster number three was my sister in law taking a sip of her can of coke and getting a bee lodged under her upper lip! Thankfully she wasn't stung but WTF? Ok, so that wasn't the farm's fault, but it added to the list of disappointments for the day.

Lastly, the biggest annoyance of the day. The deciding factor as to whether or not we would EVER return to this farm, was when we were walking out to our truck to load up the pumpkins, and, yet again, another 9-year old told us, "Sorry you have to leave the wagon here." Ummm...ok so we can't walk 15 ft. to our car to load up 6 giant pumpkins (That were 'eh' to begin with - they were the best ones there since they weren't rotten) as well as two energetic 5-year old boys and a newborn? Now we have to make 3 trips back and forth to grab the pumpkins. One was loading up the stroller, one was loading up the boys, one was loading up the SCREAMING infant, one made sure all our belongings were in the car, and all while trying not to forget the pumpkins and get run over in the madhouse parking lot at the same time! PHEW - Just typing that exhausted me!

*Emerson still had a happy face on and made it all worth while!

Thinking of my inter web friend and her precious girl...

Sending good vibes to LCB and her precious Kate! Hope K feels better soon, and some questions have been answered and rectified!

T&P's for your little angel!

Spaztastic!

Yes, that is how I feel right about now. I thought that the spastic moments would vanish after I gave birth, but I was sadly mistaken! My poor child is teething ALREADY, and in the midst of fixing myself a coffee, I had to run to my little crying teether, and forgot to tightly secure the top on my mug.
After about 5 attempts at re-heating my coffee, I finally have it in my hands ready to savor the warm deliciousness, and of course I grab it from the top and down goes the coffee all over the floor and pack 'n play! My beautiful pumpkin spice latte that I worked so hard just to taste has become a casualty to my hard wood floor. Humph....it's amazing the things you take for granted when you have a baby, but that precious little face made that spill a non-issue after about 3 seconds!

Spaztastic = word of the day? I think so.

Lovin' Her Daddy!

*So Em totally chose daddy as her favorite! And I of course am second fiddle to Em as well. He is so involved with her, and she appreciates it with all the smiles and giggles she gives him. There is no better look in a little girl's eyes than the look she gives to her daddy!

Project Sage Benefit Dinner

*Emerson had her first official Project Sage event! Of course she sported a jean dress with a horse on it and looked absolutely adorable! Other than having to nurse Em on hay bail, the event was spectacular!

*The event was a huge success! Food was great, entertainment was great, and oh yea..we raised over $10,000.00 in profit alone! We are slowly but surely putting the slaughter houses out of business!

Mommy introducing Em to the wonderful world of horses!

Snoedel Doll

*This weird creepy looking thing is incredible! It is a handcrafted doll invented by a Dutch woman. The word "snoedel" is Dutch for "snuggle". The doll is hand crafted and made out of wool and flannel. The idea is to help comfort a baby by the natural aroma therapy of mom! You wear the doll inside your shirt or sleep with it for a few days so it soaks up your scent, thus emitting it slowly when placed near baby. These dolls have been known to help babies sleep at night and for babies that are in the NICU, especially preemies!

*I know it looks and sounds weird, but it really works! It also has knots on either end of it that baby can use when he or she starts to teeth.


*I have a feeling this is going to be the thing I have trouble taking from Em eventually when she gets a bit too old for it!

::Click the doll to visit the site::

My Genius Child!

Em has been interactively smiling since 4 weeks now! According to the doc, this is advanced and babies don't usually start to socially smile until about 6 weeks...

We got a few shots of her smiling at me yesterday when I was making funny noises; Nice to know they aren't just fart/poop faces anymore!!!
This is her best shot via camera phone!

The Vineyards in October

*We took a trip out to the Vineyards with Emerson and Brian's Fire Department. Em was amazing (of course), and people just could not get enough of her! It was a gorgeous day, and daddy was in one of his favorite places with his favorite little lady!

Of course he can't get enough of her!

Horsin' Around!

*Emerson had her first trip to the barn! She met all the horses and loved every minute! Ty of course was our buddy for the day. I think Em practically sleeping the entire time proves that horses are great therapy! She is a true barn gal just like her mama

Enough about Em..I myself had a great time at the barn as well! I literally got back in the saddle after a 1 year hiatus! It felt great and Ty, was a wonderful boy!

* This barn is home to Project Sage Horse Rescue. The goal is to rescue and rehabilitate horses that have been abused, neglected, and/or are going to be sent to slaughter! If you would like to make a donation, please click the link below.

These animals have truly been the backbone of America for centuries. There is too much beautiful land going to waste where these poor animals can roam free. They do not belong in a slaughter house!

http://www.projectsagehorserescue.org/

Back to pre-preg. weight (thanks to the ta-ta's!)

It's true! Breastfeeding will help you lose your pregnancy weight and then some!

By 2 weeks postpartum, this first time mama is back to her pre pregnancy weight. By 5 weeks I'm down 3 more pounds! My skin is also so nice (radiant, according to Brian xoxo) and I have a ton of energy!

You hear so many negative Nancy's and Debbie downers telling you how your breasts will never be the same or how awful breastfeeding is, and how hard it is, but you never hear about all the wonderful things that come with breastfeeding territory. There are certainly more good things than bad when you choose to breastfeed.

So stop listening to what other people say! And work hard to do it and it will pay off for baby and mom as well!

Birth Announcement!

Had to take a pic of it with my phone, I don't have a scanner.

1 Week Fluke?!?1

Em has been sleeping through the night the entire week! Miracle? Maybe...
Our doc says to count our blessings, and that is exactly what we are doing. She goes down at 11:30pm like clock work and won't get up until 6am or later!

Maybe mommy milk has super power!!!

Happy 1 Monthiversary Em!

Weight: 9lbs. 90z
Height: 21"
Head Circumference: 14"
RIGHT ON TARGET!

Em is doing great! The doc said, "You two are very blessed". She is already interactively smiling, which the doctor said is very early for, and she is already rolling to either side when she sleeps. The doctor said, "I don't want to upset you but she isn't going to be a baby for long."

I told the doc how she woke up one morning on the other side of the crib and he said, "Don't trust her." So out we go to buy the blocks that keep the babies in place. Let's hope it works!

Our little angel is hitting her milestones early, I think it is wonderful but I still want that brand new baby just a bit longer!

Daddy's lil' ballerina!

Daddy never thought he would love pink so much with his camo...

No words necessary...