Emma Playing...

Emma loves to empty out buckets and play with the bucket. She also loves to make noise by banging toys together. I thought this video was cute of Emma playing...

Some random pics of my cute little girl playing...

Valentine's Day...

To tell you the truth, I'm not really into Valentine's Day. Why do we need a day to celebrate love and friendship? Really, shouldn't we do that everyday all year long. I think it is just an excuse to get each other something special. Though, I have to admit, presents are nice to get. Scott did spoil me this year. Probably because he had the whole week to think about it and plan for something nice. First he got me some flowers, which were really beautiful. He also got me a new watch to replace the watch I lost at San Diego Zoo last month and he gave me a gift certificate for a 90 minute massage. That was a complete surprise. I'll be using that soon. It has been a rough weekend here at the Newman's and I will definitely need some time to relax.

There is no going out for Valentine's Day... Emma had other plans.

On Friday we took Emma to the doctors because the runny nose that she already had for 2 weeks turned into a cold... She was coughing and had trouble sleeping. I wanted to take her in, just in case, before the weekend. We had to go through 2 docs before we found one that was in office that day. Scott took her in and everything was checking out that it was just a cold and it was an after thought of the doc to test her for RSV. So an hour later we get a call and was told she had RSV. BUMMER! So I've had a poor little sick baby all weekend. She wouldn't eat, but I was still able to nurse her... Thank goodness for that... She was needy and only wanted mommy. Scott did take her when we could get away with it. She is now feeling better, but it will be a whole other week before she is completely over the coughing and wheezing. Now the fun part is... I'm now getting sick! Lovely!

Emma today... Feeling much better!

Sleep Deprivation

I guess sleep is optional here at the Newman's house. A good night's sleep is something I haven't had for the longest time. These past few weeks has been especially hard. Most nights I am in and out of bed from 3:00 on... Why??? I wish I knew why. Emma has been waking up more during the night than usual. Lately, at about 1:00 or 2:00ish she wakes up and has a hard time getting herself back to sleep. I lay in bed listening to her moan, cry or chit chat with herself. This sometimes goes on for over an hour. Finally, she gets herself back to sleep and is up again around the 4:00 hour. That is when I feed her and she then goes back to sleep.

Sounds bad enough, right?

Well, Ethan decided that he wants to part of the mix too. For some reason, when Ethan wakes up, he thinks it is time to get up and comes to our room... wakes me up ... I look at the clock... 12:30... great! Pick him up and put him back to bed... at about 5:30-6:00... here he comes again... this time he can't go back to sleep so here we are up for the day.

Sound confusing, well it is... our solution??? I think there isn't much we can do about Emma right now that we aren't already doing, but for Ethan... we got him a clock. My goal is for him to eventually go back to sleep when he wakes up... so I told him when the first number says 7 he can come out....

Has it worked??? Kind of... he thinks if he sees any 7 at all it is time to wake up... so yes, 10 minutes later we see him again after we already marched him back to bed.

Another thing we've been trying with Ethan is not giving him a nap. Well, we try to give him a nap, but he chooses to play in his room instead. Which makes him one little tuckered out little guy come bedtime. Sometimes this is what happens if we go out in the evening...

Yep, he falls asleep on the way home and crashes on the couch! So now we are trying an every other day nap for him. So far it has worked out pretty good. The best part is, I don't see him at 12:30 at night... and usually he doesn't come into our room until 6:30ish the next morning.

So, I'm still sleep deprived, but at least part of the problem is just about fixed!

All About Emma

Emma is now 7 months old. She is getting so big and starting to do so much. She sits by herself without much support. She does fall every so often and she definitely let us hear about it. She loves her toys. She always has to have something to play with or who knows what she'll find.

Emma hanging out with her toys. She loves things that play music or make sound. When she hears music she starts to bop... I think she'll be a dancer.

I left for a few moments and I came back to this. Emma has quite the reach. If it is remotely near her, she'll get it. I'm just glad that she didn't hurt herself.

Emma found the laundry and pulled the basket to her and started pulling her clothes out. She didn't get too far.

This past month, Emma started feeding herself. She can feed herself crackers, puffs and bread. She does have a little trouble getting the smaller foods to her mouth. It is almost like she forgot she had it in her hand by the time it makes it to her mouth, but she is getting better.

Emma is my cranky baby. She is often tired, hungry or wants mom. This is very typical these days. We left her with my parents this past weekend and she was just fine until we came back and saw me and I got the water works. If Emma doesn't get her sleep she is an absolute grouch!

Where's Emma??? This is how Emma likes to sleep with the blanket over her face. It doesn't matter how many times I go in and uncover her face, she pulls it back over.

Sleep at our house hasn't improved much. I put Emma down about 8:00, but I am up with her again at least once or twice during the night. Sometimes she is up for a good hour or 2 before she goes back to sleep. I've tried having her cry it out and that hasn't worked too well. She usually wakes up again within the next hour. Last night she woke up at about 1:30ish and finally went back to sleep around 3:00ish and up again at 4:00. I've been hoping and praying each night that she'll sleep better. She has to sleep through the night soon, right?



Here is video of Emma. She wanted my camera and had it's cord. I was trying to get her to say "da da," but didn't have much luck. When she does say da da... she says it in this high pitch squeal. So cute!

• She loves to clap her hands, especially when she is sad. It is weird, but true.

• Emma isn't crawling yet, or really mobile yet. Though I'm sure that will change soon.

• She won't take the bottle so I won't be weaning Emma anytime soon. I almost have her drinking from a cup!

• And, yes, she is very attached to mommy!