Monday, January 17, 2011

My Mini-Me!

We found this picture of me when I was a baby, and were shocked when we compared it to one of Emery's recent pictures! Can you tell who's who?


I hope everyone has a great week! :)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Introducing.....

I would like to welcome to the world my new little nephew, William Smith Grimshawe! He was born on December 15, 2010 at 11:24pm and weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds 7ounces!


Mommy looking fantastic after the delivery!


Blonde hair just like Mommy and Daddy!


I love this little nugget already!


Proud papa! :)

Congratulations Brandon and Jenny! I am so proud of yall and I know yall will be amazing parents! Thank you for making me an aunt! I love yall!

Monday, November 29, 2010

That dreaded day

The day that every new mother dreads is finally here....

After 8 amazing weeks at home with my little angel, it's finally time to go back to work. I am pretty upset about this new "working mother" chapter in my life because nothing is better than being able to take care of my little Emery day-in and day-out. Starting this Wednesday, Emery will be spending her days at my moms house. I know she will be in great hands (my mom has almost as much baby stuff as I do!) and I know she will have so much fun! Playing with Prissy, going fishing, going swimming and riding around on the golf cart with Bill are just some of the things she will be able to do as she gets older there. I know that once I get back into the swing of things at work, everything will be OK, but the initial thought of leaving my baby 5 days a week sounds awful, especially in the middle of the Christmas holidays. I just hope that I don't miss all the 'firsts' like the first time she laughs or her first word (which will of course be MOMMY!)

Don't get me wrong, there are many perks to going back to work.
1. The money!
2. For the most part, I actually do like my job and my coworkers.
3. I cant complain about being bored anymore.
4. Running around all day should help me loose all this baby weight!

So there, Christen. It wont be that bad! I hope everyone has a great week and please remember to pray for me on Wednesday! :)

Friday, November 19, 2010

My Little Model

Last Week,Emery and I had the privilege of taking pictures with a very good friend of ours, Brittany Willis. She is an amazing photographer and so easy to work with! I am absolutely in love with how our pictures turned out! If you are looking to get professional pictures made, I HIGHLY recommend her!
Check out her blog: http://brittanywillisphotography.blogspot.com/








































Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A Long Awaited Visit!

Monday, Emery got to meet her grandpa! My Dad came in town from Sapphire, North Carolina to visit his first grandchild and it was so great to see him! The 9 hour distance makes it hard to see each other often, but nothing could keep him from meeting this precious little girl! We visited at my apartment for a few hours, then packed Emery up and went to my sister's house where Dad had a photo session ready for our little model. Our goal was to take some "Anne Geddes" look-a-likes, but Emery was a little to awake for that!


One of my favorites! Obviously NOT one of Emery's! :)


That's better


Tiny little toes!


I should have taken that earring out, but I love her chubby cheeks in this one!


Little angel!

Dad, I'm so glad we got to visit and I cant wait to see you again! I'm a goose and you are a gander, I'm a princess and you are a king, I'm beautiful and you are handsome, and I'm yours. Forever! I love you! --(A little inside saying between my dad and me for those of you who don't know)

Friday, October 22, 2010

Prayers Answered

After 20 days in the NICU, Emery is finally where she should be... HOME! It is such a relief to have her here and I couldn't be happier! Surprisingly, I'm much more comfortable handling this little angel than I thought I would be. I guess the NICU was a blessing in disguise because I was able to get all the practice that I needed with things like bathing and feeding her, without the overwhelming feeling of all of the sudden being a first time mom with a premature baby. I'm so grateful to all of the nurses who helped care for her- those ladies are amazing with both babies and their families! She is doing great at home so far, and I LOVE being able to care for her around the clock. She has even already had her first doctors appointment weighing in at a whopping 5 pounds 6.4 ounces and Dr. Bob said she is developing "perfectly" which makes for a very happy momma!


Getting ready to leave the hospital!

Sleeping soundly :)


Along with getting Emery home, I also got a new ride! The Solara was such a fun car, but with it being only a two-door, I desperately needed something more suitable for baby Emery. I'm absolutely in LOVE with my new car, a Toyota Avalon XLS. :)




Mitch and I are incredibly blessed right now and I give full credit to the power of prayer (and selfless, wonderful family members!) I would be completely lost without my amazing parents, family and friends and I wanted to thank everyone so much for all of their prayers and warm wishes for Emery and her homecoming :)

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A Little More Time


Last night, Mitch and I got to "room-in" at the hospital with little Emery. This was kind-of like our final exam where we spend the night with all of the monitors turned off and take care of her by ourselves. In most cases, this means that the baby is ready to come home the following day- not in our case. Of course I was super excited and spent the whole day getting ready for her to come home! When we got there, everything went great, up until her 2am feeding. Emery started having the same problem that she has been having- tiring out after only half of her bottle. She is required to have 45-50 ml. of milk or formula per feeding in order to gain enough weight to go home (an ounce a day). At first, she did great but once she took in 25 ml. she pooped out and went to sleep. I did every trick in the book to get her to eat but nothing worked. It was so disappointing to have to call the nurse and tell her that we needed help. Even the nurse couldn't wake up sleeping beauty so we let her sleep and waited until her 5am feeding to try again. At that feeding, she did a little better. It took her about 40 minutes (which is not ideal) to eat but she finally took in the bare minimum amount. At the 8am feeding, things went downhill. Once again, she would only take in about 25 ml. before she was out of breath and drifting to sleep.

Needless to say, we did not get to bring home our baby today. She is back in the NICU and has feeding tube #3 in her tiny little nose. I know that it would be bad if she came home and I couldn't get her to eat here, but I'm still so sad about it. This was the 2nd time that my hopes were up for her to come home and it didn't happen, but I also know that everything happens for a reason. She's only 4 pounds 14 ounces and technically she should still be in my belly for another 4 weeks. I'm very proud of the progress that she has made in the 2 weeks that she has been alive and from now on, I'm giving it up to God because this stress and worry is driving me crazy.