Good Thing I Really Like These People..

What kind of face is this?!

Recently all of the sudden it has been much harder to get all of the things done that I feel like I want to/need to
[in the house that is.. for some reason, probably because I hold her in her front carrier, she is a dream errand runner]..
And this my friends may very well be why.

I tried to have her play by herself on her play mat for a minute while I did the laundry.
[[ &If you were wondering the laundry did not get finished for a little while longer.]]

She wasn't even crying..
she just kept looking over at me with this face like she was about to cry but she was giving me a couple of minutes to come to my senses and get my act together..

My little pouty faced Emery is two months old?! How does she already have such persuasive abilities...?!

I believe that I may be in trouble...

Therefore we will not even begin to discuss who won this battle.


And THEN there is the other protester of organized folded laundry in my life..

 It's probably not his fault though.. I feel like I may be leaving him too subtle of hints..

 

:)

[Just Kidding.. I actually feel a little bad even giving Blake a hard time because he studies so hard in school and still finds time to help me SO much around the house and I'm sure he could find lots of things lately to tease me about .. he just gets the closet and floor confused. Easy Mistake :) ]

But boy.. how cute are these two..

[If you will hold her/cuddle her she is happy as a clam so Blake is nice and lets her be his little study partner]

And I keep telling myself she probably wont want to cuddle this much for long so I should just enjoy how much I love it right now..

And even if the laundry doesn't get folded right away anymore..

I feel so lucky that these people like ME.

There is so much love in our house lately.. and even if this phase of our life has a lot of things that seem hard.. there are a lot of sweet things too and I've been feeling pretty blessed.

And boy does that pouty face make for some pretty good laughs right now.

A Few of My Favorite Things

You want to know what I love more than brown paper packages tied up with strings?

This sweet perfect baby girl of ours.

Oh my GOSH I love this girl
 [even though right now I AM having to type with just my right hand because she wont sleep when I put her down]

This picture was taken right after this sweet girl got us kicked of an optometry presentation at Blake's school.

How can you even get upset at this face?

Emery just loves.. loves.. loves attention. She is so funny while Blake will be studying she will just sit there and stare at him until he looks at her and then as soon as he looks over she will SMILE and wiggle and move just every part of her body and even giggle sometimes. It's seriously the cutest.

And any time you walk in to go get her out of her crib her HUGE smiles make you feel like you are the best person she could ever see in the world.

And my very very very VERY favorite thing right now is how talkative she is.

She just sits there and jabbers and goo's and aw's and if you will make baby noises and talk back she gets so excited and seriously will just sit there and talk with you for at least 15 minutes.

I cant believe how much I love it and how warm she makes my heart.

We keep trying to record it though and it seems like if she sees you pull the camera out she either gets distracted or feels like you aren't paying attention to her and all bets are off. So we have lots of really cool videos of our one sided baby talk.. which I'm sure would impress everyone.

:)

But I'm praying that we can get a good video before she stops doing it.. It does hurt me a little how fast she changes.

Our little Emery girl is 2 1/2 months old now and even though people told me she would..

(and seriously I didn't believe them because you keep thinking HOW could I love how this perfect baby is any more?)

She really does keep getting better and better.

At her last doctors appointment ((2/23/15)) She weighed 11 lbs and 9 oz and was 23 inches tall..

Which apparently is in the 73rd percentile for height!
She better enjoy this being tall thing now because I am just not sure she has the genetics to keep this up.. haha

She still is the absolute most cuddly baby ever. Emery absolutely loves to be held and cuddled.. to the point where I don't understand how it's comfortable.. sometimes she won't fall asleep unless her face is smashed against my face.. which, don't get me wrong, sometimes I absolutely adore because I love to cuddle too. 

And it sounds cute until I need to eat.. or accomplish absolutely anything.

Then it can be a little bit hard.

She is still a little bit young and there is just no reasoning with this little girl.

[baby carriers have become a little bit of a lifesaver... they have bumped productivity around the house from 0% to probably.. 25%.. feel free to be impressed. haha]]

I love how she absolutely ADORES the mirror. It's so funny. She will be crying so Blake will take her to go look at herself in the mirror and all will be right in the world again.

This particular mirror was definitely in a public bathroom but it was definitely her favorite part of our shopping experience so I spent WAY too long in this public bathroom making faces and sharing smiles with my sweet girl.

Now that is how you know it's true love.

This picture she is quite a bit younger in.. definitely only a month .. she was still sleeping in her bassinet and I looked over one night and she was just staring at me like this.

She kills me. She kills us.. Blake actually tells her this daily.

[[You're just so sweet.. & cute my little love bug.]]

But I wanted to address the fact that yesterday and last night she has slept 7 hours straight! 

We are new people over here..

[hence the catching up of the blog..]

Definitely in life with our Emery girl.. 

Nights feel a little longer.. and if I don't get up before she does mornings start a little slower.. and although I was joking a little earlier with my productivity comment I definitely don't accomplish the same things I used to in a day when it comes to daily chores and life organization..

BUT my heart feels SO full.. and even when  I am exhausted I feel so grateful.

I have seen a few comments lately about infertility and just wanted to add a little by saying that trying to have our sweet girl definitely was an emotional journey for us.. complete with miscarriage and months and months of negative pregnancy tests and not knowing why I wasn't getting pregnant.

[don't get me wrong I know that people have it far worse than we did.. but it still hurt going through it]

But I just wanted to say that I feel like it has made me SO much more grateful for Emery. It's made me want to savor every minute and helped me to find joy when I am covered in spit up or baby poop or any other bodily fluid.

It's all so worth it.

& I know that there is a reason for everything even if it's hard to see it while we are going through it.

But anyway I just wanted to also put down for the record.. things are getting easier.

People tell you it will but.. it's REAL. It really happens

I seriously thought I might die for a few weeks.. having a newborn was still happy but definitely hard.

I don't know if it's that we are sleeping more or that my sweet girl is more interactive and happy and we are getting used to each other.. or what it is.. but for some reason it's getting easier.

And really it's absolutely blissful. I just feel like I have so much to be grateful for everyday.

Being a mom is my very favorite thing.

The Week Off

Alright.. you want to know what is the worst?

When San Antonio is COLD..

What in the world.. I thought after enduring an extremely hot summer we were off the hook for the rest of year?

Further more that is why we moved here?!

Does that mean nothing to you Texas.

And the audacity to be cold while we have visitors.. the AUDACITY.

Alright.. well now that I have gotten that out of the way.. you want to know what is the best?

 

Visitors.. and visitors that just happen to be really good friends.

My old roommate {{For I think 8 semesters.. my whole college experience not married}} and one of my very best friends, Shelby, flew all the way to Texas to meet baby Emery and see us for a week.

 

Besides for the cold weather the week was just a dream.

Shelby is a nurse at Primary Children's Hospital in Utah so she taught me a baby trick or two.. AND she sweetly played the role of our first non relative babysitter so that after I don't even want to talk about how long  I could go get my hair done.

& Lately in this life of mine with a newborn these things are definitely noteworthy life accomplishments,

 

And even though it was cold we agreed to embrace our inner Idaho survival instincts and showed Texas that we weren't going to let it bring us down.

Which thank goodness Shelby was there because this little companion of mine couldn't even open her eyes when we were 2 feet away from a carnivorous leopard... so it was probably in the best interest of everyone to have a little more interested third party.

 We also decided that we all needed to get into the Texas spirit while Shelby was here and since it was in town we
{or maybe I.. & everyone was at least nice and humored me}
concluded whats more Texan than the RODEO..

{{And from the following reactions I will say that I think that  
my little family may need to work a little bit on our being Texan still..  
maybe next year..}}

Clearly Emery really enjoys all of the fun things that we bring her to do.

Oh my sweet child. 

Also I would like to please note that Blake would not listen to a country song willingly when we first started dating.. nonetheless wear a cowboy hat.

We have come a long way in our lives.

[You never know what kind of pictures you are going to get when you have those strangers that just happen to be in the right place at the right time take your picture..

In fact I have to be honest and say that I am always slightly worried that they will take the camera/phone and run or drop it.. or I don't know.. the possibilities are endless.. ]

But some days if everyone is in the picture we count "the stranger shot" as a success.

We spent an afternoon doing the traditional Alamo and then having such a fun dinner and desert listening to live music at the Riverwalk.

And it was perfect.. San Antonio felt even more like home with Shelby here. 

There was a lot more fun that we didn't get pictures of.. Shelby came and explored the busy farmers market with me down town.. and we had lots of talking and eating and much needed girl time.

Sweet Shelby I absolutely love you and don't how I was blessed enough to have such  a good friend, thank you for coming to see us and letting us take a week off of real life to just play.. it meant the world!

And Then She Grew Up..

It's was kind of a tough weekend over here for this momma..

Thursday our little Emery baby had her first out of the house babysitting experience so that we could go to the temple..

{which was wonderful and what I really needed}

But it's so funny that even though I was feeling relaxed.. I also kept feeling like a longing and just emptiness missing my baby.

I don't know why they give you all of this advice because they don't want your baby to get "too attached" (which side note.. I don't think you can love your baby too much)

But why is no one ever concerned about the too attached mother. Haha That's more our issue over here.

She handled everything just perfectly.

And THEN last night this little sweet pea of ours spent her first night in her nursery!

And it was time.. She loves her crib and sleeps better.. And everyone over here has been pretty sleep deprived.

But even knowing all of this I still wanted to cry a little bit before going to bed.

But the craziest thing happened... we actually experiences this crazy sensation I think some people refer to as.... Sleep?

Emery slept a straight 6 hours last night.. which around these parts is absolutely REMARKABLE.
And the weirdest thing.. even though I have been tired.. I have felt like I have gotten used to not sleeping.. {which who knew that was possible}

After about 5 hours I woke up and had to make sure she was alive and when she didn't seem to want to wake up or eat yet I had to give myself a pep talk about sleeping for a little bit longer.

So we see who is the REAL problem here.
:)




We are only a little bit obsessed around here..

So BLESSED

January 4th 2015

Our Emery girl was a little little while my family was here.. {actually to be honest she was a little little when we actually blessed her still but we really wanted to be able to have some family in town} so when she was just a day shy of 3 weeks old while the Bingham side of the family was in town Blake gave Emery the most beautiful blessing.

And she was just a little angel thank goodness.. she didn't cry at all that morning and smiled through the blessing. 

The whole day was so sweet..

The experience made me feel extra grateful for this little family of mine and for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I adore how sweet and cute and little she is now but I feel so humbled and excited to be a part of her life as she becomes the woman her Heavenly Father wants her to be.

I know that this gospel is true and that He has had such a hand in her life already and I can only hope that she can see that our Heavenly Father can make such more out of our lives than we can on our own.. and my heart feels so warm thinking that I will be able to teach and grow with this beautiful wonderful baby of ours.

Being a mom is the best.

Emery the Little Adventurer

So Emery is so awesome at going out and running errands and basically anything on the go..

In fact she is easier I think when we are out of the house and doing things than when we are just at home taking it easy..

{I think it could be because a lot of the time she is in a little carrier close to me.. and boy does that sweet girl love to be held}

But this adventure in particular I have to be honest I was really back and forth and really a little skeptical about what type of parenting choice this would be..

[I even googled if this was something that parents ever did.. which they did.. but of course.. I mean judging from the fact that I felt the need to google it.. there were mixed reviews]

But before Em was born we vowed and we vowed that we would still get out and do fun things after we had her..

So after Blake found some noise silencing headphones that you wear shooting and after a couple little personal pep talks about how we need to have fun and experience life still  and if Emery is unhappy at all we can just leave right.. no harm done
I finally convinced myself we would just drive separate and try it..
But.. to I don't know why.. but my surprise.. baby girl is a troop.er.

So we all got to go to our first hockey game!

Which actually is definitely quieter than an NBA game..
[Now.. don't get me wrong.. it's not exactly like you are sitting in church.. but it didn't seem to bother Emery at all]

 

 The only problem was how am I supposed to watch a bunch of grunting guys hit a puck around when I have my favorite little girl in my arms..

{Have I mentioned that my productivity level has gone down.. 100%.. in the last couple of months and no one can figure out why.. ? haha}

And eventually the little girl just fell asleep in her little bjorn carrier all together.

I'm sure I am going to miss these days when she can walk and move around on her own.

Hockey definitely is a MANS sport.. wow. There were three fights during the game and the whole thing was pretty fun to watch but intense..  I definitely wouldn't even get out there on that ice with them.
{with or without the baby}

The boys of course all had to sit on one row because the girls just don't cut it as good serious sports watching partners clearly..

But that was okay with us.. and it was fun to get out and have some girl time catching up with these sweet ladies after a month of family/baby adjusting.
I'm so grateful that we have such fun friends that want to drag our behinds out of our house and baby adjusting comfort zone to experience this fun city again.

 
 And finally.. thank you Texas for providing us with so much entertainment..
and always reminding us that we "should have been a Cowboy".. even when we are going to the bathroom.

Even though lately I have definitely been wishing we were a little closer to family.. we still are really liking it here and all of the new experiences it's brought our little family of three.

Little Bear

So I'm not 100% sure when our little Em Cakes is going to really be comprehending exactly what's going on in the world...

 But when she does trust me we are so ready and probably overly excited to show her the finer things in life.

Blake had a three day weekend and even though he still had to study (dang Optometry school).. 

Emery had the cutest little bear suit that I felt like needed to be appreciated.

 [[& of course in Texas is probably going to be too warm to wear in a couple of days weeks..]]

So since we have a year pass to the zoo, we decided that we probbbably should take Emery to meet the real bears and show her what is going on in the world of animals for a couple of hours.

Unfortunately she didn't QUITE connect with the bears as well as one might have hoped seeing as they had so much in common this afternoon..

BUT she did seem very interested in the aquarium and the reptile exhibits..

I don't know if it was because the exhibits are closer so she could actually see them, or because the light wasn't so bright and there were lots of different colors, OR if it's just because judging from her night time track record she is probably nocturnal so it seemed more appropriate for her to be awake when it is dark..

But whatever it is.. it was pretty dang cute.

One of my favorite things about this stage of her life is that she is starting to be able to see everything (and by everything I'm pretty sure I mean like faces and colors.. ya know the important things) and is just so amazed by it and getting more and more happy to see you/interactive.

I like to think she didn't know what to think of the snakes and will stay away from them.

Those things were crazy huge and still giving me nightmares.

And then since we kind of had to make our trip short we just kind of hit the highlights.

{we still haven't seen all of the San Antonio zoo.. but I'm not complaining because that just means we get to keep going back right?}

Which of course was the anteater.. I think this guy is the goofiest walking/funniest animal.. like ever.. 

So Blake humors me for a little while.. sweet guy.

What he doesn't know is that I am trying to concoct a way to get the zoo to let us have this animal visit our house and get rid of all of our bugs.. because that'd be cheaper than bug spray.. right?

Stay posted on that one..

And mostly because Emery's enthusiasm.. clearly..

We spent some time playing with the birds.. I was you tubing bird calls/songs and it was so funny the kookaburras were awesome and looking and flying frantically around trying to find the other birds..

{what did I ever do without a smart phone..}

I'm not sure if that's mean or not.. 

zoos probably in general as much as I love them aren't animals ideal living quarters poor things..

But oh man was I enjoying watching these animals hear something it seemed like they understood and responded to. Animals (minus anything that could eat me.. unless they are very safely contained) are the coolest.

 

And then, rather appropriately I thought considering Emery's amazement with the snakes, we ended the day with Blake teaching our daughter the snake rhyme about how to know if they are poisonous.

It was pretty sweet.

I was just in heaven strolling around with our little family of three. Even though it has felt so natural having Emery in our family it all still feels really new and exciting and even though I am loving her cuddly tiny stage,

 I am excited for when she can enjoy the zoo and have fun with us..

Buttt until then I guess we will just have to enjoy it for her and be happy she lets us bring her dressed like the animals.

:)