I Won, I WON!

I just realized that I won a contest for a new blog design by Fab K and I am SOOO excited!! I just love all the blogs that she designs, so keep checking back for my new and improved blog! :) Also, check out Fabulous K's blog...she's having another contest right now!

Pictures...as promised!

Ok, here goes...like I said I hadn't downloaded pictures in a really long time so here are a ton of random pictures from the last month and a half!

My mom turned 50 on April 9th and we surprised her with a party! Emma Kate stole the show. Here she is with her Aunt Maddie.

The party just pooped her out!

Aunt Teppy came for the party too! :)

The day EK got her 4 month shots I took the day off just to hang out. Here we are taking a few pictures before heading to the dr's. I couldn't believe how good she was doing on her tummy! She usually hates being on her tummy, but this day she loved it!

After her shots she was running a little bit of fever so we put a wet wash cloth on her head...doesn't she look adorable??

Emma Kate's good friend Kyler turned 1...here she is getting ready for the big party!

And here she is with all her friends! (Kyler, Katie Lynn, and Colin)

Like I said earlier, I think she likes sleeping without the swaddle!

Just a cute picture after her bath one night!

Here's how we had a sneaking suspicion she might be ready for solid foods....she couldn't stop staring at Brice's food one night while we were eating!

So for her 5 month birthday she got rice cereal!

She LOVED it, but eating from a spoon is hard work! She has since tried oatmeal cereal too...I think she likes rice cereal better though. Once school is out we are going to start her on fruits and vegetables. I am planning on making her food...we'll see how that goes! :)

Emma Kate's 5 Month pictues, once again, Denae did a great job!

Will even joined in on the photoshoot! I think Emma Kate was saying "Hey, don't you think you get your picture taken enough!" :)

My 1st Mother's Day was such a special day. The past several Mother's Days have been kind of emotional for me, I longed to be a mother so badly and at times it seemed like I might never be blessed with that opportunity. I feel so lucky to finally be a mommy, but even more than that to be Emma Kate's mommy! Brice did such a good job of making me feel special that day (and everyday!). He and Emma Kate gave me a new pearl ring and earrings along with 2 books and a DVD!

Here we are on Mother's Day with my mom, Aunt Maddie, Aunt Teppy and my grandmother Nette!

My Granddad even came to help us all celebrate. Emma Kate loves to hear him "quack"!!

And we're ROLLING!

Yes, that's right, our big girl finally rolled over all by herself! Tuesday when we got home from school we were playing in the floor, she layed on her side for a really long time and then finally just rolled on over. I think I scared her half to death the first time because I was screaming and clapping. She was looking at me like I crazy or something. Who knew first time mommies would get so excited about these little milestones. After my little celebration for her I all the sudden started to get sad! My little baby girl rolled over! Oh goodness, I'm really not sure why I get so emotional about every little thing! Anyway, she went on to do it 3 more times and I even got the last time on camera. I'll see if Brice can help me download it and I'll post it. Unfortunately she hasn't rolled over again since Tuesday, but she loves laying on her side so I'm sure she will really be rolling in no time.

Also, I have TONS of pictures to post. I realized I haven't downloaded pictures from my camera since before my mom's birthday - April 9th! LOTS of things have happened since then! Maybe I'll get around to that sometime this weekend. :)

So Long Swaddle

This has been one of our best friends since Emma Kate was born (I highly recommend it to any new moms out there), but Thursday night we decided it was time to finally say goodbye! She was getting to the point where she could get her arms out of the top and she was no longer able to stretch her legs out all the way. I was really worried about how she would transition to sleeping without it because she was such a good sleeper with it, but so far so good! It was so funny, every time I would go check on her the first night her arms were straight out to the side and her legs were straight down. It was like she was saying "I'm FREE!"

Also, we're contemplating starting her on cereal. For the last week she has been waking up at about 4:30 every morning. (Another reason we decided to try sleeping without the swaddle). I had been feeding her, but the last 2 mornings I decided to just leave her in there and see what she would do, and she ended up just talking and playing until 7! Crazy girl!! We're definitely going to have to get this straightened out by summer. :) So, when did all of you start your babies on cereal?