May 1st! Happy 2 Months!
We broke up the drive by staying in Mesquite overnight in some ratty motel 6. Emersyn slept in the elephant chair next to my side of the bed. We realized just how much of a princess she while at the motel. She was laying on the the bed wrapped up in a Minky Couture blanket but her head was on the sheets on the bed. She kept rubbing her head back and forth like she was uncomfortable. I pulled the Minky blanket up under her head and she immediately stopped moving and fell asleep.
With the trip to Utah being her first introduction to the rest of the family, and her being used to a more solitary lifestyle with me and her in the small apartment all day, the full days of meeting family members and friends was exhausting (for her and me). Aunts, uncles and grandparents wanted to have her awake so they could see the smiles she was more freely giving. Not being able to sleep when she wanted made for a cranky baby come bedtime. However, once Emersyn was finally asleep she slept well for most of the night only waking up once or twice to feed. Despite the fatigue, all of the socialization was good for her and she seemed eager to play.
Because we were going to be around family, and the timing seemed the best, we took the opportunity to give Emersyn a name and a blessing. We had decided about a month before that this is what we were going to do and sent out invitations. With the short notice we only invited Chris' parents to the blessing, but Molly and Ryan would be visiting them in Arizona and so couldn't come.
I was thinking Chris would be nervous about what to say and how to go about the blessing, but our ward in California had a lot of births and baby blessings so Chris was well aware of how everything was supposed to go. I was impressed at his preparation and thoughtfulness as Chris prepared himself for Emersyn's special day. My mother was fabulous and prepared food and treats for family members that would be coming over following sacrament meeting. I had fun with the decorations - making everything pink and girly in honor of our sweet baby.
I was so appreciative of the level of support from friends and family that showed up for the blessing. Opa looked frail and much more thin than I remembered seeing him at Christmas. It was hard to see someone once so strong and capable be so restricted. I thanked him for coming and he said he wouldn't have missed it for the world. He was able to be in the priesthood circle along with the rest of the men in the family. I hadn't realized at the time that even Alex, who had long denounced the church, participated.
Chris' blessing was perfect and everything I would have blessed Emersyn with and more. Thought I didn't write everything down there were some things that stood out. Chris blessed her to be healthy, which I felt very important, and he blessed her to be curious, which I loved. Sadly, I thought that someone else was recording it for me - had I known I would have written it down myself. I think Emersyn can know that her father blessed her with every good thing we would wish for her and the ability to overcome whatever trials may come her way. Chris and I both bore our testimonies, as is typical of the parents of the blessed children, but I understand more why. It is because you are full of the spirit and you want to share it. Chris' testimony focused on the reality of the gospel and Christ and how his scientific knowledge and experience only backs up what religion teaches. I shared my testimony of eternal families and how it brought me strength and comfort knowing our family would be together always and that Emersyn will always be my daughter and be with me. It is my favorite doctrine of the LDS church.
After the blessing everyone gathered at my mom's house for some yummy treats. I had to steal away for a bit to feed Emersyn and with so many people there I missed talking to so many people. Emersyn was a good baby and endured the passing around pretty well. It was the first time I wasn't completely aware of exactly where she was. The whole experience of blessing Emersyn was totally perfect.
Our trip to Utah ended quickly and we turned west back to our apartment in California. Emersyn was a little more fussy on the drive back, but still was a stellar road-tripper nonetheless.
A couple of days after our arrival back in California Emersyn had her two month appointment to get her two month shots. She only cried for a little bit once the shots were done. A pacifier quickly quieted her and I gave her some Tylenol. For the rest of the day she was a little sleepy and sulky, but that was to be expected. I was surprised when she had a fever of 101.4 later that night. Tylenol quickly brought the temp down. I figured it might take a couple of days for her to start feeling better, but I would say 4 or 5 days passed before she really recovered. The upside to getting shots is that she started sleeping through the night. That first night after she got her shots I woke up at 6 and was surprised that we both had slept the whole night. I was more worried than rested, though. I woke Emersyn up to feed her before anything exploded and then she quickly went back to sleep. This happened for the next few days. She was spending the whole night in the swing, which I didn't really mind since she was sleeping, but I wasn't looking forward to the transition to the crib.
On Mother's day it was fun to have added a new holiday to our list of days to celebrate. Chris gave me the perfect gift - a Kindle so that I could read and breastfeed without struggling to hold a book open and then losing my page when Emersyn started choking or pulled off. Emersyn was dressed in a cute outfit Nana Lala had given her. Because of how quickly she was now growing I think this was the only time she wore it.
Emersyn enjoyed sitting up in the Bumbo chair. She liked to look around and get a better view of the world. Although she liked she had some good times on the jungle mobile floor mat, she seemed to relish a new perspective. As everyone always says, she is so alert and seems to take everything in.
Emersyn started blowing bubbles and making raspberries. Chris and I loved seeing the developmental milestones appear, even if it means the drool quotient increased remarkably.
As I started feeling better I was anxious to get out doing my previous activities. Adding a child to the mix made scheduling play time more difficult. Thanks to a wonderful and selfless husband we were able to help each other do the things we enjoyed. To be able to go mountain biking Chris would sit in the car and watch Emersyn while I rode our California version of Trappers Loop. Once I was done we would switch. Emersyn usually slept or ate while we were waiting.
Along with finding time to exercise, going out to dinner had an added element. We had to time things right to that I wouldn't have to feed Emersyn while we were at the restaurant. We usually ended up going to dinner rather early and we always made sure to get a booth that could accommodate the carseat. On my birthday we got Emersyn all dressed up and we had an elderly 5 o'clock dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
Emersyn seemed to quickly gain control of her head and neck, despite her dislike of tummy-time. She was able to sit steadily with me only holding her hands, and then go from that sitting position to a standing one. This became a new game of up - downs.
Chris and I got in the habit of regularly sending photos of Emersyn to my mom and family. She asked for them and seemed to appreciate getting them so she got one every two or three days. One day I sent a photo to a bunch of my family and joked about Emersyn's baby cleavage. One number I thought was my dad's replied that they didn't know who I was and asked who had just sent them a picture message. Big ooops.
Favorite pictures from the month of May
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