13 Weeks

This has been a pretty low-key week. Emma's FINALLY over her cold now - the stuffy nose seemed like it was never going to end. We haven't done a whole lot this week. We went to a consignment sale on Thursday and I got a few winter outfits for her. I also got a Baby Bjorn. It's a baby carrier that she can sit in facing either in or out. I think she'll really like it as she gets older. I tried it tonight and it was SO funny. She's used to the sling which keeps her right up next to me, and the Bjorn leaves her sort of floating in the air in front of me. She seemed a little confused at first, but then cried when Brad took her out of it! The sling is still my favorite and definitely the best for cuddling with her while she's little, but the Bjorn will be better on my back when she gets bigger. I'll still love to cuddle her, but don't want my back to pay the price!

She's so snuggly these days. I have pretty much decided that the baby carseat/carrier is just too heavy for me. I leave it in the car and just use it as a carseat, unless I'm taking the stroller too. Whenever we go anywhere, I just pull out the sling, stick her in it, and we are good to go. She ALWAYS falls asleep in it - it's awesome! She lays in it with us stomach to stomach with her head on my chest. It's the sweetest thing in the world. She's so comfortable and I feel like she's less likely to be touched by strangers when she's in it. We went to a store a couple of weeks ago and a stranger actually touched her pacifier! She was trying to make sure it didn't fall out of her stroller, but still! Needless to say, it didn't go near her until it was boiled! No problems like that in the sling though. People don't tend to want to come that near to my chest to touch her. :)

She had her first trip to The Varsity today. She slept through it, but still! I made sure to get a hat for her - I'll get a photo-op later this week.

Emma's also learning to love her Bumbo chair. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, the Bumbo is a cool little chair for babies that aren't ready to sit up yet, but have head control. It not only helps her sit up so that she can play, but it also helps strengthen her core muscles which is good because she HATES tummy time. I usually try to force her to spend some time on her tummy every day, but she always ends up hysterical.

Tomorrow she'll have the unfortunate experience of attending her first funeral. One of my paraprofessionals from last year passed away on Thursday. She had colon cancer that spread rather quickly. I'm still in disbelief. It wasn't that long ago that I brought Emma to Midvale to visit my co-workers and she held her and told me how beautiful she was. Through my pregnancy she often shared with me what she went through when she was pregnant with her son. She was hospitalized for most of her pregnancy and was able to really help me to see that what I was going through could be much worse. She was such a great person - she worked 3 jobs to support herself and her son, including owning and running her own catering business - she was an INCREDIBLE cook! Her son was her whole life as a single mom. It really goes to show you how short life is - I'll never take a moment for granted.

Here are some pictures of Emma and her new best friend. His name is Scout. He's a LeapFrog toy that Emma's Grandpa (my Dad) bought her. You hook him up to the computer and personalize him to sing songs with the child's name in it. He says "snuggle up, Emma" and she stares right at his face! She's so funny. She LOVES this toy, as you can see in the pictures. She particularly likes playing with him when she's in the bumbo so she can really see him. She's even starting to reach out and grab things - particularly Scout. Too cute! Her onesie says "Mommy's Answered Prayers." I ordered it for her as soon as I found out she was a girl - she truly is the answer to my prayers. How can you not love that smile?