Thankful......

....for nap times which allow me time to update my blog! :)
.....for a loving God who cares for me and has provided for me in ways I could have never dreamed of.
....for an amazing husband who is truly my best friend. We are having so much fun in this new chapter of life as parents and when I look at my daughter, my heart swells with love for both her and her daddy.
....for the cutest baby girl in the world. I never truly understood the love that a parent has for a child until I became one. I can't believe how beautiful and smart and smiley and loving that she is and to think, I housed this perfect little creature in my belly for 10 months!!! I am so thankful that is she healthy and my life has taken on a whole new meaning.


....for wonderful supportive parents who I have grown to love on an even deeper level since having Emersyn. Every day I look around my home and am reminded of their generousity, whether I am changing diapers that they have provided, dressing Emersyn in clothes they have bought, etc. I am so thankful that they love my husband like he is their own son, thankful that they love my daughter more then I think any grandparent has ever loved a grandchild, and thankful that we have such a neat and special relationship that no amount of miles between us could ever penetrate.


Okay, Kleenex break, gotta wipe the eyes. I am so emotional after having a baby!!!

Thankful...

....for a beautiful home that the Lord provided to us when we had no idea how we were going to get. He continues to provide each month that we pay that mortgage too! :)
....for Brett's promotion. We knew that the Lord really wanted Brett at Riverstone Residential for whatever reason and it is neat to see that start to really pay off. Brett was promoted into management at a property downtown and starts there on Saturday.
.....for friends that are a blessing to me and inspire me to be a better person.
...for loving family, from my in-laws to aunts and uncles and grandparents. I am so happy to be able to share my daughter with so many people who love her and are excited to be in her life.

There are so many more things I could say but it is so hard to put into words. All in all, my heart is bursting with gratitude this time of year and it is my goal to always remember to be thankful, even when Thanksgiving has passed.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone! Blessings from the Jensen family to yours. :)

Visit to Boise!!

Yay for amazing friends!!!

I kind of see myself in Emersyn in the picture above. Riley is too cute with his sweet smile!!

So fun to be mama's together!!!

I think he likes her!!

Daddy was soooo excited to fly with Emers!!!

We had such a lovely time in Boise last week, thank you Tiffany for being such a wonderful hostess!! Emersyn got to take her first plane ride with Daddy which was very special. He held her for the entire flight and they had a good time snuggling and looking out the window! J On the way there, there were only 39 people on the plane so we had our own section. On the way home, they said that the flight was pretty much full. After Brett and I got into our seats, I told Brett to sit on the aisle and I would sit next to the window and nurse Emersyn. Sure enough, we ended up with the only seat in the plan that wasn’t occupied!! The flight was full of lots of men and they would come to the back and see me feeding Emersyn and awkwardly look away and head back up to the front of the plane to find a seat. I was so proud of myself and my strategy!! Hee hee.

The Langfords have such a nice and comfortable home. We spent most the time just hanging out there, playing with the babies who seemed to be avoiding each other based on their schedules. Once Emersyn would wake up, Riley would get fussy and go down and then once he woke up, Emersyn was needing to take a nap. The evenings usually worked out and they were able to get some quality time in together, as they should seeing as their future marriage is impending. J Tiffany and I even got to have a girls day on Saturday and go out shopping. I found some really good deals at Old Navy, including a very patriotic little bathing suit that I am pretty sure Emersyn is going to look DARLING in next summer and it was only $1! 4 of July pictures here we come!! Tiffany got Emersyn the CUTEST little sweater dress too, I can’t wait to see her in it!!!

Now we are back home, finally settled after a month of off and on travels. It felt good to go to the grocery store, knowing that we are going to be home for good! We are so excited for Christmas, in fact, the tree is going up tomorrow! We are doing it a week early, don’t judge us! We just got our first fake tree last year and I am so excited to get pictures of Emersyn helping us decorate it! She is going to LOVE the lights too!! Thank you Lord for my little baby and giving her to us in time for the holidays!!

Tuesday I met up with an old friend at the mall, Sarah. We went to jr. high and high school together and just reconnected via facebook right before I found out I was pregnant. We got to meet each other’s babies and it was too fun! Ellie is only about 4 weeks younger then Emersyn. I am looking forward to getting to hang out more and journey through this motherhood path together!

Ellie and Emersyn, bonding in the women's lounge of Nordstrom! :)

My brother is going to MN next week for Thanksgiving. I am really happy for him and my parents but just a tad bit sad that they will all be together without us. We will have a nice time with Brett’s family though and also plan to go over to some family friends for dessert later that evening.

Today Uncle David is coming over and we are going to lunch with Emersyn, courtesy of my amazing mama. She is so sweet and considerate and constantly inspires me to be a better person and mother.

Have a great week everyone!!

Smiles!

I am happy to say that I think Emersyn smiles more for me then she does anyone else. Her favorite time of day seems to be after her "breakfast" in the mornings. I feed her, change her and then act like a silly mommy, smiling at her like a goon and in return, she smiles back and often coos while smiling! I am smitten, what can I say?

Two Months Old!!

My little lady turned two months old on October 28th, I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone!! We went to dinner with her Nana and Papa to Old Spaghetti Factory to celebrate. She dozed through much of the meal but I am sure she still felt celebrated.

Emersyn continues to change on a weekly basis. We went to her two month dr. appt. on Thursday and she weighs 12lbs exactly. She has grown another two inches, putting her at 24 1/4 inches, which is the 97th percentile for height. Her weight is 79th percentile and her head is 67th. So overall, she is a good healthy sized little girl!! She eats like a champ (obviously!) and is doing well both nursing and taking a bottle. It is fun to be able to pump bottles for her and let other people feed her.

Her latest fun milestones include cooing and "talking" to us. Her most alert time is after she has eaten and has been changed. She smiles all the time and is a very happy girl. One of her favorite things to do is lay on Mommy and Daddy's bed because she gets to lay on her side when we are there. She loves laying on her side, she just sucks her binky and looks very content and happy. She is kicking her arms and legs a bunch and discovering her hands, she likes sucking them as seen in the picture above.

Today she is at her Nana and Papa's for the afternoon. I know that they like to spend quality time with her so I asked if they wanted to hang out while I cleaned up the house a bit. I miss her so much and can't wait to pick her up in about 3 1/2 hours. I know she is in good hands but I still miss her!!

Next week on the 12th, we leave to visit my best friend and her husband and baby!! It will be fun to go on a little getaway with Brett and Emersyn and also get to visit with our friends! Boise is such a nice flight too, it seems by the time you take off and get your drinks, you are descending and getting ready to land!

On Halloween Emersyn was a ladybug. We took her down to Albany to visit her great grandparents. Her Great Grandma Stanton lives in an assisted living facility and Emersyn was the star of the show at lunchtime. We had to stop at every table in the lunch room because people wanted to see her. Half the people thought she was a boy but that is to be expected when she is dressed in something gender neutral, although a LADY bug to me sounds like a LADY. It was really fun though and I knew that she would light up so many of the old people's day. Plus, her great grandma got to show her off which is always fun too. After that we went over to her other Great Grandparent's house and hung out there for a bit. Halloween night we stayed home and didn't do much. Next year I am sure we will go out to a mall or something and trick or treat but this year we enjoyed a quiet evening at home.

Have a great week everyone!

Over the river and through the woods....

Hello from Minnesota!! Emersyn and I arrived safely last Saturday, the 18th. Emersyn did beautifully on the plane. I fed her right before we boarded so that she would be full and happy on the plane. Sure enough, she was perfect. She fussed for a second while I was getting settled and getting my seat belt buckled but after that I stuck her binky in and she was a happy camper. I had my iPod with me so I watched some videos on it and the time went by pretty quickly. I can't get over how expensive it is to fly these days, I had to pay $15 for my one suitcase and $25 for the second!! I was not expecting that but my parents were so generous as to reimburse me for my expenses since this trip was their treat. You don't even get peanuts on the plane anymore, you have to pay for it all!! You get a soft drink and that is it. Sheesh.

Anyways, Emersyn and I arrived and my mom managed to sweet talk her way past security to meet us at the gate which was really fun! I bought a snap'n'go stroller before we left and it was a LIFE SAVER!! Hauling her heavy car seat through an airport is not my idea of a fun time. We met my down at baggage claim and Emersyn woke up and realized that she was starving so my mom fed her a bottle while my dad and I got my bags. There is a tram that goes from the aiport to the Mall of America so before they picked us up, they had gone to "Build a Bear" and made a monkey for Emerysn that has their voices in it. When you squeeze the monkey, it says "Grammy and Grandpa love you!" with both of their voices. It is really special. My mom loves monkeys so she has started a little collection for Emersyn too which I think is really cute. Their guest rooms has cute little monkeys in it.

Emersyn's schedule has been really off here, I don't think we ever really adjusted to the time change. I have trouble falling asleep by myself too, I miss Brett too much. :) We have been having a lot of fun, both being out and about and just relaxing at their beautiful home. It is really crazy seeing my parents furniture in a different house now. I have loved seeing Emersyn in their home and watching my parents enjoy her so much. Thanks to my trusty Medela pump, both Grandma and Grandpa have been able to feed Emersyn and bond with her in that way. We went to the Mall of America a couple times, went downtown Minneapolis, and explored the local area too. My parents live southwest of Minneapolis in a little city called Jordan. It is pretty tiny but very quaint. The colors are SO pretty here. There are lots of trees and they are all bright yellow, reds and purples right now. The weather has been really nice too, lots of sunny days. Today though, it is snowing but not sticking. It is really windy too so we are having a fun relaxing day, watching movies and just enjoying the last full day I am here. I will be sad to go but excited to see my husband. Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder. We are coming out here for Christmas next year and that will be exciting and fun.

Here are some pictures of our fun time!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38390&l=0c8c0&id=501322979

Happy Fall!

Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year. I love the transition from Summer to Fall with the rain and overcast days, I love all the colors of Fall (look at the color pallate of my house and you will see what I mean), the crunch leaves, the pumpkin patch trips, etc. It is all wonderful and just leading up to my second favorite season, Winter!!!

Life is good. Emersyn continues to grow and change daily it seems. She is just a doll and I love her so much. We have started to put her to bed in her crib, which was VERY hard for me at first but I know it is so much better for her. She gets much better quality of sleep when it is quiet and dark in her room, versus amidst the tv and conversation when Brett and I are up and she is sleeping. She is sleeping in longer segments as a result of this new plan.

We took her to the pumpkin patch on Friday. She slept through the whole thing. Next year she will be more into it, I imagine!

I am starting to get the hang of balancing the house and the baby. I really don't do much during the day and when Brett comes home and is having some Daddy time, I am able to get some things done. Same with when she goes to bed now, I am able to do laundry and stuff, although the downside to that is I get like a second wind and then have trouble winding down myself to go to sleep.

I leave for Minnesota on Saturday, I can't wait! It is going to be like a vacation, Emersyn and I will be well taken care of. Plus, my mom has a soaking tub, something I do not have, and I plan on taking a bath like every day. *sigh* It will be nice!!!

I know of 8 babies that have been born since Emersyn was born. She is going to have lots of little friends, that is for sure! I still have three friends that are expecting their babies this Fall too!

Getting the hang of it....

I feel like I am starting to get the hang of this mom gig. :) It sure is fun, I just adore Emersyn and every time I look at her, I just can't believe she is mine. I have made a conscious effort to enjoy my days home with her now, not to be so focussed on getting stuff done around the house. I don't want to look back on my leave and regret not taking advantage of bonding with my daughter, all for the sake of having a spotless house! I take time to get stuff done when Brett gets home and has daddy time with Emersyn. This is a fun chapter of life, that is for sure.

Friday we went and bought Emersyn her first pair of jeans. We have jeans for her to wear later as she gets older but none for right now. How cute (and pooped) does she look??

Her Daddy and I have so much fun shopping for her! These jeans were only $12 at the Carter's outlet. Too fun!