3 Months!!

Emerson had her 3 month Birthday last week. She is getting to be so much fun. She is smiling all the time and starting to play a lot more. Bruce and I are back to normal as far as health and Emerson is still kicking her cold. The weather has been up and down here a lot lately. Last Thursday it was 81 degrees! Today it was 50, by the end of the week it will be 30's!

This weekend we enjoyed the weather by taking Emerson to Shawnee Mission Park which is a big park (of course) that has a small lake and a ton of trails for hiking, mountain biking, walking/running, horseback riding, etc. It was a good time, but I did realize how out of shape I really am in. This afternoon, it was back on the treadmill to get back into Pre-Emerson shape! I have a lot of work to do. The rest of our Saturday we spent over at Mike Wondra's to visit the boys and see how Dave Debes was doing after his ACL surgery.

Below are some new pictures of Emerson! Lets not lie to each other....that is really what you read this for...

Emerson & Dave-- Don't worry we let him hold her BEFORE he took his meds!

Ruler of the Kitchen! ....and the livingroom...bedrooms....bathroom....the whole House!!

MOM....MEATLOAF...NOW!!!! (Ever seen Wedding crashers?!?!)

Nothing New...

I would like to say we have a ton to report since it has been a few weeks since our last post...but I would be lying. Emerson is having a blast at daycare. All of the kids get excited when she gets there in the morning. Marijanne calls her "angelic"...go figure...our kid?!?! But yep that pretty much describes her. She found a buddy in Rick. He could hold her all day and she would let him. But Marijanne makes them take time out for eating, sleeping, playing, and tummy time. She is starting to show off on how well she can hold her head up. She still loses control a little but before we know it she will be holding it up all on her own!

We have been taking it easy the last couple of weeks. We purchased furniture for our basement a couple of weeks ago. Last weekend we set out to enjoy a family rivalry evening while watching K-State Vs. Iowa State Basketball. It didn't turn out quite how we planned. About 1/2 time, I thought I was going to be sick. So I gave Emerson to Bruce and proceeded to use the bathroom for that very purpose. After 3 more trips to the upstairs bathroom to get sick in the next 30 minutes (didn't want to use the basement bathroom and gross out our guest), I decided I better go to bed. My body continued to expel its contents for the next 13 hours and Bruce's followed suit. Sunday morning after I asked God to just let it end (and he said no) Robin came to rescue Emerson and off to the ER we went. After a few bags of saline to rehydrate our bodies and a few doses of antinausea meds, they let us go home to sleep for the next two days. I doubt they gave us the family discount! Thank heavens for The DeSoto Oberle's and Leon & Judy for coming to Emerson's rescue. She luckily did not get the stomach virus and aside from a cold is wonderful. To prove it, here are some pics! Disregard the black mark on her forehead - she is a child of God and it is Ash Wednesday!

Disco Fever- Bring it on John Travolta!!

Our little Angel!

Dancing the night away!

2 month appointment

Emerson had her two month appointment this week. She woke up in a great mood which was bittersweet because Bruce and I both knew that in a matter of hours her day would be ruined by the nurse with the vaccinations. She took it like a champ and actually did really well during the visit. She did cry really hard which in turn made Mommy cry really hard. The nurse did a great job and made it as painless as possible. Her cute little legs were quite sore Tuesday and Wednesday but she is now back to her happy self. She weighed in at 9 pounds 15.1 ounces....growing like a weed!

Not much else to report. I would like to say things are boring, but they are anything but that. We are getting used to being parents and loving every minute of it. However, our lives are not as "exciting" as they once were. Our best days are spent watching our daughter smile, laugh, and discovering the world around her. It is a really cool thing when she hears your voice and reacts, looks up at you and smiles like it is Christmas day. That is the coolest feeling I have ever had.

Baptism

We had a great weekend! we had quite a few people join us for Emerson's baptism She wore the same baptismal gown that I wore. She slept through the entire event. She didn't even flinch when Father Cullen poured the water over her head. We are so proud of her and very happy there were so many people there to share her special day!!!

I also returned to work this Monday and Emerson started daycare. Monday was ugly...I cried like a little girl. Emerson was in a great mood! She smiled & coo'ed all morning. She could tell something was different though.... usually when we put her in the car seat, she falls asleep before we get out of the driveway. Monday morning she stared at her mirror the whole car ride to the babysitters, when we got there, she stared at me the entire time. Her babysitter is awesome! She was very reassuring and told me I could call her whenever I want. Ironically, when we got there, there was one of my soccer athletes from Iowa State. She takes her 4 month old son there too. Small World! Emerson is having a blast at the babysitters and they love her! I am still digging out from under the work pile from the last 8 weeks and I have a feeling that will continue for several more days/weeks. Bruce has an overnight trip this week too for work, so you can bet I will be a tired girl towards the end of this week!!

Smiley!!!

The Oberle family

The Oberle Family-- Sans Bink!

Godmother, Aunt Amy, Father Cullen, and Godfather "Uncle" Mike

Mommy, Emerson, Grandma & Grandpa Kehrt!

Growing up

Em and I are on our last week home before we head to daycare and back to work. It is hard to believe that we have already gone 8 weeks! We will all have a lot of adjustments next week! Bruce will no longer be able to use work as the excuse for me to take the late night feeding shift so he can go to bed early and I will no longer be able to try to fit in a late morning or early afternoon nap when Em does. All of us have grown up a lot in the last 8 weeks. Here are some examples...

1. We go to bed early

2. We get up early (yes...5:30 am is early to us)

3. Sara talks about poop! I have always said that everybody poops so we don't need to talk about it...I still don't talk about my own...but Em's poop (or lack thereof) seems to be a frequent conversation.

4. Bruce changes smelly diapers.... he still calls in reinforcements when the stench gets too bad but he is slowly improving!

5. vomit/spit up no longer comes from drinking too much the night before. Em unleashed an impressive display of projectile vomit all over Bruce last night. From my vantage point, it was hilarious...from Bruce's not so much.... Em didn't seem to mind at all...in fact he looked down at her and she smiled up at him :)

There are plenty of examples of how we have not grown up too much though! Too many to count!! Sorry, no pictures to post this week. Emerson gets baptized this weekend so we will have plenty more to post next week.

2 weeks left

Not much to report. I have two weeks before I go back to work and Emerson goes to her babysitter for the first time. Emerson met her babysitters this weekend. She is from Holland and her husband is from England, they came to the United States in 1980 and she opened a daycare shortly after that. He retired from his company a few years ago and got licensed to help with the daycare. She has a lot of experience and he is there to help with the kids as well. They only take 6-8 children in the daycare (they can legally accept 12) so we are comfortable that she will get the attention and care that she needs. We had a really nice visit and I think Em and them will get along great! I will be sad to send her off to daycare but I think it is about time for me to return to work and more adult interaction. Emerson is getting much more interactive now and is getting more fun. We have even noticed some smiles...not followed by the tooting! Here are some cute pics of her.

Big Stretches!!! Daddy's favorite picture

Protecting her prized possession.... keep your hands off her bink!

What the heck are you looking at?!?!

One Month & Kehrt Christmas

It is hard to believe that Emerson is one month old already. She is growing like a weed. Although many tell us she is "so small", to us she has grown so much! She is now 7 lbs 11 oz and 20.25 inches long. The last month has gone by so fast!!!

We had our Kehrt Family Christmas this weekend. Everyone came down to KC for the weekend and it was a great time. Uncle Chad and Uncle Noel and their families finally got to meet Emerson. They all got here on Friday and we spent the evening passing Emerson around so everyone could hold her, followed by a game of "Chicken Foot"-- a family tradition domino game. Saturday the adults went down to the Power & Light district so we could show them a little piece of KC, while Grandma & Grandpa Kehrt babysat the kids. We had a good time, but I was ready to get back to Emerson. I haven't been away from her very much and although the break was good.... I did start to miss her a bit. Our niece's Mara and Ellen opened a few of their gifts when we got back... we do that in shifts because they get a ton of gifts which leads to "present overload". They are both into babies/dolls and received strollers for their babies (Mara has so lovingly named hers Emerson-how cute). We opened the rest of the gifts after dinner, which was your typical Christmas gift opening experience. The highlight was when Ellen received her princess dress. I only wish I could have caught that on video!! Ellen opened the gift, proceeded to scream and clap her hands followed by tearing her PJ's off so she could put it one immediately. The next morning when she had to take it off was less than fun, as you can imagine. Emerson again did very well for such a new member of the family. Bruce and I received more than we deserved. It was a wonderful weekend. We were sorry to see the family go home and we can't wait to see them again. Below are some cute pictures of Em and the weekend.

Uncle Noel & Emerson

Mara holding Emerson (with a little help from Uncle Noel)

It took Chad a little while but he loved holding her once he got comfortable!

Grandma & Grandpa Kehrt with Em

Getting an eskimo kiss from Daddy

The best Christmas present we have ever gotten!!!

Ellen & her favorite person in the whole world (AKA Uncle Bruce) There is only one person that can make Ellen happy on a bad day...that is Uncle Bruce!