Holiday Stuff

We're trimming our tree and checking our lists. . . How about you??

Some summer fun - in pictures

A Murray Family vacation to Jellystone Park, the zoo, the Children's Museum, splash pads, and more! We're loving all the sun we can get! *Oh, and some proof of the escape and her new temporary bed while we get the big girl room ready!*

Escape artist

I keep forgetting this happened because I wasn't the one to witness it... Part of the amazement was the Emma slept until after 6 Saturday morning. The other part was that she met Steve at the door of her room when he went to get her.

Puddles!

These shoes will never be the same, but it's summer (ish) and she's a kid, so why not!

World Record holder

Ok, so participant may be more accurate. Just a technicality because today we were part of setting a world recor in, drum roll please, the most cloth diapers changed at one time! We went with some friends to our favorite local baby store Peapods, played for a hour, ate some yummy treats, won some FABULOUS prizes (like $80 in prizes! 4 new cloth diapers and a pair of baby legs!), and then made history! At 11:20 all of the parents and cloth diapered babes gathered in a room to wait for the signal at 11:30 to change away. It was hilarious to be packed in a room with all of these diapered kiddos hanging out as we waited. You & your buddy were super patient and such good sports. We had so much fun! There were 300 sites around the world participating today, pretty cool, don't you think?

Then we topped off our fun morning with lunch and a book store with our friends. You're asleep, I'm thinking I should be, and now we can decompress for the rest of the day.

Happy almost Easter from the World Record holding Murrays!

Flying in to spring!

It's hard to believe that the days of snow in the forecast are (mostly) behind us. It's been so great to feel spring in the air and see buds on the trees. Emma is loving the opportunities to get outside, her mama is far more willing to be out in the world when it's 40+ than when it's colder! We hunker down for the winter in the Murray household.

Em is working on yet another tooth. Ugh. This process is not fun for anyone, although probably least of all for her. She's working on more and more words, communicating so well, and she can walk backwards - something apparently children should do at 18 months that her mama hadn't noticed when we were at her 18 month appointment.

Baby #2 is growing and changing and should be the size of a lemon right now! We've hit the 2nd trimester-wow! The pregnancy continues to go well and other than being a little more tired, the impact has been minimal. With more friends having more babies, the reality of our changing family is more real and exciting! This Friday we hear the heartbeat for the first time, sooo excited for that!

Emma's getting excited for an upcoming visit from Grammy & Oscar and then a summer with more time with daddy. My how she loves her daddy time! It's been fun to hear him talking about scheduling play dates and activites for their days together as he usually has less opporunity to do so.

So there you have it folks! A brief check-in from the Murrays. Pictures will hopefully come soon. :o)

Holiday Fun Part 4 - Christmas Day

The Murrays celebrated our first family Christmas at home this year. Steve and I have wanted our kids to wake up in their beds on Christmas morning and this year, we started that tradition. It was so fun to see Emma get more excited about presents and stockings and stuff this year (not hard to improve upon last year as she napped through much of the festivities ;o) ). We had a great Christmas breakfast, Skyped with Grammy and Oscar, took Em for a walk/sled ride in the afternoon, and had a low-key day.

*This was especially nice since Emma was up.all.night Christmas Eve.

Still Thankful

I'm a bit behind. You're probably not surprised. Here are a few pics from our great Thanksgiving visit up nort' to see the Duluth Murrays. There was football, food, sledding, cousins. . . Man was it fun!

On raising a toddler

I decided yesterday after Emma truly pitched a fit that raising a toddler is much like the world is to a toddler - mostly fun, sometimes overwhelming and scary. Good thing the mostly fun comes back quickly after a period of overwhelming. And a nap.

The family that shares together -

Is sick together. :oP So Em's Thursday morning bug turned into Steve's Friday bug and my late Saturday bug. (Or late Friday, early Saturday.) Em and I tucked Steve in when he came home from work and had girls night cuddled on the couch. I was feeling great until about 12:30 am. Ugh. So Emma's had two sick, lazy parents today. The poor girl.

It's especially a bummer because it's the first big snow and it was exciting to think about getting her out in it to make a snowman and play in the white stuff. Luckily, it's MN, so there will be more.

Until then, we'll master the art of hybernating.

Scare

Tuesday when Em and I came home, she walked from the garage to the house, crawled up the stairs, and was ready to crawl in to the house when a very excited, non-listening Hank barreled through and knocked her down the stairs. In spite of my attempt to catch her with my leg, it happened too quickly, my hands were too full, and she toppled. It was terrifying. Other than a bump by her eye (and an anxious mother), she seemed to be her normal self. Praise God.

Wednesday after daddy came home, an excited dog who was walking through the kitchen minding his own business sent Emma falling straight back to thud her head on the kitchen floor. Big cry, anxious mom, sad dad, generally ok baby.

Thursday morning Em woke up a little before 6. Wow. In throw-up. Ugh. Daddy brought her downstairs, was stripping the bed while Em was cuddling with me and nursing. In switching sides, she puked all.over.me. Ugh. Another bed to strip, anxiety about whether the vomit was related to the head traumas of the last two days.

We were thinking we'd wait until our normal clinic opened to call and talk with our nurse. Until she took a small sip of water and immediately puked all over the floor in her room. Ugh. Threw on clothes, changed her clothes, and headed out to urgent care. Which is not open at 7:15 am. Consulted the RN grammy, called the clinic, got the on-call md, and was took to take her to the ER at Children's.

PANIC. Emma has had a cough and runny noses to this point, so to be told to take her to the ER was not quite what I had expected, but we headed straight there. (*Note - 8 am on a Thursday is a pretty great time to go to the ER. We were the only ones there.*)

Daddy came to meet us as both of us were afraid a CT scan was in our future. Thankfully, the great doctor there checked you out, reassured us that you did not have a concussion, and you might have the start of the flu. Time would tell. Daddy decided to take the afternoon off to cuddle you and keep any possible germies away from Aunt Kathy & Uncle Toads and you and I headed home to rest and recover.

Friday morning - puke free for 25 hours and getting back to normal. You're a fall or two away from being "that kid" being forced to wear a helmet all the time.

Walka-walka-walka

Mostly. In the span of under a month, Emma went from primarily crawling to primarily walking. She's so cute as she toddles around the house, the zoo, the park, well, the world! Her walking's getting faster and she's increasingly stable. For a baby who always looked pretty big, she looks awfully small to me as she wanders around her world.

Fall Break - for mom

Daddy's on fall break. Well, sort of. He still is having to work a bit, thus goes the life of a strength coach in the school year, but his morning's are later and his day's are far shorter.

I decided that over his fall break, we'd try night weaning. Sorry babes. I've been allowing you to nurse on demand/request for 13 1/2 months. That's a pretty long time in the nursing world. And I'm tired. So, like the great man he is, daddy got on board and has been the one to get up to help settle you back to sleep the 2-3 times you wake up at night. It's amazing the difference a little more sleep can make.

You seem to be adjusting well, which makes me think it has been more habit than need. There's hope of full nights of sleep for all 3 of us in the future!!!

Hyper Attached

I'm getting on an airplane and leaving you for the first time - for more than 10 hours at least - on Friday. I'm a wreck. I've reminded daddy that if I die, he has to cut your fingernails and that I don't want you eating meat or having dairy with hormones.

It will be great to go to Chicago. I love Chicago and more than that, I love the girlfriends I'll be seeing. I'm at least kind of looking forward to a few days without diapers, although the added task of totally pumping is going to be a little bit of a drag. :o)

I know you and daddy will have a good time and I trust the mom's who have gone before me and say it's good for all of us. Plus I know it has to happen eventually. I guess I just didn't anticipate it being quite so emotional and difficult to do.

I love you sweet baby girl - don't forget your mama!!

Just a little taste. . .

Until I have time to upload my pics, a few from my dad. . .



We're so proud!

O.N.E.

My precious baby girl is now a full year old. Where has time gone?? We love you so much Emma and are so thankful for all the ways you have blessed our life in the past year and look forward to all the fun ahead!!

Now let's party!!

365 days ago. . .

. . . I showed Grammy and Oscar how daddy wanted the family room painted and took off to Home Depot. I don't remember what I needed there, but I remember walking around the store having contractions. I also remember what I was wearing - my black shirt & khaki pants/capris. I had to go by the local hardware store too to pick up, or was it drop off, a window to get fixed. The woman asked me if I planned to breastfeed and was the first to inform me that you get HOT when you are nursing. I kept having contractions and kept it quiet.

That afternoon, around 2, Grammy, Oscar, and I went to get GIANT roast beef sandwiches as Masliks (?). Probably not the best plan for someone in labor. I still kept quiet - daddy knew and I had texted Lisa, but I was feeling very private about the beginning of the process. (Hours later I would really regret that lunch as I saw it again. Ick.)

I finally spoke up around 4:30 when I just couldn't keep the contractions to myself anymore. About an hour later daddy was home, 30 minutes after he got home we left for the hospital, and almost 6 hours after we got to the hospital, we had you in our arms.

Your first birthday is causing a flood of memories and feelings, Emma. I laid in bed last night recalling that it was a year ago that I'd told your daddy he probably should stop working on the family room and get some sleep since I thought you might be here the next day. I was 53 minutes off.

Tonight is football opener. When we drove to the hospital, daddy guessed that if you were a girl, you'd be born Wed (9.9.9) because you'd think that was good, but if you were a boy, you'd wait until Thursday for football opener. Well, our sweet little girl, you'll watch the Vikes and the Saints tonight with daddy and, if it were me, I'd be thinking of our first football game as a family cuddled up in my hospital bed watching the Steelers take on the Cardinals (??).

Gilmore Girls

Last fall you and I spent a.lot.of.time together on our couch. Pretty lazy, or healing, who knows. Anyway, one of the things we did every day was watch the Gilmore Girls. I LOVE the Gilmore Girls and I told daddy you do too, maybe it's true. I had visions of us being fast talking, cute dressing, coffee drinking gals together when you got older.

You're older and I think we're on our way!

The Great MN Get Together

Admission to the Fair - $9/person
Variety of food throughout the morning - ~$30
Tickets for two on the carousel - $4
Watching Emma's face and hearing her squeals of joy as the horse moved up and down/round and round - priceless