My first Mother's Day as a mom

I'm so thankful to my wonderful husband and daughter for the best first Mother's Day EVER. Dan made a cute shirt for Emma to wear that said "Happy First Mommy Day" and I get to choose a little something from a store that goes by the name Tiffany and Co. (I had to catch my breath when he told me). The day started this morning at church when my mom, grandma, Emma, and I were all asked to do the announcements together. After we finished giving all of the information to the congregation our pastor came up and asked us to each share something special about our moms. So, Emma ate the microphone which translates into her saying that she loves my snugs and kisses, then I said what I love about my mom, my mom said what she loves about her mom, and my grandma said what was special about her mom. It showed me what a legacy of Christ we have in our family and the prayers that have been poured into our family from the moms that have come before me. We went to lunch with the fam and then went home and took a nap before our Mother's Day dinner at Wahoo's with dessert at Yogurtland (a perfect night).

Thank you Dan and Emma for a wonderful day celebrating our family. I wouldn't be a mom without both of you and my heart overflows with love for you.

5 months

Well Emma, I'm starting to slip on the timeliness of posting your monthly letters here, but it's only because you're keeping us so busy. You have an active social life, and a waiting list of people wanting to see you and spend time with you. We hold them off for as long as we can, but there's no getting between you and your grandmas and grandpas. There are SO many people who love you so much, and we're grateful to have them all in your life.

Your most recent accomplishments have been some serious attempts at scooting, laughter like we've never heard, and recognizing us from across the room. You're sleeping more at night, and starting to get on a bit of a schedule. We love seeing your big smiles and pretty soon that smile will include a tooth or two, but there are none yet. Even the dogs have captured your attention. Bath time is more and more fun now that you're almost sitting up on your own and playing with your rubby ducky. I see more bath toys in your future.

You also introduced your feet to your mouth, and you suck on your teeny toes every chance you get...in your carseat, on the changing table, on the floor, getting ready for the bath, in the crib. It is so incredibly cute to see you so focused on getting your toes in your mouth.

The taste of sweet success...

That determination will serve you well as you continue on the path to crawling and eventually walking. You're making more noises every day, and I even captured you saying "mama" for the first time on video but daddy says that I was just hearing things.

You are learning new things every day and growing faster than we can keep up (we just cleared out a whole load of clothes that you've already outgrown). Pretty soon you'll start eating solid food, and in a couple months we'll see if the vegetables I planted in our garden will grow into anything edible. But with all of those new, exciting changes come their own set of challenges. We're just taking it one day at a time and enjoying every minute.

We love you Emma!

Mommy and Daddy