4 1/2 months

Well, one of my New Year's resolutions should surely be to update this thing more often. I promise to try. Many times I hesitate to update because things aren't going as smoothly as I'd like. But in the end, every day has its ups and downs, so that's really no excuse.

First of all, Emma is growing like a weed and gets more and more fun (and beautiful!) every day. Her 4-mo doctor's appt. showed her at 13 lb, 12 oz (50th percentile) and 25 inches (75th percentile). Her hand and eye coordination is amazing. This girl can pull her binkie in and out of her mouth by herself! The other day she even figured out how a toothbrush works. She is totally mesmerized every time I brush my teeth, so I finally gave her my toothbrush to play with. Low and behold, within 10 minutes she was brushing her tongue! I ended up having to take it away from her so she wouldn't choke herself.

She can also roll over from her tummy to her back and is enjoying her tummy time much more. She can hold her head up with no problem and loves to try and sit up. She also talks and talks and talks...

We also tried cereal, and she loved it! In fact, we can't spoon it fast enough for her. The only drawback has been that it seems to make her a little constipated, so we're going to hold off for a little while. We've got other things we're trying to take care of right now.

That leads me to the "not going so smoothly" part. Emma's reflux has gotten worse over the last few months. What used to be a slight issue has turned into hourly discomfort. She's a trooper and still manages to smile and play, but that's the sad part to me. She's actually just used to dealing with it. People always comment to me how much she chomps on her hands, but I know it's because her tummy and/or throat are bothering her. Some people assume she's teething or that she's hungry, but I know the difference. We're pretty sure she has what is called silent reflux, which means she spits up what she eats but constantly swallows it back down. How uncomfortable! We also think that it might be linked to allergies, so we're seeing a pediatric GI on Jan 5. I've since stopped dairy and soy, which has seemed to have helped a little, but not a ton. There is soy in everything, and I'm just learning what to look for. So depending on what the GI says, I may have to go on a very strict diet. Hmmmm, just like when I was pregnant. :o( I guess we'll see...

The good news is that our little bunny slept her longest stretch last night, going 8 hours without feeding. A total milestone considering last week she was up every hour. We have since put her carrier in her crib, which has kept her upright and sleeping. What is frustrating is that she WAS doing really well until the reflux flared up. Now we're lucky if she sleeps for more than 3 hrs straight. Hopefully last night was the start of more sleep to come!

Christmas was a blast -- more so than we thought. Emma really humored us with her gifts. She seemed pretty interested in the bows and wrapping paper. Jeff and I only bought her four small stocking stuffers and one present from Santa (an outfit). We figured she really doesn't know the difference, plus she had plenty of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and great grandparents and great aunts and uncles to spoil her rotten. She now has a new wardrobe and plenty of toys to occupy her this coming year. We are MORE than blessed! Thank you all!

Emma also received the best gift for her 4-mo birthday -- a new cousin! Evan Zuiden was born on Dec. 14 at a whopping 9 lb, 11 oz. At that size, he'll be beating up Emma before we know it. No, he is actually very sweet and sleepy -- and he seems very tiny to me. So strange to think that Emma was that small once -- actually 3 lb smaller! How time flies...

Well, better get back to mommyhood. I'll try to post an update after our dr.'s appt. on the 5th. Please pray that nothing serious is going on inside of our little angel. I just want her to be able to play and sleep comfortably again.

Love you all!

The Best Christmas Gift Ever

It was just about this time last year that we found out about our little miracle. And now we get to celebrate with her this year! Two years of perfect gifts. Praise God -- we are truly blessed!