I guess I'll blog...

Well, I've had a very interesting past year since I've blogged last. We welcomed our new baby boy and I survived a whole year of being a mother of three!!! To those who understand, get my celebration. I suddenly went from taking care of two kids, with no activities to something I never saw coming. With two, we lazied around the house, they played I cleaned up after them and such was life. There was no where to go, no school or activities. Then "like a wrecking ball" I had Cooper, and my life suddenly got very crazy! My once redundant, but on my own terms, schedule of grocery shopping and "errand" running became a thing of the past. Extra curricular activities flooded in in a steady flow of Soccer games, gymnastics, football games, photography, life groups, volunteering at our church, birthday parties, lots of visiting company, and the biggest game changer, Cameron started school. I had always dreamed of doing all of those things, couldn't wait for it actually. But in my early 20's mind I imagined it quite differently. For example, I had a perfect build, 2.5 children who never misbehaved and I, much like a superhero in heels, juggled everything with perfectly applied make and smile! HA! The first thing I learned when I became a mother of two is that life is never what you expect and that became a recurring theme in my life when we welcomed Cooper.
Cooper has made me feel completely content with my family life. I no longer wish for my family of 5, it's here. I am more in love, more fulfilled and at times happier than I ever dreamed possible. I've learned that though I am not wearing heels, and my wardrobe may or may not be yesterdays outfit, I still have 3 kids who are doing great and I'm accomplishing it all in much comfier, flats.

It's a BOY!

We are SO excited to announce that we are expecting a sweet baby boy, Adam Cooper Emerson! He will go by Cooper, I know I know, we're doing the middle name thing again but it was very important to us that since we were going to use those two names that they be placed "ACE" for Nick's brother Alex who's initial are also ACE. Plus, Ace is a really cute Nic name as well!
As I've said, Cameron just knew the baby was a girl baby, so imagine his suprise and confusion when I had to explain to him that it was a boy. Once I told him they'd share rooms and toys he was ALL about it. Everyday I hear, "Mom, you need to go to the Dr. and he needs to take Cooper out of your belly!" haha He's a little anxious. Cameron has got everything figured out too. So much so that you'd swear Cooper was already here! Cameron talks (more like yells) to my belly and tells Cooper that they're going to play with Batman leggos and "Cooper" even responds to Cameron lol Cameron will tell me "Mom! Cooper just told me he wants to play with batmans too! I just heard him!" What an imagination that boy has! We can't go to the store without Cameron wanting to buy some thing for Cooper too. It's really cute how excited he is about it all.
Here is a couple video's for your entertainment :)

This is the video we used to tell our families and friends what we we're expecting!
(This version is slightly quicker than the FB one)

And here is a conversation I had with Cameron about Cooper. It was taken with my phone and since it was night time you can barely see him.



I feel so blessed to have my sweet children and can't wait for Cooper to be here to complete our sweet family!!

2nd Trimester baby!

The second trimester is finally here and at 16 weeks I am feeling a little bit of relief which is pretty amazing! I'll start with my 12 week apt. I got some blood work results back and it showed that my iron is very low but everything else looked great. So I just get to add being super tired to the list ;) Like I'm not already fatigued with two kids, a dog and husband! HA! Like I had assumed, he was unable to pick up the heart beat with the doppler so I had to have another ultrasound to make sure everything was still going well. Due to my mulitple C-sections the scar tissue is hard to get through making it more difficult to find an early heartbeat. It was so nice to see our little Jelly bean on the screen and Cameron was with me at that apt. so he thought it was very very cool too! Heartbeat looked great, and baby E looked prefect! Here is a picture of our 12 week old Jelly belly :)

After I saw our little cutie I had to break the news to my Dr. that we will be moving mid pregnancy. He was very sad for me and hated that I was going to have to switch during my "Sugar testing" time. I was very upset when we found out that we were moving so soon because of how much I like Dr. V. He was terrific with Gracie and has just kept me so calm through out this pregnancy as well. I have recomended him to fellow preggo mommies I know, and one girl listened and absolutely loves him!

I had a 16 week check up today and got to hear that fast, sweet little heart beat for the very first time! Started the day off first with Speech therapy for Cameron, and he was so good for Mrs. Rachel. Right after his class we had to go straight to my apt. I was very nervous to go since it was my first time with both kids by myself. They both were good but it was really difficult getting them around the tight space and through the doors with the stroller. I'm just thankful Cameron will be starting school soon and it will get a little easier to get around. Like I already said, I was finally able to hear our babies heart beat and Dr. V said it was fast like a GIRL! He was right with our Gracie so we will see if he goes 2-0 soon enough. Of course, we don't care either way because there are plus sides to either gender! We just feel so blessed either way. I haven't felt any movement yet and look forward to that moment! I've had a couple maybeees but I'm not counting those yet! Here is the first belly picture I have been brave enough to take! HA, my belly seems to have pop'd pretty quickly with this one, guess that's what happens when you have had two c-sections in as short of time as I've had them! But so far I have only gained 2 lbs total, hopefully the weight gain stays low but healthy! I'm pretty confident that it should considering I gained 30 lbs with Camo, and only 14 with Gracie.

1st trimester and kiddo update

This has been a very difficult trimester. Much like my pregnancy with Cameron, I have been very very sick. It is very difficult with two children to be this sick, but luckily they are sweethearts and Cameron helps keep Gracie very entertained! We had an 8 week ultrasound and got to see our new addition, it was very nice to see the little jelly bean. Cameron especially thought it was the coolest thing and would not let go of the picture. The appointment went really well, and the Dr. said everything looked great. It was very nice to hear the Dr. sound so relieved. I am nearing the end of this trimester and feeling a little better then previous weeks.

Cameron is just growing like a weed! His appetite is getting bigger as well, I swear every hour he is asking for another snack or PB&J sandwhich. Those are his favorites right now. His vocabulary is expanding every day too! It's amazing how the simple teaching techniques I've picked up by watching his speech therapist (along with her help as well) has helped him improve. We do fun lessons everyday at home. Even Gracie participates, or just observes. Of course Cameron is a little territorial of his "learning time" but he needs to get used to other childrens participation if he is going to be starting school this fall. Cameron is the most excited in the house about the baby. Everyday he ask's to "see" the baby, and will pat my belly and tell the baby hi or that he loves "him". Cameron is convinced that it is a "boy baby" in my belly. Addie is still Cameron's best friend, but he is becoming very bosy to both Addie and Gracie. He loves to give out tasks or commands, or tell them not to do something. I always hear him tell gracie "I tell you not to do that! Don't do it again, alright?" Cameron is super expressive. The faces he makes just crack me up!
I told Cameron that I loved his booty and he responded "No you don't! You love my face and my lips and my nose!"

Whenever I want him to do something and he doesn't want to he says "I just been doing that all day long!" He even applies it to foods he doesn't want!

Whenever he gets in trouble he always reminds me of how much I love him!

When he wants a piece of candy or a toy he will call me his best friend.

He never wants to go to bed, he always says "I want to go to bed and watch, alright mom?"

Cameron is obsessed with super hero's, he is very accident prone. He has a new bruise or "boo boo" everyday and bleeding or not they all require camo band aids. He is starting to add more descriptive words to his sentences. Loves his puzzles and coloring books. Everytime we mention moving to TX he has to remind us that he wants to play baseball! Cameron is mentioning monsters now. It really made me sad when he first told me that there were monsters in his room and that he was scared. Nick and I always tell him that Monsters are afraid of Marines and that they wont dare step foot in this house. At first I tried to convince him they weren't real, but that didn't work at all!

Gracie is still our little princess. She has grown very little since her birthday but has put some fat on. She still looks little all around though. Still wears 12m clothing and soome 18m, her foot is the exact same too! I just got both of the kids feet measured and they haven't changed. One big change with Gracie is her speech. That little thing is talking SO well. Which is a nice change for me. Gracie has such a desire to communicate and her comprehension is amazing as well. She understands almost every command we give her. Just about every toy can be doubled as a "phone". It's so cute to see her walking around with something next to her ear. Gracie is a blankey girl just like her big brother, but she hasn't picked a favorite just yet. Right now we are working on the different parts of our face. She points to and sometimes picks her nose lol. That was the first one we learned and now she is getting curious what the other names are. She will point to everything and say "uhs at?"
Gracie says:
baby, momma, dadda, bubba, bye bye, hi, uh oh, more, bite, dog, cookie, chip, up, please (which sounds more like meee lol) thank you, and uhs at?. Of course, not all of those words sound exactly perfect but we can def. tell what she is saying. and she always says them appropriatly. She waves goodbye and hello, will nod her head yes or no, will blow a kiss on command and give a kiss or hug sometimes. Claps her hands for patty cake and dances to music. Will fake laugh when people are laughing, and she is very tickle-ish. She knows where articles of clothing go, especially her shoes. She has a bear puzzle and knows the difference by pointing when asked if it is a dress or shoes or the bears head.

My super busy week!

Last week was probably one of the busiest and most difficult weeks so far. The begining of the week was awesome. Monday was Cameron physical for his surgery the next morning and that took all day and every bit of energy out of me! But we were rewarded by seeing Grandma after with our much anticipated dog, Addie! I felt SO bad because I knew the reaction that Jody and I were hoping for was probably not going to happen because the kids hadn't gotten their nap yet and it was 3 o clock. Gracie never waits that long for one! Cameron did pretty good, Gracie was the funny one. She was laughing and crying at the same time! Poor baby, I had to lay her down right away. Cameron didn't take too long to warm up to Addie and once he did they became fast friends! Addie fit perfectly in our family. Nick was super excited to see his dog. We had her arrival marked on the calendar and every day I let Cameron mark through each day as we got closer. We took her for a walk that night and she stayed right by Cameron letting him lead her on the leash. PERFECT!

The next morning we took out sweet boy in for his oral surgery. He had to get 4 silver fillings in his back teeth. Everyone already knows what a mess I was. But could you blame me? I signed a piece of paper that stated "death" as a possible outcome! Even though my brain knew that was extremely unlikely, my heart did not take it to well. Nevermind the pregnancy hormones, I would have cried with or without them. Cameron recovered pretty quickly, but was very confused when he woke up. He really wanted his mommy to lay with him and that was the only way to calm him down. Of course I loved every minute of it. Cameron is like Nick in SO many ways, but when it comes to cuddling, he is his mother child. That kid wont cuddle for long, if at all! Addie most definately helped with his recovery, she was so good with him.

On Wed. I had my first Dr.'s appointment and I was very anxious to know how far a long I was. Going off of my last cycle I was 6 weeks. My Dr. sent me down the to have blood work done to make sure everything was progressing like it should. He said at this stage of the pregnancy the machine he had would be very difficult to find the baby on his "crappy" machine. I was kinda bumbed, but having gone through this two times before I wasn't too upset. Although, I was anxious to know the results of the blood work. On Thursday I missed my Dr's call because Cameron was playing "angee birds" on my phone. The message he left wasn't exactly what I expected. He called to tell me my progesterone levels were low and that he wanted to start me on progesterone pills to help increase the number. My HCG levels were very low too indicating that I was earlier in my pregnancy than we thought. So I went in on Friday for my second set of labs RIGHT before I was due for my first wedding!OMG, that was soo much fun. During the getting ready portion of the day my Dr. finally called me back to explain Wed. blood work. My progesterone levels were very low and he was concerned this prgnancy wasn't going to make it through. He said he'd have Fridays lab results on Monday and that we'd just talk about how that goes then. He was very kind and sympathetic, which only worried me more!
We had a great weekend and I really did my best to keep my mind off of it, but I didn't want to talk to my friends or anyone about the pregnancy. Luckily it went by very quickly and I was given some encouraging news on Monday that my progesterone went from a 10.8 to a 39, and the HCG went from 1,450 to 3,300!! So it more than doubled and it wasn't even a full 48 hrs, yay! Dr. said I was still not out of the woods yet so he wants me t continue the progesterone pills but I feel in my heart that everything will be okay! I have two healthy and beautiful babies, this one will be no different! I have an appointment/ultrasound scheduled for Aprill 11th, I will be 8 weeks along and just can't wait!! God is good and in control!
"God giveth, and God taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

Two pink lines!

Nick and I are just so thrilled and a little bit in shock to be announcing a new pregnancy. So to answer a lot of the questions everyone keeps asking. I haven't been to a Dr. yet, my appointment is this Wed. I felt weird heartburn almost 2 weeks ago (the kind I only get while pregnant) so I tested and got a weird super faint line that really made us think we were, until I took another test that came back negative. It was weird to feel so neutral to a negative test, With Gracie I took a ton of test and every negative would break my heart. So to not care was strange. Nick and I really wanted a spring baby, so to me I felt kind of relieved (?) that I was just that much closer to our goal! We literally said we were only going to try from June-August until it happened. And this past week I was even wanting to make it of next year! Anyways, well a few days ago the weird symptoms kept persisting so I took the last test in the box from a few weeks back and it had a really faint line. It took a while to show so I didn't believe it until today when I actually got sick and there was no denying! lol I ran to Walgreens grabbed a test and a dog toy lol and sure enough there it was! Going off of my last cycle I'm anywhere from 5/6 weeks along giving me a due date of November 2012.
I made this video for Nick and showed him when he came home. I didn't tell him about my faint positive because we had just gone through that a couple weeks back and I didn't want to seem crazy lol. So he when he got the video confirmation he was both shocked and super excited! Nick and I share the same brain when it comes to how many kids we want and when we want them. I love how supportive he is. He was just the cutest thing watching that video!
I told Cameron today that there was a baby in mommy's tummy and this is how our conversation went.
*Hey Camo, guess what?
#I dont know mom, alwight?
*Did you know that there is a baby in mommy's belly?
#WHAT! No, there's a baby in my belly!! and in Sassie's belly!!
*Cameron, thats impossible lol There is a baby in mommy's belly. You're going to get another baby!
# Alwight.... (then he patted my belly and said) Love you baby!

That moment is really when it hit me that I am bringing another sweet child into this world. Yes, it's going to be a tough end of the year, but it will also be an amazing end of the year too. Finally, thanks to my wonderful family, my worries have subsided and I'm at a place where I can start enjoying this to it's fullest. We make plans and God laughs... truer words have never been spoken!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIQU_WNh6UQ&feature=youtu.be

Super weird faint line test take about two weeks ago

You mainly see it at the bottom. it's supposed to make a cross.

Confirmation!



Unplanned moments :)

Cameron, my sweet first born baby is who constantly pushes me and inspires me. It was because of him that I decided to pursue photography. Not for the business of taking other peoples pictures, but to take the pictures that you can't hire someone to take. The sweet moments where you think "Man, I want to remember him just like this for forever..". I am going to start a blog entry called "Every day life" and it will have just the types of pictures that I find the most memorable, The ones that I will always look back to and be so grateful that I do what I do.
Here are some from today, just before the rain got bad. Cameron wanted to play in the puddles and I just couldn't tell him no. It only lasted about 10 minutes, but we had a blast before the rain came pouring down!

Hello again!

Family update:
This has been a great year so far. We finally have a better idea as to what is going on with our lives! We found out that we will be staying here in New Orleans until at most August 2013. However, Nick thinks it will be early summer when we move. I was so excited to hear that they want us in Broken Arrow, OK! At first the monitor that Nick spoke with did not want him to be close to family (his own family drama) and thought it'd be in Nick's best interest that he didn't make that "mistake". Well, this man obviously doesn't know how wonderful our family is! Luckily they REALLY need to fill that spot, so when the monitor asked Nick how close family was to Tulsa Nick said FAR! lol I love him :) We know that things always change, especially in the military, so we are not getting our hopes tooooo high up, but the monitor did write it in his notes!

Super Camo!!:
Cameron has continued going to speach therapy and is seriously doing SO well! I'm anxious for him to get re-evaluated to see where he stands now! It been fun to watch him from behind the glass. Today when she'd show him a card and ask what the child was doing he'd tell her, then act it out! lol Such a little ham! It's funny to watch her try and hide her smiles with him, but today even she couldn't help herself! Cameron's new thing is "love". Anytime I get on to him he has to remind me that I love him, and that he loves me. How do you argue with that? He doesn't just stop with me, if Gracie smiles at him or gives him a kiss I hear "Mommy! Sassie love me!!" He knows how much he is loved by everyone (including, but not limited to doctors! lol) and that just makes my heart feel SO good. He really is a kind boy, and I thank God for that! Cameron has become very interested in Jesus, and know's God loves him too. Every night we pray at dinner and Cameron is always the first to remind us. Even when we go out or eat at a friends, there is Cameron the "pray police"! I love it! We have raised such a lover of christ! Another new thing with Cameron is super hero's. Oh ma gosh! They are seriously all he can talk about these days. He always wants to wear super pants, super shirts, and even super shoes! He calls himself "super camo!". That kid cracks me up! He loves to dance too, break dancing even. His favorite song to dance to right now is "Do everything" by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Bella Grace:
Our sweet Gracie is fully walking. She is the cutest little walker girl ever. I really thought she'd be an early walker, but didn't even take a real step until after she turned one. but by 13 months she just took off and now walks like a pro. She also loves to dance, and will every time she hears music! Even if it just a head bob, or a hip shake! lol Cameron and Gracie excel in completely opposite things. Where Cameron walked earlier, Gracie is talking earlier! Gracie says: Momma, Dada, Buba, Pa Pa, ball, baby, bye bye, Bite, and baba (bottle). Those are the words she uses everyday. But she will attempt to re-peat almost every word you tell her to say and most times comes very close! Mrs. Rachel was even impressed today when Gracie said "Bye bye" and then repeated baby for Mrs. Rachel. So proud of my little girl! She is such a happy and cuddly baby girl, we feel truly blessed!

We are getting a dog!!
Miss Addie will be joing our family the end of March! We are so thrilled, I think Nick mentions daily how he can't wait for her to be here! I can just picture her and Cameron being best buddies, she will be a perfect addition to out family!

Thats all for now!!

As seen on TV: Stops 1 and 2

Some of the things my husband comes up with just crack me up! He now has decided that since we travel so much he want's ME to start an "as seen on TV" scrap book and take pictures restaurants and their food, that he finds on TV. So me being the snap happy picture taker that I am, accepted his challenge! I think this will be so much fun to look back on. Enjoy!

"Eischens Bar" Okarchee, OK Dec. 20th

These two pictures CRACK me up!!!

Our second stop was at "Sids onion burger" El Reno, OK. Dec. 21st 2011

 

What a year 2011 was!!

I will Start with Cameron! I can't believe my baby boy is three years old. I go back to that first night of being his mommy and just can't believe how quickly time flies! Cameron is the kindest little boy to his friends and especially his little sister. At Cameron's 3 yr check up I discussed his speach with his Dr. and he suggested a speach and cognition consult. As a mom you want the very best for your children, I had always thought Cameron was behind on his speach but many family members assured me that once he got a little older he'd start talking. I thought he would too, Cameron doesn't do anything until he is absolutely ready. Well his 3rd birthday for me was where I drew the line. So it hurt my heart for him that he still had not progressed like I had hoped. It's funny... You can think something all you want but as soon as someone agree's with you, it's completely different. Speach therapy is not a horrible thing, don't get me wrong, I'm SO proud of my son and the progress he has made. I just hate for him that it is difficult. I can see his frusteration when he can't get his point across or when someone doesn't understand him. I am pretty good at speaking "cameron". So a lot of what he says sounds clear to me. Miss Rachel is amazing and it didn't take him long to warm up to her. At our first meeting I told her how Cameron likes to fish and loves sports. So the first game they played was a fishing game! He loved it so much that we had to get it for him. He see's miss Rachel every Wed. and we do lessons at home everyday to help with his progress!

Here is some of Cameron's 3 yr pics :)

Mickey Mouse pancakes, it's a birthday tradition :)

He had an awesome birthday, and blew out the candles before it we were done singing!

When we went home for Christmas, Cameron made a good friend, Clay!

Here are pics with Cameron's favorite Christmas presents!

Cameron and Keiton are best buddies!

Gracie has been a slow grower but a big eater! That girl will eat just about anything you place infront of her. It's funny how different her personality is from Cameron. She is very girly! We celebrated her 1st birthday in OK and she would barely touch her birthday cake, she did not like to get her fingers dirty! lol Once she got used to it though, it was a little easier. I expected her to plow into it, but she took very small and dainty bites! We're still working on our walking. She knows how to walk and will when your not watching, but "Princesses" do not belong on the ground, ya know! She is very smart already. She waves bye bye, blows kisses, says: Momma, Dadda, bubba, and me. She says "mememe" when she is upset about something and bubba works for Camo or her cup. She signs for food, but thats it. Mainly because thats the only time I remember to sign with her! lol I will work on it more because I think she'd do well with it.

Gracie loved her Birthday gift from Grandpa!

 Mickey Mouse pancakes for the Birthday girl! :)

 Cake on her birthday!

Blow out the candles!

 Thinking cake isn't so bad now!

 Girl time w/ Avery!

We also dedicated Gracie to the Lord while we were home in Dec. Such an awesome experiance to make that commitment!

Gracie got lots of cute dolls and toys for Christmas, all fit for a princess!

As many of you know, our trip home was not under the best of circumstances. My mother was violently abused in her home by her husband causing her to spend two weeks in the hospital and undergo a 12 hour facial reconstructive surgery. Blane is in jail awaiting trial and looking at 20 yrs. Mom is doing better now, but has days that are worse than others. I stayed with her a few nights in the hospital and visited as much as I could. It was very hard to see my mother that way, but knew she needed us there as much as we needed to be there. I will never understand how anyone could do something like that. Especially to someone that you love. Thanks everyone for all of your prayers and support, I know that she appreciates it all as well!

2011 was a great year for me and my growing business! The end of the year was so busy for me that I was unable to take family pictures of my own. Our trip to OK, was very busy so I will be taking more time off the begining of the year to take a break from photography. With the exception of a few already promised sessions I will be cutting back a lot to spend time with my kids and help them learn. Once they are older I will commit more of myself to it, but right now it's too much. Nick is still with the Marines and was promoted to Sergeant last April! We are just so proud of how well he is handling his job and family priorities. We found out when we got home that we will possibly be staying in NOLA an additional year. Not 100% yet, but that is what we were told. We are very curious to see what God has in store for us, but don't mind this year going a little slower than the last!