Sugar Coma

Here are some of the most recent pictures of the sweetest girl in the world. I am having the time of my life....


This is her exersauser. Emery likes to play in it first thing in the morning after her first bottle. I get to enjoy my coffee while she explores her new world. We laugh and squeal and talk all morning. :)


I found her after one nap carrying on a quite deep conversation with Mr. pig. She wakes up jabbering, so I started putting her pig in her crib so she would have someone to talk to.



So cereal wasn't our fav. Emery made it known and we moved on to chilled sweet potatoes. I made my own baby food! I was quite proud of my frugalness. I bought 3 potatoes, boiled, whipped and strained them. 3 potatoes should be enough to get me through to when she is ready to eat them just mashed. I'm planning on making peas and carrots next.

Land of Ladds

We are less than 30 days away from closing on our house. I can't wait to post pictures when it is actually ours. The house is spotless, it was owned by an older couple who took great care of the home.

But we are going to have to paint every room in the house. And take down a whole bunch of wall paper. They did love their wall paper.

Anyway, I am super excited about moving in and settling down in the upstate.

We are loving our church. Benji is having a blast with the staff he works with, and we love getting to know all the youth and members of the church.

Emery finally decided she was ready to consume solid food...yesterday. I think she prefers her veggies chilled rather than room temp.

She is such a funny baby. I love being able to stay with her (most days) and watch her develop and explore. She is growing soo fast! I can't believe she will be 7 months in just a few short weeks.

I am still working out. I actually enjoy the "me" time and can tell I feel so much better after a good sweat.

Our summer calender is filling up rapidly. Benji is planning on taking his senior class to Ecuador in June. In July I will be headed to New York City with the church. Emery will be vacationing with her Cici the week I am in NYC.

Emery and I will be joining Benji and the youth for summer camp in July and then we also have our annual beach trip with the Ladds! whew!

Glad we enjoy the sun because it looks like we will be spending alot of time in it this summer.

E's Bestie

One of the perks of Benji's job that we weren't expecting is he that he has a secretary.

Not just any secretary, but an amazingly kind, funny, smart, competent secretary.

Who happens to have a husband that LOVES babies. More importantly, our baby. I think Emery's feelings are mutual.

They have kept her a few times so that Benji and I could enjoy and evening out.


These pictures are from the Super Bowl party we attended. Winston and Emery were really into the game.

It's Already Started

Here are a few pictures of Emery and Asher meeting for the first time. Emery's expressions are priceless.

She is not quite sure what to think about her Cici holding another baby.

We are going to have to work on her attitude.

Asher's Here!

My amazing sister pushed for 45 minutes and Asher was here! I got to watch the entire birth, it was incredible to watch, but I'm definitely not going for the VBAC next time. C-section is just fine with me! I have a hard time understanding how someone could not believe in God after watching a birth.

Asher is doing great. He is so precious. I can't wait for Emery and Asher to run around chasing each other. Congrats to my sister.

Waiting on Asher

We recently celebrated the impending arrival of baby Asher.

He should be here any day! Here are a few pictures of the shower for mama Kathi and baby Asher.

Bebe Au Lait

Oh the pages I could type on my experience with breastfeeding. If you really want to know all my aches and pains, ask and I'll let you know.

But for now I am going to share the most important things I learned throughout my pregnancy and first few months attempting to nourish my baby.

They're are alot of crazies out there. Don't believe everything you read online. And just because it's in a bookstore, in the pregnancy section, does not mean you should read it. This applies to anything, not just breastfeeding.

Trust your doctor. They are the doctor for a reason. The nurse is not the doctor. Your best friend is not the doctor. The lactation consultant, doula and mid wife....they are not the doctor either.

A healthy mom and healthy baby are most important. Baby can not be healthy if mom is not healthy.....No matter what they drink.

If you are breastfeeding your baby but hate your life because of it you are not doing the best thing for your baby.

I believe it is selfish for a mother to continue to try and breastfeed when they are not able to provide adequate nourishment.

There are plenty of mothers who could feed an army of babies with their milk supply.

But if you have a low milk supply, latching issues, etc, that can not be worked out, and continue to try and breastfeed because you are worried about what others will think,that is selfish. Formula is okay. Your baby will not be stupid, they will not be sick all the time.......

IT IS OKAY TO GIVE YOUR BABY FORMULA. IT IS OKAY. YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOTHER....

There are alot of benefits of feeding your baby formula. Daddy can bond with the baby during feeding. So can Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles, friends, whoever.

Mama can sleep all night and recover faster from delivery. This is extremely important for women who have had C- sections. A well rested mom equals a happy mom, and a happy mom equals a happy baby.

Baby picks up on the energy surrounding them. If mom is cranky, worn out, fatigued, overwhelmed...etc, baby will feel that emotion.

The goal is healthy mama, healthy baby. To have a healthy baby you must first have a healthy mama.

The point of this post was not to discourage breastfeeding. I believe in it 100%. I wish I could have been able to breastfeed Emery. It was very hard for me to give up the dream I had of giving her my milk. I do believe it is the best way to feed your baby and obviously the cheapest.

But. If you can not do it, if you hate your life because of it, if you think you've ruined your life because of the turmoil of trying to breastfeed..... if you just feel like it is something you don't want to do....then don't do it! It is not that big of a deal in the long run.

Emery has been sick once in six months and she did not even have a fever.

She is the most beautiful child ever to be born. And she is brilliant.