33 weeks....Oh yea!!

Gotta love this growing belly...I know I do.  :))

I can't believe I am posting that we only have 7 weeks left in the pregnancy.  I am so ready for Emma to hatch.  I'm sick of waiting.  HAHA...This is what is happening this week in the pragnancy.

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with aconehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Scare #2.

Soo, I wake up this morning after a sleepless night to a text message from Rikki saying she was hurting in her lower part of her belly and it was a weird feeling.  LORD, I pray this isn't early signs of labor.  We have to keep her in as long as possible.  I want my baby girl healthy.  PLEASE PLEASE don't let her come this early.  AMEN!!!

I got Rikki to call Labor and Delivery at her hospital and tell them her symptoms so they could try and tell her what she needed to do.  They told her to take a Tylenol, drink some water, and take a hot bath.  If that didn't help to come in so they could check her.  PLEASE let this help....

Thank GOD it helped.  Rikki says she is feeling much better!!!  I owe it all to our heavenly FATHER!!!

SAD..Sad day!!

Yesterday was such a sad day in our little town.  One of my newest friends woke up to the passing of her beautiful 7 weeks old daughter.
                       
                                                           Paisley Emerson Strickland
                                                         March 9, 2013-April 27, 2013

I was told that Rebecca fed Paisley around 4am then put her back to sleep in the bed with them.  When she woke up at 6 Paisley was already gone.  What a horrible experience for a mom to go through.  Paisley was such a beautiful sweet baby girl.  I only got to meet her 2 times.  Please keep this family in your prayers.  They sure do need it.

Heart 2 Heart.

Last night after Rikki and I talked about her feeling pains in her lower belly I got emotional.  Even more emotional that before if you can believe that.  HAHA!!!  This was one of our conversations we had.

 
                               

I know I show lots of our text messages on here but I don't want to forget all the important conversations between us.  I want Emma to know as much of the adoption as possible when it's time for her to know.

Scare #1.

I received this text message from Rikki last night.

Idk what those pains mean but It's got me worried.  I asked one of my friends that has had 2 babies and she said it sounds to her like Braxton Hicks contractions.  I sure hope that's all it is because she's not but 32 weeks.  We can't have a baby right now.  We gotta cook for a little while longer.  

It's getting to seem more real now.  In less that 8 weeks away we will have a baby girl.  I hope a healthy baby girl.  I have dreamed for this time for many years and I am so thankful that it's less that 2 months away.

Please keep Rikki and Emma in your prayers.  We greatly appreciate it.

Gifts for Emma.

If you have always read my blog, you would know what happened to me back in December 2007.  When we were told I was pregnant yet 3 weeks later we found out I wasn't.  It was devastating to Joe and I both.  Anyway, my sister had made me these crochet baby blankets.  I had them out for awhile trying to get pregnant but that never happened.  I put them away for many years.

I am now proud to say I get to take them out again and actually get to use them.  Miss Emma will keep these blankets forever and ever made by her Aunt Jessica.  :)

I received a package in the mail the other day from a doggie mom friend of mine.  

Angela Corey.

I just love what she has sent.  That was sooo sweeet of her.  :))

Emma kicking at 31w1d

I know this is a little late but I received this video from Rikki a couple days ago.  I think she was 31w1d when she took it.  It's proof that Emma Katherine is ready to come out of that belly.  lol.  Not to much to say on this post, so I will let the video do all the talking.  :))

                                          Hope you enjoy seeing her kick as much as I do.  :))

Early Mother's Day

I took it upon myself to make Rikki Leigh, Emma's birth mom, her first mothers day card.  I found the perfect one on Shutter Fly.

This is the front cover of her car.  I added the pictures from our first time seeing each other since the announcement of the adoption.  Pictures I have but she didn't.

The inside.  I thought adding this picture of me feeling Emma kicking was soo appropriate.  :) 

The note was heartfelt.  I love my niece and I can't wait to be able to experience motherhood and I owe it all to her.

The back.  Emma's biological parents.  Rikki and Keith are so young yet are making a very grown up decision.  I owe my life to them.

Rikki received the card yesterday.  She said she loved it.  I sure hope it's something she can cherish for life.

Here is our message telling me she got my card.  :))  (White her, blue me)

I love reading that she thinks  Joe and I will be great parents to Emma.  I hope I never let her down on that note.

32w

Such a sweet belly!!

                                                           How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

8weeks left.  Time is coming to a hault flying by.  :))  8weeks left at the most until my little miracle from GOD will be here. 

This is just a comparison from week 31 and week 32.  Not really that much difference but I love how the baby is turned and ready to come out the birth canal.  

31w1d

I'll let this picture speak for itself.  Adorable, precious, amazing, joy to my heart...Those are just a few words to describe it.  :))  

No belly button.  I think before the next 9 weeks is up it will be an outie. 

Sooo sweet.  :)

Tomorrow Rikki goes for her next DR. Appointment.  I can't wait to hear what they have to say about my sweet girl.  :)  New post tomorrow night for sure.

31 weeks

31 weeks...OH YEAH!!  According to baby center this is what Miss Emma will be doing this week and here is the picture that is associated with 31 weeks:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Did I just read that correctly???  Active and healthy???  That's exactly what I'm praying for.  Emma is VERY active.  She is constantly kicking and moving.  Each time her birth mom tells me about it it just feels my heart with joy and peace that we are on the right track.  I don't care what she looks like, what kind of hair she has, what skin tone she has...etc!!  All I'm praying for is a healthy delivery for birth mom and a healthy baby girl.  That's the ONLY things that are important to me.  

Next DR. appointment is Thursday, April 18 so we will get to find out if the expected induction will get to be on June 14.  FINGERS CROSSED!!!

Hannah Banana!!!

Last night Hannah spend the night.  She had a filled day in Emma's room.  All she kept saying all night was, "I wish Emma was here.  I wish we could play with Emma."  :)

Here she is pretending she's calming her down.  This kid has such an imagination.  :)

Her favorite outfit.  :)

She said Emma and I are going on a stroll.  HAHA!  

It's gonna be so much fun playing with Emma when she's born.  I can't wait.  Jeslyn and Hannah have been my babies for so long, now I get to share  MY baby with them.  :)  I can't wait.

Carseat

Not long after we found out about the adoption, I went on the prowl for good used items.  Buying used things, if they are in good shape, is a very good way to save money.  One of the things I bought used is the car seat/stroller combo.

I love it.  I think it's perfect for my sweet princess.  Since It's used I wanted to clean it real good. 

So today I decided to get it out of the shed and do just that.

After I put all the fabrics in the wash, I started cleaning the car seat and base to make sure to get all the germs off.  Now waiting to assemble it back together when it dries.

Emma's nursery so far...

Emma's room this far is looking so much like a nursery.  I love it.  I can't seem to make myself come out of there.  HAHA!!

Changing table.  I am so glad it fits here because that's where I imagined it to be.  :))  I know it looks silly with that mobile on there but until I get the baby bed in here I don't want it to get messed up.  :)
Joseph's cousin Bethany is making me a beautiful hair bow holder to hang above this.  I can't wait to see what It's finally gonna look like.  I know zebra/hot pink but the rest is a surprise.

This is Joe's cheferobe from when he was a kid.  I love it.  To me, it's the most perfect piece in here.  I love that little basket with books in it.  I want Emma to have a big collection of books.  I hope she's a reader just like her daddy.  :)

I posted the hamper before when I first got it but I just love how it looks in there.  Soooo precious.

Inside the door.  I hung a rod in there so I could hang these little shelf things in it for more storage..  Got bibs, little snuggly things, car seat cover, boppy covers, bathing suits, hats, etc...

Inside the little drawer.  Her movies, monitor, and the buggy cover for when she's older.  :))

Inside the drawers. 

Miscellaneous shorts and pants.  I know somewhere down the line I will be able to find something to match them and get some use out of them.  

Jean pants, skirts, and shorts.  Gotta love them.  HEHE!!

Oneises.  So sweet.

Socks.  A whole drawer of socks.  HAHA!!!

This is all I have to show right now.  I will get decorations and baby bed at my baby shower so I will have more to show then.  I can't wait.

I know this all is subject to change once I get everything from my shower but I had to go ahead and post this anyway.  :)

Got a very active baby girl. :)

Received two of the most amazing videos ever.  Miss Emma is going crazy kicking and I believe doing some gymnastics. :))

                                         
I love seeing my sweet princess going crazy in Rikki's belly. :)  It just reassures me she's so healthy and active.  :))  It just brings tears of JOY to my heart.  I just love her with all my heart already.

30w5d

The prego belly is GROWING....yeah!!!!!  My sweet little Emma is growing like a weed.  I am so thankful that Rikki Leigh is having such a great pregnancy with no problems.  We still have almost 9 weeks to go BUT I know it's in GOD's hands  and he is gonna keep her safe for us.  

Whew...

Whew...What a weekend we have had.  I was gonna paint Emma's room last weekend but Joseph promised me if I would wait until this weekend he would help me.  I held him to that promise. :)

Saturday morning, we had to go to town and get another gallon of paint.  While there we stopped at some yard sales.  One just so happened to be Karenda's.  I got the most adorable head rest things for Emma's car seat and I got an I love Mommy outfit.  So cute.

When we got home from town, Joe immediately started spackling the holes while I moved the furniture to the middle of the floor.  It took a good amount of time since I had hung so many things in there on those walls.  :((  Oh well.  It will all turn out in the end.  :)

Joe was working so hard.  I am so proud to have such an amazing husband that is willing to help me do the "remodeling" that needs done around here.

I done some of the trim work but Joe is such a profectionist he had to take over.  He's much better than I am anyway so I was glad.  :)  

After Joe done the trim work I went behind him with the roller and rolled on the paint.  It was so much easier than what Joe had to do.  Kinda made me feel bad since this was my idea but I would rather him do it where it will be perfect.

This is the wall where the tanning bed is.  We are gonna leave it in there until the weekend before my baby shower since that's where the bed is going.  The rest of the room is the way it's gonna stay.  I see no need to take it out just yet when that wall will be empty until I get my baby bed.

We had just put the last and final coat of paint on the walls.  I turned around and saw the girls in the floor sleeping.  They were wore out "helping" me paint.  :)

The room is finished until the shower and I get all the odds and end things.  I will wait until then to post pictures of the finished product.  :))

29w2d Appt.

I am already a HORRIBLE loving mom.  :))  I forgot to post about Emma's 29w2d appointment.  Rikki went to that appointment on April 4th.  Emma was a kicker that day while trying to listen to heart beat. :)). Heart rate was 166.  My sweet girl wasn't wanting them to listen to her heart beat.  Rikki said every time they put the wand on her tummy Emma would kick or punch it.  :)  My sweeti girl is ready to get out of that tummy but we are sure hoping and praying she stays in until 40 weeks.  This mama here can't handle a NICU stay or any complications or problems.  We wan't a perfect and healthy baby.  :))

1 month since our adoption news.

I can't believe it has been 1 month already since we found out we were adopting a sweet baby girl.  My oh my how my heart is filled with joy.  I am still in total shock but I know my dream is fianally coming true.  Just a little over 2 months and I will have a daughter.  :))  HAPPY HAPPY

Week 30

Finally 30 weeks pregnant.  WHOOOHOOO!!!  Acording to baby center this is what 's happening with little Miss Emma now:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision – which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Only 10 weeks left.  WOW!!  Still don't seem real.  Here is the picture that Baby Center associated with my email today.  :))  Sooo precious.

Rikki and I talked last night and she wasn't feeling to good.  She had been out and about all day and her feel were badly swollen.  

Poor baby girl.  I feel so bad for her.  She is such a sweet girl.  I hate to see her not feeling good or hurting during this pregnancy but I guess it's part of the process/

A couple weeks ago I had a friend give me a pac n play.  It was so nice.  Sadly, it didn't fit in my bedroom.  :(  So Kayla and I swapped.  She needed a bigger one and I needed the smaller one.  It looks  sooooo sweet in my bedroom.  I know it's way to early to have it up but I just couldn't help it.  

Sure can't wait for my sweet girl to be sleeping in here.  :))

Picture overload.

I have ordered a couple things for Emma's nursery.  One of them being a clothes hamper painted to match her bedding.  Here is a picture of her bedding.

I looked and looked for weeks for a perfect bedding for Emma's bedroom but never could find one.  One day I cam upon this one and fell in love.  It was perfect.  I knew I wanted zebra with hot pink but when I saw this I knew it was the one.  It had exactly what I wanted plus a hint of polka dots to make it just that much more girly.  Oh yea....

My sister and I had a yard sale couple weeks ago.  One of my high school friends came to check out what we had.  She is very talented.  I knew she made these adorable hampers so I inquired about one.  We talked about what I wanted and she was sure she could do it.  I sent her a text of what Emma's bedding looked like to be a guide line.  I was certain as long as it was black/white zebra and polka dots with hot pink there was no way to mess it up.  :)

Here is the outcome.  I think it's perfect.  I know the pink on it kinda looks red in the picture but she reassured me it was hot pink in person so that made me feel much better.  She hasn't started on the actual hamper part yet but the lid is finished.  She text me yesterday and said she could be completely finished by this coming weekend.  :)

Joseph's cousin Bethany Waltrip is VERY talented.  She knew I was doing Emma's room in zebra/hot pink.  I received a text message from her of this picture.  I was so excited.  She couldn't have made it any better had I actually told her what I wanted.  :)  I have several things I want her to make for me for Emma's room but I'm gonna wait until after my baby shower... :)) to make sure not to have to many personalized things to hang in her room.  Clutter isn't a friend of mine.  HAHA!!

I'm know some people think I shouldn't have done EK's room in zebra print but oh well.  I know it's not real babyish but I love it.  It's something, I think, she can grow with.  I know I wont grow out of it and want to change it any time soon because I have liked it way to long to grow out of it now.


Here is a sneak preview of EK's closet.  Joe and I worked long and hard to clean this sucker out.  It needed painted very badly because the wallpaper had purple flowers.  YUCK!!  SOOO, one Saturday night Jeslyn had came to spend the night with me and we decided to paint.  It took 2 coats to cover that yucky wallpaper mess.  We had to go to Home Depot to buy a new closet rod to hang all Emma's clothes.

This is the left side of her closet.  Yes, it's packed to the gill.  :))  All the ones on the right side are Newborn-0/3 months.
Those storage bins are full of Maggie and Sophie's clothes and hair bows, and things of theirs.

This is the center of EK's closet.  0-3 month clothing.  I love that storage bin organizer.  It's perfect.  Will be able to store lots of things on it soon.

Right side of EK's closet.  More of her 0-3 month and bigger clothing.  She needs no more clothing that's for sure.

Right after I announced about the adoption, Leah Kennedy Earnest messaged me on FB saying how she was so happy for Joe and I and that she wanted to give me a gift.  One being this turquoise Kalencome diaper bag.  I love it.  I love this color but I really wanted a girly one.  I wouldn't never be able to pay nearly $100 for a diaper bag so I was certain I could add some pink to it.  That's where Critters came into play.

I took it there for her to Put Emma's initials on it.  I love it.  I am so excited to be able to use this adorable bag full of all my daughters things...HEHE!!

Last but not least, I received a FB message from someone I have never met before.  She is the lady I ordered Emma's coming home hair bow from.  She stated that I would be receiving a package in the mail tomorrow.  She went on to say how when someone has a baby everyone is sure to buy baby things and sometimes mommy get's left out so she was sending me a gift for me that I could cherish forever.  I racked my brain trying to figure out what it could possibly be but never could have imagined it be such an amazing gift.

This is what I received.  A bottle cap necklace with Emma's sonor picture on it.  I cried when I opened it.  Wendy put a letter in with the package saying that  it wasn't much but she wanted to send me this necklace so I could cherish Emma's first picture forever.  OMGosh...I just couldn't believe it.  I mean, someone I don't know has took the time to make me something to cherish forever.  I will always hold this necklace so close and dear to my heart.

I'm sorry for the picture overload but I needed to catch up.  I want to be able to remember each detail of getting ready for my little miracle as I can.  I want to be able to ready this back to her when she is older and can understand so she will know how much Mommy and Daddy wanted her.  How much she means to us.  Each and every post will give more detail than I could even tell anyone.  Somehow it's much easier to write out my feelings here than to talk to someone.  At least this is MY blog and I can say what I want; no matter what my feelings are and I don't have someone to think I'm totally nuts.  :))

Mommy loves you so much Emma Katherine Tanner.  Not much longer and I will get to watch your birth mom give birth to you and I'll finally get to hold you in my arms.  I promise to hold you tight and never let you fall or get hurt in any way.  You are my dream come true and as long as I have you and your daddy, Joseph,...I can face tomorrow.  Please know how much I have wanted you and will NEVER take having you for granted.  You are such a miracle baby that I NEVER thought I would get to call mine.  I will always owe your birth parents the world for allowing me to be your mom.  I love you EK..  :))