Wordless Wednesday: Look What The Husband Drug In

From Baby to Little Girl

Emma Claire,

You are getting so incredibly big.  There are times when I look at you 

and can no longer see your sweet little baby face.  Instead I see the face of such a little person,

a little girl full of sugar and spice and everything nice with sprinkles of mischief scattered throughout.

You are still just as cute and sweet as ever, but you have definitely reached

what I'm going to call the "rascal stage."  You know exactly when you are about 

to do something you know you shouldn't and every time you are at this point

you look at Momma and Daddy with that beautiful smile on your face and then in the

sweetest sing-songy voice you say "Hiiiii."  I'm pretty sure you know that by doing this

you are making it that much harder for Momma and Daddy to stand our ground 

and be stern with you, which is why Momma has started to call you 

her Little Rascal.  You definitely like to test us,

which is just one of the many things you get from your Daddy.  

I know there are times when you get upset with us for telling you no

or for not letting you have something you want, and it breaks my heart to make you cry,

but Momma and Daddy have to teach you right from wrong, good from bad

and this is only the beginning of that process.  I know it will be many years down the road,

but one day you will understand why Momma and Daddy don't let you have 

everything you want or do whatever you want when ever you want.

It is our job as your parents to set boundaries, limits, and expectations for you.

We do this in order to help you grow into the incredible person

we already know you are going to be and have already started to become.

Just as Momma expected, you have embraced your new role 

as big sister with nothing but joy and love.  

From the moment we brought Jude home you have been fascinated with him.

You absolutely love it when he is down on the floor with you. 

You tickle his tummy and toes.  You tap his nose and wiggle his ears.

You stroke his hair and hold his hand.  Your giggles and smiles 

show the genuine excitement and happiness that your little brother brings you.

You have no idea how happy and proud it makes Momma to watch you with him.

You will never understand how much love I have wrapped up in both of you

and seeing the two of you love each other just makes my love for both of you grow.

I love you Little Rascal.  You're my Beauty Queen and the sweetest girl I know.

Check out the blog's new Facebook page:

Snapshots of Jude

I am making a conscious effort to get the good camera out more often.

I guess I never gave much thought to how much harder it was going to be to get

good pictures of Jude with his wild sister running around.

It's definitely a Momma and Daddy project or an Emma's nap time project.

Here are a few pictures of the little man that I have managed to get.

He has already changed so much.

Wordless Wednesday: Smiling Boy

I caught Jude Scott with the most precious smile on his face.

Wordless Wednesday: Sibling Love

Emma has taken to her role as a big sissy like a champ.
Watching the two of them together melts my heart.
My wish for them is that they always have a close relationship
and that they never forget how special it is that they have each other.

A Little Late, but Perfect Timing

It may have been six days past his due date and several weeks 

past when Momma and Daddy thought he would make his debut,

but Jude Scott finally joined us on the perfect day and at the perfect time,

December 15, 2012 at 1:31 in the afternoon.

Why was this the perfect day and time?

Because it's when he was ready to leave his safe, warm, made just for him home

and enter the outside world that is so full of chaos and unpredictability. 

I knew the doctors wouldn't let me go more than two weeks past my due date,

so every day that came and went made me a little more nervous

because I did not want to be induced.  As ready as I was to hold him in my arms, 

I didn't want to force him out before he was ready. I knew our little boy would come

on his own when he had grown and developed to just the right size,

which happened to be way bigger than I thought it would be,

a whopping 8 pounds 8 ounces and 19 and a half inches long.

Labor and delivery went pretty smoothly, but not at all the way I had planned it.

I ended up delivering our incredible son naturally, with no epidural or pain relief at all.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a very low tolerance for pain

so I must say that I am pretty proud of myself for this accomplishment.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself going through childbirth naturally, 

but now having done one that way and one with an epidural, if we were to have

another baby I would definitely go natural again.  Yes, it's painful, uncomfortable, 

and excruciating, but the way I felt after this birth was so drastically different

from the way I felt after Emma's birth.  I immediately felt like myself

and as soon as Jude was out the pain was gone and never really came back.

After Emma was born I was exhausted, out of it, and still uncomfortable for a few days.

I'm so glad that was not the case with Jude, because I feel like I remember the moments 

after Jude's birth better than I do the moments after Emma's.  I was just in a much better

state of mind, which made it easier for me to capture those precious first memories

with our baby boy.  Such special memories that I will forever cherish.

So happy to finally be able to kiss our little baby boy.

Proud Daddy already teaching Jude to "Thunder Up."

Emma Claire meeting her baby brother for the first time.

He had already stolen my heart.

Just hanging out with all of his big sissies.

Momma loves you with all her heart Jude Scott.

Jude Scott,

You are the perfect addition to our family.  You have only been with us for a short while,

but I already can't remember life without you.  Your well defined nose, your big bear paws 

(which is the way your Daddy refers to your hands), your long toes, and your full head of dark hair

make you the perfect you.  From the moment I first held you 

I could tell that you are a little cuddle bug and I absolutely love that about you. 

 If you haven't already learned it, you will quickly realize

that there's nothing your Momma loves more than cuddling her babies.

Judging by our first few weeks together this is something you are okay with.

Your head rests so gently and fits so perfectly up on my shoulder.

Your tiny arms fold up against my belly so naturally while you nurse.

Your tendency to roll onto your side and nestle up against me while you sleep is precious.

Every hug, cuddle, and squeeze that we share is special to me.

I hope they are as comforting to you as they are to me and I hope you know

that I will always be here to comfort, nurture, and support you in any way that I can.

There will probably come a day when you think you are too old to cuddle with your Momma,

but I promise you that even if it's just a quick hug, 

you will be able to feel my unconditional love for you in our embrace.

The love your Daddy and I both have for you is already so strong,

but what's truly incredible is that we know it is only going to continue to grow stronger

with every smile that spreads across your face and every milestone you reach.

I think you and your Daddy are going to be best friends and I cannot wait 

to watch your relationship with him grow over the years.  I know it is going to be

an extremely special relationship and one that plays a huge factor in shaping you into the man

that you will one day become.  He was raised and taught by some very respectable men

and the special relationships he has with his father and grandfathers will be passed down to you

which already makes you someone I am extremely proud and honored to call my son.

I love you more than you will ever know Jude Scott.  You are perfect

and I cannot wait to see how our journey together unfolds.

The only certainty it contains is that each step along the way will be taken

with a greater love for you than the previous one.

Love,

Momma

She's getting SOOOO Big

Little things that Emma does every day remind me just how big she is getting.

Take this morning for example.  I was about to take a shower

so I put her in her exersaucer outside the bathroom door as usual.

This is how she was when I put her in there...

And this is how I found her when I got out of the shower...

...dress basically off and no bow.

She definitely isn't my baby girl anymore.  I love this and hate this all at the same time.

Her baby stage flew by way too fast.  I miss being able to scoop her up 

and cuddle her in my arms whenever I wanted to.

Now she's too busy exploring and discovering to cuddle for long periods of time.

But I absolutely love the stage she is at right now.  She is so fun, silly, and curious.

She is constantly making me laugh by all the wild things she does

and by all the words and actions she mimics.  Momma and Daddy definitely have to

watch what we say and do a lot more now a days.

And although I don't get long cuddle sessions with my sweet girl anymore, 

now I get moments when she decides she wants to give me a kiss or a hug or a cuddle
and every single one of them completely melts my heart.
There is nothing more precious than my baby girl loving on me.