1000 Gifts

81. a sale at your favorite store

82. feeling cold...I've bee hot for so long and now that I'm not growing a human heater, I feel like my body temperature is normal!

83. Meeting a friend's mother and feeling like you already know her

84.  picking out Emmalyn's wardrobe for the day

85. watching tv at night with my husband by my side and my daughter asleep on his chest

86. getting 3 good hours of sleep

87. swaddling Emmalyn - this is a big deal at our house now.  After her night feeding which usually occurs around 10pm we change her diaper, and swaddle her hoping that she gets the correlation between swaddling and bed time at some point.  But I particularly like the swaddling part because 1) it is one constant that we have in our lives right now and 2) its like a competition with myself to swaddle her as neat and tight as I can so she can't get out of it but she's still comfy and cozy and ready for bed

88. putting on mascara - It really does make me feel 10X better

89. trying a new recipe - and seeing my husband go back for seconds  (mostly because before I got married I only knew how to fix a bowl of cereal)

90. losing 25lbs of baby weight so far

Kayla : )

Emmalyn's Nursery

View from the door

This is the bedding that Caleb's mom made from fabric I chose.  The picture does not do it justice, it is awesome!

Of course you've seen this view before, but I still love it!

This is the chandelier that my friend Emily found at a thrift store and redid just for Emmalyn. 

The glider was given to us by a coworker of mine.  It was perfect!  The cushions were a blue color when we got it, but again, Caleb's mom came to the rescue and reupholstered it to match the bedding.  Again, I think it looks amazing!

Her new piggy bank.  She'll be learning about money early on!

This chair was mine as a little girl.  Caleb sanded it down and painted it to match the rest of the room.  Until she can sit in it, the build-a-bear will keep it safe :) 

Just a better picture of the light switch plate that I mod podged.

I decorated the lamp shade, mod podged the frame which has a Bible verse in it, and made the pink shade.  The covered table was also something we just had lying around the house.  The curtains are from the great and always amazing, Target!

The canopy hasn't changed much.

Again, my dresser as a child

A monogrammed frame purchased from a local store.  Also, the lamp shade was a another small project I completed.

Well, there you have it.  Finally done and being used by our precious and long awaited, Emmalyn.

Kayla : )

Emmalyn's First two weeks

The first two weeks of Emmalyn's life have been rather action packed.  First my parents, my brother, and Caleb's younger brother came into town to meet her.  Joel, Caleb's brother could only stay 2 days because of college and job responsibilities, but he said that he "has never fallen in love with anything so fast in his life."  I LOVE it!

While my family was in town the men had the all important "cigar smoke" in honor of the new addition.  However, the cigars were a last minute purchase and rather cheap, so they only got smoked halfway before the men were disgusted.

After my family left Caleb's mom and dad came to help out for a few days.  Just like my family they cooked and cleaned everything and all Caleb and I had to do was concentrate on our little angel.  Not only did Caleb's mom come to help out with household things, she also finished reupholstering the cushions for the glider in the nursery.

She has been one busy lady.  But times with Emmalyn seem to make it all worth while.

It is so crazy to me that Emmalyn is the 6th grandchild on Caleb's side of the family but she is still loved so much!  How much love do we have to go around???

Also, Caleb's parents were in town for Father's Day!  I love that they were here for their son's first Father's Day and got to celebrate it with him.  And what a great day it was!

Emmalyn and I gave Caleb a wooden cutout of an apache helicopter (which he will be flying in August).  

And Caleb's dad had a photo op with Emmalyn.

The day after Father's Day Lynda (Caleb's mom) and I ventured out to Barnes and Noble with Emmalyn to find her some books.  We racked up on elephant books and I was introduced to The Saggy Baggy Elephant.

 

Now it is time for a rest.  There are many more things for me to post in the coming days including making flower bows for Emmalyn and the final nursery reveal!!!

Kayla : )

Happy Father's Day

I would like to wish these two men a very happy Father's Day!

A girl's first love is her Daddy

"One of life's greatest mysteries is how the boy who wasn't good enough to marry your daughter can be the father of the smartest grandchild in the world"

Joseph Addison

Kayla : )

News Flash!

I WON SOMETHING!!!!

As most of you know I read a ton of blogs ranging from friends' blogs to coupon savings to decorating how-to blogs.  One of the very first decorating blogs that I cam across when I started my obsession with blogging was thrift decor chick.  She has some awesome ideas and awesome giveaways.  A number of the blogs that I read have giveaways periodically and I enter most of them depending on whether I think I'll get use out of the product.

WELL, last week I entered a giveaway for $50 at The Pumpkin Patch on etsy and tonight when I opened the thrift decor chick's blog I saw my name.  Honestly, I was just gazing through the post because it is 11pm and I do have a one week old daughter so my mind is in a million places.  However, when I saw my name I had to do a double take to make sure it was me.  I'm so excited!  The Pumpkin Patch looks like such a cute store and I can hardly wait to get to shopping!!!  I'll keep you posted on what I get!


Kayla : )

1000 Gifts

71. Looking in the eyes of my daughter!

72. Seeing my parents so in love with their grandchild

73. Sending picture messages via phones to keep the people I love most updated

74. Sleep!  

75. The smell of my child

76. Watching my daughter sleep

77. The half glass of wine I had on Saturday night

78. Having Caleb home for paternity leave

79. bananas...I LOVE them with nutella!

80. Seeing Caleb loving on his daughter - this is so amazing! 

Kayla : )

Emmalyn

We are home now and thing are going well.  My parents have been extremely helpful with cleaning and cooking and allowing me to take naps while Emmy is sleeping.  

Emmalyn sleeps very hard!  She is eating about every 3 hours and is so great at it!  She gets held a lot with so many family and friends around.

Emmalyn was 7 pounds and 6 ounces when we left the hospital.  She fits into newborn clothes and diapers.  She started to look a bit yellow (jaundice) today, so daddy took her outside for about 5 min naked to soak up some rays.  We plan to go on a walk later to get more vitamin D as well.  

More updates will come as mom has time!

Kayla : )

INTRODUCING...

EMMALYN MARIE WILKES

Born 6-10-2010 at 1132pm

7 lbs 12 oz        20 inches long

Mind you these are cell phone pictures which is why they are not of the best quality.  Those will come later.  There is a lot to tell, but for now I'm just going to enjoy my little family.  We will be back in a few days!

Kayla : )

Emmalyn Update and Nursery

After much deliberation and praying and crying we have decided to induce tomorrow.  My body is not progressing well and Emmalyn is rather big already.  We thought about waiting a week, but my Dr. didn't really think I would dilate much more within a week and Emmalyn would only be bigger.  Either way there is a risk of c-section, but doing it now is the lowest risk.

Yesterday was a very emotional day for me.  I felt at first as if I was playing God and planning the day she is to be born, but with the circumstances what they are, our decision seems to be the best and I truly believe that Christ led us to the decision to induce.  No, I'm not thrilled about being in the hospital all day in labor and not my own home, but we have games and a dvd player to help distract me from the pain, not to mention all the friends I have at the hospital, some that will be coming to visit, my husband will be there, and my parents.  I'm so blessed and have a ton of support and prayers for tomorrow.  I know in the end a healthy baby is really what matters.

With all that said, since we finalized our decision I've been back and forth with feelings of excitement to feelings of nervousness and anxiety.  It seems natural, but its just so crazy to think that right now in my home it is just Caleb, me and the dogs and after tomorrow we will have a third person with us...forever!  Life will NEVER be the same.  The changes are good changes, but I'm scared my relationship with my husband will never be the same...well, DUH!  but what I mean is what I've known for the past 3 years will be no more.  How do I love this little person so much and care for their every need as well as love my husband well, which I feel like I'm just starting to learn.  Good thing God is gracious!!!!

So, enough mush, here is the bedding my awesome mother-in-law made for Emmalyn's room.  Its so great and really makes the room feel complete!

The close up

My mother-in-law sent some of the spare fabric so I covered (mod podged) the light switch plate.  It was SO EASY!!!

And last, we have Emmalyn's temporary bed all set up.  The pack-n-play will stay in our room on my side of the bed for a few weeks while she breast feeds and grows and we get on a bit of a schedule.  I'm so excited to see her swaddled in it.  Also, as you can tell the monitors are all set up as well :)  

Well, my next post will be all about my experience tomorrow and our baby girl!  I truly CANNOT believe it is here and happening!

Kayla : )

A little of this and a little of that

So, an update on Emmalyn will come after this post.  However, the past two days have been very busy getting the house ready for visitors.  Cleaning and organizing mostly, but I did find some time to finish some vinyl projects.

This may be hard to see on the computer screen, but it looks great above my back door.  The vinyl is the same color as the walls and says "Home Sweet Home."  LOVE IT!

This little pretty hangs above the TV console.  I order the vinyl from etsy sellers and they are usually well priced and then buy wood at Lowes and cut, sand, and paint before adding the vinyl.  Being in the military and moving often causes me to find things that will travel well.  Even though vinyl is usually used on walls, I won't be able to take it with me when we leave, so I use wood or canvases instead.

And last, a little present from my husband.  No, we are not alcoholics and these three bottle will probably take us a while to go through, but Caleb thought that I would like to have some wine available for after Emmalyn's birth and we can celebrate with our parents while they are here.  This particular wine is a South African recipe that Caleb tried a few weeks ago and thought I would enjoy as well.  I thought this gift was so thoughtful and celebratory.  

Check soon for the nursery and Emmalyn update!

Kayla : )

Mirror Makeover

This is the new addition to our foyer.  I spray painted the frame which goes with the dresser that I had growing up.  I got the vinyl from a seller on etsy.  I love it!

Kayla : )

Canopy

This is the Canopy above Emmalyn's crib.  It isn't exactly how I had pictured, so the look might change before all is said and done.  I kind of wanted it to drape over the crib, not just the wall, but then it would cover most of the painting.  So, I'm still brainstorming different ideas for hanging it.  Any creative suggestions?

Kayla : )

A few Thoughts

So, the past two days have been rather trying.  On top of feeling physically exhausted and really emotional about meeting my baby girl so soon, there were some family issues thrown in too - just for good measure.  If you think about it in the coming days much prayer is needed for my family at this time.

However, despite these family issues, life still goes on.

My brother graduated from high school today.  It is so hard to believe that I helped change his diapers, gave him baths in the kitchen sink and was there when he took his first steps and now he's an adult with a diploma headed off to college.  Is this what old feels like?

Emmalyn is now 38 weeks gestation.  Another issue we are facing is whether or not we should induce labor due to her size or wait for her and my body to decided when she should come.  The only reason the Dr. is worried about waiting is due to her size and the increased risk of a c-section in order to get her out.  At first I was totally against planning my child's birth date, not trusting my body, or acting like God, but my very knowledgeable husband pointed out that God gave us brains and the ability to use them to make decisions based on the information we have been given.  With that said, we are headed to possibly the last prenatal appointment on Tuesday.  There I will get checked to see how much, or little, progress has been made in getting Emmalyn here and we will then decide what to do.  Induction or waiting.

There are so many pros and cons that have run through my head with making this decision, but I know the most important call is making sure that there is a healthy baby at then end no matter when or how she makes her appearance.

Until then, Caleb and I are spending a lot of time together taking it easy.  I'm trying to savor the quiet with just the two of us as much as I can!

And at last, here are 2 pictures because a blog post with this many words should definitely have some pictures.

This is Asher. Born at 36 weeks gestation about 6 weeks ago.  I'm currently working on the newborn pictures I took of him so here is a sneak peek. 

And this is Huey.  Caleb and I are dog sitting for the Skelly's this weekend and he is their new puppy.

Kayla : )

1000 Gifts

61. my pillow

62. a husband that tells me I'm pretty even though I'm 40 pounds overweight and look sleepy all the time

63. blessings in disguise - not having cable or internet (due to mother nature) and being forced to communicate and have fun with my husband.  

64. couponing - I feel like I'm doing something good for our family and very productive

65. Finishing a thank you note - yes, just one makes me feel good about myself : )

66. JUNE 2010 - Caleb calls it "the month of Emmalyn"

67. emptying the vacuum cleaner.  I love seeing all the things it picked up which makes me fell like I can breathe easier

68. phone conversations with my parents when they talked about Emmalyn - I can just hear the excitement in their voices

69. thrift shopping

70. crushed ice

Kayla : )

Birth Date Poll

So, for fun I'd like to ask you to enter a poll for me.

What date do you predict Emmalyn to make her arrival?

Leave the date in the comments and your email address because whoever gets closest to the actual date will get a little something - you just gotta me a little time to get it out to you since I"ll be a new mom!


Kayla : )