Hallway Wall

A New Year

2009-01-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a new year and boy have our lives changed over the past 12 months! As I reflect back over 2008, I can't believe where the time has gone and how much I've matured. I've gone from "It's all about me" to "It's not about me at all anymore". Here's a quick look back. I was four and a half months pregnant at this time last year. David and I cleared out the "office" to make room for our little bundle of joy that was on the way. We had just found out that we were having a girl and I was starting to feel her move. The thought of becoming parents was much more real to us and I remember feeling both excited and scared. We had our hardwood floors refinished and the house was looking good. I remember the next few months going by slowly as we awaited Emma's arrival. I stopped working at the end of March and was able to do some "nesting" and relaxing, not realizing how precious those last few moments of peace and quiet were. We took all the preparation classes, read all the books, and registered for all the baby gear we could possibly ever need and want. It was fun having other friends that were expecting around the same time as us. I was blessed to have four baby showers within a month of each other and got pretty much everything off my registry. By the time May rolled around, the baby's room was ready. All we needed was the baby. Both Luke and Charlotte decided to make their appearances before their due dates so I was sure that Emma would want to join them. I remember my due date, May 13th, coming and going, and feeling soooo uncomfortable. I was ready to get that baby out and start my life as a mom (or so I thought)! I'll never forget those drives twice a week on the 605 N to the doctor's office hoping for a sign she was coming. I remember feeling discouraged the morning of May 19th as my mom joined me for my appointment. My doctor examined me and said, "Let's get you checked into the hospital. You're having this baby today." My attitude changed in an instant! I was so excited, called David, and we drove over to hospital. We won't get into the details of my long and exhausting labor and delivery (27 hours in all), but I will say that I was sure glad when it was all over. I remember hearing Emma cry for the first time and just feeling so relieved that she was okay. The next month or so is a blur. We had so many visitors and so much support from friends and family. We're grateful for all the meals, advice, and open arms that helped us through that wonderful, but exhausting and challenging time. It took a while for things to start to feel somewhat normal again and I'm just so glad that I had so much time off of work to adjust and adapt to motherhood. We enjoyed meeting baby Dominic in July, who decided to take after Emma and overstay his welcome in the womb. At the end of August, Emma went on her first family vacation to Doc and Al's Resort in Bridgeport with the Luckey family (at trip I've gone on annually for the past ten years). Then, Lori and I worked out all our plans for job sharing and began that new adventure in September. I must say that I love the part time gig. It's the perfect combination of being home with the baby and going in to work a couple days a week. It's still challenging balancing work and motherhood, especially because a teacher's work is never done, but we're making it work. I think Lori and I make a pretty good team and I'm so grateful to her for taking this leap with me. You know that once Halloween comes along, the rest of the holidays just fly by, and I feel like that's exactly just what they did. David and I decided to buy Disneyland passes in November as our early Christmas gift to one another and were able to go a couple of times with the Albericos. Emma seems to enjoy the sights and and sounds of "The Happiest Place on Earth". The holidays overall were a lot of fun in spite of Emma getting her first cold the day before Christmas Eve. She was a good sport and remained fairly happy eventhough she was congested.

We've enjoyed watching our precious baby girl grow and change on a daily basis. I can't belive that she is going to be eight months old on Tuesday. She's gone from being a tiny seven pounder who only ate, slept, and cried to a vibrant, interactive twenty pounder who is on her way to walking and talking. We're not sure if she'll even do the crawling thing. She'd much rather be on her feet, standing up, than on her knees. She does however, scoot backwards on her tummy and hop forward in a sitting position so she's definately on her was to being mobile. Emma is such a happy social baby, smiling and waving at anyone and everyone that'll look her way. She loves to jump, dance, sing, clap, bang on things, pat you on the back, and play "peek-a-boo". We are looking forward to a great year in 2009 and are excited for what the good Lord has in store for the Higginbotham's.

Emma's 1st Halloween

2008-11-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

The last post updated you on everything over the last two months so this post is simply to show you how cute Emma was on her first Halloween. My sister babysat while I was at work that day, so when I got home Michelle helped me get Emma ready for the big night. Luckily, Emma took a good nap from five to six o'clock and ate right after, so she was in a good mood for the festivities. We went to Mega Blast at DFCC to show her off and then stopped by my aunt's house for the family to see. Emma did great. She didn't seem to mind being in her costume and despite my expectations, she was not the "little purple monster" I thought she would be that night!

Boy, does time fly!

2008-11-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well it's been two months since I posted last. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday we brought our little munchkin home from the hospital, but here we are five and a half months later and things have really changed! Weighing in at about 16 lbs. and over 26 inches in length, our little Emma has grown so much. She is such a big girl, sitting up on her own, talking (and screaming) up a storm, and grabbing everything (including mommy's hair) in sight. And where does everything end up? In the mouth of course! Emma got her first tooth at three and a half months. It was her bottom right tooth. The bottom left came in a few days later. At five months her top right tooth broke through and she's now working on getting the top left one to ease it's way out. We've been so lucky that teething hasn't been too difficult on Emma. Of course, it could get worse, but we are grateful for now that she doesn't seem to be in too much pain. Emma is quite the happy baby (most of the time). She loves to smile and laugh, especially at her daddy and the dogs. With her coming of age (5 months), she started eating solid foods, starting with rice cereal and working her way through all the veggies and now fruits. So far she's had squash, peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, and prunes. She really likes sweet potatoes and prunes. Along with her change in diet, we've had a change in diaper changing. Without getting too graphic, I'll just say that we are going through more wipes now and may need to get some nose plugs. Anyway, enough with the talk, here are a couple of newer pictures for you all to see.

2008-09-02T00:34:00.000-07:00

Lately, and on more than one occasion, I have been asked the following question when Emma and I are out and about: "Is it a little boy or girl?" In my head I'm thinking, "Are you serious?" I mean, how much "girlier" can you get? It's like Pepto Bismo (spelling?) exploded all over the carseat! Take a look at the above picture and tell me what you think. Is there any question in your mind what sex the baby is?

Newer Pics of Emma

2008-09-02T00:06:00.000-07:00

I know I've been slacking on my posting. Sorry Nathan! Here are some newer shots of our precious little one for all the world to see.

Emma's 1st Camping Trip

2008-09-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well we attempted our first camping/fishing trip from August 16th to the 20th in Bridgeport,CA with the Luckey family and successfully made it to and from with everyone in one piece. I must say that it definitely was a lot more work this year with a baby than in years past, but well worth it. It's amazing how much "stuff" you need for such a little person. I have to pat myself on the back for packing just right. We needed and used everything that I packed. All in all it was a great trip. Of course we didn't get in as much fishing as we'd like to have (in fact I didn't get to do any), but that's okay. Next year's just around the corner.

Loving the Boppy

2008-07-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

It appears that Emma is not the only one in the Higginbotham household that likes to "kick back on the Boppy".

Reflecting on Parenthood

2008-07-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sitting her with Miss Emma in her "Baby Bjorn", a wonderful invention that allows me to carry her around hands-free so that I can have her close to me and get things done at the same time. I was reflecting on my journey thus far through motherhood and am amazed by how quickly it seems to go by. Here we are 8 weeks in and I just can't believe how much our little princess has changed and grown, both physically and socially. I must say that it really does get better with time. Emma now has many more "quiet alert" times throughout the day where she just takes in her surroundings and interacts with us. She knows her mommy and daddy and has begun conversing with us daily through many coos and other interesting sounds. She loves the little swinging monkey on her rainforest bouncer, relaxing in her swing, kicking back on the Boppy pillow, and stretching out on the changing table. She also likes going shopping and out for walks in her stroller. If you are lucky, you may even catch her smiling and laughing from time to time. She has become such a joy to interact with and we feel blessed to have her in our lives. We are so fortunate to have a good sleeper at this point too (I'm sure it could change). Mommy and daddy are getting anywhere from 6-8 hours of sleep a night, with an occasional 9 hours! We haven't really got our napping schedule down yet, but with the amount of sleep we get each night, we really can't complain. Anyhow...I better take advantage of the nap Emma's taking right now. I'm off to fold laundry.

P.S. Got to go see the new addition to the Alberico family in the hospital yesterday and I must admit that Dominic is quite the stud. Charlotte, watch out! Emma will be fighting over him. Congrats Angelo and Lori on your beautiful baby boy! We look forward to many playdates.

2008-06-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

Finally more pics of Emma

2008-06-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

I know we've been slacking on our "blogging", but we're still pretty new at this so hopefully you'll give us a break. You'd think that with me (Gina) being home all day I would have tons of time to post new and exciting blogs. However, that simply is not the case. You see, parenthood has been quite the learning experience and eventhough we are a good 5 weeks into it, we still haven't quite figured it all out yet. You may wonder what my day consists of...well here it is: Wake up around 4:30 am to my mini alarm clock (Emma, that is). Change her. Feed her. Burp her. Rock her back to sleep (hopefully). Maybe get a little more shut eye myself. Then up again by 6:30 to feed (and burp, of course). If Emma decides to take another nap, I score (with a shower). Get ready quickly and wait for the dinner (or breakfast) bell to ring. Basically we repeat this every two hours which really only gives me about a half hour for "me" time. There's not a lot you can accomplish in that amount of time, so usually I don't get much done. I have seen almost every episode of Law and Order though. Actually, since we hit the one month mark, Emma's had more awake time, which just means I have to find more things to entertain her with. It may sound like I'm complaining (which I might be just a bit) but really it's not that bad. I am enjoying being home with my little munchkin and love watching her change and grow each day. Motherhood is amazing and think I've become a stronger and better person since taking on this role. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with taking her out of the house and hopefully we'll get a routine going where I can get more accomplished. Until then, I'm at the princess' mercy. Speaking of which...here are some more pictures (which is really what you want to see anyhow, right!).

2008-05-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Annoyed Emma, cause dad keeps waking her up.

2008-05-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

Emma Rose, born 5-20-08 at 1:36pm , 7lb 10oz, 20 inches long

2008-05-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

2008-05-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well I never I thought I would start one of these mostly due to the fact that I have nothing interesting to say. I figure I would create it to keep others updated on our new daughter.