Tickling Tummies and Smiles

Emily loves to play on the floor.  She likes to be on her tummy and back.  As Nelson expresses, "She is a mover!"  She loves to kick and swing her arms around.  We love to lay beside her and play along.  Emily is discovering her voice, proclaiming grunts and coos often.  It is fun to watch her find her voice.

Emily's new trick is smiling!! I love capturing the twinkle in her eye when she smiles.  She is working on using it every day and adding a little laugh.  It is definitely contagious!!

Our Little Tink loves bath time.  Her daddy is so cute to bathe her each night.  She loves slippy down in her bath chair to sneak her toes to be in the water or on the side of the tub.  We think she loves the bath and lotion massage, but not getting dressed.

It is cooling down a little here in Arizona - highs in the 70s and 80s.  It has been great weather to enjoy a walk outside.  Emily loves to be outside!!  We are excited for this cool down after a hot summer!  It will be fun to show Emily snow in a few weeks.

My Dollie

 

As a child I loved playing with dolls, especially Cabbage Catch dolls.  I had quite a collection, probably more than 10.  I remember hearing the story and watching the home video of my first Christmas. I got a doll that smelled like a newborn.  Each Christmas it seemed my collection grew, thanks to the help of Santa who loved dollies;D.  I loved to pretend with my dolls: play school, church, and "house" with them.  As Christmas approaches, I have been thinking about these memories and how much I love to play with my dolly Emily.  Like my first dolly, Tink's smell is sweet.  Nelson tells her it is one of his favorite smells.  I love playing, singing, pretending, and talking to her.  It has been fun to see her eyes engage more in contact with mine.  I can't help but wonder if she knows me?  I love dolling her up for the day.  She is so cute! 

 

 

 As I uploaded new pictures today, I browsed through pictures of her birthday. My little dollie Tink is growing so much. She continues to learn new tricks each day. Through it all I am loving each tender moment with my sweet dolly. One of my favorite things to do with Emily is snuggle. She nestles into my chest and hums or chomps her binkie.  I am trying to think of a way to record these sounds so that I can hold on to them forever.

 

 

At first, Emily was not too sure about a binkie.  Now, however, she loves to suck on it before and after a feeding.  Sometimes she will soothe herself with her thumb.  I caught doing it in her swing.

I am so lucky to have my own dolly this Christmas.  She is the best gift anyone could ask for.  I love Tink more than words can say!

1 Month

Emily is one month as of October 24th!  Hooray for our Little Tink!  She is still so petite, but growing LOTS.  Nelson and I think it happens right before our eyes, so we don't want to blink.  We are excited for the milestones Emily has made, but cherish each present moment as we know she will grow up too fast.

Some of Emily's one month milestones and special moments include:

1) Showing her deep blue eye color - just like her dad's
2) Losing the dark hair from birth to light brown with highlights of blond and red
3) Sustaining eye contact for a few moments
4) Smiling and laughing in her sleep (she hasn't yet done it in response to stimuli yet, but soon!)
5) Wiggling her month excitedly when her binkie is inserted
6)  Finding her thumb for comfort (we quickly replace it with the binkie)
7) Holding onto her binkie with her hand
8)  Playing with her mouth - sticking her tongue out and "ooing"
9)  Dolled everyone at church "with all that hair"
10) Nicknamed Little Tink, Little One, and Little Angel

Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Jared stopped by last Sunday for a visit.  It was so fun to see them.  Emily really liked to being together with them.  We wish they lived closer so they could visit more often.

 

 

 

 

Emily's Tricks and Treats

Emily is our Halloween treat in so many ways.  She treats us smiles at her moments of growth, change, and love.  Little Tink is just about 1 month!  I can hardly believe it.  She is growing each day - faster than we want her too.  However, we are excited and grateful for her health and strength.  At her last appointment, the doctor was proud to announce she has gained 1 pound from her birth weight - 6 lb. 8 oz.  I was excited by this to know she is feeding well.

 

Emily has a few tricks she has been working on for Halloween.  She can be caught finding her thumb to suck and holding her binky in her mouth.  It is so cute!!

 

 

Emily LOVES her hands!! She especially likes them close to her face.  This seems to bring her comfort when she is upset.

 

 

Little Tink joined us for one of our Halloween traditions - watching Hocus Pocus.  I think she liked it!  This silly movie is my mom's favorite, so we watch it each October.  It wouldn't be Halloween without it.

This past week I tried to take some pictures for a possible birth announcement.  I am definitely not a professioinal photographer or have much talent like my sweet sister Jamie, but I think they turned out.  I think the cute bundle makes all the difference ;D.  

 

3 Weeks

 

Emily is 3 weeks old tomorrow.  Nelson and I were talking about how hard it is to imagine life without her.  We love cuddling, singing, talking to, and playing with her.  She is "Our Little Angel" (Nelson's nickname for her).  Today she went to church for the first time - just to sacrament meeting.  She really enjoyed it - slept right through it.  Emily got all "dolled" up for this big adventure.   She looked adorable - as always!

 

 

Even though she is growing everyday, Little Tink is just that - LITTLE.  This picture with her daddy shows how little she is in his hands.  It is so fun to watch Nelson talk with and hold Emily.  He really loves her.  At times I catch him just staring at her (just like I find myself doing at times).  Then Nelson will notice me sigh and smile.  Sometimes he'll then say, "She's just so cute!"

 



 

Emily has not yet smiled in response to specific stimuli, but I find her smiling and laughing in her sleep often.  She takes after her Aunt Sissa who also laughs in her sleep too;D.  I love her little chuckle and smile.  I think she might have a dimple like me, but we'll see.

 

 

 

 I just can't get enough of Little Tink's toes.  They are so cute!  She likes to be a little lady by crossing her ankles often.  She is so precious!

 

Emily's Birth Day

Our calendar was marked for Little Tink’s due date, October 20, 2012.  However, we were unsure when she was really due to arrive.  Nelson and I had been anticipating our sweet angel’s arrival with great wonder.  We often discussed what she would look like, when she would come, and what the day would be like when she did come.  Some of what we imagined came true, while other events were surprises.

Little Tink’s story begins on Sunday, September 23, 2012.  The day began as usual preparing with Nelson and me preparing for church.  For the past few weeks, I had had some intermittent contractions, but nothing regular.  As we arrived at church and sacrament meeting progressed, my lower back started to ache.  Since the pain was consistent without changing intervals, I thought I had just slept funny.  I tried to push the pain away, but it continued to increase throughout the day.  Sometimes it was more intense than others, subsiding in the afternoon for a while.  Tenderly, Nelson continued to check-in with me about my pain and asking if I wanted to go to the hospital.  I continued to push away the idea as I was afraid the hospital would send me home for false labor. 

As we prepared for bed, I felt an even greater sense of pain and a loss of my bladder control.  For the past few days, I had felt at times I was “leaking.”  However, I was not certain.  As I lay down, Little Tink kicked and I sensed a “pop.”  I rushed to the bathroom, although I had already been a few minutes ago, and water gushed out.  Within minutes, the pain in my lower back transferred to my abdomen.  The pain was frequent while increasing in duration and intensity.  Anxiously, I awoke Nelson and said, “I think we better go.”  He quickly sat up, got dressed, and helped gather our things in the car.  Meanwhile, I was nervously considering how our life was really changing now.  Little Tink was on her way!  There was no more time to imagine this new life we dreamed of, her fairy tale was composing.

On the way to the hospital, Nelson was a great driver, but I lost focus as the navigator during a contraction.  As such we became a little disoriented from our usual route, especially in the dark.  However, we soon found the hospital and maternity entrance.  When we entered the nurses asked, “How can we help you?”  I said, “I think I am in labor.”  Part of me wanted to say, why else would I be here? They showed us to a room.  In the room the nurses monitored my contractions, discovering they were three minutes apart.  I was not sure if my water broke, so they did some different tests.  After which, they told me I was dilated to a 4.  The intensity and frequency of the contractions continued to increase quickly.  I was hoping for an epidural soon, but the process to be admitted was a bit slow (we aren’t certain why). 

Finally, the labor and delivery nurse, Clara, came for me.  We arrived in our room around midnight understanding that the anesthesiologist was on his way.  I don’t think I am a wimp for pain, but these contractions were becoming quite sharp.  I greatly anticipated the epidural.  Once it was administered I felt so relieved and could enjoy the delivery more. 

After the epidural, Clara checked me again.  It was now about 3:00 am.  I was then dilated to a 10 and 100% effaced.  WOW!  Pushing would have to wait as I had tested positive for Strep B and needed some antibiotics.  She quickly began to administer the antibiotic.  Nelson and I visited and tried to sleep knowing changes would be coming quickly.

Around 4:30 am, the antibiotics were complete and things were ready for me to push.  We were hoping our doctor, Dr. Linnerson, would be able to administer the delivery.   However, he wasn’t due to arrive to the hospital until 6:00 am.  At this point, Nelson could see Little Tink’s head.  The nurse exclaimed, “She has a lot of hair!”  They brought in a mirror so that I could see.  I was a little hesitant, but it was really neat to see.  I pushed for about an hour all the while anticipating hearing her first cry.  At 5:40 am her little squeal was heard.    

 

For months, I had dreamed and wondered what it would be like to see her for the first time.  I was worried they wouldn’t let me hold her for a while, but that was the first place they put her – right on my chest.  Witnessing her arrival was a miracle.  As I saw her for the first time in my arms and heard her cry, it seemed heaven and earth connected.  I felt not only her sweet spirit enter the room, but guardian angels.  They seemed to swoop down around her and me – a touch of pixie dust.  I think they were showing her the way to earth’s Neverland adventure.

The hospital we delivered at emphasizes “skin-to-skin” care.  As such, I held Little Tink for the first 20-30 minutes.  She cried most of the time, which made me a little nervous.  I kept asking the nurse if everything was okay.  She reassured me that her crying was perfectly normal.  Nelson was able to help with the footprints and weight check.  He was so excited about seeing her and took many pictures.

The magic of Tink’s arrival continued as I witnessed my sweetheart Nelson hold Little Tink for the first time.  It seemed the glisten in his eyes spoke of his delight that he was a Daddy!  This precious gift from heaven was ours to have and hold forever.

Little Tink was beautiful!  Even though I had wondered what she would look like for so long, she was just what I imagined – a perfect angel.  I think time stood still the moment she was born.  In some ways I felt it was surreal – I was a Mommy!  I wanted to capture everything about her – the sound of her cry, her sweet smell, and the presence of every feature.

 

 

 

Emily is the little angel of our home.  We love cuddling with her, examining her miniature features, singing songs, gaze at her dark eyes, and watching her find her tiny thumb.  It is hard to imagine life without her.  She brings glistens of pixie dust to our home each day.  Emily is our “Happy Thought.” 

Our TinkerBell

We just wanted to post a few pictures of our sweet little Tinkerbell - Emily Lynette Yates.  She was born, Monday, September 24, 2012 at 5:40 am.  Emily weighed a tiny, but healthy 5 lbs. 9 oz and 18 inches long.  I will post more soon about her arrival story.  For now, we are enjoying her sweet little spirit in our home.  As Nelson has nicknamed her, sh is a "Little Piece of Heaven."  We love her cute toes, tiny hands, and dark hair with a touch of gold on the tips.  Thank you to all who have called and emailed.  We feel and appreciate your love!