What's in a name?

When talking about what to name the baby we knew that we liked the idea of using family names. We asked both parents for a list of names from both sides and while some names were funny, like Mercy Mae, we liked what we had to work with. We decided to use the name Emory for either the first or middle name whether it was a boy or girl. Emory is named after Chelle's grandpa, Emory "Mick" Bensen (pictured below). We also decided to use the name Jane because we both had grandma's with Jane as their middle name: Betty Jane Zimmerman and Lela Jane Dess.

Hanging out with Mom

This week is the first full week that Chelle has been home alone with Emory. Overall things have gone well, excluding another growth spurt which makes Emory less sleepy and fussy. But luckily the weekend is here and Grant will be home.

The first pictures is what Chelle was brought home from the hospital in. Emory wasn't into playing dress up, so Chelle took what she could get. Thanks for bringing it down Grandma Zimmerman!

Chelle keeps Emory busy with plenty of tummy time. She is getting strong with lifting up her head. Emory has also discovered a love of Mozart thanks to Nanny Dess who gave her a baby Einstein cd.

She gets very tired after all our play time. How sweet is she!?!

Emory went for her first stroller ride this week. It's been so nice here we thought she would enjoy the outdoors. As you can see she was really excited by the whole thing.

Happy One Month Birthday!!

Emory had her doctor's appointment Thursday and now weighs an even 9 pounds, which moves her from the 20% percentile to the 50%. She is now 20 3/4 inches long.

Top Ten Moments of the First Month

10. Umbilical cord falling off. That thing was gross.

9. Hitting 9 pounds at the one month checkup.

8. Changing to Size 1 diapers.

7. Emmy peeing clear off the changing table.

6. Her first trip to the grocery store. No crying, no talking to anyone, just groceries.

5. Going for her first stroller ride (just yesterday). She slept the whole time.

4. Opening the piles of Christmas presents that Emory got. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

3. Sleeping in the crib at night, rather than in Mom & Dad's room.

2. Emory hit the trifecta. "Sneeze, Burp, Toot" in rapid progression.

1. Meeting her grandparents for the first time.

I Feel Pretty...

We would have never thought that our daughter would be wearing a hot pink tutu, but here she is. Even though we prefer jeans and t-shirts, we have to admit she looks adorable. Grant didn't want the tutu at first, but just look at her. Get her ballet shoes ready.

Grandma Zimmerman gave Emory this beautiful outfit. Including the sparkly silver shoes!! The dress is still big but we thought it was time to get some pictures in it.

Grandma also gave Emmy a pretty bracelet with her birthstone. What a lucky little lady!!

First Real Bath

Because Emmy's umbilical cord had healed we were able to give our stinky baby a real bath instead of a sponge bath. She wasn't happy at the beginning, but she warmed up to it after awhile.

"What just happened here?!?"

Chelle has had fun taking pictures of Emory last week especially because she is getting more expressive. We can't wait to see her smile which should be happening soon!
What a sweet little girl. We don't think she is haiving any problem gaining weight as shown by her chubby cheeks.

Happy Three Week Birthday!!!

Three weeks already, obviously thats shocking to Emory. That double chin snuck up on us this last week, we have started to see more "gas smiles" that we like to think aren't all gas, and the big event of losing her umbilical cord happened Friday. Grant thought it was about time to get rid of that yucky cord. Thanks to Nathan and Courtney (and Jacob!) for my adorable outfit.

Emory's first Christmas! We celebrated Christmas Eve with Jaypa and Nanny Dess, they bought Emory a super deluxe swing which she loves to watch the room move back and forth. Christmas morning we went to Uncle Rhino and Aunt Jenny's house to celebrate with Grandpa and Grandma Zimmerman. Emory got a bunch of toys that light up and make all kinds of noises. Hopefully Chelle will not go insane from all the sounds. Grant read Emory the Bible story of Jesus' birth which Emory really enjoyed.

These are Emory's Christmas pajamas that we bought for her. The newborn size was still big but we thought she still looked adorable.

Spending some quality time with Grandpa Zimmerman. Emmy kept grabbing his chin and holding on. Chelle thinks its because Emory has the "Zimmerman chin."

All this opening presents can really make a girl tired.

We were so glad that all our family was here to hang out, play with Emory, cook, and help us out so much. We are so blessed to have such a great family!

Happy Two Week Birthday!!!

What do you do for a two week birthday? Here's how we celebrated with Emory...

Take a nap with daddy....

Get loved on by mommy...

Show off my grin...

And wear fun hats that are way too big.