No training wheels!

Liberty has been working diligently to learn to ride her bike without training wheels. She is a perfectionist so it has been extremely frustrating for her not to get it right away. Today, she can officially ride AND stop without falling off. It may not be very far, but she is getting it! She is SO proud of herself.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Lilly

Today Lilly would have been 3. I am celebrating that God allowed me to be her mommy for 20 months. I miss her more today than ever. I feel so blessed that she was born. Even though the journey has been painful, I would not trade a single second I spent with her.

God has been so precious these past few weeks to remind me to bring my hurt, my sorrows, and all my burdens to Him. He has given Scott and I such peace the last couple of years, but the Lord reminded me that I am still hanging on to some of the pain and disapointment. How awesome He is to draw me near when I find myself doubting His promises.

Happy birthday my sweet angel. I can't wait to see your face one day soon!

One week old

I cannot believe that Emory is already one week old! Time is flying by so fast already. She is so amazing and beautiful. Every day she looks more like Liberty. I really didn't expect them to look so much alike since Liberty and Lilly didn't look very similar. It is so precious to look at Emory and see Liberty.

Liberty LOVES her sister

hmm...what am I going to do with another thumbsucker?!

At one week old, Emory...

1. still has dark brown hair

2. blue eyes that are so dark they almost seem black at times

3. loves to eat. We are trying to work toward a 3 hours schedule, but at times she is still eating every 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

4. has a birth mark on her left eye in the shape of a perfect heart.

5. HATES having a dirty diaper. She screams at the top of her lungs until I get it changed.

6. tries to suck her thumb whenever her hands randomly get near her mouth.

7. weighs 8lb 3 oz. The doctor was so impressed with how healthy she is.

We are so in love with our little girl and we are all enjoying getting to know her and her unique personality.

Emory's first mini bath

Introducing Emory Ayn Haas

Emory was born on July 2 at 11:13 a.m. It was by far the quickest and easiest delivery I have ever had. We checked in at 5:30 a.m. I had my epidural by 7:30 and then all of a sudden she was here! It was perfect. Both of my sisters and my parents were here to see Emory right away and help with Liberty. Everyone had the opportunity to hold and snuggle her at the hospital.

1st time Liberty held her baby sister

Libs was the first to hold her when we got home.

The night we spent in the hospital was a little rough. Scott ended up having to come home to comfort Liberty who, as you might imagine, was a little overwhelmed. So, that left me to care for Emory solo. All I can say is she is an amazing eater. I spent the entire night feeding a little girl who apparently wasn't satified that there wasn't any milk yet. Needless to say, by the time we got home yesterday afternoon, I was exhuasted. Thanks to my wonderful husband I did get a little sleep last night. He took the first shift and woke me up when she needed to eat, which is about every two hours. She finally slept from about 4:30 to 8:30 which was oh so nice!

Liberty is absolutely in love with her. She constantly wants to hold her and always makes sure she has a blanket and stuffed animal nearby. She is looking forward to giving Emory her first bottle. Yesterday afternoon she was holding Emory and they both fell asleep curled up in the boppy pillow. It was so cute. Everyone is just so worn out from all the excitment.

So far this is what we know about our newest addition...

Emory is a great eater. She latched on perfectly the very first time.
She also loves her binky already. If she isn't attached to me, she wants her binky :).
She also loves to be held and snuggled close.
She doesn't want to sleep by herself, so I slept on the couch with her most of the night.
She is already moving her head around and holding it up by herself for brief moments.
She likes to be rocked and bounced.
She has so much hair! Way more than both her sisters.
She is our biggest baby as far as weight goes, but our shortest in length.
She looks like Scott--just like all of our girls do!

Look at this hair!

We have spent the morning comparing her to Liberty and Lilly when they were just hours old. She is very similar to Liberty was and so much different than Lilly. We are so in love with her and feel incredibly blessed to have her home with us.

Liberty

This is my last post before Emory Ayn arrives tomorrow! We are all so excited, especially Liberty. She can't wait to be a big sister again. It has been such an amazing year spending one on one time with her. I love that we have had an entire year to get to know our amazing little girl and all the things that make her so wonderful.

We celebrated her 5th birthday tonight since my family is in. Her actual birthday isn't until the 6th. We kept it small this year since we obviously have so much going on. I cannot believe she is already 5. Time is flying by so quickly and I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with her so I don't miss a second of it!