A sneak peek

Currently our new house is in disarray, despite the fact that Henny and Papa did so much to help us get settled, unpacked, baby proofed and even decorated a bit. So for now here are a few pics of the outside, and hopefully some inside pictures will be coming soon.

I love this picture of Emery in the backyard because it really does show you how BIG it is compared to how small she is. I can only imagine how big it seems to her!

Our house is in one of the most picturesque neighborhoods in Chattanooga with quiet, tree-lined streets, older homes with lots of character, a beautiful park with a walking trail, playground and pool ... I could go on and on. I really can't believe we get to live here!

The house itself, built in 1930, is much larger than we ever anticipated buying (thank you down housing market!). To give you an idea, frequently Emery will be heard wandering the house saying "Where's the mommy? Where's the mommy?" (Answer - hiding from you!!)

We think it stayed on the market so long because it lacks many of the amenities newer homes provide, such as updated kitchens that open up to spacious family rooms. However, I'm starting to realize that the kitchen being far removed from the playroom and also protected by doors will be a big advantage for me when I want to escape two precious, but often very needy and sometimes whiny little girls!

In other news, Emery got her first haircut!

Loving the new 'do!

No wonder the car seat seems heavy!

Today I took Anna Kimball in for her one-month check up and learned that she is 9 lbs 15 oz! That puts her in the 75th percentile for weight. She's also sprouting vertically, too, coming in at 22 3/4 inches long, which puts her in the 95th percentile for height.

I suppose because Emery was still in the 7 lb range at her one-month check up I didn't see this coming! But I was starting to wonder why those newborn diapers were so snug and lugging around the car seat already seemed to be giving me a workout ...

Getting bigger by the day!

Snoozing in Mama's bed 

Life as a newborn is just ducky!

Oh, and of course there's Emery - getting better at posing!

A good little helper

The other day while I was cooking, Emery decided to empty the spice cabinet / miscellaneous pantry cabinet.

Completely.

This will actually be a very convenient chore for her to tackle in about a week, when we will be moving to a bigger house! We close on the house Feb. 17, so I'll wait until after then to post details/pictures. Don't want to jinx anything of course.

So, like a good little helper, she obliged and provided a small bit of assistance in putting everything back.

In the middle of the night,

newborns are fussy. Shocker I know. But I'd actually really like to know why this is! What is happening at 2am internally, digestively, physiologically that isn't happening at 2pm?

Anna Kimball is actually a pretty mellow baby so far and it's not like our nights have been dreadful. Yet, these days she still seems fairly committed to making me earn my keep between 2:30ish and 5ish in the morning. On that note, here's a rundown of what goes through my head in the middle of the night. Other moms, perhaps you can relate?

• Maybe if I just keep my eyes closed while we endlessly rock and sway it will be like I've sort of slept?
• Forget it, I'm never going back to bed. Wake up! Open those eyes! Stay alert!
• Maybe we should give co-sleeping a try. I bet it would work. Matt won't notice I'm sure. (visions of smothering Anna Kimball quickly eliminate this idea, though it does pop back up again from time to time).
• It sure will be nice to get Matt's sympathy in the morning. Better start thinking of some good adjectives now.
• I really should be praying right now. Maybe that's why God has us up. Yes, these awake times could be make for such rich times of prayer and communion ... half-hearted prayers ensue, only to get cut off by a screaming, writhing infant in my arms.
• I don't care what the newborn online forums say. I am NOT. GIVING. UP. DAIRY.
• After putting Anna Kimball in her bed, I repeat the same desperate prayer in my head "Please don't wake up, please don't wake up, please don't wake up." 45 seconds pass. "Waahhh!"
• And the cycle begins again.

The good news is that eventually she does fall asleep, as all babies do, and so do I.

I'm also pleasantly surprised with how sweet Emery has been with Anna Kimball. She's the first to announce whenever her sister is "crying!" and is very supportive of her sleeping, too ... because that means more of our attention of course!

Anna Kimball Doescher

was preparing to make her arrival just a week ago today! Much to my relief, she made her entrance into this world without any drama, awakening me with a few minor contractions at 2am, letting me fall back asleep for a bit, then summoning me to the hospital at the respectable time of 9:30am. Three hours later I was pushing, and only for 10 minutes at that, and then there she was!

We told the doctor we wanted Matt to share the news with me and announcing whether we had a son or daughter. So I couldn't see Anna Kimball when he gave her anatomy a concentrated stare, just to make sure he had things correct, and happily proclaimed that it was "Anna Kimball."

That's not what I was expecting to hear (and no, this is not where we give away our boy name ... must keep saving it!), but it really didn't take long for the news to set in and for it to seem just right that Emery would have a sister (a sister! she is so lucky!) and that Matt would now be vastly outnumbered by the women of the house. Thankfully, he's such a good sport about it all and just so happy to be with "his girls."

I finish with a few pics from this week, but first want to say that we really aren't sure if we'll be calling her Anna or Anna Kimball. I thought I had convinced Matt that it would be Anna Kimball, but right there in the delivery room after she arrived, Matt calmly insisted that he would just be calling her Anna. That Anna Kimball is a lot of syllables.

Well, I love the way Anna Kimball sounds, but he does have a point. I'm even having trouble saying it all the time. So, we'll just have to see what sticks. If all else fails, maybe she'll just be AK!

We're having fun ...

But I think I'm ready for Baby D #2 to make his/her arrival now ... Whether Emery is or not, now that's another question ...

Not ready to have this baby!

My due date is January 17, less than two weeks away and I am definitely not ready to have this baby. I mean yes, I do have diapers on hand, sleepers washed and folded, new bathtub purchased, etc. but I have literally been on vacation since Henny and Papa arrived and begun helping out with so many of the tasks involved in caring for a toddler and keeping a household organized and fed ... and why would I want that to end ahead of schedule?!?

I wish I had some fabulous pictures that document how wonderful this vacation has been, but I've been too busy not doing my normal routine to get any good ones taken, nor have I spent nearly as much time with Emery as I usually do, hence a lack of photo opps. Am I starting to sound like I'd rather not be mothering a toddler and a soon-to-be newborn? If so, that's not the case ... I'm just realistically acknowledging that it simply won't be possible to rest and run the errands I want to run, when I want to run them,  have extended periods of alone time, etc. etc. etc. in just a matter of days.

So for right now I'm going to thoroughly enjoy every second of this brief respite ... pray like mad Baby D #2 has no intentions of showing up early. Did you hear that ____ _____? (blanks are for the still top-secret names!)