our smiling six month old

I remember being six months pregnant and people asking if I was about to go into labor because I was already so huge. 
I can't believe Emery has been here in my arms for six whole months already!
Maybe it feels like yesterday because my scar still hurts and my mom tummy hasn't quite gotten back to normal yet - or maybe its because kids really do grow up before you know it.
She has grown to be SO fun.
We absolutely adore her and we love watching her learn how to use this new little body.

There were a few weeks this month that were especially challenging for us.

**WARNING: mom talk below this line.**
Emery has ALWAYS been a good little pooper.
But a few weeks ago it was like...twelve times a day.
Literally every single diaper was poopy.
After a week and a half of an insane amount of poop, we started to see some blood in her diapers.
As most new mothers probably would, I panicked.
We went in to see Emery's doctor that day and learned that she was suffering because of my oversupply of milk.
She was getting way too much lactose and her little belly didn't handle it well.
So we've been working hard to eliminate this problem, and thankfully - after weeks and hours of hard work - her diapers are back to normal :)
**End mom talk....for now**

Now that we have figured out the source of MOST of her fussiness, we have a pretty happy baby on our hands! ....
.....that is, as long as she is in my arms, or receiving my full attention.
She is still not a fan of anybody but her mom and dad - and she REALLY hates it when I try to get her to play by herself.
She'll take her grandparents and aunt for short little spurts on good days.
But for us she is almost all smiles and we just love it!
So here we go...

Emery Eden || 6 months old || 08.18.13 

| she still hates baby foods - but LOVES feeding herself crackers. | sleeping is hard.  she loves sleep but is back to needing to be cuddled and fed to sleep.  | her daddy is wrapped around her little finger so she gets what she wants when she wants it. | she is great at sitting! | we have maybe one week before we have a crawler!  she has just figured out how to lean forward and hold herself in a crawling position to grab the toys that she wants and then she pushes herself right back up. |  she just loves it when her mommy sings to her.  any song any time.  |  this lady is a real talker (we should have known based on the way that the other Elkins girls are ;) ) she tries to talk while she sucks on her tongue and the little sounds she makes just crack us right up.  she also talks with her mouth full (while nursing). |  she sings along with my lullabies almost every night.  |  as you can see she is a roly poly little girl...there are rolls all over that little body.  |  our emery loveloveLOVES books.  more than toys.  more than food. more than music. they are the best thing in the world to her. |

Her current favorite toys are shakers that I bought in college.

Time to start baby proofing the house!

In addition to all of our fun milestones with this sweet girl, we had a super eventful month! 
We are almost certain that Ethan has found a job that he will be in for years and years.
He is the Sales and Marketing Manager for a start up company called Tempus Healthcare, where he is the first person hired outside of the founders.
He gets to handpick, interview, hire, and train his entire team - which is an incredible and exciting opportunity for him!
He is going to start school in the spring, taking online courses toward a degree in entrepreneurship from BYU Idaho - and is considering getting his real estate license here soon too!
He is working with the owner of this new company to be able to take over in the next 5-10 years.
So we've got some great goals and a bright future to look forward to :)

My etsy is still doing really well! 

It has been a lot of fun and a great outlet for wrenn-the-person when wrenn-the-mom is tired. 

I'm donating some items to an auction at the end of the month, so once I have that info I'll pass it on for all of my millions of blog-readers to go bid!

Stay tuned..

Emery's half birthday was the same day as my real birthday!
It was so so SO great to be with my family this year on my birthday.
As much as I miss Ethan's family (and I truly do every single day), my birthday just never felt like my birthday without the traditions that I grew up with.

Ethan and I celebrated with a date on Saturday while my mom watched Emery. 
We had a few giftcards to Longhorn, where we ate like kings and then shopped the Avenue for a bit.
Sunday morning we went to church and then headed to my parents house. 
We had my dad's famous crepes (Emery had her first crepe ever), watched some of my favorite movies, took a nap, and topped things off with a tiny cake/frosting war.  I guess Ethan won since it ended up in my hair and all over my face and clothes. 
I was blessed with an abundance of gifts including gift cards, a million earrings, a new light nursing cover...and some jumbo marshmallows from my sweet brother-in-law :)
I honestly could not have asked for or even imagined a better day.  It was perfect.


 We plan to get some family pictures taken in the next week or so, so expect an update full of photos soon!!
My iPhone pictures of Emery are great but I'm thinking its time for some REAL pictures, especially now that we have a much happier baby!