She is HERE!!

Emma Cate Shepherd
February 14, 2008
7lbs 12oz, 20in.











After being in labor for a week, our new little bundle of joy decided to arrive on no other than Valentines Day! I guess I should not have really expected anything else from her, considering her sister also arrived on her due date...what are the odds:)
Labor was much easier this time around and our labor/birth experience was very nice. Jillian really seems to love Emma and she has been great helper so far. We are working on getting some kind of consistancy with both of the girls, but really overall just enjoying some family time.

Here was my last belly picture, taken 4 days before Emma arrived.

1 week to go!

So as of today we have just about 1 week until this little once is SUPPOSED to make her entrance into the world...we shall see I suppose. Over the past two weeks I have been having tons of contractions. I guess my body is officially preparing to deliver this little one. On Monday, I was 2cm dialated and been feeling tons of stuff since. So Mom was scheduled to come up tomorrow, but she was afraid of missing something, so she flew up on Wednesday instead. Of course that day I was feeling tons of contractions, etc so we dropped Jillian off and to Labor and Delivery we went....of course only to be sent home exactly 20 mintues later:). I was in fact having tons of constractions, but still only dialated to 2, so they said go walk! Well walking is all we have been doing for the past 2 days and have yet to make any noticable progress. I have been reading up on things to do to "help labor" progress and have tried nearly everyone:) I know I can not be pregnant forever, thanks goodness for that! But I have to be honest and say I am becoming very impatient and FAT waiting for her arrival. So I would be very grateful if she could come..like NOW!!

22 days to go...WOW!!

I can not believe that she is really going to be here soon! We have been working hard around here to get everything ready for the new baby's arrival. Her bedroom is NOW officially finished. Gamma and Gampa bought us a glider for little Emma's room that Mark put together and is not ready for late night feedings. I also finally got my maternity pictures framed and hung. All her clothes are washed, except for anything that was brand new...just in case:) We will take care of that once she gets here. The bags are packed and the car seat is in the car...I think we are ready to go:)


We went in for my 36 week appointment yesterday and they said everything looks great. Emma's heart beat was 155, they said she is about 6lbs now, and I have gained..well too much in my opinion:) We are all registered at the hospital now and the dr. says we are good to go whenever she decides to come...wow, still can't believe we are going to have another baby soon.
We took Jillian to Build-A-Bear this past weekend to make a bear for Emma..and of course a new friend for herself. She had a blast! She designed shirts for both of the new animals and she is very proud of the bear she "make" for Emma. She is watching my every movement very closely and wants to help constantly. She makes sure to let me know that the bottles are for milk for baby to eat and wants to feel my belly constantly, just in case Emma is kicking. I can't wait to see how excited she will be once Emma is ACTUALLY here.
We go into the dr. once a week now until little Emma decides to make her arrival and we have a "stork pass" for our car now...we can park in "expecting mommy" parking, I am totally excited about that:)
Here are some pictures of the completely finished nursery, Jillian at Build-A-Bear, and my latest belly shot.
Maybe by the time I remember to log back on and update the blog, she will be here, we will let you know:)

And the countdown begins...

With the holidays behind us and new resolutions to make in the new year, it is officially time for our family to prepare for the new addition. Just 39 days now until little Emma is due to enter the world...we can't wait!
This past week I have not been feeling too hot and on Thursday I was feeling pretty bad. I called the dr. to see if they thought I should come in and they said yes so off to Labor and Delivery we went. After a couple of hours of monitoring, the dr. said that I was 1 cm dialated and that I need to rest. We still have about 6 weeks to go, so we don't want her showing her little face too soon:). So the past couple days I have been resting, resting, and doing some more resting. I am not feeling much better, but it will all pass soon enough.
We had another 3D ultrasound on Friday and we got to see some good shots of the little one...suprisingly she was frowning in just about every picture, imagine that:) I will try to get some of those posted on here soon.
This past week Mark and I celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary...just can't believe it has been that long. Time flies when you are having fun...i guess:) After our trip to the E.R. we were able to have a nice dinner out, just the two of us. I am sure we won't get too many of those in the near future:)
So I am off to begin preparing the finishing touchs for little Emma's arrival, still have some washing to do, some bags to pack....and well then I guess we will just wait.
Keep your eyes and ears open as we begin the official "Emma Watch".

We are down to 40 days...I just can't believe it! x

Less than 60 days to go...

It looks like we have just less than 60 days to go until we meet our little Emma. We can't wait! I had an appointment last week and the Dr. says we are both looking good. Emma is about 3.5 lbs and approx. 16 inches long, kind of hard to believe. I have gained 26 lbs thus far..yikes:) I guess I should start washing the baby clothes and packing the hospital bag...but those things really haven't crossed my mind yet, I guess the holidays have got the best of me.

My mom, Dan, Tyler, Gabi and Maya will all be here Saturday to spend Christmas in Colorado. We are very excited to have them here and to spend Christmas in our little home.

I am beginning to wonder if all the excitement of the holidays has become evident to little Jillian. She has been sleeping pretty much not at all at night, so Mark and I are up with her all night, and exhausted all day. We are not sure what the issue is, her health is fine so that is not really a concern....but we are all SO tired. Hopefully this will pass soon.

I go back to the Dr. at 36 weeks and the Dr. said she is good to come anytime after that...AAHHH!! Until next time:)

10 weeks to go....AAHHH!

So we have just about 10 weeks to go until we meet our little Emma...I just can't believe it! This pregnancy has seemed to fly by. I am in my finals week at school right now, so after this week I will just be doing a lot of waiting. Emma is VERY active. It is very seldom we go even a couple of minutes without a huge punch from the little boxer:) I think she is about 2.5 lbs now...although from the way my body feels, sometimes it seems like she might be a 10 pounder. We recently had some maternity pictures done and that was so much fun. Our good friend and photography Kim did an awesome job capturing the beauty of pregnancy and a family in waiting.
We are still enjoying the joys (insert sarcasm here), of the terrible two's with our precious Jillian. Everyday is a new adventure with her...but she really is the cutest thing ever anyhow:)
We are looking forward to spending to holidays here at home...and just maybe we will get a white Christmas. Mark went a little "clark griswald" on us and put on TONS of lights on the house...and yard decorations. It does look great, and he is VERY proud. Jillian loves to turn on "daddy's cute lights" every night.
Here is my latest belly picture...just 10 weeks to go!

The nursery is FINISHED!

I spent a good portion of the day finishing up the nursery. Mark put the crib and dresser in several weeks ago and I attempted some organizing then, but did not get very far. So I had some time today and decided to get something done...and I did, EVERYTHING! We have tons of bins full of clothes (that were Jillian's of course) so that took awhile to sort out, but other than that it was fun and I think it turned out pretty cute:) Since we live on Fort Carson, we can't paint the walls, but we may get something else to hang up on one of the walls. But, for now...it is FINISHED!

Also, had to throw in my latest belly pic...I probably don't look that big, but feel as big as a cow:)...only 14 weeks to go!

24 weeks!

So we have reached 24 weeks as of today. I can't believe that is just a few months we will be welcoming a new member to our family:) So exciting! We have finally got started on Emma's nursery. Her room will look very much like Jillian's room did when she came along as we are using all of the same bedding and furniture. We recently moved Jillian into a "big girl" bed to help make the transition of a new baby and givng Emma her crib a little easier....easier said than done:) Emma continues to be a VERY active baby, moving pretty much all day and night. We had a very exciting moment last week, for the first time Mark got to feel Emma kick. It was a very special moment for the both of us, as he only got to feel Jillian kick once which was right before she was born. He had the biggest grin on his face...that was a "proud papa" moment for sure. I have to say, it is so wonderful to be able to have him around during this pregnancy and know that he will not have to miss anything. We are definetly blessed.
Jillian has become more verbal about "baby" and "ma" (that's Emma). She puts the phone to my belly and likes to read to my belly, but she still has her moments where "she does not want to talk about it". We are experiencing a bit of overload on the whole "terrible two's" thing...it's really killer sometimes, but we are getting through it. She has discovered a new love in Elmo and books...wow she is in LOVE with both. She wants us to read to her constantly, which is wonderful:)

Half way there!

Here is my most recent belly picture...19 weeks.
I have not posted anything in a while, I guess work, school, being a mom and wife keep me busier than I realize sometimes. A couple of weeks ago we had a sonogram and we were told that our new addition is a girl. This week is week 20 so we will have another sonogram to confirm the gender and make sure everything else is working properly.
Who ever knew picking a name for another person could be so difficult. But after much discussion and disagrement... the only name we agree on is Emma Cate...and we both love it! It is so cute to hear Jillian call my belly Emma, she is going to make a great big sister:)
The baby has starting kicking this week, which actually gives me some relief. It is tough going 20 whole weeks and only hearing a heart beat...the kicks give me reasurrence that she is actually there and doing well.

It's a GIRL!

Well I was pretty confident that we were having a boy...but I guess I was wrong. It looks like we will be having another little girl! We have yet to find a name that the two of us can agree one....I guess we have a little time:)

Finally a belly pic!

So I have been a little slow about this...but today, finally at 14 weeks, I have a belly pic...

We have heard the heartbeat!

Mark and I went to my 1st official Dr. Visit on Thursday and it was great. Kind of a long story, but I was quite nervous to go to the Army hospital as I had gone with civilian care with Jillian and was very happy. But I did not have that choice this time, so I will be cared for at Evans Army Community Hospital here at Fort Carson. Anyway, the midwife was AWESOME and I feel so relieved. We got to hear the little heartbeat and she says everything looks good. Still hard to believe that we are going to have another baby...but we are very excited!
I am 12 weeks now and have yet to take a belly pic. Soon I will and will post it for all the world to see:)

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1st Dr. Visit

So I had my 1st dr. appointment today and as I hoped everything looks good. My official due date is February 14, just as I had suspected. Luckily, knock on wood, I have not had the morning sickeness (yet) that I had with Jillian. I have only been sick a couple of times and have decided that chicken is a no-go for now...it makes me just icky. Although I don't feel as sick, my energy level is nearly at a zero. It takes everything I have to get up everyday, get Jillian ready, sit through school, come home and lay down for a nap. Once we both get up about 3, I finally have a little energy, how sad is that. We are moving next month to Fort Carson and I am really looking forward to not having stairs in our house. I don't know how much longer I can carry Jillian down those stairs without feeling like I am having an asthma attack afterwards:)
On another note, I believe (again, knocking on wood), that Jillian is officially potty trained. Out of the past 4 days she has had on accident which is very rewarding. She is so proud of herself now and I am just excited I don't have to change anymore diapers for awhile. We have been trying to enjoy the nice weather and been going to the park in our neigborhood almost every afternoon. She climbs all the way up the slide and comes down all by herself...she is becoming such a big girl.
I guess all of this lack of energy has kind of slowed me down and I am starting to realize that that can be a good thing. Every afternoon as we walk home from the park Jillian loves to stop and listen to the birds and tell them "bye bye". What can be more precious than a little one enjoying the simple things in life. What an example she is to me.

Awesome

So I finally told Mark, he was definetly surprised, but very excited. His exact reaction "Awesome, it better be a boy", what a man:). Of course we will be happy either way. Yeah, we are going to have another baby!

So I did not mention...Mark does not know!

So Mark is down in Texas right now for some training for about another week and I really want to surprise him with the news. I think he will definetly be surprised:) I got Jillian a "I'm the Big Sister" Shirt and got myself a "Due in February" shirt and I plan to put them both on on Sunday, Father's Day and see how long it takes him to notice...:) It is killing me not telling him, but I really wanted this to be fun...with Jillian I just called him at work and told him...boring. I can't wait to see the look on his face!

Latest News!

Hello All,
I figured since I have become absolutely terrible about posting new pics of our little family, especially our growing girl, I thought what perfect timing to get connected....since we are expecting a new little one!
Yes you read that right, Jillian is going to be a big sister. I am due on Valentines Day! Since each and everyone of you mean so much to us, we hope you will check back on here now and then to continue to watch as our little princess grows, my waist line expands,our lives continue to blossom and get the lastest on the Shepherd Family!

We love you all!

The Shepherd Family