Time is flying!!!

It's been almost 2 months since I updated our blog. A lot has happened in that time! We've been very busy w/ work, trips and of course Emery.
Since our last post, Emery has grown so much. Here's just the jist of our last 2 months.

June 2009

She's swung in her first swing.

Touched her toes to the Oregon Coast sand for the first time and LOVED it!!

July 2009

July was busy for us. We left Vancouver for California, July 2nd. We were lucky enough to stay w/ Chris' Aunt Kim and Uncle Ron. E got to meet a lot of family for the first time and we had a blast playing card games and reuniting w/ everyone.

Emery was able to meet her Great Grandma Carole Crouch.

Grandma had a hard time accepting the fact that she's a girl, being that there are so many boys on the Crouch side, but she never forgot how old she was! :)
Our good friends Makize and Ash got married on the 4th! Our first excuse to have somewhat of a date night! :)

It was the most beautiful wedding!!!

To have a little bit of family/alone time, we headed up to the Santa Monica Pier on our last day in California.

E dipped her toes in the ocean for the first time!!!


When we got home, we started Emery on rice cereal and formula suppliments due to her slow weight gain. She wasn't a big fan of cereal. :)
But she looked so cute eating it!!!

July 10th, we had her ears pierced! Don't worry she didnt scream or freak out. There were tears but they were mostly mine and she was a trooper. 10 seconds of crying and she was over it. Look how pretty she is!

Her 5 month photo.

In latest news, she has cut her first tooth! It's the bottom right/center. She's a biter now! She bites my shoulder, my cheeks and hands. Anything she can bite, she will. She's also mastering the art of sitting up all by herself. YAY!
I still set a boppy behind her most of the time just in case, but she doesn't really need it anymore. She's growing so fast! :(

August 2009

We all went swimming the other day for her first time!! She LOVED the pool and the little floaty we borrowed from our nephew, Carson.

So far we are loving summer. We just got through a pretty big heatwave, which most people hated but I have to say, I loved. (I think I'm part lizard.) I try to hold on to summer as much as I can.

Chris' parents are coming to visit in a couple weeks and we could not be more excited. Emery will finally be able to meet her Grandpa Chris. We can't wait!!!

And the biggest news we have right now, is that I have officially given my extended notice to my work. As of early to mid September, I will no longer hold my position, and will only fill in for vacations or emergency coverage issues. I will now be staying home full time w/ Emery and working again more w/ Photography. I am so blessed to have a husband who works so hard for us to have this luxury and to be able to snuggle my baby girl every day, all day. :)

Until next time....
The Crouch Fam*

Happy 4 month birthday Emery Faith!!!

E will be 4 months old on the 9th. It doesn't seem possible that it's been that long since the busy night of her arrival. Chris and I were at lunch the other night, staring at her and reminiscing the thoughts going through each of our heads and she was about to be born. He revealed the anxiety he had as he waited in that little room, all alone as they prepped me for surgery. We both agreed that a huge weight was quickly lifted from our shoulders as they pulled her out, perfectly healthy and crying.



She changes so much every single day. She no longer has any of her newborn characteristics. She doesn't roll up into a little ball on our chests anymore to just sleep. She's wide eyed and bushy-tailed for many more hours during the day, than asleep. She's rolling from her back to her tummy and from her tummy to her back, and I accidentally realized she scoots on her back now. (I left her on her play mat for no longer than 5 minutes and when I came back into the room, she was about 3-4 feet from where I'd left her. Little sneaker!) She's sitting up very well in her bumbo seat, building her core muscles to eventually sit on her own. She thinks my sneezing is hilarious and I can't help but laugh at her new loud and ADORABLE laugh. Patty cake and tickles are so much more fun these days. :)




We went up to Mt. St. Helens for Memorial day, just the three of us. It was a gorgeous day, w/ wonderful scenery. Found quite a few new camping prospects for this summer! :)





Work is going well. I've been back for a month now, and the days are getting better. Leaving hasn't gotten any easier but trusting that she's in good hands and doing just fine w/o me, is.

Chris' championship game is tonight at 8:25 at Mt. View Ice Arena. Root for the Vipers! :) It's been a few years since they've won the "Cone" and they have a great chance. #77 is the cutest! :)

Not much else has been going on... our days are just that much better w/ E.

Love,
The Crouches*

3 Months old... where is the time going?

So I forget once in a while to write on here... Life is going so quickly right now. I sometimes forget to blow my nose.

Well Easter was so much fun. My mom spent all morning cooking as usual.. w/ my brother, Ryan's, help. After church, we went out to Hillsboro to Rowie's, since he has the biggest table, and were greeted by my parents, Rowie, Nici, Sean, Lesa, Devin, his girlfriend Jennifer, Ashlee and Ali. Everyone had a great brunch (while I ate a bowl of fruit.. dang dairy.) The family time was really fun, and E was adorable as usual.

Emery is changing so much every day. She went from looking exactly like me, to looking just like her daddy, to being a complete combination. W/ those big beautiful eyes, its hard for her daddy to deny her. :) Though if they're closed, she's a spitting image of her mommy. We're pretty lucky.


She is desperately trying to get a giggle out. She smiles so hard, she has to turn her head, and gets out the cutest little squeeks. I know a laugh is coming.. and I'm trying every day to get it. :) She's playing more and more w/ her hanging toys. She talks and talks to the hanging sun she has on her little play gym. Once in a while she gets mad that he won't talk back. We laugh. I just put together her excersaucer and now that she can hold her head up, she sits in there listening to the music it plays. She doesn't reach for the toys yet, but if you play w/ them in front of her, you can get those beautiful smiles we love so much.

I can't believe how quickly she's growing out of her clothes now. She is now wearing the 0-3 months size, which is still little for her age, but I swear she just hit a growth spurt. She was sleeping 12 hours a night, which yes was amazing!!! (Though I still woke up about every 3 to make sure she was okay.) but recently started waking up around 4am again, very hungry. She's changed her own bedtime from 9pm to between 7:30 and 8. She just can't stay awake any later.

May 10th, we had her dedicated. Mother's day. It was the best day. She was so beautiful in her little flowery dress and headband (that sort of resembled a sweat band when I look back at pictures) and big bright eyes. Our friend Danny dedicated her, along w/ a few other babies and we followed that w/ a beach trip.


E's first trip to seaside was a little cold and very windy so she didn't get to dip her toes in the sand like I was hoping for. Daddy just carried her along the beach in her baby bjorn, and kept her snuggled up while Abby ran the extra few pounds off that she's gained lately. :)
Chris' work dog, Haulf, has some sort of a spinal/nerve injury that has him on "bed rest" for 6 weeks. After, he may end up having surgery and the recovery for that may be up to 3 months. He's enjoying his off time, but Chris really misses his partner. We're crossing our fingers, that after resting for the allotted time, he'll be good to go. Cross yours too, will ya?


I went back to work Monday, May 4th. I'm only working 3 days a week and the adult time is nice... but I miss my family like crazy while I'm there. It's nice to feel welcome, as I did on my first day back. The girls knew how hard it was for me, and I appreciate them very much. The drive home on monday evenings feels like it takes forever, because all I want to do it kiss my husband and hold my baby girl.

Speaking of babies... she's calling. I better go. Hope you're having a great week!
Love,
The Crouchs*

2 months old!

Well Happy Easter everybody!!! We are doing great. Chris just celebrated his 31st birthday, which I may have mentioned in our last post. We went up to Canada last weekend for the Vipers' tournament and to celebrate his big day. The guys won the championship against the Canadians and were SOO very happy to come home w/ that news. With all the games and boy time, Chris still found daddy time, and E sure loved that. :) Carson was a big boy cousin and helped take care of her while we were there.. and she loved watching Daddy and Uncle Jared play.

Emery had her two month check up and I didn't love it. She had to have three shots, w/ 5 different vaccines. It's possible that I cried harder than she did, but don't tell anyone. It's a terrible thing to watch some stranger stick your baby w/ a big ol' needle and not show any remorse. How do they sleep at night?
I took her back to the doctor earlier this week because of a weird rash she's had on her face and terrible gas pains she's been getting. I've had a strange feeling that she may be lactose intolerant and her doc thought it was a possibility as well. (There goes my cryptonyte..icecream) She suggested going on a completely dairy free diet for 2 weeks to make sure its not more than an intolerance, and may be an allergy to milk proteins, so yours truly is on a... peanut butter and noodles diet for the next week and a half. It does seem to be helping her tummy though and her face looks great. I think after next week I was re-introduce dairy little by little to see what it is exactly I have to stay away from, and then maybe I can actually eat! :) I certainly miss cheese the most!

Hope everyone is w/ their families for Easter. Have a wonderful day and stay dry. We will be at my brother Ryan's w/ the whole family, hopefully watching Alexandra hunt for Easter Eggs. Emery will watch very closely to scout out where they're hiding them for next years hunt. :)a href="http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb138/tertlover/?action=view¤t=IMG_8031.jpg" target="_blank">

Love,
The Crouchs*

6 weeks and counting...

These weeks are flying by. Emery looks nothing like a newborn anymore and is now an infant. She's so smiley and happy and fun to snuggle. She's working so very hard at controlling her neck, but once in a while still flops around. Her hair has turned from brown, to a medium blonde but her eyes have stayed the same Navy Blue they were when she was born. She loves morning time, and has established a pretty good schedule. She pooped in the bathtub the other night for the first time. That was fantastic. :) We were almost done too. I had to run her from her bathtub to the kitchen sink to start all over... then of course bleach out the sink, her tub and the big bathtub. Awesome!
I had my first glass of wine in almost a year! I had only half of a half a glass & felt a little funny. lol I'm also very happy to say, I am now able to get in the hot tub again. Man, I missed that!
Abby is coming around a little more, but still very jealous of this new addition. If I have the baby and Abby needs to go outside, she still comes to me, even if Chris is obviously not doing anything. We think its cute, but I'm still hoping that she will get more comfy w/ having a sister.



In other news, Chris and Jared had the opportunity to play hockey at the Coliseum after the WinterHawks. It was very exciting to see their teams play in such a large arena. I know Christopher was in heaven.
Chris is about to turn 31!!! I can't believe it. :) We're taking a family trip up to Vancouver BC on the 3rd for a hockey tournament and to celebrate his bday. I'm so excited to take E on a lil vacation. Jared and Savannah are obviously coming as well, so it will be a great time. I'm sure pictures to follow! :)

Well anyway, this is our news. Hope your happy and healthy!
The Crouch's*