Emerson wore her bunny outfit that was given to her by Great Grandpa and Grandma Norton from D.C. to her four month doctor appointment. She had to get two shots. She weighed in at 13lbs 10 ounces. She was 47% in weight and 67% in height.

Everything went well. Dr Kaufman told us her she had the gross motor skills of a six month old and gave us the OK to start feeding her cereal. She had rice for the first time last night. She pushed it out of her mouth a few times at first but managed to eat about 6 bites.

Three Month Photos

It is time for Emerson's three month pictures. She is growing so fast I can hardly keep up with her. I took Jack along a snuck him on some of the pictures. I was concerned how they would put the two of them together but I think they turned out great!

We keep waiting for her to grow hair but so far there is only fuzz. I guess we will have to invest in more hats this winter.

Emerson Gets Her Very Own Tree

Emerson's wonderful godparents, Matt and Laura, came by today to see her and to drop off a gift that they got her - a sugar tyme crabapple tree. Matt and Justin planted it in the front yard where it will stay. The tree will get white flowers and red crabapples and Emerson will be able to see it from her window when she moves into her bedroom in a few years.

Matt and Laura live in Iowa City for the time being, so they haven't gotten to hold Emerson in a while. She was happy to see them. . . she especially likes smiling at Matt. She has grown quite a bit in the last few weeks, and she was able to smile and laugh and make talking noises. She also drooled on Matt and Laura a little bit, but they didn't blame her. Hopefully, after Matt is finished with his current program at the University of Iowa, we can persuade them to move back to Omaha.

Aunt Heidi Comes to Town

Aunt Heidi, Justin's sister, came to town from Hawaii. She made a stop through Omaha to see Emerson and do a couple of other things.


Heidi is great with babies. She's also great with yarn. She knitted Em a blanket, which is in heavy rotation and has managed to avoid any really bad spills. She also knitted her a little sweater with a hood that Em will wear once it gets colder. Heidi and Emerson got to spend some time together, which we are grateful for because Heidi doesn't get to the mainland as often as we would all like her to.

Em's grandparents came down again to see her and to pick up Heidi and take her to Lincoln to see Jessica and Monica, then to Bertrand to see Jason and his family, then finally to Denver to see Justin Scott and Michelle. Grandma and Grandpa were a huge help again and allowed Trina to get away to the gym and Justin an opportunity to catch up on some things around the house that needed to be done.

Emerson's Baptism 08/10/2008

Emerson was baptized the day before we left for South Carolina at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church here in Omaha. Matt and Laura Low are Emerson's godparents, and they came in from Iowa City for the occasion. Matt and Justin were roommate's freshman year of college (note the last names) and have stayed close ever since. Laura went to school with Matt and Justin as well. We are very pleased to have them in Em's life and our lives as well. They will undoubtedly be a very positive influence on her.

As for the actual ceremony. . . Emerson slept through most of it. She didn't even wake up when the water was poured on her. There were seven other babies being baptized that day, so it was a group affair with lots of happy parents and godparents. She was wearing a baptism gown that her brother and several of her cousins were baptized in, and we had her name embroidered next to theirs. In all, six of the Palmtag children have worn the gown. It will probably be retired after this event, but we'll see. . .

We had a quick reception at our house after the ceremony and we also celebrated Justin's mother's birthday (8-8-08). We were pleased that so many people could make it. Lots of family came in from many different places and we were happy to see them all.

Buried Alive

We made it back from our trip to Charleston in one piece. Jack and his cousin Connor enjoyed being buried alive on the beach. Don't worry. They figured out how to unbury themselves in time for high tide.....

Emerson had her friends with her as well. Newborn CJ Taylor, Lilly Liljestrand and Izzy Walocha spent time sunbathing in their bikinis.

Emerson had her first experience with the ocean. She and CJ were pretty tired after all their shenanigans.

Everyone had a good time, but we were all glad to get back home Sunday evening for some rest. Jack started school the next day at 7:00a.m., so the trip was a nice capper to a good summer.

The First Two Weeks - A Recap

The last two weeks have gone by pretty fast for all of us. Emerson is doing well - not sleeping through the night, because she eats so often, but that's fine with us. She's up to 8 lbs 7 oz. as of last Tuesday.












Grandma Kathy (Trina's mom) showed up after Emerson was born to check her out and make sure Justin didn't screw anything up. ;) She stayed for 10 days and was a HUGE help. She has a way with infants, and Emerson was no exception. Kathy is now known as "The Baby Whisperer" in this house.























Emerson has had quite a few guests stop by. The first picture is with Laura and Matthew Low, Emerson's godparents. They currently live near Iowa City, but will hopefully move back to Omaha once Matt finishes his Ph.D.

Aunt Michelle, Justin's sister, also came from Denver to see her last weekend. Michelle is a baby addict, so we knew she would be by sometime soon.

Kathy's friend, Grandma Bobbi, came by for dinner and some baby time. She and Kathy have raised enough kids and grandkids to be able to help Justin and Trina quite a bit.

Todd and Margo have been taking care of Justin and Trina while Justin and Trina take care of Emerson. Todd makes some really good pizzas. . .













Last night was the first time Emerson and the Taylor's new baby, Cecilia Jane, met each other. CJ was born on July 29th, 2008, and came home on the 31st. The first picture above is of CJ mom, Jen Taylor, with Justin and Emerson in the hospital. The second picture is of CJ and Emerson sharing a crib together.

Emerson gets baptized at St. Vincent's on August 10, 2008. The High's are slated to take their first vacation right afterward. . . Trina, Jack and Emerson are leaving for Charleston, South Carolina on the 11th. The occasion is a destination wedding for two good family friends. The Taylor's will be there as well, so CJ and Emerson will be able to take their first vacation together.

The Baby Gets a Name. . .

We decided on Emerson Grace High. There were some other front-runners, and it was a tough choice. Luckily, the hospital room had a whiteboard with some extra space and we were able to narrow the list down and pick. . . We expect to call her "Em" or "Emma" for short. Her dad is thinking of calling her "Sunny" or "Emersunny". . . until her mom makes him stop. ;)










Mom is doing even better today. She made four laps around the hospital floor and is no longer hooked up to any tubes of any kind. She was able to shower this morning and is now changed into her own robes.



































Emerson had some guests today. Her grandma and grandpa (who have been a HUGE help) stopped in again before they had to go back to Bertrand. Todd and Margo came in to say hi and brought the parents some REALLY good dinner from Jams. Erin stopped by with Dani Jo to see the baby and to hang out with Jack for a little while.










Jen and Darin came in to say hi as well. Jen is due with her own baby girl in about two weeks. We took their first picture with one of them out of the womb. We'll probably have them together soon once baby Taylor makes her appearance. . .

Baby High's Second Day

We had a pretty good thunderstorm here last night, but Baby High didn't seem to notice. She slept for four hours, then for another two or three hours before morning.

Baby High has been terrorizing Trina and using her as a pacifier for quite some time. She got her Hep B shot today and did a few other official hospital things. So far everything has been perfect. Dr. Kaufmann (pediatrician) stopped in to say hello and discuss a few things with us.

We've already taken a few trips around the floor and both Trina and Baby High have tolerated it quite well. Trina's IV is out, and she's feeling more human by the day.

Dr. Martin, the OB/GYN is going to stop by in a few minutes and check everything over. After that, Trina will get a shower. . .

More to come. . .

Baby High Arrives. . . .

Finally. . . Baby High arrived just before 8:00 a.m. this morning. She wasn't particularly happy about it, but she didn't have much say in the matter. I think the surgeon woke her up from a pretty good nap, and she let him know what she thought of the whole event by screaming the moment she was delivered. . . She has some pretty good lungs for being less than a day old.

Trina did great. She tolerated the pain and discomfort well, and is no longer on morphine. She doesn't have much of an appetite yet, but that will come soon. The baby handled all the usual pleasantries just fine. She did object to the eye drops and glucose tests, but for the most part, she was a trooper.

She was pretty vocal in the nursery, so Justin put his latex gloved pinky in her mouth, and this made her pretty happy. She is a pretty strong sucker, and her little hands have quite a bit of strength as well. She's got short, very dark hair and very dark blue eyes. She's been hungry from the start, and has been nursing already. Trina isn't ready to "fully" nurse right now. That will take place tomorrow or the next day.



















She managed to fill up a diaper a few hours after she was born, and Justin changed it with Tracy, Trina's twin sister, supervising. It wasn't the smoothest operation ever, but the job got done and the baby tolerated it pretty well. Less than an entire box of wipes was used.

Jack has been patiently waiting for his turn to hold her, and we have some pictures of that too.




















Right now, the order of the day is more sleep. For everyone.

More updates to come. . .

Monday, July 14th

Well tomorrow is the big day.....

The bags are packed and ready to go. If all is as planned she should be here around 8AM on July 15th.

We still do not have a name, but have narrowed it down a bit. We will need to check her over and gleam a little of her personality before we make the final decision.

I plan to spend this last day with Jack relaxing at the pool. Does not seem possible he will be an only child for only one more day.

We will keep you posted.....

Pics

If you haven't yet seen these, they are the first pics of Baby High. She was moving and dancing around during the ultrasound, so maybe that will carryover into her personality. I guess we'll see eventually.

She's gotten much bigger since these were taken and is running out of room in her current accommodations. We've got the baby room all set up for her, complete with a new paint job and everything else a little girl could want.

Jack is eagerly anticipating the arrival, but he's still holding out hope that she might turn out to be a boy. She gave us a pretty good show at the second ultrasound, so there's not much of a chance, but he's still hoping.

Baby High is scheduled to arrive

Dr. Tom has scheduled Baby High's arrival for the 15th of July. She might decide to come early, but we'll see.

We haven't yet decide on a name, but we have a list of names to choose from. We've decided to wait and see what she looks like, then pick. There are some front runners, and we are trying to narrow the list down a bit, but its hard! Trina is pretty good, but Justin has about 300 dots next to various names in the baby name book. He's trying.

Next appointment is Tuesday, June 24th. . .