Emily loves bath time. I had been bathing her in a little tub on the counter but she would kick and splash so much that I spent more time cleaning up the mess than she spent in the tub. So, I found, what I thought, was a perfect solution. Splashing in a big tub of water with her sister while sitting in a comfortable mesh chair= happiness for everyone. Not entirely. Now, we have a new problem. She has figured out that if she scoots herself down to the bottom of the chair, she can dangle her feet in the water. Poor baby just doesn't understand that she can't sit up- or swim. .jpg)
{Don't you love my strategically placed washcloth?}
{Don't you love my strategically placed washcloth?} Of course, the mess is gone so as long as she doesn't bounce herself out of the chair, we'll be all good.
What I 
The school where she went to last year ended their program, so we are at a new school. I wasn't sure how she would handle a new school and new teachers but she walked right in her class without any problems. It may have helped that they had a dress up corner. In Audrey's mind, any place that has dress ups is a-okay. While I miss Audrey when she is gone, Emily and I manage to find things to do. Shopping, groceries, lunch with friends, sitting around making baby noises- we somehow stay busy. But by 2:30 pm, we sure are ready to have Audrey back home with us.
Don't let the cute little caterpillar look fool you. That, my friends, is an army worm. How do I know this? Well, actually because my dad told me. But, more importantly, why do I care? Because that cute little caterpillar look-a-like 
Almost a year before, I was experiencing a miscarriage that ended with a D&C. I’m not an overly emotional person but that was a really tough time. Even tougher when everyone around you finds out they are pregnant, too. At the same time, I felt really lucky that it happened early on in the pregnancy. It didn’t lessen the sadness but definitely kept things in perspective for me. I was so excited to be pregnant, ready for baby #2, and prior to the miscarriage, excited that everything was happening according to the timeline that I had planned. Then entered the big flashing red sign that reminds you that, “Life never goes according to your plans.” 2 months later I found out I was pregnant again and while I was excited, I was now very nervous. I tried to not tell anyone until after the 1st trimester but I was so excited, I had to at least share it with my mom and dad. The beginning of the 2nd pregnancy was just as scary as the pregnancy before because some of the same things that happened the first time were happening again. Once again, I sat through another ultrasound only to hear the tech tell me that she didn’t see a fetus. However, this time when I returned a couple of weeks later, the fetus immediately showed up on the screen. Then, a mom’s second worse fear occurred- I heard, “You’re definitely not 9 weeks along, you are only measuring 5 weeks.” But that was okay. I could deal with that.
The majority of the Emily’s pregnancy was uneventful. I kept waiting for that energy burst during the 2nd trimester that I got with Audrey but didn’t experience that this time. There was no nesting going on here. In fact, I was the complete opposite. I had a bad case of the nap-filled laziness. Ahhh, how I miss those days. The best part about already having a child is that I never felt guilty for taking so many naps. I KNEW that I needed to take advantage of as many as I could before the baby came.
Fast forward to 33 weeks and enter the dreaded blood pressure. No surprise on my end but this time apparently was worse than with Audrey. I started visiting my doctor twice a week for bp checks and ultrasounds to check on the baby, made several visits to the hospital to hang out with the nurses while we waited for my bp to go down and eventually ended up on bed rest for the last 3 ½ weeks. I love living so close to all of my family but this time in my life made me extremely grateful to have them so close. Everyone was so helpful in watching Audrey and having play dates so I could rest. To say that I hated bed rest was an understatement but I knew that I needed to slow down. I was really sad because I felt great and I was enjoying being pregnant. I missed spending those last few weeks with Audrey. At first, Audrey loved going to play with her family and friends but after about a week of it, she started crying and begging to stay home. Seeing her so upset was the worst part. I think she more excited than we were for her baby sister to arrive so her mommy would get back to normal!
Originally, I wanted to let Emily come when she was ready. Audrey was induced (because of high bp) and I wanted to experience going into labor naturally. Some people questioned my sanity but I was looking forward to it. Of course, because the bed rest and my high bp, I was considered high risk and we went ahead and set an induction date. I went in early in the morning on May 20 to get everything started. Everything was going great and it looked like I might deliver right after lunch. Then, all of a sudden, Emily’s heart rate started going down. I had an incredible nurse who kept me informed at all times and answered my million, bazillion questions. They put me on oxygen and rolled me over on my side. No change. They rolled me over to my other side. No change. Her heart rate would drop with every contraction and at that point, they were coming quick and strong. I was trying not to panic because I knew that wouldn’t help the situation but it was hard to just lay there and watch the declining numbers. I had the nurse tell me everything I needed to know about a C-section and was fully prepared to hear that I would be having one. The nurse comforted me and told me that she was doing everything she could and that she would tell me when to worry. They were thinking that the umbilical cord was probably wrapped around her neck and so we kept moving me from side to side to try to loosen it up. Nothing was working and I remember during one of the contractions, the nurse was watching the monitor (my back was to it) and suddenly yelled at a nurse in the hall to call my doctor. She never told me with words to worry but at that moment, her tone and the fear in her eyes told me to worry. As soon as she left, Brett and I said a prayer and he gave me a blessing. I didn’t know what was going to happen at that point but I knew that we were being watched over. After that moment, the nurse came in, turned off the pitocin and told me they were going to let me and the baby rest for awhile. When it was time to start again, they turned on the pitocin, rolled me over to my left side again, and within a few minutes Emily’s heart rate starting becoming steady. The nurse felt like that last turn had loosened up the cord. From that moment on, everything went fast and smooth and within 5 minutes of my doctor walking in the room, she was here (6 lbs 12 oz, with the cord around her neck). She was perfect and healthy and mad as anything at us for taking her out of her warm home. I still feel mommy guilt that maybe if I hadn’t induced her nothing would have gone wrong but at the same time I wonder if we had waited those last few days with the cord wrapped around her neck if everything would have ended the same way.
I am so grateful for prayer and for a husband who was there to hold my hand and comfort me. Before last year, I never really thought about what a true miracle it is to get pregnant, live your life for 9 months, and deliver a healthy baby. But life really is a fragile thing whether you are bringing a new one into the world or living your own. We never know how long we have in this world and what trials we might face but this past year has taught me that we can face it when we put our trust and faith in the Lord. That doesn’t mean that we won’t experience pain and sadness. It doesn’t mean that life will go according to our own plans. But for me, it means that I can grow and learn from these experiences and have a deeper appreciation and love for the things I have been blessed with in my life. As I sit here watching my 2 daughters sleep, I know what an amazing blessing I have been given. They are worth every minute of pain, sadness, and worry, every number increase on the scale, every moment of nauseousness, heartburn, and every sleepless night. They are worth it all.
Some of Emily's visitors:
Others not pictured: Popa McBride, Granny Wright, Great Grandma McBride, Uncle Craig
It's hard to believe that she turned 3 months old today!
Audrey had her first sleepover last week with her cousin, Kailey. It went so well that I informed her mom afterwards that I'm not going to have a 3rd child, I'm just going to adopt Kailey. We put up a tent in Audrey's room so they could "campout." I wasn't sure how it was going to work out but Kailey was asleep within 5 minutes. Audrey on the other hand... 
