Emory's First Christmas

Emory spent her first Christmas at aunt Josie's and uncle Bobby's house in Atlanta. This was her first road trip...needless to say I was a little anxious. I did not realize how much we had to pack when traveling with a little one. How can one little girl require so much stuff??? I'm just glad we have an SUV now instead of trying to cram it all into our car. Emory did great for the first few hours of the trip, she was asleep and peaceful. With about an hour left she got hungry so we pulled over to feed her. I figured we would feed her and then she would fall right back to sleep...no such luck. She was not happy and decided to cry the entire last hour of the trip. I managed to calm her down a little bit with the pacifier, but it was a LONG last hour!

We finally made it to Atlanta on Sunday afternoon. Emory spent the day being held by Martin's mom. I think the only time that Emory wasn't held during this trip was at night. Martin's mom couldn't put her down. I know Emory loved spending some quality time with her Nana. Emory is blessed to have such wonderful loving grandparents.

 

 

After the big gender reveal party on Christmas Eve we spent the rest of the night hanging around the house. Christmas Eve night we exchanged gifts like we always do with the Hahn family. Each year Martin's parents get each of us a bottle of alcohol. We open each bottle and pass it around so everyone can have a sip...lucky for Josie and I we got to sit out this year. Bobby and Martin decided to take a shot of the Irish Whiskey that Martin had....not their brightest idea.

Christmas morning Martin and I stayed home with Emory while the rest of the family went to church (we don't want her around a bunch of people during cold and flu season...especially until she has had her first round of shots). We then spent the rest of the day just hanging out. That night we had a wine tasting that Bobby set up. Turns out that Martin likes cheap wine, and Bobby and I like the middle of the line wine...none of us liked the expensive wine.

We headed home Wednesday morning. The trip back was ok...Emory did not sleep at all though. She was pretty fussy the entire trip. I know she was tired, but she just wouldn't fall asleep. We finally made it home and picked Sage up from the kennel. She was SO excited to see Martin. As soon as she saw him she jumped up and put her front paws on his shoulder to give him a huge hug. Martin went back to work the Saturday after Christmas...I miss having him home with us!

 

 

Having Emory around made this Christmas much more enjoyable. I am looking forward to many more Christmas' with her. I can't wait to see her face on Chirstmas morning when she opens presents and bakes cookies for Santa. She is our Chirstmas blessing.

Baby Reynolds....Girl or Boy???

Usually we spend Christmas with Martin's family in Clinton, TN. However, this year we packed up the car and headed to Atlanta. Martin's sister, Josie, and her husband, Bobby, are expecting a baby in May. I am so happy that Emory will have a little cousin around the same age! Josie and Bobby found out the sex of the baby the week before Christmas and wanted to get both families together for the big gender reveal, and the most obvious time to do it was Christmas. So we drove to Atlanta on Sunday and couldn't wait for the big reveal on Christmas eve.

Like I said, Josie and Bobby found out a week earlier....well, they didn't really find out. They had the ultrasound and made the doctor write the gender down and place it in a sealed envelope, so neither one of them knew the sex. Josie then took the envelope to Publix and had the bakery make some cupcakes. They made some delicious cupcakes and filled only one of them with either pink or blue frosting. So the idea here was for everyone to find out together....everyone would grab a cupcake and bite into it at the same time, and one lucky person would find the pink or blue icing and the mystery would be solved.

The mystery cupcakes...only one is filled!

So on Christmas eve all of the Hahn family (minus Dustin and Mindy who spent the holiday with her family), all of the Reynolds family (minus Bobby's mom who was sick and Bobby's brother), and some of Josie and Bobby's friends gathered at Josie's house for the big reveal. We chowed down on some awesome BBQ that Martin's dad made and then it was time for the cupcakes. Everyone grabbed  a cupcake and on the count of 3 we all bit into it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.....2......3...... IT'S A BOY!

 



Josie's friend Anna had the blue cupcake and yelled,  "It's blue!" Of course everyone was so excited. So it looks like Emory's very first cousin will be a boy. I grew up with all boy cousins for the most part. I only had one girl cousin, and I had a blast with all the boys. I know Emory will love growing up with him.

 

Gender reveal parties are so much fun. I love the fact that everyone finds out together. Nobody knows who is going to get that one special cupcake, so it makes it fun for all of the friends and family too.

We did a gender reveal party when we found out that Emory was a girl. We did the exact same thing as Josie and Bobby. Martin and I went to the doctor that morning, had them write the sex down and place it in an envelope then we took it to the Publix bakery. My parents, Martin's entire family, and some of our close friends came over for the big reveal. My dad was the lucky one who bit into the pink filled cupcake....IT WAS A GIRL~ I knew all along it was going to be a girl. Martin thought boy. He says that I am always wrong, so since I thought it was a girl it had to be a boy....that's Martin for ya. Well I was right.

 

 

 

 

 

20 weeks pregnant

 

 

We are so thrilled for Josie and Bobby and can't wait to meet baby boy Reynolds. Now the fun of decorating and registering begins! Thanks for letting us be a part of that fun day.

Twas the Week Before Christmas

We spent the week before Christmas getting some things done around the house. I went to the doctor and was cleared to workout again...thank goodness! It feels great to be back in the gym, although I am VERY out of shape. Emory is now taking a bottle, so I am able to get out and about a little more. However, when I actually do leave the house that means Martin is in charge. Don't get me wrong, Martin is a great dad for the most part. Why do I say for the most part? Well I came home from the gym and found Emory dressed in Tennessee clothes....we all know she isn't going to be a Tennessee fan! She has better taste than that :)

 

 

 

 The Friday before Christmas we went over to Dustin's house for some of his famous deer chili. This was Emory's first real outing besides her two doctors visits.

 

When we got home from Dustin's Emory would not stop crying...actually screaming. She has never been this loud EVER! We were trying to pack because we were heading to Atlanta on Saturday for Christmas. Martin packed while I tried to calm her down, but I had no such luck. When Martin was finished packing he came to hold her while I started packing. Martin came downstairs and said, "hang on, let me get something and then I'll take her." He went out into the garage and come back in with the ear muffs that he wears to the shooting range...I almost died laughing!!! He said it really helped quiet her screaming and I should try it next time. After about two hours she finally stopped crying. All it took was one HUGE spit up that covered both her and Martin...poor Emory. After that she slept 6 hours that night...I guess screaming at the top of your lungs for 2 hours can drain you :)

 

We finally got packed and we were ready to head to Atlanta for Christmas! Below are some pictures from the week.