the last day.

dear emme,

tomorrow morning, i head back to work without you.  we have worked out child care so a really sweet woman named liga will be coming to the house to take care of you.  she is from latvia and she calls you "my friend" and you smile a lot at her.  next week, your buddy vincent from yoga will also join you and liga here on mondays, tuesdays, and wednesdays, and i think that will be loads of fun.  i feel much better knowing that you will be in your house surrounded by familiar things.

i know that you will be just fine.  and even though i feel like my heart is being wrenched out of my body, i know that i will be just fine too.

i don't know if there will ever be a way i can adequately explain to you what the past twelve weeks have meant to me.  every day, you have brought me more joy than i thought it was possible to experience.  even though i will be at work, i know this joy will continue....it just won't be the concentrated joy brought by the pair of us together all day, every day.  i have loved changing your every diaper, seeing you wake from every nap, feeding you every single meal.  i have loved watching you learn and discover new things, reading you books, and being completely in tune with your every smile, grimace, need, and want.  i know that we will still have all of these things.  of course we will.  it will just be different.

you are infinitely more amazing than i ever dared to dream my child could be.  thank you so much for sharing in this time with me and giving me the best 12 weeks of my life.  things are changing now, but i know you will teach me to accept our new situation with grace.  our time apart will make our time together that much more special.  it will be hard for me, leaving my heart at home while i re-assimilate to the professional world, but i know you will take good care of it.

i love you my little bunny.

mom's videography...

this is not the best videography attempt, since i was using my phone and it ran out of space before we were totally done filming.  but, it does the job!  emmeline has rolled tummy to back three or four more times today, so i captured it....

rolling rolling rolling....

today, emme rolled over.  it was amazing - i think it surprised her even more than it surprised me!  we went to a movie at alamo drafthouse with our friends alison and cameron this morning.  we saw black swan for baby day (this theatre normally doesn't allow anyone below 18, but they have showings for folks with kiddos on tuesday mornings).  it was quite intense and really well acted and emmeline crashed on me the entire time.  she was so sweet and i love all of our time cuddling.

anyway...we came back to our house and the babies were having play time on the floor.  emme has been getting mad at tummy time on occasion and today was one of those occasions.  i put her down on her belly and she wiggled for a second and then just launched herself over onto her back.  it made her stop crying in surprise - it was so cute.

she has yet to have a repeat performance, but i will persist with the tummy time and we shall see.  for now, though, i'm marking january 25 as the first tummy to back roll...
(i know the hand holding picture is kinda blurry, but these two girls are just so cute i had to post it....)

what emme sees

the video is a bunch of stills i pulled into fcp for a quick test video. larger project coming soon hopefully. this is my first attempt at this technique. it was also emme's idea.

hello world from Justin Browne on Vimeo.

spaghetti and meatball casserole.

i know 98% of our posts are about the young miss, but i swear there are a few other things that go on in our lives (not really, but we can pretend...).  one of those things is eating, and tonight i made something pretty tasty that i think is worth sharing.  the recipe is from clean eating magazine, but i made a few adjustments (we had delicious pesto ready-made from my mother in-law so i didn't have to make it from scratch; and i used ground turkey, but the recipe calls for lean ground beef).  anyway...it's healthy and, according to the magazine, contains manganese which is an often overlooked mineral.  supposedly, there are about 275 calories per serving of this stuff, though maybe a little more since i am not sure how the pre-made pesto compares to theirs, calorically.

ingredients:
- cooking spray
- 1/2 lb whole wheat spaghetti (8 oz package)
- pesto (about 4 tbsp i think)
- 1/3 cup low fat cottage cheese
- 1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
- 1 tbsp wheat germ
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/2 cup finely diced purple onion
- 2.5 cups (one big can) crushed tomatoes

preheat oven to 400.  spray casserole dish with non-stick spray.  cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.  in food processor, blend a little over half of pesto with cottage cheese.  in separate bowl, mix ground meat with remaining pesto, wheat germ, and milk.  form into small meatballs (you want them about bite-size).  add onion and meatballs to a heavy skillet to brown.  once cooked, reduce heat and add tomatoes.  i also added some salt and pepper to taste.  simmer until sauce begins to thicken - about 8 minutes or so.  mix noodles in with sauce and meatballs.  put down first layer in casserole dish, then dot that layer with the pesto stuff.  add the remaining pasta, then dot the remaining pesto stuff on top.  pop it in the oven for 15-20 minutes, then serve sprinkled with parmesan, if desired.  tasty tasty!

*i should also add that i didn't have wheat germ, so i made my meatballs with just pesto and ground turkey and salt (no milk or germ) and they were still moist and delicious.

11 weeks.

emmeline will be 11 weeks old in a couple hours - celebrate. i've been leaving most of the blogging responsibilities up to mommy and figured it was high-time i contributed something profound to the intraweb blogosphere... so here goes. i responded to a craigslist posting (never a good idea really) for a company looking for a photographer to do a product shoot on the cheap. i'm in the process of building out my portfolio and figured why not. the company sells workout clothes for meat heads. not like normal clothes - i'm talking about strange booty shorts for ladies and tight shirts for the mens. these are the kind of shirts that look like they would cut off circulation to every part of the body. they're supposedly rolling out a ton of new stuff and sent me about 9 items they needed shot against a white background. so i jumped in the fo', hit the juice in my ride, and went to the local camera store for some quality lighting equipment. by local camera store i mean home depot... and by quality lighting equipment i mean energy efficient LEDs. picked up some sweet foam board from hobby lobby at half off and set up a mini studio in our living room. while everything was set up, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to snap some shots of emme (babies really love bright lights). so here are a few of the pics i took of this child.

the first book and 10 weeks tomorrow...

2010 started out rather slowly on the blogging front - i was really just getting the hang of it and deciding if this was a medium i wanted to invest some time and energy into.  but after getting pregnant, i found it to be a perfect way to document what was going on in our lives.  this blog has been, in some ways, inspired by the blogs of my cousins who have been faithfully documenting the lives of their families for years now.  last year, my cousin lindsay wrote about her blog books and showed pictures of what they looked like and i am so excited that this year i got to make our very own - hopefully the first of many.

anyway...the book can be made at blurb.com - essentially, you "slurp" your blog into their awesome templates and then you can edit and tweak and format to your little heart's content and then get it printed.  i opted for the softcover 7"x7" book - i love the handheld size, and i always end up ripping the cover of any hard back book with a dust jacket.  it finally came in the mail this week and i swear i have never been more pleased with what $35 can buy.  it also makes me want to write more and more and post more pictures for our 2011 book.

in other news, things are still going great with emme kay.  she is starting to figure out her fingers and likes to stick them in her mouth.  the beanie is still the soother of choice, but i am hoping that she starts liking her fingers/thumb enough to sooth herself that way when the beanie falls out (i.e. nighttime and nap time).  she had a phenomenal week of sleep this week - 2 10-hour nights, a 9-hour night, and only one wake-up the other nights.  i haven't weighed her in a few days, but she was just over 12 pounds the last time i did.  our pediatrician said 12 pounds was a kind of magical threshold where little ones can sleep the whole night long, so maybe that's why she has suddenly become a champion sleeper?  whatever the reason, i am loving getting a full night's sleep.  a few more nights of this and i may have caught up from the first two months....

stuff emme is into right now:
- baby yoga
- dance time, ideally in the moby or bjorn
- anyone singing/dancing for her
- bath time (we have solved the crying post-bath issue and now it's just fun for all)
- mirroring faces

every morning when she wakes up, daddy goes and gets her out of her crib, changes her, and brings her into our bed.  i nurse her and then lay her on her back between the two of us for what we like to call morning exercise.  she is crazy smiley and kicks her legs like a maniac (i like to call it riding her bike).  she can also be really pensive, depending on what kinds of toys we dangle or faces we make at her.  this morning, justin snapped a few shots of her expressions.

finally, i have been meaning to share that jb has been putting effort into getting some photography gigs and it's going well so far.  he created a website: www.jtbvisuals.com and has done a couple of little jobs (second camera for a wedding videographer; merchandise stills for a fitness company) this weekend, and we hope it's a sign of fun and exciting work to come!

10 hours.

yep, that's right.  i said 10 hours.  that is the number of hours, in a row, that emmeline slept last night.  it was amazing.  i am in love with this child.

it's been wicked cold in austin this week.  an arctic front is making 30-40 degree weather feel much much colder than that, and our uninsulated, 1940s house is chilly and drafty.  because of that, we haven't given the little miss a bath in the last two days (the bathroom is colder than the other rooms, even with a space heater).  we have, of course, wiped her down and cleaned her, but our evening routine is slightly off.  despite that, though, she has been a rock star sleeper for several nights in a row.  and last night topped it off with a stretch from 9 to 7.  needless to say, we all feel pretty amazing today.

other than that, this week has brought nothing super eventful.  emme has been spitting up a lot, as usual, but is as happy as ever.  yesterday, she and i went to post-natal yoga (also known as baby yoga).  it's one of the highlights of our week and she loves staring at all the other babies.  yesterday she was making eyes at a 5 month old boy named noah - justin said she needs to stop that.  she also got hungry in the middle of class, so i nursed her a little to get her to calm down.  when she was done, we were working on baby dolphin pose which involves propping them on their tummies on your elevated knees.  the instructor warned that this pose might cause some spit up and boy oh boy was she right.  emme launched an assault all over my pants, mat, and soaked the 2 burp cloths and receiving blanket i'd brought with me.  hilarious.  i seriously couldn't do anything but laugh.  fortunately, i'd brought a change of clothes for her, but i normally have a full arsenal of gear in my diaper bag...of course, the day i need all that gear, i don't have it.

anyway...i'm loving every minute i'm spending with the little niblet.  these are just a few pictures i've taken in the past week.  she notices the camera now - she doesn't get that she's supposed to smile every time, but she does like to look at it.

emme's arrival: the video

this was a great, low-key weekend.  we took the dogs to the dog park on saturday before it started getting cold, watched some football, ate healthy food at home, and spent lots of time playing with emmeline.  saturday evening, justin gave her a bath for the first time (we usually tag team bath time, but i am the one that's responsible for the actual bathing).  it was the first time in a long time that she hasn't cried when coming out of the tub - awesome!  most of the time, she gets upset when i take her out and put her in her towel (i think maybe because it's jarring to go from nice warm bath into the air?  not sure...).  anyway, it was super cute to watch him give her a bath.  i tried not to be too bossy...

in addition to our other activities, justin also finished editing the first of what i'm sure will be many, many emme videos.  this is the footage leading up to and her arrival.


emmeline kay from Justin Browne on Vimeo.

2 months old.

this morning, you took a super long nap swaddled in your miracle blanket.  when you started stirring, i unwrapped you and you proceeded to throw your arms in the air in full victory pose (that's what your dad and i call it) and stretch yourself out like a cat.  then you gave me a huge grin.

you've also been doing this new thing where you talk to your animals (alison calls it talking to your animals and i think it's hilarious and totally appropriate).  your turtle mobile, the animals on your bouncy, the world at large...you seem pretty pleased with everything, from the sound of it.

i cannot possibly describe to you what a joy the past two months have been.  every day you surprise and delight me.

the good, the bad, and the best yet.

emmeline kay.  today was your 2 month appointment at the pediatrician (even though you will be officially 2 months tomorrow).  you geared up for the big appointment by sleeping for EIGHT whole hours in a row.  which means that i slept for almost that many.  unbelievable.  you fought going down a little bit (i think you might be quite the night owl when you grow up), but finally were asleep by about 10:30.  at 1:40 or so in the morning, i woke up and was curious as to what was going on since i hadn't heard from you yet.  i peeked in your room and made sure you were still breathing (what can i say, i am a little crazy), and you were super sound asleep.  i crawled back into my bed and didn't wake up again until the alarm went off at 6:30 (i was so sad about that - who knows how long you might have kept sleeping) because a contractor was coming to do some work on our house, and your doctor's appointment was at 8:15.

anyway...8 hours.  amazing.  i didn't think it was possible to love you any more, but i think i managed to squeeze out even more love since this was the first time i've really felt rested since you were born....

the appointment was really good.  you were so smiley and you cooed up a storm for me while we were in there.  the doctor was impressed with your sweet disposition and she said you're holding your head up in tummy time position at the level of a 4-month old.  so advanced - haha!  your stats are:

height: 22.75 inches (75th percentile)
weight: 11 lbs. 6 oz. (70th percentile)
head: 40 centimeters (73rd percentile)

so all in all, you are quite proportional and growing well and just about perfect, i think.  we talked about your spitting up again and dr. treybig called you a "happy spitter" and said i'll be able to tell if something changes with you, but otherwise to just keep doing what we're doing.

the end of the appointment brought your vaccinations, which was what i was dreading.  you were super brave and they let me nurse you while they stuck you, so that helped a little bit.  you still wailed a bit, but i think that was totally appropriate.  you got a hep b booster, the polio/meningitis vaccine, and dtap.  we got home and everything seemed to be going well - you took quite a nap - and then i think you realized the trauma that had occurred because you woke up crying and you cried off and on through cat naps before i decided baby tylenol was in order.  since you got the medicine, you seem to be feeling a little better, though you have really pretty much slept all day.  when you stir a little bit, i try to get you to nurse, but you're not even interested in food, so i am just letting you rest.  you had a little fever this afternoon, but it seems to have ebbed a little from the acetaminophen.  all in all, i think you're having a very normal reaction to everything, but i don't look forward to your next round at 4 months.

before you realized you were hurting, i did manage to capture a picture of you smiling.  you smile all the time, but i haven't been able to get it on camera (you are usually moving like a maniac when you smile, so all my pictures are blurry).  anyway...i think it's the best picture yet!

also, here's a picture that made me crack up.  i know it's blurry, but i cannot understand how you get this much air when you're playing in your bed...

and finally, here is a tummy time picture from yesterday.  you had spit up all over your shirt, so i stripped you down and let you hang out shirtless for a little while.  you loved it....

8 weeks old - the sleep situation.

it seems despite my best intentions, i can never actually post on the sunday that you turn another week older, emme kay.  this week was clearly no exception.

we spent the week recovering from christmas and our big trip to louisiana and trying to get our house/lives back in order.  it was a good week, even though we didn't accomplish everything we set out to (i'm sensing a new theme in our lives...).  you were awake a lot more this week and you continue to be such a joy.  you really are such a contented little girl - easy to entertain, easy to soothe, and a blast to watch grow and change every day.

i flipped out a little bit on wednesday because of your spitting up, so i took you to the doctor.  even though i knew you were fine and growing and not upset about it, sometimes you spit up what seems like a ton to me, and i was just a little worried.  that, and your 2 month appointment wasn't for another whole week, and we hadn't been to the doctor since your 2 week appointment!  anyway, you weighed 11 pounds 4 ounces, so you seem to be growing just fine.  the doctor also said that if you're not crying or fussy and you keep gaining weight, there is nothing to worry about and you don't have reflux disease.  yay!  i am just not supposed to wear nice clothes for the next 6 months.  haha.  of course, since the doctor's appointment, the spit up has not been nearly as bad (though definitely still present).

other than that, you are smiling and cooing like a champ and i am eating it up.  you are especially happy in the mornings and after naps/eating.  you love being read to and are starting to bat at some things here and there (though i am not positive if you're really batting or if it's just accidental flailing....).  you also really really love music - both our music and your music (the kid music that comes out of all your little toys).  you are very content in a front carrier and your dad and i are both eager to be the ones that get to carry you.  last night, dad won out and he wore you in the bjorn all around the grocery store.  you did amazingly well - you were awake and looking around at all the things to see the whole time!  you hold your head up so well now.  i put you on the floor for tummy time at least once a day and you rear up like a cobra and you can turn your head to both sides.  you have a relatively short attention span with that and usually start crying after a couple of minutes, but i am super proud of your hard work.  you still love your pacifier (beanie), but don't seem to be quite as obsessed with it, which is nice.  you're a great eater, of course.  you're also noticing the dogs more, which is cute.  i hope this is the start of a great relationship between you and your pets.

as far as sleeping, i am having a hard time figuring it out.  we have a bed time routine that consists of bath, massage, pjs, nursing, swaddling, book (and rocking chair), then bed.  i haven't been super anal about times, but everything happens usually between 7:30 and 9.  you usually have a pretty good stretch then - from 9ish until sometime in the 1 vicinity - and then you are up every 1.5-3 hours for the rest of the night.  since those are the hours that i would normally be sleeping, it's a little tough, but i feel confident we will figure it out.  i am just not sure why you can easily go 4 hours between meals during the day, but an hour and a half and you're ready to go in the wee hours.  you tend to fall asleep halfway through your normal consumption, so that may be why you're hungry again so soon, but i don't know what to do to keep you awake!

anyway...at the very least, you are in your crib (for nighttime, if not for every daytime nap) and you seem to like it there.  you know your bed time routine and you seem to like it.  you also have this seahorse toy that my childhood neighbor katy gave you over the holidays that you are in love with.  it plays soft classical music with bubble sounds in the background for 5 minutes and its belly glows.  you stare at it and your eyes get heavy - it's like baby hypnosis.

i love you little bunny - i can't believe 8 weeks have already passed.  i know you will continue to amaze and delight me over the next 8 weeks....

welcome to 2011.

wow.  here we are, beginning yet another year.  we have so many things going on and so many things to look forward to in this new year.  we rang in 2011 with several friends, good food, and emme sleeping in her crib for the first time ever!  i thought it was going to be this intense transition process, but she just went right down and is happy in there.

i love the freshness and optimism of january...i hope we can harness it and hold it all year long.

here are a few of the things we have on the 2011 horizon....

- rachel and chip's wedding in lafayette in march (it will be emmeline's first wedding and her first time seeing the lost bayou ramblers play)
- kim and mike's wedding in jamaica in april.  jb is the best man/photographer and my parents will be joining us in sunny jamaica to help take care of emme while wedding business is happening.  we actually got e's passport photos taken yesterday and they are hilarious.
- the hesterly/browne weight loss challenge.  my parents, jb, my brother, and i all threw some of our christmas money in a pot.  we have approximately 90 days and whoever has lost the most weight (as a percentage of body weight) by april 1 gets the cash.  i think we all over-indulged a bit over the holidays and i am really excited about cooking and eating healthy again....i, personally, have been overindulging since my last trimester....woops.
- the launch of justin's side business: jtb visuals.  more about that later.
- my 30th birthday.
- the birth of baby girl perque in april
- the birth of baby mccarthy in august
- several other friend/family babies joining the scene
- and who can even begin to guess what else??

there is much to look forward to and be thankful for.  can't wait.