Meet Emerson

This is my nephew Emerson:

Winking ;)

My sister had rough pregnancy and delivery. She was sick most of her pregnancy with morning sickness and colds. Emerson was posterior. They just popped her water in the morning, and she went on her own with no drugs. In the past Terra had a reaction with an epidural. She tries to go all natural. She labored for a long time dilated to 8. Then finally she turned positions and he plopped out before the doctor could get there. Crazy!

All cleaned up! He weighs 5 pounds 15 ounces.

Emerson did very well for having Trisomy 18! He latched on twice with breastfeeding last night. He is a beautiful baby. We will know more today after the ped. doc comes to see him. Last night was all about family, which is what it should be.

The two older rascals are staying with us.

Here I am with my new nephew.

Our Daddy {Uncle to Emerson} holding him.

Isaak with his newest boy cousin. "Hold his head Zeek!" We all said!

Mica literally held him for 5 seconds.

Quote By Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Aunt Terra's baby will be born tomorrow. I think this quote is very fitting considering that his name will be Emerson.

Wordless Wednesday - Feet

 Mica's Feet

 Isaak's Feet

My Boy's Brought Me:

I love the vase that is an ice cream cone!

More then anything I love that they stopped by my work to see me.

Thank you Daddy!

Today

Today is my birthday = I made Lemon Cakesters for work. Too bad Cars 2 isn't out yet. I think I'd want to go to that. Fact, I don't feel any older or younger!
Today is the first day of summer = Happy First Day of Summer to you! Fact, this day sometimes falls on Father's Day.
Today is Aunt Terra's due date = Waiting!!!!!!! I want to know what we're up against with this sweet baby that has Trisomy 18. I wanted Emerson to be born on my birthday. Every life is precious! I was hoping last night's thunderstorms would have made her contractions stronger. Fact, I came up with his sweet name!
Today I listened to the boy's laugh again over the word "Honolulu" = laughter from me too. Aunt Terra gave us nephew Evan's defective Melissa and Doug USA puzzle. It has two Wyoming's and no Colorado. They sent Evan a new puzzle. Melissa and Doug is such a great company! Since we gave him the defective puzzle, Terra gave it to us. ;) It still works. It says the state and capitol when you put the piece in. The boy's continually put in the Hawaii piece to hear the word, "Honolulu." They laugh every time! Then they say, "Honolulu!" Even I have started to laugh inside about this word that they think is so funny! Fact, Mica knows more geography then I do!
This morning is grey = allergies that are sucky! last night it stormed. The sirens went off; we went downstairs. Fact, Mica freaked out! I've never seen the boy so nervous! He was all concerned about his stuffed animals. He clutched onto to his stuffed rabbit he got from preschool at Easter time. Poor rabbit, Mommy put him in the washer; his long fur changed into short wool. His fur is more like a lamb then a rabbit. Mica has hardly ever shown much love for his furry stuffed creatures. He was worried he'd come upstairs and his room would be gone. I kept reassuring him that the storm was no big deal. Another Fact, this made our flooding problem worse in Nebraska! I'm sure in other states too.

June Berry Crisp

If you want to learn how to make June Berry Crisp go here.

It was really good with ice cream and we used it as a topping for plain yogurt.

Nap Time

I found these photo's on my camera that Daddy took. Yep Zeek and I taking a nap. Not something that I normally do {let him sleep with me}, but I did on Saturday.

Happy Father's Day

A little late I knew. I've been thinking it and saying it all day. My dad, Grandpa Spiehs got a plant from us. Daddy got a mug with the boy's artwork and an acupuncture mat by Spoonk.

We went out to breakfast this morning. I was a little bummed. For Mother's Day they had a huge buffet for free; for Father's Day they had just a regular breakfast. Not for free. Bummer! Dad's got gypped! I seriously think the media hypes Mother's Day up way more then Father's Day.

Book Review: Watercolor Summer

I was sent the book, Watercolor Summer A Novel  by Non Corbitt Allen on behalf of Bring it On! Communications. You can buy an autographed copy of this fiction book for $12 here.

About Watercolor Summer:

This book takes the viewpoint of 13 year old Kathleen. Her Mother is a watercolor artist that takes her to an artist colony on the beaches of Northwest Florida. Kat is not looking forward to her trip. She hates seeing her family apart. Her fears become very real throughout the story.

Kathleen wants to understand her mother that seems distant; lost in her own artwork. Her father seems to be her favorite. She openly gives him hugs. His life is busy as a banker. It's apparent that work always comes first before family. Kat struggles with her own awkward teenage body. She spends a lot of time trying to figure herself out. The colony of artists are like family. A few of the characters Kat could care less to be around at first. Later on in the story she finds a true connection with her mother's artist friends.

Jeanette is one of the ladies that helps run the artist colony. In the beginning Kat couldn't stand even listening to the sound of Jeanette's voice. She soon sees that Jeanette has an open heart for everyone. One person Jeanette truly opened her herself to, was her son Malcolm. Malcolm has Down Syndrome and was left at the colony by his biological parents. Jeanette took him in as if he were her own child. Kat thinks Malcolm is annoying at first. He followed her everywhere. Once she learned that he followed her because he was worried about her, her heart opened up to him.

How This Book Related to Me:
I was interested in reading this book because the title stood out to me. We have a few artist's in the family. This book was not entirely about art. I did still really get into it. I could relate to the mother in this story.

This book did take me back to when I was 13 years old. How awkward I felt in my own body. I thought it was great that the author wrote about songs and lyrics in the book that Kat listened to. At that age music was truly an inspiration to me.  

About the Author:

Nan Corbitt Allen is a beach-loving child of the 60's. She wrote Watercolor Summer A Novel mainly for people that lived in that decade. She has a way of drawing in the reader. I felt like I was on the beach, feeling the sand between my toes. I could hear the song of Aquarius playing in the background as the story unfolded.

Her lyrics and dramas have been performed across the U.S. and around the world. She is a multiple Dove Award winner.

Disclaimer:

The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out. Bring it On! Communications provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so choose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration AT hotmail DOT com