"We want a story that starts out with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax"

9 minutes before Emma's official 3-week birthday, this happened:

Many of you know that we live in a new construction neighborhood, so it's not uncommon to get large dump trucks carrying gravel, lumber, or other building equipment down the road. The sound started out rattling the windows in the same sort of way, but I looked out the window, saw nothing, and immediately knew it was an earthquake. I ran into the bedroom, grabbed Emma, and stood in the door frame with her in my arms.
Like the great child she has been, she continued to sleep through the biggest earthquake in Virginia in over a century. For those reading this from farther away locations, we are all fine, the house is fine, and we never lost electricity (or any other amenities).

When the earthquake happened, we were getting ready to go out for Emma's first walk. Today was an absolutely perfect day in the Shenandoah Valley. After the earthquake, we felt it best to stay inside, keep an eye on things, and postpone the walk for another day. Hopefully, the rest of the week will stay nice.

Pam and John (Amber's parents) finally moved into their new house in Staunton this past weekend and we had a chance this evening to finally go over to the house to see them and have dinner. They've gotten an incredible amount of work done for having been in the house such a short amount of time.
It's hard to believe that it's been 3 weeks since Emma was born. Every day has been absolutely amazing and she is growing up so quickly. Hopefully, we'll have pictures of our first walk together in the next post. Until then, here's what Amber and Emma look like most of the time:

The quote from this post comes from Samuel Goldwyn. We started with an earthquake and here's the climax:It should be an interesting week...

Settling In

At the two week marker we are starting to look more like a family and less like a ball of chaos. Emma has found a rhythm for eating and sleeping. It is not the perfect schedule for grown-up sleeping, but it is a tad structured and for that we are thankful.

She is growing every day, so we are trying to take pictures whenever possible. Here are some of the latest:

One Whole Week

Emma has been here for an entire week. She was born at 2pm on Tuesday August 2nd. We have been home since Thursday and we have been slowly figuring things out ever since. Each day we learn a little more that makes our lives easier and allows us to feel a bit more like ourselves.

At first, Emma had a hard time figuring out the whole eating thing, but now that has been settled we are trying to put together some kind of "routine" (which will constantly change... but it is a nice thought).

This first week has been full of fun milestones:

-first "bath"

-the losing of the cord

-eating without the use of a bottle

-first time peeing on Dad (and the second, third...)

-filing her nails: she went to town scratching her face in the hospital, so we have tried to stop that

-two doctor appointments

-growing an inch

-gaining back some of her initial weight

-the cat leaving her favorite toy by the rocking chair: this may not seem like a big deal, but that is a major sign of affection in this house

-first book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

-first baseball game watched: Red Sox vs. Yankees

-first Papi homerun seen

This has been the craziest week of my life, but that little face makes everything seem like a tiny hiccup on the way towards something amazing.