A Little Udpate

Hello Friends! It's been a long month away from my little bloggy blog and I have to say I've missed you! Without boring you with all the whiny details of these past two months, I'll give you the in-a-nutshell version: tax season + 60 plus hour work weeks (don't get me started on this) + 6 month old baby + 28 year year old baby (ahem, husband) + two fur babies = one exhausted Mama! At least we are in the home stretch... about two weeks to go and I can't wait. I'm hoping to jump back into some fun DIY projects and more regular posts, but we'll see...

In exciting news... we bough a new bed! Guys, let me tell you this is the most excited I think I've ever been about spending that much money on a not-fun "adult" purchase, but it. is. AMAZING. In every way. We didn't know how bad we had it before (we were still using my old queen $300 mattress from college). We got an upgrade to California King!!! Honestly, I never thought I would get a King bed for some reason, let along a California King. But the husband insisted since he is so tall and his toes had been hanging off our bed for the past six years (poor guy!). Now we have an extra four inches in length (that's what she said) and the husband is a happy camper. I'm more happy for the extra width. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband more than anything, but clean sheets on a huge comfy bed where we can each have our own space is a very close second (OK, THIRD because of Em:). I'm always hot and am not a snuggler mainly for that reason (also, am I the only one that gets neck cramps from sleeping on his shoulder?). 

A couple downsides to buying a Cal King bed: 1) it takes up more room in our bedroom, which wasn't big to begin with (although this is a sacrifice we are glad to make, and it's not horrible); 2) we also have to buy all new sheets, duvet, duvet cover, bed skirt, headboard, mattress pad, and pillows (have you felt the pillows at the Sleep Country Store? we were hooked, but we ended up buying some knock offs on, where else, Amazon). But the pros definitely outweigh the cons - we get to buy all new bed stuff! I was excited! Some of the stuff we can buy/make over time, but we did get some new sheets, duvet, pillows, and duvet cover right now. I am missing my headboard though. We re-upholstered our headboard last fall (I still owe you guys a post on this) and I LOVED it. I still love it. And I basically want to recreate it in Cal King size now, but we'll see. Our queen headboard now resides in the guest room along with our old bed. I'll post pics once we get everything set up (the duvet cover I want is on back order until May) :( 

Well, apparently I could talk about our new bed all night, but on to other VERY exciting news in the Kane household. For those of you that don't know, Zach is in medical school and will be graduating this June! It's been a long four years, including a move to Arizona and back, but now all his hard work has paid off! Last fall he was applying to residency programs and last November-January he was flying all over the West Coast for interviews. It was a rough December in particular. If you haven't heard about the residency Match Program, here's the basics. You apply for programs, interview, then submit online your rankings for your choice of programs. The residency programs also submit online their rankings of applicants. Then, a computer algorithm matches everyone up! It's kind of crazy and VERY nerve-racking. But, I'm happy to announce that last Friday we found out that we will be staying in Seattle! Zach matched at Virginia Mason in their Internal Medicine program!!!!! He'll be there for the next three years so we don't have to move! We are so happy that we can stay local and Zach is thrilled to be with this awesome program. 

So that's what's new with us lately! Other than that I have been sick for two weeks and lost my voice last weekend which was awesome... and now I'm just trying to survive the end of busy season. I'll hopefully be back soon (or, soon after April 15th...). 

And just because I can't have a post without a little Emerson, here's her totally cutie pie little face. :)

Emails to Emerson

Disclaimer: I totally did not come up with this idea. I got it from Google. Do you remember this commercial?

I just watched it again. And cried again. Like lots of tears. I loved this idea from the first time I saw it. So great. When I was pregnant with Emerson I decided to start the same thing... get ready for some mushiness.

I started writing things down in a journal about my pregnancy so I could remember these times, along with my weekly(ish) posts about my growing bump. But it was getting harder and harder to remember all the little details and to find the time to sit and write things down monthly (or even weekly if I remembered). I remembered the commercial and thought, Duh!, I should start an email account for Emerson so I can send her quick notes whenever I have a minute. I could send her photos and videos in real time so she could have a timeline of her life to read through one day. I gave the email address to Zach, too, so we could both share memories of our life with her. 

It's been one of my favorite things and makes me so happy that she will have all these memories to read back on one day (assuming we still have email by then!). While I was pregnant, I sent her an email when I felt her kick for the first time. When we found out that she would be our daughter. Random videos of her moving in my belly. Since she has been born, we've sent her a ton of photos and videos - sometimes once every week or two, sometimes three in one day. Videos of her rolling over for the first time. Sweet and funny pictures of her being a goofball. Little notes about how we are in awe of the little lady she is becoming. It's so much fun and I'm glad I can quickly put my thoughts down and send them off to her whenever I get the chance. It's very informal and has worked so well for me. I also like that Zach can email her so she can get his perspective too, and it's all right there in one place. 

Once she is grown, maybe on her 18th or 21st birthday, we will give her the email address and password so she can read through her email "scrapbook." I can't wait to give it to her. Personally, I think it would be so cool to have, so I hope one day she thinks the same. 

Now I'm going to go look through my own baby book that my mom brought over a few weeks ago! Part of it is actually a "baby calendar" where there are stickers and notes throughout for different milestones. Another great idea that I might keep up for the next one! Especially since it's so hard to remember years later when they started walking, talking, etc. 

What do you guys do to keep track of all the memories and milestones? Traditional baby book? Email account? Calendar? Shutterfly photo book? Do share!