Baby Augustine!

I know I have a lot of posting to do about Christmas and all of the holiday festivities.  But, that will have to wait.  I had to share the excitement of the birth of Cole and my newest Godson, baby Augustine.  (I would give you his full name if I knew it!  Mom and Dad are still deciding!!)  My sister, Ellen, picked us up from the airport and we arrived at the hospital at 5:15 and Augustine was born at 5:03 p.m.  I like to think he was waiting for us:)  He was 6lbs 14oz and 19 1/4 in. long.  He is adorable and it is so beautiful seeing Andrea, my best friend, with her beautiful baby.  A bit surreal actually!  It is also really crazy that I will be doing this in 10 weeks...but more about that later.  Anyway, we are so happy to finally get to see and get to know this little one!  Enjoy the pics:)

So adorable!  Who wouldn't want to look like that after giving birth??

The beautiful Vercollone family

Daddy holding the baby to his warm chest

Cole took off his shirt to hold him so he would be warm!

His first bath

Sisters and Friends.  I am so proud of her!!!

I love you sweet Godson

kisses!

the cute shirt we uncle cole and I made him!

Ellen loving on the baby

He couldn't be any sweeter

"I love you Uncle Cole!"

so so cute!

Of course there will be more pics and updates to come!

Emerson Family Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 12/14/09


I can’t believe a year has past since I last wrote. Time is flying by and it is amazing all that can happen in only a year’s time! I will do my best to fill you in on some of the many highlights!

Our most exciting news of the year, which some of you already know, is that our family will be expanding in March. My official due date is March 8th and Cole and I are loving preparing for our little BOY (Tavian) to get here. Although it is by far the most exciting news in our life, it has also made things pretty hectic. The pregnancy has gone relatively well, but between buying items for the baby, getting the nursery put together, and all the changes that accompany a growing belly, we have stayed very busy! Please continue to pray for our little one and for the pregnancy to go smoothly. We are so excited to meet this little guy and share him with the rest of the world!

Cole has been such an amazing husband and father throughout the pregnancy. He puts up with all of my mood swings, cravings, and indecisiveness. I feel so lucky to have him in my life and I know how lucky Tavian is to have him as a father. Cole went above and beyond and even converted some of my bottoms into maternity pants. He is very handy with the sewing machine, and after I had spent weeks pouting about not being able to find anything to wear, he came to the rescue:)

Speaking of babies, everyone seems to be pregnant! My sister Andrea’s little man (Augustine) is due December 23rd, which means that by the time you read this he may already be here! It is really special getting to share the experience of pregnancy with her. Jessica and Jason, Cole’s step-sister and her husband, are also having a little boy and are due just weeks after us! So many boys!! I know Tavian will love having boy cousins so close to his age.

We continue to love our home and, more then a year later, we are still growing into it. The to-do list never seems to end. Over the summer we finished our backyard and put in a beautiful patio that Cole designed. We have also been putting a lot of work into our family room and into the nursery.

Cole is still working at Woodward Governor and he still loves it. Everyday I thank God that he has a job, let alone a job that he loves! I am working at Front Range Community College in the testing center. The job opportunity came at just the right time and I am very thankful. It is nice working part time and with really wonderful people. I plan on working until mid-February and then we are still deciding whether or not I will go back to work once the baby arrives.

This year we were lucky enough to spend time with family that we don’t usually get to see. In May our nephew Connor celebrated his First Communion and my brother, Sean, and his daughter, Patrice, came out to celebrate. Also in May Cole’s sister, Angie, graduated from High School. Cole’s Grandpa and Grandma came to town and we enjoyed all of the quality time we shared with them. We also enjoyed multiple special visits throughout the year with my Aunt Sarah who lives in New Mexico. And, most recently, my Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Mike came to visit in October for a joint baby shower that Ellen threw for me and Andrea.

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Fort Collins with my sister, Ellen, and her family, and my Aunt Marlene and Uncle Ralph. Aunt Marlene and Uncle Ralph were so nice to invite us to spend the day with them, and as always, the food was amazing!

We are excited to be spending Christmas in Longmont with all of Cole’s family. It is a busy time of year and at the end of the month we will be flying to Virginia to see Andrea, Luke, and little Augustine. We are also going to be there for the baptism and are so honored to be Augustine’s Godparents!!

Thank you for your continued prayers, love and support. We feel blessed to have every one of you in our lives and we pray this holiday season is bringing many blessings your way.

Love,

Caitlin, Cole, and Baby Tavian

Busy, Busy = Tired, Tired

I’m exhausted! I feel like a walking zombie right now. Cole and I had such a busy weekend. It left us less then refreshed, but it was worth it! It started Friday afternoon. I had a work retreat in Longmont all day Friday, so I decided to carpool with a friend from work, had Cole pick me up in Longmont at 4, and we were off to Estes for the night. My Aunt owns a condo in Estes Park and she is generous enough to let us use it some weekends! It was pretty chilly when we got there so we decided to spend the night with pizza, movies, and cuddling by the fire! It was wonderful…but, we went to bed really late. The next morning we met Cole’s brother and his wife and baby (Luke, Brianne, and Bella) for breakfast because they happened to be staying at the Holiday Inn in Estes. What a coincidence!! It was such a fun day, full of good food, starbucks, and a lot of laughter! We love Estes Park and it was very beautiful this time of year!
We ended up driving back to Fort Collins that night because we wanted to try and make a reconciliation service, and because we realized we needed to get a few things done at the house. Late that night we decided to see the movie The Blind Side (we have wanted to see it for awhile now), and we were lucky enough to have my best friend Amy join us! It was a wonderful movie that I recommend everyone see!
Sunday started with church, errands, and then in the afternoon we headed to Denver. Our friends Shannon and Austin live in a beautiful home in Highlands Ranch, and because we needed to be in that area for a Christmas party that night, we decided it would be nice to stop by and visit with them beforehand. They were wonderful hosts and made delicious food…Tavian and I were VERY thankful! We also played Trouble. Yes, it is an old game, but if you know anyone that still has it you should play it. It really never gets old!!!!
We headed to the Nepil’s Christmas party at 7 and ended up staying until 11:30 (see why I’m so tired??) The party was so fun, not that I am the least bit surprised. The Nepil family always throws the best parties, and we always find ourselves in the best company! I looked at Cole at one point during all the fun festivities and asked, “Don’t you wish this was our family?” And, he happily responded, “It will be!” That was soo neat for me to think about. Cole and I are starting our own family and we get to do things exactly as we want to! So exciting!

The drive home was long but I am so proud of myself because I actually stayed awake the entire time and talked to Cole. That is usually SO hard for me to do, especially when pregnant! We got home at 1 in the morning and I feel like I have been recovering since. I guess being tired is the price you pay to have a fun filled weekend with friends and family!!!

There is one bummer regarding the weekend. No pictures! I had my camera the entire time but for some reason never got around to taking anything. How sad is that?? I will try and do better next time!

A Shrinky-Dink Christmas!!

Last Wed. (I know, I am behind with my postings), my bestie Amy came over to have some holiday fun! I made delicious treats, we listened to ridiculous Christmas music (and I am talking super ridiculous..borderline obnoxious), and we made ornaments out of shrinky-dinks. It was super fun! Cole joined us for part of it and we had such a blast making different ornaments. There was a lot of laughing! Amy, surprising us all, turned out to be super creative. I spent a lot of my time praising her work! Lol! Anyway, if you have never used shrinky-dinks then you are truly missing out. I am pretty sure from this year forward it will be an Emerson family Christmas tradition! I made some for Tavian’s first Christmas, because he does get to celebrate for the first time this year (through me!), but I dated it 2010 so it will really apply for next year! :)

A recipe I found on Courtney's Christmas Recipe Exchange!!

Just watching them shrink!!!

Some of the finished products

Best Friends!!

Phil Vassar Rocks My Socks Off!

Last night was so fun!  Cole and I met two of our friends at the Grizzly Rose for our annual Phil Vassar Concert!  This is the 4th time we have seen him perform.  If you have never experienced it, then you are def. missing out!  His songs are AMAZING, he is truly talented, and he is such an entertaining performer.  Although we had a different concert experience then we have in previous years, it was still really enjoyable.  I had to prep Cole ahead of time that I wouldn't be able to dance and stay up on my feet the whole night.  Usually we try to get as close as possible, jamming out the entire time, closing the place down, and with my continual threats that I am going to rush on stage to be with Phil.  Haha.  Things are a bit different now!  My exhaustion was intensified by my lack of sleep the night before (note previous blog), and the fact that I had to get up early this morning for work!!!  I was nervous that being so tired and not being able to participate the way I used to would ruin the experience or make me feel old and lame.  Thankfully, that wasn't the case.  We sat and talked with our friends for a bit before Phil came on (yes, I talk about him like i've known him for years!), and then Cole and I just sat at our table while they went to join the chaos.  Cole is so sweet and I underestimated how fun it is to sit in the back and watch everything going on while getting to snuggle and smooch my hubby all night!  Cole even danced with me...we just danced by our table instead of the dance floor so that when I got tired we could sit again.  And, like the amazing hubby he is, he even bought me an Odoul's so I wouldn't feel so left out:)  I was very tired last night and this morning, but the night was still amazing.  Plus, we got to see good friends!!!

Cole and I with Kelly and Breanne before the concert started.  Breanne has been at every single Phil Vassar concert with us...it is a mutual obsession:)

Smiling with my fake beer!!

Not the best pic ever, but like I said we were in the back.  I love him:)

So happy to be together!  Listening to GREAT music!

But really, you all should go buy Phil Vassar's greatest hits.  At least look some of them up.  He wrote "My Next Thirty Years" for Tim McGraw, "Bye, Bye" and "I'm Allright" for Jody Messina, and "Red Rodeo" by Raye Collin, to name a few.  Enjoy!

What time is it?

It is now 4 am and I have been up since 2:30 this morning...truly tragic.  I don't know what is wrong with me!  I layed awake in bed until 3 but I had way too much on my mind and sleep was just not happening.  Poor Cole has to put up with my tossing and turning..and I admit sometimes I even start to bug him when I get that bored!  Ha!  Don't worry, I left him alone in the bedroom to sleep while I moved to the loft to watch tv and get on the computer.  Too bad there is NOTHING good on tv this time of night.  Well, almost nothing.  Lol, turns out one of the infomercials caught my eye.  Yes, pathetic, but now I want what they call the Ninja.  Why would they choose that name?!?
I must have too much on my mind.  Just some of the thoughts keeping me from sleep:
-i had been doing really good recently with putting everything in God's hands and trusting in His plan.  I am still very improved from where I once was in life, but tonight as I lay in bed I got really frustrated with myself because I started dwelling on the "what ifs" again.  What if something happens to Tavian?  What if something happens to Cole?  I know my own experiences have taught me to fear these things, but I refuse to live my life dwelling on things thay may not even happen.  Especially since I have already come so far to move past these fears.  I guess this just proves I have further to come and more work to do.

-I can't stop thinking about Andrea.  I thought a lot tonight about the fact that the phone could ring any minute and she could be in labor.  It is really exciting but I also have some anxiety for her.  I trust everything will be fine, but I wish I could be more accessible to her.  I hate the thought of her in pain and I feel helpless and disconnected when I am so far away.

-on a much more petty and materialistic note, I would like to find something cute to wear for the holidays.  With my belly getting bigger by the second, it would nice to have something new and pretty to help me feel a little less huge!  I tried to find something today but I didn't have any luck.  Maybe tomorrow?

-i also keep thinking about all the random questions I have to ask my doctor for my apt. next week.  I keep meaning to write them down, but every time I get the chance my mind goes blank.  Like right now for instance!  There is a lot I want to ask, but of course, now I can't think of anything...

Well, I guess I will give sleep another try.  This weekend should be a lot of fun.  Actually the next few weeks should be a lot of fun!  I need all the rest I can get!!  Hope that when you read this it isn't in the middle of the night! :)

2 down, 1 to go

I am officially in my third tri-mester!  27 weeks completed, 13 more to go!!!  I know it is still kind of a lot, but I truly believe time is going to go by so fast, especially with the holidays coming.  I'm trying to be careful about wishing the time away because I know I will miss this experience when it is gone, but it is hard because I am also so excited to start this new journey and meet our little man!
Please everyone keep my sister Andrea and her family in your prayers the next few weeks.  Her little man (and also Cole and my Godson) is due in two weeks, which means medically speaking that he is already considered full term!  I am so excited for them and I just want everything to go smoothly.  Cole and I fly out to see them at the end of the month...I can't believe I will be meeting my new Godson SO soon!  Andrea is doing really well about staying calm relaxed...how frustrating that I project what is happening to her on to myself.  I'm stressed for her!!!  Anyways, prayers would be appreciated:)
Changing subjects, Cole and I had quite the interesting weekend.  Ever since we got that flat screen (his idea, not mine!), it has been a pain in my side.  We had to order different parts for mounting it, we had to redo our main room, and paint has been involved.  It may not sound like a lot but I really don't like it when the house feels chaotic!  Well, we didn't get near enough done on Saturday, which was stressing me out in itself, but Cole also happened to spill white paint all over the carpet in our front room.  Talk about total panic...I cried!!  I didn't have that much time to cry though because we had to do everything we could to get it out.  2 hours later, and years off my life because of stress, somehow we got it out!  God is good...but the experience was still a lot to handle.  I was hoping to relax around the house cuddled by the fire on Sunday, but I guess that wasn't in the cards for us.  Cole decided to spray paint some things in the basement and we literally got fumed out of our house!  It was so strong and there was no escaping it.  We had to crack open the windows and head out for the day.  Luckily we got to do some shopping and it turned out not being so bad!  (You should know it isn't Cole I blame for this crazy weekend...I blame the tv!)
Now comes a crazy, stressful week!