Emma is 1 Month Young.

The first month went by so fast! Its actually kind of a blur. Your daddy and I brought you home on Friday, June 27th. Moose was in the kennel. Grammy and Paw Paw brought him your hat from the hospital so he could smell you before meeting you. 

So we were home. What's next? You were asleep in your car seat so we got you out, put you in some comfy clothes and set you in your boppy (your favorite). Me and your dad watched True Blood. Inappropriate? Probably. But we had to catch up and you would never know. 

Twins!

Best Friends

Your daddy took off 2 weeks from work and I will be forever grateful for that time! I had 8 weeks of maternity leave... thank you work! 

You had your first doctor's appointment on Monday, June 30th. You had lost some weight, which is completely normal. You were down to 7 lbs 15 oz. Dr Moss said you were "perfect". That's what I like to hear! 

Nerd Alert!

That weekend was the 4th of July. Independence Day! This is day that everyone wears their red white and blue, so it was only appropriate for you to be dressed for the occasion! Patriotic! 

3 generations (Grammy, Me, and E)

The first month was tough, on all of us! We were trying to get used to having a little nugget in the house. We tried to sleep when you slept (easier said than done). My milk finally came in (ouch!) and you started eating every 2-3 hours. You were very gassy. You cried a lot. I cried a lot. I was very hormonal, just ask your dad! BUT... we got through it!

You had a ton of visitors. Aunt Kimmie, Lindsey (Bink), Alli, the neighbors, The Millers, The Wormers, Sarah, Aunt Candy, The Renners, and of course Grammy & Paw Paw and GiGi & PaPa. 

The first month consisted of mainly: sleeping... eating... pooping... peeing... repeat. 

Diaper changing galore.

Cute little outfits (of course)

Practicing tummy time (you are so strong little bug)

LOTs of love!

July 24th you turned 1 month!! We had a 1 month old. Where did the time go? 

The Birth Story...

From the very beginning, I wasn't against being induced or having a C-section... I actually didn't have a "birth plan" at all... I just knew I would be needing drugs and I wanted our baby girl to be safe and healthy. I had my 39 weeks appointment on June 20th with Dr Eia, she had just returned from maternity leave and it was so nice to have her back. She checked me out and I was only 1 cm dilated. This would have been exciting news, but I had been like this for 2 weeks. We were hoping for more. Throughout my pregnancy (if you couldn't tell in m y pictures) I had been VERY swollen. Calves and ankles were the same size. Fingers and arms tingled. Dr Eia took one look at me and said would you like to be induced? YES YES... Please YES! I was in a lot of pain (hilarious statement now.. keep reading). She scheduled us for Tuesday, June 24th 2014. It was only 2 days before she was "fully baked". Ms. Emma was ready to come in to this world and we were too!

We had to be at the hospital at 5am to check in. We had already pre-registered 

(thank you birth classes for telling us about this. Saved sooo much time) so it was easy peasy when we got there. 

Name? Kylie Murdock. 

Ok Ms. Murdock please have a seat. Someone will you show you to your room in a minute. Ok thanks!

We got into our room, sat down for a minute and then 3 nurses came in and got me set up. There were needles, tubes, monitors, blood.. etc. I won't go into detail. Dustin and I met our day nurse, Kim. She was going to take care of me from 7a-7p and did she ever. She asked the standard questions and started me on pitocin or pit. Pit gets your contractions started and they strengthen with each dose. Basically... Induction = Pitocin. I still hadn't felt any contractions yet. Soon after (I believe around 9a) Dr Eia broke my water. She said I was still dilated at 1 cm and to get comfortable, this baby wasn't coming until late afternoon. After that (still early in the morning) I told Dustin that I felt like I was going to be sick. My stomach had tighten, similar to sit up. 

Are you sure, Kylie? That might be a contraction. 

Yes, he was right. It was. 

My nurse came in frequently to ask how I was doing and to increase the pit. She showed us on the print out when I was having contractions and not. There weren't many "spikes" yet on the sheet. Time went by pretty quickly. Around 11am, my parents came in to relieve Dustin for a little bit. The contractions were getting a little stronger and more steady. The anesthesiologist came in to tell me that she was going into surgery and wouldn't be available until 1p or so. She asked if I wanted the epidural now or did I want to wait. Since it was only noon(ish) I opted to wait. I didn't want to be numb all day since Dr Eia said I wouldn't be going into labor until late afternoon. I wanted to be able to move my legs and not just sit there...

Looking back now.. this was not the best decision. 

The contractions escalated very quickly. I was in A LOT of pain! Kim kept increasing the pit to hopefully get labor started. I was trying to be strong but the tears started. Dustin was in there holding my hand the whole time. Mom came in and she helped me through the pain. Helping me breathe, holding my hand. Tears still flowing... I had dilated to 5 cm. 

Finally around 2(ish) the doctor gave me the epidural. Thank goodness! She had a tough time getting it in (for whatever reason) but FINALLY did. BUT by that point I had dilated to 7 cm... and then 8 cm... and then 9 cm... 

Around 4:20, Kim had me lay on my sides to help me get to 10 cm... it helped... 

it was time to push...

Labor was tough! Screaming, counting, crying.. the works! Even though I had received an epidural.. it was too late. The drugs couldn't catch up to my pain, so in other words, I had my girl basically natural. Ouch! Thank goodness for my wonderful husband! He coached me through the whole thing, holding my hand the entire time. Along with, Kim, my nurse and Dr Eia; they were all my rocks! I couldn't have done it without them! I was in labor for little over an hour. And then a miracle happened...

Emma Dawn Murdock was born! 

8 lbs 5 oz

21 inches

We didn't hear the typical cry/scream from her when she came into this world because the cord was wrapped around her neck. Dustin wasn't able to cut it because the doctors had to act fast. Dr Eia apologized while remaining clam the entire time. There were about 10 people in there taking care of me and our baby. Now I know... all modesty goes out the window when you have a baby. 

We finally got to hold her and she was completely perfect!

A ton of hair, the sweetest little button nose, big beautiful eyes. 

She was ours...

Our baby girl...

We were now a family of 3 (+ Moose)

Daddy and his girl

Welcome to this crazy world baby Emma! 

And so your journey begins... 

The Preggers Story...

This whole journey began when Dustin and I wanted to take a trip for our 2nd year anniversary. We went to Jamaica October 2nd through 8th of 2013. 

We coined it our "babymoon" since 10 days later we found out we were pregnant. WHAT?!?! I was 4 weeks along. I honestly didn't believe it at first... I didn't think it would be this easy. I know so many women that have trouble getting pregnant for various reasons, so I thought it would be a while for us as well. BUT the tests were positive, so its a good thing we were "ready"! We immediately told our parents and close friends but it was still hush hush until the official doctor's appointment. 

Our appointment was set for November 15th at Williamson Medical Center with Dr Eia. She is an amazing woman. Always cheery, positive, sweet but also A very informative doc! I was 8 weeks along and we got to see Mini (nickname for our babe until we knew the gender) on the ultrasound. It was a very special moment and there were, of course, tears of joy! My due date was set for June 26th 2014!! After the appointment, we decided to tell the family during Thanksgiving by showing them these sweet little booties...It was very exciting time and everyone was thrilled. 

We waited until the 12 weeks appointment to tell our work. It was on Friday, Dec 13th. We were supposed to hear Mini's heartbeat but it wasn't cooperating so we did an ultrasound instead. Mini was there (thank goodness) safe and sound. Baby was jumping and squirming all over my belly. Dr Eia said there was a flip at one point, so it was no wonder we couldn't hear the heartbeat. 

But...as we all know... good always comes with the bad...

Bad #1 - Christmas was finally here but it was bittersweet for the family because my sweet Mimi, my dad's mom, passed away during this time. I got to visit her in the hospital before she got too sick and told her that I wish she could meet my baby and that I was going to need her help guiding me through this crazy journey. She pulled me close to her, touched my shoulder and said "I'll be right here the whole time". She was truly the sweetest, most caring, selfless woman I have ever known. She went peacefully to heaven. 

Bad #2 - The night of December 28th, an unexpected thing happened... I fainted at Outback while waiting for our table. I was only out for 5 seconds but I had no idea what had happened. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance (first time for that) and we were in the ER until 12am. My blood sugar had dropped to 60! Mini was perfectly fine though, thank goodness. 

Back to the good...

We found out we were having a little girl at 20 weeks on February 7th! We named her Emma Dawn Murdock. We have always loved the name Emma and Dawn is my middle name, so it was set. 

Now we wondered... would she have red hair like me or brown hair like her dad? Blue eyes? Tall? When would she arrive in this crazy world? It was a waiting game from here on... so we had some adventures to fill the time...

Emma got to go to the beach for the first time with her Gigi, Papa, and cousin Morgan at the end of March. It was a relaxing mini vacation. Much needed and we had a blast!

Wedding season..

My best friend, Karly, married her high school sweetheart, Joey, in April! 

Beautiful wedding and an awesome couple! 

My boss, Kevin White and his now wife, Mary, got married in May! 
Great reception, delicious food and some amazing dance moves.. couldn't partake in the drinking festivities but it looked like a good time!

Time to shower Emma with some love! We are SO blessed. 

Family, friends, and work showered Emma and us with so many beautiful things. 

Cannot thank them enough! 

Grandma Hammer, Aunt Candy, Aunt Kim, Lindsey, Mom, Bridget, Me (and Emma)

Her nursery was complete and ready! We went with a giraffe theme complimented with grays, yellows, and purples. I'm obsessed with her room! Its so calming and adorable.. not to toot my own horn or anything. 

We got to see Emma's sweet little button nose one last time before we met her. 

It was almost time!

5:00 AM

June 24th 2014

It was time to meet our baby girl!! 

Let's do this! 

The Moose Story...

Dustin and I have always been dog people. We grew up with dogs.. big dogs. So it was only natural after we got our apartment, got married and returned from our fabulous honeymoon in St Lucia that we would get a dog. I don't think either of us thought we would have gotten a pup as quickly as we did... BUT we did and we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Our weimerainer, Moose, was born October 6th 2011 in Clinton, TN. He was part of a huge litter. The breeder chose Moose for us, which I didn't like at the time, but I think it worked out for the best! We picked him up 7 weeks after he was born and we were smitten! Our first baby.. our honeymoon baby as we dubbed him, since he was born the week we were in St Lucia. 

Lots of sleepless nights. Lots of potty breaks. Lots of whining. Lots of toys. A whole lotta FUN!! Spoiled Rotten dog! 

Moose.

Moosers.

Moosey.

Lets go home, Moose! 

Thanksgiving 2011 (Our first Christmas card)

Its tough being this cute...

Christmas 2011

Human or Dog?

First time swimming with his daddy. Thrilled. 

The hunter in the family

The funniest dog I know.

Moose, you will always be our first baby! 
I love your soft grey fur, your big floppy ears, and your lovable playful personality. 
We love you, sweets!

The Love Story...

Dustin and I met in November of 2005. I was a quiet, insecure Sophomore studying advertising and he was a fun, outgoing Junior...err... Senior (?) studying biochem at UT (Go VOLS). I saw him in "class" well before we met, but that is another story for another day. We would have never met had I not played Club Volleyball and Julia Stoll (now Church) dated his best friend Caleb Church. She introduced us and the rest is history. We said those 3 magic words after just 3 short months of dating. AND 9 years later... here we are... still in love and inseparable. I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Summer of 2006 - Baby Dustin and Kylie

Study break at the girl's apartment

We finally graduated December of 2008. 4.5 years for me, we won't talk about how many years for Dustin. We both moved back in with our parents, which they were thrilled about. Right? He was in Murfreesboro working as a pharmacy tech at Kroger and I started working at Whitehardt, Inc in the media department. For a while, we did the "long" distance relationship. I know... 1 hour isn't technically long distance but it was tough going from practically living together to 1 hour away from each other. Either way, we got through it.

September 2010 at the Braves Game

Back at our Alma Mater doing some tailgating

November 20, 2010 we got engaged in Asheville, TN. We drove up on Friday and stayed in this adorable cabin in the woods. We ventured to the Biltmore Mansion on Saturday. Since it was November they had it decorated for Christmas. It was gorgeous! That night we picked up our delicious meal from Tupelo Honey Cafe, brought it back to our cabin, and he popped the question! The way he did it and the ring was uh-mazing! He did such a great job planning and I literally felt like a princess. I was on cloud 9. On the way home we set the date for October 1, 2011.

Biltmore Touring

THE RING

So in Love and Engaged!

The wedding planning started immediately. We knew we wanted to get married and have the reception in the same place. It made things easier for our 180 guests and also for the elders in the family. We said our "I Do's" on a Saturday evening at Durego in Brentwood, TN. We had both our families and closest friends there to celebrate. I had my best girlfriends, Lindsey, Dani, Karly, Lacee, and Erica in my bridal party and Dustin had his best fellas, Caleb, Cody, Jeremy, and Michael on his side. It was an incredible night that I will always remember... 

So handsome

The ladies

The men

Mr and Mrs Murdock