Happy 3rd Birthday, Emily!!!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY TO EMILY!!!

She's smart, strong, curious, independent, sweet, stubborn and sassy and we wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you, Emily, for all the smiles you've brought to our lives and for the love you've filled our home and hearts with. You made us Mommy & Daddy and no matter how big you get you'll always be our baby girl.

We are beyond lucky to watch you grow -- you constantly amaze us and we're so very proud of you! Love you so much, baby girl! Sto lat!!!

2.997 years old!

Her last night going to bed as a 2 year old.... tomorrow this big girl will be THREE!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My funny valentine, my baby, my big girl, the most lovable being I know, my heart, the reason I get up each morning (and middle of the night) and giggle each day -- the world is a better, brighter place with your light, laughter and love shining on us. 💗💕💜 

Happy Valentine's Day!!! 😘😍

1.997 Years Old!

Today is Emily's last day as a 1 year old ... Tomorrow she'll be TWO!!

Dear Emily,

2 years ago Daddy and I grabbed our bags and drove to the hospital, at once excited and nervous about getting the chance to finally meet you after all those months of waiting and wondering what you'd be like. I could never have predicted how fast and how deep I'd fall in love with you, my baby girl. The past 2 years have flown by, and I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to watch you grow, day by day. I'm so proud of you and can't even begin to tell you how much I love you. My only wish is that time could slow down -- you're getting so big, so fast!!!

"I am your biggest fan, I hope you know I am, But do you think you can, Somehow, Slow down...."

Love you always, more than all the stars in the sky!
xo, Mama

P.S. -- I hope you have THE HAPPIEST "birsha" ever tomorrow!!!!  :)

Happy Halloween!

chowing down on pumpkin pancakes, stealing candy, and generally enjoying the spookyness!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe day!  Shep and I tried our hand at lion taming, and let's just say..... the lion won!!  ROAR!!!!!!  At least I managed to get ONE photo with her head on.  ;)

Shep impressed us with his amazing carving skills this year.... a silly pumpkin face AND an owl!!  Emily loooooooooves owls..... one of her favorite animals, and she recognized it in the pumpkin carving right away!  Smart lady.  :)

Last weekend there was a kids' party and trick-or-treating in our apartment building.  Emily did some arts & crafts and then helped me hand out candy, until she decided to throw it all on the ground, which she found HILARIOUS!!!!

 

Yesterday we brought Em into my office for some costume fun, and today we attended a costume parade and contest in town!  Since little miss lion wouldn't keep her costume head on, we didn't participate, but we had fun watching!

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!  Happy Halloween!

13 Months Young

This kid is growing like a weed!

All About Emily:

• Wearing mostly 12 months clothes and 12 months footie pjs; still wearing size 4 diapers.
• Current stats (as of 6/1/15):  weighs 22 lbs 15 oz, 30 inches long, 45.5 cm head.
• 7 teeth!!!!!!!
• Eating 3 meals a day, plus some snacks.  Emily loooooves her purees, but we're working on introducing more solid foods.  Research shows it takes most toddlers at least 10-15 exposures to a new food before they accept it, so we just keep on keepin' on!  Unfortunately, we discovered that Em might be allergic to peanuts, because she broke out in hives after eating some PB&J.  :(   Currently, she eats mostly fruits, and especially likes:  grapes, apples, bananas & blueberries.  This month Emily tried hummus (which she liked) and pierogies (which she didn't -- is this my kid????) for the first time! 

• Outgrew her infant carseat and has a new "big girl" convertible carseat!
• Graduated out of the infant room at daycare and is now with the "waddlers", ages 12-18 months.
• Started clapping, and did it several times throughout the day, on 6/15 while we were home together, but for some reason she'd only clap when she went and sat on the floor in the corner of the kitchen next to the trash can!  Crazy baby  :)

• Started saying "la la la la".
• Starting to assert independence and has thrown her first temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way!  Mainly, she doesn't like getting into her stroller and our prior methods of "coercement" are no longer working very well.  :)
• Loves running around non-stop, giggling adorably at her own silliness, and playing peek-a-boo tag with Daddy!
• LOVES dancing, and now she even spins around while she's dancing!  In another week or so, her moves will far surpass Shep's on the dance floor.  ;)
• Knows how to make hand gestures when I sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider"!
• We celebrated Emily's first birthday in a big way this month, which was sooooo fun and memorable.  She got to meet several new people at her party, including cousins Scarlett, Stacey & Robert!
• Something so unbelievable happened this month that I would question it if I didn't witness it with my own eyes.  Emily FELL ASLEEP in her high chair while she was eating!!

She also fell asleep on her own a few times IN HER CRIB!!!  Wowzers, call a press conference because this is remarkable!

• Loves talking to Daddy on the phone...

• Finished up her first semester of swim classes with Daddy!

• Visited Florida for the first time this month (2nd plane trip, but the 1st time with a layover!) where she finally met her other great grandma and cousins April, Jenna, Deanna & Jesse.  She also got to see the beach for the first time and although she was hesitant at first, she quickly decided she LOVED it so much she ate the sand!  Lots of memories from Emily's first trip to the Emerald Coast, including her first toga party & first pinata! 

In other news, I'm a Mommy Ninja.  No, seriously.  We were in CVS waiting on line for something when you-know-who decided to fling her sippy cup out of the stroller.  My hands were full, so I just nonchalantly caught the cup with my legs.  Wha????  Really!!!  #nobigdeal

Here are some of my favorite photos from this month.  I know I'm biased, but I honestly don't think she could get any cuter!

And this is my MOST favorite...... Emily's first "class" photo!  I could just eat her up.

Happy 13 Month Birthday, Emily!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I hope your second year has lots of fun in store for you!

Emily's Birthday Party

This post is 3 months late, but I'm still working on getting back in the saddle, so we're not going to dwell on that...  ;)

In honor of Emily's first birthday, we hosted a super fun pastel rainbow-themed party for our little lady.  We invited all of our extended family members, close friends, and some of Emily's baby buddies too.  :)  It was a great celebration!!!

Here's a glimpse of her invitation, which I purchased on Etsy and printed at a local print shop.

I made great use of Emily's monthly photos for the back!

The party was at a restaurant overlooking the water.  It was a sunny, clear June day so we enjoyed the beautiful views with yummy foods!

My cousin, who is Emily's godmother, made the birthday cake and matching mini cupcakes.  They were as delicious as they were beautiful!

 
To keep the many kids {and adults who are young at heart!} entertained, there was a balloon artist, a magician and a musician.  Sooooo many fun things going on!  The balloon artist was beyond talented, creating jet packs out of latex, and the magician was funny as well as daring, cracking jokes while tossing knives in the air - gulp!  The musician is a woman I met through my local mom's group, and as I expected all the kiddies loved her melodic voice and ukulele!

Emily was gifted with SOOOO many beautiful and special items.  She has some VERY generous friends and family!

We had candy favors for adults {starbursts and kisses} and some fun goody bags for the kids {a mix of mini board books, bath toys, candy, temporary tattoos, coloring books, pencils and silly straws depending on the age} as a token of appreciation for helping Emily celebrate her big day.

The three of us had such a great time...

. . . and Emily was the belle of the ball!!!

We'll always remember her first year -- lots of firsts, lots of memories -- ending with an exciting first birthday spent at the zoo, and an awesome party to celebrate our little girl!


*** All photographs are courtesy of Shep's incredibly talented photographer cousin, Robert at  http://fyimages.com ***

11 Months Young!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's pretend it's still April 22nd, shall we?  ;)

All About Emily

• Weighs over 21 lbs, 5 oz {80th percentile} and is 30 inches long {89th percentile!}!  Her head size is growing too.... 67th percentile!
• Wearing size 4 diapers, 12 months footie pjs and 9-12 months clothing!
• Has 6 teeth, with more on the way shortly I think!
• Hair is long enough to pull back with a bow or mini spike pony!
• Noticeable dimple on left cheek when she smiles big, which is often!  Emily has a big, open smile and sometimes likes to scrunch her nose up and smirk when she's happy too.  When she laughs, she makes a short burst "Ha Ha Ha" sound that is adorable!  :)
• Walking more every day, and is pretty steady for a beginner!  Still a much faster crawler though, so if she's in a hurry you'll find her on all fours.  She also still does her little one-legged jig too!
• Points her cute little index finger at everything!
• Enjoys being around other babies and children.  Smiles and then shyly turns head away from people in the elevator, and also recently began waving!  She's definitely a friendly kid, and being around people seems to make her happy.
• First official temper tantrum!  She was yelling and shaking -- it was quite a site!  Interestingly there was no "milestone" card for this in the collection we have.  ;)
• Very recently been making the "S" and "F" sounds a lot throughout the day.
• Started an impromptu game of "Hide & Seek" with me the other day while I was sorting laundry in our closet, and thought she was hysterical for sneaking up on me!
• Explores the apartment more and loves getting into things she finds interesting! 

• She especially likes tupperware, the recycling bin, laundry baskets and the washing machine!  And it won't be long until she figures out how to open our "babyproofed" cabinets!

 

• Loves climbing over things and crouching under things!

• Bites her forearm when teething.
• Rests her right foot up on her stroller while we're out for walks.
   
  
• Is a pro at using her sippy cup, and has started drinking water out if it more frequently.  Still prefers smooth purees to chunky purees and table foods, though she does eat puffs, teething wafers, apple off the core, and some bits of waffle when the mood strikes her.  She does pretty well at feeding herself the things she wants to eat, and she lets us know when she does not want to eat something!

• Likes "helping" (i.e., getting involved in whatever we are doing).

• Covers her face with my shirt when she's tired and nursing.  Also loves doing downward-facing dog pose {often with one leg up in the air} while nursing!
• "Dances" by bopping up and down when music comes on!  This is absolutely my new favorite sight to see.... it is CUTE with a capital C!
• LOVES looking at books -- she pulls all of our books out of her shelf and scatters them around.  She also sits quietly turning the pages and looking at the photos by herself for several minutes at a time!  We definitely have a bookworm on our hands!!

 

• She's growing sooooo fast and changing every day.  All too soon this little lady will leave infancy behind and move onto toddlerhood!  Gulp!!!