First came love, then marriage, and now we're strolling around with our very own baby carriage. Follow us as we begin our journey through parenthood, while sharing all the ups, downs and bumps along the way...
You are smart, silly, beautiful, opinionated, curious, sweet, cuddly and can be very naughty. You LOVE: Elmo & Abby, Owls, Birdies, "Pens" (a.k.a. coloring), "Wheels on the Bus" (about 100 times a day...), the color blue, reading, jumping, galloping, running around like the Tasmanian Devil, art projects, magnets, counting to 2, climbing up steps, going down slides, dancing, "babies" (any other child), pretending to sleep (but not actually sleeping), saying "shhhhh" when anyone has their eyes closed, shouting"no!!", pressing buttons, turning lights on and off, brushing your teeth and splashing in the bath. You dislike getting dressed, sitting still, blowing your nose, getting your diaper changed, and wearing hats and gloves. You are a pro with a spoon and fork, and you're eating more foods all the time! Current favorites are pasta, chicken, hummus, bread, butternut squash, string beans, cucumbers, cantaloupe, apples, oranges, watermelon and cheese. You use so many words and we love hearing your little voice. The temper tantrums are not super fun, but we couldn't be more proud of you and we love you soooooooo much!
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!
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 ***
364 days of diaper changes, smiles, feeding, playing, growing, sleepless nights, many "firsts" and lots of fun!!!
Tomorrow this little beauty will be O-N-E!!! She's grown sooooooooooo much over the past year. Here was her very first weekly photo. She was such a tiny little peanut! Those first few weeks are such a blur.... I remember trying to soak up every scent and touch of her. I knew the time would pass by quickly, but I really didn't think one entire year would just FLY by this fast. Wow.
This time last year I had just taken a long bath to try to regulate my contractions, which didn't exactly work. I tried to eat some gnocchi that Shep had cooked, but couldn't stomach it. After a call to our doula and then my OB, we were getting dressed and packing last minute items to take to the hospital. 365 days ago to this minute I was getting ready to walk out of my front door for the last time as a "soon-to-be mom". I had no idea what labor, delivery, becoming a parent, and caring for my little one would really be like. It's been such a wild ride. There are moments from the past year that I will cherish as beautiful memories for the rest of my life.
Emily's arrival changed me as a person, changed us as a couple, and changed the world as we all know it for the better. It's been absolutely incredible becoming a mother to such an extraordinary, fun, spunky little person. I know I say this a lot, but I can't emphasize enough how very blessed we are.
"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for." ~ Anonymous
And now for Emily's last weekly update!
Tried beef for the first time! She chewed on a couple little pieces for a while, but she was pretty unexcited about it. She also very carefully picked around the little pieces of cheese we put on her tray with the beef. {Deconstructed cheeseburger, anyone?}
Tried a tiny little bit of peanut butter for the first time, on the tip of a sliced apple stick. I can't imagine what a weird consistency peanut butter would be for a baby.... she wasn't a fan. :)
Tried yogurt for the second time and liked the vanilla flavor a lot more than the plain yogurt mixed with cut fruit that we gave her the other day.
Took 1.5 hour long nap TWO days in a row over the weekend! It was so surprising!
Soon-to-be passenger of a "big girl" carseat! Bye bye infant carseat... hello convertible carseat! We're really hoping that Emily likes riding in her new carseat more than she has liked either of her infant carseats! Fingers crossed that we picked one she'll be comfortable in!
Attempts to climb out of her pack-n-play and makes it about a third of the way up the mesh side with her feet, while pulling on the top with her hands. I've said it before but I'll say it again -- this kid is STRONG!
Yikes!!!!! How is my baby almost one year old already?!?!?!?!
51 weeks young. Technically, since I'm late in posting this, she's actually 51.5 weeks! Just a few more days until the big O-N-E. Eeeeeeep!
She crawls, she walks, she dances, and as of the past week she is a non-stop babbler too!
Emily started her 51st week making “ga-ga” noises all day. She then moved on to “Dada” {woohoo!! milestone photo op!} and in case there was any doubt in my mind from earlier in the week, she definitely said “oof oof” when we saw a dog -- so that’s also an official word now!
Walking and talking. My newborn infant has turned into a toddler and I simply don't understand where the time has gone!!! ;)
We've been blessed with some really nice spring weather, so we've been spending more time outside. Emily is getting slightly more warmed-up to the grass, even venturing to touch it voluntarily!
The weekend was fun-filled with firsts! Emily visited Long Island {where I grew up!} for the first time, and attended her first birthday party! A childhood friend of mine had a baby boy just 3 weeks before I gave birth to Emily, so we went out to meet the adorable little Trevor and help celebrate his birthday! We also got to see some of my extended family members after the party, and then celebrated our first Mother's Day as a family together the following day at home!
On Monday, I took Emily to a waddler gym class for the first time, where she experienced a ball pit, tunnel crawl, swinging rings, a balance beam, a trampoline, and a bunch of exercises and other activities. She wasn't very impressed with the ball pit or tunnel crawl, though she did finally go through one little tunnel after a lot of prompting by me. :)
She looooooved the rings -- it probably felt to her like she was a human swing! The smile on her face was just pure joy.
Emily's appetite for solid foods is improving, and she is getting very good at feeding herself some finger foods! She used to gag when presented with "chunky" foods, but this week she scarfed down an entire 6 oz jar of chicken with pasta stars PLUS 2 clementines for dinner in one night! The following night she ate an entire banana following her 4 oz jar of puree! She's a growing girl, for sure! Here's a little video of Emily eating some grapes:
The way she moves her little fingers to her mouth, and purses her lips when she chews just cracks me up. I love watching her feeding skills improve over time -- it's been such a remarkable difference in a relatively short amount of time!
Well, that's about it for Week 51! We have one B-I-G birthday milestone coming up in just a few days!!!!!!!!!!!!
