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!

50 weeks young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy May!

As of last week, this little pigtailhead is 50 weeks young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mentioned in my last post that Emily got a baaaaaaaad stomach bug.  She was sick for several days, unable to hold anything down besides milk, but this kid didn't let that slow her down!  She was soooooo sick, but still playful as ever.  In fact, the pediatrician commented that she was "a little too playful" when we brought her in to get checked out!  {That's my girl!}  She did get mildly dehydrated, but we were luckily able to avoid a trip to the ER for IV fluids, although it was a very close call.  Unfortunately, Daddy didn't escape the tummy flu.... Mommy was the sole survivor!  ;)

Nothing can keep this girl down for long though!  Despite feeling icky, Emily hoisted herself up on her pack-n-play and her feet were dangling off the ground!  She was holding herself up by her arms.... this girl is STRONG!  That was further proven when she picked up an accent table IN THE AIR, and carried it across our entire apartment.  She was hanging on it, and I tried to move her away from it when she grabbed onto it.  I lifted her up in the air so she'd let it go, and she HELD ONTO IT!  I then carried her across the apartment to show Shep, and she held onto the table the entire way!!!  Unbelievable.  She and I were both giggling the entire way, and Shep couldn't believe it when he saw me walk into the room holding Emily, holding a table!  He weighed the table and it was 5 pounds!  Supergirl!!!

When Emily & Daddy were feeling better, we took Emily to the park to put her feet in the grass.  It's a bit of an understatement to say that she was NOT a fan.

I thought she'd get a kick out of the way it would tickle her feet, but she was trying anything and everything to keep her feet, and hands, off the ground!  If Emily could have hovered over the grass, I think she might have!
Seriously -- what a city girl!

If you want a little giggle, check out this video.  Tooooooo cute!!  Seeing the world and experiencing new things through her eyes is just the best part of every day for me.

The rest of the week was filled with even more cuteness!  Emily tried bread for the first time, and liked it!

On Monday afternoon, we went outside.  This was about a day after Emily had fully recovered from her tummy flu, and I discovered she might have seasonal allergies!  At first I thought she was getting a cold -- what bad luck that would be immediately following the flu! -- but then I noticed that she and I were sneezing at the exact same times during our walk.  Sneezing and runny noses nevertheless, we had some errands to do..... Emily had an important card to send her great grandmother for Mother's Day:

Then we walked by the river to breathe in the much-awaited spring air, and spend some Mommy-Emily time together!  

While we were out walking, I heard Emily making an "oof, oof" noise and it took me a minute but then I realized she was trying to refer to the dogs we saw!  She was trying to say "woof! woof!"  Her little mouth making the "fff, ffff" sound is something I hope I never forget!  Since then, she'd made the "oof, oof" sound numerous times when we saw dogs or other similarly-furry animals, so I think she really is trying to say "woof, woof".  I'm a proud mommy.  :)

 

10 Months Young!!!!!!!!!!

Double digits!!  Look at my big girl!

All About Emily:

• 20.5+ lbs weight, over 29” long, 44.5 cm head size
• Wearing size 4 diapers, size 9 month clothes and size 9 month footie pjs {which are getting VERY snug on her!}
• Has 6 teeth {3 on the top and 3 on the bottom}
• Takes multiple steps regularly now, especially when she's not paying attention to what she's doing.  However, we haven’t seen her take 4 or more consecutive steps, which is what we’re waiting to count as officially “walking”. :)
• Has recently started making the “g” sound, in addition to the "m" sound that she's now pretty good at ("ma ma"!).
• Eats 3 “solid” meals a day: 1.5 oz oatmeal for breakfast, 4 oz veggie/fruit puree for lunch, and 4 oz protein puree for dinner.  She's tried a bunch of table and finger fruits and veggies, though isn’t yet a huge fan of “real” solids.  Emily dislikes chunky purees but still loves her smooth purees, and has mastered puffs and teething wafers.
• Drinks milk and water out of a sippy cup.
• Crawls fast as lightning, and does a funny shuffle that includes inching forward with one leg while kneeling on her other knee.  Shep calls this her Russian Jig.

• Enjoys getting into the pantry/recycling bin/garbage can/laundry basket/dishwasher, licking the windows/dishwasher/oven, and unplugging her nightlight from the wall.

 

• Fascinated by looking out the window

• Laughs out loud when being tickled on her feet or tossed in the air.
• Holds her arm and hand outspread like she’s yelling “hey!” to you from across the street while keeping a calm face.
• Recently found interest in her feet again.
• Pulls on and strokes her hair to fall asleep.

• Enjoys resting her legs and feet up on the wall when getting her diaper changed, up on our shoulders when we’re rocking her to sleep, and up on the chair arm when I’m nursing her.
• Understands “No”, though in her mind it just means turn and smile shyly before continuing to do what she’s not supposed to, or move slower in the hope that Mommy/Daddy won’t notice...
• Likes to smirk and wrinkle her nose while breathing fast when she's in a silly mood.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past month!

 

43 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emily's been sick the past week, so I'm once again verrrrrry late with her weekly update!  Pretend today is 3/21 instead of 3/28 {even though I'd still be 2 days late!}

Before Little Missy came down with another cold, she was doing pretty well with her night sleep!  Falling asleep pretty consistency around 8pm, with about 5 minutes or so of cuddle rocking.  And on the night of her 42 week birthday, she slept almost 7 hours straight!  Woohoo!!!  Of course, the old adage "This too shall pass" applies just as easily to the positive things in babyhood as to the difficult things.  Such is life.  ;)

This week I attempted to get Emily to try sliced apples for the first time, but she wasn't interested when I presented them to her in her high chair.  She took one lick and the tiniest bite ever, and was done.  Funny enough, when Emily saw Mommy eating the apple off the core later on she wanted to take a bite too!  So, I held it up to her mouth and she smiled biiiiig, while taking the smallest baby bite you could possible imagine.  I think she was more amused by the fact that she was eating it like Mommy was, than the actual taste of the apple.  I don’t even know that she bit off any chunks!  But she definitely was proud of herself!

Other new foods this week included: Daddy's homemade waffles, mashed potatoes, grapes in her mesh feeder, and “real” peas, corn & carrot bits!  Unfortunately, she wasn't a fan of most of those foods, but at least she tried them!  She liked the peas and ate several of them, as well as one or two corn kernels, but did not like the carrots.  She ended up gagging on them and then that was the end of that meal!

Emily experienced her second trip to the grocery store.  She was sooooo good the entire time! She sat in the cart with her cart cover, holding on to a bag of pita chips that Shep had given her to distract her.  She quietly and curiously looked at people and items as we strolled up and down the aisles.  As we got to the checkout line, I complimented her saying she was such a good girl.  Of course I must have jinxed it, because a minute later she was wrinkling up the tabloids and grabbing all the tic tacs next to the register like a maniac.  She also tried to grab the pen stylus attached to the credit machine, and stood up in the cart, despite being strapped in!  What a silly goose.  Now I know not to compliment her behavior on future outings until we're actually finished with the outing.  ;)

And in bigger news, Emily got another new tooth on March 15!!!  When we woke up, I checked her mouth and the top left lateral incisor was sticking through!  Emily didn’t even wake up more than usual the prior night, so I was pretty surprised to feel that sharp new addition to her adorable little mouth when I checked -- what a champ!!

Emily celebrated her first St. Patty's Day this week and also met another new baby friend and played with some old friends when we hosted a Baby Sign Language group!

It was a happy 43 week birthday for sure!