48 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We started Emily's 48th week by sending out her birthday invitations... gulp!  I guess the countdown to ONE has officially begun!!!

The weather finally started to warm up a bit, so last weekend we took Emily to the park.

Something was different about this park visit though..... this time, Emily wore shoes for the first time outside!

She went on the swing and had fun looking at all the big kids running around.  After she was done with the swing, we stood her up the ground.  She wasn't too sure what those “things” attached to her tootsies were though, and didn’t want to take any steps in them!  She might as well have been wearing cement shoes instead of silver ballet slippers.  Those edible biscuit-shaped feet wouldn't budge an inch!

On Sunday, we drove up to visit Shep's mom.  Emily took her very first museum visit, and got to see a bunch of animals, including turtles, fish, rabbits, a snake and a crow.

She also got some playtime in with some aunts and cousins on Shep's mother's side of the family, which was fun.  Emily had loooooooots of energy for all her visitors!

My little Em was a silly goose on Monday!  We spent the day together playing, reading, strolling, making silly faces, laughing and having fun.

  

All of our shenanigans must have worked up quite an appetite, because after dinner Emily ate some pear, and by the photo below you can see she certainly enjoyed it!  She was squeezing and squashing the pear all over herself, and having a blast, while taking little bites along the way!

Emily is teething -- AGAIN.  Or should I say still?  I'm starting to realize that the first 2 years of life are one long teething process, mixed with some other stuff in between.  ;)  Teething always throws Emily's sleep schedule out of wack, not that it's ever really in tip top shape to begin with.  ;)  I try to put her down for more frequent naps when she's teething or sick, because she doesn't sleep for very long.  Sometimes her discomfort interferes with her ability to fall asleep, but once she's finally sleep, she's a peaceful as a little angel...

"Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move mountains." - Napoleon Bonaparte

On Tuesday, Daddy got splashed by a truck driving by on the walk to daycare, and Emily thought it was HILARIOUS!!!  I can just picture her cracking up, while he was dripping with rain puddle water.  Bleck!  I'm glad she has such a great sense of humor!  It's either going to come in really handy one day, or get her in a lot of trouble.  ;)

Emily had a great week at daycare!  She took a few really long naps, had fun reading books and playing with her classmates, went on some walks outside in the adorable baby-mobile they have, spent a little bit of time in the older baby room where she'll be moving in May, and spent time with her favorite teacher, Ms. N.  Sadly, Ms. N is moving down South and this was her last week at the center.  Ms. N has been soooooo wonderful with Emily since she started -- spoon feeding her milk when Em wouldn't drink from the bottle or sippy cup, rocking and humming her to sleep for her naps, and just generally being caring and attentive.  Emily LOVES her.  Shep has joked on numerous occasions that Ms. N could kidnap Emily without protest.  When he drops Emily off at daycare in the morning, Emily jumps out of his arms into Ms. N's arms.  That is the kind of thing that makes a mom feel easier about leaving her most precious bundle in someone else's care.  Needless to say, I was crushed on my daughter's behalf to hear that she was leaving.  I tried as best I could to thank Ms. N for all she's done for our family, but I don't know if it's possible to really thank someone adequately for caring for your child.  It was difficult for me to say goodbye this week, and it is going to be sooooo hard for Emily next week, not knowing where Ms. N is -- just that she's not there.  Unfortunately, Emily is too young to understand why Ms. N won't be there like she has been every day for the past few months, and Shep and I are both predicting a tear-filled drop-off week.  I just hope it's not too bad.  :(

Well, that sums up Week 48!  Stay tuned for Emily's 11 month update, yikes!!

Emily the Walker!

Houston, we have lift-off!

Emily has officially walked for the first time!  And the second, and third....  ;)  She's been taking a couple random steps here and there every so often since late February, but until yesterday she hasn't reached the "4 or more consecutive steps at once" arbitrarily threshold we randomly set in order for it to count as walking.  We've been waiting with baited breath, and the time has come!!!

Emily is a walker!

To add to the excitement, Little Miss had an audience for her first 8-step walk!  Emily's great aunt, godfather and grandma were all here when she did it.  Ironically, her Daddy was right next to Emily when she walked for the first time, but he didn't quite see it since he was "resting his eyes" {a.k.a. Sunday snoozing on the couch!} when she decided to go for it.  Unfortunately for Shep, his nap was cut short when I yelped with excitement and poked him after witnessing my once-itty-bitty casually stroll toward the couch.  Ahhhh, I'm never going to let him live that one down!

Of course we then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get her to repeat her performance, with limited success.  I did manage to catch a few steps on camera though!  Don't let the wardrobe change fool you -- this was in fact the same day.  ;)

P.S. -- I'd like to brag point out that when Shep and I discussed this milestone several months ago, I predicted that she would walk by her 11 month birthday.  Bingo!!!!  And with 10 days to spare.  ;)  Lucky guess or mother's intuition??  ;)

42 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at that big toothy grin!

To celebrate her 42 week birthday, Emily slept for almost 7 hours straight!!!!!!!  Almost.  She did wake up for about 3 minutes an hour after being put down, which took the total time of the sleep stretch down to 6 hours and 14 minutes, but that's still really good for her!  This mama was proud.  :)

AND, in other big milestone news, guess who got her second top tooth?!?!  Yep!  Emily's right central incisor finally started to cut through on March 9.  I felt like it had been coming forever, and now it's finally here!  Unfortunately that hasn't given her much reprieve in the discomfort department as far as I can see, because she's had a couple clingy / cranky days.  But luckily it's nothing a little extra TLC {and teething remedies} can't help cure!  My poor baby.  In fact, Emily's so crafty that she's invented her own teething remedy.  It's called "licking or pressing her mouth against anything that's cold".  See Exhibit A:

 

She is also extra fascinated this week with looking out the window.  Shep guessed maybe it's because she's tired of being inside so much due to the cold weather, but she does it even if we've just been outside for a long walk, so I'm not sure that cabin fever is the reason.  She pulls the curtain aside and stands there staring and sometimes banging on the window.  Never mind a penny for a thought -- I'd trade all the money in my bank account to be able to know what this smart, spunky little lady is thinking in that beautiful head of hers...

Emily loooooooves to look at books.  She can sit for 5 minutes at a time, entertaining herself, flipping through her books -- looking intently at the photos and text.  We officially have a little book worm on our hands!

This weekend Emily lost an hour of sleep thanks to Daylight Savings Time {like she needs any encouragement in that department...}.  She also visited Connecticut for the first time, and met several more family friends!

Just like our last road trip, she did great in the car on the way there -- sleeping a total of nearly 1.5 hours in the car -- but didn't fare so well the next day while coming home.  Ah, well, 1 out of 2 ain't bad!!

Emily tried crinkle-cut steamed carrots for the first time and was not a fan.  She eats pureed carrots pretty regularly and likes them, so I think it was the texture.  This girl has eyes for food, and chews very well, but doesn't really love the actuality of swallowing the solid foods.  But she is trying new things and making progress, so I'm proud!

In other news, last Monday was *hopefully* Emily's last day on Prevacid!  We tried weaning her off it back in September, but we ended up having to put her back on it because the reflux got worse a few weeks later.  But, since she's much older now and hasn't had that many reflux symptoms lately, we're hoping this is really the end of her need for meds.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Hopefully the snow storm that started out the week will be her LAST of this year!  I can't wait for spring to arrive, though it's funny to think that this will be Em's SECOND spring!  Yikes!!

40 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 40th, Em!!!  This week has been a busy one for you!

On Friday, you attended a baby music class for the first time!  It was entertaining to watch you listen to the music and look at all the other babies.  There is one song where the music instructor incorporates all of the babies' names into a song, and each of the babies faces lit up when they heard their names being sung.  You looked a little confused as to how this stranger knew your name.  You were crawling all over the place, playing with all the different musical instruments and tried to take the teacher’s bag and papers!  You did have fun singing and dancing though.  :)

On Saturday you took what might have been your first standing step!!  You were on your play mat and Daddy was sitting on the couch.  He said you might have took a step to get closer to him, but I only saw you out of the corner of my eye so I can’t say for sure. ;)

On Sunday you turned 9 months old!  To celebrate the momentous occasion, you tried stage 3 purees for the first time -- chicken with stars!  It didn't seem like you loved the little chunks, but you tolerated them and ate it up!

On Monday, you finally cut your first top tooth!  We've been waiting for that bugger to come out for a while.  You also possibly took 3 steps towards me -- or maybe just fell/fumbled, I couldn't tell -- while I was sitting on the floor in the living playing with you!!  You took a 1 hour & 2 minute nap in your crib on Monday morning!!!  {Mommy & Daddy were both shocked!}  Also on Monday, you tried pasta (plain rotini) for the first time!  You put it into your mouth and chewed it, but didn't really seem too impressed. Monday marked 39 weeks & 4 days since you're birth, so you've officially been out in the world longer than you were cooking in Mommy's tummy!

You tried pureed beef for the first time on Wednesday, and also tried a stage 3 chicken casserole puree on Tuesday!  You didn't love the beef, but I was able to water it down with some winter squash for you.  The chicken casserole was a no-go....you don't want the thicker/textured purees yet, and that's okay -- at least you tried it!  :)  

You've been making a lot of "ma" sounds this week.

You played with your stuffed monkey instead of crying when you woke up on Thursday morning!

All in all it was a fun-filled week!!!

39 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't believe this little sweetie pie has been outside in the real world almost as long as she was inside my belly!

Shep pointed out an interesting excerpt from our 38 week pregnancy update that I linked to last week, which I wanted to share here:

Shockingly, baby is still very active and moving around a lot, despite the fact that it must be cramped quarters in there! I'm glad this little one is still having a jolly good time in my belly; I just hope s/he keeps its head down! I'm really curious to see how squirmy and squigly this baby is outside of the womb, and whether the "real world" activity level will be the same or totally different than in utero!

I think we ALL know the answer to that one!  ;)

Thinking back on those last weeks of my pregnancy is surreal.  It seems like it was just yesterday, yet at the same time it is so hard to imagine life before I got to hold my dear sweet Emily in my arms every day.  In those last couple weeks I was scared.... terrified even!.... of labor and delivery and even moreso for being responsible for keeping another fragile and helpless human alive.  It seems so silly to me now that I worried over such things.  I also remember the anticipation.  Wondering whether we'd be blessed with a little bundle of pink or blue, what name we'd settle on, and how it would feel to hold MY newborn baby and walk back into our home as a family of three after leaving for the hospital as a couple.  There were just so many emotions floating around in those days, and I wish I could have bottled them all up and stored them in my memory box.  It's wacky to me to think I'll never again know what it will be like to have my first baby.  To become an actual mother for the first time, instead of just mentally preparing for it.  I recently came across a post on Scary Mommy that struck a couple familiar chords in my nostalgic heart and accurately summed up a lot of the feelings I experienced during the end of my own pregnancy:

http://www.scarymommy.com/the-end-of-pregnancy/

I will focus less on the aches and pains, the fear of the impending labor and delivery, and the worry that that crippling sensation might actually be you trying to punch your way out of me. Instead, I will close my eyes and feel you — really FEEL you — living a whole little life inside of me. I will imagine what you look like, wonder what you are dreaming about in there and whether you know it’s my hand meeting yours on the other end of those countless tiny blows. No one else on this Earth has felt you the way I have, and this otherworldly connection between us will come to an abrupt end before we know it. Though one day soon I’ll no longer be able to feel your kicks, I know the days will come when I will instead feel you wrap your arms around my neck and nuzzle your head into my shoulder, feel you slip your warm hand into mine to know you are safe, feel you twirl my hair in your tiny fingers as you drift off to sleep in my arms.

The seasons are changing in our hearts and home as we prepare for your arrival, Baby. With the pressure of so much still to do before you get here, it’s been easy to forget how fleeting and extraordinary our pregnancy together has been. .... It’s been a privilege to carry you, and I can’t wait to look into your eyes and tell you how much I already love you.

***

Just as pregnancy flew by, 39 weeks of Emily's life have passed by in the blink of an eye.

This week Emily tried for the first time pureed broccoli {separately mixed first with apples and then with carrots} and pureed chicken risotto with portabella mushrooms {she's so fancy!}, and loved them both!  A girl after my own tummy.  ;)  She's a rockstar with her morning oatmeal and purees -- fruits, veggies and proteins -- but doesn't really seem to love any "table food" solids yet.  She can adeptly feed herself puffs, and they are growing on her.  She wasn't a fan of them at first, and would make a face that looked like I was making her chew rubber, but this week at daycare she ate a bunch of them and had some after dinner a couple nights too.  It is soooooo cute to see her pick the little puffs up with her adorably chubby fingers and navigate them into her mouth.  Her little jaw/tooth chewing action is equally entertaining to watch.  I could just eat this little munchkin up.... I adore her every move and am so proud of everything she can do, despite the fact that I feel like she's growing up waaaaaay too quickly!

Speaking of food, guess who ate in a big girl high chair for the first time at the mall with Mommy & Daddy!

I can't take those dangling tootsies!!!

Emily also celebrated her very first Valentine's Day!  It's safe to say that she had several valentines pining after her affection, which I'm sure is not going to change any time soon!!

We had a little pre-V-day photo shoot last week so that Emily could send some love notes out to her favorite kiddies, which resulted in a bunch of great bloopers.  Warning for those of you sensitive to sugar -- sweetness overload ahead!!!

Emily is getting into all kinds of fun!  Last Sunday she grabbed the remote control off the couch and started laughing maniacally like a super villain about it!  Good thing the camera was nearby, because this is too funny to miss:

I tell you, this kiddo is a constant source of entertainment!  I'm pretty sure she gets her sense of fun and humor from me, of course!  ;)  I feel so blessed to be her one and only Mommy, and love every memory I am making with Emily and her sweet Daddy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, from someone sweeter than candy and more beautiful than all the flowers in the world... our little sweetheart!!!

xoxo, Emily

Standing!

For the proper effect, this post should be read to the sound of Gloria Estefan singing "Get On Your Feet".  ;)

Guess what everybody??

Over the past week or so, Emily has had some brief moments of adventure where she's actually LET GO of whatever she was holding onto for balance to stand up.  I'm pretty sure that at first she did it unknowingly, due to being distracted by whatever toy she was holding {or trying to eat} at the time.  But whether Emily knew she was doing it or not, this mama took notice.  Over time, she also slowly went from clinging onto the ottoman, to standing arms-length away while using both hands to steady herself, to using only one hand for balance.  And so began the exciting/dreaded countdown to her officially being able to stand on her own!  The first few times it happened, she only stood for about a second before she'd realize she wasn't holding on, then wobble and plop down on her tiny hiney.  Once or twice last week she even transitioned from a squatting position to a standing position without holing on!  But on Sunday afternoon she let go of the ottoman she has been leaning on for the past several weeks, and stood independently for what seemed like FOREVER.  As I started counting, I realized it was more like 3 seconds , but do you know how long 3 seconds actually lasts when you're peering with amazement at your little baby doing something incredible?????  3 seconds is pretty impressive for an 8 month old learning to stand, if I do say so myself!!!

In typical Nicole/photo-addict fashion, I immediately wondered when I could officially break out the milestone card.  ;)  I didn't want to get ahead of myself if her little second standing sessions don't "count" as standing -- I'm a first time mom, what do I know about the official rules of standing?!  ;)  A friend made a good point though, which is that if I wait for her to stand for too long, the moment will be gone because by then she'll be taking steps and then it will be time to break out the walking milestone card.  ;)  So, I settled on the 5 second rule.  If it works for food on the ground then I figured it could work for feet on the ground.  ;)  Well, lo and behold, today was the day!

This baby never ceases to impress me!  She is one determined, adventurous, brave, and strong little girl, and I am one incredibly proud mommy!!

29 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Thursday, Emily hit her 29 week birthday!  Unfortunately, she also had her first cold {sniff, sniff} so we had to postpone her photo shoot a day.  ;)  Here she is on Friday, in all her drippy-nosed glory!

Over the past week she's been crawling, crawling, everywhere!

And despite all the many dozens of toys and a beautiful play mat we have for her, she just looooooooooooves going under that couch!  She makes a b-line for it several times per day.  Cutie pie.

Emily can now play the piano while sitting up!

I call her Little Schroeder.  :)

Last weekend, she perfected the art of blowing raspberries and soaked both me and the arm of a chair while on a raspberry-blowing kick!  She thought it was hysterical.

And when this baby is smiling, one can't help but join her!

I wish I could box up that happiness and save it for a rainy day.

Emily also learned how to get herself into a sitting position from her tummy last weekend, just about a week after being able to sit up on her own unsupported.  Move over Alicia Keys, because THIS girl is on fire!

Now that's she's pulling herself up, we had to lower her crib mattress!  Mommy may have gotten a little teary at this big milestone!  My baby girl is growing up sooooo fast!