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...
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!!!
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. 💗💕💜
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!!!! :)
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!
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!
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!
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!!!!!!!!!!!!
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. :)
