My Big Girl

I will not get sappy, I will not get sappy, I will not get....  Yea, you know.  It's hard.  My sweetie pie is one.  It still seems like yesterday that I spent a sleepless night (one of many) walking a tiny, screaming Emmie up and down our hallway, trying to piece together coherent thoughts that would inspire me to stay awake, wondering if every night would be like this one, trying to see how life would ever be normal . . .  and THEN, she decided she liked us  :)  I remember those moments like yesterday.  Even in the midst of those rough weeks, once she was done screaming her head off, her little face would finally relax in the most precious way that would just melt our hearts.  *sigh*  BUT, we were glad she got over that screaming stuff.  Boy, were we glad!  If you feel like reading her birth story, here is the link.  I will spare you all of that reminiscing today... you're welcome.

Emily is definitely growing and changing.  For the first time in a long time, she actually looks 12 months old!  She just might be getting some chubby arms and legs, too!!!  Her spunk never ceases to amaze me.  She gets this little twinkle in her eye as she lets that food drop out of her hand and onto the floor... a little smirk as she's just about to head to some forbidden object... that "innocent" smile as she yanks off her bib...  Yea, she's keeping us on our toes.  Aside from spunk, her happiness is quite charming.  She loves to giggle at nothing, make fake laughing noises whenever she hears us laugh, and squeal over absolutely nothing.  Her greatest entertainment is still Elyse, but she's finding amusement in balloons, noisy toys, snacks, and bubbles these days.  She's sleeping about 12 hours at night (perhaps it could be longer if she didn't insist on playing with her roommate for far too long at night!), and she takes a naps in the morning (about 1.5 hours) and in the afternoon (about 2 hours).  She loves to sit up in her crib - hands holding the railings, sitting right up against the railings - and laugh.  If she gets tired, she'll start sucking on her finger and eventually fall over and go to sleep.  It's a process, folks.  I love that she sleeps on her side a lot, limbs flung out in front of her, but there's something about seeing her sleep with her little bum up in the air.

Em loves to eat, but she's not as big of an eater as I thought she'd be by now.  Her current favorites are: blueberries, strawberries, cheese, broccoli, carrots, and pineapple.  She's not too fond of spicy foods, but she will try just about anything, and she prefers to eat all by herself :)  NO help from Mom, thank ya' very much!  I've had to laugh at her food envy lately.  If she's eating bread and cheese, and I help myself to something other than bread and cheese, she starts panting and getting agitated.  Wow.  She cut one of her top front teeth, and the other is visible under her gums.  She only has her two bottom teeth at this point, which makes for some cute pictures :)

Emily loves to crawl around the house with something in her mouth.  A piece of paper, a toy, a piece of clothing... anything will do.  She loves to follow me into the kitchen and crawl around my feet as I cook.  I am always amazed that trying to get anything done in the kitchen draws the small two-person crowd to supervise :)  Em loves to get on her knees, but just. cannot. get. on. those. feet.  Hey, can't complain.  She'll do it in her own time, as every kid does.  In keeping with tradition, again, here are the usuals:

fun's:

* I must say, some of my favorite moments are walking into a room and discovering what Emily's up to :)  Thankfully, it hasn't been too terrifying, yet!
* that goofy, cheesy grin!
* I love watching her sleep.  Seriously, I could watch her all night.  Her face is so peaceful and her cheeks are chubby :)
* Giving her blueberries is kind of a joke.  They don't stand a chance.  In a split-second, her little "claw" (the index finger and thumb pinch) grabs them, and they are inhaled.  I'm always checking around her to see if they fell... Nope, she just ate them.
* I love watching her sign.  This must just be a magic age for picking up things, and despite my laziness, she's adding "more" and "thank you" to her very small repertoire.  I must admit, "please" and "all done" are still ALWAYS prompted...

* Getting Em up in the morning is always fun.  She's in her usual "behind bars" position, always waiting on us.  We're NEVER waiting on her.  Her grin is priceless.
* She's been doing more "talking."  Her little "da-duh-na-nuh" cracks me up.  Her eyebrows are all into it, and I can just picture her telling her a story.
* I love her hair.  It's getting kind of wavy in the back.  The other day, my neighbor told me she loved how I cut Em's hair :)  Trying to imagine sending her to a stylist when she can't sit still for me to wash her face.
* I love love love her tiny feet.  They may have grown a smidge, but they're pretty tiny.
* She's cracking us up with her mischief.
* I love watching her try to get Elyse's attention.  She loves to wrestle with her, and she keeps coming back for more, though I'm not sure why.  She'll have a giggle going the whole time.
* This girl now loves books.  I'll often find her in her room flipping through the pages as if she's captivated with the stories.
* I love making her laugh.  It's quite easy these days.
* Emily's been much more of a cuddle-bug lately, which is always fun!

not-so-fun's:

* Her screaming is doing me in.  Screams when she's hungry, tired, impatient, happy, sad, etc... Okay, sometimes it's fun to watch Elyse jump a mile, but it's quite taxing on my ears :)
* I spend much of my day trying to get Em's hair out of her face.  Sometimes it's glued with some form of stick, and it's quite nasty!
* Somebody has the potential to have quite an attitude :)  Still quite attached to whatever she may be holding, so WATCH OUT.
* If you are hoping to hold a quiet baby when you pick Em up, you might want to pick up another baby.  She loves to jabber or squeal.
* She's still cutting a tooth which makes for depressingly gross diapers.  I know it's probably just an old wives' tale, but I tend to think it true???
* I despise that she's going to be done with her bottle as of TONIGHT.  I think that I will have a hard time with this issue tomorrow :(
* I'm sad that I'm forgetting so much of what Emily was like as a baby.  It reminds me that every day is to be enjoyed!

Emily Mae.  How is it that an entire year has disappeared???  I have had to remind myself that this first birthday, as with all birthdays, is a celebration of you, NOT a lament of the passing of time.  As I reflect on this first year as your mommy, I cannot help but be most aware of what a precious gift you are.  You stole our hearts from the very first moment we saw you on the big screen: the ol' black and white ultrasound.  We watched you move around and had no idea that you would add so much to our family.  You add spunk, joy, hilarity at times, LOTS OF NOISE, and so much love for life.  Your dad and I praise God that you were entrusted to us to raise.  I have a feeling that though you won't make it easy on us at times (no offense, baby), you will remind us again and again of God's deep love for us.  Happy birthday, Emily.  We love you more than you'll ever know!!!