Someone Thinks She's A BIG Girl!!!

Yes, yes she does.

1) She's pee-peed in the potty every morning this week. It takes a little time for her to relax (usually I wash her hands with a warm washcloth, and read her a story) but then she does a BIG pee! Her night-time diapers have been mostly dry too, so I'd guess we're getting 90, 95% of the pee in the potty. It's really hit-or-miss whether we go pee pee at night. OH-- but last Tuesday after her bath, she was doing her naked time and she went into the bathroom, lifted the lid on her potty and said to me "Up!" So I put her on the potty and she pee-peed!! We've not had a repeat performance, but I was very excited and happy about that.

2) She went down the slide All By Herself today while we were at the park. And then did it again and again. She doesn't even need help climbing the stairs! She also made a friend while she was at the park, a little 18-month old girl. Too sweet. She's a very social kid right now, and as long as I'm within visual distance of her, she does great.

3) Sleeping is MUCH better. We did a modified night-time sleep thing, and I went ahead and bit the bullet, putting her down in the crib after only a few minutes of rocking and then I just sat by the crib and only reassured her by pats or verbally. The first night it took 75 minutes before she fell asleep. The second night 35. Then it went up and down.... last night she talked to herself for the better part of 45 minutes and then fell asleep. Tonight she was in a funny mood and screamed even while I was in there, I think it took over 45 minutes before she settled down and that took me laying my hand on her and leaving it there. But it's getting better.

4) The night-weaning process is almost complete. It's helped her sleep better at night too. I'll feed her in between 10 and 11, whenever she rouses and I bring her to bed. Then there's no more nursies until morning. I'll usually let her eat between 5-6 am when she asks for it (and she'll sign for it), but this morning it was 6am! In fact, last night we slept from 11pm to 4am without a peep, and at 4am the only reason she stirred was because I got up to use the bathroom, and she fell right back asleep.

5) I stopped pumping this week. She's refusing to take breastmilk in a cup at daycare, no matter how they prepare it, and on Wednesday I had so many clients back-to-back that I never got to pump. On Thursday I just decided not to even take my pump and Friday I made a conscious choice not to do it. I've pumped for 14 months now, which I take pride in, but I'm done!

6) Her vocabulary, both in language and signs, has skyrocketed in the last week. Her current signs are: milk, more, all done, book, sleep, moon, stars, lights, bath, love, kiss, and drink. Her current words are: Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Bobbie, Uncle, Grandpa, Grandma, HaHa (We call Cousin Heather "Cousin Ha Ha" now), banana, apple, blueberry, up, water, milk, juice, more, no, potty, bath, bubbles, sheep, dog, duck, cat, Samson, go, out, book, stepstool, and I'm sure a few more I don't remember at the moment. Oh... and our first sentence is: "I Know!" (or it could be "Oh NO!" but they sound alike).

I'm amazed at how quickly she's growing up! I'll get a video or two up tomorrow to share. :)

15 Month Stats

Emma is exactly 21 pounds naked at the pediatrician's office, and was 31 1/2 inches tall (exactly what I predicted!). She is in the 80th %ile for height, and in the 25th %ile for weight, which is consistent for her. Tall, skinny baby!

She got the last Hep B shot today, and her first MMR. And she had a double ear infection, which explains the horrible week we've had sleeping. We'll go back in three more months for her 18-month appointment. The pediatrician is happy with her development, and so is Mommy. :)


My messy baby girl is growing up way too fast!

Video Time!

Videos from the last few weeks to share.

The world from Emma's View:



We went to a local Metro Park that had a great children's play area -- Emma could actually get up and down on the slide almost by herself. She absolutely loved it! And she started consistently signing "more" this past week, so she used it over and over again.



I'll upload a few tomorrow when I have a chance... bedtime for tonight. Rough day, hopefully a peaceful night.

Reading

We've finally moved into a phase where books are for Reading, not for Eating! Daddy is particularly enjoying this phase. She loves picture books that have actual pictures of babies, not so much other books yet. We did get a "Millie the Cow" book from the library that she seems to enjoy, I think because of all the bright colors.

Her *favorite* book right now is called "All About Me." It is a board book that has different flip pages and things about body parts, and she's gotten where she'll mostly follow along with what the babies are doing. She also loves to flip open the pages herself.

Her second favorite book is "Cow Moo Me" and a close third are all the picture books like "Eat!", "Sleep," "Hugs and Kisses," and "Peekaboo."

Fun Pictures

Just a few pictures of my 14-month old wonder. She's growing up so fast -- when I look at her now, I can barely remember my newborn.

We call her "Pretty Princess Polka-Dot." The crown was $1 at the Jo-Ann's store, and the blanket is clipped together with a clothes-pin! Cheap royalty. :)


And her hair has grown long enough already that she can have another shampoo horn! She absolutely LOVES bath-time. We've had to do a bath every night night, she'll say "Bubbles" and run to the bathtub, and try to throw her leg over to climb in. It's adorable.

Dancing and Drawing

Emma's had two little fun milestones lately. She's learned how to "dance" more effectively by going in a circle. And sometimes she'll hold Mommy's hand and we'll go in a circle together, it's really cute.

The drawing things is AWESOME! She just really learned what a pencil and crayon were this past Monday, and since then we spend time every day drawing. So far it's mostly a scribble, but I'm so happy because she's (1) not putting the crayons in her mouth as much as we thought she might, and (2) she seems to really, really enjoy it! She'll take her crayon and her paper, and climb up on the couch and stay there for the better part of half an hour sometimes.

Video proof! :)

Drawing (and climbing)



And dancing!

Some 13-Month Videos

Sorry it's been a while, but I've finally uploaded some videos to share.

Sunday, January 30th. We went to the park to release some birthday balloons that had a card and a rose tied to them for Grandma. We decided to go down to the playground area and see what Emma would think of it. She didn't play much, but she liked being outside.



This was Saturday, Feb. 12th. We went to the Lincoln Theater here in Columbus to watch the Columbus Jazz PB&J concert. It was so crowded, but a lot of fun. Emma really loves jazz.



Not sure which day this was, but she was just hanging out after playing. The position she was in just cracked me up so much.



Today, Feb 13th, we went to the Columbus Art Museum. It's free on Sundays, and they have an entire room of interactive art for the kids. Emma had a fantastic time, and we plan on going back a lot!

Hugs

A picture is worth a thousand words!

13 Month Update

Just a few updates as Emma is now 13 months and 6 days old.

*Somewhere while we were in Kansas, she grew an inch. We measured her at 31 inches tall now.

*She's been eating solids like a pro, I plan on weighing her on Saturday morning before we go to Toddler Yoga and will update at that point.

*We've increased our vocabulary. She says Dadda, Momma, Kitty, Delilah, Gramma, Aunt, Up, Done, Pretty, and Hi. I think she said Ball and Play the other day but I'm not sure.

*She's climbing more safely and independently. She can get down from our bed without help and easily, and she can get up the stairs quickly. She still needs adult help to get down, however.

*Last, but not least, we got our letter today to transition to the next room up at daycare! I'm having mixed feelings. She loves her caregivers in the Infant room, but she's been physically ready to move to the Toddler room for a couple of months now. We start the transition on Monday, and they do a gentle transition over a 2-week period.

Emma Wants to be a Kitty?

I think Emma wants to be a kitty. :)

Emma the Snow Toddler

OK, so I've been lazy (or just happy to let Mary do all the posting) and have yet to post here, but I'm finally getting around to it. In future posts, I'll put up some fancy-schmancy photos of Little Miss Trouble, but for today, I'm going to keep it simple.

First, a refresher.

Almost exactly 50 weeks ago, during a February snow-dump, we had the bright idea to take our then-7-week-old daughter out to pose for a picture next to the snowman we had built (why did we build the snowman? because the snow was there). Yeah, luckily DCFS wasn't in the neighborhood, and we got this photo of Emma really "enjoying herself" in the snow.

Well, today the weathermorons got the forecast right: we got 5-6 inches of powdery white stuff (the kind that Lindsay Lohan doesn't snort). So we took our precious, delicate little flower outside... and this time, there were no screams, just laughter. Video below (warning: cuteness may cause dizziness and/or headache!)

Kansas Kitties

Doesn't matter where we go, Emma loves kitties. This was a little bright spot in our trip to Kansas.

Long-Needed Update on Sleep

Ahhh.... my gorgeous girl got my lovely thin, very static-y hair. Very cute though!


I've been meaning to type a short post on sleep issues again. Not bad things, just an update. So we pretty much gave up for the short-term on having Emma fall asleep on her own in the crib. It was stressful for all of us, and between the teeth, then the illness, and everything else, we changed the routine. Now I just rock her to sleep and put her in the crib.

Amazingly enough, it's working like a charm. We do our bedtime ritual, I nurse her, we read a story, I turn off the light and sing her nighttime song, and then we rock. It typically takes 4-5 minutes for her to fall asleep and then I get my warm Emma cuddles for another 5-10 minutes and put her in the crib. She'll sleep there -- WITHOUT a peep!! -- for a good 2 1/2 - 3 hours. She had been waking up screaming after the first 50-60 minutes in the crib and then taking another 30 minutes to get back to sleep, so this is a huge step forward.

We bring her to bed and I'll dream-feed her, and then we go to sleep. This is where it's still been challenging. She still wakes every 3-4 hours and wants to feed, and I've been starting the night-weaning process but each time I do, it seems like something comes up. The first time it was her gums swelling and we thought her molars were starting to come in. Then it was this virus that took all three of us down. But now we're back on track. Last night was terrible, but the night before.... she slept (drumroll please....) for 6 hours without any problems!!! Unfortunately I was still up every 2 hours between the call of nature and some insomnia, but it was wonderful.

Another step forward is how long she sleeps. She had been waking up when I got out of bed for work, or sometimes waking at 5am for random reasons. But lately she'll sleep typically until 7am, and sometimes even until 8am! We're averaging 12 hours a night. That, plus her one nap (lasting on average an hour and a half), I feel like she's doing ok.

I'm confident that in the next few months that I'll be able to drop the 1am and 3am feedings (she doesn't do the 1am one half the time already unless she's ill or teething), and I'm hopeful to drop the 10pm one after that. So that would meaning nursing at 7pm when we're getting ready for bed and then nursing at 6am when we wake up for the day.

It would be *glorious* if I could get 8 hours of sleep in a row. I fantasize about sleep still, and the longest I've slept in a row since she was born was 4 hours, but I'm also learning how to cope with limited sleep and how to go back to sleep faster after she does pop off from nursing.

And so this isn't a word-only post, here's my gorgeous little girl wearing her supper. We had turkey, pasta with sauce, and mango soy yogurt, LOL.

MmmMmmm.... Yogurt!

Emma does love yogurt! (soy, of course) Daddy thinks she looks a little like Colonel Sanders in this picture.

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!

Somehow we survived Christmas Eve, thank goodness. On Wednesday, Emma had vomiting and had to stay home from daycare. By Thursday, the vomiting was gone and she had diarrhea all day, poor thing. She was a trooper through the whole thing. But by Friday night/Saturday morning, Mommy and Daddy had the virus she had brought home. Daddy started vomiting at midnight on Friday night/Saturday morning, and I started around 4:30am. He was done vomiting by noon but was completely wiped out from no sleep. He and Emma took me to urgent care by 8:30am (they open at 8am and had already had 4 cases similar to mine) and they gave me an anti-nausea shot and some IV fluids. Despite that, and repeated doses of the med, I kept throwing up what little was in my stomach until about 8pm last night; the diarrhea has slowed down for me now. Even water wouldn't stay down yesterday. Poor Emma -- both parents were lying on the couch in a stupor. We barely had the energy to change her diaper and feed her. But she mostly self-entertained and didn't destroy too much of the house. I'm proud of my baby girl for handling it the way she did. Ugh... it's the sickest I've been in probably 12 years.

This morning we're mostly recovered. We got up and opened gifts, and spread them out through the day. She got a lot of presents -- with her birthday so close to Christmas, there's a LOT in the house, but we plan on taking 80% of the gifts and storing them in her closet, and then bringing out something new every month (and putting something back in). I'll try to list all the presents here (birthday and otherwise) later so I can remember them all for thank-you cards! :) But in the short term, thank you every one for your generosity! She's had a fabulous day.

One Year Updates

At our ped appointment today, Emma was 29 1/2 inches tall (I think she's probably 30 inches tall but she was very squirmy when they were measuring her), and 19 lbs 11 oz. She would have weighed more, but she woke to vomit this morning at 4am, 4:45am, and then vomited on the way to daycare all of her breakfast (around 8:30) and then threw up again around 9am. I did what I needed to at work and came back to be with her, and she hadn't thrown up again today, but we're just taking it light on the solids and giving her lots of momma milk.

She's walking with ease, climbing up on things, and has learned how to get down safely from the couch and the bed. She grabs with her fingers and has her pincher grip mastered, and can easily transfer things from one hand to another.

She loves food! Her new favorite is hummous, cheerios, yogurt (soy) and of course, cake! She really enjoys chicken and butternut squash. And she's loving strawberries and grapes. We're still breastfeeding (YAY!) and she probably nurses 4-5 times a day and 2-3 times a night. We are starting the night weaning process (disrupted by the vomiting last night, of course).

We haven't had more than 4 hours of sleep in a row since she was born (with that one exception of a 5-hour stretch) where she rouses enough to cry and want to nurse. I am looking forward to her sleeping 8 hours in a row without crying or searching for my boob in the night!

She's talking more and more. She says Momma, Dadda, Kitty, Delilah, Samson, More, All Done, Banana, and today she said "Good Nap" after we were done with her nap. She mimics our words more frequently.

I can't believe the cognitive leaps she's making. At daycare she "helps quite a bit. They ask her to go get a bib out of the drawer and bring it to them, and she will. The other day her primary caregiver asked her if she was tired and wanted to take a nap, and Emma walked over to her crib and waited for Cathy to pick her up and put her in it. She'll pick out her own coat. She pushes her arms and legs through sleeves and pantlegs to help us get her clothing on. She walks all the way out of her classroom, through the building at daycare, and out to my car on her own (she knows which one it is).

She is absolutely a joy and a blessing for us. Everywhere we go, people smile and wave at her, and she likes to wave and smile back. As long as I'm within sight, she has virtually no stranger anxiety. She LOVES other babies (I hope we can give her a brother or sister someday).

I'm excited about our 4 days off together. Hopefully we'll take lots of pictures and get lots of cuddle time. I love my little girl. :)

Birthday Cake, Part 2

Happy Birthday!

My miracle child is one year old today. 12 months. 365 days. I'm still in awe that this little person came out of my body, and that she's thriving so well. I'll do a developmental/growth update tomorrow after her pediatrician's appointment, but let's just say that she's had some cognitive leaps lately that just surprise me. We didn't have the best night last night (I'm starting to night wean her and it's not going great) but it's still wonderful to have her cuddling with me.

Long day at work for Mommy, but I'm sending over cupcakes for daycare and then we'll open presents tonight when I get home. Hope to take and upload pictures later!