Emma is 13 months old today! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating her birthday!
She is getting much quicker and starting to run. She especially likes running after dogs. She is very intrigued by dogs, but doesn't like to get too close.
We think it's funny that she has just learned how to crawl, in probably the last month or so. She likes being able to explore and get to small places or into corners that she's not supposed to get into.
She can't climb up onto the couch yet, but tries very hard every day. At this point, it's just a matter of time. Once on the couch, she makes her way to the arm to try to climb up on the end table and get the remote controls or the xbox controller.
She is a pro at climbing stairs and is relatively proficient at coming down. (We still pay close attention to coming down, but tend not to worry when she climbs up)
She is starting to talk a bit more. She says "bubble" very clearly as well as "Dora" when she wants to watch Dora the Explorer. We've also heard "book" and "cheese" in addition to yes, no, mama, and dada that she's been using for a while.
She knows what most of her toys are and will bring them to you if asked (unless of course she doesn't want to) and can point out objects in books as well as trees outside.
She is getting very opinionated on what she wants to eat when. In the morning, we offer her 3 choices for breakfast: oatmeal, cheerios and milk, or a banana. She lets us know if she wants milk or water. She also goes to either the pantry or refrigerator to pick out snacks.
She loves giving us hugs and kisses. If we ask for a kiss and she doesn't want to kiss us, she'll lean her head forward so that we can kiss her forehead.
She is growing up before our eyes! Every few days one of us will say, "Emma looks older today."
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
New Routine
For several weeks now, Emma has been so excited to learn new things that we simply must start our day around 5am (or earlier). As you can imagine, Mom and Dad are not quite as excited about this. We tried several approaches, from letting her fuss (which turned into crying) to trying to rock her back to sleep to trying to bring her to bed with us...nothing worked. Emma was wide awake and raring to go! ...until about 8am when she's ready for a nap as well as long afternoon naps at daycare. It's been a long few weeks.
Today, Emma's caregivers suggested that it might be time for Emma to go to one long nap in the day and push her bedtime back a bit so that she sleeps in a bit longer in the morning for us. We're up for trying anything, so we're going to try lunch at 11 followed by napping from 1130 to 130 and then in the evening bath time at 800 followed by bed at 830. We'll let you know how it goes!
Today, Emma's caregivers suggested that it might be time for Emma to go to one long nap in the day and push her bedtime back a bit so that she sleeps in a bit longer in the morning for us. We're up for trying anything, so we're going to try lunch at 11 followed by napping from 1130 to 130 and then in the evening bath time at 800 followed by bed at 830. We'll let you know how it goes!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Taking care of Baby
This morning Emma woke up entirely too early. How early you ask...early enough that she took a nap before Kurt was ready to take her to daycare and head to work. *Sigh* Anyway, that is not the point of this post. The point is what she did after she woke up.
Kurt said she sat up on the couch, slid down by herself and immediately found her new baby doll and hugged it. She then carried it to the kitchen, opened a drawer to find a measuring cup for semi-solids and brought it back to the living room along with Baby doll. She then sat down and "fed" Baby doll with the "bottle." (The measuring cup is white and sort of resembles the baby bottle that came with one of her baby dolls. She does keep the bottle in her kitchen drawer, but mustn't have been able to find it this morning.)
Too cute! I wish I was here to see it!
Kurt said she sat up on the couch, slid down by herself and immediately found her new baby doll and hugged it. She then carried it to the kitchen, opened a drawer to find a measuring cup for semi-solids and brought it back to the living room along with Baby doll. She then sat down and "fed" Baby doll with the "bottle." (The measuring cup is white and sort of resembles the baby bottle that came with one of her baby dolls. She does keep the bottle in her kitchen drawer, but mustn't have been able to find it this morning.)
Too cute! I wish I was here to see it!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Pickles Please!
This evening, Emma wandered around the kitchen grunting the noise that means she's hungry and randomly waving her hand in random directions. I picked her up and asked if she wanted something in the refridgerator, she said yes. But she didn't want her milk cup. And I said she wasn't allowed to have any wine. Finally, I asked if she was pointing at the jar of pickles. She emphatically said yes. I didn't even know she knew what pickles were but she saw Kurt eating a pickle a few minutes earlier and decided that she needed one too. She enjoyed a half of a spear and probably would have eaten the whole spear if we gave it to her!
Emma the Trendsetter
I was discussing Emma's day today with her teacher when Emma went to the door and started banging on it, indicating that it was time to leave. Not more than 30 seconds later, she had 3 other kids in her class banging on the door with her. Emma's teacher told us today that Emma is the trendsetter of the classroom. We're pretty sure those are kind words for "Your child is an instigator."
Friday, June 11, 2010
Outside is Outstanding!
Emma love love LOVES being outside. On more than one occasion her need to be outside has resulted in a tantrum. She lets us know it's time to play outside by going to either the front or back door and hitting it. She also lets us know by pushing either her stroller or wagon around the sunroom (where they are kept when we're not using them).
Tonight, Kurt is out playing cards so Emma and I were on our own. When we got home, I put an Elmo movie on so that I could get dinner ready (usually, one of us gets dinner and the other one plays with Emma)without her hanging on my legs and tripping me. After dinner, she went back to the living room and was happily playing and watching Elmo while I cleaned up. I walked into the living room and asked, "Emma would you like to go outside?" She was immediately on her feet saying "OOHHH!" with a very excited look on her face.
We walked over to the playground in our development and Emma had fun climbing on the toys. She has mastered climbing up onto the platforms and loves the slide. She has learned how to walk up to the top of the slide just far enough to sit down before pushing herself to get going. It is VERY cute!
There are two sets of slides on the equipment at our playground. A little slide and then a bigger slide complete with a bump in the middle. Until early this week, Emma was only interested in the little slide which was great because I could be up on the platform with her and then jump down and get to the bottom of the slide in about 3 seconds. One evening Kurt and I were both at the playground with her and she wanted to go down the big slide and had a lot of fun! Tonight, she wanted nothing to do with the little slide and only wanted to slide down the big one. The first time, I was able to get down to the bottom of the slide before she pushed off to catch her. The second time, she must have thought she really is a big kid because she didn't wait for me before she pushed off, even though I was telling her over and over, "Wait for Mommy, Wait for Mommy!" As you might have guessed, she flew down the slide and off the end. Luckily the playground is layered with woodchips so it was a pretty soft landing. She was mostly scared but finished crying and was up climbing again in about 30 seconds.
Although sometimes it's rough when we can't go outside when the weather is bad, we're really thankful that Emma enjoys being outside so much!
Tonight, Kurt is out playing cards so Emma and I were on our own. When we got home, I put an Elmo movie on so that I could get dinner ready (usually, one of us gets dinner and the other one plays with Emma)without her hanging on my legs and tripping me. After dinner, she went back to the living room and was happily playing and watching Elmo while I cleaned up. I walked into the living room and asked, "Emma would you like to go outside?" She was immediately on her feet saying "OOHHH!" with a very excited look on her face.
We walked over to the playground in our development and Emma had fun climbing on the toys. She has mastered climbing up onto the platforms and loves the slide. She has learned how to walk up to the top of the slide just far enough to sit down before pushing herself to get going. It is VERY cute!
There are two sets of slides on the equipment at our playground. A little slide and then a bigger slide complete with a bump in the middle. Until early this week, Emma was only interested in the little slide which was great because I could be up on the platform with her and then jump down and get to the bottom of the slide in about 3 seconds. One evening Kurt and I were both at the playground with her and she wanted to go down the big slide and had a lot of fun! Tonight, she wanted nothing to do with the little slide and only wanted to slide down the big one. The first time, I was able to get down to the bottom of the slide before she pushed off to catch her. The second time, she must have thought she really is a big kid because she didn't wait for me before she pushed off, even though I was telling her over and over, "Wait for Mommy, Wait for Mommy!" As you might have guessed, she flew down the slide and off the end. Luckily the playground is layered with woodchips so it was a pretty soft landing. She was mostly scared but finished crying and was up climbing again in about 30 seconds.
Although sometimes it's rough when we can't go outside when the weather is bad, we're really thankful that Emma enjoys being outside so much!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tantrums
A few days before her birthday, Emma had her first throw herself on the floor kicking and screaming tantrum. I had to check the calendar to make sure I didn't lose a year, and that she wasn't turning 2 instead of 1.
Emma finished her dinner before Kurt and I and asked to get out of her highchair. She immediately went to the sliding door and started banging on it. After being reprimanded, she started crying and pointing outside. We tried explaining to her that as soon as we were finished with dinner, we would go outside. As any of you who have 12 month olds know, there is no reasoning with a 1 year old since they haven't developed the capability to reason yet. As a result, Emma yelled and kicked for about 15 minutes before we were ready to take her out. *sigh* Once we were outside and she was strapped into her wagon, she was as happy and smiley as a lark in springtime.
Earlier this week, Kurt had a late meeting and wasn't home in time for dinner. About half way through dinner, Emma asked to get down and went to the bottom of the stairs and started yelling and crying. I asked what was wrong which brought on more tears and yelling. I thought I heard a "dada-dada" and asked if she wanted Daddy. She nodded yes. I tried to explain that he wasn't home yet but would be soon. She didn't believe me and just kept pointing upstairs. I took her upstairs and she pointed to our bedroom and when I showed her that he wasn't in there, she proceeded to point to every room on the 2nd floor. She was NOT a happy kid when I took her back to the living room and we still hadn't found Daddy! Luckily, I was able to distract her by getting her interested in going to the playground until Kurt got home!
We have the feeling that until she can communicate with words, that her tantrums will get more frequent so we're trying to be more perceptive to how she's feeling (hungry, bored, tired, etc) to try to avoid more of them.
Emma finished her dinner before Kurt and I and asked to get out of her highchair. She immediately went to the sliding door and started banging on it. After being reprimanded, she started crying and pointing outside. We tried explaining to her that as soon as we were finished with dinner, we would go outside. As any of you who have 12 month olds know, there is no reasoning with a 1 year old since they haven't developed the capability to reason yet. As a result, Emma yelled and kicked for about 15 minutes before we were ready to take her out. *sigh* Once we were outside and she was strapped into her wagon, she was as happy and smiley as a lark in springtime.
Earlier this week, Kurt had a late meeting and wasn't home in time for dinner. About half way through dinner, Emma asked to get down and went to the bottom of the stairs and started yelling and crying. I asked what was wrong which brought on more tears and yelling. I thought I heard a "dada-dada" and asked if she wanted Daddy. She nodded yes. I tried to explain that he wasn't home yet but would be soon. She didn't believe me and just kept pointing upstairs. I took her upstairs and she pointed to our bedroom and when I showed her that he wasn't in there, she proceeded to point to every room on the 2nd floor. She was NOT a happy kid when I took her back to the living room and we still hadn't found Daddy! Luckily, I was able to distract her by getting her interested in going to the playground until Kurt got home!
We have the feeling that until she can communicate with words, that her tantrums will get more frequent so we're trying to be more perceptive to how she's feeling (hungry, bored, tired, etc) to try to avoid more of them.
Emma is 1!
Emma had a fantastic birthday weekend! Saturday, her actual birthday, Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncles Jim and Dave came down to visit. Emma had fun opening her rocking horse from Uncle Jim and her hand-sewn narwhal from Uncle Dave. She also enjoyed a couple pieces of funnel cake from the local fireman's picnic after dinner. She was not a fan of Grammy's ice cream though.
On Sunday, Emma was baptized. Through the beginning of the church service, Emma had fun being passed from family member to family member. (Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Rachel met us there...so there were a lot of people to go to!) At the beginning of the baptism, the Pastor was addressing us and Emma just looked at him and waved and smiled. The Pastor told us later that she melted his heart right then and there. Emma was good through out the baptism and only squirmed a little bit.
After church, more family and friends came to our house for lunch and cake to celebrate. Emma had a great time playing with friends and seeing family members. She was interested in every gift she received and is having fun playing with all her new toys. Emma was very excited for the Elmo cake that Grammy made her. After everyone sang Happy Birthday, and Mommy blowing out the candle, the first thing Emma did was pop one of Elmo's eyes into her mouth. The second eye quickly followed it. When she started trying to grab handfuls of cake, we swapped Elmo out with a cupcake which was quickly smashed all over. Emma definitely enjoyed her cake! Luckily Grandma C. was close by to clean Emma up! =)
Even though she only had one nap all day and that was for about 15 minutes, Emma was a happy little girl all day long. As she was finishing dinner around 5:15, she got really tired so we decided to do a really early bath time. The poor little girl fell asleep as soon as Kurt laid her down to wash her hair in the bathtub! She looked so peaceful; it was precious! We were able to finish her bath and get her dressed and put to bed with out her making a peep! She slept straight through until 5:15 the next morning!
Emma had a great 1st birthday and we enjoyed seeing everyone that was able to make it. We look forward to seeing everyone that couldn't make it later on this summer!
On Sunday, Emma was baptized. Through the beginning of the church service, Emma had fun being passed from family member to family member. (Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Rachel met us there...so there were a lot of people to go to!) At the beginning of the baptism, the Pastor was addressing us and Emma just looked at him and waved and smiled. The Pastor told us later that she melted his heart right then and there. Emma was good through out the baptism and only squirmed a little bit.
After church, more family and friends came to our house for lunch and cake to celebrate. Emma had a great time playing with friends and seeing family members. She was interested in every gift she received and is having fun playing with all her new toys. Emma was very excited for the Elmo cake that Grammy made her. After everyone sang Happy Birthday, and Mommy blowing out the candle, the first thing Emma did was pop one of Elmo's eyes into her mouth. The second eye quickly followed it. When she started trying to grab handfuls of cake, we swapped Elmo out with a cupcake which was quickly smashed all over. Emma definitely enjoyed her cake! Luckily Grandma C. was close by to clean Emma up! =)
Even though she only had one nap all day and that was for about 15 minutes, Emma was a happy little girl all day long. As she was finishing dinner around 5:15, she got really tired so we decided to do a really early bath time. The poor little girl fell asleep as soon as Kurt laid her down to wash her hair in the bathtub! She looked so peaceful; it was precious! We were able to finish her bath and get her dressed and put to bed with out her making a peep! She slept straight through until 5:15 the next morning!
Emma had a great 1st birthday and we enjoyed seeing everyone that was able to make it. We look forward to seeing everyone that couldn't make it later on this summer!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Emma's Stats
Emma had her 12 month checkup today.
She did great at the check up even though she got 3 shots and had to have blood drawn for a routine workup. Poor girl.
She weighs 20 pounds 6 ounces and is 30 inches tall. These numbers place her in the 30th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. I didn't catch the circumference of her head, but it is in the 25th percentile.
She did great at the check up even though she got 3 shots and had to have blood drawn for a routine workup. Poor girl.
She weighs 20 pounds 6 ounces and is 30 inches tall. These numbers place her in the 30th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. I didn't catch the circumference of her head, but it is in the 25th percentile.
Emma is 1 year old!
We have again fallen behind in blogging. We have many fun stories to share and will post them soon.
To hold you over, here are some pictures we thought you might enjoy:
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