13 Months Old!

On November 3rd, Emma turned 13 months old. Shewalks more than she crawls. She is a lot faster on foot. Some people have told me that Emma would get into more things and cause more trouble as a walker, but I'd say that she causes as much trouble as she ever did. She has gotten a bit more independent lately however, and is more willing to leave my sight to go exploring. She now has free range of the entire house. Emma hasn't added much to her vocabulary this past month.

Here's what she's doing:

Emma is still obsessed with lights! - She likes to point out every light she sees. She also loves to flip light switches on and off.

Emma loves to dance - She prefers to dance with music, but occasionally she will dance without it. Yesterday, she was swinging her hips in Sunday School.

Eating - Emma is getting terribly independent. She is often resentful if Mommy and Daddy try to put food in her mouth. She much prefers to feed herself and choose her own tidbits off of her own plate. She is able to use her own utensils with some accuracy. Occasionally, she'll turn her spoon upside-down and try to lick the handle.

Emma likes carbs - Her favorite foods are ANYTHING sweet, ALL pastas, ALL breads, ALL cheeses (including habanero pepper cheese and parmesan), all beans. She hates ground beef (so does Mommy), and loves ham. I found a really good organic granola type cereal with flax and dried blueberries. It is by Archer Farms. Emma adores it as a rare snack.

Clingy - Emma is becoming more affectionate. Sometimes, she even wants to be held and cuddled. She can be pretty demanding about being held. If Mommy doesn't give her what she wants, she's prone to tantrums. Since we don't reinforce that behavior, we are having to deal with a meltdown or two each day. I'm sure this won't last much longer.

Books - Emma adores her books. Especially her "Doggies" book by Sandra Boynton. I thought it was a rather silly book, but Emma LOVES to bark while reading it. I think I probably read that book 4-7 times a day. Emma watches me read a lot and has learned to use random bits of paper as bookmarkers. It's adorable.

Emma still nurses every 3-4 hours, even through the night. I've been told that I'm spoiling her, but honestly, I don't agree. With breastmilk being the largest portion of her diet, I think she needs to eat more frequently. It's a bit hard on me but it's worth it to be able to offer her the best nutrition I can.

Description - Emma has 4 teeth, but I can literally SEE two top teeth through the pink flesh of her gum. They're on their way. She wears most 6 month sized clothing. Some pants in this size are a bit short. I have been telling people to buy clothes for her in the 6-9 month size. They're a bit too big at the moment, but still wearable. Emma's hair is getting very long. She looks a bit sloppy if I choose to leave it down. I probably need to trim her bangs, but Daddy is reluctant to remove any hairs from her head. I think she looks cutest in pigtails.

Daddy made a video of Emma walking. This was taken more than a month ago. It was just 6 days after she'd taken her first step. She's far more steady now, but I think the video is cute. =)

Emma's Check-up

Emma had 12-month check-up on Tuesday. I was slightly concerned that she might be underweight, but the doctor assured me that she was doing fine. She weighs 17.2 pounds and is 27 1/2 inches tall. The doctor thinks Emma is going to be a shorty and stand about 5'1-2" when she's grown.

Emma is still breastfed every two hours or so during the day and every 3-4 hours each night. She also eats regular food at each meal.

Attached is a picture of Emma at the museum yesterday! It was her second visit.

Choosing a Jacket

My daughter has been needing a winter coat now that the weather is starting to turn. I went to Kohl's today to get her some warm clothes and a winter jacket. I was completely unprepared for what a huge decision buying a winter coat can be and there were only two coats (that I would have considered) in the entire store.

Jacket #1: Osh'Kosh Purple Girl's Jacket

Mid-weight Jacket - Good for putting her in the car seat. Good for mild weather and limited exposure in extreme cold.

Would show stains - A big deal for a messy eater. She occasionally has snacks in the car. This could be a problem.

Purple - Means that if our next child were a boy, I would not be able to re-use it.

Difficult to put on - The fleece lining was baggy, while the cuffs were tight. Emma got her hands trapped in the jacket while I tugged it on.

Velcro - The velcro on the hood could be annoying, but it also covers Emma's face well.

Didn't cover her hands - She had full use of her hands, but would probably need gloves or mittens.

Removable hood - This would be nice for long car rides.



Jacket #2: Carter's Brown Puppy Jacket (for boys or girls)

Super warm - Probably not good for milder weather. The jacket is two layers of fleece with stuffing in between.

Very bulky - Hard to get her into the car seat. Would have to adjust straps.

Easy to put on - I slid this jacket on pretty easily.

Extremely soft - No annoying velcro around her face.

Covered her hands - The sleeves weren't cuffed which was nice. It provided good coverage of her hands while still letting her use them.

Attached hood - Hood would have to be pulled up for long car rides. Soft enough to be a good pillow, but she might get over-warm.

Really long - This jacket easily went past Emma's knees. I tried it on and she was still able to walk in it. I wonder if this is a good or bad thing.

Wouldn't show stains - At least not without trying.

Unisex - Good for reuse if we were to have a boy in the future.


I ended up choosing Jacket #2. Which coat would you have chosen? Would you have chosen both?

...a few of my favorite toys!

Emma has really been enjoying her toys lately. Her current favorites are a black velcro wallet that Daddy gave her, and her wooden bus. She loves finding things to shove into her wallet.

The wooden bus is the neatest toy ever. It was a birthday gift that has been a steady hit since the day she received it. She really likes to hold the wooden "people." She carries them with her wherever she goes. She's gotten very good at putting the people back in their bus, but occasionally she still puts them in upside down. We're also using the people to teach her colors. Right now, I think she favors the red and green colored people the most.

The bus itself has also been a huge source of enjoyment for Emma. She likes to push it around on top of the couch, the coffee table, on daddy's computer chair. She likes to load the people onto the bus and try to hand the entire thing to Mommy without spilling them. I think that's pretty clever, but I guess I'm biased.

Here's Emma showing off her favorite toy (thank-you Nate and Tricia!):

Stats!

Today I took Emma's measurements.

Head Circumference: 17 inches
Waist: 15 inches
Height: 26 inches
Weight: 17 Pounds

I know she's tiny for her age, but need to find a chart to see which curve she's following.


On a more fun note, we took Emma to a barn party this week. She had a blast and ate lots of food. Since there were many people at the party who didn't know one another, we all wore name tags.

Emma's tag reads: Emma - I'm 1 year and 3 days old!
Daddy's tag reads: Dave - Have you seen my daughter? (She's so cute!)

I had to attach a picture of Dave. Someone at the party gave Emma a birthday card with wiggly eyes. Emma pulled the eyes off, and Daddy had more fun playing with them than she did.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Today is Emma's first birthday. We didn't throw a party, but we did take Emma to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis for the first time (hers AND mine!). We also had some friends (and their two little daughters) of ours along for the birthday fun. A wonderful time was had by all of us, but most especially Emma. After a quick stop at a few exhibits, we headed for the playscape where we spent the remainder of our visit. Emma loved interacting with the other children (read: trying to steal their toys) and playing with all the toys. She climbed, pressed buttons, crawled through tunnels, played in sand, and splashed in the water for an hour and a half. We might have stayed even longer, but I took Emma out of the play area to change her diaper and she almost fell asleep on the changing table. I didn't want to wait until she was crabby and miserable before we decided to go home, so Daddy and I scooped her up, did a quick tour of the robots exhibit (Daddy wanted to see it, and it helped to let Emma wind down a bit) and went home. Emma is sleeping at the moment but we're planning on either having a nice dinner out with friends, or a quiet dinner here at home. She might not get cake for her first birthday, I am pushing for Daddy to take us out for ice cream!

Here are a few pictures of the day's highlights:

Emma and Daddy watch cars down below the skywalk!

Watching the model trains go by!

Emma and Daddy driving a race car!

Emma enjoys the playscape!

Emma pushes buttons!

Hey, Mommy was there too!

Just climbin' around!

My, what cute feets I have!

Emma particularly liked to mow.

Emma plays with toys.

Happy birthday Emma! We love you!

Two Steps

On September 29th, Emma took her first steps. I was knitting a gift for a friend. When I looked up from my work, Emma was walking from the couch to the center of the living room. She did not appear to be aware that she was doing anything unusual or special. I clapped for her and made a big deal out of it, much to her delight. It pleases me that her first "step" was actually two steps. Emma is a curious little beastie and fearless as well. Once she learns something new, she's tenacious about repeating it until she's mastered it. This is exactly the type of little girl I wish her to be. I hope that she's always as bold and forward.

By now, she's done 4-5 steps and can stand unassisted and turn in place.