little e.c.b. turns eleven months old tomorrow [insert momma melting into a puddle on the floor] so i'd say it's about dang time for a ten month update. thank goodness i made some notes because my head is now only full of eleven month updates.
baby emmie, each month brings such growth, joy, learning and fun into our home because of you. when i reflect back over each month i always think that there is absolutely NO way we could possibly adore you any more than we do and then...our hearts just swell a bit more. your personality and abilities expand so much in such a short amount of time it is just crazy to think about the little girl you're becoming.
you started dancing this month. you have this little stand up baby piano from your nana karen and just bounce up and down as you hit the keys. we love to watch you dance, it's so precious. i don't even know how tiny babies know what dancing is but it's so awesome. we may have an infant music video concept in the works, i'm just sayin'.
you have 5 teeth in progress. three on the bottom and two on the top. teething hasn't been terrible but every now and then you will be a little fussier than normal or have a quick bout of crying because of them. you're all about chewing on evvvvverything so we started putting some of your teething rings in the fridge to hopefully give you some comfort. all in all, i feel like we've had a pretty easy road with your teeth.
you've graduated to big kid food - fo real. we still try and give you baby food and it maybe makes up 50% of your diet but you would much rather have food that you can feed yourself. because of that i really do try to keep food on hand that is perfect for little roly poly fingers to get ahold of. pretty much any fruit, veggie or bread that we've put in front of you, you gobble up.
speaking of eating...i fed you about 5 allergens in a row one night. it was a birthday dinner so maybe it was a celebratory reaction but you broke out in hives. we think it was the few licks of peanut butter chip ice cream from graeters that sealed the deal. this is so detrimental because your momma is actually addicted to peanut butter & doesn't cook so... i'm not sure what we'll eat if pb&j's are out of the question. i have no back up plan.
we celebrated our first mother's day with you out in the world. i didn't know how i'd feel when mother's day actually rolled around but it was kind of amazing. benny is so thoughtful in pampering me and making me feel special. he carried you in for your morning meal and you carried in a card. you had the
biggest smile on your face when you brought it to me in bed. it was sooooo sweet. you cried in bed with me when i tried to take your picture but i didn't mind. i am
so incredibly blessed to be your momma. you'll always be the baby that made me a mother & will always have such a special & permanent place in my heart. i have another half written post about this weekend that i hope to post someday ... [someday]
you have recently accumulated
more bows. i just can't get enough so as your hair gets thicker and thicker, i'm pretty sure you will be increasingly more decked out in girly fare.
this month was the first time that you started to sit on my lap to read books and you'll point with one tiny finger at different things. it makes me feel like you are such a little girl. well like a big girl but you know, not like a baby. sometimes you go crawl into your book basket and just fake read // flip threw the pages by yourself. we call this the "baby library".
we played outside every pretty day & go for walks with friends (& baby friends) really often. spring was a pretty amazing time for a ten month old. you can't walk so you'd just kind of play on a blanket or ride along pretty contently (most of the time). this time is really special to me. i hope that we have
lots of outdoor adventures as the days pass.
i love to see you interact with wind and sun and animals & nature. you're really into pulling up grass and not super into sitting on it. you
love the wind. we started taking you to the pool too!! during month 10 you were still kind of timid at the pool. definitely wanting poppa and i close by, if not holding you.
your poppa completed his first year of teaching and here he is at 5th grade graduation. how awesome is that? you really wanted to be able to go watch him and all the kiddos but it was right during your naptime. so disappointing but nonetheless you [and i] are so proud of your dad, all of his hard work and can't wait for him to keep teaching you things as well as all kinds of students.
this month was the month we began weaning. it was so much easier than i expected, and i am so thankful for that. you went right to a bottle, didn't skip a beat and my body was more than happy to just shut down the milk factory. i dropped one feeding a week until we were completely on formula. it wasn't until i dropped the very last feeding that my body did anything at all that was a hassle. not pumping or needing to be home was/is so freeing. i don't really like to be away for long but the trade off of flexibility at this age totally works for us. i feel like God gave us the most perfect set up for our family - so blessed that breastfeeding was even an option for so long and then that we were able to so seamlessly transition to a bottle. blessed.
you are a really great imitator - you love to say ahhh and stick tongue out, do hand motions, mimic noises or "words" as we call it. "mum" & "da" are words we hear often these days.
your laugh has changed. your dad is by far the best at getting your giggles out and they are awesome. it's this squeaky, weezy belly laugh that is just too much. there's is no way that a person can not smile hearing babies giggle. i mean if you have a soul, you love that.
you have a new little smile where you close your eyes tight and then do an open month grin & say 'ha'. it's hysterical.
books use the word "opinionated," we use the word dramatic. you do have some extremes, little diva. if you're frustrated or don't get your way, you do at times throw a full-blown baby tantrum. we haven't yet decided how to handle those for a 10 month old. when you're happy though, you are super happy. bubbly, giggly and playful. you're this way 99% of your day - and that is really a fun blessing for our family. you can at times be shy when we introduce you into a new situation or have new people around. usually it doesn't take too long before you warm up though and start invading personal space, climbing on strangers and stealing people's stuff [no boundaries].
you're crazy into everything these days. you love to open and close doors and drawers [safety hazard], you love to empty boxes & baskets. you're a total tornado of destruction around our house but i don't mind too much. your poppa might not say the same.
you're still an excellent sleeper. you sleep a lot. maybe too much. we're going to try and adjust your schedule soon instead of just going with your flow. you still take three naps most days, yes i said three. eeep! you sleep from 7:00p to 6:30a at night and then 3 one hour and a half naps a day. you put yourself to sleep with very little fussing nowadays. praise!
my sweet itty bitty,
poppa wanted me to tell you: you're growing up so much & i love to watch that happen. i love you very much, you're my favorite baby girl.
i want you to know: you are so special & so lovely. you're lovely because God made you that way, He calls you that & He means it. He knit you together & knows you. He made you unique and gifted with certain little gifts & loves & even quirks that are working together to make up who you're meant to be to most glorify him. i pray that over you everday. that you'd know Jesus as your Savior and that he'd be your treasure & very great reward. i hope you'll know who you are because of Him. you're beautiful and strong willed, fiery & passionate, even as a wee little one. you're a tiny princess. we love you dearly.
