Emmy Update

Emmy is growing up so fast!! Here's what 9 & 1/2 months looks like at our house:

Playing in her "fort"!

Emmy is busy busy busy!! She is constantly on the move, and is not a fan of being stuck in one spot (like the car seat)! She loves exploring, and being under the dining room table is one of her favorite places. I think she thinks it's her little play fort! Emmy has gotten pretty fast with her crawling, and pulls herself up to stand on any & everything! She's "cruising" along chairs, the couch and the coffee table, and is starting to move from object to object (like from the chair to the windowsill). She's stood without holding on to anything for a few seconds on a few different occasions now... but she's still got jelly legs a lot of the time so I think we're still a ways away from walking. Emmy's discovered that she can travel throughout the house with a little more freedom, well at least to the parts that aren't gated off. Her favorite spots to cruise to when we aren't looking are the bathtub, the bathroom garbage can, and the plant in the kitchen!!

Emmy loves her new farm!

Isn't she so cute in these pj's?!

One of my very generous coworkers was kind enough to pass along this farm toy to Emmy since her boys have outgrown it. As you can see, Emmy loved it! At first she didn't quite understand that she needed to open the door to go through it, she just crawled right over it!! But she quickly got the hang of it, and of course loves standing up at her farm! She also loves counting (or biting) the eggs! She still loves playing with her stacking cups and the soft rubber blocks. All toys still go in her mouth, of course, but she's also exploring toys by patting them, banging them together or on the floor and shaking them. And pink baby still goes pretty much everywhere with her!

Comfy Saturday mornings are the best!

Emmy really loves looking at books lately! She particularly loves the lift the flap books or books that have texture she can scratch & feel. She also really likes looking at her photo albums of her family & friends! Emmy is also a super chatty little girl! She now says "hi!" and waves hi and bye bye! She's also started doing this fake laugh, and if you laugh back at her, she'll keep doing it back & forth with you, it's pretty funny! She babbles away all day long, it's just the best sound I've ever heard!!

First bath in the big girl tub!!

About a week ago Emmy crawled out of her baby tub during tubby time, and that marked the end of the baby tub! Of course the first time I sat her in the big tub she started crying! But with a little redirection she quickly resumed playing with her tub toys and seems to enjoy sitting in the big girl tub! We got a mat for the bottom of the tub so it's a little softer on her tushie, it's a little harder to rinse her hair when she's sitting up in the big tub, and water always seems to get in her face which she hates, but tubby time continues to be one of her favorite times! The getting dried off & changed part after the tub, however, is still not her favorite...

As of today, Emmy officially has 4 teeth! Her third tooth (top right front) poked through on Halloween, and the 4th (top left front) just poked through today!! Despite only having 2 teeth for the last few months, Emmy's doing really well with eating some finger foods. She's eating pieces of soft fruit (bananas, blueberries), cereal (puffs & cheerios), soft cooked veggies (carrots, potatoes) and even boiled chicken breast! I know we've been moving a little slow with the eating thing, but I'm kicking it into high gear to get her ready for Thanksgiving dinner! I'd love for her to be able to eat a little bit of what the family is eating for her first Turkey day! I think she's really starting to prefer feeding herself, but it takes her a looooong time to get the food into her mouth and to "chew" it, so we "supplement" with the usual pureed fruit & veggies to make sure she's getting enough to eat. I'm still nursing her in the morning and at night, and she gets two formula bottles during the day. 

Trying out her new hat!

I'm thrilled to say Emmy is still sleeping through the night! Her bedtime is 6:30-7:00pm, and during the week I wake her up in the morning around 6:45am (that's 12 hours of sleep if you didn't do the math!)! Amazingly, on the weekends, she actually sleeps in until 8am (knock on wood!)! She does move all around her crib when she sleeps, all night long! And sometimes we hear her cry out, but I think she's usually just "talking in her sleep". 

Emmy is doing really well at daycare. She is always happy to see her friends, and they always give her a big welcome when she arrives! I think she thinks she's the star of the show there, and she probably is :-) She's eating well, sleeping well, and playing well with her friends there. I can see the benefits of her being in daycare when we get around our friends & family and other young children. She's totally comfortable around other kids, she's social & friendly and "chats" with new people. It's hard leaving her there all day, and I'm usually running out of work to go get her, but it is nice to see that it has really improved her social skills! This week she seems to be starting to have some separation anxiety though, and has not been happy the last few days at drop off... I'm not sure if she's just having an off week b/c I had Tuesday off, or if we're entering into a new phase... I guess only time will tell!

Our little family <3

Overall we just feel completely blessed and are grateful every day for this perfect little girl. She just amazes us day after day, and makes us so happy. It's incredible to watch how quickly she learns and grows, we're just so proud of her, and love her more than words can describe!!!