It's Official.

Emily is a walker. As I was saying in a previous post, we thought, this is it, any day now. It wasn't until about 10 days ago that she started to take a few controlled steps. Luckily both Mommy and Daddy were there to see it the first time she did this! Then a week ago, bam! 10 steps in a row. There's no stopping her now. I've spent the last week chasing her. Now she even pivots and changes directions! It's so fun to see how excited and proud she is.


My husband and I asked each other, "You took a video, right?" "Uh, no, I thought you did!" Oops. So, here's a video of our walking pro, day 10.

Hugs and Kisses

Emily loves to give hugs and kisses. She, of course, gives the best ones to Mommy and Daddy. When she snuggles in, it's the best feeling ever! Even her slobbery open-mouthed kisses are wet and wonderful.

She also likes to spread the joy. She collects her stuffed animals and dolls and hugs each one. Then she gives them to me to hold and hug.

The sweetest though is when Daddy comes home. He'll pick her up to hug and kiss and then give me a kiss, too. She will then firmly turn both of our faces toward each other and urge us to kiss again. Lots of hugging and kissing going on at our house!

Here are two sweet books about love.

I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak; Illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church. This book in rhyme is about all the things to love:  "your happy side, your sad side, your silly side, your mad side." I am sure I love it more than she does, but it's a great excuse to sit and cuddle. Her favorite parts are putting her bare feet on top of his and hugging herself when he hugs his bear.

How Do I Love You? by Marion Dane Bauer; illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church is a companion book. Her Daddy and I gave this to Emily on her 1st Birthday. It's a beautifully lyrical story in rhyme with delightfully joyful illustrations. It's a more sophisticated book that I can imagine reading to her for years to come. It's pure poetry with lines like "I love you as the waking bear loves the smell of spring." The last verse sums it up: "I love all that you will be and everything you are." Awww. Excuse me while I go find a tissue.

My Little Bunny

I was having a salad today at lunch and Emily insisted on having some. So I handed her a leaf to try. I didn't think she'd like it, but I've been wrong before. After all, she loved tuna for the longest time. She took it happily and nibbled away, taking dainty bites. She reminded me of a little bunny. After each nibble, she took the piece out of her mouth to make room for the next. She went through four big leaves like this, eating not a bit, but enjoying every second.

Here's a picture of my little bunny from a year ago.

Easter 2011

See how she's grown!

Easter 2012

Walking and Talking, Clapping and Tapping

Someone said a wise thing to me recently. "Walking is a long process." As new parents we were convinced several times (starting at nine months) that she was on the verge of walking. She'd pull herself up or take a step around the couch and "she'll be walking any time now!" We laugh now at our naivete. We're in no rush for her to walk; we're enjoying the stages as they come. But we eagerly await every little thing she does.

It's amazing how each day brings something new. As I was saying in this post, Emily recently learned to clap. She even knows the word for it. If we say "clap" or "yay" she'll often clap in response. A couple of weeks ago (you know, when I started writing this post) she was just starting to stand for a second or two by herself. Then one day, she pushed herself up and clapped with an excited smile before quickly holding on again. It's crazy how such a "little" thing is such a big, happy, proud moment for all of us!

Yesterday we played a game where I tapped my feet, then clapped, then raised my hands and said hurray. I kept doing it and encouraging her. She thought the tapping was fascinating, kept pointing or patting my feet to do it. Then she would clap and put her hands up with me. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

Yesterday was a big day because she also became a standing pro. She was crab walking (another newish thing) and pushed herself to a standing position and stood proudly for about 10 seconds. She did this all afternoon, sometimes practicing, sometimes doing it unconsciously. She even picked something up without holding on. There's so much we do without thinking, but it's so new and wonderful for them (and those of us watching).

I was thinking that she might really, truly be on the verge of walking. I was also thinking, I hope her Daddy is around when it happens because he is just as excited about everything she does as I am. So this morning, I get up and Daddy proudly tells me that she took two steps! Little stinker, she did it without me!!

To make up for it, when she saw me, she crawled over using her first word "Mama-mama-mama." Music to my ears.

Happy Spring!

As a full-time SAHM, it's easy to lose track of what day it is. With the weather so wonky, it's even more so. If I didn't look at a calendar it would be easy to think it was the first day of summer rather than spring! Not that I am complaining, I am a pretty big wimp when it comes to cold weather.  I am especially glad for the warmer weather now, because in addition to a solid case of cabin fever, our house has been fighting round two of let's-share-our-bugs-with-each-other. Poor girl had an ear infection/cold/fever for two weeks while the adults fought our own bugs. Then because that was so much fun, we did it all again, this time with a double ear infection. Still, I am thanking my lucky starts it wasn't worse. We finally feel we are all healthy (enough) to enjoy the beautiful gift of sunshine.

And here is another ray of sunshine...

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Today would have been Dr. Seuss's 108th birthday.

In honor of today, here is a Seuss book we enjoy. I thought I knew most of his work, but I had never heard of this one.

 My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss, (paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher) is an introduction to feelings for a young child. It is told in the delightfully positive way for which Seuss is known. Each day is a different color/emotion/animal. We have the board book version, and while it's not very concrete for a very little ones, neither are emotions. In some ways the actions and associations ground emotions while still being silly and lyrical. I love the language in it, it's one I don't get tired of reading to her. For now she likes the color in it. I can imagine when she's older asking, "Are you having a yellow day ('a busy, buzzy bee')?" or a "Green day ('cool and quiet fish')?"

As for today, have a "Bright Red Day" and "kick your heels" for Dr. Seuss's birthday!

Naptime

When Emily was about four months old we could put her in her crib awake. She would sweetly smile, turn her head and go to sleep. We were thrilled.

That lasted about 2 weeks.

Now she can be completely asleep -- it doesn't matter for how long--and she will sense when we move anywhere in the near vicinity of the crib. Screams. Move away--peaceful angel.  Make the same movement toward anything else. Silence. Move toward the crib. Shrieks. Move away. Sigh of contentment. (How do they know?)

So when she falls asleep in her high chair, I take a picture. To be used as blackmail  a reminder of her adorableness later.

She does take naps in other places too, her favorite being anyone's willing arms... Failing that, she'll sleep in her bouncy chair.

Lucky for us, she sleeps through the night and has for several months, barring an odd night here or there. But a few weeks ago, for about a week, she was ready to party all night after sleeping for 5 minutes. We finally got out the carrier. Some pictures are worth a thousand words.