15 month stats!

Emma is 15 months old!

Weight: 23 lbs ( 53 percentile)

Height 29 inches ( 22 percentile)

I don't know how accurate this is.. She was writhing and trying to escape so I don't know if they got an accurate height measurement.

But according to this she's short and chunky! :-) I love it.

Se wears size 4 shoes, size 3 diapers and 12-18 month clothes.

She's hit a vocabulary growth spurt! She says so many words as of last week. 

Words she knows:

Mama, dada, bath ( pronounces bass) book (buk), snack (nak), shoe, sock, walk, duck ( it's hard to tell the difference between those last three) sippy (dippy) moon (bumoon) balloon (boon) bubye, hi, bottle(ba ba) step (dep) Tia ( our cat, she calls her tee), cheese( dees), teeth( tees) nose, mouth (mof), eye, night night ( nie nie!) outside ( oudide ) -- its so dang cute when she says this. I'll be in the other room and I'll hear her yell "oudiiiiiide! Outdiiiiide!" And she'll be pressed up against the window of the back door that leads to the balcony. So cute. When she sees big things like semis or huge trees she'll say "woooow" or "whoa!" There are more, but that's all I can think of right now.

It's amazing how fast she's been able to put words and meanings together. 

She's growing up so fast!

She's super cuddly and snuggly.. To people she knows that is. She still has stranger danger, but its slowly lessening. I'm going to be attending fitness classes at the gym everyday and she'll be put in the child care provided there for an hour so hopefully that will help that out! 

She's a definite mommas girl.

She loves making friends with little babies and kids her age.

She loves giving kisses and hugs, and she is so content  just snuggling in our laps before and after naps and in the mornings.

 She's a busy body most days too and keeps busy chasing Tia around and getting into things.

Her favorite activities are reading books, helping momma do dishes and clean, sensory activities, blowing bubbles and being outside ( even when it's hotter than hades.. Ick.)

She has an excellent appetite. Its nice. She eats anything I give her so she eats really healthy. She loves her fruits and veggies! She eats quite and bit so I feel like Im always changing her diapers! 

We try to avoid sweets because she gets so upset when they're gone! Lol

She's such a happy little girl and I love spending my days helping her learn and grow! Being a stay at home mom has been so fulfilling for me.

I love my little lady! She makes my heart smile. 

Bragging rights

Okay, so if you havent noticed yet, I like to brag about my sweet little girl! I just love her so much! I feel like EmmaLee has made leaps and bounds in pretty much every aspect. She is a little over 14 months and She's learning and growing so much! She communicates so well these days. 

She can sign "please" "I want to eat" " I love you" she folds her arms during prayers. She says "hi" to pretty much anyone she sees, and is very sociable (as long as no one tries to touch her.) 

She pulls up her shirt all the time and points to her belly button and says "beebu." When she needs a diaper change she says "bum bum"

When I'm laying on the ground she likes to  pull up my shirt and point to my belly button. Then she presses her face up against my tummy and blows so it makes a funny sound, she loves to make people laugh. And I'm always laughing, she's so goofy and we have a ton of fun. 

She waves bye, gives people kisses, and every time she hears the moped drive up the drive way she squeals "Dada!!!!" 

The other day at church she looked right at Ryan and said "hi Dada!" It was so cute. Church is getting easier. She's starting to get used to staying 3 hours and there are less tantrums. 

We went camping with her and she did great! It ended up being a ton of fun!

She's always asking me what things are. Right when I get her out of bed in the mornings she starts pointing to things saying "whassat!"

She LOVES it when I read her books. She says "buk" and points to the book she wants me to read.

She says thanks, but it sound more like "ss"

She is sweet to other babies and has learned how to be soft. 

It's amazing how much she understands and the things she is able to do at such a young age. This is such a fun age. 

She throws tantrums, sure. She tests me when I say no, yes. But it is so great that we can communicate with each other so well now. 

I love being a mom! 

Mommy Moments

You know your a mom to a 10 month old when you've had any of these "mommy moments"...

That moment you realize you'v been having a one sided conversation. All day long.

That moment you get on Facebook for 5 minutes and look up to find every drawer, cabinet, and bag completely emptied and the contents sprawled all over the floor.

That moment when you realize you haven't eaten without sharing your food with an eager baby for quite some time.

That moment you look at your 10 month old baby and try to find some trace of the newborn you once knew, with no success.

That moment you try to snuggle your baby and get clocked in the face by a thrashing independent freedom seeker.

That moment your wonder why you nurse a baby with 8 teeth.

 

That moment you realize you will never ever sleep in again. Ever.

That moment you tuck your sleepy-eyed baby in at night and remember why all of it is so worth it.

Tummy trouble = Fixed!

My life has officially become a little easier.

Anyone who knows Emma or has held Emma has had to deal with spit up in some form or another. 

Ever since she was born she has spit up, copiously. 

Everytime I nursed her she would spit up at least half of it.

Especially at church in the hallways...

It hasn't seemed to be a discomfort for her and it hasn't prevented her from gaining weight.

It's just an inconvenience for me and anyone who is in charge of cleaning floors/doing laundry/ ect.

So really, it's not too serious.

But once she reached 6 months the spitting up became exacerbated. It became projectile at large amounts.

Sometimes it would come through her nose. 

This isn't spit up. Just baby food. But this
picture seemed fitting....

Her doctor said it would pass and it's "normal". But for all I could see it was just getting worse. And it was NOT normal. 

From my research I have found that things like this peak around 3 months and then stop by 6 months. But that wasn't the case for Emma.

The doctor was willing to prescribe medication for her but I didn't want to resort to meds.

In most cases they just mask the symptom of the problem but don't solve the underlying problem.

The medication would have just reduced the acid in her stomach, which absorbs important nutrients. I didn't want that...

One day I called my mom in frustration complaining to her about it. She suggest I take her to the chiropractor. 

I did a little research and sure enough, babies are cured of reflux from chiropractic adjustments very often.

I didn't really understand how it would help but I though what the heck...

So we tried it.

The chiropractor said that since she was born with forceps and the cord was wrapped around her neck there could be something out of line. 

And sure enough.

There were a few vertebrae out of line, including the one covering the nerves that connect to her little stomach. 

After a few appointments, she spits up only once or twice a day.

She never spits up more than an ounce, whereas before it would be up to a fourth a cup each time.

She's so much more happy! 

And so am I! 

I don't go through more than one outfit a day (both for her and me!)

SUCH A BLESSING!!

Being a mom

Dear Emma,
I miss you when your asleep. Your dad is at work and I'm awake, thinking about you.
I love the way you nuzzle your small body against mine. I love the smell of your hair as I kiss the top of your soft head. I love how fast you kick your little legs and wave your arms when you get excited. I love it when you crinkle up your nose and give me that gummy  almost toothless smile. I love the way you get bashful and hide your smiling face when you do something new and your dad and I hug you. I love how you cling on to me looking around as fast as you can, trying to take everything in, as we walk through the house doing chores. I love that when you hear a scary or loud sound you frantically grab onto either me or your dad and won't let go. That shows me we make you feel safe.  I Love how serene and beautiful you look as you sleep. I love how much you adore animals and other babies. You are caring, even at such a young age. I love those big hazel eyes that are framed by your dark long eyelashes that gaze up at me so often. They melt my heart every day. I love watching you give your dad those open mouth kisses on his face. I adore watching you two play and hearing you squeal and laugh. I love watching you fall asleep in my arms every night. i love watching you grow and learn every day.

I love you, my beautiful baby girl.

Love,

Your mom

Squishy Chin

Emma has so many funny facial expressions. My personal favorite is the "squishy chin."
She gets so excited and her little body scrunches up in every way possible.
It happens when she hasn't seen one of us for awhile and we walk into the room. It happens when we play with her too. It's so fun.

 Normal face....

SQUISHY CHIIIN

Normal face....

 SQUISHY CHIIIIN

 Being tickled face...

SQUISHY CHIIIN

I love my little squishy chin girl.

6 months!

Exactly half a year ago, this moment, at 10:38 PM I was in labor.
 About to bring the absolute most precious treasure into our lives. I am so thankful for her sweet spirit and spunky personality. She has been such a blessing in our lives!

6 Month Progress

  

16.11 pounds -- 70% 

27.25 inches -- 91%

Her first bottom tooth has broken through the gums

Gets into EVERYTHING!

Can hold the crawling position

Sits up like a champ

Wakes up twice a night on average ( DaRn teething!)

Eating baby food easily now (about to be put on a schedule- we'll see how it goes)

Loves squash

Loves to snuggle and nurse before bed time

Wears 6-9 month clothing

Has a definite need for nap time. (Always wakes up new and improved!)

Still drools a lot
Doesn't like snow

Has a lot of blonde hair coming in (but still looks bald haha)

Has a need for being involved with what Ryan and I are doing

Being outside makes her happy

Still so sweet, just like she was on day 1!

Trying to crawl, and about to attempt to eat my shoe.

Taste testing the leaf. And everything else she can get her hands on.

Snow & Carving Pumpkins

The past few days have been full of new experiences for Emma.
First new experience; snow! Emma has never seen, touched or tasted snow before.
Last Friday we woke up to 8 inches of snow here in Rexburg.
So we layered up and went out to shovel and check it out!
We put her next to the snow and all she did was try to turn around and hang on to our necks, basically clinging onto us for dear life. She was not about to be dumped in a bunch of cold ice...But she liked looking at it. So we strapped her into her sling and got to work.

We took turns shoveling with her, she thought it was the most fun thing ever

Ryan was able to shovel better than I could with her. 

8 inches!

It was a winter wonderland. It's all melted now, 4 days later. Idaho is a little bipolar like that.

Second experience. Carving pumpkins! 

We went over to my parents house and carved pumpkins with my siblings. Emma squealed the whole time, she got a kick out of the slimy gooshy stuff coming out of the pumpkins.

Chillin with her pumpkin.

She realized everyone was staring at her and got a little shy

Helping me remove the insides!

Lots of pumpkins! Woo hoo!

Ryans beauty.

Me and Emma's work of art

Hannah's creation

Alycia said this is her.... I dont see it.

Amy!

Moms pumpkin!

Andy's beautiful art!

Emma getting some lovin :)

Glow in the dark action.

So much fun!!

Bragging Rights

Alright, it's time to brag.

So if you haven't noticed by now, I really, really, REALLLYY love my baby. Like a LOT! I love taking pictures of her, looking at the pictures of her, being with her 24/7, posting pictures of her, holding her, kissing her, squeezing her...Get the picture? I could go on forever.
Well, she's in bed fast asleep now. And Ryan is at work booting cars and dealing with obnoxious people.
So I'm going to do what I love and post pictures of my beautiful baby!

She's been called a "magazine baby" and the "Gerber baby" by people because she has tons of different facial expressions and their just so stinkin' fun!

Someone gave me these jeans for her... I LOVE them! They're so cute. 

With her fun aunt Amy!

She was telling Amy about her morning.

Haha she loves Tia. If she's ever crying all we have to do is hold Tia up to her and she's happy again. 

She's getting too big for her swing haha she's sooo tall!

"I didn't do it!"
She's so good at sitting up on her own. She tries to crawl all the time but just ends up face planting the ground. That doesn't stop her though. She's a determined little booger.

Love this little girl!

She learned a new trick the other day. When she sees Ryan ( or sometimes someone who resembles Ryan) she says "Dada dadadada" It's so cute.
Unfortunately Ryan and I made a bet as to if she would say "dada" or "mama" first.
So I guess Ryan wins.