14 Months Old: What's Happening

Emily is turning into a very active little girl these days! She is almost running, and climbs on absolutely everything she possibly can.

One of our favorite things to do now is practice animal sounds--her favorite is the lion, but she likes the monkey too. We were outside swinging one afternoon, and I was asking her "what does the lion say," etc. I asked her "what does Emily say," and she said "ma-ma." It was probably an accident, but it was so sweet!

She's also started tapping us with one finger to get our attention--she's a terrific communicator, even though it's not always verbal. She also is becomeing a lot more independent. She plays so sweetly by herself sometimes, or will sit and look at a book for the longest time.

Emily has all sorts of new hiding places now--under the dining room table, behind the couch, or even in a kitchen cabinet. She likes crawling through boxes or tunnels or other small spaces.

She hasn't been sick lately, but sometimes struggles with a runny nose, so we aren't sure if it's allergies. She's getting pretty good at blowing her nose--the only problem is she sometimes chooses to use her hands, so we're still working on it.

We're almost completely done with bottles now. Emily still has her morning and nighttime bottle, but none during the day for the last month or so. We have tried swapping the morning bottle out for a sippy cup of milk, and it was quite unsuccessful. Our goal was to be done with bottles by about 15 months, so we still have some time, and are continuing to try.

We'll decide after that when we want to get rid of the pacifier :).

Wild, Wild Horsey

Emily and I have this little game where she'll sit on my lap, hold onto my fingers, and I'll bounce her on the wild, wild horsey. Mick caught us on video one afternoon.

Summer Time

Even though Emily can't quite tell us yet, I think she's been looking forward to summer time. She loves to be outside so much, and will immediately go to the back door and try to open it when you ask if she wants to go outside.

There are several places around us that have live music outside every Friday and Saturday night, and we've decided to let Emily break the rules a little the past couple of weekends and stay out past her bedtime. If she takes a late nap, she stays in a great mood and has lots of energy, so we'll go over, eat dinner at one of the restaurants with outdoor tables, and then walk over to the music and let her dance until she's exhausted!

There are usually lots of kids and dogs out, and sometimes even bubbles, so Emily is right in her element!

By the way, Emily found my camera cable as she pulled everything out of one of our kitchen cabinets, so I was able to add the Strawberry Festival pictures from a few weekends ago!

Molars!

Emily has been messing with her ears a lot, and we took her back to the doctor Saturday morning, sure she had an ear infection.

The good news is that her ears are perfect...the bad news is that ALL FOUR of her molars are coming in! Poor little thing hasn't been able to sleep very well, especially for naps. Her appetite doesn't seem to have been affected yet though!

Llama, Llama

My parents were on their way through Charlotte this weekend, so they stopped in to spend Saturday night with us.

My mom had found this book called Llama Llama Red Pajama, and a stuffed llama to go with it. Emily hasn't really shown much interest in stuffed animals, but there was something about the llama she just loved. Sunday morning when she woke up, she came downstairs and immediately started pointing at the llama, which was up on the kitchen counter. We handed it to her and she hugged it close and carried around with her.

I remember how much I loved stuffed animals when I was a little girl, so I think it's sweet to see Emily starting to get attached.

Twice Bitten...Still Not Shy

Gateway called right before lunch today--they first reassured me that Emily was fine, but then told me she had been bitten by a friend (I think they use this term fairly loosely). She was sitting by herself looking at a book, and one of the kids came over and tried to take it. When Emily wouldn't let go, he bit her on the arm!

I'm sure she screamed enough to scare him away, and I'm actually proud that she didn't give up her book :). He didn't break the skin, but she still had a pretty defined mark on her arm when we got home.

Bunny!

It's a little tough to see here, but right before dinner tonight, Mick noticed there was a bunny in our backyard, right outside the window. Bella and Gracie notice them often, but they're usually too far for Emily to really see from inside.

He was so close it was hard for the girls not to get excited,

but once Emily realized she couldn't play with him, she turned her attention to Bella.

Bookworm

Emily loves her books! If she's not climbing in one of our laps with a book,

she's reading one on her own.

Her teacher told me the other day she's one of the only ones in her class who actually turns the pages the right way when she's reading :). Such a smart girl!

Mother's Day

We had kind of a quiet Mother's Day at home--the best kind! Since Gracie is recovering from her surgery, we wanted to stay close for most of the weekend (she seems to be doing very well, by the way).
Mick gave me these beautiful roses,

and Emily and Mick gave me this Mother's bracelet with Emily's name and birthstone (Aquamarine), and a little charm that says Love.

I love that I'll have a little reminder of my sweet girl every time I look at it :).

Another Perfect Saturday

The weather was gorgeous again today, so we decided to go to the South Carolina Strawberry Festival in Fort Mill. Our new address will be in Fort Mill once we move--it's really close by, and nice to know there are things like this that happen each year that we'll enjoy together.

It was a typical festival with lots of music, food, games, and a big playground. Emily thoroughly enjoyed herself! She danced to the music and made friends with the big strawberry when we took our picture with him. When we passed by him again later, she made a quick U-turn and started chasing him! It was hilarious--we had to distract her with the swings to change her course.

We stopped under a shade tree for a snack of graham crackers and fresh fruit, and Emily also had her first taste of strawberry shortcake. She loved it!

I did take some pictures, but took my old camera and now I can't find the cable to upload the pictures. Hopefully, they'll be on the way soon. I did post some new videos (click the Emily in Action link to the right), and the one of her dancing in the pink hat is from the festival.

Our First Baby

I don’t write much about our first two babies here because I started this blog to be about Emily. Today though, it’s our first baby we’re really thinking about—Gracie. A couple of months ago, Bella started limping on her front leg—when it hadn’t improved in several days, we took her to the vet and after x-rays revealed nothing wrong, we took her home to wait it out. The doctor guessed that she had pulled a muscle, and sure enough, in about a week, she was fine. Then about three weeks ago, Gracie started limping on her back leg. We thought we’d take the same approach, but there was no real improvement after two weeks, so we took her in. Apparently, dogs’ hind legs are much easier to diagnose than their front legs, and the doctor knew immediately what was wrong.

Gracie had ruptured her cranial cruciate ligament—it’s basically the ligament that stabilizes her knee, and is said to be the most common knee injury in dogs. The doctor said if we didn’t have it surgically repaired, her knee would be unstable and her bones would begin to wear unevenly, causing a long list of other problems. We felt like there was no decision to make—she needed to have the surgery.

So this morning, Gracie rode to Gateway with us, waited in the car while I dropped Emily off, and then we headed to the vet. She has a long day, and a very long recovery in front of her! The procedure she’s going in for is called a Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA), and it will require several months of very limited activity, which will be tough for Gracie. I should hear from the doctor around noon to find out how she’s doing. We’re worried about our sweet girl!

A Day at the Zoo

Saturday was such a beautiful day that we knew we wanted to spend it outside, so we decided to go down to Columbia, SC to the Riverbanks Zoo. Jason and Jenn had been there with Cody and really liked it, so we were excited about taking Emily to see the animals.

The zoo was really crowded (probably because of the perfect weather), but the layout was great--all of the animals were really close-up, so it was easy for Emily to see them and wave.

She did quite a bit of walking, even though we had the stroller--she's much more content when she can move around on her own, even if that means helping to push the stroller.

When we saw the carousel, Emily and Mick chose an anteater to ride on, and Emily got excited when it started to move. I think she enjoyed it, but wasn't quite this animated the entire ride.

She really liked the giraffes. They were so close at one point that she wanted to jump over the fence to play with them.

It started warming up toward the end of our visit, so Emily did some relaxing in the stroller while she blew kisses at the wallabies. There was an exhibit called the "Wallaby Walk," where you literally walked on a path right beside them.

By the time we got to the end, she was exhausted, and wasted no time falling asleep in the car!

We had a great time and will definitely go back!

Kick Her While She's Down

Monday afternoon, Gateway called and said little Emily had a fever, so I left work immediately to pick her up. She had been acting a little unlike herself over the weekend, and had a really tough night on Saturday--she didn't sleep much at all, and was crying most of the night like she was just really uncomfortable. During the day though, she acted happy and playful. We of course didn't have the option of seeing her doctor on Easter Sunday, so when I got the call on Monday, I made an appointment for Emily on my way to pick her up.

The doctor gave us the bad news--a DOUBLE ear infection! I did ask her about not treating with antibiotics this time. I've read a lot that some people just give Tylenol for the pain and fever, but let the ear infection heal itself. She said that if Emily has another ear infection after she's two, that's a more realistic option, but she's so young now that amoxicillin was our best bet. I asked her what was causing so many, and the doctor reminded me that this is only Emily's third ear infection, and that's not a lot for a 13-month old. I guess it seems like more since it's so difficult to see her not feeling well.

So Monday afternoon, we got home from the doctor and she was running around playing when she tripped and banged her little face on one of her stand-up toys. I picked her up to cuddle her, and realize she had a bloody nose! Poor little Em had a very rough Monday! She actually has a very light bruise now on the side of her face by her nose, but is otherwise fine.

I kept her home from school on Tuesday, but she was showing a lot of improvement by that afternoon.

Thirteen Months Old: What's Happening

There are so many new things Emily is doing lately! She is really working on her language--she says uh-oh now when something falls, and will sometimes drop a toy or her sippy cup just so she can say it! We think she's also trying to say "this" or "that," because she'll point to something she wants and say it. We always tell her thank you when she hands us something, and she tries to say it back to us with a big, sweet smile. It's just adorable.

Another thing she's doing more and more now is bringing a book to one of us and climbing up in our lap to read. She loves turning the pages, and will go through a book over and over, pointing at the pictures and listening to the words. Every time she sees a picture of a doggie, she waves.

She loves her doggies, but isn't always as gentle with them as she needs to be. She sometimes hits them (and occasionally us) in the face when she gets excited, and we're continuing to practice telling her "gentle" when she does that. She seems to understand what we mean, because she'll usually stop hitting and either pat gently or wave instead. It really doesn't help that Bella (and now Gracie too) will just lie there and take the abuse.

Emily is close to giving up her bottles. She's such a good eater, and likes to drink milk or water out of her sippy cup--she tries drinking out of a regular cup, but hasn't quite perfected it yet.


She continues to be very high energy all the time--she hardly ever stops moving, and usually isn't content to sit still for very long. She loves to climb onto or into things,

and likes to be tickled or twirled or turned upside down.



We're so excited for the warm weather--Emily just loves to be outside, so the only drawback is that she never wants to come in!

We plan to be spending a lot of time outside this summer!

Tiny Dancer

There's a shopping/dining area close to us that has a big fenced grassy area with a playground and fountains. When we want to get out of the house but don't want to go far, we usually go there. Mick was on call this weekend, so we didn't have much afternoon left on Sunday when he finished working. The weather was so nice that we wanted Emily to have some outside time, so we took some snacks for her and went over.

There are these speakers placed throughout the area, and Emily wasted no time finding the music, going over to it and starting to dance!

I was so upset that I didn't bring the video camera--I try to never leave home without it--but hopefully this picture captures a little of the sweetness. She is very serious about her dancing, and always gets this look on her face like she's concentrating so hard. So adorable!

She and her daddy had a good time rolling around in the grass, too!

New House!

Well, it happened really quickly, and I realized that I haven't even told many people we had decided to try to buy a house in Charlotte.

We still haven't sold our house in Atlanta, but we looked into it and found out we were able to get pre-approved for a loan that wasn't contingent upon selling our house. With interest rates so low, we just felt like it didn't make sense not to take advantage of the market and buy now since we know we want to stay in this area. We also knew we could buy a house and have a mortgage payment that was less than our current rent.

We worked with the buyer's agent who helped us when we bought our first home almost 9 years ago. We knew the areas we loved, and had ruled out a lot of houses by driving through the neighborhoods because we wanted to make the search a little easier on Emily. The first day we went out, we looked at four houses and thought we found the one we wanted. The following weekend, we looked at it again and decided for sure. We made an offer, they counter offered, then we countered, and they came back with a price we agreed on, and it was done!

The house is just beautiful, and there isn't anything we don't love about it, but the kitchen might be my favorite part. It was a builder's model home and no one has ever lived in it.

It's actually right across the SC border, but about the same distance from everything as we are now, and a little closer to Emily's school, so it will shorten our commute by a few minutes.

We're supposed to close by the end of June!

Easter Bunny

We tried taking Emily to the mall yesterday to have her picture taken with the Easter Bunny, but she absolutely would not have it! She waved and pointed until we got right up to him, and then she got scared. She wouldn't let go of me, and when I sat her down by the bunny, she reached her arms up and started to cry--so the picture really just wouldn't have been worth it, but at least we tried. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I blame her...that bunny was a little freaky looking.

So instead, we got her dressed up and took some pictures in the backyard as she was chasing bubbles. This was way better since everybody was happy the whole time.

Perfect Hips!

Monday afternoon was Emily's follow up appointment with Dr. Brighton, the orthopedic specialist. She enjoyed playing with the toys in the waiting room and running all over the office squealing until it was time for her to go in. Not surprisingly, the biggest challenge was getting her to stand still long enough for the x-ray!

The doctor said her hips look almost perfect! He said they will continue to improve as she grows, and he wants to see her back in 6 months for another follow up. Luckily, he had seen her walking on her own on the way to the x-ray room, because when he wanted her to walk in the exam room, she turned into a shy little girl who didn't want to show off.

We wonder now if the hip dysplasia would have resolved on its own if she had never worn the Pavlik harness--probably so, but better to be on the cautious side. That seems like such a lifetime ago now!

Early Easter

Although Easter is still several weeks away, our neighborhood had its annual Easter Egg Hunt today.

The weather was warm and sunny, so we walked down this afternoon, and Emily dove right in! They had crafts and snacks and temporary tattoos, but she was only interested in the eggs.

She didn't quite see the purpose of the basket we brought, but she did collect enough eggs to trade in for candy to give Mama and Daddy!

The Cow Says Moo...Milk!

We decided to wait until this weekend to let Emily try cow's milk since we were both going to be home. We mixed some milk with her bottle on Saturday morning, and she gulped it right down. All day long, we waited...expecting the worst---but mixed some milk with her formula each time she had a bottle, and she did great with it! No diarrhea and no fussiness at all.

So it looks like Emily can offically have dairy! We're thrilled, and we feel like this opens up a whole new world for her in the food department :). Now, giving up the bottle is going to be a little more difficult.