in 30 days…

Our beautiful Emma Grace will be 1 year old – EEK!

Things Emma LOVES at 11 months:

1. Her American Girl bitty baby doll – she is obsessed with carrying her around, sitting next to her, kissing her. (I am going to get her a new outfit for her bday so that I can play dress up with her – I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT TO PLAY DOLLS – is that pathetic?) I really hope she stays this girly, because I wasn’t growing up. Other favorite toys include her walking puppy from G-Gma, any car of Jacks, and her Laugh and Learn Kitchen.

2. The little Elmo couch - Emma loves to stand on top the the ottoman and slide off onto the couch and then she just lays back and relaxes. I might need to look into another one as it is getting pretty grummy! Princess? :-)

3. Food / Eating – her current faves include avocado (just like her brother and momma!), cheese, strawberries, pancakes, broccoli, eggs, and pasta! Emma really prefers solid food that she can pick up and it is actually a great distraction/entertainment when I am making dinner – give her some cheese and she is good! I am going to use up the remainder of our baby food then all done – last night it was SO NICE to just make one meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, and zucchini and we all ate the SAME THING!

4. Sippy Cup – OBSESSED! Emma has a new fascination with water and I am happy that she has done so well with her sippy, as it took Jack a long time to master it. Should make the transition to cow’s milk next month much easier. I actually gave her a little milk to try this weekend and she did pretty well. We have been weaning her off of her bedtime bottle, so I do not foresee it being a big issue

4. Walking/Running – she is walking about 95% of the time and is now trying to get faster and faster – it is hilarious and so adorable to hear her trotting down the hall after me and falling about 6 times along the way.

5. Wagon – Pappaw & Nana Knowling got Emma a big red Step 2 wagon for Christmas and she LOVE LOVE LOVEs it! Giggles the entire time – I think she feels very grown up and also loves watching/playing with Jack along the ride.

As you can maybe see in the above picture – Em has 2 little bottom teeth sprouting up! She has 3 more on top that are pushing their way through. She was late to get her tooth buds, but now I don’t want her to have them at all – We love that little gummy smile!

Emma had a great month and is really developing – she has signs for “more,” “all done,” “want,” and “no.” Next on the list are “milk,” “please,” and “thank you.” Just this weekend she started giving high fives and is starting to really listen and follow basic instructions such as “give it to Daddy” or “Go see Jack.” When we say “Love You,” Emmy opens her mouth and gives you a kiss and she waves goodbye when Scott leaves. She definitely knows what “No Thank You” and “Yucky” mean and shakes her head in response. She says “Momma,” “Dadda,” “Pop,” “Dado” (Gma Walti’s dog, Shadow), “Bub” (Brother), and “Pup” (for her walking puppy).

The girl is a climber! Always climbing on everything, wanting to sit on top of the ottoman, stools, etc. We have to make sure we always close the bathroom doors now, too as we have discovered her way to many times on top of Jack’s stool and trying to play in the toilet! She is pretty physical and can withstand a lot of rough-housing from Jack. As you can tell in the big yellow bruiser on her forehead, she gets knocked down some, too!

SQUAWKY LITTLE OWL – She is a girl who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it! Emma does NOT like it when someone is eating in front of her and doesn’t share, or when she feels like she should get some attention – she shrieks (loudly) until we do it. Emma plays wonderfully – she just walks around, picking things up, and carrying them around for a long time. She and Jack are interacting/trying to share and it is really cute to watch them play “tag” or when he reads to her and tries to carry her around (his new thing.)

Emma’s sleeping has drastically improved this month! She is sleeping from 6:30pm (so early, I hate this) until about 6am with occasional awakenings around 5am to snuggle/bottle in bed with us, which we don't mind a bit! She and Jack still enjoy sharing a room and he never wakes up when she cries out, which is great. She is on a 2 nap a day routine that is also going pretty well, with about a 1 / 1.5 hour nap in the am and then an hour (this could be longer) in the afternoon.

I just started planning Emmy’s little bday gathering – just very low-key day in a neighborhood park with a cute Owl theme for our little squawker! And then a cousin’s April bday party in Indy with Sam and Lily.

Happy 11 month birthday, Emmy Gracie-Girl!!!!