A whole month?

I am terrible blogger. I must get better at this! Let's see what's up in Emery's world... We joined a Mom & Me play group and we are doing lots of play dates. So far we have taken Mommy and me photos.

Gone to the indoor playgym and learned that Emery can now climb and slide on her own...and also that she likes to escape and hates to be told no! We went to the Inflatable jump gym and found out that she doesn't have much fear of heights!

And summer is coming to an end and so did Emery's swimming lessons. She really doesn't have fear of water, more the fear of having to get out! LOL! She will walk into a pool on her own so you have to watch every move she makes. She also learned to lay on her back, a friend of her's taught her how to do it. And she go go goes!

Em is running, jumping and sliding...she is swimming and laughing and crying. She is growing in leaps and bounds and talking with words here and there. Her little attitude is fierce and headstrong, but she can be sweet and loving at the sametime. On other fronts, I am cooking up a storm. Learning to use new ingredients and making my own breads and desserts. Now if Emery would just learn to like food. She doesn't eat a whole lot and no meat! We have a Dr. apt for her 18 month check up in a few days and we are hoping she makes weight! Just keep trying and that's what we do. That's all for now...Emery's PK1 starts next week, so I am sure I will have much more to say when that happens!

School, attitude and Tantrums

I've realized upon reading back over Emery's first few months that she has always been demanding. But only recently I have come to the conclusion that she is strong willed and head strong (is that the samething?) Her tantrums are super dramatic. She throws things, rams her head into whatever is close and cries with a passion. She will hit, bite and kick. She pushes things away and says "noh, noh, noh". Can you say Drama Queen? Yep that's mine! And we never know when it's going to happen and sometimes we have no idea even why it happens. If this is any indication of what she will be like as a teen we are totally done for already! On other news fronts...Emery will be starting "school" in Sept. She will be going to a program that is 1 day a week. I really think she needs to be around other people for longer periods of time. I mean we do play dates, swim class, activities and story time..but it's just not enough for her to get use to other people. As I was talking about earlier, I am positive Drama Queen will have serious meltdown the first couple of times I leave her. I am also positive I will also have serious meltdowns when I leave her too! Swim lessons are progressing slowly. Emery still won't let go of me and cries when she is taken away to go under. However she does go under and kicks and stays there for 5 seconds. She enjoys the water, just not the being not able to pinch me the whole class or flash everyone by pulling down my top. Also Monster, Inc has become her favorite thing to watch. In fact she sort of looks like "boo" the little girl in the movie. She also adores Mickey and Minnie Mouse and plays with her stuffies often. She has also started to play with a doll and I am thinking it is time to get her a good doll that has bottles and stuff.

Walking and Talking

I know it's been a while since I updated Miss Priss's blog about her progress. Sorry we've been in and out of town and I've had a horrible cold to deal with over the past week. But I'm back to update whoever reads this about how Emery is doing with her self! The past two or three weeks Emery has been walking on her own. She looks like a little chicken when she walks. She holds her arms up by her shoulders and tucks her hands into her armpits. She attempts to run rather than walk and falls often. Gee, wonder where she got that from? I mean we all know it's me because I am about the clumsiest person on the planet! She shuffles her little feet and walks slightly bow legged. It's adorable! Emery says quite a few words when prompted and sometimes when she is just sitting around she will blurt something out. She tried to have a converstation with just about anyone, but you can't make out much of what she says. However she does say it with conviction. "blah, blah...wah, dah, dah...duck" Also when she gets mad or frustrated she thinks it's ok to just throw things. No matter how many times she is told not to throw or has things taken away she still does it. And let me tell you, this little girl has an arm! She could be a Football Quarterback with an arm like that! She still loves to sleep and we cannot get down to 1 nap a day. We still have 2 naps a day, which was wonderful for me today and yesterday since I am sick and could sleep with her! Emery must have her sound machine and her own bed to sleep. She will not sleep with us in a big bed and will wake up if you forget her sound machine. While not a bad thing for everyday life, it is hard when you travel and she won't sleep in a big bed or without her machine (cause we have to bring it with us along with a pack n play). Last week we were able to book our Walt Disney World Trip for January! I cannot wait to take Emery. We booked some of our places to eat and Miss Priss's 1st haircut on Main Street! I am planning every moment and hoping for the best. I really hope we are down to one nap by then!

Talking and Walking

Miss Emmie is toddling around the house now. She doesn't fully walk all the time, but she does walk way more than a few weeks ago. However it is nothing like I heard, "one day she will just stand up and walk", "maybe she will just start running" and my favorite "it will be on her time". Well it is on her time, do NOT demand Emery to do anything. She will let you know that she will not do it and it will be followed with a no, no, NO! She has a mind of her own and is very head strong. Which we have known for quite a while if you've been reading about her in this blog! So it's steps here and there and she still doesn't know what to do with her arms so they fly all over the place while she bounces around. Then she falls on her booty and crawls again. But she is doing it. Her own way. Slower than I hoped for but still happening! Like Mother, Like Daughter. Emery is a talker. She will babble up a storm when she wants something or wants to "tell" us something. Though most of the time you will have no idea what she is saying. But it's ok and she makes hysterical faces like she means business! She does speak words though. We have Mom (not momma unless she hurts herself), Daddeeee (oh does she LOVE Daddy!), Dahg (Sammy the Wonder Mutt, Dog), Fow-leer (Flower), Duck, Most animal sounds including Alligator and Crawfish (do you know an alligator sounds like a snake and the crawfish screams as performed by Emery), Gott dit (got it), Choose (shoes), Scoks (socks), Sh-it (sit, yes super funny), Bubble, Ball, Ba-Looon (balloon), Dellie (Ellie the Elephant), Ti (Tiger), Bundy (bunny), Mi (mimi), Pop (Poppa), dub wue (love you) and more that I am forgetting I am sure. She signs a lot of words too...Momma, Daddy, more, eat, drink, milk, please (oh she says pwease), Thank you (she say tank wue), signs for Grandparents, bird, tv (yes OMG! But its video she doesn't know the difference yet), Together (due to the song the more we get together) and more! So she is a communicator. Probally why it took so long for her to walk! She has too much to say. We are slowly dropping down to 1 nap a day. And by 7:30pm, she is freaking out and ready for bed. Now if only that 1 nap would be 2-3 hours and not 1...that would help Momma a lot! She does however still sleep 12 hours at night. So it's great at night! We joined a Mommy & Me play group and hope to have many play dates coming up soon! Since we are losing some our best friends to another city. This makes me so sad. I hate that we all have to move away. It's been hard to have this happen in my life and I hate for Emery to have to lose friends (well not lose but have them move away). Since I grew up with my whole family and friends never more than 20 mins away, I cannot imagine Emery's life with family and friends so far away. But c'est la vie...this is the life we are handed and we will deal with it the best we can! Lastly more travel coming up...back to Louisiana to visit family and friends. I am so ready for some great seafood and relaxing in our family's homes and arms!

Walking...what the heck?

Seriously little one? You attempted to walk this whole time and then bamn you stop? I don't understand! Emery will take a step or two and then when she falls she gives up. It's so darn frustrating. I sometimes wish she had an older sibling so she could see someone all the time walking around. It seems that when she is around it for a long time she will start trying again. Gerrr! News on the homefront...Emery's 15 month apointment was last week. She is 18lbs and 1 oz and 29.5 inches long. So she is still small for her age and they are worried about her weight. We are attempting to pack in the calories for her while maintaing a healthy real food eating "diet". Basically we are trying to avoid as much processed food as possible and trying to eat local, fresh and/or organic foods. If I could find a good meat supplier I would be much closer to my goal! Anyway, so I am making her food and giving her some processed additions and she still isn't really getting much in. She just isn't a big eater and I don't know what to do! I am always offering her milk and snacks and plates of food. I wonder if I should ask the Dr about something that would increase her appatite? Next up is trips back home to visit the family and friends and I cannot wait! Now come on Emery ... WALK WALK WALK!

The Beach and Walking

Our first trip to the beach was this past weekend. Emery flew on a plane (AGAIN! I swear the child is going to need a passport soon) to the beach with us. We had a great condo with our family! The first day we took Emery down to the sand and water (the Gulf). She was going to have NONE of it. She cried and whined the whole time in the sand, didn't want to touch it and was freaking out if you even put her near it. Then off to the water, she grabbed ahold of us like she was going to float away without pinching us! She cried, she screamed, she even tried climbing up us! I totally thought this is not going to be a good vacation! She didn't want to go to anyone, she just wasn't having any of it!

Day 2...at first she was like, oh no not this again! Then she settled into playing in the sand with her cousins, and in about 20 mins she was swimming in the sand. It was everywhere and she was LOVING it!

We took her off to the water and put her in a little floating chair thing and she laid back, like she had been doing it her whole life! Loved it. Moving her little legs and feet, splashing the water, floating and enjoying herself. And that was the rest of the time we were there! She loved it. Her hair became a little lighter and her tan a little darker (but not a lot because that sunblock really blocks the sun!) Grampy got her a little chair to sit in and by the end of the trip she was climbing up into it and laying back like the big people with us, just chilling! She saw parasailing and called it balloons, airplanes and said plane and boats vrooommm. The best part is that she started "walking" or "toddling". She can stand up on her own now and take 4-6 wobble steps and fall down. But she pulls herself back up and does it again until she gets tired! My baby is growing up, slowly but surely! She came home with a runny nose and fever, but seemed to wake up this morning feeling better! So far so good. It was a beautiful trip with blue skies, turquoise water and white sand. Lots of family and good food. Can't wait to go back!

Step by step...oh baby!

The last week or so Emery has been standing on her own more and letting go. Then she started this past weekend standing up from a crouch position. We are so excited to see her progression. She has also held our finger and done some walking. We started with two hands and then went down to one. Just waddling around the house. Today she stood in her ball pit on her own for a LONG time and I got pictures of it. I was so excited I had to tell everyone! She stood, by herself, no coaching and no help! I am one proud Mom! Then we had the Drama baby come out in full force this evening at dinner. Flipping herself around in her highchair, crying and stopping, then crying again. Throwing food, squishing food and feeding the dog. She threw her cup and her plate. Fun times. No idea what exactly is up with that. Emery went from the good baby, to the crying, won't sit still, you can't have my toy..no fun little Drama Queen in about 3 weeks. Temper tantrum doesn't even describe how out of control she can get when she gets in her mood. And nothing I do can calm her down, no redirection, no rocking, no hugging...nothing. Basically you just have to let her do it and wait it out then after about 5 mins you can give her something else and she will stop. Her words are moving right along. She started using the sign for Play, not sure if she knows what it means or if she just likes it, but I'll take it. She loves the sign for baby and for together, so she does those often. If you ask her if she's hungry she signs eat and while you are eating she will point at something and sign more to tell you she wants it. She started saying bubble, balloon and ball...then car..vroom! And then tonight as the Darling Mr and I were sitting on the floor with Em getting ready to put her to bed she stood up and while holding a ball...and then we said "Walk" and she did it, she took two steps! And then she did it again, two more steps. After that she gave up and was laying down on Daddy and Mommy...time for bed. That must have worn her out! My little infant is becoming a Toddler!

1 Suitcase for us and 1 Suitcase for baby??

Goodness...I remember packing and have a Large suitcase for the baby and one for me and the Mr. I figured once she outgrew the bottles, special food, diaper cloths, special toys, feeding utensils and all the etc stuff we would be down to 1 big suitcase for the 3 of us for weekend trips. WRONG! That child still needs a small suitcase and a big bag ohhh and an ice chest and grocery bag just for her! I tell ya, one of the best presents we ever received was a small pink ice chest from Mr.'s work. It's signed by everyone in his office and has Miss Priss's name on it. We love it and have used it for every car trip we have taken. And still we use it! This weekend we are headed to visit Mr.s family for Mother's Day. And I tell ya, I don't think any of us can wait much longer to get there. I know his Mom is super excited to see her babies! I have been pointing to their picture everyday and trying to teach Em to say Mimi and Poppa. Got Poppa out of her a few times but then nothing. That's my girl, give me and inch and take back a yard! (Yes still no walking) All of Miss Emery's clothes, diapers, wipes, cloths, blanket are packed, but still have to pack the monitor, sound machine, bunny, paci, blankie, food, cups...etcetera etcetera etcetera....Goodness this child has a lot of stuff! But she is so worth it. I unpacked the big stroller and put in the most adorable Minnie Mouse stroller you ever saw! Off to finish packing. Oh and next week I have to bring my NEW neighbors something, you know so I can be nosey and meet them!

We have STANDING!

Emery enjoying her hot dog bun at the baseball game! This weekend was wonderful. It was so nice to have Mr home and spend lots of time with him! Saturday was the Kentucky Derby and we had some friends over to watch the Derby, have some Mint Juleps, bet on the race and have some dinner. It was fantastic. A few weeks ago I randomly turned on the TV and a horse race was on. So I decided to watch it and the winner was "I'll Have Another", so I thought it was a sign and that's who I bet on for the Kentucky Derby! Well my $10 was turned into $120! Whoo hoo! I won the bet! I am so excited and cannot wait to go shopping and spend that money on ME! New clothes! The Mr. made some fantastic Mint Juleps with the mint from the garden he is growing out back. And he also made a Hen Sauce Picaunte. It was quite good. Then we all started to get Emery to stand and walk and she started to stand without anyone holding her fingers. Then a while later she stood up from her feet without the help of someone else...can you believe it? I think we are getting close to walking! And she claps and cheers for herself when she stands on her own. It's hysterical! We keep cheering her own and hoping soon she will get the confidence to take a step! On Sunday we meet up with another friend and kids for a minor league baseball game. We really had a lot of fun. Since it was in the late afternoon we were able to go once Em woke up from her nap and feed her at the game. Then we went out to the grass area and let her play on our picnic mat. She did great and really seemed to enjoy it. All the clapping and music and cheering was great. She loves to clap and dance. SO she had lots of fun! And she did some standing...YAY!!!! We are getting ready to go home for a visit next weekend and cannot wait to see our family and spend sometime with them. Then it's the Mr's Birthday weekend and then BEACH TIME!

Still NO Walking!

It feels like it has been months of Emmie standing and cruising along furniture. She uses her toys as "walkers" and practically runs behind them. But walking or standing on her own??? NOOOO - nothing - nada! I know I know, do I really want her to walk? She isn't behind in anything, not even walking yet. But geeze! The child didn't want to sit once she knew how to do that. She has always wanted to stand. It's driving me NUTS I tell ya. I was totally hoping she would be at least bobble walking by the time we get to the beach at the end of the month. When the Darling hubby and I put her between the two of us and stand her using just our fingers, she will practically nose dive into the other person. No walking, no standing...I mean full fledge DIVE, head first into the other person's lap! Oh well, on to other things, I mean she can open a cabinet and take out ALL of the Tupperware and stack it back up. That must be a milestone too right? This past weekend we (the Mr. and I) finally got up in the attic to do some organization and some filtering. It was like walking through a Hoarders house (I really need to not watch this show anymore). But now after sweating off at least 10 lbs in the attic on an 80 degree day, we have done it. Everything has a place and the stuff that was thrown up there for no good reason is off to the donation center! You can actually walk up there! While filtering we were stacking baby boxes, toys and other baby goods. I feel like the last year went by slowly but then looking at the boxes I realized it went a lot faster than I remembered. All of Emery's Preemie clothes are packed away; her swing bagged up and laid on its side. Keeping it all for a "in case we have another baby" one day. How long do you keep it? It got me to thinking about another baby. One we should be having or had already. Those sad feelings of something missing. Or is it all a plan so that we know we can have another baby? I am not sure but I do know the sadness comes and goes now instead of lingering all the time. What has Emery been up too? Well she is learning new words and new signs. She is also learning how to whine to TRY to get her way. But we won't give in! (shhh I give in often, I can't help it...do you know how cute she is?) This weekend she started saying "bubble" over and over! It's hysterical. She loves her books and flashcards, even though she is trying her best to tear them apart. She will hand you a book and help you turn the pages (really fast) and want you to read it over and over to her. She loves Where is Spot, where you pick up the paper in the book to look for Spot the dog. She shakes her head no at the pictures until you find Spot. Then says...ennnddd. And start over. She also says "chank u" for Thank you. Still not eating much meat or veggies...but I keep trying. Lord knows I don't want her to be anything like me when it comes to eating habits!