10 months!

Oh look at that.  Two months have gone by since my last update.  Shocking.

So. Much. Is. Happening.  E is FULL ON crawling.  Everywhere.  Always.  Here's a video I caught of what I think was her first time crawling!

She now crawls on all fours and this weekend she started climbing stairs!  We were at a friends for a cookout and she just started climbing up their stairs on the deck. "I'm just climbing these stairs. No big deal.  Yinz guys just keep eatin' yer burgers."

She can also pull herself up just about anywhere.  She prefers the one piece of furniture that isn't very steady so she can chance fate and see if it comes falling over on top of her.  It doesn't stress me out at all. :|  Sigh.  So I bought a strap to anchor it to the wall. 

She's not standing on her own yet, but she's close.  When she pulls herself up she'll hold on with one hand.  And if you try to help her she'll push you away!

When I was a kid my first phrase beyond single words was "What's that?"  I said it enough that my parents made a little t-shirt with "What's that?" on it.  E can't say "What's that?" just yet, but she's pointing at things and making noises that sound similar to "What's that?"  It's incredibly cute how curious she can be.  She's still saying dada and mama (mostly dada) and sometimes it seems intentional (again, mostly for dada).  She also seems to be trying to say dog, Izzy, kitty and sometimes she'll make a Sssssnake noise with me when we're reading books with a snake in it :)

We took her to two events recently--the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game and the National Aviary.  She seemed to really love the baseball game, mostly because there was a lot of clapping (see photo below).  We shared a soft pretzel, enjoyed some fireworks and E watched mom inhale ice cream and not share even one bite (hey, until she's one desserts are all mine). 

Next we took E to the National Aviary.  It was so much more fun than I had expected!  They have penguins out in such a way that kids (and adults) can get up close which E seems to love.  There was a special show that we got tickets for called "Talons" a show about predator birds.  They put you in a small auditorium and had bald eagles, hawks, vultures and other predators flying around.  It wasn't until they closed the doors that we thought "Is this the best place for a baby?"

Luckily it was.  I thought E might get a little scared since it would get dark and the birds actually flew really low.  But nope, she seemed really engaged and curious for the 20-30 minute show.  "A vulture is 4 feet above my head?  What else is new."

Steve is mid sentence telling me that cameras are not allowed in the Talons exhibit.

And finally, Aunt Jeni came for a visit!  E was not spoiled at all.  Nope.  Not at all.  I mean, she has a whole new wardrobe, but spoiled?  Naw. :)

She's whispering "Gucci, Prada..."

Beyooootiful.

Beyoootiful :)

She just needs her little cell phone (she has two) and then she can have her own "Texts from Emilie"

A sweet moment with dad.

 I know folks want to know what's going on for her 1st birthday.  Unfortunately it's going to depend on this LA business.  We'll have something no matter what (obviously), just what exactly will depend on what we're doing.  We'll let you know ASAP.  Promise.

In the meantime, look at this silly girl.

Wow, it's been a minute.

Looking up and seeing weeks have gone by is nothing new to me.  But it might be for you, so I apologize for the length of time between posts.  Our computer got a virus (I'm on our fancy new one), Emilie had her first ear infection and well, time just goes by like fire through a paper shop these days.  I will keep the text short and the pics plentiful :)

Updates:  Emilie did in fact have a growth spurt mentioned in the last post.  She got all sorts of bigger and smarter!  All of a sudden we had a little baby waving at us, giving hugs and KISSES and clapping at everything.  It's insane.  She's mimicking so much that we do now.  And goodness, if you're gonna mimic someone it really shouldn't be us.  But alas, we're working on it. 

A few weeks ago E had her first ear infection and got through it after a round of antibiotics and Tylenol.  Having had a double ear infection just before I had her, I just can't imagine how little kids do it all of the time.  They're f-ing painful!  Anyways, when we took her to the pediatrician she weighed 22 lbs!  We go back at the end of April for her 9 month check up. 

Two holidays have gone by since we last met.  St. Patrick's Day and Easter.  Besides wearing some green and watching Steve and I devour a full breakfast, E didn't really get St. Patty's Day :)  Easter was a bit more fun.  That Saturday Steve and I took E to a bunny festival at a local farm.  And while I wouldn't really consider three bunnies a festival per se, it was still a good time. It finally warmed up around the burgh and so we got to walk around, see some bunnies, baby chicks and baby ducks and ate some ice cream.  E is going to be really excited when she finds out that holidays involve more than just watching her parents eat.

Alright, alright, on with the pictures:

That time I had to bail E and that dog out of jail.

Bitter enemies or best friends forever?  Only time will tell.

Home Depot cute.

E is not standing on her own yet, but she can lean against the couch like a pro.  A pro werking those baggy jeans!

Upon seeing this my uterus jumped out of my body, propped its elbows on the table, placed it's chin its hands and sighed "Awww."

Hard at work.

Easter focus.

Easter mania.

Easter close up.

Easter kisses.

Easter silly.

Easter hat.

Easter dress.

Easter over it.

We had to lower the mattress in E's crib since I came in to find that she learned to pull herself up on her knees!

She didn't want baby food, what?

This is quickly becoming one of my most favorite pictures.

 

This one is from today.  I helped her up but once she was standing she held on and stood on her own in her crib.  Crawling, standing...it's all coming soon.  I feel it.

 

 

This is from when E was sick.  She has learned to play "peek a boo" and is playing with a puppet I have in this video.

 

 

 

We're keeping up and on schedule with house projects.  The dining room is repainted with a new shelving unit, the kitchen is repainted and rearranged (now we're just waiting on flooring), curtains are made (by moi) and hung in the hallways and next weekend we're repainting said hallways.  Slowly but surely.

We've got two more houseguests coming soon!  Cousin Jake and Aunt Jennifer!

Go the F to Sleep.

You know that amazing feeling when you wake up at night, fully thinking that your alarm will be going off any second but when you look at the clock you see it's only like, 12:30 am?

That feeling is over and done with in our house.  Emilie has been hitting a trifecta of sleep disturbances over the past few weeks.  And I don't mean getting up every few hours, but more getting up, being soothed back to sleep and waking back up a few minutes later.  First, we think she's either going through a growth spurt or approaching a milestone or something because if her belly is not FULL, she's waking up at night.  This means that her last feedings before bed are full of oatmeal, veggies and breastmilk.  Essentially we're stuffing her like a Thanksgiving turkey so we can drink a glass of wine and go to bed at a sane hour.

Secondly, we think she's more aware of the whole "mom and dad are missing" thing and so when she wakes up and doesn't see us she cries for us...okay, for me...okay, for my boob. 

And finally, we think we're slowly approaching the inevitable sleep training time that all kids eventually have to go through in some form or another.  Because right now when she's getting up at night and refusing to go back to sleep, I'm bringing her back to bed with us.  It gets her back to sleep but is just not ideal for our family.  Thankfully but unfortunately, friends Jodi and Stacey know all too much about sleep training, so they're acting as a great resource for us.

So at night when she cries and I look at my clock I am praying it's 5:30/6:00 am which would mean we all made it through the night :)

That aside though Emilie is doing great.  At her 6 month checkup she was 19.4 pounds and hovering in the 98th percentile.  She's sitting up on her own, dancing to music and trying to get the animals to love her just as much as she loves them...they're reluctant due to her grabby grab hands.


She's growing on Izzy.

Last weekend we went to Philadelphia for a conference that Steve attended.  It was E's first car trip and for the most part she did great!  She slept for the better part of both ways and only got cranky at the end on our way home.  But really, so did we.  The weekend started out great but ended in me getting food poisoning and us having to stay an extra day.  Then Steve got a fever and our car started making crazy noises.  Luckily the car checked out so we were able to drive home, but it was a bit of a mess.

Emilie found the full length mirror hysterical. 





This was my view while sick with food poisoning.  She's pretty good medicine if you ask me.



Emilie has branched out into eating all sorts of fruits and veggies.  We haven't had any issues with food yet, but clearly they're not all winners:





Look at her little face! OhmygoshIcantevenstandit.



Emilie loves music and loves to dance.  Anything with a beat gets her going which includes a lot of 70s disco.  I, however, think it's never too early to get down with Ani Difranco.  And I was elated to see that Emilie felt the same way.

I've also started taking video of Emilie with my iPhone so that she can see herself while being filmed.  It cracks her up.  She is a funny kid though, so I get it.

Other things I've been thinking about lately?  I pick someone else's nose.  Like, on a regular if not daily basis.  You kinda know that when you're going to be a parent you're going to be someone that regularly smells someone else's butt and you make peace with that.  But for some reason lately it's been an odd feeling of just how normal it is to pick another persons nose.  You see, I don't even know anymore if that was gross for me to share.  Let's just keep it between you and me, internet.

Do you remember on The Simpson's when they would give you a glimpse of what's going on in Homer's head it was always circus music?  It being silly circus music was evidence of how simple and kinda stupid he is.  I have the ABC's in my head.  Very frequently.  I know this will graduate to more complex music as E gets bigger, but it makes me glad that people can't randomly hear what's going on inside my head.

And finally, our house.  After a year and a half we're finally getting things moving on the house.  Last weekend we repained the dining room and plastered some vents and holes that needed fixing.  This weekend we're priming the kitchen and getting the floor ready to be pulled up and replaced.  Operation Fix Our Broke Ass House is in full effect y'all.  Stay tuned for pictures.

Half a year!

Well, as of next week E will be 6 months old!  A half of a year has already gone by...did we not just come home with this little chubby cheeks?

News from Emilie:

• She can now sit up...mostly on her own!  She's a bit wobbly, but for the most part she's sitting up and officially hanging out with us on the couch.
• She has her first tooth!  That one took us for a loop.  A tiny little tooth came popping up on her bottom right side.  It's kind of neat, but also sad!  Who knew that parenthood would also come with all of these little moments of pride and sadness all at once?
• E is starting to explore food.  She's moved on from plain old rice cereal and has dived into oatmeal, barley and as of last night BANANAS.  Back when I was pregnant E always seemed to get a kick (literally) out of when I would eat bananas.  Not long after I would eat them she'd do her naner dance in utero. Well it apparently has stuck because last night we mashed up a banana for her and she laughed throughout the entire meal.  Eating...it's hilarious.

Back in December this Grandma came for a visit.  E was still sick with her bronticulitis so they got a lot of cuddle time.  And this mom cleaned THE SHIT out of our basement while they got some QT.  It was amazing. 

E has always been a pretty alert baby, but these days her focus on things is intense! She's learning so much (deargodhelpusstopswearingwhyisitsohardtostop) by watching everything around her.

Last weekend we went to the park.  I sent around that picture of E and I that the photography student took of us, but here are a few more that I took from that day.



On Thursday E got all dolled up to go to court to help her friend Ruby's mom get an adoption certificate.  She stayed super quiet up until the moment of "All rise for the honorable Judge so and so."  Then she got comfortable and starting calling everyone out of order.

 

I is just readin' mom.

Doesn't this look like one of those self shots where people hold the camera out to take a picture of themselves? :)

E usually hangs out on the floor in the dining room and plays while I cook.  Last night she pooped out before we were even done making the salad!  She must have been a busy girl at daycare.

It's been snowing here, in the single digits and making a mess of the roads.  We're staying inside.



Happy New Year!

Happy New Year y'all!  We celebrated the new year by hanging out and watching some It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and going to bed before midnight.  It was knock yer socks off kind of fun.

Some new things are brewing with Emilie these days.  She's almost sitting up on her own and is eating rice cereal! 

She likes the rice cereal just fine :)  Like a baby bird she opens her mouth for more, more, MORE!  So now when Steve and I are eating from a bowl she throws us a "WTF?" look as to why we're not sharing.

Emilie also had her first Christmas!  First off, check out these Christmas jammies.  They showcase her chunky turkey legs and are stinking adorable.

Emilie's first self pic on the camera.

E has had the same cold for a month now (thanks daycare!) which turned into bronchulitis.  So we had to give her breathing treatments for a few days which meant placing a tiny oxygen mask over her face to give her albuterol.  Is there anything more sad than those tiny oxygen masks?  Nevertheless, E took it really well.  So long as we distracted her with a toy and some crazy faces she did just fine.  And now the brochulitis has cleared and we're just left with one snotty little baby.

Harumph!