“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” –Elbert Hubbard
That pretty much sums up the last year. On top of all the amazing, miraculous, heartwarming and gentle moments this past year has given me – knowing that whatever I do, mistakes and all…”everything will be okay” has been the theme. As a first time Mom, you are constantly thinking to yourself, “I should have read her that second book, I should have woken up earlier to play with her before work, I should not have fed her that many blueberries, I should have just gone home and given her a nap, I should have held her a little longer before putting her down” and so on. These thoughts will most likely fly through my mind every day for the next 60 years. But learning to be okay with what I have or haven’t done as a parent will only make me better. I have made mistakes and I am certain, have many more to make…and that’s okay. I have loved every second of being a mother from the time I found out I was pregnant. Emmy has brought so much joy to my life that I will never be able to repay her. Watching her grow this first year has been inspiring and is, for me, the reason I have always wanted kids. To watch her develop her words and laugh after she falls down, stop crying when I open her door and scream when she is excited. I love, love, love that little girl and so blessed to have her as my daughter. Here are all the things Miss Emmaline has done this last month of her first year!
Removing diapers from her changing table.
Emmy is a power walker. Walks everywhere at an incredible speed! She is getting into EVERYTHING. Cabinets, drawers, bathroom cupboards, her changing table, takes the art off her walls...and I am sure days away from crawling out of her crib. I am putting fishing line on the top of her art so she can't actually pull it off the wall and lowering her crib and removing the bumpers. We are letting her play with the Tupperware cupboard and pots and pans but do not let her in the baking cupboard!! We have learned not to continually say "no" but to just redirect her attention and have her play with something else. She completely understands when we ask her to do something or tell her not to do something (whether she does it is another thing). She jib-jab's all day long with full-on conversations with herself and her babies. Sometimes, Tye and I will be in bed listening to her crack up at jokes she must be telling herself. It is hilarious!! Emmy loves to say DaDa, Daddy, Dad, Dadaaaaay...but no Mama :( one of these days I suppose. Maybe for my birthday!
Big girl with sippy and spoon!
Emmy has 7 teeth now and we have officially started brushing her gums and teeth! She uses these new fangs to chew on ALL regular food. She is completely off of baby food and eats everything we do! So far there hasn't been a food she doesn't like. She has also almost completely been weaned off of formula. We are still introducing whole milk with a little splash of formula. She's doing really well with it and it's a lot nicer on our pocket book! We started Emmy on a sippy cup about a month ago, just bringing it around at dinner and getting her used to it. I imagine she will be done with bottles by March/April and solely be using a sippy. I can't believe how much has developed in the last month. I have a new project for Miss Emmaline! I found this awesome idea on Pinterest to help with fine motor skills for toddlers - it's a wooden board with all kinds of locks and latches and gadgets to figure out how to open/close/undo/etc. I am excited to see what she is capable of! And as a family project we are going to build her a dollhouse. She is obviously too young to play with her dollhouse and the little miniature pieces but we will get started on the construction, paint and decorations. It's going to be a KID ONLY house...I have my wheels turning on how to make a mini-pinball machine! She is going to love it!! Or am I...
The ever so colorful birthday girl!
Her hair is long enough to put clips and bows and mini-pony's. But she is definitely over the headbands and still rocking a baby mullet. She is wearing shoes and taking them off immediately as well as socks. I have a feeling she is going to be interested in hockey...and sports in general. She is very strong. Instead of pushing her stroller, she lifts it and carries it with her. Emmy has her own agenda and we all just try to keep up. She has these bursts of energy that I wish I could channel. I have never seen such a happy baby when she awakes from naps. Just standing in her crib smiling, waiting to get out and get into something. That's why I am letting her do a smashcake for her 1st birthday! Just close friends and family came over for cake and ice cream and we (Michael Byers) snapped a few photos. She loved the attention and the sugar! She is currently, still awake!
Hayden during our snowboarding lesson.
Our life isn't ALL about Emmy...the other half is Hayden. He has started basketball and then baseball tryouts next week. Really cannot wait to see how much he has excelled since last year. Whether Emmy likes it or not she will be growing up on the diamond, watching her big brother play ball. His grades are outstanding and he is getting so tall and handsome. We went to the mountain in January only to discover that Hayden and Tye are PHENOMENAL snowboarders (for only been twice)...I am rather challenged. Hayden just picks it up naturally, like his Dad. We are already looking forward to sunshine so we can build a treehouse and hang out in it ALL summer. Hayden and I of course, Tye is a bit skeptical but maybe, we'll let him come up with Deegs (Rick). It's going to be a busy year for this family...lots of sports & fun. Of course, no one is a bigger fan of Hayden than Emmy. Here's a little clip of the two of them playing while we're getting dinner prepared.
A year ago today I experienced what I can only describe as the beginning of my life. So, I began this blog as a way to document Emmy's first year and share with our family and friends. I thought it would be fun for her to look back and see all the pictures in an online-like-scrapbook. So, a year has come and gone and this is her last blog entry. Such wonderful memories of her first year and so many exciting things to celebrate in the coming year and I cannot wait to see how our family grows! Tye says one more, I say 3 more!!! We'll see who wins. I do intend to do this blog for each child, so I may be harrassing you all again! If you ever want to check in - just call. Or email. Or FB message. Thank you for sharing the best year of my life with me.
Nice work babe! She's a little you (with a touch of me mixed in for good measure). Can't wait to see what she's into this next year.
ReplyDeleteThank you for doing this and putting in the hard work and effort. We'll look back on these and be happy we have it all documented!
LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
T to the Lew (aka Dadaaaaaay!)