Tag: dear emmett | Baby Doodah!

Dear Emmett – 14 Months

Posted on September 24 by Jillian416 • 1 Comment

Happy 14 months baby boy!!

Once again another month has zoomed by and you just continue to grow and grow! I definitely don’t mind, I love watching how much you grow and change on a daily basis. It is just unbelievable that you’re 14 months!

Right around the start of the month you began actually communicating with us. You aren’t yet using words, but you’ve gotten really good at the signs that we’ve taught you. It all started one Saturday morning, we were all playing and you got up and walked to the kitchen door. I asked you what you wanted and you started doing the sign for milk. I then asked if you wanted milk and you lifted your little hand up and did the sign faster and with a huge smile on your face. I went to the kitchen, got your sippy and filled it with milk and gave it to you. You were so excited! You definitely seemed thrilled that you had been able to communicate with me what you actually wanted, it was such an awesome moment.

We bought you your first pair of shoes AND you lost your first pair of shoes. You wore them out with me when we went for our walk, and as soon as we got home I took them off and set them on the floor. For some reason you really love shoes and picking them up and placing them on your hands, so as soon as I took them off they were on your hands. You were bopping around the house, like you usually do, but when it came time to put the shoes back on to go out, one was missing and we still can’t be find it to this day (almost a month later). It’s in the house somewhere, we just don’t know where. We’ll find it someday, maybe when you’re 5. 😀

Your paternal grandparents got you a bike trailer for you birthday and this month you went on your longest ride with me, 10 whole miles. You did awesome, too! We went for a ride with momma’s friends down to water, on the ride down you fell asleep but woke up once we arrived. We got out and you had some milk and I had coffee with my friends. The way back was just as easy, you fell asleep about 20 minutes in and slept the entire way. We had so much fun! I’m really hoping we can get one more ride like that in before the really cold weather starts.

You’re not exactly a cuddly baby, you like to be held and hugged, but it has to be on your terms so the first time you climbed into your daddy’s lap with a book, was the most precious thing. In your playroom you have a bookshelf all to yourself, filled with all different kinds of kid’s books, you love to grab one, walk over to your dad, hand him the book and then climb into his lap for him to read it to you. I’m thinking they must read books like that at day care, or maybe it was just a spontaneous thing, either way it’s adorable!

We also moved you into a new day care this month, it was a really tough decision for your dad and I to make, but it has turned out to be the right one. The first few weeks were very rough for you, being dropped off seemed like torture because you’d cry and cling to me any time I tried to put you down. You’ve been there just about a month and you no longer cry or cling when I leave you in the mornings. When we walk in you now wriggle to get down and once down run over to your cot with your monkey and throw him on the bed (the sight of this melts my heart). I’m so glad you’ve adjusted, the ride for us has dropped almost a total of an hour off of our morning and evening commutes, we get home earlier, with more time for play or exercise.

In the mornings, when we enter your room, we always warn you that we’re going to turn on the light. You seem to have kind of caught on to what that means and try to cover your eyes. The other thing I love doing with you in the mornings is asking you where your binkie is. I’ll look at you and say, Emmett where’s your binkie? I’ll put my arms out like you would if you were asking a question and you’ve begun to mimic me. When I ask the question, you know what’s coming and put your hands out, like you are asking me where it is. Seriously, I’m not sure you could get any cuter!

You’ve also learned how to shake your head, no, in response to some things your dad or I ask you. It’s cute now, but I’m sure down the line it will give us trouble. 😉 You’re also big into say “uh oh” when you drop something, or if something is just laying on the floor. You love to look at it, sometimes you point, but you’ll always say, “uh oh.” Cute stuff!

We made these yummy Mexican pizzas and gave you black olives for the first time. I was skeptical and assumed you would not like them but I was SO wrong. You absolutely LOVED them! We only used about half the can on the pizzas and you finished the rest with your dinner, that’s how much you liked them. I keep forgetting to get you more when I shop on the weekends.

Your dad and I have really limited your screen-time when it comes to all things, including TV, our phones, my iPad, etc. We decided before you were even born that you wouldn’t watch TV until you were two and we’ve done pretty well in sticking to that. You’ve maybe seen a total of 3 hours of TV over the past 14 months. We do occasionally allow football on Sundays and cartoons on Saturdays, but it’s a treat not the norm. We did however, relax a little on our essential ban of the iPad. I downloaded a few educational apps and you play them, but only if your dad and I are with you. The first time you played, you sped through the alphabet but as you have learned how the app works, you now wait for each letter and the picture to show up before swiping it away. It sometimes amazes me how smart you can be

Alright, my little love-bug, I hope you know how much you are loved, each day it grows more and more. Until next month, I love you!

Your turn!

What do you remember from when your child was 14 months olds?

You can read all of my Dear Emmett’s by clicking here.

Filed Under: Emmett

Dear Emmett (12 months),

Posted on July 27 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

12 months! You have been alive for 12 months, this amazes and thrills me to no end.

This has been a busy month for you, but truthfully you’re busy every month, you just accomplish something knew. Emmett, I cannot believe that you have turned a year, that 365 days have passed since the very moment that I gave birth to you. We have had our ups and downs, but I’ve learned so much and grown even more, I wouldn’t change a moment of the past 12 months.

They made him a birthday crown at day care.

Last month, you were pulling yourself up, cruising along the edges of things, this month you’ve begun to take your first steps. We were actually doing FaceTime with your paternal grandparents when you decided there was something across the room that you wanted to check out. You pulled yourself up on your crib, wobbled a bit and then decided to take 4 stiff-legged steps to the toy you were looking for. I squealed (as I almost always do for your accomplishments), I was just so excited! Your grandparents thought you had fallen or gotten hurt because at the moment, your daddy had the camera facing him. Whoops! We were able to get you to do it again but only for 2 steps, you just know that crawling is so much faster.

As the month has progressed you’ve taken more and more unassisted steps, but crawling remains your main mode of transportation. I don’t blame you, you move so SO fast when crawling. You’ll get there before we know it and then the real trouble begins! 🙂

Another major physical development has been that you can now stand up from sitting without any assistance. You more frequently use the couch, but you are able to sit, then move into a squatting position and finally stand up, sometimes you’ll take a step or two but most of the time you’ll plop back down to play.

You also, sadly, had your first real fever this month, it happened so quick too. The day after the fourth of July your dad and I had taken off and were going to have a ‘date day,’ so we got up early and took you to day care. When I dropped you off, you were fine, happy and sweet but by the time I had gotten nearly home, your day care had called me to let me know you had a fever of 102.1. I turned around and went back and got you. Your fever got pretty high (104.1), so we went to the doctors but other than that, we spent the next 3 days just cuddling you and making you comfortable. Poor guy, just wanted to be held.

You’re a pro mimicker! It started with kissy noises. I had been nursing you and sat you up and blew you a kiss, you stared at me for a few seconds and then kind of puckered up your lips and made the kiss sound. It was adorable! I kept kissing your sweet little cheeks and you kept making the sound in response, but it has since developed into more. Now any time your father or I do anything, you try and do the exact same thing. The other morning, we were all in bed cuddling and your dad touched my nose, he knows I hate having my nosed touched but he did it so you would see and repeat it. Guess what? You did. Your dad was thrilled. Me? Not so much! Either way, it’s really cute having you try and repeat the things we do whether it be a sound or an action, you will try anything.

Most babies around your age start waving hello when someone walks into a room and waves at them. You are no exception, only thing is that you do it a bit differently and it’s THE cutest thing. You throw your arm and hand in the air, like you’re about to present someone and just hold it there. There’s no, flapping or waving of the hand, just a straight, stiff arm. So cute! Toward the end of the month you’ve changed how you hold your hand and now, sometimes you will actually wave. It’s amazing how just (less than) 30 days can change you.

You continue to be fearless when it comes to food, you will try just about anything we give to you. Some days you might not eat much or may not like the way something tastes but if we give it to you again, you’ll love the way it tastes the second time. Case in point, blueberries… you hated them the first time I gave them to you. However, I kept sending them for lunch and putting them on your tray for dinner. After about a week of doing that, you started devouring them, now we are forced (not that we mind) to buy the 2 pound container of blueberries so that there’s enough for the week. You almost always eat what we do, things like salmon couscous, grilled chicken, asparagus, ravioli, Naan, etc. etc. The only time we have to come up with an alternate meal for you, is when we’re eating something spicy and that’s mainly because we figure something hot (in spice) like that may hurt you and you wouldn’t understand why.

For Christmas, you received these Fisher Price Snap Lock Beads and you love them. You get so excited when we connect them all together and then you’re able to break them apart and look in the hole that is on one end. You also love putting them on your fingers, you’ll put one on your index finger and one on your pinky finger and shake your hand around, it pretty adorable and very silly. But anything that has a hole or indentation you love.

Your dad and I haven’t really baby-proofed anything up until the last week of the month. You were mobile, but we were able to wrangle, you in one way or another, so we avoided getting rid of or moving things that weren’t safe for you to play with. However, during the last week, you started pulling down daddy’s DVDs almost daily and getting into things that were completely unsafe, so we immediately started reorganizing and getting the house ready for a baby that is very active.

Has it truly been 12 months? Have I really written 11 different “Dear Emmett’s”? Holy cow! I find that so hard to believe but it’s very obviously true. You’ve come so SO far from that bitty baby that was born and would only eat, sleep and pee/poop. Now you play, hug, cuddle and love. You’re amazing and I have no doubt that you will continue to be this way for the rest of your life.

Happy 1 year birthday, sweet sweet Emmett! Mommy loves you to the moon and back!

Filed Under: Emmett, Emmett's Birthday, Family

Dear Emmett

Posted on June 24 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

11 months!

Looking at you and watching you move about, I know you’ve grown but in my mind, you are still my tiny baby. Since we’re nearing your first birthday, I’ve become very nostalgic. I have spent a lot of time looking at pictures of you when you were first born and when you nurse it makes me reminisce about the small struggles we had when we first started nursing but how it has absolutely been worth it.

I actually have to share a story, I’d like to try and nurse you past a year, my goal is 18 months but I will take it a week at a time after your first birthday. Anyhow, I went to the doctor’s last week and he had to put me on some antibiotics and the PA that I saw said I shouldn’t nurse you while on the antibiotic, I panicked! I was not ready to stop nursing you, in my mind I still had at least 4 weeks left. I was so heartbroken, I called your dad and was talking to him and started getting worked up. We got off the phone and I sobbed, I just wasn’t ready! So I called your pediatrician and they checked their prescription book and confirmed that it was perfectly safe to continue nursing you while on the antibiotic as long as you were older than 2 months, which you are (of course). I was so relieved!! So my sweet boy, we continue on with the breast milk.

What a busy month we’ve had. You are a crawling machine! Last month you had a nice leisurely crawl, you’d stop and look around then move a couple more feet but now you crawl like you’re in a race. You are SO fast!! I like when I put you down on the floor and go into another room, you chase after me. When you get to the new room, you peer around the doorway, looking for me and then motor on over. I just adore you.

You’re still not walking, but its close. Right now, you will pull yourself up on nearly everything and if you have strong, steady footing you will let go and stand there independently for a while. There have even been several occasions where you stood on your own for at least 30 seconds. It is really just a matter of time before you let go and take a step in my direction.

Grass!! Oh my goodness did grass freak you out. At the beginning of the month, we went outside to hang out with your dad while he was doing the grilling. I put you down on the grass so I could unfold my chair and you started crying so hard. At the time I had no idea what happened, I thought maybe you got stung or bitten by a bug. I put you down a second time and you did the exact same thing, I finally determined what was bothering you. So for the next few weeks after that, I slowly got you used to the grass. I’d sit on the ground with you and let it tickle your toes or let you reach for it. We slowly worked up to you sitting independently and now you’ll stand on it. However, if you want to move around you will put yourself into a downward dog position and then move your hands and feet like a bear crawl. It’s so silly but you must not like the way the grass feels on your knees. Silly boy!

Speaking of the outdoors, I’ve been trying to make sure you get outside everyday unless it is raining. The summer months can be hot in WNY but I want you to like summer and the heat so I’m hoping by taking you out in it, you’ll grow up liking it.

At the beginning of this month you went through a very finicky phase in regards to food. You’d really only eat a few things here and there and then refuse to eat any more. Your dad and I kept on offering you everything that we normally would and with a week or so you were back to your old self, eating full meals. Now you’re a champ when it comes to eating, I can’t think of a single thing that we’ve given you that you didn’t like. One of your favorites this month was corn on the cob. We tried giving it to you cut off the cob and you’d have nothing to do with it so then we just gave you the cob and you went to town. Such a big boy! I hope you continue like this for the rest of your life, it will make you a much healthier person.

Up until last week, you had been using a sleep sack for naps and nighttime. We decided that maybe we should start moving you from the sleep sacks to blankets, so now for all of your naps you use a blanket. One day I got to day care early and you were still asleep, it was the cutest thing seeing you all curled up in your “blankie,” it warmed my heart.

Exploring is a huge deal to you right now. You love sitting down with a new toy or a toy you haven’t played with in a while and staring at it, turning it over and over in your hands, trying to figure out just how it works. I wish I could have a little window into your mind so that I could know exactly what it is you are thinking or what you are learning. One major thing that fascinates you right now are holes. For instance, my hair brush has a hole at the base, so it can be hung up. You love looking at it and sticking your finger in it, trying to understand what’s going on with it. I could sit and watch you play for hours.

We also took you to your first playground this month, you can read about it here. You had fun swinging back and forth and bouncing around on the different activities around the park. I think your dad and I had as much fun as you. We love watching how curious you get when you are somewhere new.

Do you have any idea how much your father and I love you?? It is so hard on a daily basis to leave you at school and not bring you with me to work. Every little thing you do amazes me and just makes me so proud to be your mother. Next month, we’ll be celebrating a year of life, I cannot wait!

Filed Under: Emmett, Family

Dear Emmett

Posted on May 27 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

10 months!? 10 whole months old! Insane!

This month’s post is a little late because your baby cousin and her family were in town to celebrate her first birthday, so we were busy visiting.

Don’t worry, Emmett doesn’t normally ride in the front seat. He was only here because he had just finished nursing.

In last month’s post, I shared that you were still army crawling, it was literally the day after you turned 9 months that you started really crawling. I was in the other room and your dad yelled for me because (as he said it), “Your boy is crawling!” I ran in but you were already back on your belly but within no time, I got to witness you crawling. What a big boy! Here’s a funny story, I was picking you up from day care one day and I asked your teachers whether they had seen you do your big boy crawl yet, both girls said no. As if on cue, you stopped playing with your toy, got on your hands and knees and crawled over to me. It was adorable! Both teachers were very excited for you, and I can’t say I blame them. I am endlessly proud of you!

We celebrated my first Mother’s Day. You and daddy got me such nice and thoughtful gifts, a beautiful new charm bead for my Pandora bracelet and a gift certificate to my favorite salon, to be used for a massage or in another pampering way. Daddy also took us out for breakfast, it was a buffet and the food was really good. You weren’t really into anything, except for the french toast and a small piece of bacon. Then we went down to your Grammy’s house to spend the afternoon with her. It was a perfect first Mother’s Day!! I can’t wait for every year to come. 🙂

Remember last month when I said you were getting better at standing up and were slowly starting to coast? Well, you are now a pro at pulling yourself up and moving along, whether it be your crib, the pack and play or our couches. You grab, pull up and MOVE! Your dad and I have had to be much more careful about what we put places since you’re able to reach things now. Pretty soon, the coffee table will be completely empty because you’ll be able to reach all the way across.

Last month I also mentioned how we had started placing you at your motorcycle and how you’d take a couple steps and then fall down. Not any more, now you stand up behind the motorcycle and take it clear across the house. Your dad or I will follow behind you because when you bump into something you don’t yet understand how to back up or turn, so we help you readjust but you’re doing so well. I wonder if by next month’s Dear Emmett, you’ll be walking independently??? I think the reason you’ve excelled so quickly with walking with support is because of day care. They have a bunch of different toys for the babies to stand and walk with, so you get loads of practice.

You continue to be breastfed but we’ve reduced the amount that we send you to day care with. Instead of 3-six ounce bottles, we’ve been sending you with 3-five ounce bottles and it seems to be working out well. You are still a pretty good eater! Some days you don’t feel like eating a lot but for the most part, you are willing to try anything. You love grilled cheese sandwiches and also peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, when we can’t get you to try anything else, you will usually eat either of those two.

We also experienced your first ear infection. But we never would have known you had an ear infection if we hadn’t had your 9 month appointment. You were never cranky and your mood never changed, so it was very surprising when the doctor looked in your ear and said you had one. You were on amoxicillian for 10 days and loved the taste of it. I’m glad the ear infection didn’t cause you any pain, but I am also glad that your doctor caught it when he did.

Speaking of your 9 month doctor’s appointment, you weighed in at 23 lbs 2 ounces and 27 inches long! Big boy! You fell into the 95th percentile for both height and weight for a 9 month old. You’re even beginning to wear 12 month clothes because 9 month stuff is getting too small. Your dad and I are in for it!!

I think you’re teething again because you’ve been drooling like crazy, shoving even more stuff into your mouth and you’ve had a pretty bad diaper rash (which I’ve heard is an indication of teething). I wonder which are growing in?

We think you are learning the sign for ‘more,’ but it’s hard to tell if it is that or you clapping because they are so similar. We just keep doing the ‘more’ sign hoping that you will catch on. You also say a lot of mamamamam’s and dadadadada’s but we’re not sure if they actually mean momma and dada yet, but each time you say one or the other we repeat it and point to the correct person.

You unfortunately also got your first black eye this month. 🙁 I got a call from the director of your day care while I was at work, letting me know that you had fallen and bumped your eye and it had bruised pretty badly but that you were perfectly fine and seemed very happy. When I got to you at the end of the day, I couldn’t believe how dark and big the bruise was, poor guy! I guess what happened, was that you were pulling yourself up on one of the bookshelves and you went to grab a toy and let go at the same time and fell and slammed your head. It took nearly a month for those bruises to heal but you are finally back to normal.

As each month passes and we get closer and closer to a year, I am amazed at what you are able to do. You seem so inquisitive and curious, I can’t wait to teach you everything and more.

Filed Under: Emmett, Family

Dear Emmett,

Posted on April 24 by Jillian416 • 1 Comment

Do you realize that there is only 3 more months until you are a year old? This blows my mind! At this time last year, your father and I were anxiously awaiting your birth and here we are a year later, having the time our lives.

We celebrated your first Easter this month. Your dad and I didn’t decorate, dye eggs or get you an Easter basket because we knew you’d probably be getting one from your Grammy, we weren’t wrong. You got the cutest basket from her, it is a monkey’s head and inside of it was a stuffed peep (since you can’t eat the marshmallow ones yet), a VERY cute barn with 4 different farm animals in it that make noise and a chicky bird sippy bottle. I think there might have been one more thing in there but I’m drawing a complete blank. It was really cute stuff and I really love the barn, I can’t wait until your a little bit older and can play with the animals with me.

You are so SO mobile! I remember when we used to be able to put you down on the floor to play and you would stay there, now, no way! The second you hit the floor you move, move, move. You continue to do your army crawl, where your right arm is straight out, pulling, your left is bent underneath your chest pushing you forward and your legs every once in awhile will give a good push but mainly it is your arms doing the work. You still get up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth but you haven’t yet done any “formal” crawling, who cares, though!? You are able to get around perfectly well the way you do it now. You’ve become really really good at doing planks and downward dog, obviously you have no idea they’re called that but you have inspired me to start planking or doing downward dog when you are doing them. So thanks for the motivation! 🙂

Going along with your crawling, you’ve also become really good at standing. Your dad or I can stand you up, holding onto your crib or pack ‘n play and you stand there all on your own for long stretches of time. You actually love it quite a bit because now you can watch your daddy cook. At the start of the month, you were just standing there for a little bit and then falling down, now you like coasting along the side. So if I am in my bedroom and you want to see what I’m doing you’ll slowly inch your way around to the other side so you can see me. You’ve also pretty much mastered sitting down from standing. Initially you’d just let go and fall, sometimes you’d land on your back other times on your butt but at this point, most of the time you land your on your bottom in a sitting up position.

We’ve even experimented with your toy motorcycle that you can use as a walking prop. When we set it up so that you can hold on and walk behind it, you’re pretty good at taking 3 or 4 steps before you stop and sit down. You seem to get tired or bored of doing this because you’ll only do it once or twice but you’re getting better and better. Sooner or later, you will be walking and then, everybody better watch out!

In your classroom at school they have short plie bar attached to a mirror and then attached to the wall. You love that thing! The second your teacher puts you up on it and you start looking at yourself in the mirror you start talking. You yell and smile, babble and grunt, you just adore it. Your teacher also tells us that you are very talkative, that all day you are making some sort of noises. I have a feeling your dad and I are in for it. But I’m pretty sure I was a talkative toddler, so it only makes sense.

Midway through the month, your dad and I started to get a little nervous that maybe you weren’t getting enough solid foods down. You were definitely getting enough breast milk but at around 9 months you start needing the nutrients from whole foods. We considered starting to give you more pureed food and we even pureed some sweet potatoes for you, but in the end our worries were for nothing. You are a champion eater! You are now eating and swallowing pretty much everything without any trouble, this includes meats like chicken, pork or steak. Vegetables and fruit are no match for you, you grab them tight and chomp away. It has been quite the experience watching your eating abilities grow with each passing week.

You love to play with everything but mostly with items you shouldn’t be playing with. Your favorites tend to be the outlet that is strangely in the floor, that we’ve put an outlet cover over but you still want to crawl on over and take it out. You also love grabbing for the cable box and Blu-ray player, which gives your dad a heart attack nearly every time (understandably). I’m personally, not looking forward to when you can reach the TV because that is one expensive piece of equipment and it would be very sad if it got damaged. We’ll just need to be extra vigilant when we get to that point.

We continue to teach you the signs for different words so that it makes it easier for us all to communicate before you are able to speak. Last month you conquered milk and continue to do a great job with that, this month, we’re pretty sure that you’ve mastered “more.” We use it mostly to ask if you want more food, or for you to ask us for more food. We’re still working on “diaper” and “all done.” I have no doubt you will get both of those very soon.

You and I are doing swimming lessons and you are having a blast! When the other babies are bothered by the chilly water or even just being in the water, there you are, happy as a clam, splashing and smiling. I’m so happy we can experience this together. Since before you were born I knew I wanted to do a mommy and me class but couldn’t find one that was the right fit for us, swimming is perfect and something I’m good at. My hope is to continue doing these classes together until you’re 24 months, when you’ll have to start doing the classes on your own with a swim teacher.

Speaking of water, bath time is a blast! Getting you squeaky clean isn’t the easiest because you like to move and squirm but once that part is done, playing with your toys is the best. I’m not sure how it got started, but one day I started calling your toes vinegar toes, now every time I wash them I say that, it’s pretty funny. You have started moving around in the tub to reach your toys or the hose and sometimes you’ll turn your little self around and moon your daddy and I, thank goodness it is such a cute dupa. You like when I lay you back and let you float with my hand underneath your back, it seems like you find it so relaxing. I think if your dad and I let you, you’d stay in the tub forever.

Your 9 month doctor’s appointment is on May first, so I don’t have any of your weight or height information to share this month, but I’ll make sure I include them next month. I am anxious to see what you weigh and how tall you are because you just seem so ginormous.

Well Emmett, my happy beautiful boy, I love every precious moment I get to spend with you and can’t wait to see what is on the horizon this go round.

Filed Under: Emmett, Family

Dear Emmett

Posted on March 23 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Wow, let me tell you, your 7 month did not gotten off to the best of starts. You continue to crawl and move around quite well but you have been unbelievably cranky and have gone back to at least 1 wake-up a night.

I think the main source of your crankiness stems from your new teeth coming in. For whatever reason, the teeth on the bottom didn’t seem to phase you at all but your top teeth are treating you pretty poorly. You’re constantly trying to put everything in your mouth and are getting cranky very easily. I feel so badly for you little guy.

You also had to have the second half of your flu shot and that didn’t go so well. It hurt you like it always does when you get a shot but what made it bad was that you woke up twice that night. You hadn’t done that since we switched you to wearing your sleep sack from your swaddler, almost 4 months ago. I don’t mind waking up with you or caring for you but I feel so bad that you’re not feeling well, I wish I could take away all of your pain.

We also had a HUGE development! We’ve been doing the sign for “milk” since you were about 4 months old. Every time I’d nurse you or you’d get a bottle we’d do the motion and say the word, then give you the milk, well early in the month your dad and I were asking if you wanted milk and you started squeezing your little hand together, doing your version of the sign. We were so proud! You know your momma had tears in her eyes. I’m petty sure I will be your biggest cheerleader for your entire life. Every little thing that you do amazes me! I created you, my magical little being.

We also started bathing you in the big tub! You were starting to outgrow your baby tub so we stopped using it. We have a little rubber mat with Elmo on it to keep you from slipping all over the place and you just love it. I think you were starting to feel cramped in your small baby tub because now with the whole tub you splash and squeal and are unbelievably happy. You even learned how to move around in there! The other day you plopped yourself onto your belly and were just trying to crawl around. You don’t quite get that if you go down on your belly in water, your head will go under the water, so I hold my hand underneath your chest but still kind of let you float around so that you get the hang of things. It is so very cute!

That Waffle is as large as his head!

St. Patrick’s Day fell during your 7th month, as well. We didn’t do anything special, I thought about going to the parade but it was cold and you’re still so young, you wouldn’t really understand. We will most definitely go next year, however you did try corned beef and cabbage for the first time and you loved it. We gave you just a small piece of corned beef because it is so high in sodium but you sucked on that for a little while but then when we gave you a full leaf of cabbage you sucked on that bad boy for a good long while. You ARE Irish but you are also VERY Polish.

Watching you sit there and eat cabbage showed me that your dad and I have done the right thing in introducing you to solids this way, you turn almost nothing away! You might hesitate and the first few times you try it and you might feel iffy but you eventually start liking it and will happily eat away. You’re also getting really good at eating too; you’ve started to take small bites and then move it around in your mouth and eventually swallow some things. It is so amazing to watch your progression.

You have also found a new found love of books. You enjoy sitting on anyone’s lap and listening to a story but you also love playing with your books. If we place you in front of them, you will pull them all out and flip through them, bite them, or throw them. It is really adorable, I enjoy watching you play and learn.

It is so hard to contain you now, we rarely even bother trying. Nowadays, we typically sit you on the floor and surround you with toys and then let you army crawl around the room. We even decided to move our coffee table out of the center of the room so that you have more room to play, it’s no longer mommy and daddy’s house. 😉

We started using “no” around you. We live in an old house and for some reason a long time ago they placed an outlet in the floor and of course being a curious baby you are drawn to it, like a bear to honey. We put in an outlet cover but of course, since it is in the floor you always want to crawl towards it. Every time you do it, we tell you no and pull you back, you haven’t learned what it means yet but with consistency you will. You’re just too smart not to!

Your sweet baby mood returned once again. You are also very relaxed lately, so when your dad and I are holding you, you will often lay back and relax and cuddle. It is such a change from a few months ago. You’re growing and advancing and it is so amazing!!

You also are slowly being moved up into the 2^nd baby room at your day care. This is very exciting because it means that more and more independent play is coming up. I’m excited to see what things happen in your new room.

About two weeks ago, I went through all of your 6 month clothes and pulled them out of your drawers and replaced them with your 9 month things. You have SO many 9 month outfits and your dad has a lot of fun getting you dressed in the morning. He likes making you look like a young man, not a baby and he does a really good job of it.

Well Emmett another month has passed and while I absolutely adore watching you grow both in size and in knowledge, it is sad to think that your baby months are quickly passing us by. I try to enjoy each and every moment with you, please know how deeply you are loved by both myself and your father.

Filed Under: Emmett, Family

Dear Emmett,

Posted on February 23 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

We started the month with your 6 month visit to the doctors, I was super excited to see how much you had grown since our last visit. When the doctor placed you on the scale you jumped all the way up to 19.1 lbs, my big boy!! They also measured your length and you were 27.5 inches, you’re getting so long but since neither your dad nor I are short people, that’s no surprise. Your doctor even told us that you are the size of an average NINE month old at 6 months. Holy smokes, we’re in for it!

Sweet Potatoes

You also have had your first solids. We didn’t take the normal path that most people take, your dad and I decided to follow Baby Led Weaning for introducing you to solid foods and so far it has worked very well. There has not been one food you’ve turned away! When you try something new you make a really funny face but you stick with it and spend some time gumming whatever it is. The very first food you had was roasted broccoli and you really seemed to enjoy it. So far, you’ve had broccoli, sweet potatoes, baby yogurt, mum mum crackers, plums, apples, bananas, avocado, green peppers, strawberries, brown rice, bread, cheese, meatloaf, chicken and pork. Look at all those foods you’ve tried and LIKED and we’re only 4 weeks in. Can you imagine what’s left?!

Emmett’s Very First Food

We are still working on getting you to sit up like a big boy. You do a pretty good job when we put the boppy around you and then place a toy in front of you but then there are times when you just don’t want to sit at all and won’t bend at the waist. We keep trying but as long as you keep developing in other ways, I’m not too concerned.

Your favorite mode of transportation remains rolling around the floor. You’ve definitely started bouncing yourself up onto your knees when you’re on your belly and occasionally you’ll propel yourself forward a bit but for the most part, if you see a toy you want, you roll on over. It’s absolutely hilarious to watch!

You Fisher Price jump-a-roo continues to be one of your favorite toys. We actually decreased the size of the book that we place underneath you. Previously the book we were using was about 4 inches thick, then we decreased to a book that was an inch thick and now that’s not even needed because you can bounce without it. When we put you in that think you go crazy! You get the silliest face on and bounce bounce BOUNCE! You love bouncing so much that whenever we take you out of your jump-a-roo you continue jumping on whomever is holding you. So cute!

Your personality makes your dad and I so so happy!! You are constantly smiling and now we can even make you giggle and that sound is so beautiful to our ears.

You’ve also started taking longer naps too. Instead of 3 shorter ones, you’ve been doing 2 longer ones, they fall in the morning and then in the early evening.

Remember how I mentioned last month that you had started babbling more and yelling less? Well, the yelling is back! LOL You still babble but if I’m being honest your favorite form of communication is yelling. You yell when you’re happy, when you’re angry or just when you’re bored. My favorite is when you have a toy and you are playing quietly and then all of a sudden you start to yell at the toy, like “Hey! You’re not doing anything! Play with me!” Adorable!

Two very exciting things happened just before the end of your 6th month…

The first is that you are now sitting independently! I am so proud of you! We’ve been working on it at home and you’ve been working on it at day care but at long last when I picked you up at school on Thursday you were sitting there all on your own playing with toys. I was so excited and I made sure you knew it too. I squealed and told you what a wonderful job you were doing. You still are working on balance because sometimes when you’re not paying attention you’ll fall backward but you are going for longer and longer stretches of time in a seated position. You are becoming mommy’s big boy!

The second is (drum roll please) you are now creeping along! You love doing the army crawl and you even sometimes go all the way up onto your knees, to reach your toys. You aren’t moving super fast and you tend to move just a little at a time but you ARE moving. I am literally so so SOOO proud of you.

Watching you grow is just such an amazing thing. I knew that I would love you, that was never a question, but I had no idea how MUCH I’d love you. Every single thing you do is interesting to me and I love watching you do it all. You are growing so quickly, I’m loving it but I wish you’d slow down just a bit. I love you being mommy’s baby boy.

I love you!

Filed Under: Emmett