12 Month Update

Emily is one year old! I cannot believe how fast this last year has gone by. We've been a little busy since Emily's big day, but here are the updates on our (gasp!) toddler...

* She is a great walker now. No more "monkey walk" with both hands in the air. She has great balance.

* We took away Em's bottle and switched her to cow's milk all at once. There were a few cranky days, but now she's doing great with the sippy cup!

* Emily is talking a lot more these days. Some of her favorite words are balloon (still), ball, bubble, GO! (which she frequently yells the dogs), cracker, yogurt, and a perfect "MAMA!", which I am thrilled about! She has also figured out the meaning of "Uh oh.." and we hear it frequently before something hits the floor. Check out Emily playing "Uh oh" with the blocks during her photo shoot:

* Emily's favorite things to do lately are reading her books, going up the stairs, and playing with her new car that Tita and Jido got her for her birthday.

* She LOVES to give hugs and big open mouthed kisses. One funny thing that she has been doing is reaching up to get a "treat" when the dogs get one. Don't worry, Emily gets a yogurt melt, not a dog treat.

* Em has FOUR new teeth coming in all at once, so she has been a little cranky lately.

Happy Birthday Emily!

We put together a slideshow of our favorite memories from Emily's 1st year and showed it at her birthday party today. I can't believe how much Emily has grown in such a short amount of time!

Happy birthday Emily! We love you so much, and can't imagine life without you!

How Old is Emily?

We'll let Emily tell you how old she is....

Emily is walking!!!

Check out this video of our little lady walking to her Daddy! Please excuse my extreme excitement, I was in shock!

11 Months!

Emily is 11 months old! She just continues to amaze us every month with everything that she is learning. She still has a limited vocabulary (balloon (ba-oon) and bottle (bobble) being the only words she knows), but she recognizes lots of different words. Emily completely surprised us a few days ago when she was playing with her current favorite toy - My Pal Violet. Violet plays "If You're Happy and You Know It" with different actions (clap your hands, wag your tail, etc). Emily recognized the music and knew to clap her hands! So smart! She's loving her books these days. When we watch her on the web cam at daycare she's always playing with the books, turning the pages and pointing at the pictures. Emily is also loves to play repetition games. She plays a game with me where she puts her head on my chest and I say "asleep", then she pops up and I say "awake!" She loves to open and close drawers, play peek-a-boo, and loves to open and close Callie's crate door. My absolute favorite thing that Emily is doing now is giving hugs and kisses! She continues to love Super Why and is absolutely mesmerized when the show is on.

Emily has been a great eater, but we've noticed this month that she's starting to become a little picky. She used to gobble up her veggies, but now she only will eat a few. She LOVES macaroni and cheese, or anything with cheese really. Her top teeth have now completely come in, so she is able to bite everything into pieces better. She refuses to wear a bib, so most nights she's eating in just a diaper.

We're looking forward to next month, celebrating a YEAR! I can't believe how quickly it has gone by!

Emily's First Word

We've debated for months what Emily's first word would be. We've been talking up a storm with her, and really pushing "mama" and "dada", as well as teaching Emily many things such as waving and clapping. We also tell the dogs "no" constantly (mostly because they are always licking the baby!), so all of these words were front runners.

Anyone will tell you that when it comes to children, you will almost never be able to predict what they say or do. Emily surprised us all with her first word. Fouad decided to get a ton of balloons for my birthday at the beginning of the month. Em was fascinated with the balloons as soon as she saw them. It only took her one day to decide that it was very important for us to know how much she likes "ba-ooons". She says it all the time! She gets excited every time we go to Publix now becuase the balloons are the first thing she sees. Emily can spot a balloon a mile away, even in places where I'm sure there are no balloons.

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure Up is going to be our next movie with Em...

Emily's First Haircut!

Emily had her first haircut on Memorial Day! She really just needed a little trim as you can see in the first picture below. We stopped by Snip-its in the Forum shopping center, and after a little trim, Emily looked great! 

Before the scissors came out:

The finished product! 

 Emily in the middle of her haircut, being distracted by dolls and other toys...