Happy 1st Birthday Emilyn! April 15, 2010

12 Months Old

Date: 4-16-10
Weight: 19 lbs 9 oz (25%)
Height: 29 inches (50%)
Head Circ: 44.5 (25%)

(Matisyn was 3/4 of an inch shorter and weighed 4 ounces more, so they were pretty close to the same size.)

Emilyn got her first present from us when she woke up in the morning. Matisyn slept in for a change so she even got to enjoy it a little on her own without any help!

Emilyn's birthday cake, the top one turned out cute. The bottom one started as a princess crown, but went down hill when I ran out of frosting. I was trying to fix it by cutting part of it off so I'd have enough, but that just made it a mess to frost. I didn't have time to freeze it or make more frosting, so we ended up with just one cake. There was just enough and Emilyn only got a little piece to smash around. The perfectionist side of me had to get over it and move on! Plus when I cut it up it made it look like a paw instead of a crown!

This is what Emilyn did to entertain herself while I was baking and decorating cakes. Luckily my friend Ashly took Matisyn to play and Emilyn slept for part of the time or I never would have gotten everything I needed to done. The cupboards were open so Emilyn enjoyed taking out all of the oatmeal packets, as well as the pepper, and a few other miscellaneous items and putting them back in again. I was grateful for the distraction for her.

We had a bbq with Matt's family to celebrate our little baby turning one. We had hotdogs, hamburgers, my mom's delicious macaroni salad recipe, chips, and fruit. Emilyn loved the attention, and was an angel all night, even when there was still family here at 9:30! That's late for her.


She loved the helium balloons just like Matisyn did at this age.




Look at that cute smiley face!




She was slow to take her first bite of cake, and was really pretty calm the whole time. She ate some of it, shared some with anyone walking by, dropped some on the floor, and only got a little on herself. I remember Matisyn being more crazy with it, but Emilyn did only have a small piece to work with, not a whole cake!

She loved opening presents, even though she didn't do much opening. She likes having all eyes on her, eating tissue paper, and discovering new things in each of the packages. A few of the things she got were a fisher price little people a-z animal play set, giraffe bike, stuffed pillow hippo friend, soft book with little animals to put in and take out, rocking horse, pajamas, clothes, and bath toys. Thanks everybody for helping to make her birthday special. We're glad we could celebrate with you. We still can't believe she is one. Where did the year go?




Trying out her new rocking horse from Aunt Meggie.

Something traumatic happened here, I can't remember what it was now. Somebody took Matisyn's toy or put something in the wrong place, like I said, traumatic! These really are pretty sad faces she is making. She settled down pretty quick though, and actually was a great big sister and helper that night.




The girls snuggling with Papa Curt

Things about 12 month old Emilyn:

• If traditional 1 year old birthday cake smashing is any indication of personality, Emilyn seems pretty calm and collected.
• She sometimes sleeps through the night and sometimes does not. I am still nursing once per day, at the first feeding, whether that be morning or when she wakes up in the middle of the night.
• She takes three other bottles a day, and sometimes loves the formula and sometimes won't touch it.
  
• She is still taking two naps, and doesn't seem quite ready to give one of them up. She still doesn't like or need to be rocked to sleep. Sometimes I wish she would let me, but most of the time I'm grateful she just grabs for her blanket and puts her two fingers in her mouth and settles right down. If she does cry it is hardly ever for very long. She does sometimes just lay her head down on your shoulder when she is being held, which I love. It is a rare treat and I soak it in every time.
  
• She is getting three teeth at the same time right now all along the top, it makes her very cranky. She has three already.
  
• She still loves attention, and is happiest with someone entertaining her.
• She cries when you put her down or walk away, but isn't overly scared of strangers or going to play with other friends and family that aren't mom and dad.
• She still loves mommy best!
• She can play for short periods of time now on her own, especially if there is a new toy or things to explore.
• She doesn't love grass, and lifts her feet quickly if you try to put her down on it. She still loves being outside other than that.
• She loves to swing, ride in the stroller, and eat disgusting objects off the ground. Everything still goes in her mouth.
• She loves to put objects in and then take them out. We often find her toys inside Daddy's hiking boots, it's one of her favorite storage containers!
  
• She thinks her sister is hilarious, but is cautious, which is smart, because under most circumstances her big sister is trying to drag her somewhere or take something away.
• Emilyn is starting to throw little baby tantrums. I can see the terrible twos in our future already! If she does not like something, like getting put in her car seat, having a sharp instrument or choking hazard taken away from her, being put in her high chair when it is not already supplied with food, being put down so that I can get anything done, etc. then she will let you know it by arching her back, crying, and kicking.
• She is still a big smiler, and will grin ear to ear when I come to get her out of her crib, sit down to play with her, or pretty much when anybody looks at her and smiles.
• She is crawling all over the place, stands by herself, climbs very quickly upstairs (but doesn't know how to get back down), and walks along furniture, but doesn't seem interested in walking yet.
• When music is on or you sing to her she will sometimes "sing" along. Her little voice is so precious as she tries to copy the sounds.
• She loves playing a game with Matisyn where Matisyn yells or makes a loud sound and Emilyn copies it or yells back. It's pretty cute at first, but then Mom doesn't think it's as fun after the noise keeps going. Both girls think they are soooo funny though.
  
• She really isn't saying too many words yet, but will sometimes say mama, baba, nana, and dada. She babbles, giggles, talks, and makes noises all the time. She says giggle, giggle, giggle over and over again, I'm not sure why, I just think she likes the way it sounds!
  
• She is still a good eater, but is starting to have stronger opinions. She is rejecting most baby food now, and if you try to keep feeding her something she doesn't want then she shakes her head hard, spits, or slaps the spoon away. She throws food off her tray when she's done.
  
• She loves to blow kisses, and the key words to get her to do it are "bye-bye" and "night-night". She doesn't make a sound she just does the motion, so precious!
• She is busy, and curious, and beautiful. She has hair that sticks straight up and cannot be controlled. People comment on her hair, you can't miss it, and how cute and fun she is everywhere we go. We're so grateful to have her in our family and we love her so much!

The Friday after her birthday Emilyn went to her 12 mth dr's appt. and got two shots, hep a and prevnar (which I think combines a bunch of things). She had a bad reaction to one of them and we were up all night Friday and Saturday with a very unhappy, hot baby. Her fever spiked on Friday evening to about 104. She could hardly lift her arms and head when I went to get her from her nap. The nurse at my doctor's office wasn't in so my sweet nurse friend Amber talked me down. I hate fevers that high anyway, but I was worried about what other reactions I should be watching for. Even with alternating tylenol and motrin, we couldn't get it below 101-102. Friday night I was up at 3:00 a.m. with Ems watching Project Runway and trying to distract her from her discomfort with her toys. At least she was more snugly than usual. Lucky for us it only lasted the weekend, and we saw no other ill effects. We were two worried, tired parents and Emilyn was one sad, miserable baby the whole weekend though.