Update

We had a wonderful time on our Northwest vacation. We spent two days in Victoria Island, Canada so Emily has officially been out of the country now. We also went hiking and exploring Olympic National Park. Emily got to ride in a backpack, which she loved. The only problem that we had with Emily was that one day when we had a heavy driving day, she got really tired of being in the car seat and was very fussy. I can’t blame her for this, and all in all I think she was a trooper. I’m so glad that we didn’t let having a baby stop us from traveling.

In the last two weeks, Emily seems so much older to me. I’m losing my little baby. She upgraded to the big kid car seat, has completely transitioned over to finger foods (other than when mom needs the convenience of baby food), and she’s finally getting her first two teeth! She can also now say “ba-ba” (bottle), “mama,” and “dada” with meaning associated to them and she can wave bye-bye. Emily can pull up to a standing position in a split second and can stand with just a tiny bit of help for her balance. She can also walk behind a walker, but it’s definitely a little unsteady and awkward. I can’t believe that her first birthday is now on the horizon. How did this happen so quickly?

My only problem that we’re having with Emily right now is that she’s “exploring her voice”. This is fine when we’re at home, but sometimes when we’re in places where she needs to be reasonably quiet (i.e. restaurant, church), she decides that it’s time to scream “aaaahhh” quite loudly, and it’s embarrassing. She doesn’t understand “sssshhhh” or “be quiet” yet. If anyone has any advice on what to do, I welcome it. This weekend we’re flying to Pennsylvania for my cousin’s wedding and I’m definitely nervous that Emily will be too loud during the ceremony. Fortunately my cousin will have her children there, so I think that they know this may be a problem, and Brian will take her out if necessary. I’m trying to make arrangements to get a baby sitter though so that I can avoid the situation altogether.