HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday, my sweet little girl! One year ago today, my life changed forever. I had no idea how wonderful this experience would be. Today is bittersweet for me. I’m so sad today because a whole year has passed in the blink of an eye, and yet so happy because my life is so much better with you in it. Thank you for the best year of my life!

1st Birthday Party

Emily had her first birthday party today. When presented with her very own baby cake, she decided rather than tasting it herself to instead share it with both of her granddads. Later when I ate a piece of cake, she realized that she should taste some and seemed to enjoy it. She loved her new scooter that she got from her grandparents, as well as the many other wonderful gifts she received. We had a great time, but I can't believe that it's been a year already.

Unfortunately it looks like Emily will not be walking on her first birthday. She learned how to walk at 10 1/2 months, and had become quite good at it. But last weekend, she got her foot caught in a toy and fell, resulting in a hairline fracture in her tibia. The doctor said that no cast was necessary, although I'm wondering if it would help since she's been fussy and wants to be held non-stop since the fall. Since she can't walk on her injured leg, she is back to crawling. I noticed some definite improvement today though, we're she's putting a little more weight on her leg and doesn't seem to be quite so concerned about hurting it. Hopefully her leg will heal soon.

Finally some footage...

Emily walks...

Since I am new to this parent thing, I am never sure when to be excited about my kid doing something, but...I feel safe in saying at this point that Emily is walking. I had seen a few stumbling steps, and never when you were paying attention. Performance anxiety I guess. Last night it was 5-6 steps from the counter to my chair like it was no big deal. Then out comes the camera, and no more show. Caught a quick clip to appear later.

Emily Speaks...sort of...

Emily's 1st Taste of Spaghetti

Apparently Emily takes after her "Poppy" and LOVES spaghetti!

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.