Yep, we’re skipping month 13. It’s unlucky anyway right? Our girl is now 14 months old. I can’t even begin to tell you all the changes that took place over the last two months. But I’ll try to cover a few of them.

Emma is finally walking. She walks and walks and walks, then walks some more. Back and forth, round and round. When she gets really excited, she almost runs. It’s so much fun watching her waddle around aimlessly. We ask her to bring us things and she does. Usually she’ll fetch her socks or shoes that she took off and left laying on the floor somewhere. She loves carrying things around. She has a purple ball that’s almost as big as she is, and she’ll carry that ball around everywhere.

One of her latest discoveries is something we’ve been calling “giddyup.” We’re still wondering how she suddenly found this joy of riding on our backs or our laps as we bounce her up and down. Her love of giddyup confuses us sometimes though. Just when we think she’s coming to one of us for a hug, she’s actually looking for a lap or a back to climb on to get in a little giddyup!

We’ve had some really fun times this month. Doug and I took her to the California Academy of Sciences (a museum in nearby Golden Gate Park) one weekend where she ooohed and aaahed over tons of fish in the aquarium downstairs. She also got to see her favorite animal so far (penguins!) swimming and diving right in front of her face. She also proudly demonstrated for Dad how she knows to climb down stairs by backing down them feet-first.

I’ve been trying to use the video camera as much as possible. I managed to catch a fun moment the other day. We now know that Emma can say our dog’s nickname. Even though his true name is Jackson, we often call him Bubba. I asked Emma what the dog’s name is and she turned to me and said “Buh Buh” clear as day. Judge for yourself:

Not only is Emma starting to say a few more words. She started signing too. We took two different sign language classes, but Doug and I haven’t been the best with our followthrough. Out of the blue, she started doing the sign for “more” at dinner one night. Ever since that day it’s more of everything. More blueberries, more cheese, more giddyup!

She also loves books. She has three or four favorites. Each afternoon when she wakes up from her nap we read several books together. But we always read them over and over again. Just when I’m able to put one book down, she picks it right back up, signing “more” for me to start over again. Her never-ending quest for more always makes me laugh.

We still haven’t made many friends in the City yet. We’ve been going to both Gymboree Classes and My Gym once a week. I’m starting to see a few familiar faces, so hopefully we’ll get to know some new friends at one of those. Emma and I also starting a new playgroup on Wednesdays, where there will be about 7 or 8 other kids the same age as Emma. We still go to our Monday play date down on the Peninsula with our friends there. We sure do miss them.

Even though we’ve been on a roller coaster the last couple months, with the move to San Francisco and getting our new home established, Emma has been our constant. She is amazing. We look forward to each new day with her. As she learns new things, we get to experience them with her all over again, seeing them through her eyes.

With that being said, please enjoy the updated pictures of Emma in Doug’s Flickr stream. This should make up for our laziness. We actually had to go back about 7 months to get caught up with all the past photos, but we did it. Now if I could just get Emma’s first birthday post done before she’s two!!

Your dad and I went to bed last night just as we did one year ago. What we didn’t know then was it was the last night we would be going to bed as a couple. The next night we would be going to bed as a family of three.

Each and every night since then I thank God for the greatest blessing of our lives. You are amazing. You have changed our lives for the better, and we couldn’t be happier. It hasn’t been easy by any means. But I would do it all over again a million times.

I still remember the minute you were born. I couldn’t believe how small and precious you were. How all the fear I had just disappeared as I was holding you. And here you are, one year old. I am sad and happy all at once. I remember those first few months being the most difficult of my life. Now I wake each day filled with great anticipation of what surprise you have in store for me.

Thank you for being our little girl. Thank you for making us better people and showing us what love is all about.

Love,
Mama

Emma has a wonderful group of friends. Some are about a month or two older and we helped them celebrate their big one year birthday. It was a blast. Thanks to Janet and Brian we were able to have all the kids together for some true birthday fun. Emma loved Nora’s water table. She splashed everyone in arms length. It was perfect for the hot summer day. Janet even made individual cupcakes and fun goodie bags for each baby. It’s always entertaining watching the babies together.

A couple months ago we found Emma a Radio Flyer walker wagon at a rummage sale. By far the best $15 ever spent! When we first got the wagon it sat in our living room collecting dust. The only time it was really used was by our friend Charlotte. Now it’s both a blessing and a curse. When it’s time to put the wagon away tears are sure to follow. Emma loves the wagon. We take it everywhere. She even rode/pushed the wagon in the Fourth of July parade this year. Three of our friends have purchased the wagon recently. We can’t wait for wagon races this weekend in the park!

This was a great 4th of July for all of us. After the parade we spent time at the park with friends then headed over to Jim, Susannah, and Finn’s. They have a swimming pool that is the perfect temperature for the babies! Doug and Emma went swimming. Emma has been in swim classes this summer and is now a pro at going “under water.” It’s nice that she isn’t afraid of the water.

Emma has gone from a slow crawl to “catch me if you can” in a matter of days. We spend our day chasing each other around the ottoman in the living room and she gets me every time. She can play this game for hours. She also loves to be chased and play hide and seek. She will squeal with delight when you do finally catch her. There have been several times now when the whole family has been involved, including the dog. Our house is now a zoo! I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We finally broke down and bought Emma a tunnel to crawl through. It’s just small enough that neither of us can get in it. Emma is a very smart girl. She’ll crawl in the tunnel and sit in the middle not wanting to choose between the two clowns on either end calling her name over and over again. Eventually one of us has to relent so she can start over again. The tunnel has been a great hit. It’s so much fun hearing her squeal with delight as she charges from one side to the other.

We have been wanting to get our family pictures done for some time. We knew several other families who had theirs done and they were amazing. We took their advice and did it. We are sure glad we did. The photos turned out amazing. We can’t wait to get them so you can see!

I think it amazes both of us how quickly the time goes by. I am sad that our little baby is growing so quickly but am excited to see all the changes and discoveries she makes each day. I get to experience the world all over again through her beautiful eyes. We are so blessed.

Happy 11-month Birthday, Emma. You are amazing.

Emma walked in her first parade yesterday. She and her friend, Charlotte, had fully decorated Radio Flyer walker wagons that they pushed in the Menlo Park 4th of July parade. Actually, Emma rode in hers most of the time. These two little girls and their two wagons were the hit of the parade. Everyone who saw them gushed with adoring smiles. We heard lots of “oohs” and “aahs” and “isn’t that the cutest thing in the whole wide world?!” the entire parade route. Lots of fun had by all.

Here are a few photos and a couple videos that help capture the day. (Again, if you don’t have the video password, just email one of us to ask for it.)

Happy girl!

Happy 10 Month Birthday Emma!

We’ve seen big changes for Emma this past month. As you might be able to see in some photos, she is finally growing more hair (slowly, but surely). Her vocabulary is growing too. We don’t quite hear full words yet. But we can very distinctly make out “da da da” and “ma ma ma”. Unfortunately for Cam, “da da da” usually comes out when she’s playing and happy. And “ma ma ma” is almost always coupled with crying and a need to be comforted. Either way, she’s adorable when we hear either of those from her.

This month, both Cam and Emma were away for five days. Cam took Emma and Jackson up to Oroville, and I stayed behind because of work. It was a lonely week for me living in an empty house, and I missed my family terribly. That was the longest I’ve ever been apart from both Cam and Emma. Being away from my daughter for that long was certainly difficult. Especially because that’s when she started saying “da da da!”

No signs of her top two teeth yet, but we’re waiting for those to break through any day now.

Assuming she has something to hold on to at the right height, Emma can now easily stand on her own. She either stands at her LeapFrog music table, or she’ll stand beside our ottoman and do little dances by bending her knees. She also stands at her toy basket and reaches in to grab the next toy she wants. She’ll even shuffle sideways around the ottoman to get to the Tivo remote control.

Cam says that she’s seen Emma crawl forward twice now. But she won’t do it anytime I’m around. Instead, just like last month, she gets on her hands and knees and scoots backwards. No matter how much we coax her, we can’t get her to crawl forward on demand yet.

She’s just getting started on walking. She’ll take little baby steps as long as we’re holding both hands and providing lots of support. She’s still very wobbly and unpredictable in her footsteps. But when she really wants to move forward, she’ll string together a series of very determined steps.

How is it possible that our little girl is ten months old already? We don’t know. But we can both say that our love and appreciation for Emma continues to grow greater and greater every day. She is an amazing, adorably cute, smart, and feisty baby. Quite a wonderful little package, if you ask me.

Emma hasn’t even had a cold yet, but here we are one night, going the ER at 2:00am. It turns out Emma had picked up “Hand, Foot, and Mouth” disease. This is very common in small children, but it’s tough to see our little girl so miserable. We had to stay home for several days until we knew she was no longer contagious. She is definitely an outdoors girl, so it was hard to keep her housebound.

Grandma Thelma came to visit us from Ohio. She stayed the week and got to see Emma moving all around. She even tried to get Emma to crawl, but to no avail. Emma rolls everywhere she wants to go. Usually, she rolls straight to Jackson.

Emma and I are still taking our sign language classes. She is getting really good at understanding. She gets excited about the words water, dog, and cheese. So far, we have only seen her sign the word “dog”. We also have a few songs that we sign to her. These seem to work magic when she is fussy, or going to bed for the night. Both of us are enjoying the classes and interaction with other babies.

We also ventured out to the San Francisco Zoo with Emma’s friend, Charlotte. We walked around for hours. Emma loved watching the giraffes – she knows them as Sophie! The zoo has two or three baby giraffes, and an amazing feeding barn where they can be seen up close.

With warmer weather, Emma spends a lot of time at the park. She loves being outside. We found a cute little push wagon at a rummage sale that she just loves. She isn’t walking yet, so she just lets anyone push or pull her around, including her friend Char. We also spend at least one day a week at the pool. She’s not too sure about being in that much water yet, but we’re hoping to get into our first swim class in June.

One of the best days this month was Mother’s Day. It has an entirely new meaning for me. Emma (and Daddy) went above and beyond for me. I loved getting cards. (Yes, I got more than one.) They took me out to an amazing brunch. Emma also got me a much needed wallet. She has great taste! Doug set a high bar for Father’s Day!

Every day with Emma is amazing. It seems like she does something new every day. And it gets harder to keep up with her when she’s moving around so much. Even if that’s just rolling or crawling backwards for now. Just when I think it couldn’t get any better, it does! We love you Emma. Thank you for another wonderful month!