Emilyn,
Your first birthday was a very special day. Stefanie was in town to celebrate, and it's a good thing she was because she made your cake smash possible by baking and frosting your little pink cake and helping me visualize the backdrop on the back porch.
You slept very well considering the day before you woke up with a fever and a bilateral ear infection, which was confirmed by the nurse practitioner we went to see. You've basically been sick to some degree since we got home from Edel and it finally culminated in needing antibiotics. You don't like taking medicine, but you perked up quickly. I was so desperate to try a cute photo shoot idea that I couldn't even wait until your birthday and took your cranky, achy self to the park in the 90-something degree evening to make it happen. Not my smartest move, and not my most well executed shoot, but we did get some sweet shots amongst all the tearful and blurry ones.
The morning of your birthday, we went to the coffee shop and then brunch/lunch at the Grill because Daddy had to go to work. After he left we went on a mission to make the cake smash happen. We started at Frys to look at our bakery options and then decided to bake it ourselves. Next, we went to Lowe's for plexiglass. I got the idea from this blog.
We went home and put you down for your nap so you would get some pre photo-shoot beauty sleep. Then we set to work! It took a few hours to get everything done and set up. I had an idea in my head for the cake, but we realized that there weren't any frosting tips in the house so we went a different direction and then decided it simple was cute and we stopped before we went too far.
When you woke up the evening sun was cutting across the back porch so we had to wait almost an hour for it to go down. You were playing in the grass, the rocks, the chalk, and getting dirty. You carried around Lincoln's Jake & the Neverland Pirates box and wouldn't put it down. I thought you were going to scream for it when we tried to take it away from you for the pictures.
I don't know if you had too many crackers before the photo shoot or if you just had no idea what cake was, but you were NOT interested in touching the cake. Stefanie had to smash your hand in herself and then you looked very upset at having cake frosting on your hand. You didn't even want to lick it! I knew ice cubes would get your attention, so we hid ice cubes in the cake to try and get you to go for it. You were quite happy with the ice and that was it. We didn't push you too hard to get into it, but it was still fun :-D.
You weighed 20.4lbs at the doctor. I'm not sure how tall you are yet because I wasn't listening to their measurement. You and Lincoln go back for your well-visit in October.
You have 8 teeth. You eat an amazing variety of foods willingly - like sauteed onions... You drink from straw cups, you stab food with forks, and you scoop thick foods like yogurt with a spoon. You sit in a booster seat at the table because mama doesn't do high chairs - I think they're a pain. You think you're a big kid.
You started walking the week before. Now you are practically running. You follow and chase Lincoln around laughing. You want to be just like him. I love it.
You are a player. You play, play, play like crazy. You love necklaces, carrying things, collecting items, playing with your castle and the zoo, Minnie Mouse, and Connect 4. You have the fine motor skills to drop the pieces into the Connect 4 game. Lincoln loves that you play with him, but he only wants you to play with the red ones. You have an opinion about that and it sometimes results in both of you screaming over a black piece.
You climb like crazy (up ladders). You are a squirmer. You are on a mission. You are BUSY. You are a big "helper". You love to throw stuff in the trash can, put toys back in their boxes, help unload the dishwasher silverware, and get into the cabinets.
You JUST started sleeping through the night most nights a week. I love nursing you, but you're definitely nursing less and less. Sometimes only morning, nap, and night.
Someday you will have more hair, but so far all the hair you have is blonde and in the back of your head. We call it the "Grandpa David".
You babble coherent-to-you sentences, though we've only heard you say: Mama, Dada, BaBoo, Yogurt, Gorilla. You sign: more and milk. You still manage to make your desires very well known! There is nooooo doubt when you want something.
You love your Daddy. You like to climb up on his lap, lean against, and just lay there. You even fell asleep on him the other day when I was doing my last exam. It was sweet. I know Daddy loved it.
I can't believe a whole year is over and you're a toddler now. I'm amazed at how differently I have loved every moment of your life and I can't wait to see where you go next.
Reminisce on Emi's Birth Story here
