Emily is ONE

It literally does seem like yesterday as I think back to the time I was anxiously waiting for the arrival of our little baby girl.  I remember staying up all night crying through contractions, what I ate before we went to the hospital and how incredibly excited I was to finally meet the baby I'd been carrying for what seemed like forever.  Emily's first year has been full of surprises, tough and the most rewarding as a first time mom.  There were ups and downs, highs and lows and many, many lessons learned.  I've been pushed to my limits, my patience tested time and time again and I've never, ever felt this level of exhaustion before.  As scary as all this may sound,  it is also by far the BEST thing ever.  Every fiber of my being and every cell in my body light up whenever Emily smiles, laughs or does the amazingly cute things she does everyday.  She continues to amaze me and I feel beyond blessed and incredibly thankful.  Makes me want to have ten more babies!!

 

I took Emily to the indoor playground today and she had a lot of fun as usual.  It wasn't as crowded as last time so she had more room to crawl around and explore.  There were a few other kids and Emily seemed to want to play with them and kept staring in their direction.  Once we're all settled in at the new house I'm signing her up for Gymboree so she can have more interaction with other babies.  Afterwards, we went to Toys R Us and I bought her a ball.  She loves it!  In sticking with Korean tradition, I made her seaweed soup for dinner and she gobbled it all up and even finished all her juice.  I love it when meal time is a success.

 

 

 

Here are some updates:

Sleep: She is still taking 2-3 naps a day lasting 30 minutes to 1.5 hours max.  Most of the time, they're 30 minute naps.  She has been going to bed later at around 9-10PM and wakes up at 7:30AM.

Eat: She drinks 25-28oz of formula a day with two solid meals (bfast & dinner) and a snack of yogurt and crackers in between.  I was trying to feed her three solid meals but she wasn't interested in eating much during lunchtime.  She's picky on some days and a little oinker on others.  She will love something one day and hate it the next.  Pears, however, are always a hit.  She's a strategic eater and will eat all of one thing before moving on to another.  Lately, she always eats her cheese and peas first.  She gets a kick out of sharing her food with the dogs (they love it too). 

Play: Her play has become more purposeful and incredibly fun to watch.  She likes to open and close any door she can get her hands on, fill and empty any available containers with blocks and balls and she uses more defined hand gestures and babbles while entertaining herself.  She loses interest in one thing pretty quickly and is on to the next which keeps me on my toes.  She's more curious, determined and mischievous than the day before. 

Walking: She's not quite there yet but has been cruising faster, willing to stand more and will now leap from object to object with a victory grunt. 

Stranger anxiety: Yup.  Still there :)

We'll be getting her updated stats at her one year appointment.