Holy cow... When did this happen? How do I no longer have an infant, but a toddler instead?
The Holidays were great, but super hectic and busy. I loved having the 10 days straight with my little one, and it made going back to work after New Year's Day that much harder. After that, it was getting things ready for her *First Birthday Party*. So this post is a bit late and likely, a bit long and photo heavy.
We did Christmas morning at our house and then headed over to my parents for the rest of the day for Christmas dinner and more presents! Em made out like a bandit, getting lots of toys and clothes. Several days later, we drove down to visit with my in-laws, where Em got more presents and some Christmas cash. All in all, it was exhausting, but she loved it and got the hang of opening gifts. It was great practice for her birthday.
We had a shoot with the photographer that did our family photos (that were used in the holiday card I posted last). In prep for Em's 1st birthday party, we did a cake smash session. It was ridiculously messy, and crazy fun. Em knew just what to do with the cake and had no fear. She did have to stop for milk breaks a time or 2 and was in definite need of a bath directly after we finished. The photog did a great job. I'm glad she didn't make me choose just my 5 favorites as I don't think I would have been able to narrow it down to less than 8 or 10. Here are a few tidbits.
I went back to work; she went back to daycare. That Thursday, I went to feed her in the afternoon as usual. They told me she had thrown up a little bit ago. Thinking it may have been from post-nasal drip/phlegm she's been having, I nursed her. We got up from the chair, and vomit volcanoed all down me and in the chair. Then a 2nd time about 10 min later. She left daycare early and the Boy took care of her the rest of the afternoon until I could leave work. She just kept throwing up. Poor thing was just tired and not feeling well. After a slightly better Friday of me staying home with her and limiting food, but pushing liquids in little volumes, we made an appt that Saturday. We would have done so sooner if she had a fever or anything else, but she seemed her normal self when not puking. Turns out, it was a pretty good ear infection in both ears from the cold we all had a few weeks before. Antibiotics and rest were the prescription. And this is where I think I have one of the strangest kids. She LOVED taking the Amox.icillin. LOVED it! She also gulps down any of the Ty.lenol/Mot.rin we've given her previously. She was feeling more herself in a few days, no throw up, and by the following Wednesday/Thursday, I got to sleep in another position than sitting up, holding her.
Then she turned 1 on the 8th. It was a bittersweet day, to say the least. It honestly feels like we were trying just a bit ago, I was pregnant the other day, and she was born just yesterday (almost). Time has flown faster than I could have imagined. We spend that whole week prepping the house for her party on the 12th. When you don't really have time/energy to clean well over a span of, say, a year and a half, it is a beast to tackle in a week. Thankfully, we got it most of the way, and what we couldn't get went to hide in the office.
Her party was a good bit of fun. We asked for books instead of cards, and boy, did she ever get books! There were 8 kids there under 5yrs, and my 11yr old niece. Most surprisingly, no one had a tantrum or breakdown. All the little ones had a good time in the living room, playing with toys, each other and the dogs. We did presents after all had arrived and had time to eat some of the snacks/food we set out. Presents were immediately followed by cake and cupcakes for the guest. Em really dug getting to eat a cake all to herself again. Another bath ensued directly after that. The day was a whirlwind for me, and I had forgotten to take photos of it all before the party started. Darn it.
As for what she's up to these days, she is quite the busy body. Her staggering walk is morphing into a run rather quickly. Still keeping to the "d" "p" and "b" sounds. No "mama" yet, just lots of "doad" and "dada."
Dogs. One of her favorite things. Her dogs. Dogs on tv. In a book. A puzzle. A picture. A bark. All of them prompt a "Doad" from her. She loves a good puppy dog.
She's a genius. Well, maybe not genius, but she's figuring things out. How to stack and unstack things rather than just knock them down. Taking things in and out of containers, which she likes to open and close as well. The other day, she took the pitcher we use for giving the dogs water, and dragged it over to their bowl and turned it upside down onto it. Granted, there was nothing in it (thankfully!), but she got the picture.
Sitting in chairs. It's crazy to think about how fascinating chairs are, but they seem to be the other big thing she's wild about right now. She tries to climb into her highchair. She'll climb into her bumbo-like seat. And since my parents brought it over, the kid-sized lawn chair. which brings me to the next item...
Climbing. Oh Lord, the climbing. If it is her height or less, she'll climb on just about anything. The aforementioned chairs, the dogs, toys, laundry baskets, us, and unfortunately, even the fireplace. I'm guessing it some ingrained, left-over instinct from our monkey days as she hasn't seen us climb anything, but she just seems to know how to do it and what's the best way to get up to where she wants to be. I see some very tiring days in my future.
She's working on a few more teeth. The level of drool and gnawing are astounding to me compared to what she had/did with the last round. I'm hoping these come quicker as I don't think I have another month of practically sleepless nights in me.
There is probably more things I meant to talk about in this post, but by this point I've forgotten them. Besides, I think this has rambled on long enough. Hopefully, since all the hectic-ness of the holidays and her birthday have settled, maybe I'll be able to post more. We'll see. I really only have a bit of time free on evenings while she's sleeping, otherwise I'm chasing or otherwise entertaining my toddler. Sigh, I can't believe she's no longer the little tiny thing we brought home, but an honest-to-goodness toddler...
