Hi Emerson,
You’re 11 months old this week. Excuse me while I go find a box of tissues. Where did my baby go? You’re this walking, opinionated, sassy little monkey.
I think this month has been exceptionally hard for us. For you and me at least, we all know Daddy usually handles everything in stride. We’ve had some tough, long days. You’ve been testing limits, boundaries, and even your own body to see just how much you can do.
There have been some days where I needed a time out. Between napping purgatory, teething hell, and setting a world record for falling down and getting up… this month has been exhausting. While we may have had some really low lows, we’ve had some amazingly high highs to balance it all out. And isn’t that just what growing up really is? Dips and peaks, highs and lows, disappointments and surprises. But no matter what our day was like, every night as you went to bed with that blonde hair tickling your eyes, I thought, “I love her so much it hurts.”
We’ve enjoyed countless morning walks, afternoon park dates, evening impromptu block parties. And it’s been good. It’s been really good. You’ve gone from wobbly steps to practically running. You love to be outside and your favorite activity is to pull up fistfuls of grass.
You love eating, and at this time I’d say your favorite foods are: cheese sticks, crackers, kale, Greek yogurt, vegetarian sausage, and pasta. Oh wait, can’t forget the frozen veggie medley of peas, carrots, corn and lima beans! And blueberries, you love those too. Anything we’re eating, you love to steal it from us. Hmm, maybe I should amend my stance and say you basically love anything we’ll let you have!
You’ve also mastered drinking from your straw sippy cup this month. Talk about looking like a toddler. And speaking of toddler, you’ve begun tantrums when you’re unhappy. You’ve learned to sign “all done,” albeit you do it infrequently, and only at the table.
Now that I’m writing all these accomplishments down, it’s no wonder this month has been a time paradox. It’s been so incredibly long, but at the same time so incredibly short. Look at all the amazing feats you’ve mastered in just a few short weeks. Oh little Lady Bug, you are inspiring.
I can’t wait to see what these last few weeks of your first year of life hold.
Love,
Your Momma