My Talkative Little Girl

Emma is talking to just about everyone and everything these days. On Sunday Feb 22nd Emma did the cutest thing yet. I was nursing her right before her bedtime. She was gulping away and then all of a sudden she stopped nursing - looked up at me and started talking. Then she went back to nursing. A few gulps later she was back to talking to me. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. She just melts my heart!

Today we went to look at daycare facilities. I was not looking forward to this day because I just don't want to have to put her in daycare. We found one that we liked - I left feeling like if I have to put my daughter in daycare this would be the best place. There was one place that as soon as we walked in I knew it wasn't going to work - it was disgusting in there.

Tonight Emma was playing with her balloon with Grandma and all of a sudden she grabbed the balloon with both hands and pulled it towards her. She is really getting good at grabbing things. Every time I look at her I can't believe my Emma is so big and doing all of these things. She has grown up so quickly!

And Now The Videos..

Disclaimer: Emma is sorry for the way her parents, especially her mother, behaves while she is being videotaped. One day she will be quite embarrassed by these clips!

Don't miss Emma's cute pictures below!

Emma and Her Balloon at Grandma and Grandpa's House


Emma Holding On To The Balloon - with a Silly Mommy In The Background!



Emma Getting Tired of The Balloon Routine!


Emma Before Bed




Emma Flying - again sorry for the crazy lady in the background!

Changing So Quickly!

Emma is growing up way too quickly. She is talking to almost everything these days. Recently Bryan and I noticed that she is talking to inanimate objects such as the Mylar balloons from Grandma's birthday, the light up sun on her playmat and the cows and sheep from her night time projector. It's so cute to listen to her chatting these things up. It appears we might have quite the gabber on our hands - I wonder where she got that from :)

Bryan pointed out to me that Emma makes cute noises after she sneezes now. Which I listened for today and have to agree - sometimes she sighs or coos. She just gets cuter and cuter by the minute!

Emma also is starting to grab for things. You have to watch out when you hold her because she will grab your hair, necklace, shirt, etc. It's amazing to watch her trying to figure out how to get a hold of something. She moves her hand slowly towards the object - and no longer are her hands always in a fist. I absolutely love watching her trying to figure these things out - it's incredible to watch her learning. But it must be so frustrating for her when she can't quite get things done.

We went up to Connecticut this weekend for Grandma's birthday. Aunt Liz and Kevin were also in town to spend some time with Emma. And of course we took some pictures and videos to mark the occasion. It appears that Emma loves to have a balloon tied around her leg - she just goes crazy kicking, punching, talking and trying to lick the balloon. Very cute!

Mmm...Aunt Liz's Hair!

Look At Those Thighs!

Emma Videos

Here are some videos of Emma from today! Don't miss the pictures in the post below!

Baby Emma at 11 Weeks Old

It's Emma 11th week birthday - perhaps a lesser celebrated birthday but nonetheless still important. There are times I can't believe that already 11 weeks have gone by and then there are other times where it seems like Emma has been with us for a lifetime already! She is getting bigger and bigger by the day. She is still working on getting her entire fist in her mouth! I think she will have that figured out any day now.

Bryan built Emma her Rainforest Jumperoo this past weekend - while she can't touch the ground quite yet, she seems like she enjoys it. Today I put a box under her feet, per Grandma's suggestion - and she is getting the hang of it. Soon enough she will be bouncing in there like crazy! We took some pictures and videos - she was pretty tired by this point in the day so the bouncing was a little less. She also was really into watching Gabby playing with Bryan in the background.

Emma Finally Enjoying Bathtime!
Emma in her Jumperoo
Emma and her playmat

This Made Me Cry

I read this online today and I started to cry - I'd thought I would share:

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night

watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body..

I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom .

I Can't Believe It

If Grandma wasn't also a witness to this moment in Emma's life - I almost wouldn't believe it. For weeks now I have been making funny faces at Emma - sticking out my tongue, making that razz noise with my tongue. And now Emma will imitate me - not the razz yet but she does stick out her tongue like I do. Sure she is sticking out her tongue a lot these days to lick everything in sight - but this is different. She clearly is imitating and it's incredible! I know that this could fall under the category of a mom always seeing things and believing that their baby is doing things - when they may actually not be - but this is different and now I have witnesses!

Some Thoughts

Every night I sit with my daughter in her nursery gliding and nursing and I always find myself amazed by the beautiful little girl. It still is incredible - the whole thing - that she lived inside me and with everything that could have gone wrong - here she is just perfect.

Here are things that I just love about being her mother:
1. I love the morning - when she wakes up and sees me standing at her crib - it takes her a few minutes to realize it's me - when she does she gives me a huge smile.
2. I love when we come downstairs after getting dressed for the day - she looks around the house with these huge open eyes - looking around like she has never seen this place before - every day! I am convinced she sees a little more and a little clearer every day - that's why she is so surprised.
3. I love when I am nursing her and she rubs my side. It's like she is saying "Thank you ma ma for this delicious milk."
4. I love that I can make her smile with the simplest things - like passing gas noises!
5. I love that no matter how upset she is - as soon as I hold her - she begins to calm down. To be honest this is a little bit of a pain - but it does make me feel special.
6. I love watching her try to figure things out - like when she first rolled from tummy to back. And now when she is trying to figure out how to put her fingers in her mouth and keep them there. It's incredible to watch her try over and over again all the while licking her hand as it passes by.

This list could go on forever - and as I think of more, I will add them. It is safe to say that I am just head over heels in love with this little girl.

It's Not A Fluke...

Bryan and I really like to watch Emma show off her new trick - we've taken some more videos and photos. And to satisfy Bryan - I put Emma flat on her belly - she pulled in her arms and pushed up all by herself. I am just so happy that I didn't miss this milestone and we've captured it on film. As you can see by the last video - she was done rolling over!

Emma Getting Her Diaper Changed

Emma's on a Roll

Today, Emma demonstrated a new move on her play mat. We weren't able to capture it the first time, but we grabbed a camera so that she could try it again. It may not be a "true" roll because she started from her elbows, but it is good enough for me! You can hear my jubilation in the background. We think that Emma is well on her way to rolling around the house in the near future. We'll post some more videos soon now that we know that Blogger only likes short clips, but Emma really tired herself out after today's rolling session.