Emerson's 15 Month Update

Rounding out this year with Emerson's 15 Month Update! I say this every time, but time continues to fly by. I can't believe she's so big! I will say this is my favorite stage with Emerson yet. She has become such a fun toddler! I was sad to see the "baby" days go, but she is such a blast right now. While it's bittersweet seeing them get older, watching my children grow is such a blessing and fills me with such joy. There were many challenging months this year with my two kiddos, but I feel like we are in such a good season right now and I'm so thankful for that. Here's an update on Emerson at 15 months:

Dauset Trails

Headed to Church

Emerson's first Trunk or Treat....Taking her candy and running!

Height and Weight: We just went to Emerson's 15 month appointment yesterday, so we have an updated height and weight. Emerson weighs 18 lbs. 11 oz. and is 29.25 inches tall. She's in the 15th percentile for both height and weight. She continues to be our petite little girl, but the doctor is never concerned. At this point, it's basically like her "normal" and it would probably be a little more abnormal for her to jump up on the growth charts. As her mom, I always tend to worry about her weight, but seeing her really come into her own in the last few months, I know that she is happy, smart, and healthy! Emerson was happy as a clam the entire appointment until the doctor walked in and I think that's when she finally realized what was about to happen. Poor girl isn't a fan of the doctor! She screamed most of the appointment -- enough that I had to shout to talk to the doctor. And this was before the vaccines. Ha! Emerson had low iron at her 12 month check, so they rechecked it yesterday and she was back into the normal range which made me happy to see. She was very angry about the finger prick and kept holding her finger up until I took the band aid off. She also got 3 shots and cried a lot. Poor thing! All in all, Emerson is slowly but surely growing and gaining. We are very thankful for a healthy girl! Another minor concern we've had for a long time is Emerson's allergies. She constantly has a runny nose and sometimes puffy or watery eyes. As of right now, she is starting daily allergy meds (Zyrtec), so hopefully that helps. She's dealt with this basically since birth, but since it's never been anything specific and since it's never been too bad (just really annoying), there's not much else they can do for her at this point.

Emerson's first pair of jeans

 Thanksgiving 2017 

Visit to the Museum of Aviation with friends

 

The pumpkin patch

Sleeping: Emerson has become the sleeping champion! The girl loves her sleep. She has always liked to sleep more than Grayson, but over the past few months, she has slept so much and so well. No complaints here! Some of the reason for that is that she's cut out her morning nap, so she's only taking 1 nap a day. Once in a while, she will take two, but typically one. Honestly, I think it happened earlier for her because she has an older brother and we tend to be busy in the mornings, so that he can nap in the afternoons. In an ideal world, they would both take an afternoon nap at the same time, but that doesn't always happen. Thankfully, Emerson is never the problem when it comes to sleeping! She takes a 2-3 hour afternoon nap and has started going to bed earlier than Grayson (7:30-8pm) because she sleeps in so much! Emerson sleeps 12-13.5 hours a night! We put her to bed each night and she happily goes down. We also laugh at how long it takes her to wake up in the mornings or after a nap. I don't think I realized how much of a morning person Grayson is until we had Emerson. Grayson pops out of bed happy and talking while Emerson can be a grump for up to an hour after she wakes up. She will want to just sit and snuggle for a while before she gets up to play...and I love it! She still loves to sleep with her big Mickey Mouse, a stuffed animal, and a blanket. I will go in her room and see her asleep literally on top of Mickey...she loves that thing and she loves to cuddle things as she sleeps. It's so sweet. She didn't sleep through the night consistently until she was 9 months old, but right now, she's basically my dream child when it comes to sleep! I have to wake her up some mornings because she sleeps so late and she never makes a peep after we walk out of her room for her to go to sleep. She also hangs out in her crib after she wakes up and doesn't immediately cry, so there are times I'm not quite sure how long she's actually been awake for! Ha. This mama is finally getting some sleep and she's thankful! Emerson is also extremely active when she's awake which I know wears her out. She is constantly on the go -- walking everywhere, climbing everything, and getting into anything she can get her hands on! No wonder she's so tired.

 Park fun with Daddy!

Emerson got to sit at the kid's table this Thanksgiving

Riding together

That sass

Eating: Eating is another thing that's going really well! Poor Emerson was sick with all sorts of things right about her 1st birthday, so she just wasn't interested in eating at all. Thankfully, it's all passed now and she's a much better eater! Another big change since her last update is that she's now officially weaned and only drinks whole milk. I truly started weaning her right at 13 months after all the sickness had passed and it only took about 3 weeks for her to be fully weaned. It was very bittersweet for me, but I felt like it was time for both of us. While Emerson absolutely loved nursing (as did I), I know that the easy transition meant that it was time for us to be done. I am so very thankful I was able to nurse her for close to 14 months. Overall, Emerson eats really well! It's helpful having Grayson around because Emerson will almost always eat something if Grayson is eating it! Ha. She loves fruit like grapes and strawberries and is doing a lot better eating meat like chicken, hot dogs, meat balls, sausage and ham. She doesn't eat too many veggies, but does okay with them if they are in something else and she doesn't realize they are there. She recently devoured a stuffed pepper and we were excited to add that to the list of things she likes! Of course, Emerson is still a fan of any snack food or carb! The girl loves her bread. Peanut butter sandwiches, crackers, puffs, goldfish, rolls, cereal, pancakes, etc. are her jam! Emerson has also been eating more yogurt and raisins recently and her "guilty pleasure" is fruit snacks. She would eat way too many if I let her! Ha. She also takes a daily gummy vitamin that of course she's obsessed with and is always asking for more of. Emerson does like sweets and definitely recognizes them, but she will also eat regular food over sweets, just depends on her mood! Once in a while, we will split a bowl of ice cream while Grayson is off playing and it's a fun little treat and quality time for us girls. Emerson loves to drink watered down juice and whole milk! She wouldn't drink it until after I stopped breastfeeding, but now she's a fan of regular milk. I've really tried to get as much food and calories in her as I could over the past few months making sure she's staying on track. While she doesn't eat huge amounts at once, she definitely eats small amounts all throughout the day.

Getting her hair done

Wearing Grayson's old Christmas jammies

Party Playgrounds

Clothing: While Emerson is petite, she is growing out of clothes and shoes left and right. She still wears a size 4 diaper and is also in a size 4 shoe. She can wear a few 9 month tops, but 9 month bottoms are too short. She fits in all 12 month clothing now! I've had to say goodbye to all  her baby stuff and welcome to all the toddler stuff since she is now in all toddler clothing. It's not too sad though because it's adorable! Emerson is also officially in a big girl car seat and no longer in the carrier seat. She still hadn't met the height or weight restrictions for the baby car seat, but we got a good deal on a new big girl seat that she can use until she's out of a booster seat. It's so cute seeing her in it.

 Nature scavenger hunt with our MOPS friends

Loves hanging out on the counters

Loves riding in the car at the grocery store! 

 

Loves riding her tricycle

Milestones: There have been a few big milestones over the past few months. The biggest is that Emerson is a full time walker. She had been taking steps consistently for about 6 weeks (starting at 12.5 months old), but she would also crawl a lot. You could tell she could definitely do it, but she wasn't very confident about it, so she wouldn't try it as much. While we were on our trip to Texas, she became a full time walker (right at 14 months) and it's been so fun! I love that she can walk everywhere now and it's made Emerson and Grayson's relationship even more exciting. While she can walk, she is very clumsy! The poor girl falls all the time! Someone recently compared her to a baby giraffe...and they are right! Although she's been walking for a while now, she falls all the time. I think a lot of it is that she still isn't that coordinated, but she basically runs everywhere and her skill hasn't quite caught up with her speed. A big milestone in the eating department is that Emerson is getting good at using a fork! I'm so proud of her and it's so cool seeing her feed herself independently with a fork. She insists on using one and has practiced enough at this point that she's getting good! She also appears to be right handed as of right now because she uses her right hand for everything and almost never uses her left (Grayson is opposite). She talks a lot now and we are able to communicate more and more. Some of her new words are "Minnie", "Up", "Puppy", "Mickey", "Again" and when I say "1,2..", she finished by yelling "3!". She knows what her head, belly, feet, nose, shoes, pants, and shirt are. She will tell you a cow says, "Mmmmm", but doesn't know any other animal sounds yet. She also has started singing along to Patty Cake and will say, "Rolll ittt" and "Patttt ittt" or at least what sounds close to that! Her new thing is blowing kisses and saying, "Muahhh!". Emerson is really good about saying "thank you" on her own now and will even say it when another person gives her something. I'm really proud of her for such good manners already. Emerson also likes to sit on the toilet and pretend to go potty after Grayson or I do. I'm hoping that means potty training won't be too bad since she already has an interest in it. She understands so much, is really good at following directions and understands and responds to questions. I can see her understanding and learning more every day.

 Little diva!

Mood: Emerson is definitely a typical girl....moody! I would describe her as sweet, sassy, spunky, silly, smart, super active, loving, feisty, sensitive and a little daredevil. While she can be very sensitive if you hurt her feelings or if she falls and gets hurt, she will also fend for herself and is starting to stick up for herself more and more. She isn't the best about sharing with other kids and will kind of yell at them and pull the toy away from them if she thinks they are trying to get it from her. We've also had to get on her about trying to hit Grayson or about throwing toys out of anger. There have already been a few times that Emerson has had to say sorry and give Grayson a hug. There are also many, many times where she will not want to give Grayson a toy and then we will ask her to share with him and she will sweetly go over and hand it to him. She's so funny because she has that feisty side, but she also loves to hug and kiss and is ridiculously cuddly and loving. She has become really goofy and silly lately. She is everything I wanted in a daughter and more! Emerson still gets so excited when Daddy walks in the door or when she sees Daddy's car. She starts yelling, "Dada!" until he comes and picks her up. It's truly a toss up if she's a Mama's girl or a Daddy's girl...we are definitely her favorite people! And Grayson...for the most part. ;) Emerson does so much better about going into the nursery every Sunday and overall is much better about being left with someone who isn't mommy. Emerson is so much more adventurous, outgoing, and independent than she's ever been. While she still loves her mama, it's rare when she wants to be carried. She will dart the opposite direction as me if she thinks I'm trying to pick her up because she wants to do it all herself. She has her own ideas of how she wants things to do these days! She also insists on walking up and down the stairs like a big girl (no crawling, using the hand rail). I see her so desperately wanting to keep up with big brother and wanting to do exactly what he does.She's very curious and likes to touch and feel everything, but she's also more reserved at the same time. Emerson's personality just keeps growing and I feel like she's really come into her own the last few months. She is such a fun and happy girl usually giggling and smiling and full of life.

So silly

Loves: I think one of the most fun parts of Emerson getting older is seeing what she loves! It's really fun to see what she likes and what her interests are. She is really into Mickey and Minnie Mouse right now. She loves the tv show, the books, and she lights up every time we put her Minnie pjs or shirt on. She points and says, "Minnie!". She is obsessed with any stuffed animal. She is almost always carrying one and loves to hug and snuggle them. She constantly tells us, "Up" when she wants to get on the couch or the bed. She also loves to climb anything and is really good at it! I think she likes to be up high because one of her favorite places to hang out is on the counters (with me standing right there). She is much more into books right now, but her attention span is about 30 seconds. Haha. She still loves books that you can touch and feel and will ask you to read those to her over and over. Emerson loves shoes and insists on wearing shoes to bed lately (sound familiar?). She knows which draws her shoes are in and once I finish getting her dressed, she opens that draw, picks out a pair of shoes, and sits down with her feet held high waiting for me to put shoes on her. Emerson also loves to put on mommy and daddy's shoes and walk around...it's too cute! Emerson really loves babies. She will get in her rocking chair with a baby doll and we will sing "Rock-a-bye..." and then she will shout "baaaaby!". When she is wanting me to sing the song, she will sit in her rocking chair with a doll saying, "baby, baby" until I start singing it. She even points to the little babies on the diaper boxes or in a stroller and says "baby". Emerson really doesn't mind the car. She rarely sleeps on a car ride at this point, but she also doesn't fuss much while being in the car. I will hand her snacks or a stuffed animal or a book on a longer car ride and she's usually happy. Emerson still loves to help out and recently thinks its really fun to throw her own diapers away...which I am okay with! Of course, Emerson still absolutely loves Grayson. They have what I consider a typical sibling relationship. They are best friends, but they also fight and bicker a lot. They love to play together and there have been many more times recently where they entertain each other for a long period of time and I don't even have to get involved. Emerson especially loves to wrestle on the floor with Grayson. It almost never ends well, but she always initiates it and laughs so much while they roll around together. Emerson copies everything Grayson does, wants to play with exactly what he's playing with, and follows him around all the time. Although they have their moments where they are irritated by each other, I think now more than ever I am thankful for their age difference. They truly get to grow up together and I think that's special. Emerson loves Cedric much more lately and gets so excited when she sees him. Emerson absolutely loves being outside. She constantly wants to go outside or play in the garage. She loves to ride on all of the outside cars and loves to push things around in the yard. Emerson loves music, dancing, and even singing along by going "Ah ah". Emerson loves to play in the closet and open and shut the door. She also loves dressing up with hats, shoes, and bracelets and also loves playing with Grayson's litte cars. She cracks me up because she will knowingly take something she shouldn't have or take something from Grayson and then she will high tail it out of the room with a little grin on her face. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Emerson running with a smile on her face with one of Grayson's toys in her hands while Grayson is trying to catch her. They crack me up!

 Emerson loves her cousins!

Painting pumpkins with friends!

Halloween: We had a really fun fall season! We went to a few fall festivals, painted and carved pumpkins, visited a nursing home in costumes, got free donuts and scary pancakes, our church had a Trunk or Treat, and both kids had a blast dressing up! We even went on Grayson's first field trip as a family to the farm.We enjoyed fall to the fullest this year!

Trip to Texas: Our family took a trip to Texas for my cousin's wedding in October. It ended up being a really fun time and we were able to extend it into a vacation in New Mexico. Grayson was the ring bearer in the wedding and we had a blast watching him. He did a great job and the wedding weekend was really fun. It was great to catch up with family and people we haven't seen in years. After the wedding, we spent a few days in New Mexico with our little family of four exploring and spending quality time together. That area of the country was beautiful and it was so fun seeing it with our kids. Our lives are so busy and hectic which made this trip even more special. The kids did really great traveling and were so excited to ride the airplane.

Mommy Update: While there are times that having two toddlers is challenging, I am really loving this season of life. They are both a little less needy and so much fun! We get to do so many fun things like go to the library for Story Time, play dates with friends, the park, museums and family get-togethers and I love that they are aware of what's going on and can now participate and get excited with me. They play with other kids and with each other more than ever and they even have little friends now that they get excited about seeing. Whether it's going somewhere fun or just having a dance party in the living room, these two are such a blast together. This season is so rewarding after the last season being much more challenging. I feel like I'm in a really good place and I'm really loving life with Josh and my two wild littles. I'm so thankful to be able to stay home with them and enjoy these little and big moments with them every day. I'm so excited to go into this holiday season with them being a little older and understanding what's going on. It's really fun getting to see the joy on their faces and introducing them to all these special traditions.

Wearing her Ninja Turtle shell

Bottoms up!

The way she looks at him <3 b="">