Turkey Day 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!
Friends, family and wonderful conversation made our gathering especially memorable this year.
Roasted buttered turkey, homemade green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffing, cream corn casserole, rolls, salad, pies and chocolate cake rounded us all out!

Emi gushing over her new Elmo doll - thanks Grammy!

Look Who's 18 Months Old!

Wowzas! The girl is a year-and-a-half today!

Emily has blossomed so much in last few months. It's unbelievable to think she started walking three months ago and now she's doing this:

Running everywhere & taking one nap a day
Using her words, including "please" and "thank you" (I think she has near 50 words now)
Making animal noises
Finishing sentences of her favorite books and songs
Nurturing her favorite baby doll
Lip syncing to music
Eating with a fork and spoon (although she still prefers her hands)
Accepting the concept of sharing
Motioning "itsy bitsy spider", "Pat-a-cake" and a few other favorite songs.

Her gummy smile can charm the socks off anyone! She loves listening to Mama read. We probably read 20 books a day! LOVES music. Oh - and she adores Elmo and actually says "Elmo's World." She gets her Elmo on for 30 minutes in the morning. Every kid has to watch morning cartoons, right?!


Areas of improvement:
Patience - waiting for something she wants is not a concept she's stoked about.

Dealing better with "frustration" - she gets flustered VERY easily and stomps her feet/cries.

Introducing more potty stuff! Santa will be bringing Em some cute potty vids and books this year. She knows what her potty is and what it's for, but she's not quite ready to use it.
We're shooting for full potty trainage by age 2.

Em doesn't have any teeth. It's amazing really. This is making life a little tough for her. She's been going through the symptoms of "teething" for nearly 8 months now with nothing popping through. Her gums are visibly white, but there are no teeth bumps. We'll probably visit a dentist in the next few months to see what is going on. But I'm thinking she'll be near 2 before she gets her first tooth!

Trick Or Treat...

...give Emi something good to eat!

Em's first trick or treating experience was a success! She followed the big kids up to the doors. It didn't take her long to figure out what was going on. By the 2nd house, she was holding up her bag for goodies!

Unfortunately, Em biffed it on the cement about 20 minutes into the trip, scraping her chin. The sugar high was wearing off, too, so we decided to call it a night. She was exhausted, passing out immediately in the car. A great evening - a big thank you to Doug, Susan, Dani, Denise, Trace and Sierra for making this such a memorable night!