Emma Update {14 Months}


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As I’ve mentioned before, our littlest baby is gone and in her place is a walking, talking bundle of energy.  She tends to be her mother’s daughter, in that she goes and goes and goes – then crashes.  No in between with her (as it is with me).  So how much has she progressed in the last couple of months?

1.  Teething
Baby girl finally had her upper molars break through, after weeks of trying to eat her entire hand off.  I am glad to have the grumpy Emma at bay for awhile, at least until the bottoms decide to appear.

2.  Movement
As I mentioned before, Emma started walking just a few weeks after her first birthday.  Now she full-on runs, turns in circles, bounces up and down, sits herself down, lays herself down, and (my favorite) goes up to her sisters (or my legs) and hugs them.  She can almost climb up onto the couch by herself but is able to get down by herself.  She goes upstairs and is learning to go down them too.

3.  Communication
She is picking up sign language like a champ (currently signs “all done”, “milk”, and “more” with some other rudimentary movements indicating water or eating).  However, we use sign language with our children primarily to alleviate frustration with communication – and I can understand Emma’s jabbering  just fine!

Emma is quite a talker.  She jabbers away all day long and is very inflective.  I usually know just what she is trying to tell me, and if I am guessing she lets me know when I get it right – her vocals immediately change from upset to peaceful.  “Dah” she will say and calm right down, letting you know you hit the nail on the head.

She understands quite a bit of what you say, including directions (sit down, come here, eat – i.e. get in your high chair, stop) as well as when you tell her “no.”  She will go to a particular person when told to do so, so she knows the names of people in her life (like Ava and Grandma)

I didn’t say she liked to be told “no” though.  Indeed, she does NOT!  She has a little bit of temper and gets really upset when she doesn’t get what she wants, especially is her sisters have something and she wants one too (but mommy doesn’t think she is old enough).  She is not so good at sharing either (naturally) and we work on that.  She wants what she wants when she wants it, regardless of who’s playing with it.

She is even starting to vocalize words, mimicking your words.  Most of the time it catches me so off guard that I will repeat the word again in the hopes she will say it again, since I am sure I didn’t hear her right (but I did!).  I have heard her say hat, apple, yes, and night-night and she regularly says mama, dada, hi and bye (along with waving, which is super cute).

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4.  Interaction
She is really starting to play and it is so fun!  One favorite game is to bring you little toys and hand them to you.  You then have to kiss them or hug them (the bigger deal you make of it, the better) and hand them back.  She grins, hugs them too, and walks off – only to repeat the cycle in about 30 seconds.  She finds herself hilarious at times, especially when she puts things on her head leaves them there for a second to laugh and laugh before removing them, then repeat.  She kept herself entertained the other night at a restaurant this way the entire mealtime; it was great!

After reading about it on a blog, I created a game for her using an old wipes container and milk jug lids.  She has to put the lids into the hole in the wipes container; it works on fine motor skills – and she loves it.  The blog also suggested putting straws into an old Pringles can (I know I have some Crystal Light containers I can use) which we will do in the future.

And guess who LOVES books?  She can’t get enough!  Not only the “touch and feel” type, but books in general.  She will bring you a book, toss it in your lap and wait expectantly.  When you start to read she lights up, grins and giggles and “helps” turn pages.  And if I happen to be sitting next to Elliott at the time, she will promptly turn to him and get him to read it after me.  Then me after him, then back to daddy…  you get the picture.

5.  Eating
Emma has gotten much more picky in her food choices of late, turning her nose up at veggies she used to eat regularly.  I try to keep offering them, but her fall-back is good ol’ green beans; those are her favorite and my go-to veggie.  She still loves meat, eggs, and cheese and any fruit offered, so I try and just keep it all balanced as best I can.

Last month she figured out how to drink from a straw and a week later figured out sippy cups.  So now she is able to drink water throughout the day (but now she also thinks that drinking from anybody’s cup is fair game, sorry Grandma!). 

6.  Sleeping
Emma relapsed into getting up at least once per night and the only thing which seems to soothe her back down is a bit of bottle (she only drinks like an ounce before conking back out).  I have tried many other things, but this is the only trick that currently works.  I will bite the bullet and deal with it one day, but now is not the time for me.  Some nights she also needs a little restart (which Lily always needed too), which just means I take her out of her bedroom for a minute, walking with her in the living room or sitting on the couch for a minute before going back into her room and laying her down.  The change in scenery is just enough to settle her back down.

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Every day seems to bring something new.  I wonder what today will hold…

1 comment:

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

Emma seems to have such a playful, fun, personality! Such a sweetie!