Happy ten month birthday, Emily.

We’re getting dangerously close to a year here, folks. Our little girl is almost all grown up. Well, if you consider pooping your pants, eating flip-flops, screaming at the top of your lungs when you can’t reach the remote control, and drooling on the furniture being grown up.

But seriously, folks. I was watching some videos we have of Emily on her five month birthday and that baby is a world away from the little princess we live with today. So many changes in such a short period of time! It’s mind-boggling.

Thoroughly modern Emily

So, what are the new items on our little girl’s resume this month…

• The pointing has gone beyond a mere ability in her vast repertoire. It is now Emily’s trademark action. She’ll point at things that she recognizes and enjoys (the window, the shower head, a mirror, us) but she’ll also point at things that she wants (a glass of water, my phone, BBB, some more broccoli). If it’s very special, she’ll whip out the patented “double point”! If you see both of those hands pointing at something, you know she means business.
• Emily went through a phase a few weeks ago where she would not allow us to feed her. Tight-lipped and arms flailing, she refused to let us put the spoonful of cereal or vegetables or fish anywhere near her mouth. We quickly discovered that she had seen us feed her so many times that she was now convinced that she could do it herself. We quickly redesigned her diet to only consist of bite sized morsels and she now feeds herself at almost every meal and between meal snack. I must point out that this only includes solid foods and not her milk (boob or bottle) or the mealtime water that she refuses to drink from anything but a big girl cup. Some assistance is still required with beverages.
• After two more positive experiences this month, we are now much more comfortable leaving Emily with a babysitter at night and attempting to recover what semblance of a social life we may still be able to salvage.
• Build a tower and Emily knocks it down. Put toys in a box and she dumps its contents. Put a hat on your head and she’ll make sure it’s removed. Emily has always sided with entropy as opposed to order, but just recently there has been a glimmer of hope. Take the little red plastic cup and put it inside the little yellow plastic cup and Emily will inevitably take them apart. But only recently has she started putting the plastic cups back together! We don’t expect her to start cleaning her room any time soon, though. The square, circle, and triangle wooden blocks, after being removed from their respective holes, instead of being inserted into their proper places, still end up in her mouth.
• Emily has developed a new smile that consists of shutting her eyes very tightly, opening her mouth, and showing all of her teeth. Jan isn’t a big fan of the new smile. Emily has another new face she’s working on that looks remarkably like Mick Jagger in concert.
• Comprehension tests: We’re in her bedroom and I say “fish” and she excitedly points to the fish – her favorite mobile in the world. We’re in the office and I say “cow” and she quickly points to the cow in the window – and then she says “booo”, trying to imitate my “mooo” that follows this point. She’s lying down on the changing table and I say “hands” and she extends her arms to me with a big smile knowing that it’s time to sit up. I think we’ll work on different constellations next and see if she can point them out in the night sky.
• Emily will happily hand you one of her favorite toys. She’ll crawl up to you with said toy in tow, reach out her chubby little hand, and offer it to you. You can then take it from her but you are expected to give it back within 10 seconds or you’ll get an earful.
• Say “bye bye” and Emily will limp-wristedly wave goodbye with a vacant look of intense concentration on her face. It kinda looks like a seagull with a broken wing, but it’s very cute all the same.
• We don’t know when it happened exactly, but last week we noticed that Emily had two new teeth, just outside the two upper bunny teeth that were already there, bringing the grand total now to six!
• As always, saving the best for last, Emily is standing. Her current record is eight seconds. She’s been standing while holding on to things for months, but this free standing is a sight to behold. It used to only follow from holding on to the sofa while standing. She would release, raise both hands in the air, and wait to see when gravity would get the better of her. Now, she is able to start from a sitting position and simply lean forward and stand. Two significant standing-achievements are eating a piece of cheese while standing and, I kid you not, just today she took her first step. Maybe she didn’t have any intention of traveling from one place to another, but she stood up, took one step and, instead of falling down, she remained standing – solid as a rock!

Tom, Leo, and Emily.
The Brat Pack.

Chillin’ at the Parc de les Aiguas.