Emily had a blast digging into her "smash" cake (she wasn't sure what do with it at first). We let her chow down for a bit until we had to take away to prevent a sugar high meltdown later in the evening. Thank goodness she had her own cake because about halfway through, she sneezed all over it! She got the hang of opening presents and had a blast pulling off the paper and tissue paper. She played with all her toys and passed out promptly at 8:30. Having fun can be so tiring.
It was a good thing she went to bed early because Randy and I were able to get to work packing up for our beach trip the next day! We spent a wonderful week at the beach with both the boys and their girlfriends. We had lots of laughs, a bike ride, naps with EG, shopping, hot tubbing, time on the beach, yummy food (crab legs-TWICE) and NO rain! It was a wonderful trip and just what the doctor ordered to melt the stress away.
Coming back to reality has been a little less than pleasant.
Emily had her one year check up this morning. Lots of tears and screams for two
shots. And I had to drop her off at daycare afterwards. So hard to leave my
sweet girl after spending more than a week with her! She gave me such a sad
look when I dropped her off (like "where you going, mama?"). Between
that and the doctor's office, I was emotionally drained for the day way before
10am. But her check up was great. Her growth is right on track and she's an all
around healthy baby. Here are her 12 month stats:
- She's 20lbs and 29 inches long.
- She can pull up, cruise and push her walker around. Her newest thing is trying the walker one handed. It's terrifying because she goes so fast and is so unsteady. I know she will be walking in no time!
- She is loving all her food. We tried sandwiches at the beach and she is a fan! Trying to get her to drink milk but not having much luck yet. But girlfriend is all about some cheese.
- She is really into pulling/dumping things out of baskets and bags. Hurricane Emily can tear up a room in a mater of minutes.
- "No no" is definitely not her favorite word and she pretty much has a full on meltdown when we say it. Sometimes she will point to something she is not suposed to have and shake her head "no". It's so cute but the cuteness is usually short lived because she will touch the thing she is not supposed to and we end up having to say the dreaded words. It's a vicious cycle.
- She has started blowing kisses and waving "bye bye". The cuteness just about does me in every time. To see her little fingers wigging in a fist is beyond words precious.
- She dances to just about any music that comes on. While sitting, she twists her upper body to the music. If she's, standing it's a full on booty shake! I giggle every time I see her do it. She is probably going to hate me when she is older for taking videos of it. :)
- She's still taking up a storm with lots of "mama" and "dada". She can get REALLY loud (and always at the worst times!) and it sometimes sounds like she is carrying on a conversation while playing with her toys. It's really amazing to see how she plays with her toys now, such focus and determination. She's a smart and curious little girl and I love her so much!
Emily isn't the only Branham kid who's growing up right
before our eyes. Aaron is moving to Raleigh this week (with his girlfriend) in
hopes of landing a "real job". I'm so excited for them both to start
this new chapter, but sad that they won't be close by anymore. And
Zachary proposed to his girlfriend on Sunday. While they won't be getting
married anytime soon (finishing school first), it's kind of wild to think about
having a daughter-in-law. Both boys are amazing and I'm enjoying being a part
of of their lives during these big changes.
Here's to a wonderful vacation and a wonderful family!
*M