Cuddle Bug

Lately Emelia has turned into a complete cuddle bug.  Giving hugs, being held, smacking her lips when she wants a kiss.  Too sweet. 

 

I've even shared her with Papa.

 

And Auntie

 

 



Top Ten Things About Emelia

1.  Nothing makes her happier than holding your fingers and walking.  In fact, if you start you better be willing to continue until she wears herself out and it is time for bed.  Should you try to stop before then, you will se what I call the "Rage of Emelia" which is a very dramatic fit she pitches complete with wailing, throwing herself on the floor, and rolling back and forth while kicking her legs and flailing her arms.  It's actually kind of funny.

 

 

2.  Emelia has a rather large gap between her front teeth.  It is so stinking cute!

 

3.  We call her Baby-girl.  So much so, that I'm worried she thinks her name is baby-girl.... oops. 

 

4.  Until very recently, she didn't like to crawl.  Instead, she would scoot along the floor, hand first with her butt and legs following.  When I come home I can hear her coming.  It goes like this: thwap-thwap swoosh,  thwap-thwap swoosh.

 

5.  She loves to twirl hair, mine or hers, it doesn't matter.  As you can see, she doen't have much hair, but it is a little longer in the back, and if you gather it togehter it forms a half-curl loop.  She twirls it around, and around, and around.  Especially when she's eating. Which is gross.

 

6.  She makes this happy-face where she wrinkles up her nose.  I don't have a very good picture of it, but it is so funny.  You can kind of tell below.

 

 

 

 

7.  She loves to hug anything that is soft and cuddly.

 

8.  Her favorite game is peek-a-boo.  She throws a blanket over her head and flaps her arms until you say "Where'd Emelia go?"  She even plays by herself.  Sometimes, she wakes up from her nap, and I hear noises over the baby monitor.  Then I go in her room and she's got the blanket over her head and she pulls it off and smiles.

 

9.  She LOVES water.  I've never seen a kid enjoy a bath so much.  She has so much fun splashing that Oliver has started asking to take baths with her.

 

10.  She's a Papa's girl through and through.  When she learned to give kisses, they were only for Papa, and given a choice, she'll to to him most of the time.

 

 



A letter to my daughter

My sweet Emelia,

You wouldn't know it from looking at this blog lately, but you turned one a little over a month ago.  I can't believe how much you have grown and changed since the last time I blogged.  I also can't believe how few blogs I've written since you were born.  I feel the need to explain a few things to you.

First, my failure to blog as frequently about you as I did Oliver does not reflect how much I love you.  It is simply a reflection of how much more time it takes to have two kids instead of one.  But, being a parent of two doesn't explain it either.  You see, your Grandpa Mike died before you turned one.  In December.  He had been sick for a while, and I spent as much time with him as I could this year.  And when I wasn't with Grandpa Mike, I was home with you and Oliver; singing songs and reading books, playing and cuddling, not blogging. 

Over the next few days and weeks, I hope to do some catching up.  I have notes in various notebooks about things that I intended to blog about, when I had time.  I hope that focusing for a while on all the wonderful things that happend this year with you and your brother will help to heal my broken heart.

Please know this, as hard as the last year has been for me, nothing made me happier than snuggling with you and your brother.  Even during the darkest days, your gap-toothed grin and chuckle would make my heart soar.  I will always equate your first year with my Dad's last.  I wish this wasn't the case. But every happy moment we have together is that much brighter because of the darkness.

I can't wait to see you grow and changed into the smart, strong and beautiful young woman you will become.  I am so proud to be your Mama.

Hugs and a million kisses.