Amber 11 months

Happy 11 months!

You are a champion crawler.  You race off to wherever you want to go.  New favorite places: the tub (definitely #1), the toilet (good thing your sisters are good at closing the lid), the recycle (what a variety of fun toys), the shoes.

You love to bang.  Your favorite is an empty formula canister that you carry over to the tile and bang! bang! bang!  And your smile is priceless.

You have become a girl who always has toys in her hand.  You crawl around with at least 1 toy in each hand...sometimes two in each hand and another toy in your mouth.  This is just the cutest thing ever.

More and more and more and more teeth.  You have 4 all the way through and a couple more in the works.  Since you are such and agressive teether, you are now weaned onto a bottle.  You don't seem to mind and I much prefer you teething on that bottle!

It's finally getting cooler and you are enamored by the new toys outside.  Grass!  Trikes!  Push toys!  Chalk!!! You have gotten way dirtier but your smile is so big.  So fun!

We love you love you love you, sweetie pie.  Happy 11 months!

Amber 10 months

10 months!

Highlights from the month:

Teething.  And sleepless nights.
Joined your sisters in their room-3 girls, 3 bed, 3 dressers.  It's a party.
Playing with more of sister's toys.
Crawling from one room to another-with an obligatory stop at the shoes to taste all the new germs.
Those baby blue eyes.  Love.
Finished traveling.  You were a trooper all those hours in the carseat!

Love ya, baby!

Amber 9 month

9 months old, Miss Amber!

You have been all over the west this month, visiting and meeting lots and lots of family.  A Sexton family reunion at Bear Lake to meet all your aunts, uncles, and cousins.  A Whatcott family reunion to meet great grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, 1st cousins once removed and 2nd cousins.  Great Grandpa who is almost 99.  Sea World.  The beach.  The cabin.  Sailing.  You are a world class traveler.  You were the best sleeper at night and the happiest camper in the car.  Even with scattered naps you came alive in this last month and have been such a happy girl.

You occasionally like to play peek a boo.  You always like to crawl to a paci or phone.  You are crawling 1-2-3 crawls at a time, combined with lunging to make it to toys.  A whole new world is opening up to you!

You sure love daddy.  No one can make you squeal like daddy can!  You also like to play shy and bury your head in a shoulder while squealing.

You have started imitating. When the girls squeal, you squeal.  When we cheer, you make a cheer.

You love all the food we are introducing you to.  You haven't turned away from anything yet.

You love to play with books.  You put them in your mouth a little, but mostly you just scrunch them and turn them over and over in your hands.

You and daddy do high fives and it's the cutest thing.

You are starting to take notice of your sisters and you love to be included in their little games.

Happy 9 months, sweetie!  We love you!!

Amber 8 months

Happy 8 months, sweetheart!

You love:
chewing on your toes.  and mine.  always.

playing peek a boo.  only when you are well rested.  and fed.  for a minute or two.

being held and walked around. 

getting up on your hands and knees and rocking back and forth.

every food we feed you.  you just want more.  "they" say babies will stop eating when they are full but we have yet to find your "full"

snuggling.  for less than 2 seconds.

mommy. 

being teased by daddy.

patting savannah's back.

giggling at emily's antics.

being tickled.  you are so ticklish!

sleeping.  champ.  15 hours a night all last week.  plus 2-3 hour naps.  best.

startling/gasping/flailing.  dr says probably reflux.  mommy and daddy say please stop.  it's kind of scary.

your paci.  all day everyday.


We sure love you little one.  You are over 17 lbs and growing like a weed.  Excited to take you on lots of adventures to meet lots of family this summer!

Amber 7 months

Really!? 7 months??  We sure love you, Amber Bamber!

You are a rolly polly now.  I set you down and you just roll and roll.  We have tried to clear all the little toys out of our toy bins since you are pretty well set in the eating everything phase!

Fussy fussy teether.  I'm pretty sure you have 2 more teeth on their way because you have been all kinds of out of sorts lately.  Let's hope they pop through soon.

Champion traveler!  You were not so much a fan of being held the whole 6 hour flight to and from Maui but you were a great sleeper in your carseat around to all our adventures and at night.  You had the easiest transition to the different time zone, for sure!

You have followed after Savannah and love all food we give you, even the green baby food!  You eat anything and everything soo good.  The trick to those greens is serving them cold-for whatever reason you love them cold from the fridge much more than room temperature.  We finally bought a high chair for you and it's fun to see you getting so big!

You love to sit up!  You are good for a few minutes by yourself and think you are pretty neat stuff to play with the big girls.  Emily loves to point out that you are "growing up!"

Love you darling!  Happy 7 months!!

Amber 6 month

 

Happy 6 months already!? 

Little one, you are such a sweetheart.  We love you!

We love to play peek a boo and listen to you squeal like a pterodactyl!  Emily has started imitating you, too.

You love to dance and move and be swung and twirled.  Sweet little thrill seeker.

My darling daughter, you love to be attached to someone.  Always.  No alone time for you-you are a social butterfly and always want to be included in the fun of playing with toys, eating dinner, making meals, washing clothes, brushing sister's teeth-just keep holding you and you are good to go!

Guess who is starting to sit up!  Wow!  It was almost overnight and you are sitting without help for 10-20 seconds at a time!

Watch out world, this girl has 2 chompers!  They seem to have caused you lots of pain in the last few weeks so hopefully you can have a little break before the next ones pop through.

For as crazy sleep as we have had over the last month (read: up every 1/2 hour...2 hour stretches at the most with 2-3 feedings a night), we have all benefited from the last few nights of you sleeping 7:30pm-5:30am....then a paci and you're down again until 8am.  Ahhhh bless you 6 months!

We love you.  You are such a precious part of our family.  Mommy loves you.  Daddy loves you.  Savannah and Emily adore you.  Happy 1/2 year!!

Amber 5 month

Happy 5 months old! I can hardly believe it!

What a sweetheart you are.  You love to be right in the middle of things and would love it if mom could hold you all day long.  Your favorite thing in the world is going on a walk in the bjorn.  You squeal and kick and squeal and we love it.

Your favorite entertainers are you sisters.  They have become more in tune with what you need and love to help!  Emily runs to find you a paci at the first hint of a cry.  Savannah likes to prove that she can entertain you without giving you a paci.  Most of the time you are happy with either option, as long as someone is clued in to just you.  Really, the world revolves around you.  :)

We were all sick this month and you were a champ through the clogged nose, cough, spit up, and sleepless nights.  Except that one night you only slept from 2-4am.  That was a long one.  But we are all better and happy to be healthy!

You are such a cutie playing with your toys.  You love to roll right onto you tummy as soon as you are on the ground and play with the toys we put in front of you.  Your favorite is a taggie blanket.  It's perfect for the carseat, too, because it stay right on your lap and doesn't fall out.

You had a bite of rice cereal a couple days ago.  You did great!  You loved it and gobbled it down!  And you are finally sitting in the bumbo for 5-10 minutes so we can actually feed you.  You are a doll.

Sweet girl, we see you so often during the night.  You are back on your pacifier and up ALL night for it.  Every hour or two...and sometimes more.  Are you teething??  Do you not want to be swaddled anymore?  We wish we knew what we could do to help you, and us, sleep through the night again!

Love those cute rolls. You've got some great thighs and your chubby arms are just so squishable!  Mommy's favorite are your wrist rolls.  You're such a cute chunky baby!

Love you, little ladybug!  Happy 5 months old!

Amber 4 months

Happy happy 4 months to you, dear Amber!

You have grown so much this month!

Your sisters were so excited to have you sit in the bumbo.  You still need a little neck support so they sat in it for you.  What sweet sisters ;) 

You started waking up a lot in the night for your paci so...you are now paci free!  All night!  You have slept a handful of nights from 7:30pm-8am.  Every couple nights you still wake up to eat and that's ok.  We'll enjoy the middle of the night snuggles while they last.

You love to laugh!  You look for any excuse to giggle.  At dinner, you sit in the swing and stare at daddy's back until he turns around to say hi and then you squeal and squeak and laugh and giggle and he can't resist picking you up and smothering you with love.

You were a trooper as mommy recovered from gallbladder surgery at the beginning of the month.  I don't think you appreciated the no-fat diet I had for a week and your sleeping reflected that but all is back to normal now.

You've started enjoying looking at books.  You like to sit on my lap and bat at them and lick them.  Emily loves to pick out books to read to you and Savannah likes to have you listen in when she gets read to.

You can hold a few toys!  It's so cute to watch you play and grab things on your new playmat.

You love going on walks forward facing in the bjorn carrier.  It's quite the world out there, isn't it?

We love you so so much.  You are the answer to every toddler quarrel in our house.  You are the one everyone wants to get to smile.  You are a ray of sunshine and we are so happy you are in our family!

Amber 3 months

Happy 3 months, sweet little Amber!

You are just the most content little baby around.  You only fuss a little when you are hungry or tired.  You are on a 3 hour schedule: eat, up for 1-2 hours, nap for an hour (or 44 minutes), repeat.  Mommy loves her schedules and you are enjoying it, too.

Sweet sleeper beeper!  You have been pretty consistent at a 4am feeding and a 9am morning wake up  We have enjoyed a couple sporadic  all the way until 6:30am and once you slept until after 8am! You like to go to bed between 8 and 9pm.

We love your smiles!  You recognize how fun and energetic your sisters are and you always have big smiles and giggles for them.  You are the happiest when you are in the midst of all the playtime and noise going on in the living room or the kitchen.

It was fun to have a first Christmas with you!  Savannah and Emily love all your presents and were more than happy to open them all for you.

Your little neck has so many folds.  You started smelly stinky winky under there and we've had to be very diligent about wiping your many chins dry multiple times a day to keep you smelling like the fresh little baby you are.

Those baby blues are still as blue as ever.  Mommy's dream!

Love you, little sweetie.  Keep growing and smiling!

Amber 2 months

Happy 2 months, sweetheart!

You have the most adorable and contagious smile!  It lights up your whole face and starts right in those darling blue, blue eyes.  And you dole out smiles for anyone who will give you any attention.

You are a wonderful sleeper, just like your sisters.  We can usually count on 8-10 hours of sleep in a row, followed by another 2-3 to finish the night.  What a blessing!  You were especially wonderful the night that mommy had a gallbladder attack and you slept over 10 hours-that was a tender mercy.

We all enjoyed a beautiful blessing day with you.  All your grandparents came, plus your Poulsen cousins and Caroline.  We had a fun lunch on the front lawn and everyone thought you were so darling, which of course you are.

Emily loves to call you Amber Bamber.  Savannah has nicknamed you Poof Poof.

Thanksgiving was great fun meeting so many cousins.  The girls formed a line on the couch and waited their turns to get to hold you...and then cycled back to the end of the line.  So cute.

We love you so much, sweet Amber!!  

Amber 1 month

Happy 1 month, Amber!

Wow time has flown by.  You are such an easy baby and we are just so in love with you!

Highlights this month:
*You are sleeping from 7-8 hours a night, waking up to eat and back to sleep for another 3-4.  You are a dream, literally.
*You have given us a few smiles and wow does your face light up!  You smile with your eyes more than your brain is telling your mouth, too.  Don't worry-it'll come.  :)  You dole out the most smiles to daddy.
*You look a lot like Daddy and Savannah.  Even mommy can see it, which is hard for her.  And random strangers comment on it, too.  That's a little weird.
*You are a champion nurser.  I love you.
*You have had only one dr appointment.  That is a record for the babies in our family.
*Your sisters love you love you love you.  Emily reads you stories and loves to show you the pictures.  Savannah likes to ask your opinion about everything.  It's a good thing she can read your mind because she tells us what you want all the time.  Emily lets us know immediately if you "spit paci out!"  I think she might have some fond memories of her paci of days gone by.  Savannah loves to pick out all your outfits, every day.  Sometimes she picks out your jammies for the night by 1pm.

Can't wait to get to know you more, dearie!

Emily is 1 year old!

Oh sweet Emily, happy happy birthday to you!

You are the best eater!  You try everything.  You like everything (except plain cheerios).  You are such a clean eater...no food on your glasses and rarely in your hair.

You are a sweet sleeper.  Seriously, it is the sweetest thing to see you curled up in your little footie pajamas surrounded by a million pacifiers and your little hands up by your face.  Mommy and Daddy love to go in and watch you before we go to bed.

You love to say banana!  And mama...and now dada.  You like to point to our noses and mouths.

You LOVE your glasses.  You get so excited when mommy picks them up to put them on.  You don't take them off or even play with them and if they slide, you whimper and look at mommy until I fix them.  I've been so surprised and so happy!  You also love your bows.  You like to point them out whenever we are in your room and you proudly smile when we put one on you.  Cute girly girl.

You have 6 little teeth now...finally!  Those top four came in all together at the start of this month.

You are taking STEPS!  Hooray!  You like to push the trash can, the hamper, and the stroller all around them house.  On your birthday you took a few steps on your own!!! Here we go, little almost toddler!

You love to be flipped.  You have loved it for a long time.  This month you started flipping your body backwards in a sort of trust fall *trusting* that we would flip you over.  You did this when mommy and daddy were both in front of you and we both lunged to catch you.  You silly girl. Mommy also caught you "flipping" backwards onto a pillow while you were looking at a book by yourself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETHEART!  We are so glad you have been in our family for a whole year and love you with all our hearts!

Emily 11 months

My my what a big girl you are getting to be.  Happy 11 months to sweet little Emily!

Highlights of this month:

Kneeling up.  You are so cute as you crawl to something you like then kneel up to play with it.  Or when you crawl to mommy and then kneel up and reach for me to pick you up-oh melts my heart!  Or when you hear music and you go up on your knees and start bouncing and dancing.

You love to eat.  You eat pretty much any and every veggie, fruit, meat, bread that we put in front of you.  You still don't like cheerios unless we are out and about (and it's the only option) or mac and cheese (which is one of Savannah's favorites).  It's so fun to watch you enjoy your meals. New this month is the deliberate hair styling while eating.  You take one hand and run it from the back of your neck, all the way up and over your hair down to your forehead.  Or you take both hands and repeatedly wipe the sides of your hair.  Love you.

Oh sweet teether we can see four little teeth just under your gums up top.  They sure are taking their sweet little time to come through!

Double ear infections this month.  Welcome to your mommy's genes.  :(  We sure are glad you are feeling better!  You are a whole new baby since we gave you that amox!  Although your ears weren't affecting your sleeping or eating, you just weren't as happy.  You have been much less fussy now that your ears are clear-you were sick for a whole month.

We got your prosthesis refitted and recolored.  It looks great!  We go in to fit you for glasses this week-mainly to protect your good eye but it will have a slight prescription, too.  Here goes our next adventure!

Favorite game this month: CHASE.  You love to chase Savannah (being held or "walking" holding our hands) and you love Savannah to chase you.  You also love and SQUEAL and tense up your whole body when daddy says "i'm gonna get you!"  So CuTe.

You love to wave at everything that makes noise.  When a car starts, you wave.  When we are eating dinner, you wave.  When momma's phone rings, you wave. When we walk into the house, you wave.

Cute, cute, cute, little missy.  Happy 11 months to our favorite little Emily!

Emily 10 months

Miss Emily...you are 10 months and then some!  You are growing up so fast.

You love to point.  It's fun to see what you are interested in looking at or going to see as we follow your cute pointer finger.

You are becoming a little more adventurous eater, although you are still picky when something is slightly flavorless (like cheerios).  You much prefer a casserole or something with lots of spices and flavor!

Crawler, crawler, you love to crawl and one of our favorite games is to crawl around following a crawling mommy.  You're too cute.

We had two reunions this month and you got to meet ALL of your cousins and all of your uncles and aunts except Uncle Spencer who is on a mission.

You probably don't care but our insurance finally processed and approved a great chunk of coverage for your prosthesis.  Wahoo!

Your favorite game is to be flipped over.  You crawl up to mommy and put your head down on my tummy while I'm laying down and I flip you over...you laugh, roll over and come put your head down on my tummy again. So fun!

You do NOT like to lay down and be still...for a diaper change, eye drop, PICTURE (hence the slightly unhappy face and paci)...you just roll yourself right over and take off!

Love you sweetie!

Savannah is 2!

Happy Birthday, Savannah Michelle!  You are such a fun 2 year old and we love every new thing you are learning.  What a fun age!!

You are very particular and organized.  If something is even slightly amiss, you want mommy or daddy to "fix it!" right away.  You clean up your own stuffed animals when you take a nap because it drives you crazy to have them not put away. The other night mommy's flip flops were not exactly straight so you stopped playing with daddy, went over and fixed them perfectly and evenly, and then continued on your merry way.  If something is out of it's place, such as a magazine on the wrong shelf, you will proclaim "oopsies" and move it to its "proper" place.

You have learned to smile a cheesy smile and we love it!  You give us this smile a lot when you think we are being funny or when you are being funny.

You have quite the sense of humor.  You know all the animals sounds but now when we ask you what a particular animal makes, you hesitate, give another animal sound and smile that cheesy smile.  Too funny!

Oh boy do you love your little sister.  You love giving her kisses and hugs.  You like to tell mommy when she falls down and then you try and pick her up...which has made mommy come running to Emily's aid much faster.  :)  You do not like to go in the car without Emily.  You always make sure that Emily is coming when I say we are going to the store or church or someone's house.

You like to tell mommy each morning where you think we should go.  The library, grocery store, toy store, mall, Walmart, Addie's house, and daddy's work are your favorites.  You also love to vacuum and clean the bathrooms with mommy.

You like having a schedule.  You know exactly what is going to happen next in the day and you like that it happens that way.  When we switch things up, you sometimes have a hard time adjusting...probably mom's fault-sorry :)

You love silly words and phrases and have cute phrases of your own: "oopsies" "woah, woops" "oh my" "golly sakes" "momma (high pitched) momma (low pitched)" "oh bummer" "savannah wake now!!!" "everybody _______ (almost done, out, share)" "go nursery now! (after every amen in church)" "call grandma grandpa" "self"

Favorite game: Running around the couch squealing while getting chased by daddy and Emily with fun music playing.

Awww mommy found you with a book the other day and you were reciting words and phrases from it while pointing and counting in it.  Too cute!

You know your ABCs, like to count (1,2,3,5,6,8,10,11,12,13,14,8,9...etc), are getting more into coloring, know all your colors, love hats...but not on your head for very long.

You are daddy's girl.  You are the first to run and greet daddy when he gets home from work.  You don't want to try on shoes at the store?  "oh they are like daddy's" and now you want to wear them nonstop.  Daddy is the first person you ask for in the morning...too bad you have been sleeping late and he is gone by the time you wake up (mommy's not complaining!)


We love you, sweet Savannah! Enjoy being 2!

9 months

Are you really 9 months old already?  Wow, the time has flown by!

You are crawling and feeling so independent!  Being mobile helps separation anxiety soo soo much.  It's fun to see what you find interesting and what you really want to play with instead of just guessing what toys you want and giving them to you.  You move around right to your favorites.  Often, your favorite toy is whatever Savannah finds interesting at the moment and she is not too happy to share.  Her version of sharing is to take a toy from you and say "share" or take a toy from you, run away and say "trade."  A time or two recently, though, she has gone and brought back a toy for you and a toy for her and proclaimed "playing! together!"  I love when you two play together and you love it, too!

Thank you for continuing to be a sweetie pie sleeper.  7:30 on the dot and you let us know if you are not in your crib.  You are so ready for your beauty sleep and beautiful you are!  We don't hear anything from you until almost 8am and then you wake up all smiles.  You woke up today sitting up in your crib!  What a big girl!

Girly, you are a water baby!  We went outside the other day and when you saw our little splash pool you started squealing and bouncing in my arms and I could not get you in the water fast enough.  When we go to the splash pad, you just love when daddy holds you in the little water fountains.  You get excited when you get splashed.  You are so fun!

Still two teeth, my dear.  Those other ones are taking their sweet time.

Peek a boo!  When you crawl, you like to put your face down to the ground and then pop up smiling.  It is the cutest version of peek a boo ever!

You are trying new finger foods.  You love veggies and sometimes tolerate fruits.  Funny.  You've tried and liked green beans, corn, peas, carrots, pears, nectarines, puffs, yogurt bites, ritz crackers, cheerios, baby rice cakes, bananas, chicken, jello :)  Let's keep trying new things!!

Aww you love Savannah and you love talking to her.  You will stare so intently at her and squeal or giggle to get her attention, especially at meal time.  She loves to talk back to you and you two have had a couple of darling conversations.  Your best conversations of squealing or giggling back in forth have been in your carseats.  Oh this is just the best and I never want to stop driving when i'm listening to the two of you chat.

We love you, Emily.  You are such a sweetheart.  Happy 9 months old!

Emily 8 months

Happy 8 months, little bug.

You are such an amazing sleeper-and this is one of mommy's favorite things because sleeping mommies and babies are so much happier!  You don't like to snuggle to a song anymore when it is time for a nap or bedtime-you lunge into your crib, sometimes even throwing your pacifier out of your mouth just so you can lay down in your crib (and then there better be pacifiers in there waiting for you!).  Savannah chatters away at bedtime but you are almost instantly asleep.  Mommy has to check on you during your naps because you wake up silently and then just lay silently in your crib and play with your pacifiers.  Perhaps you are enjoying the quiet me-time!

No more teeth this month...not much drooling either.  Those two teeth can get a cracker down so who needs more than that!?

Baby you love food.  You love peaches, pears, mangoes, bananas, squash, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, prunes, and you eat green beans without much of a fuss.  You love your cereal and crackers.  You hate plain yogurt and the two times you've had it you were up for hours in the middle of the night so we are going to hold off for a while with more dairy.  You reach and whine for our table food and we are getting excited to share more with you!

You are getting to be a strong little girl.  You are almost able to pull yourself up to a stand and you love to be up and standing.  You balance up on your hands and knees when I put you down for tummy time but you don't know how to get into the position on your own yet.  You have face planted a few times because you reached so far for a toy from a sitting position-crawling will be a wonderful thing :)

You love to pat your thighs.  When mommy or daddy pat them, you pat them back and we go back and forth with you playing a little Emily pat pat game-so fun!

You have started a forced-sounding squeal when you are excited.  You do it to Savannah when she is playing in front of you, you do it when we are feeding you, and you do it when you are playing by yourself.  It's pretty cute.

You gave yourself the sweetest mirror kiss this week.  It was so darling and you thought that girl in the mirror was so fun!

Happy 8 months, sweet Emily.  We love love love you!

Mother's Day

What a HAPPY Mother's Day!  Sometimes I still pinch myself because being a mom is just the best thing in the world.  For these daughters I hoped, I prayed, I cried, I wished, and I could not be happier.  They are so wonderful and I absolutely love being a mommy!  Sweet Savannah gave me multiple "loves" today just out of the blue on her own accord.  Emily giggled back and forth with me after a feeding.  I love them so much and I feel so loved by them.  I am so blessed to be a mother to my darling little girls!  Life is far from perfect and there are not many grand adventures happening in my life but some of my favorite days are days that I just get to spend laying on the ground, playing with my girls.  Or taking the girls to the park to play with Chris on his lunch break.  Family is what it's all about and I love that 100% of  my time is needed and used up in being with my family.  I love these girls, I love being their mother, and I love my amazing husband who makes it easy to be a mom.  Happy Mother's Day from this happy momma!

Emily 7 months

Happy 7 months to my sleeper baby!  Seriously, you sleep all the time!  I don't know if you are growing or just decided to catch up on all the sleep you missed during the first 6 months of your life but it's crazy.  Here's your schedule:
8am Wake up call (sometimes I help you wake up then so Savannah and your naps line up in the afternoon.  You would, and did, sleep until 10 if I let you)
8-10am Nurse, play, eat cereal/fruit, play
10-12pm Nap (again, I often have to open the blinds and help you wake up at noon)
12-2pm Nurse, play, eat veggies/fruit, play
2-4pm Nap (sometimes this goes until 5)
4-7pm Nurse, play, eat cereal/veggies, play, nurse
7:30pm Bedtime and you are out as soon as we lay you down!

TWO TEETH!  We love your cute little bottom teeth that made their grand appearance together this month.  You've had a few rough nights and tylenol was worthless but a friend suggested ibuprofen and life was back to normal.

You have tried an array of fruits and veggies.  You much prefer the veggies, although it might be because they are thicker.  You don't like your cereal runny so maybe the fruits are too runny for you.  When you don't finish a jar of baby food by the last day, Savannah is happy to eat the rest for you-she gobbles down even the greens... She also likes to sit on mommy and daddy's lap and coach you as you eat.  "Bite!" "Good girl!" "Yummm." "Cereal!" "Squash" "Bananas"  I'm sure you appreciate the help.

You and Savannah are the sweetest little buddies.  You love her so much and she loves you.  The two of you play so well together.  Savannah loves to bring you toys and you love anything and everything she brings you.  One night this month as we were finishing our bedtime routine, the two of you had a ball kissing each other and giggling back and forth.  It was cute enough that we let you stay up and keep at it for 10 minutes past your bedtime (which is huge for your schedule-mom).

Momma's girl.  We left you with a babysitter but you screamed so hard when she came that I just put you to bed 15 minutes early.  We had a neighbor over for Easter dinner and you screamed when she walked in and said hello to you because you did not see mommy or daddy.

Those cute chubby thighs and rolls on your arms have been getting a little smaller.  In fact, you didn't gain any weight from 4-6 months.  We are going back in a few days to see if you have gained this month.

You are a reacher!  You love sitting up and all but refuse tummy time.  You will bend completely flat from sitting up to reach a toy and then sit back up.  Amazing abs, little one.  You love to play with mommy's necklaces and earrings, too.

Oh my dear you learned to hug and it is the most precious thing ever!  You wrap your little arms around our necks and snuggle into our shoulders.  Even when you don't wrap your arms around you love to snuggle.  Sometimes you dive headfirst into our shoulder without warning just to snuggle.  You are our little snuggle-bug.

We love you, sweet Emily.  We sure love that you are part of our family!

Gilbert Temple