The Girl Who Ate Everything (15 Month Dr. Appt.)

Eating in the waiting room...and then the exam room...and on the way home...and then at home! :)

I can't believe we've just blown past the 12 month mark and have already made it through a full quarter of another year! Time never does seem to slow down, does it?

Emma Vance woke up on her 15 month birthday and decided she was hungry. Like hungry-hungry. Like I-will-eat-everything-I-see-hungry. She's developing like crazy these days, and her appetite is trying to keep up (figuratively and literally). The morning she turned 15 months she ate TWO scrambled eggs, a WHOLE banana and a WHOLE Greek yogurt for breakfast. Then, about an hour later she looked up at me, signed "more" and said, "Snack?" (which really sounds more like, "Nah?"). She's got a mouth on her, that one! I'm happy that she's getting a lot of nutrients these days, but my gosh--she might just eat us out of house and home! :)

We, of course, went to the doctor for our quarterly check up, and there were no big surprises (thankfully). Well, no surprises for me that is. The nurse who did our initial check-in had the most shocked look on her face as E.V. pointed to the tinkling wind chime above the scale and said, "What's that?" At that moment E.V. was in her arms, and the nurse replied naturally, "It's a wind chime," before she caught that she was talking to a 15-month-old and did a double take. "She just said 'what's that' to me, right?" the nurse asked, to which I replied with a grin and a nod. "Oh my goodness!" the nurse exclaimed in surprise. That's my talkative girl. I felt totally validated because Emma Vance NEVER performs on command or in public, so a lot of times I feel like people think I'm exaggerating when I tell these stories, and thus having her be so forward in front of a professional baby evaluator :) made me very pleased.

While we waited for the doctor, my hungry Emma Vance ate and ENTIRE can of organic cheese puffs and read quite a few books. (We were waiting a loooong time...) When it was finally our turn, we sang the Doc McStuffins check-up song, and the doctor and I chatted about the show while he listened to her heart and looked in her ears. Everything was normal for the check-up, although we deferred our 15-month vaccines to a later date since she's been sick lately. (Thankfully our pediatrician is very understanding of my concerns and not judgmental at all.) We'll have to go back in a couple weeks for the dreaded shots, but for now I was happy to leave the office with a smiling baby.

As for growth, not much changed over the past three months, meaning she's average height, a little chunky and has a huge, brainy head. These days she's 22 lbs. (gained less than half a pound, going down from the 75th to the 65th percentile), has a 48 cm head (grew 1 cm, but still in the 95th percentile) and is 30.5 inches tall (growing 1.25 inches, going up from the 40th to the 50th percentile). Overall the doctor said to "keep on keepin' on" when it comes to her growth and to make sure she gets enough to eat--to which I responded politely with a nod and a smile as my child fortuitously looked up with an empty can of cheese puffs and said, "Snack?" ;)

A Ladybug Birthday!

Dressed up for our friend Kensleigh's SECOND birthday party today...

...and the same party last year. My how we've changed!

Last year about this time, E.V. went to her first party ever. (Read about it here.) It was such a big milestone--for her and for me--that I remember everything about that day: picking out her outfit, the effort it took to get a newborn ready and on the road, her falling asleep in my friend Lindsay's arms, having to stop halfway home to feed my little Babywise baby. Everything was so new, so hard, and here we are a year later, celebrating Emma Vance's friend, Kensleigh's, SECOND birthday, and everything has changed so much!

This time around, the party was less about stress and scheduling and more about E.V. exploring. I deemed her the Wandering Soul of the event, as she strolled about and visited whomever and wherever she wanted while I attempted to take pictures and have grown up conversations. :) With a perfectly mobile baby, the gap in Kensleigh and E.V.'s ages seemed so much smaller than it did last year, and as they played at the water table and toddled around with one another, I couldn't help but look forward to the coming year. Kensleigh's personality is so big (like her mom's, of course!), and I can't help but imagine the two of them soon jibber-jabbering away on play dates and at lunches. (Plus, the ladybug theme for her party was so super-adorable and super UGA-appropriate that I might just have to steal it for next year...hahaha!:) )

Dressed in UGA-appropriate gray because it's GAMEDAY doesn't start with kickoff!

My crazy baby!

the birthday girl

(E.V. was like Goldilocks, trying out all the different lawn chairs...)

Apparently she decided that it was nap time. (I don't blame her for being exhausted!)

Poor Mr. Davis's food kept getting stolen...oops! :/

"Give me that cupcake!!!"

This picture about sums it up! :)

Curing E.V.'s Lonliness

E.V. got a big surprise with her tea party for TWO!

Just like any other at-home mom, I often find myself desperate to run errands without my little, toddler-sized shadow. With Emma Vance in-tow, things take longer, less is accomplished and my attention is divided. However, amongst all the madness, there are these brief moments of sublime happiness where I wouldn't dream of trading in my sidekick for efficiency or ease. One of these moments happened a few days ago in the mall...

As someone who spent 40+ hours a week at the mall in their former career, it's always a strange feeling to walk in the doors only once or twice a season, but nowadays my trips are about necessity and not browsing. Last week I was alone with Emma Vance and in desperate need of doing a return, so we ventured to the mall during a busy time. As we strolled through the main corridor, E.V. was as happy as a lark (despite my fears of having a screaming, impatient toddler by my side), and as we navigated the crowded halls, she chirped out a cheery, "Hiya!" to every passerby--and added an extra loud, "HEY!" to every child she encountered. It warmed my heart--and apparently the hearts of those she greeted, as most of them grinned from ear to ear and greeted her back. It was one of those moments of sublime happiness, where everything seemed right with the world and where I had a profound pride in my small, social child.

I left that errand thinking about how much Emma Vance loves people, especially children. She's desperate to make friends, concerned about others' well being and not at all shy with her affections...all characteristics that will make her a perfect big sister. :) All of the play dates in the world can't compete with a built-in, at-home, 24/7 friend, right? (We think so at least.) Soooo...

I'm pregnant! SURPRISE!

E.V will be getting a new best friend around March 22, 2014, making me almost 15 weeks and counting. I'm not at all worried about Emma Vance being jealous of the new baby, but I am slightly concerned she might smother it in love...and that I might be hearing, "Hiya!" over and over and over come Spring 2014! :)

If you're like, "What the heck? Why didn't they tell me in person?," don't be offended. It's been our little secret this time around, so it's a surprise for everyone, even our close friends. :)

"What's this all about, Mom? Who makes 'two?'"

"Emma Vance, you're getting a little brother or sister!"

"I'm getting a what?"

"A little brother or sister. (Yes, "more.") You're going to be a BIG SISTER!"

"I'm going to be a BIG SISTER?!? YAY!"

"Daddy, did you hear? I'm going to be a BIG SISTER!"
"Yes, he's heard, dear little one." ;)

Time for celebratory "tea!"

"Oh, wait. Does that mean I have to share my toys?"
"Yes, it sure does."

"Um, I'll be right back..."

Happiest big sister on the planet!

Can I Get an Invisible Force Field--PLEASE?

The only moment she actually sat still during the whole event...

I find myself often wishing for an invisible force field--a secret, portable, unseen play pen if you will. I literally have this thought nearly every time we're in public, and I'm pretty sure that if I could invent such a thing, I'd be an instant millionaire. I mean, what parent (what mother) wouldn't pay handsomely for a safe, contained space where her kid can go wild while she gives a friend her full attention for 20 minutes at lunch? Needless to say, getting Emma Vance to sit still these days is almost impossible, and in the moments when it's unavoidably necessary, it requires a lot of attention, toys and snacks. Whenever Ryan and I eat out with her in tow, it feels as if an hourglass is flipped over the moment we sit down, and with each grain of fallen sand, we're racing toward a major melt down--and by "major melt down," I'm referring to Ryan and I, not Emma Vance. :)

E.V. is such a wiggle worm these days that it's not unusual for the gym daycare workers to report that "she's too adventurous of a climber for her size" and for the preschool teachers to tell me that "she's Miss Busy." So, when I think of public activities for us to do, I try always have to evaluate the level of sit-still-ness it requires. (The lower the level, the more likely it is that we'll go.) For whatever reason, I had a moment of insanity earlier this week and decided that going to the local library's storytime was a great idea for us. Not. The sit-still level of a storytime always tips the scale, AND Emma Vance was feeling particularly wild that morning. (NOT a good combination!) There was a perfectly nice, very shy little girl a few months older than E.V. sitting quietly in her mother's lap next to us, and as E.V. wiggled and wormed her way free for the billionth time during the singing portion, I smiled uncomfortably at the woman and shrugged. Oh, well. Thankfully there were some other crazies in the crowded room, and as the storytime dragged on, a lot of kids got restless and began to wander. At one point, I decided to let Emma Vance walk around with the other monsters, and eventually she landed on another abandoned mother's lap. I smiled and signaled that she was mine, and the lady hung out with my not-at-all-afraid-of-strangers child for a few minutes. Thankfully she managed to find her way back to me in time for the book reading portion, and since Emma Vance is OBSESSED with books these days, it was the only time she was perfectly still...laying on her stomach with her face in her hands like a little teeny-bopper listening to a dreamy boy band's record. Oh, my silly child. Once the story had been read, though, she was restless again, and we made an early exit. As we scooted past the remaining mothers and kids on our way to the exit, I couldn't help but wonder for the billionth time, "If only I had an invisible force field..."