Scales don't lie

and today the scale said that Emma weighs 17 pounds!! I'm not sure words can properly express how amazing I felt after her doctor's appt today. She gained 2 pounds in 2 months which is the best she's done since the NICU. It was the first time in ages that the doctor used the word "awesome" in the same sentence as "weight gain". He was so thrilled with her development and weight gain and everything that we've been working SO hard on. I loved walking out of there with no concerns and no sick feelings about her weight.

The walking is hilarious. I know I've been begging for her to walk, but damn she has just taken off! She loves to walk and it's all she wants to do all day long. The zoo, mall and restaurants are quite the challenge right now because all she wants to do is walk. She is SO cute and SO proud of herself and her walking around definitely makes her seem so much older.

playing in her "individual" pool in the yard

cutest baby butt!

she's a water baby, she LOVES all forms of water!

In the backyard you don't need a swimsuit :)

wheeee!!

beautiful girl

she's finally starting to get into books. Mama was worried!

Daddy was experimenting

Playing in the grass is much more fun now that I can walk!

It's official!!

We have a walker :)

15 months

I would love to tell you how wonderful I thought this new stage of life was, but I would be lying, big time. Holy hell this week has been a nightmare! It's like Emma woke up one morning and thought to herself "self, it's time to change my personality a little. mama has had it too easy and I need to throw her for a loop". Yeah, nice work Emma. She has become quite willful (yes mom, I know it's payback) and I wasn't quite ready for that (not that she hasn't always been like that, but usually she's sweet and willful). I'm hoping it's just her teeth, she has 2 coming in right now and if I can catch them on camera it will be a good laugh because they aren't next to each other and she's going to be a bit gap toothed for a while :)
She's doing better with her walking. She still has to hold onto something, but it doesn't have to be a piece of furniture, she can have a string or toy in her hand and be fine with it. She's taken about 6-8 consecutive steps and will now walk between pieces of furniture if it's only a couple steps instead of getting down to crawl. She hasn't really added any new words though I do think she's trying to communicate more and I feel like she's on the verge of a word explosion. The eating still sucks, in fact it's probably getting worse. Her favorite thing to do right now is carry things around like a purse. It doesn't matter what it is, if it has a handle it's a purse to her. We started swim lessons last week and despite how cold it was she really liked it. She loves to put her face in the water (a little too much for my comfort) and she's perfectly fine with being dunked. I won't be signing her up for the swim team quite yet, but it's a fun time :)

We took the kids to Little Monkey Biz the other day and they had a great time playing!

Emma loved climbing (please excuse the mullet, she's in a bad hair stage)

case in point, carrying the lantern around like it's a purse. or maybe she's pretending to be a night watchman?

Jamie and I in Chicago

Jamie taking some pictures.....

so freaking cute!

peek...

a boo!

Emma loves to push her little bike around. She also loves to ride on it, it's a guaranteed fun time no matter what her mood!

Chicago

We had such a wonderful weekend! We missed Emma a ton, but man is easy to fly without your child in tow!! It was a whirlwind trip, but we really had a great time.

A photo from the wedding, I'd like everyone to know that I took this photo :)

This kind of just sums up the night :)

Having drinks with Drea and Josh

taking photos in my brother and Sam's GORGEOUS apartment!

weaned

I just nursed Emma for the last time and I'm taking it much harder than I imagined. She's almost 15 months old and I was able to nurse her for almost a year. She doesn't show a ton of interest in it anymore and I'm sure that my supply is about nil, but it was our special time in the morning to just cuddle and about the only time all day she was still. I knew I would love breast feeding, though I never imagined I would love it this much :) I'm extremely proud of myself for making it this long, but I feel like weaning means that my little girl isn't a baby anymore. Which she isn't, she makes that perfectly clear every day, but it was the one thing I was holding onto.
The reason for weaning her today? We're headed to Chicago this weekend for a wedding and to hang out with one of my favorite friends that I don't get to see often enough. Unfortunately my brother and Sam aren't in town too, but they're letting us stay at their place and we're looking forward to a weekend of eating and drinking an catching up with friends. Oh, did I mention Emma isn't coming? She's staying with my parents and is about to be spoiled beyond belief. I can't wait to fly without her. I know that sounds horrible but flying with a kid is a PITA! I'm going to read magazine and books (yes, plural) and sleep, all on a 2 hour plane ride... woo hoo!
So yes, it's a bittersweet day. My baby girl is all grown up and I'm taking advantage :)

My little pony

This weekend we went to a miniature horse farm and some of the horses had just had babies and they were so freaking cute! Mini, mini horses!!

I'm pretty sure Emma thought they were dogs, but she liked them ;)

Family photo

Trying to get a quick photo on a horse without getting caught (we didn't know if we were allowed to put the kids on them and we were scared to ask. we did know the horses can handle up to 45lbs)

Success!! Emma is so thrilled she stuck her thumb in her mouth :)

Aren't they so cute?!?

Emma helping me with the diapers (yeah, they are already clean she just likes to put things in the washer)

THE POOL IS OPEN!!! Of course it's raining this week, but we're excited all the same!

They really are enjoying themselves :)

The kids are learning to kiss each other, it's really cute :)

Emma got a new bike, fun!