10 Months - August 22, 2010

Dear Emily,

You are 10 months old now and I am so sad that you'll soon be turning one. Well, not sad, but I definitely have mixed emotions about your 1st birthday. One day, when you have a baby, you'll understand the roller coaster of emotions a mother deals with on a daily basis. One of the biggest issues I, personally, face as a mother is having my heart constantly pulled from either clinging to the past or being excited for the future. This is probably something all mothers face.

I want to soak in all that is "baby" Emily, but at the same time, I'm so excited for what's next. I can't wait to decorate Christmas cookies with you and take you to Disney World. I can't wait to see your excitement on Christmas morning. I can't wait to play tea party and dress up with you. We'll have so much fun! Being a girl is the best!

This past month marks the end of your first Summer. It has been wonderful spending the Summer with my favorite little person. I am beyond blessed to be able to spend so much time with my sweet, sweet girl.

We had lots of fun hanging with friends outside. Specifically, you loved wagon rides with Abby Grace.

You've loved spending time with your Brandi while she was out of school for the Summer. You actually waved bye, bye for the 1st time this past month to Brandi. It was so sweet! Now you wave bye, bye all the time.

You've loved splashing in the water with friends.

Your favorite part about the water was putting your face in it! It was so funny to watch.

You love to "go." We generally get out a few times a week just me and you to run errands. We'll go to Target or Hobby Lobby and just walk around. People are constantly stopping us in the stores to talk to you. You are just soooo cute!

Daddy and I recently bought a little bike trailer for you (and your sisters and Abby) to ride around with us. You really liked it a lot! It's just so fun to watch you experience new things.

We are now a regular at the local library story-time. You really love watching all the other kids run around. We read books, sings songs, and play. It's so much fun..it's my favorite part of our week!

We finished up swim school this past month (good thing, because your swim suits were getting a little tight!). You did great and really came a long way from when we 1st started the class in May. We'll probably do swim lessons again, but will wait until you are a little older.

You still love to swing!

And, hang out with Abby and Pawpaw

You love to play with all your toys. Your favorite things seem to be little stuffed animals or dolls. You give them love by pushing their face up to your face. I'm trying to teach you to hug them. It's so sweet. You also love pulling all your toys out of the toy box.

You are a wonderfully happy baby "most" of the time. I say "most" because this past month, you have actually been a bit on the whiny side. I know this is just because you have been trying to crawl and get very frustrated because you can't seem to master it.

Mommy tries to get you to crawl by putting fun things in front of you, but it doesn't help much. So, I tried enticing you with something you REALLY want, Mommy's phone.

No luck though...

Maybe a pearl necklace would entice my girl to crawl, I wondered...

But, wearing a large tutu makes crawling a bit difficult mom. =)

But, Mommy knew your mobility was on the horizon. SO, I had to quickly get some "booty" shots of you before you were too mobile to escape me. I'd been wanting to take these pictures of you for a while, but just kept putting it off...I could put it off no longer! I was almost to late because as you can see, you were really trying to crawl around.

See the look of determination on your face!

Then, you had a potty accident, but it was worth it to get my booty pics! ha!

Another photoshoot Mommy had been putting off is getting some shots of you wearing a few little dresses that were mine and Aunt Lisa's when we were babies. Again, it was now or never, so I had to suck it up and just do it. These dresses mean a lot to me because it's almost like Mimi gave them to you since she gave them to me and your Aunt Lisa. I know she is looking down at you smiling. She loved little frilly girlie dresses. Seeing you in these would have brought tears to her eyes. Maybe someday, I'll have a granddaughter that can wear these! =)

Again, you tried to escape me...

It was pretty hot when we were taking these pics, so by the time I got around to shooting the little red dress, you had decided that enough was enough.

You don't get mad very often either, but when you do, you make the funniest face! You scrunch your face and clinch and shake your fists.

This past month you have decided that pretty bows, hats, and/or headbands are just not your thing.

Mommy did manage to snap a pic really quick of you in this SUPER CUTE outfit and SUPER CUTE pink flower band. But, I think it's the last we'll see of you wearing the flower headband. At least, for a while.

A big milestone for you this month was eating "puffs." Puffs look like cereal, but they dissolve in your mouth. You weren't very sure about them at first and would spit them out as soon as they got in your mouth. You also haven't mastered the "pincher" reflex yet either, so you can't grab them with two fingers and get them to your mouth. I'm sure this will improve this next month with practice.

You are still working on drinking from a sippy cup. You mainly use it as a teether and it ends up on the floor most of the time. But, you have started taking sips out of it now and then. So far, I've really only given you water because we are STILL NURSING! I know, I can't believe it either. But, it does help that you still have no teeth! =)

While you don't have any teeth yet, you are probably teething because you like to chew on everything. You haven't been too fussy though, so maybe it's not teething. Who knows.

You started pulling up all by yourself this past month. I had a bottom drawer opened to put away some clothes in your room and you decided to pull up on it. I just couldn't believe it! Then, you proceeded to start pulling your clothes out of the drawer.

And your biggest mile stone this past month was....drum roll....you CRAWLED! You crawled two days before turning 10 months old! Mommy was so proud of you and you are MUCH happier now!

But, mommy's job just got a LOT harder.

I had to get Daddy to help with our "10 Month" shoot. Usually, I can just do it by myself, but you are trying to run away from my camera now!

The day after you started crawling, you started pulling up on everything all the time! Oh, Mommy is going to be much busier now! =)

Now, you pull up on your bed all the time. This has been a nap challenge for us...you want to pull up and play instead of nap! We have lowered the crib and secured your bookshelf to the wall! Sadly, I also had to remove your "E" canvas from above your crib. This is something I knew was inevitable. Oh well...I'll put it up again some day (or when we have visitors)..haha!

You really like to pull up on Mommy. This is my view most of the time now...

I don't mind you pulling up on me. I love, love, love being with you. You are the light of my life. Words cannot express how much I love you. You are the sweetest baby ever. I can see you becoming a very sweet little girl and a beautifully sweet and caring young lady. This is my goal in life - to help you become a good person. I want so much for you...my main concern is making sure you have a good heart. I want you to be a genuine, caring, loving, honest person. I want you to have self confidence and believe in yourself. I don't want you to have issues with peer pressure. I want you to ALWAYS be able to come to me or your Daddy with a problem. I want you to make good decisions. I want you to choose your friends carefully. I want you to treat your body well and have respect for yourself. I want you to save yourself for your husband. I want you to love the Lord and trust in His plans for you - He has AMAZING plans for my sweet angel, I just know it! I could go on and on and on. Never in my life have I understood my mother more than I do now. I only wish she was here for me to tell her how much I appreciate her and talk to her about how I totally understand what she has felt for me all these years. It's truly a love like no other...being a mother is the greatest gift.

I feel it's a privilege being your mother. Like, God has given me such a precious, precious gift. I don't want to mess it up! Haha. Well, not really a laughing matter, but...If I really sat down and thought about the task that has been placed before me, I could feel very overwhelmed. But, we have some time to work through this growing up thing together. Day-by-day, we'll learn new things as a family. One thing is for sure...you'll always be loved.

Love Always and Always,
Mama